Walking into the Dream Diner in Tyngsborough is like walking into a diner straight out of the 1950s. From the decor, to the booths, to the interior design of the building, every aspect of the breakfast joint is aimed at bringing customers back to a time of classic Cadillacs and drive-in movies. 

When I arrived at the Dream Diner with my mom on Saturday morning around 10:30 a.m., we were met with an unassuming gray building right off of Route 3. However, as I stepped inside, I was completely caught off guard. The inside of the diner was decorated to look exactly like a traditional 50s diner with memorabilia everywhere I turned.

Stuffed toys and figurines of Betty Boop, a popular cartoon character created in the 1930s, were all over the place, with a nearly five-foot tall statue of her standing right in the middle of one of the dining rooms. Looking around at the many different knicknacks, such as a corded phone designed to look like a diner, was one of my favorite parts of the whole experience and helped me immerse myself in the theme of the restaurant.

The smell of sizzling pancakes, bacon, and home fries filled the entire dining area and even wafted outside. When we entered, we were quickly greeted by a waitress who seated us at one of the booths. The morning rush was clearly in progress, as a relatively large crowd was spread throughout the diner’s numerous bright red booths.

As I sat down, I noticed that the seat was beat up with tape covering a tear in it, but overall everything seemed fairly clean. Each table also had its own bottle of hand sanitizer on it, which I had never seen before in a restaurant, but thought it was a nice touch. Customers were also able to watch their food being cooked due to the open kitchen on the right-side of the restaurant.

Our waitress was very kind and attentive, quickly bringing over our menus and taking our drink orders. The coffee my mom ordered and my water were on our table in record time.  From all of my breakfast restaurant memories, I cannot remember a single time when my mom actually liked the coffee. So when I looked over expecting to see her soured face, I was extremely surprised to hear her say that she enjoyed it.

In a couple of minutes, our waitress was back again and we quickly placed our order. I decided on the “Dream Omelet” with a side of home fries and toast ($14.49), and the “Short Stack Pancakes” ($7.99) which came with two buttermilk pancakes. My mom ordered one of their specials, the “Homemade Cinnamon Roll French Toast” ($11.49).

All three dishes came out just 13 minutes after we had placed our order and were still nice and warm.

Gallery • 3 Photos

Srivas Arun

Our food order of "Short Stack Pancakes" (lower left), "Dream Omelet" (lower right), and "Homemade Cinnamon Roll French Toast" (top).

After experiencing the scents coming from the griddle, I was eager to dig into my omelet. As I quickly stuffed a bite into my mouth, I was immediately underwhelmed. The Dream Omelet is filled with asparagus, broccoli, spinach, and cheddar cheese, and while the vegetables tasted fresh and crisp, it was obvious that they were not salted at all. The unsalted vegetables resulted in the omelet as a whole tasting watery and flavorless.

However, that is not to say the omelet was awful; it just didn’t have any “wow” factor. The dish was made better by the cheddar cheese which helped amend the lack of seasoning and added another dimension of flavor to the otherwise plain vegetables and eggs. Overall, it was an okay omelet. If you prefer a fresh, light breakfast without heavy seasoning, the Dream Omelet may be for you.

Toast and home fries were the sides for the omelet. I was expecting a standard white-bread toast and I was pleased with what I got. The home fries on the other hand were not very good at all. They had a strange flavor, were way too mushy, and were inconsistently salted.

My hopes for the pancakes had been lowered after the omelet, so as I poured syrup on to the golden brown breakfast classic, I was expecting an average run-of-the-mill bite. Boy, was I wrong. From the moment I placed the first bite of the pancakes into my mouth, I was delighted. The outside of the pancake was ever so slightly crisp, while the inside was wonderfully moist and had a pillowy softness.

Unlike the omelet, the pancakes were perfectly salted and had a buttery taste with a nice level of sweetness when paired with the syrup. When I went in for another bite, I noticed a flavor reminiscent of a funnel cake that set it apart from any other pancake I had ever eaten. I was completely blown away.

The Homemade Cinnamon Roll French Toast was good as well with a nice cinnamon flavor. If you normally like to add the warm spice to your french toast, then I would definitely recommend ordering this because having an actual slice of a cinnamon roll as opposed to a slice of plain bread provides the dish with a deeper cinnamon flavor.

Our waitress checked in on us multiple times while we were eating and brought out the check without any delay, which I really appreciated.

All in all, breakfast at the Dream Diner was an enjoyable ordeal, and while it is a little bit of a drive from Westford to Tyngsborough, I would recommend anyone wanting to experience a classic 50s diner and exceptionally delicious pancakes to stop by with family and friends.

8/10