The New York Diner- Valrico — Restaurant in Florida

I've been eating at the NY Diner in Valrico, Fl. ever since Laurie & Jeff took it over many years ago, not sure of the year, 2009 ?, somewhere around there. Anyhow, obviously I've been a Happy Camper there for some time. The business has been sold, I believe three times since then... and I've stayed with the diner faithfully. This review bringing 5 Stars on Service & Atmosphere, but only 4 on food which is being gracious. Why?... Read on..............

My favorite meal is Breakfast of which there are many variations, mine being "NY Strip Steak & Eggs" of which I have always been very happy with at close to $20.00 or slightly higher that demands a $4.00 or $5.00 Tip... last of the Big Spenders? Ha!... what can you buy for $5.00 lately?

Some time back, a year or so ago, someone in power changed their Steak Supplier, I assume to increase profits... yes I've asked, no I've received no answer. From that time on, the steak was loaded with fat, no bones, and outstanding in its length, width, and thickness. I must confess it looked delicious laying there in the plate.

However, when attempting to cut it with the sharp knife supplied, (ugh) it was near impossible to cut. It was like trying to cut a soft rubber tire... the meat simply rolled back and forth with the knife regardless of from which angle it was cut. Anyhow, after extended cutting, having a few squares to eat... I found that the meat was, as expected, also next to impossible to chew, and was tasteless.

In the time frame since the last owner took over, I have occasionally ordered this same Steak & Eggs order, perhaps a month or two between orders, hoping that the diner had returned to their previous supplier... no such luck as the steak was always as explained above... a waste of my time and money. I don't know how something on the plate could look so good, so delicious... to be so disappointing!

My last time at the diner, June 10th, 2024, longing for a good delicious steak, I spoke with a waitress who has been there since day one so to speak. I spoke to her about the steaks quality going downhill since the new supplier took over, and asked if possibly the owner may have reverted to his original supplier. She didn't know. I decided to chance it... and ordered the Steak & Eggs breakfast.

Upon having my breakfast sat on the table... it was indeed something to behold, BUT as I attempted to cut into it... it was all the same as before... actually worse! In thinking about it, I would explain it to anyone as a thick slice of rubbery meat from a whale the Titanic hit prior to the iceberg, possibly a dead horse that had passed away due to old age, something of that nature, but surely not a NY Strip Steak! Note that this review pertains to just the NY Strip Steak & Eggs breakfast, and nothing else. I will continue to dine there, eating all else from the menu, excepting the NY...

We have been going to the New York Diner in Valrico for over 10 years and it has been our favorite local restaurant for breakfast. Laurie Conover was the owner when we started going there and she ran the restaurant very well. She sold the diner to her daughter and son-in-law but they ended up selling it back to her so they could pursue careers in law enforcement. Laurie again sold the restaurant but this time she sold it to one of her servers, Abby, and her husband, Jay. From there the service started to go downhill. Keep in mind we like everyone who works there including the servers we’ve had issues on service with. Of course, Betty Gilley and Laurie Conover are our favorites. Everyone no matter who they are or what their job is could always use improvement. They really have their act together and know how to multi-task while serving their customers. We have had bad service several times. Last weekend my husband had enough and loudly asked for the utensils and the rest of our order. Darrell and I went to the diner today, June 6, 2021. When I walked in, one of the owners, Abby, said she had two tables open to go ahead and sit down. I asked which tables Betty was working and Abby said to just sit where ever and Betty would wait on us. The owner’s daughter brought us a menu and as we were waiting to have our order taken, Jay, the owner, leaned over the back of the bench and said he was not going to serve us because of Darrell blowing up about the pancake the week before. We got up and left. This is not the first time we’ve had issues there and not the only server but issues have happened more often with this same server. In my opinion, Abby tries to do too much but it affects her service. She has a hard time multitasking. Abby tries to wait tables, run the register, answer calls, and uber orders. In my opinion, Abby needs to concentrate on being a manager and seating customers, handling the register, incoming phone orders, and uber orders. After that, she should help where needed. It's sad to write this review. We have already had several friends state they have either stopped going there for the same reasons or will not go back there. Word of mouth is an important part of a business, especially a small locally owned business, and can make or break it. In today’s world with so many social media outlets, that word of mouth spreads further than your personal connections. I wish The New York Diner well and all of their employees. I hope they grow to better serve their customers. We’ll have to find a new favorite breakfast place.

New owners again at the end of 2023. We went there after a two year hiatus. It was great to see our favorite server Betty again and great to go back to an old favorite...

Been eating here for years and always looked forward to being greeted as I walked in. When owed by Laurie & Jeff, it was a High Five Stars eatery, and when purchased by Abby & her Husband, it remained a High Five eatery... and then it was sold to ??? never did get their name. Anyhow, all was well at first... full parking lot, had to wait for a space to open.... same waiting routine for a table, but well worth the wait food quality and price-wise. Then, gradually things slowly changed, a bowl of Mixed Vegetables (large veggies) became a bowl of Broccoli, coffee approached $3.00, cold liquid for the French Toast, The meat supplier was replaced by ??? and the NY Strip which I frequently had w/eggs at breakfast was non eatable to me, and so it went.

Parking now is no problem, getting a table is about the same with customers tapering off, excepting the church crowd on Sundays. My last visit (Sept of 2025) a Cheeseburger & Fries of which I expected to be as big (tall) a cheeseburger as past eaten burgers was about 2" short. In examining it, a couple very thin flattened sheets of lettuce, a tomato sliced to 1/16" thinness and the meat which I must say was so excessive that it stuck out a inch or so beyond the roll so much that I mentally questioned if it was indeed hamburger. The amount of fries was excessive... if they were indeed French Fries.

A regular plate filled with these things to a point whereas they towered in the center to a good 3" or 4" height. They didn't look like French Fries, they didn't taste like French Fries, they did not even resemble French Fries! I questioned the waitress, she had them replaced, but the replacement was a like order, only not cooked as thorough! I ate none of it and just half the cheeseburger. The waitress stopped at the table and told me that someone else paid for my meal. I got up shortly thereafter and left... not likely I'll be back until the place is sold again to a management comparable with the first two management...