The atmosphere was quaint, with a very diner feel to it. The menu to big to handle for one cook. When asked if they could substitute a starch side for veggies we were informed they do not serve veggies anymore, except the salad (from a bag). We ordered the special bacon wrapped steak and a pan fried salmon steak dinner. We were suppose to get bread but we never received ours so I can't tell you if their rolls or texas cheese toast was any good. Both meals were obviously pulled out of a freezer and cooked at the moment we ordered them. The steak was burnt on the outside and cold and rare on the inside (it wasn't ordered rare) the whole thing was over seasoned as if a pepper shaker exploded on top of it. The salmon was way over cooked on the outside giving the resemblance to cardboard as the entire chunk glued itself to my fork, but the inside was still on the verge of being frozen and raw. All the sides were starch based, potatoes, rice, french fries and so on, result upset stomachs

There's not a lot going on in Tumwater as far as restaurants are concerned...but for a nice meal, Nickelby's can provide a satisfying meal! We stopped in on our way south on a motorcycle trip for some hot food, and are glad we found this place.I ordered the salmon dinner with baked potato, veggies, and soup...and in a few minutes the soup and steaming hot fresh dinner roll arrived. Very tasty...then the main course arrived, with tartar sauce and other condiments for the potato. All were very good, hot food, served with a smile.Nitpicks: Music from the bar in the next room was a bit noisy, but the singer was actually pretty good, just not my style. There was a bit of a draft early on, but somehow went away.Priced very reasonably and the food is good. A definite step up from Denny's fare.