I have been going to this diner for many years and have always enjoyed it, but the last few times have just been disappointing. Keep hoping it will turn around, but just seems to be getting worse. Tonight will be the last. Service is good as always, so no fault there. It's the food that has slipped. This evening was rotten feta over brown lettuce, with more brown lettuce on a small, frozen tasting, turkey burger. I never eat the onion rings, but they were dripping grease when I took them off the pile of burnt fries. Not sure what has happened to the Long Island diners the past few years, but unfortunately this one seems to have headed down hill like most of the rest. read more

Unfortunately this diner was less than bare minimum. my friend got the chopped steak and it was raw hamburger he went out to the car and threw up and is horribly sick . the wait staff and restaurant is lovely but the food is in edible do not recommend. our bill was 600$ and the Soup and veggie and mixed drinks tasted like dish water! read more

I e been eating here for YEARS! on Tuesdays at work we all het together and order food from somewhere. It was my idea to get burgers from CA diner. Spent $50 on 3 burgers to go and they were INEDIBLE. I decided to call and tell them, and this kid really couldn't care less. I told him i just wanted to tell him so maybe he can fix it, and that i wasn't asking for anything. They are usually really good. Just from his attitude i think im done here. The owner is a doll too. He would be so upset how dismissive this kid was. read more

Always a good experience. The menu has a wide variety, you will not be disappointed. Big portions, good prices. And a plus that it is open 2479 read more

Went with a group of 11 on a Sunday late morning. We were seated quite quickly which was a nice surprise The food and service was all good and the place was busy the entire time we were there. If I lived in the area I would define return to try more items. The French toast serving was two large pieces and very tasty. The Monte Cristo was huge as was the Cobb Salad. read more

Long story short, I ordered a mushroom and Swiss cheese omelet and my boyfriend ordered a burger. For starters his cheese had a thumb print on it but he was so hungry he wasn't even going to say anything...now I can spot a hair a mile away, as I got to cut my omelet I see a tiny hair and as I unraveled my omelet it got longer and bigger. I get to the end after ripping my omelet apart and there was a huge CHUNK and I mean chunk of hair in my omelet. It literally looked like someone took hair out of the drain and put it in my omelet. Are server was an older Spanish gentlemen he was super nice took it back and didn't charge us. But I will definitely not be returning. I would understand if it was just a piece of hair but it was a legit huge ball. I was so disgusted and embarrassed for them I just left I didn't take any pictures. read more

The food here is ehh but this place is extremely pricey! If you want to add onions to your omelette expect a $4.00 charge and then if you want peppers too forget about it will be another $4.00. We had all gotten sandwiches the other night so we asked for pickles and he brought us over a small bowl of pickles. We get the check and it's says $3.50 for pickles so I ask the manager at the front desk while paying and he says," well someone has to pay for them right" So I said doesn't it come with sandwiches he said no only with the burgers so I stated to him that we got a burger platter and he just shrugged his shoulders. If you can find another diner I would because they are rude in here and have no idea how to run a business. The place hasn't been updated in the last 40 years it still has the glass up from when you use to be able to have smoking and non smoking. FIND ANOTHER DINER!!!! read more

Short version: DON'T GO HERE! Long version: So let's say your starving and you pass by this dump every day on your day home from work.... do you (a) stop by and try it out or (b) put the pedal to the metal and keep on driving? Welp! If you don't want your loud tummy to keep on rumbling and if you would prefer that you wallet not be upset with you, I personally would suggest to keep on driving and never look back again. I stopped in on a Friday night for take out. I thought to myself "what could go wrong?"... right? Well let me just tell you, EVERYTHING CAN GO WRONG! #1. The food sucks! I had a chicken wrap. Absolutely zero flavor. Like none. No salt, no sauce, no nothing. It was like they just put the chicken in a pan, tossed it around, cut it up and then put it on the wrap and said here you go. Let me elaborate. No onions, tomatoes, lettuce, anything! You get my point. Fries were soggy, ewww. And I even tired their seafood soup. I had ONE spoon and I couldn't let my stomach go through the misery. To the garbage that soup went. #2. Service sucked. Minus the guy who brought out the food. He was super nice. #3. I guess if I were to try to find amazing things about this place I would say that they are 24h, have their own parking lot and are not to far from the village of patchogue so if your coming in after a night out of drinking and can't taste, see or smell anything any way, then this might be the place for you. Might not help the hangover in the morning but at least your tummy will have something in it. That's all I got! Happy Yelping :) read more

Visited the California Diner in Patchogue this morning for a entrepreneur networking event and everything was handled so well. Staff was attentive and helpful. Room on the side was large and they had it setup for us when I arrived at 6:50am. They had a list of seat numbers and got all 31 orders in the group correct! Very generous staff who was courteous and understood not to interrupt while presentations were taking place! Food was cooked to perfection! I had 2 eggs over medium with melted cheese on it and well done bacon and the meal was perfect. Everyone was very happy and I will use them again in the future. read more

