Mark Twain Dinette & Family Restaurant in Hannibal, Missouri: AReview

Mark Twain Dinette & Family Restaurant is located on 3^rd Street in Hannibal, Missouri, right next to the Mark Twain Home & Museum. We visited on a Saturday afternoon, at lunchtime. We were visiting Hannibal for the day to explore the cave and historic downtown. My friend read online about Mark Twain Dinette. He was excited because he read they made their own root beer and had huge onion rings.

The food selection was decent enough. The waitress mentioned a lunch buffet but we didn't even take a look because we were interested in trying the maid-rite sandwiches. The menu had quite a selection of your typical diner fare: burgers, salads, tenderloins, chicken, and even catfish. We decided on two maid-rites, a gourmet cheese sandwich with steak fries, and a "half foot" of rings for an appetizer. My friend of course got the root beer in a frosty mug and I got a soda.

The maid-rite sandwiches were o.k... For $2.55 each, the bun was very small. If you aren't familiar with a maid-rite, it is a loose ground beef seasoned and served with onions & pickles. I think the cook forgot the seasoning part because the sandwich was bland. The maid-rite also did not come with any sides. Fortunately, the gourmet cheese sandwich came with plenty of fries for my friend and me to share. We also split the cheese sandwich. The cheese sandwich was just grilled bread with two slices of cheese, bacon, tomato, and too much lettuce. After removing all the lettuce, I did enjoy the cheese sandwich.

My friend said the root beer was excellent. Of course there are no free refills on the root beer and it came in a very small mug. The mug was half the size of my soda glass, which did include free refills. Unfortunately I didn't get to enjoy a free refill because after dropping off our food, we never saw our waitress again.

The service is mediocre at best. When we entered the restaurant, no one said hi. The greeter simply said "Just Two?" He directed us to our table and the waitress handed us menus. I said "Good afternoon" and she made some grunting sound. She took our order, dropped off our food, and that was it. I guess she doesn't like tourists because she was very nice to the older local people that were surrounding us.

The best part of the meal is the onion rings. The onion rings came on a nice display rack, heaped on a plastic rod with three dipping sauces at the base. I would definitely return just for the onion rings. I was irritated by the poor service but oh well; at least I saved money by not tipping. Yes, I did not tip. I am sure this will offend lots of people but I have at least two requirements before I leave a tip. The first one is the server has to introduce him or herself and the second is they need to bring me a refill or at least offer a refill.

The total bill for our lunch was just over twenty dollars. The prices are reasonable and the food is good. I would give this restaurant another chance if I ever visited Hannibal again.