Jim's Coney Island Cafe — Restaurant in Tempe

The waitress was brand new on her first waitressing job, so I won't talk about the service; there's a good reason for that. The food - we ordered a veggie egg white omlette with dry wheat toast to share, they brought us an egg white crepe with a handful of veggies thrown in the center, the crepe folded over the pile. It was terrible. The wheat toast was made from the super cheap light brown white bread they label as wheat, and it was buttered. The waitress told us the kitchen was too busy to make frys with no salt "fresh" for us. Seriously. The cooks were apparently too busy to cook (it wasn't busy at all for a Saturday morning, about two-thirds of the restaurant was empty). She explained when she came back that she's new and this is her first waitressing job and the cooks yell at her when she asks for special things. Not cool. As we we're finishing up, I wiped a speck of ketchup off the table, and I brought up the ketchup along with a black, dirt-like film from the table. We told the employee that rang us out, he seemed pretty uninterested. This place looks like an old school greasy spoon/truck stop-type place, definitely a nostalgic comfort food to me. There is no comfort at Jim's Coney Island Cafe, only apathetic employees who treat each other poorly and are too busy to do their jobs, food that helps you stick to your starvation diet, and, of course, the filthy tables. Don't come here if you are looking to...

Jim's Coney Island Cafe is iconic North Tempe--the best diner in the East Valley! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I was greeted with smiles: ☺️☺️☺️ no fewer than three staffers smiled and welcomed me around 1pm on a Thursday in summertime. Plenty of staff are on deck to handle peak rush times. Veteran workers I've seen 16 years ago are still working the floor.

Ivan took care of my lunch order agreeably and with efficiency. I ordered iced tea and a gyros sandwich 🥙 with cole slaw. I made 4 special requests, and all four were perfectly handled by Ivan.

Ivan promptly and cheerfully brought my drink order and the food. He readily bussed the dishes.

Compliments to the chef on consistent, appealing, delicious food! 🥙 The gyros meat is crispy and includes diced onion, shredded lettuce, and creamy tzatziki (Greek style yogurt-based sauce with dill weed).

My mother and father love it here too. When they're in town, we begin every day with breakfast at Coney Island Jim's Cafe. We love diners, and this one's got character and New York flavor.

I stop to admire and experience the old-growth pine trees outside. 🌲🌲 Tourists and regulars are equally enjoying the A/C and the cleanliness here at Jim's Coney...

Back when I was a newly minted dad, I loved taking my kiddo to divey breakfast spots around the valley. One of those spots was Jim's Coney Island Cafe.

The decor looked straight up 1970s film noir. Rows of oversized yellow vinyl booths. A quarter mile of countertop. A row of sturdy stools that could accommodate any size or shape butt that came through the door.

The food was classic diner basic, the prices were reasonable, and the place was always nice and clean.

It’s now 2024, my kid has kids of his own, and JCI is exactly as we left it all those years ago.

Although pretentious food snobbies with ultra-delicate sensibilities and palates will likely steer clear of the place, the way I look at it is if you choose to spend 10 bucks for a plate of eggs at Jim’s, or peel off 40 bucks for the same plate of eggs in a fancier zip code, it’s all gonna come out in the same place in the end.

For me, Jim's Coney Island is a place where me and my kid made a few memories, and where divey breakfast...