Denny's at Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco, California: A Restaurant Review

People standing in line to get into a Denny's? People standing in a long line to get into a Denny's? Do you think such a thing is possible? Come to the Denny's at Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco and you can witness this eighth wonder of the world for yourself?

Are they waiting because the food is somehow fantastic, atypical in some way of every other Denny's on the planet? Nope - it's the same old microwaved, crummy fare found at every other Denny's. Are they here for fabulous prices and meal deals? Nope - since it is located in the most touristy area of already expensive San Francisco, everything on the menu costs anywhere from two to five dollars more than you'll pay at a Denny's in any other "normal" part of the country, and budget meal deals like the summer five dollar breakfast special are completely absent from this menu.

The reason they are here is that the restaurant is, first of all, located in Fisherman's Wharf, and then also attached to a large Hilton hotel. I think about half the clientele is European tourists who don't know any better, and the rest is American tourists who just spilled out of their nearby hotel and didn't feel like walking any farther for a meal once they saw a sign they recognized. And that's one of the things that will forever baffle me about San Francisco tourism. People spend a lot of money to come here and to stay in the hotels here, the city is touted for having some of the best, most diverse and most affordable ranges of food in the United States, and most of the tourists end up paying tourist premiums to eat the same crappy diner food they have back home and shop at the exact same chain stores they have in their own malls.

This Denny's is for desperation use only for the rest of us. It is open 24 hours, one of the few diners remaining in the city available that late as a number close their doors to recession woes. It's a pricey choice, though, with a make-it-yourself Grand Slam being about the cheapest item on the menu at $8.50. For the sake of comparison, an All-American Grand Slam here is $12.50, a cheeseburger meal is $13.50, and the menu just gets more pricey from there.

Despite the prices, while the sun is up, you'll see mobs of pale tourists gruffling their grub in every possible booth in the place. The place doesn't seem to cool down until after 8 p.m. or so, and one small factor that mitigates the high prices is that they do keep the place very clean for an all-night diner, and that the night crews that I've encountered on my infrequent trips there are very sweet and attentive for 3 o'clock in the morning. The food still sucks, but hey, it's Denny's. They also share an attached bathroom with the Hilton, which the hotel keeps in pristine condition even late at night, which is a very rare find in the wee hours. So if you need a good toilet late at night, check this one out, you won't be disappointed.