Second Chance Diner
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In a word? “Meh.” I had high hopes, maybe that was my first mistake. The place itself is decently nice, and the staff was fine. Nothing extraordinary, nothing offensive. We visited on a Sunday morning. It was quite busy, but only being a party of 2, we were sat immediately with no wait. The food wasn’t spectacular. I ordered the 2x2x2. Two eggs, two pieces of bacon or sausage, two pancakes or French toast. I ordered bacon with the meal and asked if I could also get sausage as an extra. Instead of extra, I was given the normal meal portion, half bacon, half sausage. So I was given one single sausage link, and 2 tiny strips of bacon. A misunderstanding I guess, but disappointing nonetheless. The food was again, “meh?” Normal diner food. Nothing spectacular. Bacon was subpar and I honestly didn’t want to finish the tiny portion I was given. The pancakes were huge and fluffy, but easily the driest pancakes I’ve ever eaten. For some reason, they were sickeningly sweet. I like sweet food, but these were way overboard for pancakes. They honestly tasted like they had ground up sugary cereal in them or something. I had to double check I wasn’t given the wrong order. I ate about 1/4 of them and struggled to eat that much. My wife ordered a waffle, which arrived over-browned, borderline burned. And tasted about as good as it looked. The sausage patties that came with it were good. Neither my pancakes, nor my wife’s waffle were served with butter. We had to ask for it after the fact. We also weren’t a huge fan of the mimosa flight flavors. To top it off, I ordered a glass of milk to come out with my meal. The milk was spoiled. I second guessed myself and had my wife try it to confirm. I always feel awkward raising concerns but I did ask for another. The second glass was fine. At that point I was pretty much over the whole experience. The bill was over $60 with tip. $20 of it was the mimosa flight, so it could have been cheaper. But even so, the mimosa flight was pretty horrid for that price. Even in a world of high inflation, $60 feels like a bit of a slap in the face when my meal came with one sausage link and two tiny, less than great strips of bacon. I understand everyone has different tastes, so maybe someone likes super sweet pancakes. I guess I’ll let that one slide. But the rest of the experience was just lackluster. I wouldn’t say the food was bad, but I wouldn’t describe it as good. I can’t give them a break for it being a Sunday morning. It’s a diner, that should be their expertise. All in all, I wouldn’t go back. I’m fine with getting some bad milk or a burned waffle, or a misunderstanding with an order, it happens. But it just wasn’t good enough to justify the rest of the experience or the high bill. It seems like places like this try to survive via gimmicky, wow-worthy menu items. Which is fine if you execute the simple stuff well first. If you can’t even get normal diner food right, maybe work on perfecting that first. Places like Mimi’s in Fulton blow this place out of the water.
ScottScott
00
I've had a couple tough experiences with second chance diner. The service is not good. The most recent experience involved difficulty ordering and receiving order. Called at 12:20pm, asked to put in a take out order. Was put on hold for 15 minutes. Think they turned off the phones. They close at 2pm so it seemed a bit early for them to stop taking orders. Tried calling from another number while on hold, busytones. Tried hanging up and calling from the original phone, busytones for another 15 minutes. Decided to drive down and put in order in-person. Restaurant was mostly full, but not extremely busy. Put in an order, was told 10-15 minutes for 5 menu items. Came back in 15 minutes. Not ready. Took 30 minutes after ordering. In total, took about an hour for a takeout order. They started turning people away at the door about 45 minutes before closing. Noticed people weren't taking their leftovers home, which was not a good sign. The food was good, not exceptional, but better than average. The fact that they have a vegan option os a plus. The only weird thing about the food was the pancake bites. They are supposed to be pancake batter with cinnamon then deep fried, what we received... deep fried oreos Or that's our best assessment, added a photo for context. The service has always been a bit weird. I understand places get busy but this seems to happen each time I've gone or tried to order from second chance (I'm referring to the difficulty to order or get seated and the longer wait than what was communicated). The phone being busy for 30 minutes when nobody was taking orders and no other to-go orders being put out from the kitchen is bizarre. The woman at the register had no valid response to why the phone was busy/off the hook. There was also no delivery option from grubhub or delivery services for either delivery or pickup. Whenever I look at the delivery services or websites to place online orders, they say the restaurant is closed, although the restaurant is not actually closed. We tried everything. They just do not make it easy to do business with them.
Anthony MAnthony M
00
