Route 7 Diner

My friends invited me out for breakfast. Construction workers, I know what they will eat including my tolerance, I read the reviews. I was a little afraid. Pleasantly surprised the food was very good the service was good and I was happy. Give it a try

You’re better off eating at a jail than eating at Route 7 Diner.
My cousin, her 3 toddlers and I came here for Sunday dinner. I’m always up for some good food from a family owned diner instead of a chain restaurant. Tonight I regret that decision.
We were warmly greeted by a few elderly customers who were paying at the front, they pointed out the complementary cookies (boxed shortbread cookies) on the counter. I just smiled… I can go to the dollar store and get the same cookies…
They have a good selection of dinner specials. Some Italian entrees, fish, and others which include soup&salad, potato&veg, dessert & a complimentary glass of wine. We were seated all the way in the back of the restaurant. There was only one other party in the entire restaurant. No hostess, our waitress seated us.
I got the stuffed filet of sole, cream of chicken soup, a side salad, butternut squash (the waitress recommended) & French fries. Started off with soup. Absolutely no taste– don’t waste your time. The side salad was good until I FOUND A FLY IN MY SALAD. I’m not one to complain, but I lost my appetite at that point. I tasted the butternut squash, I was looking forward to it. It was SO sweet I gagged. The «complementary glass of wine» was tiny. Like honestly, don’t even bother. Not worth it.
The kids got raviolis & fried fish. The fish was paper thin, hard & DRY. They don’t even make their own tarter sauce, extremely disappointing. I didn’t taste the raviolis but the kids enjoyed it.
So considering I’m used to outstanding NJ diners, and if anything goes wrong with your meal at any other diner they usually comp the meal or a dessert or something. Nope. They said «sometimes flies get in the food» um really? Ok. I asked her to comp us a dessert or something. She asked her boss and she said «they usually don’t do this, but for you we will give you a piece of cake». Woo-​pee… We tried the «strawberry layer cake». Vanilla cake with strawberry MUSH inside. Not even real strawberries. Such a disappointment. You’re a diner. You don’t make your strawberry cake with strawberries OR homemade tarter sauce? Come on people.
The bill was $ 50 something. Total waste of money. When I go out to eat and I’m spending $$ I expect good, quality food, preferably without insects in it… Just sayin.

The Route 7 Diner is a charming old-​school affair. Amazingly, this was my first visit to the institution, and it won’t be my last. I’m thinking that perhaps I ordered wrong. With the length of diner menus, invariably some dishes will be better than others.
I’m kicking myself for not taking Matt W’s suggestion of trying the Rueben.
But I was in the mood for something Greek, and the chicken gyro was what called to me. Let’s just say it won’t be calling me again. Unfortunately, there’s nothing good I can say about the sandwich itself, but the fries were fine.
I washed it down with a beer. The best thing they had on the list was a bottle of Sam Adams, and that certainly did the trick.
The rest of the family opted for breakfast, and everyone enjoyed their food. That’s the upside of a diner, is that there’s something for everyone. Right? But I did notice my son’s pancakes came with two shelf-​stable sealed packets of «pancake syrup».
He didn’t mind, but for me that’s reason enough to stay away from the griddle cakes and french toast.
Although next time I’m here, I’m going straight for that Rueben.

Here’s the deal: This is a really good diner. It has everything that you want in a diner. Good food. Extremely reasonable prices. Good service. Clean. Even plenty of parking. I would go out of my way to go back to this place.

It’s just not good. Everytime I go there, the food is greasy and tastes like a bad decision. The drinks come in these really small glasses and the waitstaff is always annoyed when you ask for refills. I was there for lunch about a month ago and got a fish fry sandwich. It came on a piece of bread. The waitress I had was the most depressing woman I ever met. She clearly hates her job. Another waiter was apparently in her way and she rudely bumped past him and mutters «Get the f*** out of my way.» If I heard her, I’m sure the children at the table next to me did as well. I asked her for ketchup for my fries, as there was none on the table. She proceeds to tell me that she’s already brought me tartar and she doesn’t understand the problem. What problem?! It used to be a good place to eat. How unfortunate.

I’ll be honest — I wasn’t expecting much (I don’t love diners because they can be so uneven). However, this diner won me over! The décor is classic diner and everything was clean. The staff was very friendly. The food was well-​priced and super tasty!

