Editor’s Note: The Pied Piper Diner is now closed. The restaurant closed in 2020. The location remains empty at this time.
Good diners can be found everywhere. What I have come to realize is that they come in all shapes and sizes. Not every diner “looks” like a diner with stainless steel inside and out. Sure, there are many of those in Berks County, but there’s also diners in strip malls and in farmers markets, diners that look like ranches and even one shaped like a cup.
The Pied Piper Diner just outside Bally also would fall into the “unique” category.
Outside, the Pied Piper looks like no other diner in Berks County with its copula in the center and turrets flanking either end of the building. Inside, though, it’s all diner. There’s the tile floor, counter seating for faster service, extensive salad bar and an expansive menu .
The menu is 10 pages and includes everything you would expect: comfort foods, pastas and stir-fries, soups and sandwiches, and breakfast served all day.
It can be hard to decide with so many choices, but I found the one word that makes a dish standout above all others: “homemade.” As in the homemade beef stew.
The oversized bowl was filled with large chunks of beef, carrots, celery, onions and potatoes. I definitely made a good decision. It was so hearty and the beef was perfectly tender and flavorful. But what really set it apart was the broth which was perfectly seasoned and soaked in to every bite.
One thing you can be sure of when you visit a diner: if you go home hungry, it’s your own fault. Entrees are served with your choice of side, a trip to the salad bar, choice of soup and homemade breads.
The two soup choices during our visit were split pea and Italian wedding. I went with the split pea because Italian wedding seemed too close to the beef stew I would be enjoying. Split pea isn’t much to look at, and it’s not the most flavorful soup to begin with. But it was fine and along with the bread, it held me over until dinner.
Not wanting to fill up too quickly, I skipped the salad bar, though it looked impressive enough. I did enjoy both the cornbread and dinner roll that I was served. Our waitress actually said she doesn’t care for the cornbread because there’s vanilla in it. I actually enjoyed the hint of vanilla. The roll was also very good, and neither was too big to spoil my appetite.
For my side, I kept it very plain with the mixed vegetables. It was a mix of corn, lima beans, peas, green beans and carrots. It was what it was, but that’s all I expected. (Seriously, though, what do you get for a side when your entree includes potatoes, carrots and celery)?
Julie went with one of the diner’s sandwich options: the Monte Cristo (turkey, ham and Swiss on French toast). It was served with a cup of Smucker’s pancake syrup for dipping. The syrup definitely helped. The sweetness was needed to cut through the savory meats. And it had just a touch of sweet-and-salty with the ham.
I really liked the fries on the side. They were the battered kind, fried to a golden brown. They are the kind of fries you start eating and keeping eating long after you’re full.
What I really loved about the meal was the (small) size of the check. We paid about $17 for our dinners. There aren’t many places where you can get that much food (served to your table) for under $20.
The Pied Piper may not have the stainless steel diner car look, but it is all diner, and a good one at that.
BCE Rating
Food: Good
Service: Good
Ambiance: Good
Price: Very Reasonable
Pied Piper Diner
1605 PA 100
Barto, PA 19504
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