Jefferson Diner

We have been here many times but I think tonight was the last time. Not sure what is going on there but they need to get there act together. Matzoh ball soup was disgusting. Matzoh balls were horrible. Tasted like dirty dishwater. Turkey was so so. Mom’s omelet was OK, nothing great. Pickles were dry and tasteless. Giving two stars because the waiter was nice and my daughter’s quisedeilla was good. We will not be returning.

I have always loved this diner… was there the other day and the food wasn’t as good… and the serving of fries was not only cut down incredibly but they were Cold. Food was just ok, 40 bucks for 3 sandwiches. Ordered water to drink.

Stop it! This joint is out of bounds! From the kids’ meals my daughters ordered, to the best greek salad on the planet, to moussaka that made me question if this is real life, to baklava the size of a dinner plate – this diner is a one way stop to Flavortown! I’d eat the moussaka from a flip flop! Chocolate cakes are made with a gypsy potion, there’s no other explanation. The monte cristo might as well be served with a crane to take the leftovers to your car. Righteous flavors!

This place is like family, being greek myself my family will always come to this place to eat. I’ll either get grilled cheese with greek fries, or a pancake and home fries. Prices are quite fair for how much food we’re delivered, plus top notch ingredients call for high prices. The prices are lower than all the other local restaurants though.
Food is As good as it gets! Pancakes are always soft, and golden brown. Hash browns, are always lightly done (thats how I ask them to do it) with a brown crispy layer on top which I enjoy very much. Grilled cheese is just an average grilled cheese, but the greek fries are somethin’ special. I think it is cheese, lemon, & herb on them. I dont exactly know which cheese or herbs are on it, but those are something i’ll go brag about.
Staff is amazing, the owner and manager know us well, and are always excited when we arrive, the atmosphere is nice and the updated décor is beautiful! I give a Woohoo to this place, I love this place, Sparta Classic Diner doesn’t compare to this place. Diners, Drive ins, and Dives came here for the right reason, it feels like a lost family as soon as you walk into the door.
5 stars all around!

Typical Jersey diner food… nothing amazing but also nothing to complain about. Portions are decent for the price and service is quick. Best plus to this place is the fact that they deliver just about anything from their menu.

Great diner with huge sized portions that can easily feed a small country. I am thankful that I ordered the short stack as it was big enough for me to barely finish it. I was completely in a food coma once I did.
Everything was delicious, and the staff was very friendly and accommodating.
Looking around I wanted to try all the other dishes that I’ve seen being brought to other tables all around me.
This is hands down the best diner in the area and I will be back here soon to try more dishes. We came here mostly for breakfast but all the lunch and dinner options from their extensive menu looked great, including the pie’s.
The omelette that we ordered was very perfect and fluffy, you could tell that it was not made from low quality ingredients. Bacon was perfectly crunchy and french toast nice and fluffy.
Also, the side slice of cantaloupe was a nice touch to complement the meal!

Food is ok, but boy is it overpriced.

Jefferson Diner is another in my long line of Diner’s, Drive-in’s and Dives road trip stops. It’s just off Route 80 (4 miles) heading east or west across New Jersey, and it’s well worth the 5 minutes off the highway to eat there.
On this trip, I was feeling like a classic diner meal, so I went with the Hot Open-​faced Roast Beef Sandwich with French Fries and Brown Gravy (See picture). When you look at the picture it looks so perfect you’d almost swear it was a set up, but that was what they put down in front of me. Beautiful medium-​rare roast beef, wonderful crispy fries and smooth brown gravy, with the freshest steamed broccoli ever on the side. And the chef lays down a bed of brown gravy before he puts the fries on the plate so that the bottom fries get their fair share (If you look close at the picture you can see it under the fries!). Genius!
As if that blue plate special wasn’t enough, the order came with an appetizer and I chose the French Onion Soup (See picture). It was served appropriately in a crock, with a thick slab of what I’m pretty sure was browned-​melted gruyère over a slab of grilled French bread toast, in a beefy-​oniony broth that was savory and sweet at the same time. My only issue was that the broth could have been just a shade hotter, but all in all it was fun trying to tackle this bowl full of cheese, bread and broth, all of which was delicious.
I love this place so much that I will stop there every chance I get. The menu is about 10 pages long, so you can have almost anything you might want. It’s all great and it’s all fresh. They have a giant dessert case, but I’m always so full I never have room.

Despite being dramatically overpriced — and having generally good, but not particularly fantastic, food — I frequented the diner because it’s nearby, convenient, and the ambiance is fun. But after my experience there today, I will never go back.
I’ve been a vegetarian for seven years. While I don’t expect all restaurants to have extensive vegetarian menus, I do expect them to keep meat out of the vegetarian dishes on the menu. However, this morning I found a piece of ham in my hash browns (I had ordered a plain omelet, which comes with hash browns as a side). When I told my waiter, he looked at me like he wasn’t sure what I wanted him to do about it. When I went to pay at the counter and told the owner, she shrugged it off, saying the food is cooked close together in the kitchen. Then she walked away.
After I further explained to another manager that I could have gotten sick if I had eaten that, they gave me a chocolate chip cookie to make up for their mistake. The cookie was as big as it was hard and flavorless.
I’ve worked in a restaurant, and I’ve seen much more expensive meals than a $ 10 omelet comped. Considering how gaudy the décor at the diner is, I’m sure they could afford it.
There was also a strange sludgy substance on top of my corn muffin. I didn’t eat it.
Word to the wise, and not just for vegetarians: if they mess up your dish, they won’t take any blame. They won’t pay for their mistake. And I’ve seen them mess up before, on multiple occasions, so don’t think it’s rare. I won’t be back.

