Maplewood Diner
Maplewood Diner
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Good for Kids: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Has TV: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
1 review
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New owner after the fire means this is basically a brand-new diner. I tell you, it feels like it's been here forever. You get all the breakfast, lunch, and dinner choices you expect. Maybe not all of the combos that other diners have, but if you want it, they have it. I went with a large group and they let us push tables together (9 AM on a weekday helped). Service started a bit slow but as more people arrived and they gave us a second waitress, things picked up. Our two waitresses were bussing us nonstop, so for all the service problems everyone else has had here, we really didn't.
Besides, slow service – to me – is less important than bad food, and there's no bad food here. I surveyed everyone's varied dishes and saw nothing that looked puny, or scraggly, or poorly cooked. Everything was as it should be. People in the large group have already been here a few times and were raving about it. When I told them about the to-date poor Yelp reviews, they laughed. So that tells me food quality is consistent here as well.
I thoroughly enjoyed my Philly cheesesteak omelette. It wasn't huge, but decently sized with a nice portion of home fries. The side of toast came unbuttered! Thank you! (Maybe it was lightly buttered. It sure wasn't drowning.) I felt compelled to order dessert. I walked up front and surveyed everything, and went with the chocolate-covered brownie. Should have asked for it cold, because it came out warm and I didn't like it as much. The chocolate sauce got melty and the texture wasn't ideal. It was definitely chocolatey and I like my chocolate desserts cold, so note for next time. Still, they do bake everything in-house so it's good, huge, and cheap. Definitely save room!
All in all, it's a good diner. I'm not a huge fan of diners, but this strikes me as smack in the middle of a typical NJ diner. Considering how many NJ diners get various things wrong, particularly with food doneness and temperature, and also with being cheap on sizes and drinks (this one has free refills! not just one!), I guess by default this one comes recommended. Give it a shot yourself, and hopefully the management is reading these reviews and taking steps to address the service issues, because there's plenty of potential here.