Second Chance Diner — Restaurant in Town of Camillus

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...

Today, my friend Sarah & I met up at the brand-new Second Chance Diner location (located @ 4002 West Genesee Street in Camillus). Pulling into the packed parking lot, I was both nervous and excited—nervous because I thought we’d be in for a long wait, excited because a packed lot usually means one thing: AMAZING food and service.

I’m happy to say I couldn’t have been more wrong about the wait! From the very moment I walked through the door, I was greeted by two warm, smiling hostesses who made me feel instantly welcome. Even with two larger parties ahead of me, we waited no more than 5–7 minutes (shorter than the estimated time!). Before I even sat down, I knew I was in for something special.

The service was seamless. Our hostess brought fresh napkins and silverware to the table right away, and within a minute, we had two big glasses of water. Our server, Liz, was nothing short of phenomenal—attentive, upbeat, and genuinely caring. Throughout the meal, multiple staff members checked on us to make sure we had fresh coffee, water, and anything else we might need. You don’t often see that kind of teamwork and attention anymore—it felt refreshing.

Now, the food: 🤌🏼👨‍🍳 chef’s kiss. We ordered the OG Fritta and the Southwest Fritta, both half sizes (which were still HUMONGOUS). Packed with flavor, color, and perfectly cooked ingredients, every bite was delicious. The English muffin on the side was toasted just right, and I couldn’t help but notice the nearly endless bread options—bagels, English muffins, and what felt like 37 different kinds of toast!

On top of the already incredible service and food, the owner, Eddie, personally stopped by our table to greet us and make sure everything was perfect. That kind of personal touch speaks volumes about why this diner continues to outgrow its locations—when the owner himself is making sure every guest feels valued, you know you’ve found something special.

My Ratings: • Staff: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ – Friendly, attentive, and genuinely caring • Food: 👨‍🍳💋🤌🏼 – Packed with flavor & HUGE portions • Cleanliness: 🧽🧹 – Spotless from seating area to restrooms • Ambiance: 🤗 – Cozy, welcoming, like being part of the family • Overall: 100/10 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

I walked in a first-timer and left feeling like family. Second Chance Diner is not just a place to eat—it’s an experience. Warm people, top-notch service, and food that leaves you both full and happy. I will most...

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...