Billy’s Downtown Diner

We were looking for a place near our hotel for breakfast. Definitely a great find.
Customer service, food delivery, ambiance, and location’s great. There’s always someone walking to top off your coffee :)
The diner looks clean and not stuffy.
I’ve added pictures here of the food we ordered. We highly recommend this diner!

The food was good and the service was really great, but the menu is very misleading. It lists items as «add ons» at a price that isn’t actually what it costs. We ended up paying $ 5.50 for 2 egg whites. Make sure to double check with your server how much these things cost or you will get ripped off. We won’t be coming back.

I really, really want to like this place but every time I go, there is just something that gets in the way. The good remains good: Innovative Menu, great food, great presentation and reasonable prices. The iffy: frequently slow service and having to pay for parking somewhere. This visit had the usual slow service which was no big thing because we were not in a hurry. Even though it was around 2 and the place was close to empty, the food took quite a while and the order wasnt exactly right, but was fixed promptly. So far, so good. Long after we were finished eating, our waitress was across the diner wrapping napkins around silverware and gossiping with 4 other ladies. Feeling the check was not coming, I asked the closest employee to please get the check for me. She happened to be the bar tender, doing busy work since there were no customers at her bar. She snapped «I am not your server!» Well, duh, I can see that. I am asking you as an employee of the place to allow me to settle up and leave.
This singular act of outright rudeness was totally unnecessary. A simple smiling «sure» would have been just right.

Quick overview: Decent diner-​unique and tasty menu creations. Seating has improved since its remodel but still gets tight on weekends (go weekdays). New menu makes it a little more challenging for those who remember the old menu. Fast and great service (Bethlehem location only). Bit more pricey than some diners, but this is a more upscale diner in its ingredient options (not in dress requirements). Prices do give you large quantities.
Pros: Decent prices for the quantity. Very creative menu items. Service here is truly great-​like what you expect at an old traditional diner on the side of the highway (where servers know everything about their place of work, and how to give the best, most efficient service). Juices are great and fresh.
Cons: New menu really is not sitting well with me. Coffee isn’t what they are known for (though their coffee drinks are tasty-​the regular coffee is what this applies to). Don’t go weekends unless you like long waits.
Long review:
Let me preface this with: I love Billys Downtown Diner!
Truly. I do. I definitely prefer the bethlehem location over the allentown (see my Billy’s Downtown Diner-​Allentown, PA review to see why), but at least the menu was great at both locations!
They aren’t really known for the coffee-​so I will say their coffee isn’t the greatest but it is hot and fresh (they grind it too fine so it frequently has residue/​tastes slightly powdery) and the service is ALWAYS amazing and fast at the original location. Love the service here! *Not so much Allentown though…-there it’s more «Service? What Service? The hostess is amazing (truly-​always) but your server wont be.”*
But then… new menu… why oh why the new menu!?! They always have the specials menu. That hasn’t changed. I love trying their new creations! But the main menu did change too. :*(
I tend to go here to the Bethlehem location when I am going with friends. I wouldn’t dream of going to the Allentown one unless I was studying and wanted to sit-​then the service doesn’t matter. The food is still good! But now… I dislike the new menu.
I wish they would retain ½ the original menu and only change the other half. I don’t know how to say it other than its different.
If I went here not knowing the Billy’s before, I am SURE I would have loved it. But knowing what Billys was like a few months ago, I feel the menu isn’t as great anymore. Food is still good, but idk… it’s nice sometimes to go have an old standby when you aren’t feeling up to trying something new. Sure, the grits, sides, and some of the sweeter fare is still there, but the main section of the menu is vastly changed.
I’ll still go to Billy’s…and if you don’t know what the menu was like before-​I am sure you will love it! However I find myself sad now. I did still love what I got-​just wasn’t what I planned on getting since they changed the menu (including the original ol standby’s from the main menu).
I’ll update this when I go back to the bethlehem location to compare some things I had at the allentown one. I want to see if the Huevos Rancheros has changed like it had at the allentown location. It was awful at the Allentown one with links instead of ground chorizo and cold rubbery corn tortillas, plus undercooked thinly sliced unseasoned potatoes (what happened!!!).

