Perkins Restaurant & Bakery

Cashier and Manager are rude! Will not accept birthday coupons that were emailed to me from Perkins.

To start off, I really do love Perkins. This was my first time going to the east Brunswick location, I usually go to the one in hazlet (airport plaza) we got a table for five, going to breakfast and our waitress was extremely nice! We asked her before we even ordered food if we can split checks because one of my friends had a credit card. She said on weekends you can only split it at the front. We were like okay that’s fine. We finished eating and it was all really good food, I was pretty happy about that. We got to the front and I asked the older lady at the front to split the check for us. She was appalled that I asked that question, giving us all attitude saying «if I had a line I wouldn’t do it» meanwhile there was like 7 other tables in the restaurant. I told her our server said it was okay for us to do that and I didn’t see the issue. She responded by saying «oh did she now» and raised her eyebrows and it was extremely rude of her. It made me and my friends feel extremely uncomfortable because we didn’t know it was an issue.
I am not sure if this woman was the manager or not.
We are all in our twenties and she just seemed annoyed that a bunch of «kids» we’re asking for separate checks.
I understand how sometimes it can be annoying working in a restaurant and people ask you that all the time. I worked in a restaurant myself for 2 years and it would piss me off sometimes too. I am always one to ask to split the check before the waitress even puts in the order cause it’s frustrating when a big group asks you at the end, and you can’t remember what everyone got but in this situation that wasn’t even the case.
I just felt uncomfortable and a burden and probably won’t return for a while now.

I love Perkins, and this one definitely doesn’t disappoint. Coffee is always good, service is ALWAYS friendly and the food comes out quickly and nice and hot!
They have these pancake strips that have a piece of bacon in them that are awesome. And honestly who doesn’t love the option of getting a muffin WITH your meal!!!
Not bad for a chain restaurant!

Love this Perkins. We are often seated right away, even when it looks like there will be a wait. They manage their table seating very well here. Service is always friendly, and attentive. And the food comes out fast! I definitely recommend this Perkins for breakfast.

Wow, a way better experience than I had anticipated. Now, I now Perkins is a glorified diner essentially in terms of their menu, but this review is for their hearty portions, friendly service, and quiet ambiance.
Blueberry pancakes with bananas– two buttermilk pancakes (not overly sweet), with a lot of blueberries. When I read the description «loaded with blueberries», I inwardly thought «Yeah, right, OK. More like a few sprinkles». But when it came out, I was pleasantly surprised; it was definitely loaded with blueberries. Every bite had several of them. Added a natural sweetness and tartness that I enjoyed. Fresh bananas, no brown spots. The syrup was a little watery, so when I poured it on, it literally spread and pooled around the entire plate. Ihop syrup is thicker and that’s what I was expecting.
Appetizers: quesadillas — very filling. Usually quesadillas are all cheese, and a string of meat that technically classifies it as «Chicken quesadillas», but this one had actual cubes of chicken, a bit oily on the bottom of the plate, but that just made it more satisfying lol. Had a drizzle of bbq sauce on it, that added a nice kick to it.
A platter of three — onion rings (very crispy coating. You could hear the crunch with every bite). Fried pickles (tangy and salty, but some of the breading didn’t adhere to the pickles so it was a bit inconsistent), and mozzarella sticks (came out hot, nearly burned all our mouths).
Tomato soup, half sandwich — my friend got this. Sandwich looked thick with deli meat. Not some stingy one or two slices where all you get is a mouthful of bread. Cheese looked hot and gooey. Tomato soup was a thick consistency. I was kind of expecting the runny canned soup stuff.
Egg omelette, pumpkin muffins, home fries — huge portion of potatoes (almost an entire plate within itself) and crispy out the outside, but not burnt. Soft on the inside. Those little bites were addictive.
Waitress was a young girl, friendly, attentive, and accommodating. Definitely a low key place, old fashioned décor, neutral tones, a little dated, and most older folks eating here (senior citizen range), or families. Not a loud, rowdy, energetic, hangout spot. Since it doesn’t get insanely crowded, you feel comfortable taking your time to eat and lingering as you catch up with friends/​family. Sometimes when it’s too crowded, the servers are nice, but they are rushing around and you kind of get lost in among all the customers. It’s not the case here. It was 8:45 pm on a Saturday night and the place was practically cleared out.
I had a 20% coupon from joining the email club and we wanted to split the bill three ways via credit card. It was more of a hassle for them to split the bill, print new receipts, but they were very helpful and patient, no attitudes. It was a great experience, and I would love to come back to eat a leisure, relaxed meal.

Best breakfast! Love the weekday breakfast specials. So much food and choices for such a low price! Always good service! Never disappointed!

