Skylark Diner

Atmosphere was great, service wasn’t. After getting seated we waited over 15 minutes before flagging down a waiter to help us. The food was very overpriced for the amount on the plate. We also got charged for something we didn’t receive. It was not the best experience. I will say the quality of the food was good, which is why I’ll give two stars, but I don’t think it was worth all the hassle.

This has become our go to place when we can’t decide on any place specific we want to go. I can’t say it is the best diner we’ve ever been to but it never disappoints. My favorite… the Carolina Grits. Their best feature is their service, always fast, always friendly. We will be back again and again and again.

Great place to eat or just have a casual drink. The bar has a nice atmosphere to just relax and drink.
Just tried the Pad Tai. The presentation of the dish was nice, but too hot to eat. I burned my tongue. Was a bit too salty for me and the mix of ginger and celantro was not a good combo for my palette.
Kids enjoyed their meals

Stopped at the Skylark with my exchange student after a meeting. She’s vegetarian so I try to find places where she can have a variety of menu options. She was impressed with the menu and ordered a black bean burger. I had eggs benedict. She really loved her burger, said it was big, juicy and a little too much to finish. Nice place.
They serve artisan breads when you sit down. They certainly get you with the prices of the drinks, though. My student had an orange juice, I had a tea, and the bill before tip was over 31.00. That’s high for a diner lunch.
Service was good, food was good, prices are a bit too high.

Food was average and service could’ve been better.
We were sitting at the bar with empty water glasses, meanwhile there were 9 servers in front of us and1 manager walking around. No one was able to notice the empty glasses. When it was time to leave, the manger finally noticed that our water glasses were empty. Additionally, the servers behind the counter were talking about bowels while we were eating.

Really the most fancy diner I have ever been. The service is pretty good too.
Brunch tastes just okay. The strawberry crêpe, the chiken wings and another one I do not remember the name, are all okay, just okay. Worth three stars for food but add one for the environment.

My local go-​to spot for brunch on the weekend.
Pros:
They serve alcohol
Mimosas are on point
There’s a bar to sit at (first come, first serve) if their is a wait to be seated
DJ on Fridays (haven’t checked this out yet)
Cons:
Parking sucks
Service is slow
Chorizo omelettes are not my favorite
Pricey
Stick to the simple things like a waffle with ice cream & bacon or cinnamon toast crunch french toast!
Went last week and it took FOREVER to just get our cup of coffee. We were served the mimosa before the coffee! COFFEE FIRST!

Best dinner in New Jersey
Upscale
Kind service
Their special bread is awesome
Most of the time the world watches on the wall are wrong :)
Your diner expectation will be change after you visit skylark.

My friend and I went today after movies at the AMC @ Menlo, and it was packed. We went around 1pm for brunch, and waited 20 min. The staff was super friendly, was we did wait a while before our order was taken, as well as for the food. But once the food arrived, it was yummy! I got a healthy egg white omelette with turkey sausage, toast, and fruit. Light but satisfied my hunger. Overall would definitely visit again, but maybe next time in less busy times (by the time we left at 3pm, the line was gone).

The Pros:
Friendly staff.
Great (authentic) retro styling.
Homemade corned beef hash.
Fresh-​squeezed orange juice.
Good hash browns (called «home fries» on the menu).
The cons:
Corned beef hash has was dry.
Service was pretty slow considering how empty the place was when we arrived.
Men’s room was pretty gross-​smelling, even first thing in the morning.
Possible con:
Hash and home fries both include green peppers, which a little unconventional and not to everyone’s tastes. I don’t consider this a knock against the diner but just an FYI.
Seems like this place should be a solid four stars at least, but the lackluster service knocked it down a notch.