So delicious! Cool vibe, fresh, friendly staff, & good portions. I’ve been there 3 times and never disappointed.

Billy’s sausage patty’s are delicious, great with a touch of maple syrup. Sriracha bowl special is to die for! Also, quick service and consistent refills! Love this place, wish I could come every morning!
Back at Billy’s and so happy to be back! Got the Lil Havana, good but not a ‘lil’ meat, alotta meat! Still licked my plate clean — can’t wait to come back!
Krazy grits were so krazy I ordered 3

Going all the way to 5 stars after spending time at 4 and then 3. Been back monthly for breakfast meetings have noticed a steady increase in quality and service. I think it’s because Mrs. Billy has been around when I’m there.
Specials menu is back to its creative highs whether you want sweet or savory. Today I had the Paradisio (spelling?) Benedict with poached eggs chorizo shrimp and a spicy chili sauce. Delicious. I had switched back to just eggs, bacon and hash browns so it was nice to see inventive specials again.
Come during the week and avoid the packed crowds on the weekend.

If you want the best breakfast of your life, go here! Amazing & different breakfast options. You can’t go wrong!

I don’t get all the fuss about this place. Food was bland, service was ok, felt rushed because they need to keep turning tables over. Over priced. Will not go back.

For all I’d heard, and the length of the lines I’ve seen here, when my son, his fiancé and I went there for breakfast, I felt kind of let down. Food is average or below, service was very slow and spotty, and prices high for what you get. Not my first choice for breakfast/​brunch out.

LOVED THIS PLACE! It was my first time here and the experience was perfect. I got the red velvet cappuccino and this awesome French toast. I can’t wait to bring my family here! There is no other diner like Billy’s. YOU WILL NOT REGRET COMING HERE!

Friendly staff, good food, amazing options that will keep me coming back. It’s located just around the corner from the Hyatt. I ordered the banana french toast against my better judgment… It was really sweet but good. I am used to having omelets for breakfast, though. So my sweetness scale could be a bit off. The coffee was hit and fresh dinner style, good. My server never let my cup get empty or cold. She was great.

Great «sweet» breakfasts — french toast, pancakes, etc. It’s a little pricey, but pretty generous portion-​wise.
Go for the breakfast, stay for the bizarre collection of celebrity photos!

Liked this spot a lot, speaking as a New Jerseyan, with a deep & enduring love of diners. Was visiting out of town with my team member for a client meeting. Was tough to choose a place for lunch, considering the wealth of options in Bethlehem, but oh, am I committed to eating my way through all of them ;)
During this visit, had a turkey sandwich with fries, the custom dip, and chai latte. Oh my was the sandwich good. The bread was grilled to a perfect crisp. The turkey, beautifully shredded and fresh. I wanted to take the chai latte home and sleep with it. The only thing I didn’t get was the custom dip — it was underwhelming and a little on the watery side, but didn’t take away from my experience.
Service was great and attentive, even though the place was crammed during lunch hour. Lively, fun vibe. Loved the menu design.

The place was packed on a recent Sunday around noon. They squeezed me in at the counter, which I normally prefer. Wait staff are perky and try hard to please. The coffee was nondescript, no lingering aspects, just hot and brown.
The menu is hipster light which is not a bad thing. I ordered the omelet with feta and veggies. The omelet was super well done, no fluffiness to it, and there were 2 chunks of Feta in the middle. There was a bunch of potatoes that weren’t really home fries, they had been steamed then put on the grill for color, no flavor no eye appeal. The side of bacon was also so plain Jane. I expected something unique at least thick slices of applewood bacon, nope just poultry slices of an ordinary bacon.
It shows that the wait staff really tries to come thru but the kitchen falls short. When I went to pay my bill the cashier enthusiastically asked me «was everything alright.» When I told her it was just ok I think I hurt her feelings. She seemed so dejected, that was not my intent. When I’m all in for $ 18 for breakfast I at least expect something pleasing to eye as well as the palate. It didn’t happen on this day. Love the wait staff though.

