Oconee Diner — Restaurant in Town of Islip

On Sunday we were invited to a friend's birthday dinner at the Oconee Diner , we drove about 45 minutes to get there hoping its a nice place , we pulled into a HUGE clean parking lot with plenty of spots and then walked in and... WOW !!! 2 friendly guys greeted us at the door with a smile and ushered us to our group table , I later learned they are the owners and the powerhouses behind this restaurant's success ,the place was stunningly decorated for valentines day with not an inch to spare ( see photos ) I have never seen anything like this in a diner , I later learned that they do this for basically every holiday for the joy of their customers.. I mean WOW !!!! the table was already loaded with bread baskets an cookies , lots of water for everyone and tons of large thick napkins and the staff was hovering around to attend our every request.and the food ??? when it came the portions were HUGE !!! and the food absolutely delicious , in fact it was so plentiful that many of us big eaters were still taking boxes home ..but wait its gets better ..at one point without a warning the owners and staff showed up out of nowhere with a birthday cake and candle , snuck up behind our friend and screamed : HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR CUSTOMER !!!!!! yes they screamed and sang and whistled and I was on the floor rolling and laughing ...lol i have NEVER seen anything like this . our fiend was so surprised ..lol this place is ..a m a z I n g !!! it is almost an hour drive in traffic for us but we don't care !!! after what we witnessed yesterday we are hooked , we are going back there , you should too !!!!! the owners later introduced themselves by name to all of us so when you go there ask for Peter or Gus and tell them that Yossi sent you FAST FORWARD A COUPLE OF WEEKS OR SO AND...... SO NOW that we discovered this gem of a diner we decided to go back for another dinner and to see if our impression of its greatness can stand the test of our first visit and man oh man this was an awesome experience yet again. it was Sat late afternoon and the place was PACKED !! AND YET 60 seconds after we walked in we were sitting down at one of the large booths with a table full of fresh onion rolland butter baskets , ice water tons of napkins and a super attentive server that paid attention to us like we were the only people there , the place was yet again beautifully decorated , this time in green for St Patrick's day ( when do they find time do it ??? lol ) this time around I enjoyed the oconee's famous Chicken Noodle Matzoh ball soup ( out of this world ) and a Chicken Parm sandwich with a sweet potato in maple syrup as side ( excellent as well ) the dessert was this ultra creamy cheese cake that almost felt like delicious parfait ( how do they cut it so nicely ?? I mean it was soooo soft and airy . we had an awesome experience this time around as well and we cant wait to go back there yet again and again and again

Overall the experience was only okay. Kids had pancakes, I had moussaka, and the wife had salmon. The pancakes were absolutely awful, a real disappointment. They were hard and dry. Honestly, it is what drove me to write a review. I have never had bad pancakes at a diner, until now. They are so simple to make, not sure how they messed them up so badly. Couldn't get the kids to eat them, they just made a huge mess with them. Can't really blame them because they were so dry they crumbled apart when I tried to cut them.

Next, my moussaka was very underwhelming. The Béchamel sauce on top is supposed to be white, not sure why there's is yellow/orange? The sauce is just supposed to be milk, flour, butter, with a hint of nutmeg... Not really what they are doing apparently. While the moussaka was the right ingredients, it was underseasoned and underwhelming. Most LI diners make great moussaka... not here...

Best for last, my wife ordered salmon. Her salmon was a very generous portion and cooked very well. If I were to go back, I would certainly order this item again.

The restaurant has interesting decorations. I think the decorations is what draw people to the restaurant. When we were there, the area just to the right of the entrance was very cold. But where they sat us, around the corner and in the back, the A/C is either broken or extremely undersized. Felt like we could feel the heat from the kitchen blowing out at us!

Finally, the men's room is just gross. Feels like it hasn't been cleaned or updated since the...

I have never really liked this diner in the past but my friend and I were very hungry after shopping and it was coming up on the way home. She suggested it, not me. This diner is extremely over stimulating with its’ loud music playing that you can not have a conversation. The wait staff hangs around the front by the cashier, not looking if anyone needs something at their table. The TVs are on. The music is playing loud and the decorations could give anyone a seizure. I was also charged $2.00 extra because I wanted pita bread instead of a hamburger bun. The waiter did not tell me it was extra. I refused to pay the extra cost pf $2.00 for a piece of pita bread. The owner was scolding the waiter loudly, even with the music I heard him. I got up from the table with my friend, went over to defend the young waiter. Yes, he made a mistake but NO! The owner should not be belittling him in front of customers and I complained that an upcharge for the alternate pita choice was not on the menu. The owner then became loud and belligerent with me . He stated that he had rent and taxes to pay and that pita costs more than regular buns. With that ridiculous statement. I told him to purchase less decorations, sell some of those TVs at the tables and lower the music. They may serve good food but their attitude sucks and so does the dining experience. It’s a diner,...