Princetonian Diner

Good food, good service, reasonably priced!
Showed up at lunch time on a Sunday and asked for a table for 10 – 12 for my gym buddies. Even though they were busy the hostess immediately put two tables together and sat us. Huge menu offers enough variety to satisfy everyone. My favorite was the panhandle skillet. The service was quick and the waitress was very friendly and got all of our orders correct, despite a number of special requests. Very reasonable prices.
We used to go to Americana as our go-​to diner but the wait was always long, the food overpriced, and the service was slow. I’m hoping the Princetonian is our new spot.

This was my first time at the diner. The server gave me flat Pepsi for my drink. I told her I didn’t want it. Her reply was dumbfounding. She said I thought it was flat. Really? When I refused a new Pepsi she went behind me asking other servers if anyone needed it «got her a new one and now she doesn’t want it» so insulting. She never checked on us to see if the food was cooked properly and never brought my husband his second cup of coffee. She waiting a long time to bring the bill. The worst service ever! Will never go back

We didn’t pay for our food because there was hair in it… The décor is ugly and dated, the walls are disgusting and stains all over the floor (which is carpeted). I was cringing and waiting for a roach to scurry past my feet. Definitely the worst restaurant experience I’ve ever had. No stars lol

Stopped here for a quick breakfast and it wasn’t too crowded. The diner has a nice feel to it and my waiter was very friendly.
I ordered two eggs over easy with home fries and bacon. The eggs and bacon were good. The home fries tastes exactly like mashed up French fries and were a little weird for me. The coffee is really good and the diner was relatively clean.

I’d give less than a star if I could. Horrible, disgusting, and gross. Stay away. The service was decent, but I don’t understand how scrambled eggs, toast, and Canadian bacon can be bad. My big mistake was that I ordered a side of sautéed mushrooms and they tasted like dirty water. I’m sorry it’s a diner. They should get that stuff right.

The princetonian has average food. They are over priced because they are the only diner in the princeton rt 1 corridor. The value is horrible.
Ive been at least 10 times over the years and my most recent experience will be my last. The service was horrible. Like the waitress was sitting at the diner bar texting instead of serving. When I brought this to the attention of the owner/​manager I received attitude and was asked «yeah okay thanks»
I will always excuse one servers poor service from the overall impression of the restaurant but their management is terrible and its no wonder why their service is bad.

Biggest disappointment ever. The food was really nasty. There are lots of better food choices if you keep traveling further south. The service was ok. It’s an old people joint.

I had the mince meat spaghetti and it was too bland. Not sure if it has anything to do with eating there late night, but I had to put so much salt and pepper. I felt like I was cooking and seasoning my food as I’m eating. The spaghetti tasted way better after my extra seasoning. It cost about $ 11 and it comes with both soup and salad. The salad was very fresh, but the soup… not so much. I had the seafood calm chower and it taste strange, but eible. Lucky I didn’t order a large one, but I have to say the can goods tasted way better. (**)
This diner looked a little better than the other ones I’ve been too. Bathrooms we’re decent and it didn’t smell bad. (***)
Service was ok, they only had one waiter there working at night catering everything. Poor thing, but he was able to still put a smile on his face. He did forget a drink we ordered, but he didn’t charge it to our bill and we end up not wanting it anyways so that was ok. (***)

Pulling into the driveway at the Princetonian the other day, I wondered at the nearly empty parking lot. This place is traditionally buzzing on a weekday morning. I wonder no longer. The quality of the food here has gone down hill, and I can no longer recommend it.
I came here with a work colleague for a good old fashioned «NJ Diner breakfast», before our first client meeting. Our server was perky and friendly, so things started off well enough. The food arrived in a reasonable amount of time. The coffee did not («They just made a fresh pot!». Okay but it’s 8:15 am. Shouldn’t you have some handy??).
No matter, we tucked into our large platters of food. My spinach/​feta/​tomato omelet was bland, except for the occasional chunk of feta, which gave it a little ‘bite’. Were the eggs old? If the omelet is made to order, how can it taste so bland? The hash browns were greasy and tasted re-​heated — perhaps multiple times. The bacon probably was decent, thick cut stuff when delivered to the restaurant, but it too tasted just slightly off, with not much flavor. The grapefruit juice & coffee that came with the meal were okay, but nothing special. Wawa+.
My colleague had French toast & bacon. Very thick slices of French toast, cut into triangles made a promising display on the plate that failed to deliver on taste.
Refills on the coffee took much too long despite the fact that the diner was almost empty.
In an area like Princeton, with so many great dining choices, this kind of drop in quality won’t go unnoticed, I’m afraid. I hope the owners here recognize the problem before it’s too late. This was, at one time an excellent diner. Like Jeb Bushes poll numbers, it has fallen precipitously.