I’ve been here several times and every time has been bad that’s why I give it one star. Upset stomach for me and my fiancé both every time. One time we found a spider still alive in the food and paid and left and vowed to never return. Worst diner in NJ hands down idk how «it’s ranked #1 in NJ». Lies.

Friday night. I ordered Fish and chips. Fish was over cooked, burned in places. Fries were so heavily spiced as to be nearly inedible and were also overcooked. Service was pleasant but didn’t make up for my bad food. Used rest room before getting back on the road. Smelled and needed cleaning

I absolutely LOVE the Jefferson diner. By far, the best diner in NJ. Excellent breakfasts and desserts too. Fast and friendly service. Love taking my child here. They can be loud and no one cares! Yay for that!

Did some hiking at Stokes over the weekend. We were pretty hungry afterwards. Driving down the highway towards home we stumbled on Jefferson Diner.
I’m glad we did!
Little did we know what a gem this place was hidden in Morris County. We decided to eat outdoors, it was a beautiful day. Our service was friendly and very attentive.
I ordered the chicken parm with broccoli instead of pasta, my spouse had a chicken cutlet sandwich.
Food was hot and fresh and served quickly.
Prices decent.
I’d highly recommend this diner.

I’ve been here an estimated 10 – 15 times.
I’ve never walked out miserable. There is an enormous amount of hype here, much of it is self aggrandizing.
With that being said, the staff are always friendly, and we have come to recognise many of them, from both interaction, and the pictures in the Menu.
It’s generally packed, and the food is never too much of a wait.
I would classify the quality as consistently good.
Their «Famous» Greek Moussaka platter is absolutely out of this world, and they make no bones about promoting it thus. I recommend it at least once.
I’ve had both Breakfast and Lunch here. Today I opted for the Fish & Chips. Not your standard Diner Fare, but it sounded tasty.
The Fish was both crunchy and tender. Not being overly greasy or salty at all. I was pleasantly surprised! The fries are their standard homemade cuts, with a healthy serving of Old Bay seasoning on top.
The coffee is good and the servings plentiful. I’ve never waited very long with a «Dry Cup».
If your Sweet Tooth beckons, grab a Frisbee sized cookie on the way out — you won’t be disappointed. These are home baked delicacies!
I’ll be seeing you soon!

All I can say is that this is really a great diner. I have been coming here for many years and the food has always been really consistently good. When you first walk in you see a very large bright clean diner with counter seating, booths and table seating. There is also a large chalkboard listing all of their specials of the day, plus glass cases in the front to showcase their delicious looking cakes and pies. They also have gigantic fresh baked cookies around their cashier/​hostess (I usually get one on the way out). You can really tell that everything was freshly baked on the premises and not just brought in from somewhere else.
They offer a very large diverse menu which can be a bit overwhelming to newbies but it’s all good and its fresh quality food. I always find something that would hit the spot. Their soups are made fresh and you can get any soup with a ½ a sandwich and fries are included. I also love their Popeye burger topped with swiss cheese, fresh spinach and fresh mushrooms. They really have great fries, it’s a little bigger than regular diner fries but smaller than steak fries seasoned ever so lightly. I have also had their broiled salmon (cooked perfectly) with spinach and baked potato. I have really tried a bit of everything and its always been good to me. This place even offers chicken croquettes with mashed potatoes and gravy.
I have read some of the other reviews who feel that their prices are a bit high, but to me it is so worth it. You get what you pay for plus I have been to other diners and their prices seem very similar and the food quality is not the same. Jefferson Diner is on top of my go to list when in the area.

Food was horrible. We have been here before and food was great, but everything was horrible.
Disco fries were soggy. They must have been sitting on the counter waiting to be picked up for a while.
Mousakkah was under seasoned. There was no salt in it whatsoever. Everything was bland and not cooked right. No love in it whatsoever. I’ve had this before and it was great. I even requested a tray of this at my bridal shower and it was a big hit. Can’t imagine why they would change the recipe.
They left out the bacon in my husband’s bacon cheeseburger.
French onion soup in bread was salty.

