Candlewyck Diner — Restaurant in East Rutherford

I was pleasantly surprised by the diner's environment. It is more upscale than your typical NJ diner. I also very much enjoyed my breakfast. The food tasted great and was made with quality ingredients. HOWEVER, the service here is the worst service I may have ever experienced in all my years dining out.

I explained to the waiter that I could not find what I wanted on the menu. He asked me what I wanted. I told him I just wanted an omelette with 1 pancake. He said no problem. I can just charge you for an omelette and add on 1 pancake. That sounded great to me. I somehow knew though that what he was going to do is charge me for 2 full entrees. That is exactly what he did. He brought out an omelette with all the sides that I didn't order and he brought out an entire stack of pancakes.

I then get the bill and it is $23.00. They charged me $7.00 to add blueberries and pecans to my pancakes. They charged me $1.50 to add cheese to my omelette. Also, they charged me for 2 full entrees.

I explained to the manager how this went down. I explained what I wanted and what the waiter indicated to me upon ordering. She immediately defended the waiter and treated more rudely than I have ever been treated before. She said "sir, it's on the menu". Do you want me to show you?" I said no, I agree with you that these prices are on the menu but I didn't want to pay for 2 full entrees for 1 person. This is what I explained to the waiter and he said the pancake would be an add-on.

She then begins to ask me "have you ever purchased pecans from a grocery store before? They are very expensive." I said yes. In fact I purchase pecans on a weekly basis. I purchase organic, sprouted pecans at $13.00 per pound. You put 7 pecans in my pancake and charged me $3.50 on top of 2 full entrees.

It was the tone in her voice and the look on her face that really made this an unpleasant experience. I wasn't even looking to get a free meal out of this. I just wanted them to admit they made a mistake by misleading me to pay for 2 full entrees for 1 person when I explained upon ordering that was not what I wanted. I KNOW full well I could have ordered 2 entrees to get what I wanted, but I didn't want to spend that. The waiter assured me he could just "add-on" a pancake to omelette. In any case, I paid the check and left.

My friend goes to pay his check and the manager starts in on him. Wow, you're friend is something else huh. He got mad because we charged him for something that was on the menu.

I cannot believe she started in on my friend and then ruined his experience as well.

I will never return to this restaurant and I do not recommend anyone go here. You'll be treated like a criminal and pay for 2 times the amount of food that you actually...

We've had a 14-year love/hate relationship with this diner--loving the food and the waitstaff, hating the owners/managers. Just look at how they respond to these reviews: scorn, disbelief, arguments, gross sarcasm, etc. when they should respond with grace and humility.

The nasty way they conduct themselves, especially that one gaudy woman, the way we've seen them ridicule the waitstaff, we stopped dining-in because the management's actions and personality were too off-putting. But we couldn't resist picking up take-out or ordering delivery.

The food began to decline over the past year, but we kept on ordering, pretending it wasn't happening, sticking to just the reliable dishes we knew we could trust.

Our most recent order was the last straw though--overcooked disgusting beef that tasted like liver, completely uncooked pork (literally just seared on the outside but pink goo on the inside) that was not only gross but seriously dangerous to even ingest. Vegetables drenched in oil, mushy yet raw in the middle. Appetizer was inedible, bread was stale, components of one meal completely missing. Even the french fries were only half cooked, floppy, cold, and old.

I don't know if the cooks have been replaced with know-nothings or if its the same great cooks as always who are, in turn, so rightfully fed up with being rudely bossed around by classless garbage people that they're purposefully putting out terrible meals in an attempt to put the place out of business.

Literally the worst meal we've ever had. We tossed it all out into the woods behind our house hoping the raccoons, possums, or skunks could figure out something to do with it.

We're fed up, done, we've eaten here easily hundreds of times but won't be coming back.

Response to owner response:

Worry less about how people talk to you and more about what they're saying. Even the omnivorous scavengers in my backyard didn't eat your...

I just had a pleasant breakfast here at the Candlewyck Diner. The food and the service was acceptable. However, There seems to be a lack of communication among the staff, as well as an unprofessional management. My friend Phil didn't see the combination of food that he would have liked on the menu, so he politely asked the waiter if he could provide him with an omelette and pancakes. Phil was well aware that he could simply order two breakfasts with all that is included in each, but was hoping to combine just those two items. The waiter replied "Yes, we can do that", implying that they would supply him with a plate consisting of an omelette and pancakes. The four of us at the table all had the same consensus that that was what was going to happen, based on our waiter's answer. Instead what happened was he brought Phil two full orders with all that is included in each. And then of course when the check came, he was charged for two full plates of breakfast. Again, Phil was clearly aware that he could simply order two full breakfasts, he asked his question to see if this diner would bring him this combination of items. And the waiter stated clearly that they could. We were all taken aback when Phil was brought two full breakfasts that cost him more than $23. And to top it all off, upon paying, I was practically scolded by the manager about my friend being displeased with his experience. I explained to her exactly why we were not satisfied, and she proceeded to argue with me for a full two minutes. Never have I experienced a restaurant acting unprofessional on this level. We will never return to this establishment, and I recommend staff is reprimanded for treating customers...