I didn’t have a good experience at this establishment. I always call ahead to restaurants to make sure they can meet my dietary needs, it’s very strict and certain foods or cooking oils can make me very ill.
I called and spoke to a woman on the phone and explained that I have dietary restrictions and I listed off everything that I have concerns about and if they would be able to accommodate me. The woman over the phone assured me that they would take special care and to also let my server know of my diet restrictions before ordering. We arrive during breakfast and Are promptly seated, it was clean and full of people. Which I took as a good sign, but I was sorely mistaken. I took my time going over the menu, when our waitress came I explained my dietary needs to her, she seemed like she got it but didn’t apparently.
She had little to no knowledge of the menu and couldn’t answer any of my questions without disappearing to the back for five minutes at a time, leaving before I could ask any more questions about the menu. After 20 minutes of this I picked a skillet dish, I explicitly told her three times prior to this I can’t eat eggs. I ordered the dish and told her, no eggs. The dish came out and as I got halfway through it, I notice that there are bits of scrambled egg in it. I couldn’t believe it, after 20 minutes of speaking with the waitress, and telling her over and over what I could not eat, they served me eggs.
I tried to grab the waitresses attention but it seemed she was purposely avoiding my party, probably to dodge my onslaught of questions about the food she couldn’t answer. Needless to say, I was upset, they took the meal off the bill and offered me something else to eat off the menu but I already ingested something that made me very sick the rest of the day.
Their servers should know the menu and if they can’t accommodate those of us with dietary restrictions they shouldn’t pretend they can.
I don’t recommend this restaurant if you have special dietary needs like i do. You will undoubtedly get sick by the carelessness of the staff at this establishment. I didn’t give this restaurant one star because the food was good according to my friends that seemed to enjoy their meal. I only wish I had been able to do the same.

Food: Good
Service: Good
Ambience: Good
This has become the go to place for weekend brunch for my family in the CNJ area.
Be prepared to wait about 15 minutes on the weekends. This place looks like a fancier version of local diner.
The service is polite and attentive and the food is very good.
My favorites are the Turkey hash and the Crab Benedict. I also like that they have freshly squeezed OJ.

I’ve been going to this diner for years thanks to no-​change Dad. (This is right around the corner from his place.) The diner is conveniently located on the south bound side of Route 18, near New Brunswick. However, their parking lot is ALWAYS a nightmare which isn’t helpful when visiting unless on foot or bike. There’s a modern, deco, lounge-​like theme going on inside and out which is interesting. Another unique aspect is a full bar located on one side of the diner.
The menu is simple with a number of breakfast staples: eggs benedict, challah bread french toast, etc. Additionally you can find salads, appetizers, burgers, sandwiches and a variety of dinner items (ie. chicken chipotle rice bowl, Bulgogi pork chops, fish and chips, Guinness braised short ribs, etc). Something for everyone but a bit on the pricey side but decent quality. Overall this is a nice place to eat with some friends, family or on a date.

Called 20 minutes ago and ordered chicken fingers; chicken fingers ok. They told me 10 – 15 minutes keep in mind I’m still standing here waiting for apparently the chicken to be caught. No updates; nothing. I could have cut a fresh chicken, filet a fish and had it all the time I’ve been waiting.
Several years ago this place used to be good. It’s downhill, there is a waiter wearing a shirt 4 sizes to small. Bunch of people sitting around waiting to wait on tables. It’s now been 30 minutes. The only reason I’m giving it 1 extra star is because it’s good chicken fingers. Presentation is horrible, staff is flopping around; and nothing is getting done. A shame really. Then you have a manager sitting down eating and people are talking to her as she is eating. Manners? Nope not an option. I’m actually changing this to a 1 star because at the beginning of this review they told me 5 more minutes.

Meh.
Overall I think this should’ve gotten one star, but because ³⁄₇ dishes were actually okay.
Food: I ordered the maryland benedict, which was okay, it wasn’t good but it wasn’t bad. My dad ordered fish tacos and we’ve had many many fish tacos in our life and this place’s fish tacos were the saddest things I’ve ever seen. It lacked flavor and just lacked food! It looked like a skimpy enchilada with no sauce and cheese. My godmother ordered the strawberry crêpe and her crêpe was not even fully cooked so she pretty much had strawberries as a main dish. To make matters worse, her strawberries did not look fresh and were mushy and unappetizing. My godsister ordered a side of bacon, in which she asked to be extra crispy. The bacon came out floppy and almost didn’t look fully cooked as well. My mom ordered a side of fries and asked for them to be extra crispy, my dad as well. The fries came out soggy and the amount was so skimpy.
Service: Going back to what I said about extra crispy bacon and fries, the waiter did not even write that down. Did we say that just to say it? No, we said it because we wanted those items to be extra crispy. He has «two» jobs: to write down our orders and to serve us our food, but couldn’t even give his 100%. He did not come to check on us ONCE after he served us our food. Didn’t ask how everything was, didn’t ask if anyone wanted coffee refills (which we did). When we finally got his ‘service’ to bring us our check, my godmother told him about her uncooked crêpe and he showed absolutely no sincerity, all he said was «oh. sorry.» HORRIBLE SERVICE FROM THIS YOUNG GUY! I’ve read other reviews about how the service is great and I guess we got unlucky but absolutely horrible.
We will not be coming back here and if I were in the area I would go across to Le Peep, much smaller in space but better food AND better service.

