The Fremont Diner

OPEN!!!!!
Not closed anymore.

This place is open now!

Same owners, they were just closed for renovation...
Place has been streamlined.
Still great food.
So glad they were open when we drove by!

Now called "BoxCar Fried Chicken & Biscuits"
(Only open on weekdays 11am-3pm)

Here we go. The drive there is beautiful and scenic of the grape vines and the grenery you pass by. We arived at 946am and there was a 25 minute wait while yelp said it opened at 10am.

Anyone that knows me, knows that I truely love my mac and cheese and fried chicken. I ordered the non spicy fried chicken and there was no taste. It was perfectly cooked and golden brown but somone forgot to season my chicken! The bisquits with strawbery jam was my favorite but how can you mess up bread? 3 bisquits for less than 6 bucks..
The mac and cheese was good. Creamy and cheesy with toasted bread cumbs but it was missing that "wow factor". Collard greens was traditional and simple, no complaints here.

Meanwhile, ths outside seating is nice and shaded and items are reasonably priced for location.

I really dig this place. They have a good selection of craft beer and yummy food with a gourmet flair.

A down to earth, funky atmosphere and matter of fact casual service feel much more relaxed and real than a lot of the places you could eat in wine country.

The shrimp & grits are my favorite.

Wooden picnic tables with umbrellas surrounded by a wooden fence will have you thinking you are dining al fresco at someone's backyard. The ground is covered in dirt with views of the valley to one side and the highway on the other. It's rustic and I love it.

Serving breakfast all day, night owls who wake up at noon need not fret about missing out on their fluffy Buttermilk PANCAKES ($9.99) nor their delicious HANGTOWN FRY ($14.99) which is scrambled eggs with fried oysters, arugula, potatoes, and bacon.

Fittingly under Specials, the NASHVILLE CHICKEN ($15.99) was a glorious dish of spicy fried chicken abundantly seasoned with cajun spices served with your choice of waffles or slaw & white bread. Waffle was the obvious choice for a sweet and salty pair after pouring syrup all over it but truth be told, it was pedestrian at best. The pieces of chicken were a generous portion and fairly spicy so be warned. You're welcome to opt for no spice at all. Needless to say, I had a wonderful time consuming this.

The FRIED OYSTERS Po'Boy Sandwich ($13.99) is another must-get item here. Beautifully battered and fried to perfection, you'll get a good crunch every bite you take. It's a decent-sized white roll with arugula, remoulade, and bacon. I guarantee any oyster-lover will be pleased.

HORCHATA MILKSHAKE ($5.50), anyone? Get this to wash everything down in a milky and cinnamon way.

When you find yourself in Sonoma, give this diner a whirl. My gut tells me you won't regret it.

Too much hype here...
Go right at opening because if you go later, lots of their signature/popular items run out.

Our party of 8 arrived at 10am and our waitress mentioned that they had already run out of the popular chicken, shrimp and grits(which was my first choice) so I opted for the Brisket Hash and Wifey ordered their Pancakes. Service seemed so artificial, and she kept stating the fact that "everything is made from scratch which is why we run out of things"

Such a crock of you-know-what! If you constantly run out of your popular items, wouldn't you up your pars on the popular items and minimize/get rid of items that don't sell out to avoid consistently running out!?!?

Thank goodness my Brisket Hash was good, but Wifey's pancakes were burnt and lopsided. Whoever was responsible for them should be bussing tables, not in the kitchen. I guess everyone enjoyed their orders, but this was a sad first impression. Price point to quality of food is way off, and there are better spots in nearby Napa. ALOHA!!!

Shaka Meter: \uuu/ \uuu/ 2

I have been wanting to check out this place for years after driving by it on my commute every day. It was either not open or I was in a rush one way or the other. Today I finally made it and it met all of my expectations.

I had fresh squeezed grapefruit juice and Mac and cheese and tasted the biscuits and gravy and the milkshake. All of the above were delicious.

The antiques are fun and interesting and there's a pretty winery to look at while you enjoy your meal outside... Inside is cute too!

