Terry’s Diner in West Columbia, SC

Terry’s Diner

2245 Leaphart Road

West Columbia, SC 29169

(803) 796-0291

Terry's Diner

For over forty years there has been a restaurant in West Columbia South Carolina that is the epitome of a mom and pop style diner. When you step into Terry’s Diner and grab your seat in either the smoking or the non smoking section you feel a sense of Americana. It is a feeling that this country seems to be losing at a rapid pace. This is the kind of place that families have been visiting for many years. As a matter of fact Toby Taylor was the owner of Terry’s for over twenty years, but in recent years a customer bought Terry’s and gave it to his daughter. His daughter is Jessica and grew up going to Terry’s. She is now scene behind the counter working over the grill. She also is the first one to see you walk in the door and makes sure that you are greeted on your way to your table.

Smoking or No Smoking?

On this particular morning that we came in there was a big football game in town. All the staff was wearing the colors of their favorite team…some in orange, white and purple and some in crimson and black. The rivalry between the Gamecocks and the Clemson Tigers was the only thing on the mind of everyone in the Columbia, South Carolina area on this day. Since the game was being played in Columbia only about 10 miles away there was talk amongst the customers about traffic and which would be the best way to go. At one time Jessica made an announcement loud enough for the entire place to hear, “It’s just over 2 hours till kickoff y’all”. We knew that by noon that Terry’s would be deserted.

3 Eggs & Hash

On this our breakfast stop I decided that I would order 3 eggs over medium and corned beef hash. When we sat down this was the meal I wanted but later I got a taste of the onion sausage and kind of wished that I had ordered that instead, but we will get to that in a few. When my meal came I have to say that my eggs were more on the easy side than the medium, but that can also be a personal preference. The corned beef hash was basic and might have come straight from a can. If it did or if it didn’t come from a can, in this case I do not care, cause it was delicious. I also had some wheat toast there to ’sop’ up the plate. Trust me; this is the kind of restaurant that you are expected to use your toast or biscuit for cleaning your plate.

The Grill

Terry’s Diner is one of those places that when the hand written ticket is given to you there is no pricing on there. So unless you are adding it up as you go, you will need to wait for the cashier to ring it up for the total. But not to worry, the total for the two of us including coffee and soda was less than $11.00 including our tip we were out for under $15. This was a surprise, due to the fact that we got a lot of food. As we waited at the register they were cooking up some fresh sausage. They told me that the sausage is from a local meat shop from nearby Lexington, S.C..  They offer a couple of different sausages but the one that caught my eye was a sausage made with onion in it. As they said, it was the healthier of the two. By healthy they did not mean ‘good for you’ healthy, but larger and more of a thick piece. At this point Jessica offered me a piece of the sausage for a sample. Thinking that she would give me a sliver I was anxious to get a piece. Actually she gave me a good side order size of the sausage on a napkin. This sausage was fantastic, so much so that for the next hour I would continue to make comment about it. So the next time that I visit Terry’s I will get the onion sausage either as a side or maybe in an omelet.

 Unfortunately getting to Terry’s is a little bit of a challenge if you are not from the area. It is so good that I would like to tell everyone passing though to go by there but, if you are not using a map finding program on your phone or computer this could get you lost. Let’s say this… Leaphart Road is off of 378 in the West Columbia area not far from I 20. It will sneak up on you though. When you see the Waffle House on 378 there is only one way that you can turn, take that turn and follow for about 2 miles (more or less) Terry’s Diner is on the right near a barber shop. If you are not used to directions in the south, this is kind of a common way to give them. Personally I do hope that you will swing by and eat at Terry’s Diner, you will enjoy it I am sure.

Review by Pie, email: pie@piesplate.com