Colonial Diner
“I always get the 15 dollar lite 4 oz steak (only 250 calories) It also comes with a salad bar which has fresh vegetables.”
“We love the Santa Monica burger with avocado, spinach, grilled onion, and mustard balsamic.”
“FRESH squeezed orange juice!!!”
Colonial Diner
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Good for Kids: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Has TV: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
PokéStop Nearby: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
8 reviews
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Diners always get the job done and the Colonial falls in line with what you expect. A step above the traditional greasy roadside spoon.
This establishment has been around for what seems forever lying alongside busy route 18, also known as the Central Jersey chain food capital. Anyone that knows East Brunswick is all too aware of the domino design of all the popular food and shopping stores running up and down this strip.
Now I wouldn't say anything stands out on the menu. No Michelin stars here, that's for sure. In fact nothing ethnically over the top that a big time foodie like myself would go out of my or your way for. With that said having dined here countless times, I've never sent anything back to the kitchen either, well except for that one time at 2am after the bar closed we came in with a jockey and his horse and well I'll save that story for Facebook, lol.
As all diners the menu variety is always abominal. There's something to meet anyone's taste buds. The lunch specials are ample and always priced well, usually under $10. I'm fond of the unlimited soup and fresh salad bar special which is a nice bargain @ $9. Both soup options are always homemade and oh so comforting. I'm a soupy kind a guy, unless the temperature rises into the 90's, I'm all about the soup, baby.
As afore mentioned we have every food deviation known to man on our busy Main Street. So how would one stand out not to mention thrive in the competitive environment? The Colonial is quite active in the community sponsoring events such as the CNBA networking events and other local charities. Management is very friendly as is the staff.
Plenty of booths and tables to smack your butt down. Super clean. Lots of available parking.
So, when in EB and having difficulty deciding on a chow destination especially for a business or social gathering, swing by the Colonial for a affordable bite that offers something for all.
This is a good diner to go to if you are driving by and want a bite to eat-
I came here for lunch yesterday and they followed my instructions exactly- whole grain club sandwich, low mayo, without that center piece of bread.
Service: We had a waiter that was slow to get our order and bring the check at the end. They should know it's lunch hour and we have to get back to work. He was very quick with lemonade refills though- always had a glass at the table before we finished with the one before.
Quality: I liked the club sandwich- it was your everyday turkey (slightly dry but at least it was not the gelatin stabilized deli meat), BLT, mayo and bread. Nothing bad really to say about it but nothing amazing either. Served with cole slaw and a pickle- the cole slaw was a nice balance of sweet and vinegar and the pickle was a standard quarter deli pickle.
Price: around $15 a person after tips for lunch. Definitely not a bargain place, but the portions are big enough to account for the prices. I would love to try breakfast one day and will be back!
Been here a couple of times and it's been good. I can't get over the skylark salad. It was a perfect blend of mesclun greens, pears, red onion, dried cranberries, candied walnuts, crumbled bleu cheese, aged sherry dressing. Haven't had anything that good in years. And that's coming from someone who never craves salad. In fact, I am no fan of them. But this salad is outstanding.
One of many NJ diners. Can you tell by the excitement in this review? This place doesn't really set itself apart from the rest. My wife and I come here mainly because she likes a couple of items on the menu, the pumpkin pancakes and healthy choice omelette, and there isn't any other better options we've found.
We only come here for breakfast. Haven't tried any non breakfast items. Pancakes and belgian waffles are ok. Omlettes are good. You can make your own or choose from the variety in the menu. They have breakfast sandwiches, benedicts, crepes, and breakfast quesadillas. All passable nothing to write home about. Coffee is meh. Home fries not great.
Restaurant is clean and service is good. They do get busy so come early, or non peak meal times.
Mixed feelings about this place, a lot of good/bad dishes, but it's also close to my house and has a decent salad bar and soup that I really enjoy.
Usually get a bowl of chicken noodle soup, some bread slices, and they also have baked potatoes in which I slather on the sour cream and bacon bits from the salad bar. As for the salad, I layer on the carrots, onions, tomatoes, cucumbers — plenty of hearty fresh produce here, and macaroni salad, cheese.
Dishes:
Pizza burger – for some reason I expected to taste more of a "pizza" thing here, but I didn't other than some marinara sauce and cheese. Otherwise, a standard burger probably works just fine.
Fish and Chips- Horrible. The breading was soggy and kept falling off. Should be crispy battered fish.
Fried Shrimp platter- It was good. Probably hard to mess up fried shrimps and french fries.
Chicken Franchaise — very tender chicken, great sauce, a hearty stem of broccoli, and mashed potatoes or mixed veggies (I can't remember).
It can get pretty busy depending when you go. But it's a spacious establishment, and you don't ever feel as if you are crowded and on top of one another.
Awesome food, although our waitress was a bit forgetful. They're always busy and the food is delicious! I ordered a cute cappuccino and it was so tasty. The quality of food here is very good!!
I always get great service. I've been to this dinner and the home fries are tasty, the eggs are COOKED to perfection, the toast was cold (that's why you get a 4 star). HUGE part of my meal is the butter melting and the jelly combo! The coffee was tasty (4 cups later).
I will say you can't substitute and change the omelets, but the options need to change…They NEED me to come in and assist with the options of omelets. I think they should add the following….
cheddar (never do better), bacon, yellow onion, and peppers: delicious. I ordered this and it was out of this world GOOD.
if you come here you need to try the chocolate cake cheesecake WOAH. Out of this world delicious. I really enjoyed the people watching and the atmosphere. I thought this was a 24 hour diner, but it was actually closing at 12pm that evening (Saturday). We can't perfect timing. We stayed a few hours and hung out, talked, and just had a great time.
Go Mario, he was our server and he was amazing.
Probably one of the oldest diners in this area. Popular with the locals I suppose. Been rather disappointed on both my visits – slow service, weak, tepid coffee, and very "meh" pancakes. If a diner can't get breakfast right, it's not for me.