Homely diner with very «traditional» fixtures… some may think it is a bit dated, but I was there for the food not the décor… had a 16oz steak with vegetables, plus soup and salad and a small desert for $ 17!!! Great value and friendly staff.

Good service, good food. Typical capital district diner. Not a bad place for a bite to eat.

While in town for a week long training, I happened upon the Route 7 Diner at the suggestion of a colleague. At first glance, this appears to be your typical diner — extensive menu, casual atmosphere, impersonal service. I was very pleasantly surprised.
We were quickly seated and an extremely pleasant and attentive waitress named Heidi greeted us and told us the specials, including a Tuesday staple of avgolemeno — a creamy egg & lemon juice based Greek chicken soup that I had never heard of before that I agreed to try after Heidi and another customer’s raving recommendation. They were not wrong! It was smooth and hearty with just the right hint of lemon flavor. I can’t wait to try to make it at home!
I also chose the Greek salad topped with grilled chicken. Yowza! The salad was served in a gargantuan bowl (picture Elaine and the «big salad» from Seinfeld), topped with a heaping portion of marinated (aka super juicy and flavorful) grilled chicken and plenty of homemade Greek dressing on the side. The salad itself was filled with goodies — fresh cucumbers and tomatoes, kalamata olives, lots of feta cheese and stuffed grape leaves. I couldn’t believe that I couldn’t finish it. A SALAD! Who can’t finish a salad?! It may be the best Greek salad I’ve ever eaten. At a diner. Who would have thought?
We came back a couple of days later because it was so good, and with standard diner prices, how can you complain? Both times we were there it was pretty jam packed, but the staff buzzed around like busy bees so lunch patrons were able to get in and out in a jiffy. We will be back for another week in July, and will undoubtedly stop by Route 7 Diner again.

On a road trip my husband and I didn’t want to stop at a fast food joint and we came upon Route 7 Diner, fantastic food great service. Our waitress was helpful and friendly. We will stop here again if ever in the area.

My review is short and sweet. I look for 3 main things when choosing a restaurant: good food, quick/​friendly service and reasonable prices and this place has all of that and more! By far, my favorite diner in the capital district and I highly recommend coming here for breakfast, lunch or dinner.

I am giving this a 4 star rating not because the food is great, but because the food is really good for what it is. This is a diner and they have diner food. I had great homemade soup, pot roast with gravy. it was an open face sandwich, instant mashed potatoes and home made zucchini in a tomato sauce. the only thing I did not like was the chocolate cream pie. It just wasn’t what I would call chocolate cream pie. Some kinda mousse cream on top, yuck.
The service was really fast and friendly.
So if you’re at one of the airport hotels, you can get an inexpensive meal at this diner.

Old school diner. It’s a bit dated but feels like the family restaurants I grew up with. Breakfast served anytime and a wide variety across the menu. Service is friendly and attentive. Dinner specials can’t be beat for the price. I had a stuffed chicken breast with vegetables, baked potato, coffee, soup, salad, rolls, and a glass of wine for $ 14 !?? Food quality was good too! Just 5 minutes from the airport and nearby hotels. If you’re a traveler and just want a nice meal that won’t hurt your expense report, try this place!

I will have to say this is by far the least expensive meal I have had in a long time. The menu is interesting and I think there are too many choices. The choices that do exist are very good.
I had the beef liver with onions and bacon meal. Everything is better with bacon except in this case the bacon really didn’t add anything to the meal. Everything tasted just fine all alone. The liver was cooked perfectly with a lightly flavored sauce. The serving size was large and I could have shared with a friend instead I ate the whole thing.
Now I said that I had the meal which came with soup, a glass of wine, coffee, and dessert. I finished the meal with a coffee and homemade bread pudding made from cornbread, this was new for me.
I have every intention of going back to try something else homey.

Very good diner food. Waitress was very pleasant and inviting. Will be coming back. Ordered the route 7 omelets. Very flavorful!

Just your typical diner. We came here for breakfast on a Saturday. The service was friendly. The waitresses seemed to called everyone «honey». «Honey would you like a refill for your coffee», «Honey what kind of toast do you want?» The food was exactly what you’d expect from a diner. I got a ham and egg sandwich no cheese and it came with cheese anyways. Oh well. My husbands omelette was pretty good but the home fries can use a bit of work. They were soggy and bland. I wouldn’t go out of my way to come here but not a bad place if you are passing by and you need to refuel before hitting the road.