This diner was a very good diner! First of all, my favorite part about it was how good the food was. I had a bacon cheeseburger with curly fries on the side. That meal was delicious! If I could, I would go back to that diner every week! Another thing that I liked about it was the service. The waitress was very nice and I was not waiting long at all! I would definitely recommend for you to go to California Diner. I would go back, that's for sure! read more

I went to the California diner which has been there for many years I haven't liked in the past few years but I figured I'd try it for lunch with one of my coworkers sat down right away seemed crowded service was decent food was terrible I ordered a cheeseburger which came like a hockey puck and a Stale roll the way it took them back right away brought me another one The burger was better to roll with Still stale I will never eat there again read more

People are nice over there, food is not bad, but the thing is they charged me $14.29 for chicken noodle soup. I mean, not far a meal, not for appetizers, they LITERALLY charged me $14.29 for soup. That soup'd better kill the corona virus because if it doesn't, this sounds ridiculous. read more

The diners on Long Island keep closing, and it makes me really sad. After several favorite local spots closed down, I decided to come here with my family. We've gone here a few times, and the food is decent. It's odd, because last time we were there, we had to wait for a table despite several being open. I'm a fan of diner breakfast. Their eggs and toast are fine. It's a solid diner, but not my favorite place to go, nor my first pick. I wish everything about it was just a little better, because with the size and location, it has the potential to be a great place. At least it's one of the few diners still open for 24 hours a day. read more

Great selection of typical diner food. The portions were large, everything was tasty. Here is what made it special. Joseph was an exceptional waiter. He accommodated all of our requests, including whipping up a dip for our sweet potato fries. He was attentive, but not overbearing during the meal. Dessert was declined because we all had were too full. However, a nice selection of cookies was provided free to the kids, and the birthday guest of honor got to choose a nice piece of cake to go. Our gathering of 10 walked away smiling, and glad that we chose the California Diner for our birthday celebration. Thank you, Joseph! read more

Stopped here for lunch, was in the mood for a diner burger. Ordered the cheeseburger delux. Now the menu says burgers are 1/2 pound. Ok sounded great. When I got my order the burger was way short if 1/2 pound. 1/4 pound McDonald's burger is bigger than this pathetic piece of meat. And then there was the stale bun. Have to say worst diner burger I ever had. read more

My tea was cold up my pancakes were cold wasn't too happy The waitress kept sneezing there was too much strawberry jam in my rolled pancake

I've been eating at the California Diner for years. It's a convenient place to stop on the way back to NYC & it's open 24 hours. If you're thinking of going here, know that the quality is very random. I've been here and had some amazing absolutely five star food & some completely disappointing items I wanted to send back. It really only takes one negative experience to turn off customers so it's a shame that the quality control isn't better here. I've truly experienced some great meals here but I'm wondering if I should return this summer or just keep driving. read more

the pastrami sandwich was so tough that you could bite through it. French fries and onion rings for lunch today. When the waitress finally came around to ask if I wanted it wrapped I said no and proceeded to tell her that it was not the best and that is was so tough you could not bite through it. She replied with a smile and said I'm so sorry. She gave me my check and I proceed to the cashier. When he asked about my meal I told him the same. Assuming that he was the owner I shared my displeasure and he also said I'm sorry. A young man was behind me in line overhearing me tell the owner about the pastrami chimes in saying yeah I agree as he had his pastrami in a takeout tray with one bite out of his sandwich. It just goes to show how much they care about their customers and the quality of their food. read more

Very limited menu for a diner. Tried it once was not happy with food, gave it a second chance. Food was horrible the second time as well. We will not waste another dollar there. read more

I have drove by this diner a million times. Finally decided to give it a try. So glad I did!! The dinner specials are an amazing deal. Food was above average for diner and portions are huge. The best part of our experience was the service, our waitress Jennifer went above and beyond to make sure we had a great diner experience. read more

Fucking shit. This diner has just proven everything I have ever said about a diner null and void. I hate diners. They are a last resort at 3:56am when I've been up and want eggs or an egg cream. But this place makes all of Suffolk County look more interesting and worthwhile than it will ever actually be. Translucently clean, efficient, well-designed brick structure, old-school (sells gum and candy behind the glass case! I'm a kid again!), has the word California on its sign, chandelier-ish lighting, delicious on all fronts. Salads, fries, fountain drinks, deli salads, filet of sole, amazing pickles. 24 hours! Amazing every beat of the moon. And enormous booths for huge groups of bro-skies! Rejoice! Since it is the day of atonement, I will repent for being an unbeliever. Forgive me, Lord Diner. read more