Went with my wife and 1 year old son. When my son needed a diaper change, neither the men’s nor woman’s room had a changing table. What’s up with that?

I used to be a semi-​regular at Princetonian Diner when my office was down the road; not so much over the past few years. Still, when my sister and bro-​lo were visiting from Virginia and wanted to meet me here, I thought, «why not?». When they had been regular consultants at ETS, this was one of their romantic hangs. I might question that choice, but, after all, love changes everything.
Walking in, the first thing I noticed was that the previous owners, who would greet everyone, and take them to their seats, had been replaced by new people. Wondered if the old joint had changed hands. The menu looked the same, but there were new servers on the floor.
We were here primarily to socialize for an hour or so until family had to retreat to Philadelphia airport for their flight back to Newport News. Each of us ordered a light bite. Sister and hubs went with Matzah Ball Soup and Toasted English, while I ordered the French Onion Soup. Everything arrived fairly quickly, and we were all satisfied with our dishes. Remembering how good the desserts here used to be, I was tempted by several cakes/​puddings in the display cases, but decided against the additional calories.
Princetonian Diner looks as it did a decade ago, the last time it was renovated. It is fairly clean and is a fair representative of the Jersey Greek Diner, of which the Garden State is justly recognized. The quality of the food tends to take second place over the quantity, but if you go to a diner you know what you are getting.
If that is acceptable to you, than this roadside kitchen is as good as any.

Went here last night with son and husband. Been there twice before but this time was a huge disappointment. Food was nothing but salt. Everything was so tasteless and you can tell nothing was homemade. Even the mashed potatoes tasted like they came out of a box.
Would never come back here and would never recommend to anyone.

I sincerely wish I had a picture of the cheese fries I was served at this diner. I really wasn’t that hungry, and I figured diner cheese fries would be perfect.
Oh boy was I wrong.
The waitress comes out with a plate of fries that literally has two pieces of American cheese melted on top of it. Not even completely melted, it was still in the shape of two square pieces of cheese. Half the fries weren’t even covered.
Okay I understand that there are many ways to make cheese fries — usually with shredded cheese or melted cheese or even cheese whiz, but two half-​melted slices of American cheese? At a diner?! Too bad I’m not confrontational or I would have sent it back.
I might try this place again because they did have a wide selection of foods that sounded good, but this experience really left me sour to the place.

.. this place is a definition of a great slice of Americana, «the classic Greek diner“‘ whuch, as a native NY’er, us super meaningful. I hear the Mile High dinner of meat loaf, mashed potatoes, and an underlying grilled cheese sandwich is amazing. Last night’s penne, chicken, and sausage was fab. Packed for brunch, get here early!

This place is consistently inconsistent. Sometimes it’s spotless, with great service and delicious food, sometimes it’s meh and unkempt with less than stellar service. Are you a gambling man? Give it a shot.

This is not creative or super tasty food, but what it lacks in foodie appeal it makes up for in quantity! Both the food portions and the selection were enormous. One of our friends got a meringue pie that was at least 4 inches tall! And another friend got a chicken avocado sandwich that came in three pieces, each of which was the size of a sandwich.
OK, maybe it was just that my Santa Fe salad was a bit boring and could have used some salsa. My wife’s Greek salad (the «neoclassical») was substantially more yummy. And came with tasty pita and baklava!
We had a large group, and got a semi-​private dining room off to the side. The ambiance seemed fun. They had yummy looking desserts for sale, but after that size of dinner, I wasn’t interested!

So-​so overall.
From the outside, this place looks to be a promising example of tasty Jersey eats, a’la the regional realm of diner offerings. Situated right off of Route 1 in Princeton and with a memorable branded neon side on the façade, you get the sense you’re in for a good meal.
The menu is expansive, but their ingredients aren’t the freshest, and the presentation isn’t anything special (even for your run-​of-​the-​mill diner) so everything comes out a bit underwhelming. The fries are battered and cooked well done, so if that’s not your jam, you’ll have to be sure to make mention of your preference up front.
Prices are consistent with what’s offered here so, you know, you get what you pay for.

