Unique Coney Island — Restaurant in Sterling Heights

JUST STAY AWAY! Here's why ...

I believe Unique Coney Island (UCI) used to be National Coney Island (NCI). I think someone who worked at NCI or owned this NCI franchise (Sterling Heights), sold it and opened UCI immediately after. The food at NCI was oftentimes so bad, I actually got sick on a couple of occasions (food poisoning). I tried to report them to the local health department, but their reporting process was so drawn out, I just dropped it. Carryout breakfast often appeared as if food had been transferred from someone's plate (who didn't eat it) into a carryout container, then resold at full price. Because UCI is in my area, I said to myself ... "Okay! I'll try this place. Maybe it's totally new ownership!!". WRONG!! Same bad food, and I think same chef ...

When I walked into UCI tonight, the chef looked like the same chef that worked at NCI. Really hungry, I decided to play it safe an only order a chicken greek and 2 spinach pies, to be split between a friend and myself. The spinach pies were DISGUSTING!! These weren't typical spinach pies. These appeared as if the chef sprayed them with Pam, threw them on the grill, then flattened them!! Who eats re-grilled, flattened spinach pies? Even the lingering taste left in your mouth was really odd. (See pic showing grease on white paper towel after dabbing just a single side of one spinach pie).

Now, onto the Greek Chicken salad ...

The salad was much better, but even this was bad. After looking at the spinach pies, my friend refused to eat the salad. (I think I should have followed her lead.) The chicken was cut into strips like french fries. It was as if the chicken was cooked yesterday, left out all day, then thrown in the fridge overnight, then brought back out the following day and recooked on the grill. The feta cheese was odd. There were portions where the cheese was chunky and chewy, and the Greek dressing was tasteless.

It's sad when you're hungry and you "PAY" a restaurant to feed you, yet you can't eat the food. But, ironically, 30 minutes after eating the spinach pie and a little of the salad, I ended up with -- diarrhea. AGAIN!

This is likely why I don't see many cars in the parking lot of this restaurant. Folks, stay away from this restaurant!! They don't value you as a customer and could care less about serving you bad food.

Reporting these places to the health department is a little complicated. But it's nice knowing reviews exists to...

It's a cute little Coney island. I've been here a couple of times with my friend.

Pros: it's always clean. Even the bathroom. The staff is always super friendly. They are pretty quick to serve as well. Drink refills come pretty quickly as well. Nice casual place to eat. It has all of your usual things you expect at a casual diner.

Cons: compared to other similar casual diners / Coney islands, this one is slightly more expensive. I noticed a lot of their meals don't come with sides and yet the prices are more expensive. And the portions are smaller. For example I got mozzarella sticks and I believe they were something around $9 (most places I go they are $5-$7). I noticed their main type meals are approximately the same price as other places, maybe a dollar or two more, but they are slightly smaller in portion and they don't come with a side so you're just paying for the main meal and you don't get fries or potato or anything else with it so you're actually paying more in general. (Thus if you wanted to get the fries and wanted to get the same meal size you would be paying around $6 more for the same meal). The food is mediocre. It's not bad but I definitely wouldn't point to this place and say "they have...

Unique Coney Island is a superb establishment. The atmosphere and the ambiance are one of peace, serenity, very welcoming. The food is a cut above the rest. The menu is filled with food so delicious looking it makes for difficult decision making. I chose the Greek omelet with hash browns ( grilled onions added), and I was pleased that there were other options for toast so I ordered a bagel and cream cheese. The food was served in a very timely fashion. They serve the best hash browns I’ve ever tasted. They were a golden brown color, just the right amount of crispness on the outside and much to my surprise soft and buttery goodness on the inside. I truly enjoyed my meal. The customer service is magnificent. The server was prompt and very attentive and she even went the extra mile. I recommend you try this restaurant because you’ll absolutely love it just as I do. I cannot wait to return and try...