Colonial Diner

Keep in mind, this is a more old school looking diner, not the newly renovated ones that look fancy. It kind of reminds me more of the old truck stop diners where you expect the old school push button juke boxes at each table (sadly they don’t have these here, but you catch my drift).
Either which way I’ve been meaning to come here for a while now since it came with some good recommendations, but each time in the past id give up due to no parking. However, I finally had my chance tonight and gotta say, I’m upset I didn’t try harder to find parking before.
What really makes this place shine is the service. As a patron, you will easily make me happy if you don’t keep me waiting, make sure I’m okay by stopping by every now and then, and always make sure to ask me if I want my drink refilled. Our waitress easily rose above and beyond here. I think she filled my drink about 5 times, half the time without me even knowing, heh. She constantly checked on us to make sure everything was okay and had offered great suggestions and opinions on the menu. Even the manager stopped by at one point to say hi and make sure we were happy. Now that’s great service!
For the food, id say above average diner food with some great options (I ordered the Diablo Burger, a spicy chorizo burger with cheddar cheese which was pretty good, and substituted my regular fries for «South Jersey Fries» — fries topped with pulled pork, cheddar, and coleslaw which was good as well). It also came with soup so I ordered the cream of mushroom based on our waitresses suggestion and I was happy with the choice. My wife ordered a pepper jack smother meatloaf hoagie which was great when I tried a bite.

They get 3.5 stars for fast friendly service and a feel of how diners were before I was born. It’s cozy and has the booths like how it was in the 60s.
They have a parking lot plus they have street parking so it’s not too bad.
I wish I had our server’s name… she was great. She gave suggestions… told her I had a taste for meatloaf and she suggested the one with pepper jack cheese, fried onions on a hoagie with a side of fries and their yummy cole slaw. It was very tasty. I would put a dab of cole slaw on each bite and my belly was like whoa what’s that. I had a taste of their Mushroom soup and it was good. The one thing I did not care for was the mozzarella sticks… seasoning wasn’t there.
Also their south jersey fries… pulled pork with cole slaw and cheddar cheese was ok… I guess because the pulled pork was a bit sweet… it didn’t wow me.
The food did come out so fast… messed up on 1 order then fixed it right away… refilled my husband’s ginger ale without asking.
Lots of specials… definitely would come back. Literally my top 5 diners in jersey right now… YAY!

Amazing food, I had the Philly burger it was very good the waitress was very nice the whole place has a great atmosphere reminds me of my childhood can’t beat the price great food in a great location.

turkey Ruben was dry as ever. meh you do get alot of it but whats alot of it when its not something you enjoy

This is the worst diner around. Subpar food, unclean utensils and the staff does not practice good hygiene. It is apparent owners dont care. Overpriced for subpar quality.

What is with all these raving reviews of this diner? Sorry, but this was a total flop for me. Starting right from the entrance, the hostess was sitting at the bar, glanced at us and then finally made her way to seating us, as if we were interupting her life.
My sister the more conservative diner decided on a platter of french toast and sausage as her meal. Nothing terrible, and nothing exciting… like NOTHING… not even some whipped cream, not even a single sliced strawberry. The flavor was regular at best, and it came with a ton of prepackaged containers of corn syrup… um…pancake syrup. I mean, even Ihop has a decent syrup option.
As the foodie that I am, I ordered the mac n cheese burger. The burger came out looking amazing, I was really excited! Sadly the burger was SOOO bland, not even salt and pepper on the meat! A diner that can’t cook a decent burger is a definite no. Also, the mac and cheese was just a square chunk of bland carbs. Also, this chili, definitely came out of a Hormel can.
This place had all the right diner qualities in place from the 60’s charm to the tacky wall art, but the food was terrible.

Been here a few times since my last review and my experiences were much better as of late.

Left a short tip.
I have been here quite a few times…
not sure how it posted four stars on me when It definitely is a five star breakfast… So I am rating with 5 again!
The company and the employees were 5 star as well today!!!

went here on a late night when i didnt feel like cooking. my boyfriend and I both had chicken noodle soup and a Turkey and cheese sandwhich. Standard diner food but get service. The one girl with brown hair was so friendly, i think her name was danielle but i could be wrong. She really enhanced the diner experience to the T.

The Colonial Diner is truly amazing! My food has been super excellent both times I’ve been there. I tried that diner on Rt. 3 (and a billion others) and this one is better by far.
I’ve had over-​easy eggs, sausage, home fries, french toast, and blueberry pancakes. I know that’s a lot for someone who has only been there twice, but I immensely enjoy eating if you couldn’t tell by my reviews. Also, I ate my bff’s french toast when she was too hungover hehe.
Unlike some diners, I feel perfectly fine and wonderful after my experience here. Sometimes diner food has you leaving a little queasy, full of food, but more with regret… not here!
Parking is a pain sometimes. The parking lot has been full both times I’ve been there. The street signs are permit parking during certain times too. We parked on the street outside the establishment anyway. We had a seat overlooking the car so we could see if we were going to get ticketed. I think the parking is easier on weekends though.

