Montclair Diner — Restaurant in Montclair

I have been to a lot of diners and continue to visit diners regularly because I am a "diner fan" and travel quite bit doing service work. I would give the Montclair diner a 50 on a scale of 1 to 100. Cleanliness could be better, the men's room where I washed up was not as clean as it could be. The paper towel dispenser had run out and there was a slightly damp roll of brown, industrial paper towels sitting on the sink. That's just unsanitary. The door opens inwards as well which is not ideal for keeping ones hands clean. The waitress was good, all that one might expect from a waitress. The kitchen seems to have problems. It took too long to get our order. My partner ordered liver and I ordered a cheeseburger - rare. By the time it finally got to us, the couple in the next booth, who had come in after us, had already been served their order. Granted, they both ordered simple and quick grilled cheese but our order should have at least been started before theirs. When it finally arrived, my cheeseburger was way overcooked - well done. Not rare, as I ordered it. It was clear that it was cooked first, because it is simple and easy, and put under the heat lamps where it continued to cook. I order burgers rare because I hate overcooked burgers. I rarely, if ever, get one that is actually rare (the Bendix Diner is an exception to this). My companion stated that her order was okay. Not great, not bad, just okay. I complained about the burger to the waitress and she offered to replace it with a properly cooked one but by that time I had already eaten half of it and I just wanted to continue eating and finish. It was a long ride home. They adjusted my bill which is fair and appreciated. The Montclair has...

Actually had a fun time with my parents at this Diner but only because there was alot to laugh about. We arrived and waited for 5 minutes before we got menus after sitting down. It's a sit anywhere you like kind of diner which was cool. After we got our menus, our waitress placed 3 glasses of cold ice water on the table, and asked what we would like to drink. We started off with 3 coffees which took about 10 minutes to arrive, no joke. The coffee here is actually terrible, it tasted like warm water. After we got our coffee we ordered three items, a super hero breakfast, an infinity burger I believe it was called, and a western omelette sandwich. Now my mother had asked for her sandwich on rye bread, toasted. The food took about 15 minutes to come out, and of course they put my mothers sandwich on white bread. This wasn't a big deal but when they brought the correct sandwich back the omelette was cold to the touch. I'm guessing they just switched the bread but for the amount of time it took to do that the omelete got cold and my mother was not pleased at all. Throughout the experience we were not offered refills and could only order drinks whenever the waitress came around, so no customary check ups while dining. The food was okay except for my mother's order which was totally botched. After we were done eating our waitress was occupied running the register and doing other tasks. My family and I waited and conversed for about 10 minutes before I decided it would probably be easier to just walk to the front and pay instead of getting a check at our table. Absolutely bad dining experience, would not recommend to friends or family. I score this a 3/10, two stars will most likely...

I sadly don't have any pics of my dish because baybee! I was too caught up in conversation and enjoying the great energy this establishment has to offer. My fiancé and I randomly found this place after realizing our used to be favorite diner Tops was closed. I say "use to be" because they have nothing on Monclair Diner, which is now my new fave. This place serves great customer service and finger linking delicious plates. My Fiance ordered the strawberry short cake french toast I believe and I had The Whoopi w/Chicken (Chicken and Waffles)

Now.. complete transparency; I was a little concerned about ordering apple smothered waffles because its typically too sweet to consume. I'm here to tell you the head chef needs a raise! The apples were perfect with a pinch of lime tart I believe, yummmmm. The chicken wasn't blah like I'm accustom to it was well seasoned, not just salt and batter but well seasoned. And I swear the buffalo sauce was made personally for me, its exactly how I like it. It was 12pm on a Sunday so servers were too busy running the show to engage thoroughly with the tables which is fine because Eliot and another gentleman( I forgot his name, forgive me) did the honors of engaging with guest. They touched tables gracefully. I'm 10 years in hospitality both restaurants and hotels. As a former hotel director of rooms and front office I'm here to say I appreciate coming here. Oh and there's live music outside, the lead singer is fabulous and talented. I think its time for a face lift with this restaurant, maybe keep the same "mom and pop" style but just a good interior reno. Any way thanks for your hospitality, we will be back soon and this time we're coming...