Ruston’s Diner

Nice food and nice people! The interior is lacking some taste but the taste of the food makes up for it. The prices are very reasonable. The location has a great view with the quarry in the background. A great place to go for brunch. Never had to wait more than 10 minutes for my food.

We were a little confused when we entered and no one greeted us or told us to find a seat, but eventually we figured out that it was a find-​your-​own seat kind of place. I ordered the corned beef hash omelet which also had american cheese and onions in it. I mostly enjoyed the omelet but was irritated that all the onions and cheese seemed to be completely on one side, and I didn’t get to it until halfway through. The home fries were good and cooked well. The service was spotty, but it was apparent that they were very busy, and she was apologetic. Overall, the food was good, the service was mediocre, but I’d go back.

Let me start by saying, I am a Mother’s Cupboard loyalist. But, a couple of my friends invited my partner and I here for brunch. This place delivered. The portions are perfect and the food is very well cooked considering it is a greasy spoon.
Specifics: The Fretta. Wow. Perfectly cooked home-​fries that are crispy on the outside and soft on the inside mixed with well seasoned sausage and pretty generic pepperoni. The egg pulls the dish together. To really add to dish, order it with pepper jack cheese. The Frank’s Redhot does the Fretta well. (Just as good as the frittata at Mother’s Cupboard-​not as large)
The Hash Omelette has corned beef hash, sautéed onions and American cheese. Surprisingly, the American cheese paired with the hash was great. The only complaint was that the dish wasn’t consistent. Hash on one end and onions on the other.
The cup of joe is pretty good. I don’t know why someone would go to a greasy spoon and order an iced-​coffee. Like, seriously?
We will be back between our trips to Mother’s. Definitely better than Stella’s.

Food was awesome the environment was good there was not many windows but I seemed to have a lovely view.

Amazing food! Very SLOW service! It wasn’t the waitresses fault or the kitchens, just a really busy place!

See tip. Best greasy spoon around! Blue collar, great food! Try the Friday fish fry. Open for breakfast and lunch. Sunday is only breakfast.

Heard a lot about the portions at this place for the price. I wasn’t impressed. I ordered a side of italian sausage, a side of homefries, french toast, and iced coffee.
I asked if there was iced coffee and she said she could make some. By making some, she poured regular HOT coffee over a cup of ice. By the time it got to me, it was watery and disgusting. I asked for water as a replacement and the waitress said she could make another one but I knew it would be the same since they didn’t have chilled coffee. I was charged for TWO coffees.
The italian sausage was decent. Homefries were undercooked and tasted bland. French toast was disappointing and DRIPPING in butter.
Overall, I found it expensive for such an average diner. I really wanted to love the place.

New to the area, I have been supporting the CNY diner scene in a BIG way. I am on a quest to try as many as possible so I did some online research and discovered Ruston’s Diner. We went on a Sat. morning around 9:45 and I was able to grab a two top window seat right away. Side note for future newbies: the counter seems like the place to be! Ruston’s exudes the quintessential diner atmosphere. The cliental is eclectic, the décor is low maintenance, and the coffee is always flowing. I ordered one of their daily specials — a wrap with egg, ham, cheese, and peppers. It was served with delicious chunk home fries and totally satisfying at around $ 6. While the coffee is nothing to write home about (again, a typical diner brew), we enjoyed this establishment so much that we sat and talked for about an hour and a half. There was never a wait to be seated so no guilt on our end. I recommend this out-​of-​the-​way eatery if you’re looking for a quick, tasty, breakfast with no frills.

BEST BREAKFAST SPOT EVER!
I stumbled on this place when I was a grad student at Syracuse, after some nights out on the town. It’s a little way away from campus, and when you walk in, it looks like someone’s basement.
However, looks aren’t everything. This is by far the best breakfast spot that I’ve ever been to, bar NONE. I live away from the area and ALWAYS make sure to hit up Rustons before I go to any Syracuse weekend basketball games.
My go-​to here is two eggs sunny side up with hash browns (ask for peppers and onions with them), with THICK CUT buttered italian toast and Gianelli Italian Sausage. (local Syracuse sausage). Amazing. The coffee is delicious, and the service makes sure your cup stays full.
If you’re feeling adventurous, get the «Fretta,» a garbage plate (for my Rochester Folks) «mélange» of scrambled eggs, pepperoni, sausage, peppers, onions, cheese and potatoes all mixed together. If it sounds disgusting, you couldn’t be more wrong. This is Ruston’s specialty breakfast.
This is an extreme townie/​local joint, and it’s not uncommon to see «regulars» at the bar by the grill, eagerly awaiting their food.
I can’t recommend Ruston’s highly enough. You’ll get a HUGE plate of delicious breakfast food with coffee for under $ 8.
A hidden gem.

We truly enjoy having breakfast at Ruston’s. The prices are great, portions are more than enough — always some to take home — and the choices are many. The service is over the top. We really need to come here later and take advantage of the awesome lunch and dinner specials. If you are in the area, I suggest you drop by for a pleasant surprise… and an excellent meal served with a smile!

Pizza omelet may have been one of the best breakfasts I’ve ever had. Atmosphere is great.
Highly recommended

Stopped in to try Ruston’s because we had a coupon that was due to expire. 10am on Sunday is probably not the best time to try out a new place but we gave it a shot. We ended up sitting at the counter as the place was packed. Our waitress came right away and we had coffee in front of us within a few minutes.
I ordered the Eggs Benedict with the hollandaise on the side — I like the sauce but only a little bit so I always order it this way. My husband got an omelet that was on special. After a few minutes, we saw our food come up in the window with my eggs smothered in sauce! Drenched! I decided not to send them back as I was starved and we were a bit short on time. The eggs were really good but by the time I got done, my English muffin was soggy from all the sauce.
Food was really good and worth the visit but next time, I’ll order something else or be more insistent that I get what I ordered!