Breakfast after a night at medieval times! Getting turkey avocado egg white omelet and turkey bacon :) slightly long wait and it was very hot inside but the food was great and the staff was super friendly and attentive :)

Awesome find. Minutes from our hotel. Great prices and great food. Server was super friendly.

Nice staff and very polite, however, I have a few complaints. My fiancée and I received our water in dirty glasses. I received my coffee with a spoon in the cup! I ordered the veggie omelette which came with home fries. Very bland taste for both. It was also served with over buttered toast. My fiancée ordered the blueberry pancakes and they were delicious. I don’t believe I’ll be back to this place or ever recommend this place to anyone.

Colonial Diner, how I longed to love you. The décor is cute, and it is conveniently located. Coffee comes consistently, and the servers were adequate.
That being said, the food was sad. I had the Eggs Benedict, and was not thrilled to eat eggshell twice. The hollandaise sauce was grainy and flavorless to boot. Moreover, I was a little confused as to why my husband’s french toast was orange. (Not fussy, he ate it, but see for yourself.)
I was relieved to see, however, that we got our food BEFORE the cook ran his hands through his greasy hair and went back to cooking… call me a germophobe. I just prefer butter or oil instead of head sweat.
Maybe there is a special dish that makes this place shine. Yet, not too sure I will risk having another lack — luster meal when there are so many other places to try.

The only reason I went to this diner is because it’s literally 1 block from my house and I recently moved to lyndhurst. I went to this diner about 5 times and every single time I went here, I regret right after why I went here with my friends. The service was absolutely terrible every single time I went there and there was a problem with the food every other time I went there. Burnt toast, burnt pancakes, tuna salad open sandwich with about 60 percent celery over tuna and the list goes on. Please note that I worked in the food industry for about 6 years and as a rule of mine I always tip at least 18 percent tip regardless how bad the service was. I am pretty open minded and understanding when there is a problem with the food and I do not send anything back unless it’s like rotten. 3 out of 5 times there was a problem with the food and I took some pictures and I just ate what I could. In addition I had 3 different waitress in the 5 visits and every single one of them were rude and one or two of them «throw» menus and plates on the table and are very unfriendly. None of them introduced themselves and they just come up to you and «demand» your order.
Today after receiving my burnt pancakes, I made a decision that I will never go to this diner again. It’s so bad that I am willing to drive 3 miles out of town to avoid this place about 100 feet away from my house.
Pictures are posted on the diner for proof. I only visited this place at night time.

Staff is very friendly. Food is good. I had the protein omelette with tomato and tabasco sauce
Large portions and the water is endless
First time here but it certainly won’t be the last.

My husband loved his French toast+bacon! My eggs Benedict was okay. It was a little dry for my taste (needed more sauce) but eggs were cooked perfectly. Crispy home fries; good coffee and free refills! Parking is easy and our waitress was pleasant and attentive! Would definitely go back.

If I could only find a reason to come to NJ more often. The food here is wonderful, today I ordered the lasagna and I would have thought I was in a really nice Italian restaurant with double the portions.
Service is always great.
Hope to be back in about six weeks!

Stopped in for Veggie Burgers after Electric Daisy Carnival. Got our order in to the pleasant older waitress who suggested Herbal tea when she heard our throats croaking from the day long shouting over each other to be heard during the EDC.
The food and drinks came quickly. Veggie Burger hit the spot. Then we were surrounded by the rest of the concert goers resplendent in glitter and not much else. Surreal after midnight scene of truckers, old burnt out Jerzians, club kids and diner ladies with hair nets.
Outside seating available when there is enough staff on duty, sadly not when we were there or we would have opted to sit outside.

I understand the «diner» = dive, at least most of the time. But «dives,» many times have the best bites known to the human palette.
The Colonial Diner, however, is stuck in the 1930’s and seems to be experiencing a great depression. The menu had approximately 7 – 9 different salads that BARELY varied in the ingredients. The majority ranged from: some sort of lettuce or leafy vegetation, tomato, and onion. All between $ 7.95 and $ 9.95… for leaves. $ 4 dollars for chicken and $ 7 for shrimp. How is this possible? The worst mark up I have EVER seen. An amazing Italian restaurant (NOT diner) down the street has a spinach salad with gorgonzola, pine nuts (those little sh*ts are expensive as hell! have you ever tried to buy a bag?), apples, and other marvels topped with blacked chicken or massive mutant shrimp for $ 16 and THAT I consider a quality salad.
If a diner is meant to be simple, a quick good bite, dive-​ish, or no-​frills-​yummy-​food, than mark your prices accordingly, please. You have little to no variety: The Colonial Diner does not have a cappuccino machine (and hence cannot do espressos), only 3 varieties of cereal, few varieties of cheese, few fresh veggies, no fresh juices…
We looked through the entire menu and it was a first to see such lackluster variety at a diner (something New Jersey diners are notorious for excelling at. Though, I’m well aware that variety does NOT necessitate quality, but I’m just sayin’)
Ciao Colonial Era of dining. You can keep your depression to yourself.