One of my favorite spots, I’m huge on diners and this is my local go to for fast and good food. They have a lot of signature dishes for breakfast lunch and dinner. The pan handle dishes for breakfast are full of awesome grilled chicken and basted eggs. Lunch portions are huge– they have all the standard diner sandwiches, but the specials are always diverse and usually really tasty. The seafood for dinner is always outstanding and fresh. I’m always skeptical to order seafood at a diner but this one has yet to let me down. It needs a little landscaping but the inside is clean and nice. All in all its a good place for some great food, reasonable prices, attentive service and decent atmosphere.

I had the misfortune of eating at the Princetonian Diner this past weekend for breakfast. Ordered the «Chorizo Omelet.» First, it had a measly three tiny pieces of chorizo in it. But the worst was a WOPPING 27 slices of jalapeño peppers in it. Yes, 27 pieces!
I removed all the jalapeño peppers and it was still so spicy it was inedible (and I like spicy food). I called over the waitress, who proceeded to tell me she can’t have them cook another Chorizo Omelet (with less jalapeño peppers), otherwise, the rules are that I would be charged for a second one (really? How logical is that?) But she said she can ask the cook to make me a little scrambled egg side dish to make up for it. I reluctantly accepted it and it was truly one egg with one slice of crappy tasteless melted cheese on top.
Upon paying the bill at the checkout counter, I asked the older gentleman if he was one of the owners and he said he was one of the co-​owners. I told him of my omelet experience and it was clear it couldn’t care less about the situation. In fact, he didn’t even stop ringing people up while I was talking with him. I got quite angry and insisted he stop for 60 seconds. I questioned whether it was acceptable to have 27 slices of jalapeño pepper in an omelet. He said he «didn’t know.» I offered to show him the smartphone pic. He declined. I asked him why the waitress couldn’t just make me a new omelet without charging me again — she appeared scared of violating some draconian rules from owners regarding food re-do’s. He waved off anything I said.
In the end, the arrogant co-​owner seemed uninterested in even hearing about the problem, nevertheless fixing it. You are now forewarned. The Princetonian Diner has lost me as a customer and I will aggressively sway any group I’m a part of from eating there. Thank you.

So my wife wanted to have a diner breakfast on Mother’s Day. I hadn’t heard great things about this place but my wife had come with the kids before and seemed to like it. I figured since it was Mother’s Day we should get there early to avoid that huge crowd most breakfast places have on this particular holiday. That wasn’t an issue here. Dare I say there were as many empties as occupied tables. That should have let me know something…
We were seated by a friendly hostess and soon thereafter our waitress appeared. My wife and I ordered coffee. I was given a dirty coffee mug. Strike one.
We placed our orders. The kids opted for waffles, my wife — for her «Mother’s Day breakfast» — ordered whole wheat pancakes, and I went with a bagel and corned beef hash. The waitress came back with three orders of waffles. My wife politely indicated that this was incorrect. The waitress apologized and indicated, «it’ll take awhile to fix.» My wife just took the waffles so as to not have to wait. Strike two.
The food was ok. Really just ok. There wasn’t anything special about anything served up. My hash was passable but FAR inferior in taste and lacked the crunchy outside I’ve had at virtually any other diner I’ve ever been to. The bill comes and my wife is surprised that we were charged full price for the third order of waffles that should have been pancakes. I leave a tip despite the order mix up and NEVER ONCE asking about refills. Then I venture to the front counter to pay the bill and the cashier/​owner/​accountant chooses to continue transferring numbers into a book rather than cash me out. I would have expected a «one moment please» or something… but nothing. A nearby waitress saw what was happening and cringed and shook her head. Then the guy finally finishes with his numbers, snatches the bill and only mutters, «gonna leave a tip?» Strike three.
If it were up to me I’d never come to this place again. I was a fan of the now gone Two Peters. I’d rather drive over to the chain «diner» Perkins than come back. My wife thought the food was ok but nothing special. I her prior visit she ordered crab topped eggs benedict which was good… but cold. I asked my wife if she’d come back to this place and her response was, «it’s close» — which says a lot because the answer wasn’t, «yes the place is great. »