Upon entering, staff was friendly and we were seated right away. Our waitress was a very young girl who seemed to want to be anywhere else but her job that night. We ordered mozzarella sticks as an app and it took about 35 minutes for it to come out...cold. Our entrees came out 30 seconds after we got the mozzarella sticks and my boyfriend received the wrong order. Instead of apologizing the waitress said "oh" and took the plate back. I understand it's not her fault entirely but an apology is just common courtesy. I got the chicken parm hero and oh my god... the chicken was so stale that you could not even bite into it. Fresh chicken you can take a bite out of, this was so old it was like biting into hard rubber. We told the waitress and she took it off the bill but I left hungry and dissatisfied. Definitely will not return read more

Excellent food and the staff is warm and friendly. I highly recommend wonderful California Diner.

Very good service respectful staff as well, food was very good, i like the Ambiance of the environment.

Great breakfast spot. Quick, friendly service. Our meals were prepared as requested and the coffee was good. All you can ask for in a good breakfast. read more

My husband and I went here for breakfast on Sunday. It's an interesting place -- it could use a little updating, but we liked it. I had eggs Benedict with sautéed spinach. The eggs were cooked absolutely perfectly. The fresh spinach was sautéed nicely and the hollandaise sauce was tasty. I think they put a little lemon juice in the sauce -- it was good. It came with home fries and you could taste the bell pepper in them. My husband had eggs over easy and corned beef hash. His eggs were cooked perfectly as well. I also want to mention the eggs were a good size -- not the small ones that many diners are using now. He enjoyed the corned beef, which was flavorful. Next time we are in the area, we will make sure we stop by. read more

In 1990, this Diner was awesome. It's now 2022. The food quality was MEH. Western Omelette was average at best, nothing great, the home fries that came with it were the pitts. Took one bite and could not even eat them. The toast was fine. Am I really reviewing toast? French onion soup not great. Chicken tenders/fries not that great. Coffee was ok. You get the idea, if want good food, don't come here. Table Service was friendly and personable. Probably the only halfway decent thing. The decor is still from 1990. Gold chandeliers, worn out rugs, just dumpy. It's a shame because with a makeover, this diner could really standout and be a comfortable place to hangout. Not so much anymore. The exterior of the building is sloppy. Overgrown bushes, poorly edged grass on sidewalk, worn out old business signs. The epiotomy of "I don't care, give me your money for subpar food, repeat". You know what, we won't be returning unless MAJOR changes are made. read more

During these COVID19 times, this diner is big enough to keep your distance, everyone was following the rules, and even better, the food & service was way better than your average diner. Owner/host and staff were friendly, knowledgeable and happy to have us join them for dinner. I think the pictures I attached say it all. Note the perfect cheeseburger deluxe on a toasted bun, hot and crunchy fries, onion rings on point, and the perfect matching side of pickles and homemade coleslaw. The Greek salad had briny olives and loads of feta cheese, red onion on a bed of fresh crunchy iceberg lettuce. Then my main course was a piping hot, properly spiced Greek Moussaka with a killer béchamel sauce over sliced potato and chopped meat deep in flavor. The dinner also had a side of homemade macaroni salad that we literally ate the entire bowl of it. This dinner special for $16.99 also included a 5 star seafood bisque soup, and ended with spot on bread puddling with whip cream. The food and service was so good that we will go back for breakfast soon. read more

California Diner - Bread Pudding - Diners Near Me - Patchogue, New York

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I've never had such a bad dining experience in my life before. I've had better food at roach infested basements in Chinatown before. If I could give 0 STARZ i would. Me and my boyfriend got hamburgers, chicken tenders, and chicken noodle. I got a bowl of stale noodle soup, as there wasn't a single piece of chicken. The waitress was nice enough to not charge us for it (she was the only thing that was good about this ordeal as the service was pretty good) . My boyfriends meal was abysmal as he got a brown and dried out piece of jerky for his burger when he ordered medium rare, his mayo packets were leaking as some came broken, and his veggies for his burgers came dried out and stale as well. My meal didn't fare any better, as the chicken and the fries also came stale as well and tasted like it's been sitting for a few hours. The coleslaw my meal came with also looks rancid, as it looks off colored . The ambiance was nice as the place looks newly renovated, but I guess that came with new management and they turned this place into trash. read more