I was sure Perkins would be in for a 2-​star review from me, but turns out to be an unexpected surprise at 3.
Not much color for me to add to what’s been said. Perkins is a chain diner, a click or two above Denny’s, but in no danger of unseating your better Jersey diners. Southern-​style treats like chicken biscuits and sausage gravy give them a slight edge of differentiation, but other than that, it’s all typical diner fare.
I was happy to find it clean inside, with prompt service, and a waiter named Chris who managed to get two very complicated, customized orders to come out hot and to our detailed specificity. Maybe it had something to do with his awesome name. At least they seem to be hiring teens with at least half a brain or more here.
The food was perfectly average, but better than I expected. As Bill M. says, there’s not a whole lot of flavor going on in any of these generic ingredients. But breakfast sandwiches, chicken biscuits, and hash browns were all passable enough to soak up the many Manhattans consumed only mere hours earlier the previous night.
As a guy who’s not a huge fan of either The Colonial or Seville Diners, I can’t say I’d rule out another visit to Perkins. But I sure do miss my old haunts, like Egg and Pie & Thighs back in Brooklyn. Now THAT is the kind of breakfast I’d love to see spring up in Central Jersey. Oh well. One can wish…

Restaurant wasn’t bad. Food was okay. Hospitality was pretty good. I must say, everyone was friendly. The manager was very helpful seating me and taking care of my requests. It’s sad because the restaurant had 7 waitresses standing around laughing and joking with no customers and a help wanted sign in the window. Very strange.
Overall I give them a 4 star rating … It gave me this diner feeling when I walked in which I wasn’t too thrilled about. If I wanted that I would’ve gone to colonial or Seville diner

I have to say for a Saturday morning they have a full staff and we were able to be seated with now wait. Something Quick easy and simple before I start my day.

I went here for a late brunch/​lunch with my boyfriend and his mom on Sunday (⁰⁴⁄₁₃), and I really like the atmosphere of the place. It has a warm, inviting feel to it, and the booths are snug without being uncomfortable, and they give you a sense of privacy.
Our waiter (Torrence, I believe his name was) was very nice, if a little on the slow side (he didn’t quite understand my boyfriend’s mom’s request to bring out a pitcher of plain hot water so she could brew her own unsweetened tea, nor did he understand my boyfriend’s question on whether they used organic eggs or egg whites for their omelettes), but he was polite and served us our food promptly. I ordered the Fit Favorites breakfast dish: the Blueberry Banana Pancake Platter, which came with two buttermilk blueberry pancakes, topped with sliced bananas, two chicken sausages, and scrambled Egg Beaters. I know, it sounds heavy, but it really wasn’t. I thought it was very good. Perkins is known for making «comfort-​food», but I think they’ve stepped it up a bit with their new menu options.
The next time I come here, I think I’ll try the Lemon Pepper Tilapia (also from the Fit Favorites portion of the menu).

Had a great breakfast this morning. I love that I was able to go online ahead of time and use the nutritional calculator to plan my meal and be able to stay on track with my diet. Just as you could customize the meal online, the restaurant was very accommodating. Everyone at the table had different requests and the waiter was very pleasant and not rattled at all by our requests. The omelette I ordered was much more delicious than I expected. I had the Mediterranean omelette with egg beaters, without Hollandaise sauce. The roasted tomatoes were what made it so good. The coffee was also very good and bottomless.

Disappointed with this Perkins. I would like to say that I drove all night from Florida and Perkins was the restaurant of choice after a long drive. The coffee pots are in dire need of replacement. The coffee pots were disgusting. I glanced over at the table next to me and the pot seemed rusty on the outside. I unfortunately did not notice the coffee pot until I had a taste of the coffee and the coffee was terrible. I ordered turkey bacon and it looked fake and the Brioche was very soggy. The waiter had no personality. The waiter didn’t even ask how our food turned out. – He came by to pick up the plates and saw the turkey bacon and Brioche was intact and didn’t ask why. I was too tired from my drive. You may want to visit a different Perkins but just not this one. 9÷1÷13

Perkin’s fills the niche also filled by such chains as Denny’s and IHOP, both of which are just mile or so away on this stretch of Route 18 in East Brunswick. Their menus are similiar – heavy on the breakfast items, but also carry a wide range of food to meet your needs no matter the time of day.
I went with the family for a late lunch/​early dinner on Sunday, mostly because we were torn between breakfast food (my mother and I) and lunch (my wife and daughter). We were greeted by a very cheerful – if allergy plagued – server who was a good mix of professional and friendly. My problem with other chains listed above is that most have servers who are less than professional, but they also draw a more downscale crowd than Perkin’s.
My Brioche French Toast was OK. It was still lacking in the taste department even after smothering it with butter and syrup. It’s not that I didn’t enjoy it, but I’d expect a more durable piece of bread as a brioche, and what they dipped it in seemed to be only milk with maybe a smattering of egg and vanilla, though I really couldn’t taste it. Everyone else seemed to enjoy their food, and I’ve had their pastries in the past and they are really over the top in the delicious category. They delivered a perfect pair of over easy eggs with my french toast, and the bacon was perfectly crisp, so the meal was, on balance, OK.
Now, as for the coffee, it’s the middle of the road/​please everyone kind of beverage. If you like your coffee strong enough to melt your spoon, or you’re more used to Starbucks, you’ll be utterly bored by it. If you’re a Dunkin Donuts fan, this is more your style. I’m the former, so there wasn’t enough sweetener and cream to make it tasty. I’m not saying this is a problem because MANY people like their coffee a bit weaker than I, but I figured you’d want to know before going there in search of a caffeine jolt.
It’s a great place for groups, nicely situated along the Route 18 corridor (and will be even more favorable once the new shopping center goes in next door) and have a good crew of servers. Don’t come here expecting fantastic food, though.