Tom Sawyer Diner
“HOME MADE CORNED BEEF HASH
The only words you need to know when you come to this diner are above!!”
“They have all the expected diner favorites, and some great healthy options as well.”
“now the last time i was here, which happened to be this past sunday, we were again a large party, 10 this time, breakfast was on the menu literally.”
Tom Sawyer 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
Caters: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
8 reviews
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Diners are like a pair of well worn slippers; we all have our favorite and comfort is key. This joint is not comfortable (closer to creepy) and that about sums up my experience here.
It was late, we were hungry, and Tom Sawyer was on our way home. It is now morning, we both have bellyaches, and I stayed home to nurse mine. I like Mark Twain just fine, but this namesake eatery has only one thing in common with his famous character; a penchant for food related misadventures and mischief, and in that respect, it is aptly named.
You can usually count on some decent basics at a diner in NJ — like coffee, french fries, gyro's or reubens. But here the french fries tasted like deep fried balsa wood, and the open faced"combo" reuben came with too much sauerkraut, a few paltry slices of rubbery "mystery meat" masquerading as pastrami and corned beef, soggy rye bread and a tease of swiss cheese (at $13.95). I gave up at 3 forkfuls. The gyro (at $14.99) was greasy and sold as lamb (seasoned chopped beef all the way) accompanied by a congealed tzatziki sauce that spread like cream cheese. The gyro stayed behind too – mostly.
The cole slaw looked and tasted old, and even the jarred thousand island dressing had an off flavor. The watered down coffee and iced tea was undrinkable. About the only item on our plates that tasted more or less as it should was the pickle.
C'mon folks — some people actually know the difference!!
We declined dessert but our waiter brought a gratis piece of pumpkin pie anyway. I should have avoided this, but I was hungry and the meal sucked to that point. I tried it. It tasted like leftovers from well before Thanksgiving, and was served on a plate that had "Tom Sawyer" painted on in syrup. But the syrup (intended to be eaten with the pie) had hardened, providing some provenance of it's age.
So far as service goes, it was little better than the food. When we arrived, the restaurant was empty — it's night time after all — but our waiter was impatient (like hopped up impatient) and constantly at us to order — must have been to our table 7 or 8 times in 5 minutes. WTF?? The lady at the cash register was surly and indifferent, and the maitre d was frenetically walking about the front of house — in a rush to go nowhere it seemed. Bizarre.
I hate slamming restaurants, much less after a single visit, but I saw enough flaws in this operation to give it a failing grade — and agree with many of the complaints posted by other reviewers on Yelp. It seems TS survive's mostly by dint of it's convenient location. Just off the Parkway and astride a shopping mall with little competition nearby, it probably attracts plenty of suckers and stragglers (like us).
WIGB? Yeah — right. "Bang – zoom – To the Moon Alice!"
Went to this place for Sunday brunch. It was ok. My chorizo breakfast special left something to be desired. TONS of tasteless potatoes under a mess of cheese and 2 eggs over easy. Chorizo didn't taste great either. Other parties enjoyed their food but it wasn't anything miraculous. The smoked salmon platter looked delicious, I regretted not getting that. The service was good. I think for a diner it's a good spot, I'd go back if others were going there. Not sure I'd go out of my way to go myself again though.
Of course I didn't get the waitress' name but gave her a difficult order for four people… i want this well done, I want to add this, I want to exchange this for that. NO ticket. Just all in her head. Not one slip up either.
All our food was great, nothing out of the ordinary requested, but it all was delivered quickly and just as we asked for it. What else can you ask for?
Great waffles and breakfast food. The menu is not a crazy diner menu with 10,000 options, but it does have a bunch of pages in it's menu. Booths are comfortable, service is great.
I didn't have high hopes when I came here. I don't love diners and didn't expect this one to be an exception, but the people I was with really wanted to come to lunch on a Saturday and I'm glad I acquiesced! The parking lot was packed and every table was taken when we arrived at 12:30, which is always a good sign. The have an all-day breakfast menu, which I chose to order off of rather than the lunch menu. I ordered a custom omelet and it was HUGE. It was cooked perfectly and the veggies all seemed pretty fresh rather than frozen. We also ordered French fries (again, huge portion) for the table and two BLT's with extra crispy bacon. We were all very happy with our choices!
My experiences at Tom Sawyer Diner have always been four star. If I am on my way to Campmore, have business in NJ or on the way to Philadelphia; if it is breakfast or brunch time, you can bet this is where I will stop, hands down straight up they do it right for me. Eggs fluffy and light, smokey bacon that is more than plentiful and some of the best home fries on the trail. For me home fries are the tell tale sign for any breakfast restaurant, it sets the entire tone for the meal. Tom Sawyer has some of the tastiest crispiest home fires I have had anywhere. Damn, if you can't golden crisp them tater's with some excellent flavor drop that item from the menu or git out the bizzness. Sadly this admonition is never heeded and many restaurants are totally unaware that most customers believe and feel as I do, maybe not quite as militantly.
The Diner is decorated beautifully inside, the service is excellent and the breakfast menu rocks, give it a try and see if you don't breakout in your happy dance.
As far as diners go, this one rates pretty high with me. I have to admit that years ago I wouldn't have written anything special about this place but since they renovated even the food is prettier and tastier. When my family visits from Long Island they insist we go here for lunch. They have something for everyone. Their breakfasts are reasonably priced and you get a lot of food. The soups are great and so is their comfort meatloaf. Good place for Sunday brunch too! They like to turn the tables quickly so you might feel rush out at the end of your good meal. Great place to meet friends, especially if you gave toddlers and need quick reliable service and food. Be warned the parking lot can get packed on weekends and look out when backing up, I've seen some really creative parking there!
Haven't been to this diner since before it burned down and was renovated, therefore years ago. (It used to be good)
Went in for breakfast today and was not wowed. Person at front was very nice and welcoming and the space and ambience nice but our server was not good and neither was the food. Pancakes were dry, scrambled eggs were dry and were pretty much patties not really scrambled eggs. The toast was burnt (i mean c'mon…toast? Even though we were a full table we did not have enough waters, nor napkins not silverware- we had to keep taking from other tables. The chocolate pancakes were also dry and although they had many chocolate chips in them, they were not all melted therefore making those pancakes even drier! Home Fries were just OK.
The service really could have been better. They took forever to take our orders, the drinks took a while to come out and the food even longer. Yet the check was placed on our table before we were even done!
Again, very disappointed. Wish I could at least give three stars but honestly we go to a diner for food, especially breakfast and it was pretty bad. Bad food + bad service = 2 stars
Oh I should add bacon was good (very, very thin and crispy and the portions were good).
I really, really wanted to like this place but will not be returning ANY time soon! Super disappointed! Just NOT worth the prices!!!