This is one of the places in the Valley that I truly don’t understand the appeal of. The décor post-​expansion is decent but as several other realists have pointed out; the menu is very expensive as in prices that you would see for breakfast at pancake houses in OCMD where nothing is below eight to nine dollars along with everything being a la carte, the execution is the epitome of hit or miss and in past visits the service was very laissez-​faire with the check always getting dropped off with the food which apparently in the fine print gives your server the green light to never have to check on you again.
With that said, last week on Wednesday we stopped by for breakfast after an almost five year hiatus to see if anything had changed.
Service: Even though a familiar face or two was still there things were better than in past visits. Gone was the inattentive pissy attitudes, the hiding in the back by the counter and thankfully the not checking on you once the food is dropped off schtick. This was surprising seeing as this was a Wednesday morning and by no means were things busy but our past visits were always for weekday breakfast yet the service usually was apathetic so A+ on this improvement.
Food: I hate to use one of the ultimate Unilocal review cliché words but truly it was, meh.
The old lady ordered the Havana Omelet and contrary to the menu the toast came out butter free, the homefries were NOT crispy by a long shot and I personally tried the pulled pork inside the omelet and it was perfectly unseasoned bland. Underwhelming to say the least for over ten clams.
I got the Billy Kristo which was really nothing special although the sandwich is huge because of how the eggs get folded over. One thing noteworthy was the brown sugar glaze which had the consistency of water and tasted like it as well.
The other X factor worth noting here is that parking in the area is still a real SOB. If you want to park close if you’re lucky you can snag a meter and after that it’s the pay lot diagonal across the street or you can be cheap like me and park for free a block away on East Market Street.
If you even want to call it a diner, what Billy’s is in reality would be a «diner» for wanna-​be foodies (whatever that self-​absorbed term means), yuppies or NJ transplants who don’t blink at dropping over $ 10 for a flavorless omelet and undercooked homefries.
Sorry Billy but I still call BS on your flagship store as being all sizzle but sadly at the core there’s no steak.
(Also unlike a lot of diners Billy’s is still very much not family friendly as there is no kids menu.)

I have to admit I haven’t eaten here, but with the prices I probably never will. One morning before work I ordered an egg sandwich with bacon on a bagel, to go. I tried to get pork roll but was told they don’t serve it. After about five minutes to try and ring it up I was told it was over $ 7.00. That was enough for me, I told them to keep it and went my way.
It seems to me, this place needs to stop calling itself a diner and call itself by some other name that means high priced and pretentious.

I’ve had lunch here a few times. Excellent service. Fairly broad menu. I’ve not tried breakfast items, but have had several sandwiches. The Cuban is good. The burgers seem a bit dry. The food is generally good, but it doesn’t quite hit the gourmet thing that they’re shooting for.
Always busy at lunch, but it seems like people move through pretty well.

Frequent breakfast place for boyfriend and I. Food comes out lightening fast and also cooked to perfection.
Highly suggest if you are okay waiting in line sometimes and struggling to decided between which delicious you should order.
Owner is cousin with Chris Angel and there are mementos in the dinning area that hark to that.

My husband and I ate a lunch here last week and we were less impressed than I expected. The food was good, but not excellent. He got the monte crisco and I got a build-​your-​own omelet. He said his sandwich was «nothing special» and mine was good but didn’t blow my mind. I had high hopes for the Texas toast and potatoes, but both were meh. Both of us got the iced coffees, which we really enjoyed.
The service was good and I loved that they allowed you to hurry out without making you feel rushed. I feel like we would try the place again in the future.