Highly disappointed. I have loved this restaurant since day 1 that it opened its first location. I have never had anything bad to say till now. Haven’t been able to come here for about 6 months or more and we walked in and it isn’t busy like it’s usual which made me wonder why. I now know why. The service is awful. We first waited about 15 minutes to be able to meet our waitress and get drinks. Then once we got our food, the corned beef hash was burnt, pancakes were literally drenched in syrup. Even though it should be able to be put on once received. Ham and French toast was over cooked. Asked for new French toast that wasn’t over cooked and our waitress, Anna, gave the face like she knew and would get me more. Once I got my new French toast, I asked for butter, it took her a few to get me it and then she walked past a cup that had packs of butter in it on a table they use for coffee and gave it to me. I reached in to get a pack and it turns out that it was a cup full of used butter containers. I got up to let her know and got no apology. Got a thing of butter from the back from her and still no apology. I am sad that this place has changed its values in service and quality.
Christine RavasChristine Ravas
00
STOP. READ THIS REVIEW FOR CONFIRMATION OF DELICIOUSNESS. Are you looking at reviews to find a breakfast place that will hit every spot in your list of cravings? You need to eat here. Becca was the absolute best server; she guided us through the menu perfectly that we were ready to order within two minutes. Benedict flight (corned beef benedict, brisket benedict, and sausage benedict) was outstanding. Perfectly-cooked egg, brisket was crispy on the edges and season wonderfully, the corned beef was tender and mild, and the sausage was perfect breakfast sausage. Pancake flight: peanut butter banana pancakes, cinnamon roll pancakes, and bananas foster French toast. All 3 were out of this world. Perfect combinations of all elements. The French toast had crisped edges but was fluffy upon biting in. The pancakes were soft with the perfect bite to them. The cinnamon roll pancakes were a truly ludicrously perfect combination of both cinnamon rolls and pancakes. It was more than just the flavor; the texture of the top pancake was like biting into the crispy edge of a cinnamon roll. Incredible. Eat here
Duncan GoelDuncan Goel
00
The food is awesome! I had the pumpkin pan cakes and they were light and fluffy. The pumpkin flavor is fantastic and the spices just pop with every bite. I highly recommend Second Chance diner. Friendly staff and excellent service. I also had the blueberry buckle french toast which was a special and that was excellent. It was 2 slices of texas toast covered with blueberries and topped with a streusel crumb topping and icing. It melted in your mouth. So good! They hope to make it permanent on their new menu they will have when they move to a larger location. I also highly recommend the pumpkin french toast. Loaded with pumpkin and a cinnamon flavor. If you like homefries, they have the best around. They are crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside and not greasy. The portion sizes are big. You will not leave there hungry. It is just an all around great place to go. They serve breakfast and lunch. You have to try it if you haven't yet. You will not be disappointed.
Kathleen MalesKathleen Males
00
First experience was today, and I can proudly say I am typing this with pains. Good pains! I am SO FULL and I have a whole nother meal for later! This will NOT be our last visit! The waitress was amazing, bless her soul for dealing with us LOL the food was incredible! Little to no wait time and they even called us to come in even though they closed five minutes after they called us. I was embarrassed because we're not "those guys" normally, but they were so gracious. I started to lose faith in local businesses, being they turn us away and treat us like we're bothering them at times, but these guys definitely redeemed my faith. Thank you all so so much for the wonderful and homey experience. If there are any Bloody Mary lovers out there, do yourself a favor and order their Ultimate Bloody Mary with your breakfast. You WON'T regret it!!
Jenni TodoraJenni Todora
00
Nearby Attractions Of Second Chance Diner
Camillus Commons
Camillus Park
TOPS Friendly Markets
Twin Trees
Monarch Jewelers
Camillus Octagon House

Camillus Commons
4.3
(274)Click for details

Camillus Park
4.6
(243)Click for details

TOPS Friendly Markets
4.0
(218)Click for details

Twin Trees
3.6
(113)Click for details
Nearby Restaurants Of Second Chance Diner
Adelita's Mexican Cocina & Tequila
Cam's Pizza Camillus NY
Shanghai Restaurant
Moe's Southwest Grill
Wendy's
McDonald's
Dunkin'

Adelita's Mexican Cocina & Tequila
4.4
(201)Click for details

Cam's Pizza Camillus NY
4.1
(172)Click for details

Shanghai Restaurant
4.5
(163)Click for details

Moe's Southwest Grill
4.0
(281)Click for details
Basic Info
Address
5407 W Genesee St, Camillus, NY 13031
Map
Phone
(315) 883-0008
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Website
secondchancediner.com
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Reviews
Overview
4.5
(588 reviews)
Ratings & Description
attractions: Camillus Commons, Camillus Park, TOPS Friendly Markets, Twin Trees, Monarch Jewelers, Camillus Octagon House, restaurants: Adelita's Mexican Cocina & Tequila, Cam's Pizza Camillus NY, Shanghai Restaurant, Moe's Southwest Grill, Wendy's, McDonald's, Dunkin'

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