Food was very good. Service was excellent. The nuber of dishes offered is a little limited (compared to some other diners in the area, anyway) still ots of choices but not a large menu — thic could be a good thing assuming the execute all dishes equally well. Prices are not cheap but not outrageous. Décor is typical of diners built in the 60’s or 70’s.
My wife really liked the Route 7 omlet and my corned beef sandwich was meatly and tasty.
Overall not a bad local diner.

I had been wavering around the low three star level for reasons I’ll describe below, but Route 7 got a instant Zero-​star rating from me on our most recent visit when I observed one of the cooks emerge from the toilet stall of the men’s room, turn on the cold water, splash his hands for about two seconds — MAX — and then return to work. Unfortunately this was after we’d ordered and eaten. I’m a bit nauseated now just thinking about it.
If you think I’m being harsh on this, this was not even the first strike against the place on health grounds: the first two were the two different hairs of obviously different origins I found in two different parts of my food. So, seriously, you probably don’t need to read the rest of this review.
Other now trivial considerations about food and service:
When we were seated, shortly before noon, we were given only breakfast menus. We had to wait for our server to show up before we could request lunch menus (which included all the breakfast items anyway so why they had two sets of menus is beyond me) and you’d’ve thought I was asking to borrow her car for some joyriding. The hostess also acted a bit annoyed when we were seated for reasons that are mysterious.
The pancakes were not cooked all the way through — there was some uncooked batter in the middle. We also tried the gyro under the «Greek Specialties» section, which does not come in a version with lamb.
I got my coffee refilled once, after all the food had been consumed. The first coffee I got was sloshed all over the saucer and the table, and when my food was delivered it was also slung down so that my sides went over the side of the plate. When I got the coffee refilled, I got dripped on from the pot. One thing like this happens, I’m forgiving, more than one, I’m on my seat’s edge hoping to avoid it.
The booths and layout are crowded, leading us to literally run into the staff at the bus stations on two occasions. And the separation from the table across the aisle wasn’t sufficient to be able to put the kids’ jackets on without bothering other patrons.
Nicer things to say about it: the reuben was actually the best diner reuben I’ve had in quite a while. And one of the hosts was attentive to our children and brought coloring materials, although only after we’d been seated for a while and one of the kids was acting up. They were prompt with the check once we were done.
Yes, I’m searching hard for positive things to say to be fair. You still get the one star for the utterly repellant health standards.

I went here for breakfast and it was pretty good. It took a while for us to get our check though, and we felt rushed as we were paying. Kind of small walking space in between the booths. The food however was pleasing. I didn’t like how we didn’t have an option of lunch food at 10:30 A.M.

Located across from the Keeler dealership and formerly the Village Diner, the Route 7 Diner is open daily for breakfast (served all day), lunch, and dinner. The breakfast menu offers egg dishes, omelets, griddle cakes, Belgian waffles, French toast, bagels, muffins, sides, & more. The lunch/​dinner menu offers soups, salads, burgers, sandwiches, wraps, Greek dishes, Italian dishes, steaks, chops, seafood, kids menu, desserts, and daily specials. The prices are reasonable with sandwiches under $ 10 and most complete dinner entrees in the $ 8-​$ 16 range. Beer & wine available. The place is bright and clean.
I met my buddy here for lunch recently. My buddy ordered the Prime Rib Au Jus Special ($ 14.95) which included salad, soup, potato, vegetable, coffee, & dessert, a pretty good deal! The soft rolls were saran wrapped. The tossed salad was decent, the hot chicken pasta soup was good, and the prime rib was decent, a bit tough. The fries were okay and the mixed vegetables were from a can. I had the Hot Pot Roast Sandwich ($ 8.95) served with the cup of good chicken pasta soup, decent fries, and canned mixed vegetables. However the Pot Roast Sandwich was a disappointment (meh), slices of dry tasting beef drenched in thick salty beef gravy, I couldn’t even finish it, yuck. For dessert, the Tapioca Pudding was decent and okay.
Overall, the food served to us tasted very institutionalized. Sure the food was priced very reasonably and most of the customers dining here were older folks over the age of 70 enjoying this. The service from our older waitress was decent. She checked up on us a few times and offered refills on drinks. Though the staff in general was friendly, we both agreed that the food here was average at best.