Steadily going downhill.
I have been frequenting both the diner and J-​Towne Tavern since I moved to Lake Hopatcong last year.
I am not sure if the same people own both places, but the food had been really great at both of these locations! Like thrilling! I told everyone about it, how great everything was!
I am not sure what is happening, but quality of the food is steadily declining.
(J-​Towne I think I know why, and Ill review them in a minute) but the diner, not really sure what’s going on there
I mean how hard is it to make a salad? Which is typically what I get when I go there.
I first had the Greek Salad the first time, EXCELLENT! I was fast addicted!
I seriously went every week for a giant Greek with Salmon or Shrimp.
Nice warm freshly grilled pita bread! YUMM YUMM!
Then all of the sudden something changed. The salad dressing was different, very salty and literally DRENCHED the lettuce. Cold stale pita wedges now accompanied the plate.
So I thought, hmmmm Ill just ask for it on the dressing on the side next time, and I really don;t NEED the pita anyway– maybe a blessing in disguise.
The following week I did just that. The saltiness in the dressing was still overwhelming and just tasted different. Almost like a heavy oily Italian dressing (possible mistaken switch??)
But this time I got a bonus lovely, dirty PLU Produce Sticker mixed in with the greens. Kinda gross, but not the end of the world. I brushed it off. Good thing I spotted it though before chowing down on a fork full!
The next time I went I decided to get breakfast. I got a Greek Omelette (yes I love feta cheese) and it was really dry. Overcooked and almost tasteless except for the saltiness from the feta. The hash browns were stark white potatoes (who doesnt love a little crispy bit in their home fries?) They may well have been boiled shredded potatoes… now that I think of it… thats pretty much what they were.
Kinda a bummer when diners are FAMOUS for breakfast and its just «eh, so– so»
Not to mention pretty pricey for the meal.
On a separate occasion I got Potato Skins. They really are the best I have ever had! And I tend to get addicted to things and order them constantly once I’m hooked. So on my 3^rd order in about 1 week I got my skins home (takeout this time) and there was this really weird mushy, slimy thing on one of the wedges. I can only hope it was a rotten mushroom by the looks of it, but I cannot be quite sure. It was about the size of a quarter but thick and gross.
I didnt want to linger about it too long, I just put it out of my mind and into the garbage, but there went my addiction to the potato skins, again– a blessing in disguise.
Tonight I was there again (yep– I just keep trying to let them redeem themselves!)
I got another salad. This time a simple garden salad with additional grilled portabella mushrooms.
**Sigh** The salad was wilted (some of it rotten) and it wasn’t cold at all.
I would normally think, OK-​the grilled heat from the mushrooms may have caused this warming and wilting of the lettuce, but the mushrooms were tepid at best.
They were also a really sad excuse for grilled portabellas. I think they must have been grilled in bulk earlier in the day, and then just sat around in a bin waiting to get thrown onto whatever– well… my poor salad was that whatever.
Spring greens salad mix tends to go bad at different rates due to the different lettuces in the mixture. So this was what was happening of course, but any common cook should know this and be on the look out for the rotted greens that inevitably lurk amongst the still good leaves. Nope, here he just loaded the bowl with a handful of it and threw on some other veggies. A pile of stale mushrooms and then probably set it under the warming lights too.
No care, no attention.
Really disappointing.
This diner just screams lazy cooks who don’t care at all about the food they are putting out, there must not be any real management to oversee that the food is going out decent, and the wait staff is non attentive too.
My friend got a platter of chicken strips with fries, and the fries were cold.
We didn’t complain, because well… I’m kinda over it.
I think I have given a lot of chances over the last year and well, I continue to be disappointed.
Guy Fieri should come back and re-​spark their passion, because it has clearly faded into complacency.
What a bummer because I LOVE LOVE LOVE diner food, just not from here anymore.
:(

I have been here several times and always had good experiences. The food is always good. The funny thing is that they were on DIners, Drive-​Ins and Dives a few/​bunch of years ago and it seems to have gone to their heads; so much so that they bought the old red car (Camaro?) that Guy Fieri drove around in for the show. There are reminders all over the place that they were on the show and how grat their diner is. TO me, it was a little over the top, which is why I gave 3 stars and not 4.
The desserts, especially the cakes, are great. Very large slices of cake. Try the cheesecake!

Having grown up in Lake Hopatcong, the Jefferson Diner was the staple place to go to after a school event, a night of binge drinking, or just to go to when you’re bored. After living away from Jefferson for about a year now, whenever I come back here I realize what exactly it is I was eating: actual good diner food.
Disco fries? Got them. Milkshakes? Got them. Burgers? Got them. Fried food beyond belief? Got them. Greek diner food? That too. Cheap reasonable prices? LOL about that…
That burger I was talking about? You can get it with a payment of $ 12 and your first born son. I’m sorry but it’s ridiculously overpriced. We get it, you were on Food Network. When you put it everywhere, we get the hint that you had your 15 minutes of fame. It’s cute, we know. We’re over it. Just lower prices, that’s it. I mean really, $ 16 for a chicken quesadilla? Do I get a free shirt too?
Food’s good though. So there’s that.

Had my birthday breakfast this morning with my bestie and my goddaughter. Love the back to the future feel décor.
Food: Cheese Quesadilla (1), Silver Dollar Pancakes (1), and Canadian Bacon Eggs Benedict (1)
The portion size is very fulling and love the juice dinosaur cups for kids.