Summit Diner — Restaurant in Summit

Came on a Friday during the in-between hours of breakfast and lunch. Nearly all the tables were filled and there was a good number of counter seats left. Don't think this was a busy time so I can't comment on what the business is like at its peak as we got lucky and immediately got a table.

Wow, there's a great atmosphere here, a natural ebb and flow to the bustle of the business and it's patrons. You can tell the workers have been here for a while. You can tell who the regulars are and who isn't by the way they enter, greet, sit, order and converse. For the regulars it's like a habit, the most natural thing in the world to do. Many don't mind coming to eat alone and tend to sit by the counter. Some order, eat, then leave and others stay a bit longer to socialize while eating. A few even pop in just to say hi and talk. You get the sense the owner, it's workers, and the patrons all want to be here and that's just lovely.

The diner itself is classic old school, every inch of it inside and out. From the physical bearings to the way the business is run and the food. It's prototypical, authentic, organic and quaint, all of which is found in the details: the waitress immediately pointing out the only menu hanging against the wall and asking if we'd like hot coffee with a decanter of it in hand, ready to be poured; the chance to observe your food being cooked thanks to the open counter cooking area; the waitress coming by to explain your bill and leaving it turned upside down on the table as she leaves, their only accepting cash and having customers walk up front to pay rather than giving it to a server; the metal milk/cream decanter sitting on the table; the adjustable curtains on the windows for beautiful sunlight control; the small mini bouquet display of fresh, real flowers on every table. I admit it, I've been charmed. Is this what diners were like back in the day? If so, I wish more remained! (Just checked: Summit Diner's been open since 1929!! AHH, that's amazing!). Even better? The food. That old school authenticity and preparation bleeds into the dishes. With NJ being known as the state with the most diners in the world, I've been let down more often than I'd like and figured there must be something wrong with me not enjoying diner fare. Until that Friday.

I got a stack of 3 pancakes with ham and also tried their potato hash and sausage. Yes, FINALLY, proof that not all diners and breakfast staples are same! They can actually be done well, differently, with quality, and actually be hearty and enjoyable rather than just heavy and overbearing. The pancakes were not mushy or dense and had a light air to it while still having some body and a firm surface. Some parts of the pancake charred, which I actually enjoyed. A generous amount of whippy margarine butter is on the side and a bottle of syrup that isn't too sweet. Not sure what kind of syrup it is as there isn't any maple flavor but it was interesting to not experience something clearly sweet maple syrup. Ham was thick and salty so it went well eaten together with the pancakes and syrup. And the hash, oh my goodness, the best I've had yet. Light, not oily or waxy, almost flaky with small bits of bacon mixed in so there's bacon essence flavor on the potatoes as well. And the sausage tasted almost like breakfast sausage, just not as peppery, with the texture and consistency of spam. To think all this for less than $10. What a deal.

While they're not a 24-hour running diner and close pretty early, that won't stop me. I need to come back. I want to try everything on their menu, including dinner! Summit Diner, you've hooked me. You're now my favorite diner. All this from just the first visit. You made me leave happy and satisfied, wishing I ordered more and had 9 stomachs for...

Food is decent, ownership and staff can be extremely rude at times when "busy".

Been coming here for about 1 year now. I usually order over the phone for pick up since this place gets packed. When this place gets busy (which happens easily as it is very small) the staff can be very rude over the phone. I just called to order pick up. When I asked if I could get extra taylor ham they man on the phone said "yeah yeah yeah, you can get whatever you want, just hurry up I have people here". Excuse me, am I not a paying customer too who orders here regularly?? This isn't the first time something like this has happened.

Just because you are busy does not mean you should talk to customers this way. Every time I go in here I feel like I'm bothering the man at the counter who basically makes me feel rushed to pay for my pick up order. I mean it takes less than 1 minute to pay...why am I being rushed??? And if you are that busy that you cannot multitask then hire a cashier like other diners do. (DUH!)

It's New Jersey in the Greater New York area, if you're doing it right you should be busy and will always be busy. There are plenty of restaurants/diners that are more busy than the Summit Diner and always treat customers like they are happy to have them. I'm not sure what the owners problem is but he should really change his attitude. Just because you give back to the community for families in destress does not give you the right to treat people this way. Sir, you are RUDE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This place could really benefit in a crash course of treating customers nicely.

Also would like to add, I order the same thing EVERY TIME. And somehow the price varies from $9-13.50 EVERY TIME. So I guess we can add arbitrary pricing to the list of complaints as well.

Just picked up my order and the phone rang, the owner told the person on the phone their order would be ready in 15-20 minutes. Hung up and then said out loud "I lied it will be more like 35-40 minutes" WHY ARE YOU LIKE THIS?????? YOU NEED TO...

Walking into Summit Diner in Summit, New Jersey, is like boarding a time-pressed locomotive that’s been chugging along since 1938. With its stainless‑steel facade and narrow booths hugging wood-paneled walls, this isn’t just nostalgia—it’s history with a side of hash browns  .

First off, the lineage is undeniable. Founded in 1929 and reassembled here in ’38 by the legendary Jerry O’Mahony company, Summit Diner is the oldest of its kind still feeding the hungry in New Jersey . On a plate thick with tradition sits the ultimate pork roll, egg, and cheese sandwich—a masterpiece so revered that Pete Genovese included it as a must-eat if it were your final NJ meal  .

But don’t let the décor fool you into thinking the food is museum-grade vintage; this place cooks with heart. Their famed corned beef hash isn’t just good it is what all other d corned beef hash wants to be when they grow up. I ordered it with the nonchalant swagger of a man who knows exactly what he wants—and they didn’t disappoint. The hash was crispy, the beef tender—like a sonnet in skillet form.

The home fries are another revelation—crispy, golden, and seasoned just enough to remind you that potatoes were born for diner fare.

Service here moves with slick efficiency—a no-nonsense rhythm from the cooks behind the window to the waitstaff balancing plates to crowded booths. There’s no printed menu; everything is chalked on the board above the kitchen—no frills, no fuss . It’s authentic, unapologetic, and brutally honest.

In short: Summit Diner doesn’t try to be anything but what it is: a perfect, unfiltered, working-class love letter to American breakfast and lunch. It’s unapologetically old-school, drowning in char and flavor, where the coffee is strong and the portions are even stronger. It’s the kind of place that makes you think the world doesn’t need to be re-invented—just...