Gus’s Diner 185 is a clean and cozy little diner on E. 185th Street in Cleveland that offers a diverse menu of diner favorites and classic American comfort food. My friend who lives down the street from it highly recommends the Eggs Benedict, and I have heard good things about their gyros. However, I often prefer sticking to favorites like breakfasts with rye toast or a club sandwich on my first few visits. They are open every day from 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Breakfast is served all day, and they also have lunch and dinner options.
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Since I always go at weird hours (non-rush hours) I have managed to get a spot in front of the diner on the street each time I’ve gone, but there is a parking lot behind and next to the diner with a walkway. When you walk in, you are greeted and told to sit anywhere you would like. I chose a booth close to where I was standing, and it was quite cozy. You can adjust the table in the booth as needed, and the cushion was comfortable and sturdy. The service is great and quite fast, and the servers are friendly and attentive. The server gives you a menu and a specials menu. The specials link on the website hasn’t been updated since I’ve been keeping an eye on it. They offer two soups every day, which are on the specials menu. The main menu itself is extensive, and there are lots of good choices for both breakfast and lunch.
The first time I went I ordered the croissant breakfast sandwich because I was craving one after enjoying a perfect croissant breakfast sandwich at Goldie’s in Strongsville. The croissant sandwich at Gus’s was also quite good and very generous. It came with a side of hash browns, which I needed to add salt and pepper to (probably kept under seasoned so that diners can doctor it up as they need/want). The croissant sandwich is made with scrambled eggs, cheese and your choice of bacon, sausage or ham (there is an upcharge for sausage patties or turkey sausage patties). I went with ham to replicate the one at Goldie’s. You can also get a breakfast sandwich on an English muffin or toast.
I also ordered a slice of French toast on the side. It had a really nice flavor to it, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was a nice hit of sweet along with the savory.
I enjoyed the Everything Omelet with hash browns and rye toast on another visit, because I was in the mood for spinach, mushrooms, and ham. The rye toast was perfect. I added some grape and strawberry jam from the packets on the table and enjoyed it. The Everything Omelet is made with 4 eggs, onions, tomatoes, peppers, mushrooms, ham, bacon, sausage, gyro meat, corned beef, Swiss and American cheese. It was a lot, but it was really tasty. And I just realized there wasn’t any spinach in it. I’ll be sure to order the spinach and feta omelet next time. I took about a quarter of it home for later because I couldn’t finish it.
I also ordered a Turkey Club sandwich to go. It was properly cut into triangles with large toothpicks to hold the three layers together. It came with a side of fries, which were decent. I forgot to ask for a side of Thousand Island, but I was able to whip some up at home. I slathered my club sandwich in Thousand Island, as you can see in the picture. I also really enjoyed the pickle. It was fresh and had a nice crunch to it.
Gus’s is a classic neighborhood diner. It serves a good breakfast that hits the spot, and the coffee is good and plentiful (and served in the old-fashioned brown diner coffee cups, which is always comforting). There are definitely better spots out there if you’re feeling at all fancy, but it does the job and does it well. This is a real mom-and-pop place and quite utilitarian and affordable. I will definitely go back in the future. The fried chicken and gyros sound and look good. There are plenty of choices to keep me busy.
Contact info:
Gus’s Diner 185
797 E 185th Street
Cleveland, OH 44119
(216) 481-8781