Elmwood Park Diner — Restaurant in Elmwood Park

Dined here twice while in the area for work. The food ranged from decent to barely edible. 1st night: the Greek platter was all your typical Greek favorites on one plate (moussaka, gyro, grilled chicken, spinach pie, cheese pie, salad), and it was all good except for the rock-hard pita. A TON of food, easily two meals. I had the lobster bisque before that which was sort of a joke - thin "fishy" tasting broth with chunks of imitation crab...I guess that's on me for ordering such a thing at a diner. If you're looking for something light and refreshing I DO NOT recommend a smoothie - mine came from a pre-packaged mix with no trace of fresh fruit and was loaded with sugar and likely dairy such as ice cream. The carrot cake was a little dense and dry, but an acceptable dessert (massive portion, too. Good for 2 desserts). Night 2 I started with the chicken soup which was acceptable but not outstanding. I had the Chicken Rossini for dinner, and this is where things got really weird. You would think that chicken with plum tomatoes, eggplant, and mozzarella cheese would have an Italian flavor, but this tasted bizarrely sweet and fruity, almost like pineapple. It was also very likely microwaved, as the center was cool while the edges were very hot. My side of cauliflower and cheese was 95% cheese sauce, so I just dipped my fries (acceptable, nothing extraordinary) in it. For dessert I had the chocolate fudge cake which was very dry and pretty awful, but I got some down with the ice cream I asked for. Main takeaways: when you look at the massive menu with all the options you may find yourself wondering how they cover such a wide variety of foods. The answer: not very well. It's hit and miss, and you might be better off sticking to the diner standards like hamburgers. For dessert, I would recommend a milkshake as the ice cream wasn't bad and the cakes were either so-so or unpleasant. The portions are massive and the prices are very low, so if you are looking to stretch your dollar, this might be a good option (as long as you don't expect...

I've ordered "take out" from this diner at least 60 times. Last Monday evening (8:45) I called in an order for "honey dip chicken fingers"... listed that way their menu, for $18.-. Furthermore.... I asked if 15 minutes would give them enough time to prepare the order. That being confirmed. I picked up and paid for the order in cash and tipped the waitress who brought it from the kitchen. When I return to my office (5 min. away) they had not included the "honey mustard sauce"... a "key" ingredient! The diner closes at 9:00 PM, but called anyway... hoping that someone might answer. Alas... the person who took and cashed out the order was still there. I calmly explained the issue and that the dish was useless without the sauce. I requested they drop off the missing container... within 15 minutes. Not unreasonable I thought... even as the dish was getting cold. It would take 5 minutes to get to my office, which is directly on Route 46... and has direct parking in front of our building. They could leave the engine running and not even need to park. After that it would a few steps to our main entry... and hand the container to a staff member directly on the inside that entrance. The Diner's employee (or family member) replied, emphatically, That, this would not be possible. "I replied... are you sure about this?" "Yes" was his response. To which responded: “Your business will reap a "one star" Google business review... and lose a 15 year customer... forever!” "Your choice." "No... we cannot do it...it's against our policy". After hanging up the phone… I trashed the order. No dinner for me that nite. I could have ordered the same dish (for less $$) from "Friendly's" about the same distance from my office... but I made the mistake of choosing "Elmwood Park". Needless to say: NEVER AGAIN! I am only...

I’d like to start out saying that WE WILL NOT BE RETURNING BACK TO THE ELMWOOD PARK DINER AGAIN! Although, we have gone there lately after the gym up to a couple of times a week. The waitress started out very friendly but that’s where the positive experience ended. Our order consisted of two bowls of chicken soup, an egg white omelette with veggies and two cups of tea. Simple you would think. Tea arrives and one of the tea bags is ripped so there are tea leaves floating in the cup. A new cup of tea is served and it’s fine. NEXT, a blonde hair is found floating in the soup and the three of us are all clearly dark dark brunettes. New bowl of soup arrived hairless as it should be. Finally, the omelet arrives with potatoes, not greens and cottage cheese as ordered. However, the omelet is also looking undercooked as well. At which point I tell the waitress to just take it back and off the bill. She returns with the same omelet and cottage cheese and doesn’t take no for an answer. I eat a little around the cooked edges and a few forkfuls of cottage cheese but am quite uncomfortable eating it. When the waitress comes back, I tell her I am uncomfortable and trying to force myself to eat it but can’t. I ask her to please take it back and off the bill. At this point I have lost my appetite completely. We stay at the table for another 45 minutes chatting. I just drink water. After the bill is paid we discovered that we were charged for half an omelet. Crazy, right? The cashier/ manager has surmised that I ate half which was clearly not even close to the case. Definitely, poor customer service from the waitress, ESPECIALLY THE manager and the chef! NOT WORTH THE TIME WHEN THE SADDLE BROOK...