I'll be back soon to try the fried oysters, chicken and waffles, and fancy salads.

The cutest little diner off the freeway I've ever been to. Looking at the pictures doesn't really do the Fremont Diner any justice. Yes the diner has majority of it's seating outdoors -- wooden picnic bench/tables on top of dirt covered by large umbrellas for shade -- but it is a lot less janky than it seems! It actually makes you feel like you're on a picnic with a view since there is a vineyard right behind the restaurant. I do wish they had outdoor fans or something because it was getting incredibly hot and the dark tables were a little hot to the touch, but it was nothing unbearable, just uncomfortable. There is some seating inside but it is very limited. They have an outdoor seating area for people waiting for a table in a shaded area and they provide ice water which was refreshing in the 90 degree weather.

Our wait took about 45 minutes -- much longer than I expected to wait for a diner but I think it was worth the wait. I ordered a Brisket Hash for $12.99 and my party shared a bucket of biscuits for $5.99 and a jalapeno corn bread which was a little more than $3. They serve breakfast all day which is great but they also serve lunch food during the appropriate hours. For a party of 6, our bill came out to around $110 after tax and tip! It's definitely on the more pricier side for a diner, but it is very much talked about in wine country and I had a few people suggest it to me while I was planning my visit.

Just a friendly suggestion -- if you plan to eat here before going to a winery make sure to give yourself ample time!! I had planned to go to a taste/tour at a winery 15 minutes away at 2 pm but there was traffic and we arrived at this diner at noon, so that plus our waiting and eating time made us late to our winery plans. It's no one's fault but our own but make sure to give yourself an extra hour or so to eat here so you can enjoy it without stressing about other reservations!

I will definitely come back next time I am in Sonoma. The biscuits were amazing and melted at the touch and I look forward to the day I get to eat them again!

Their biscuits are the real deal. I think my favorite thing was the bucket of biscuits (3 biscuits with butter and honey) and the deviled eggs (which were really flavorful - I'm not even a big fan of deviled eggs, but these were something else!) I also ordered the Ace of Spades (eggs benedict with biscuits instead of english muffins) but still think the basic biscuits and honey were better (probably because I wasn't all that keen on the ham that they used - very thick and hammy).

The theming here is really amazing. It's Disney level quality, with so much that has been thought out to create this very old-school southern style pit stop. Coffee was a misstep (too watery and weak), but the wine was good and local (hello, Scribe rose!) and a welcome sight when we waited for 90 minutes for a table on a Sunday morning.

This diner is the real deal. The kind of place you can pull up after a long, hard hike and order a giant chocolate milkshake and juicy burger. The kind of place you can sit outside and eat waffles. The kind of place you can bring your dog. The kind of place that has plants in antique tubs but it somehow looks quaint instead of kitschy. The attached photos tell a much better story. I wish we could come here every weekend!

Five stars across the board. Not 4.5. Not 4.75, full five stars and it wasn't even close!

Stopped by here with a few friends who are enthusiasts and semi regulars at this joint. We came in for brunch around 1030 and they had three of us seated in 15-20 minutes.

The set up is quite interesting--they have a big tent like sitting area with gravel on the side. It is fully heated with cute park-like benches. Our server was fantastic, friendly and had recommendations across the board! We started with the bisquits and gravy. Delicious--im not even a huge fan but these were good. Cooked perfectly drizzled with sausage gravy. Then came my main course: spicy nashville chicken and waffles. Wowowowowo! So freaking good. Like best chicken and waffles (and probably fried chicken in general), good. I got the chicken extra spicy. it comes out fried to perfection--extra extra crispy with a delicious flavorful rub and doused in this spicy oily sauce. This, ontop of two golden brown waffles mixed with some syrup was literally heaven on earth. I cannot wait to go back!

I also tried a bit of the pastrami sandwich. I dont even like pastrami but this thing was delicious! I will definitely, definitely be back. i'd say I want to try other things on the menu but honestly I just cannot wait to get me some of that spicy nashville chicken again!