Desperate times when driving east, but it's old, cold and dirty. We should have left. Shame on us. The food was bad (husband is sick now) and I don't think the chicken in my souvlaki was actually chicken. Go to chilis or applebees across the street. read more

My wife and I got different kinds of pancakes. Both were very good and great portions. Even with a small stack. I got Whole Wheat with Blueberry and she got regular ones with chocolate chips. The waitress was very nice and the prices were good. Decent prices as well. Solid diner all around! read more

my wife and I have Covid so we ordered in. I ordered a Rare cheeseburger deluxe and my wife ordered a grilled Swiss with bacon and tomato. Well, the order came promptly and was still hot. It had everything you would expect, onion rings, lettuce, tomato, pickles, cole slaw, they even included macaroni salad. Wow! Best RARE burger I have had in years. Oh, Could not pass up on strawberry cheesecake. One of the best on Long Island read more

My husband and I went here today and we was very disappointed with the food quality,don't order homefries they were old and was really horrible in texture and taste and the Philly cheese steak meat was just awful too ..don't waste your time eating here ,we told the manager and he said nothing or did anything either ... Disgusting food here and bad management too read more

Menu has gotten a bit smaller since the last time I was here but the service and the food were excellent

I'm not big on traveling, but this is the only California I'll ever take a trip to! They should re name the back room "Hollywood", because my man Mario the Waiter and Paula the Waitress are absolute stars! Since we decided to skip fall and go directly to freezing temperatures this year, I'll start with the soups. The country style chicken soup could cure any disease, and probably would've stopped COVID-19 had Fauci knew about it!! Hearty, delicious, and just down right elite in the soup game. The French onion is like a cheap hooker you might find at the motel next door, never misses!! (That is a not getting married joke because their line of work which I respect most likely doesn't allow for them to wed). Whether it's breakfast, lunch or dinner, just know the kind host normally does me a solid and rolls me out to my car. They have better range than Steph Curry! Whether it's Greek, or a little trip to Paris for a French dip, you're not leaving disappointed. If they did weddings I'd say my vows next to the crane game in the front. Now, no place is perfect, so I'll give you the honest truth. While it's a delicious establishment, the chicken rice soup mislead me and leaves my belly with more to be desired. 57 spoon dips in, still no chicken! Why no chicken in the chicken rice soup? It's the loser in the bronze consolation game for that. Also one time, I saw a man take the spoon of mints and put it directly in his mouth filled with mints, but I'm not ever holding it against this gem of an establishment. All in all, 5 stars for the guys and gals and they/thems in the back, to the wait staff, right down to the food. Elite diner. I know California the state has a bad rep because it's down right terrible, but this diner is doing everything it can to restore the reputation. Hoping to have my next child's birth in a booth in the back. read more

Our waitress was nice and the service was great. I had the Breakfast Burger, it was awesome! The rest of our family had great food as well, with generous portions. Carl read more

One of the best diners I've been to on Long Island. Their food was pretty good and it's so much bigger and put together inside than it looks like from the outside. It's very nice. I didn't think the prices were bad either. I'm not a fan of many diners, but this shocked me. It's easy to get to right off Sunrise. Not a single complaint here! I came late at night, so I'm sure with how good I thought it was, it's that much busier in the mornings! read more

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Definitely my family's favorite diner. Came twice in the past couple of weeks and had a delicious meal each time at a very reasonable price. Husband had the ham steak, I ordered the Italian trio and my son ordered an omelet. The dinner specials come with soup, salad, dinner, dessert and coffee or tea. They also provide a large bread basket. Prices vary but ours was only $14.99 for all that food! Had the same waiter each visit and he was very friendly and attentive. Diner is clean and warm. Laid back atmosphere. Will be back for sure. read more

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California Diner is the real MVP. Its the only remaining 24 hour diner that I'm aware of in my area. The food is always good and the staff friendly and polite. I went in the middle of the night and it was better than any fast food option around. read more

California Diner - Pickles - Diners Near Me - Patchogue, New York

Have been coming here for years. I normally love them. Ordered pancakes a few days ago and there was a lot of egg shell in there. Whoever prepared the pancakes was being lazy and left a half a shell in it. My kids dad hurt his gums chewing on the pancakes. I'm super disappointed. Just thankful I didn't feel this to my kids. Cali D could do better. Also they burned the burger and added cheese on the sweet potato fries. read more