I love this diner. Probably the only diner I go to besides Tops in E. Newark. The food is very good and consistent all the times.
Their orange juice is freshly pressed in a cool looking machine.
The waits are long on the weekends and during lunch times during the week.
I love their breakfast omelettes, so big and fluffy

Ooooh, yum! This is a really good diner. In fact, this diner is rated one of the best in the state! I kid you not.
The ambience is very 1950’s-esque with a futuristic appeal. They do an excellent job with portion sizes and the prices are reasonable for the kind of food you order. The seats are also very comfortable and the menu is HUGE. I can’t say enough good things about this place. I just knock it one star simply because the prices are very high, and on weekends it can be very, very hard to get in here because its so popular. Yes, I did have a large group gathering here one night, and they were extremely accommodating with us.
The parking situation is always a bit of a nightmare too.
However, if you get here really late, like after 8 pm, you’ll find that the desserts there are a knockout. Their fruit tart and milkshakes are something to cherish and stay ’til closing for. One time, I was there until 10 pm just getting milkshakes (we won’t talk about the aftermath of that) until I saw my bill and figured enough was enough.
Recommend this place with full confidence you will want to recommend to somebody too.

First off, I would not call this place a diner. Anyway, the service was good and the food came out extremely quick. The menu had lots of choices too.
I ordered the Salmon Benedict ($ 12.49). It was served on an English muffin with a side of tzatziki sauce. The salmon was fresh and the eggs were cooked perfect. My only complaint was the portion size. It was very small. There was also a side of home fries which were just okay.
I also tried the corned beef hash and the banana foster waffle.
The corned beef hash was very bland. The waffle was just right. The pecan sauce was very sweet and enjoyable.
Will I go back? Possible.

Have you seen the 1991 film «Defending your Life,» with Albert Brooks? In it, the newly-​deceased character finds himself in a limbo of varied comforts while an ongoing trial decides his fate of reincarnation or heaven. It’s an unexpected foodie movie, as in every dish served by the varied restaurants there is amazingly delicious. His first meal, a breakfast at a diner, serves him an omelet that can only be described as heavenly.
Why mention this? To preface a bold statement: I’ve found heaven on Earth.* And it’s in Edison, New Jersey.
*OK maybe a small piece of heaven.
Arrived with a friend on the later side of Sunday brunch, which meant a mere ten-​minute wait for a table. The Starlight Diner offers whimsical retro-​futurist décor, an expanded diner menu delightfully typical of Jersey diners … and for brunch, a waitress with a cocktail cart making the rounds from table to table. This last part, genius — other larger brunch places should take a lesson, drink orders would jump. While sipping down our Bloody Mary’s, our dishes arrived — which brings us back to heaven.
Named the Chorizada: An omelet perfectly, lightly singed brown on the outside, unctuously smooth on the inside; its filling of chorizo, cilantro, scallions, monterey jack and cheddar cheese danced in wondrous taste and texture. Words cannot do it justice, so please look for yourself:
Indeed, a perfect omelet, an eating experience which like Albert Brooks’ was downright heavenly.
Not-​so-​heavenly were the side potatoes, which were severely undercooked. The waitress was very sweet and brought a replacement quickly.
Beyond that — yes, it was an angelic brunch. And a generous portion.
An easy recommendation for Skylark Diner. And oh, yes, as other reviews mentioned, it was featured in Guy Fieri’s «Diners, Drive-​Ins and Dives,» but please don’t hold that against them.

We were working at a client site and needed to satisfy a lot of tastes. I picked this place because it was one of the only locations listed in Unilocal that had better than 3 stars and served oatmeal lol!
Our first experience was wonderful except for the fact that they forgot my French fries and to give us the check. We waited like 15 minutes and then finally had to ask someone else. Same for the experience today… except this time they only forgot my French fries. My frittata omelet had fresh flavorful veggies and an awesome blend of cheese. I couldn’t be happier… the only negative was my fries were greasy.
The waitresses were very friendly!