Cocoa Diner — Restaurant in Derry Township

I'd like to start off by stating I don't like writing bad or negative reviews.

I write honest reviews based upon the quality of service, quality of food and beverages, atmosphere as well as the interior and exterior of any place I visit.

With this being said;

It's been a few years since me and my significant other have been at Cocoa Diner.

We decided to stop there on a Saturday morning around 10:30am-11am for breakfast. It wasn't too busy, the weather outside was frigid due to it being in the middle of winter.

Upon looking at their menu, Cocoa diner does have a broad variety of choices on their menu for breakfast, lunch and dinner; as well as desserts.

We were a little upset over a couple of things. I'm a thick woman, its not like you can look at me and not notice this.

The Hostess was kind, don't get me wrong, however she sat us in a booth and well... Anyone who's thick knows that it really sucks sitting in a booth.

Thankfully our waitress seen and heard me when I said to my man that it's gonna suck eating there due to being squished... And the waitress allowed for us to sit at a table. kudos to our waitress!! She was superb all around the board our entire time there!!

A few things about the menu.. Pricing. They charge $5.99 for 1 egg!!!! Are you serious??!! I understand our Country is under severe inflation at the moment, however you're really gonna sit there and charge people the price of an entire dozen of eggs for 1 egg??? Price gouging much??

And of you take the time to truly glance over the menu and do price comparison with what you're getting served with your breakfast meal and compare it to buying each item separately, the prices are far from lining up.

Kind of upsetting too that they don't serve Belgium waffles. But this is a personal thing because we low key really wanted some waffles... our fault assuming they served waffles... lol

The sausage on the menu is actually a decent size sausage. It's not like the Jimmy Dean breakfast sausage, it's basically fresh sausage links which was a pleasant surprise.

As we were eating our meal, our waitress was excellent at her timing of when to ask how everything was going in that neither of us had a mouth full of food and could respond.

While we were eating too tho... we noticed that we were cold and by far we were not warming up even though it's cold outside.

It just so happens that where we were sitting, you could see a digital thermostat on the wall. It's by the lower left hand corner of the wall, to your left once you first walk into Cocoa Diner.

IT WAS 50 DEGREES!!!! Mind you... it was in the lower 30's outside!!!

As soon as we saw that... We knew there was no getting warm. 😥

We rushed eating our meal so we could leave.

Although this wasn't a very pleasant experience, Although the prices are a tad bit on the price gouging side depending on what you order, Maybe perhaps the Diner is going through some tough times?

I really can't say for sure because as stated, we haven't been there in a few years.

I can say however, I'm not sure we would return any time soon.

The service was excellent. The food quantity and quality was good.

I had gotten a feta cheese and Spinach omelet with sausage on the side, My other half got a meat lovers omelet with sausage on the side as well.

I'm including photos so that you can all see the menu for yourselves as well as so you can see what I had ordered.

I will say too... the way the omelet was made... They mixed the Spinach with the egg, and then put a scoop of feta cheese in the middle and simply folded the egg. I cook alot... and I'm good with making omelets, as well as you can see for yourselves in the photos I include.

Yes, I do like feta cheese and spinach, however I feel the omelet was made in a hurry with no regards towards the essence of an omelet.

Maybe I'm picky??

It did taste good, don't misquote me. Same with the sausage and hashbrowns.

The toast wasn't very pleasant unfortunately.

The texture and taste was like it was pre-toasted and buttered and had been sitting...

We have been to this restaurant 5 times in the last few years (2019- 2021) and likely will not go again. The 1st and 2nd times were above average for a Diner experience and food. We thought we had found our favorite Diner and were quite happy (they are not easy to come by). The third time was average. Giving the place more chances, the 4th and 5th times were, well, terrible and a waste of money (which angered me). It is possible the pandemic years took their toll, we don’t know. Something went wrong.

The wait staff went from smiling and attentive to non-smiling, impatient, and inattentive the last 2 times. This means they all seemed in a bad mood, would not talk much and did not come around to check on drink refills at all. The made us feel like we were disturbing them! I left a tip the last time but not sure why I did. Maybe, like others, they are just over worked now, or all the staff are now just family members and friends.

The food as I stated started out good but whittled down the last few visits to being bad, as in not cooked correctly, appeared to come from the cheapest food distributor possible, didn’t look appetizing, and had a below average taste for what was expected. I ordered the Greek Salad this last time and it was just not good in the least or well balance in the ingredients. Keep in mind this place is owned by Greeks. Like I said, maybe it was the pandemic and loss of revenue. But still, when eating out you want good quality and service and are not simply out to pass your money to someone else.

The restaurant itself still appeared to be clean, so no complaints there. I can no longer recommend this place to locals or travelers to Hershey. Maybe it will make a comeback or end up like so many other restaurant stories, going from good to bad permanently in a downward spiral. It is a...

HONEST REVIEW - we actually ate here on a trip to hershey. We had 6 people for lunch on 8/2/22. Food was hit or miss, some people liked what they got and others didn't. It didn't seem to be made with much care. Here is what we ordered Eggplant parmesan - 0/5 this was the worst dish and my dad felt ill shortly after, he felt the eggplant was past its prime but probably not quite spoiled Chicken sandwich 1/5 very bland, seemed like a piece of boiled chicken rather than grilled. Also, served with a bag of potato chips and uncharge to have a salad. If you're ordering a grilled chicken sandwich you're trying to avoid the chips (at least in my family that's how we do it) Bacon and cheese omelet with hash browns 3/5 this tasted fine but was made sloppily with ALL the bacon on 1/2 of the omelet. Crab cake sandwich with fries 5/5 this was mine and I enjoyed it, although it was too big to finish Sourdough French toast with bacon 5/5 bacon was cooked well and French toast was very tasty Kids grilled cheese and fries 5/5 i didnt taste this, my little one ate the whole thing Other observations- the restaurant is extremely quiet, no music playing. The Staff are not friendly, not rude but seem robotic, which doesn't give the feeling that your are welcomed. I would say the service is functional only. One thing we observed was that they moved a booster seat from one table and gave it to another family without cleaning it in between. I write this very long review to hopefully help others when they decide to eat here. Bottom line for us is that we'd rather eat at McDonald's next door and save our money and tip for a place with fresh food and...