Debbie & Larry’s Cafe

The negative review below from Jane can simply not be possibly be the same Debbie & Larry’s Café that my family & friends have been frequenting for the past gazillion years… Larry’s special chicken souvlaki, his delicious soups, the omelets any time of day… well, there HAS to be a good reason that the place is always packed! Between the local HS students having breakfast or lunch & the neighborhood regulars, Larry greets everyone by name. The five towns just wouldn’t be the same without this landmark by the Hewlett train station.

If you put a gun to my head, you couldn’t force me to go back to this place. This was the nastiest, most incompetent, and unprofessional staff I have ever encountered. Anywhere. Even though there were only a handful of tables in the restaurant, and most were only half filled, the staff was clearly frazzled and overwhelmed. We tried sitting down at the stools at the counter, and were yelled at because one of them blocked the spot where they wanted to hand food over the counter. We moved. Then the waitress had a hissy fit when we put our coats on the empty stool, saying she didn’t want to get sued for getting our coats dirty. Again, we moved them, nicely, but by them she was already having a meltdown. Why add stools if you don’t want anyone sitting there? And if you can’t handle more customers, really, how hard is it to speak like an adult with a real job and just tell people calmly that you’re full and there will be a wait to be seated? We left promptly. The menu was gross– it all looked like things from a children’s menu (grilled cheese, burgers). They even had «your own can of tuna» as an option, for about 3 times what it would cost you in the supermarket. Save your money for people who actually want your business.

In heaven, this would be the dining room in my mansion.

I am a fan of this place. To me it’s similar to a small diner or luncheonette one of two places very close to me, a real diner in Lynbrook is about two miles away. Their coffee is amazing, this is an important requirement to me as I love the coffee. Their french fries with mozzarella cheese are up to my standards, not the best french fries with mozzarella cheese I have had, but there is no complaint against them. The owner of the café and the waitress he usually has on staff (he’s had different ones) whenever I visit are really nice, it’s also conveniently close to my job so I have more then enough time to dine in my hour’s time on a lunch break.