What Are Friendly's Official Breakfast Hours?

For most restaurants, ice cream is just a dessert, another thing to offer customers still hungry after they polish off the real entrees. But for Friendly's, ice cream makes the meal. Combining a classic American diner with the atmosphere of a rollicking old-time ice cream parlor, Friendly's bills itself as being a "friendly" place to grab your favorite sundae with friends and family, following this idea since its founding back in 1935 (via Friendly's website). Besides, when Guinness World Records recognizes you for throwing the "World's Largest Dessert Party" in 2013, ice cream is pretty much your bread and butter.

Of course, ice cream alone does not a restaurant make, no matter how many "Monster Mash" sundaes or "Fribble" variations it serves. In fact, Friendly's is going so far as to create a "fast casual" version of its classic ice cream parlor/diner, perhaps as a way to drum up support for the beloved, yet sometimes struggling family-friendly chain (via Nation's Restaurant News). Friendly's does have an impressive selection of lunch options, ranging from cheeseburgers to BLTs to chicken tenders to melts, and also has breakfast items, such as pancakes, waffles, biscuits, omelets, and even country-fried steak.

But what time can you try Friendly's breakfast and is it even any good? Fortunately, you needn't look for answers at the bottom of a sundae to get what you're looking for.

When you think of a traditional American diner, you probably lean towards the idea that it would serve breakfast all day. Unfortunately, Friendly's tells us that not all of its breakfast items are served all day. Friendly's usually serves breakfast starting at 7:00 am each day and stops serving it at 11:00 am on Mondays through Saturdays, except on Sundays when it's served until noon (via Breakfast Hours).

But notice how Friendly's didn't say "all" breakfast items aren't available all day. The chain claims that, owing to its name of being the "friendliest restaurant chain in the world," serves French toast and pancakes all day, every day, and on holidays, too. Although you can't get omelets and bacon for lunch, you can still get an order of French toast for dinner.

Of course, all-day breakfast or not, you would probably want to hear if Friendly's breakfast is any good at all. Is this a case of a restaurant more well-known for its ice cream than its actual food or is Friendly's a surprisingly friendly place to stop when you want some breakfast?

Friendly's breakfast may be for a limited time each day, but is it anything worth getting up over? It seems that the quality of its breakfast may differ depending on location, as many reviews seem to be mixed. Reviews on TripAdvisor for a Friendly's in Pennsylvania offered positive notes about the quality of Friendly's breakfast. Comments include, "Half price breakfast during the week so makes it a favorable meal," "Great fast breakfast...big dessert menu...great ice cream. Always a fast in and out," and "Very clean and friendly."

Others seem to be less thrilled about Friendly's breakfast. One customer, via a TripAdvisor review for another Friendly's in Pennsylvania, claims that the food was "standard Friendly's food" and "no different than any other Friendly's." Another customer called the breakfast decent, but also reported that "there are better options around." 

It seems that Friendly's breakfast is good for a cheap and hot breakfast, alongside decent pricing. Whether you think the breakfast would be worth a shot is up to you. But breakfast or not, at least you can rely on a Fribble to be there for you no matter what time of day it is.