I ate at one of the oldest diners in the US, located inside a 1920s railcar. It was worth the hourlong wait for a seat.

Palace Diner was built in Lowell, Massachusetts, in 1927. It then moved to Biddeford, about half an hour from Portland, and has been there ever since.

In its lengthy history, the diner has had six different owners, though it most recently reopened in 2014 and underwent renovations in 2021.

My party of two arrived at the diner right around 11 a.m., which we thought would be the perfect time between the breakfast and lunch crowds.

We expected a little bit of a wait, considering we could see every seat at the small 15-seat counter was taken.

A representative for Palace Diner told Business Insider that the restaurant doesn’t take reservations and seats are first-come, first-serve.

We were a little surprised — I hardly ever choose to wait more than a half hour for a table at any restaurant. However, we decided to walk through nearby shops in Biddeford to kill some time before we got a text message saying our table was ready.

Against the back wall of the diner were coffee pots, mugs, and other necessities you’d typically find in a classic diner.

Everything was exceptionally clean and didn’t feel run down — a feat considering the actual railcar is almost 100 years old.

It was apparent to us that the restaurant has attempted to modernize with a line of merchandise, branding that felt welcoming yet modern, and an updated interior.

After receiving the text that our seats were ready, we only had five minutes to check in, so keep that in mind if you decide to venture further afield while you’re waiting.

To say we were devastated was an understatement. We had traveled miles and waited over an hour for the chance to try the fried chicken sandwich, one of the diner’s most famous menu items that has garnered rave reviews.

“This is one of the most unique menu items at any diner you’ll find,” travel website OnlyInYourState wrote in its 2020 review. “And it might just be the most delicious chicken sandwich we’ve ever had.”

If you want to try Palace Diner’s fried chicken sandwich, I recommend getting there early on a weekday. Otherwise, like us, you might miss your chance.

Luckily, we had time to return the next morning so we could include the sandwich in our review of Palace Diner.

I’m typically a fan of iced coffee, but this morning, I decided to stick with the diner’s signature blend. It had a delicious, nutty flavor and wasn’t overly strong. I could definitely have cup after cup of this brew.

The cup of coffee cost $4, excluding tax. I only drank one cup, but refills are free.

The cheeseburger is served with fries and is topped with cheddar cheese, sliced iceberg lettuce, pickles, and secret sauce on a sesame-seed bun. It costs $15, excluding tax.

The pickle slices looked thin and crispy, while the thick cheddar cheese was perfectly melted on the burger. A hearty dollop of secret sauce, which looked slightly like Thousand Island, peeked out from beneath the fluffy sesame-seed bun.

The burger was a juicy medium-rare, and the generous serving of lettuce was well balanced by the sharp cheddar cheese. The pickles added just the right amount of crunch, while the secret sauce added a creamy, tangy flavor that didn’t overpower the other elements.

The fries were good, though nothing to call home about. Still, there was a generous serving of them, making this meal well worth the $15 price, in my opinion.

You can order as many flapjacks as you like, though they often sell out after the breakfast rush. We just ordered one, and it cost $6, though a stack of three costs $15, excluding tax.

I loved the buttermilk flavor of the flapjacks, which paired well with the diner’s Maine maple syrup. I could definitely have eaten a whole stack of these.

Palace Diner’s fried chicken sandwich, which includes cabbage slaw, jalapenos, and mayonnaise on a sesame-seed bun and an iceberg wedge salad, costs $20, excluding tax.

The story goes that when the diner would hold fried chicken dinners, which it reportedly still occasionally does, they would use the chicken breasts left over to make fried chicken sandwiches.

The sandwiches were so popular, that they eventually ended up on the menu — though there’s no guarantee the diner won’t sell out of it before you sit down.

To avoid missing out on the sandwich, I arrived at 9:30 a.m. to put my name on the waitlist. A half-hour later, I sat down and was able to try it.

To say this was the best fried chicken sandwich I’ve ever had is an understatement. The chicken was perfectly crispy on the outside, with thick, juicy meat inside.

The slaw was tangy, complemented by the slight heat of the jalapenos.

The entire sandwich had a slightly pickled flavor, which reminded me of Asian-style chicken sandwiches I’ve had in the past, and I could immediately see why this is one of the diner’s most popular offerings.

While I had to make a separate trip just to try the chicken sandwich, that didn’t tarnish my overall experience at Palace Diner. From the cheeseburger to the buttermilk flapjacks, I thought every menu item I tried was worth the journey from Connecticut.

However, my one warning to potential diners is to get there early, at least an hour before you really want to eat. The wait times can be long, and you certainly don’t want to miss out on trying any of the diner’s most famous menu items.