Golden Palace Diner & Restaurant — Restaurant in Vineland

During an extended stay in this area I've eaten breakfast multiple times at local diners in a 20-mile radius or so. This is the best overall.

Even on busy weekend mornings you will find yourself seated and placing your order within minutes (if not seconds). Coffee refills are fast since your waitperson is supplemented by staff circulating to refill cups.

At most diners I build my own omelet, such as the feta, asparagus and tomato omelet shown (which, in this area, is generally the same as a Turkish omelet with the spinach swapped out for asparagus). The ingredients are fresh and generous. Care is taken in preparation, e.g. the eggs and potatoes are just right, rather than being cooked too quickly to increase grill throughput. The potatoes shown in the photo are with optional peppers & onions (also generous). The toast is good, e.g. not too thick or over-buttered.

A 4-egg omelet seems a little much compared to the typical 3 eggs. I realize we're only getting bigger as Americans. But, we should avoid fueling this trend. Then again, eating protein and fat reduces cravings for carbs, so it could have a beneficial effect for those who are able to capitalize on this effect to reduce unhealthy cravings for the rest of the day.

The dining room is exceptionally clean. The booths are comfortable, and the lighting is bright and white. Hopefully they dim the lights in the evening (and also use a warmer color). But, bright, white light is optimum in the morning for setting your mood and circadian rhythm. Other diners with dim lighting feel dated by contrast (and make you wonder what they could be hiding).

Parking is plentiful and easy to access, although entry/exit can be challenging since Delsi Drive can get busy.

The men's bathroom is not fancy, but well-kept and free of plumbing gas and musty smells not uncommon in diner bathrooms.

Google & Apple Pay are accepted. There is no customer-accessible terminal, so be prepared to speak your tip amount to the cashier, and hand over your phone so they can hold it to...

The food was great and our server was pleasant and made sure our drinks were always full.

A side note: We had been sitting behind a couple who heard us discussing what we were going to order. The husband removed himself from the table and had my server pull me to the front. He offered to pay for the meal to assure we were able to get whatever we wanted. Even after I thanked him but told him I could pay he still insisted he was paying for our dinner anyway... They left well before us, we ate and talked, and when the end of the meal came, I was reminded everything was paid for.

Here’s the point of the story. I came from out of town. Yesterday was my birthday and my family has been going through a lot so I wanted to get away for the weekend. Everything I planned fell through, so this weekend has been spent going with the wind. Though I was prepared to pay for our meal, this has basically been a situation where I scraped up what I could to have a little fun. He may have known but I highly doubt he did know, how much his kind gesture really meant to me. It wasn’t just someone paying for a meal, it was someone being so kind they would treat a complete stranger and without limit. He was truly a shining light through my cloudy days... If you get to read this, please know I appreciate you. Thank...

Worst place I have ever eaten at. I spent over $50 for food dogs wouldn't even eat. We ordered cherry Pepsi and there was half a glass full of cherry mix in it. Then we proceeded to get the bread and the waitress said the bread looks burnt but it's not. It clearly was and tasted terrible. We order calamari as an appetizer and it was the worst I've had. It looked like onion rings and tasted like it was frozen for years. I got my cream of crab soup and it was so cold it wouldn't melt an ice cube. I ordered shrimp and scallops marinara and my girlfriend ordered the pasta sampler and asked for sausage. The food came out with a meatball on her plate rather than a sausage and I took a bite of my shrimp and spit it right back up. The shrimp tasted like it went bad and they proceeded to cook it. It even started stinking and I took a bite. Then I decided to try the scallops and it was really gritty and chewy and tasted sour. The best was the pasta but how can you mess that up. I have felt sick everyday so far after eating there. I will never go back and I will continue to warn people to not go there. Like I said it was over $50 and was the worst experience and food I have ever had at a diner....