Recently I was in Oakland and stopped at the Daughter’s Diner for takeout on my way home. I didn’t really feel like driving another hour on an empty stomach.
It is open Wednesday-Sunday 9-9. Interesting, a diner isn’t open earlier, but I’ve also been to diners not open on Sundays…
Daughter’s Diner Atmosphere: A
The Daughter’s Diner is located in downtown Oakland, right off of Lake Merrit. When you drive by, you wouldn’t even guess it’s a diner. It looks like a regular cafe with both outdoor and indoor seating. Inside is a large space with a few tables. It puts out more of a fancy cafe vibe. That being said, it was a cute restaurant.
Their website is a community-oriented restaurant providing kindness and a remarkable dining experience accessible to everyone. Their name is actually based on the chef and owner’s daughter. How fun is that?
Daughter’s Diner Service: A
I waited for several minutes when I got there. Although my food was supposed to be ready, I waited for another 10 or minutes. Not a big deal.
Daughter’s Diner Coffee: X
I didn’t feel like needing to make a pitstop between the diner and my house, so I opted for no coffee.
Daughter’s Diner Food: B
The Daughter’s Diner menu has a medium-sized menu of options for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. You aren’t going to find a dozen pages, but it has about 15-20 items on the menu. It’s clear they’ve put a lot of thought into each menu item, and it isn’t just “pancakes and eggs.”
You can see the full Daughter’s Diner menu here. A few options that caught my eye were the Princess Pancakes, Double D Homewrecker Burger, and the Waka Flaka. Many menu options have interesting and unique names, and The pancakes have raspberry jam and almond marzipan.

I finally decided to go with the “Double D Homewrecker Burger,” which has two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a soft bun. It was good, but it was a lot of burgers. In fact, with the 2 beef patties, it might have been the largest burger I’ve ever had. I really liked the homemade burger bun too. I was disappointed that french fries were an additional $5 on top of an $18 burger, but the burger was filling enough.
Daughter’s Diner Cost: $
For my burger, it was $17.75. It one of the more expensive diner meals I’ve had in a while.
Overall Thoughts/Would I Come Back?
I liked the Daughter’s Diner, and it was a great stop. They have many fun and unique options, and I would definitely go back if the opportunity presented itself.
Atmosphere: A
Coffee: X
Food: B
Cost: $12-20
Service: A
Overall: A
You can see all diner reviews here.
Questions for you:
What is the largest burger you’ve had?
Have you been to Daughter’s Diner?
Yikes … fries were NOT included in the price. Wow, that’s like daylight robbery! I did check out the Minnesota Diner you recommended and I really enjoyed it. I hope to one day try out some of the diner’s you’ve been to on the west coast!
I was so shocked too!
And that is great to hear about the Hi-Lo Diner. I really liked that one.
Have you ever been to the West Coast Lindsay? I think I like East Coast diners better. Maybe because they are cheaper…but as you know, life exists outside of diners LOL.