I was there for Sr.Patricks Day dinner Corned beef was gross didn't even taste tender waiter basically would show up whenever he wanted my daughter left her forl on her salad plate he took it she asked for another one took 15 min to ask only to again for a fork she ended up using her dads fork at at the end of dinner didn't even get asked for coffee/tea dessert tasted frozen and was very nasty a waste of 19.95 for 4 people never again!!! I really hope they read reviews because I would love my money back !!! read more

8.21.16. The California Diner Sunrise Highway, Patchogue, NY. Hey folks welcome to the Diner California. Good food and countrified views. I love the rows of corn and Sunflower growing right in the parking lot. I have been going to this diner for 20 years. I've always been happy. For dinner my waiter would immediately bring a Hot Bread Basket which includes a piece of corn muffin. So good. Also with the Diner are included other appetizer dishes such a beans, salad, coleslaw in beets. Hey, your glass of ice water would never dare to go empty-immediately filled. .. with the included Greek salad and/or soup . There was so much, the food almost fell off the plate. I get the crispy broiled chicken with stuffing, mashed potatoes,corn, gravy and plenty of cranberry sauce. each time it would come out prepared perfectly as I liked it ,a touch well done. it was alway crispy in the right spots but juicy where it mattered. I would ask for a extra dish of the Turkey Gravy, dip my pieces of chicken. Breakfast is always the best, so much food. The coffee cup will never go empty. The sausage links, are of a different quality and are really yummy they snap with juice when you cut into them. I can taste just the right flavor of the fennel. Our needs attended to while we ate, breadsticks, napkins. the California Diner my "Home" away from home when I'm in Patchogue. So welcome to the Diner California,.. you can check out anytime but you Don't have to leave! It's"Open 24" 7! Never closes. JIM D. read more

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Not familiar with Patchogue, I came here with my friends (in a touring band) that were playing a show nearby. Everything on the main strip had a long wait and was crazy to park so we decided to drive a little to this diner (thanks to yelp) The guys were super impressed, they hadn't been to a NY diner in a while and were amazed by all the choices on the menu. I was pretty amazed by the cheap prices. We each got a main dish and it came out to like $40+ not bad. Glen was craving spaghetti (I thought he was crazy for ordering it from a diner) and Vic surprised us with his choice of Liver and onions. My husband had the cornbeef hash with eggs (the best he ever had) and I had chicken souvlaki. Everyone enjoyed everything, not one complaint. They even give you a cold pasta salad and pickles to start. The portions were huge, Vic and I packed half of ours to go. We were pleasantly surprised with the meal. Service was a little slow, but we didn't mind since it gave us a chance to catch up. read more

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The people who run this place are really nice and go out of their way to be accommodating. There were 8 of us the day we went. My mother-in-law loves the place so we go here every now and again. My wife had a grilled chicken platter and the chicken was over cooked and dry. I had a burger with bacon and cheese. The Burger was good but small for the cost and the bun that it was on was way too big for the burger, which takes away from the meat. We had several of the salads, which are all good. My favorite is always the Greek salad. PAY ATTENTION. The rice pudding was outstanding. It is home made, fresh and exactly like rice pudding should be. BUT, just when I thought I was done, they brought out a bread pudding. The bread pudding was even better and I don't even like bread pudding. I will definitely go back for desert. read more

Close to home. Clean. Most of the time good service. Good diner food. Met my boyfriend there for coffee and have been coming back ever since. Like and appreciate most of the staff. I highly recommend this diner. read more

California Diner - Diners Near Me - Patchogue, New York

Very disappointed. My milkshake was liquid. Soup was cold!?

Terrible, morons running the counter, order ed2 burger deluxe takeout, Made us wait another 15 min after waiting 15 minutes originally, we were waiting for the wrong order, A PORK CHOP.. the 2 deluxe were there the entire time, they gave us them, and they were literally ice cold.. threw them garage, called the diner..he was like "nothing we can do" the worst!! read more

California Diner - a hand holding a hamburger and fries - Diners Near Me - Patchogue, New York

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Was out and about the day after Christmas and couldn't make up our minds on what to eat, so we figured we can't go wrong with a Diner. Well, we were wrong... it started as we were greeted by an uninviting host at the front counter; this guy had ZERO personality and definitely shouldn't be working in a position where he has to work with the public. Long story short, the food was less than mediocre and was either over or under flavored. They started us with a pasta salad that tasted like pure vinegar and we had the Chicken Franchese and Chicken Scampi with Cream of Turkey soup and Chicken noodle soup as out main courses. Never again... read more

It's a no for me!! Yikes I was not in the slightest bit impressed during my trip here a few weeks ago at around 11:30pm. Kudos to them for being open 24hrs but while this might be one of the the only games in town I suggest going elsewhere or waiting till morning to eat! It was surprisingly busy while I was there on a Friday Night at around 11:30pm. Just got off a tough shift and wanted to enjoy a nice greasy diner meal but ended up getting not only aggravated but also being puzzled by what I had seen. First off the inside of the place is screaming for a renovation. The tables and chairs look ancient and it definitely wasn't very clean. The clientele were comprised of young teens and older couples. The waiters and waitresses looked run down and we're even slightly friendly. The service was almost non existent and had to wait minutes before I could flag down the waitress for a simple water refill. Lets talk about food- Unsatisfactory!! The onion rings were disgusting and soggy. The fries were standard and flavorless. Ordered a French Dip...the beef was so dry it almost turned to dust when I bit into it and the au jus it came with was absolutely disgusting. Honestly the food was probably some if the worst I have ever eating. The prices were standard diner prices I definitely don't recommend coming here and I definitely won't be back. I finally tried it after years of driving past but one visit is enough for me! read more

Very good service and good food They have specialty Mimosas that are beyond imagination read more

We eat there often great food great staff. You can really enjoy there menu. That's a great place.

Friendly staff. Large seating area. Unfortunately the pricing is way too expensive and the quality of the food does not justify the costs.

I came here during the blizzard as it was the only food place open for business at the time. I have been to a few diners in the past and I must say this one was exceptional good. The Diner was nice and clean, customer service was great and most importantly the Chicken quesadilla I ordered was delicious. I even got dessert, two scoops of vanilla ice cream with hot fudge and whip cream . Overall a great diner to check out and grab a bite at. I Hope your experience turns out as well or better then my own! read more

California Diner - Diners Near Me - Patchogue, New York

Today the California Diner came through big time for my family -- they made a special delivery to my mom and dad's house for Mother's Day. None of my siblings live in the state and we have been unable to travel to see her over the last several months due to COVID. We scheduled a virtual brunch and the diner food made it so special! We love their breakfasts and paninis during normal times but they were particularly awesome today. Thank you!!! read more

This place used to be so good. Many memories coming late night in high school and college. I guess since the other good diner in the area shut down, it made it easy to stay open even with the food going downhill. Tonight 4 of us had complete dinners. The soups made Cambell's taste like fine dining. The salads were mostly lettuce with some dried out cheese. Then came dinner...oof.. tasteless steak, dried out potatoes, red cabbage soaked in sugar.. and all other dishes drowning in gravy to hide that the food was made a month ago. Then came dessert.. All of it tasted like it had been in the refrigerator at least a month. Then, when we tried to find salvation in the bathroom after this wonderful meal... It stank like sewage. I'm still sitting here, and I'm already afraid I'm going to rip my towel rack off the wall tonight, trying to hold on for dear life passing this fabulous meal. read more

California Diner - Would you eat this? This is the"roast stuffed breast of veal". Awful - Diners Near Me - Patchogue, New York

I happily drive past multiple diners and restaurants to come here. It's worth it! Large flavorful portions. Well priced. Great and experienced customer service. read more

This is a hit or miss diner. Plenty of seating. Service is kind of meh though, you do get served but after that you are forgotten about until the check comes. Food is hit or miss - coffee is fresh, eggs are ok, omlettes ok. Salads decent. However, everything else is so lacking in taste. Pastrami is awful - dried out. Monte Cristo, is just boring. French fries, just taste like a reheated from a bag. Had a patty melt and felt sick after eating it. There are better diners to eat at. If you eat there, just know it's mediocre. read more

Bad tuna salad. 50% mayo 50% tuna. Dripping wet ruined my wrap. Don't order anything with mayo. read more

California Diner - Don't eat tuna salad. 50% mayo, 50% tuna. Dripping wet ruined the wrap. - Diners Near Me - Patchogue, New York

Great Diner, Paul and Roy are the best! Food good. Great location, COVID SAFE. Give it a Try you will not regret it.

Great place to go to for brunch !!!! Ordered fried chicken with French fries and salad along with Belgium waffle with eggs, toast, and turkey bacon. Very filling :) read more

I really like this Diner. The people are friendly and give great service and the food is quite good. The place is large so distancing is no problem. read more