So as previously promised, I did mentioned that "I'll be back". This morning was it. While at work my Co-workers and I decided we were all hungry. The question was, what the hell is open at 4am? Just then, a light bulb went off in my head. (eureka!) Lets get California Diner. We all wrote down an order, and I called it in. Basic run down of the order: -2 Eggs over easy, Bacon, No toast, Homefries, Hot sauce on the side -Turkey, American Cheese, Pepper, Onions, Mushrooms, Whole Wheat (No butter) Ketchup on the side -Grilled Chicken Pesto Panini (Extra Pesto). w/ Curly Fries add Mozz. Sure enough, for a semi complex order, everything was accurate upon pickup! That made us all happy. The panini was phenomenal btw. Absolutely delicious. Its funny because usually only order breakfast from diners. But I just had this crave for grilled chicken. Its nice to know that this Diner stays open 24/7 because in all honesty those "diners" that close late night aren't diners in my eyes.. they are weak restaurants. So thank you Cali Diner for trooping out overnight!. I give credit where its due. And California Diner redeemed themselves. Bravo California Diner, Bravo read more

Outstanding! We planned a family brunch after the Bay point Turkey Trot Thanksgiving morning. We booked a reservation for 16 a few day earlier. They set us up very well in a long table. A dedicated server who was friendly and focused. Service was prompt, all 16 orders were accurate. Poached eggs and the pancakes were spectacular. Their breakfast sausages were also different and very good. Coffee was hot and readily refilled. Everyone got what they wanted from the extensive menu. Highly recommended!! read more

Great Service, but the food left much to be desired. I also encountered a scary situation in the ladies room, with a woman who seemed to be shooting up in the bathroom stall next to me. At first I thought she was just sniffling and crying, but the floor was so shiny I could see her silhouette in the floor tiles. And what I saw seemed like some serious drug use. It made me VERY uncomfortable. Back to the food: we ordered mozzarella sticks. The marinara sauce for dipping was rather watery and a stronger basil taste than I like. The sticks were average. I had the turkey club triple decker with cheese. My boyfriend has the french toast and his friend had an omelette. We went here on the suggestion of the friend- he thinks the place is awesome, so I'm sure he really enjoyed his omelette. My boyfriend said his french toast was the worst he's ever had. As for my turkey club, it was edible, but not that great. On top of that, the food was very pricey. Definitely not worth the price, given the quality. Again, the service was very good: our food was brought the the table very quickly and our server was quite friendly, helpful and thorough. That's not enough to make up for the mediocre/poor quality of the food. I definitely won't be going back there anytime soon! read more

Had a good experience here. Me and my family came here after going to Tiki Action Park. Had the chicken salad wrap which smelled and tasted delicious plus the fries it came with were pretty good. The seating is very nice with spacious booths. The place is very clean unlike other diners. My husband had the Cobb salad which he said was ok but not the best salad he ever had. My daughter had the kids Mac and cheese which she said tasted like I-hop's Mac and cheese which means it is good because she likes I-hop. That came with dessert and she chose the bread pudding which was yummy. Will definitely come back if I visit the area again. read more

An old school diner doing it right! We were very surprised by our meal. I came in expecting so-so diner fare, but we were all happy to experience the quality of food. Service wasn't the best, but the dinner itself made up for it. Stuffed clams app was good, stuffed scallops dinner special was better, which were large half clam shells stuffed with chunky sea scallops, crab meat (imitation but great) with light breading. Others had chicken, shrimp and eggplant parm; all were excellent. On site baking of complimentary bread and corn muffins, nice to see. We will be back. read more

Traditional diner with a huge menu and pleasant staff. I'm not going to rave about the diner since it is very typical of diners on Long Island, but I also cannot find any faults. The food is consistently good and the wait staff is attentive and pleasant. We usually stop in for breakfast but on a recent visit, we had dinner here. The food was tasty and presented well. It will remain our go-to diner! read more

I like this diner. It's in a convenient location along the service road of sunrise highway. The wait staff is always pleasant and friendly. They are always accommodating to my strict diet without any comments. The prices are average for a diner and the menu is diverse as most diners menus are. All in all, I would recommend this diner. read more

See all

Drunk? Check. Craving junk/breakfast food? Check. Have someone to drive you to the California diner? Check. This place is my go to diner... Admittedly mostly after a night of drinking. However, I do come here during the daylight hours from time to time and I am always completely satisfied with what I get. I always stick to the generally safe diner things like chocolate chip pancakes, eggs, chicken fingers, burgers, mozz sticks, etc. If your looking for a good piece of seafood... I'd go somewhere else (I have no idea how lobster even got on their menu). Overall it's a solid diner, always open, and always provides consistently good food and service! read more

On the hunt for a new diner to try, led us here on a Saturday night around 8:30pm. The parking lot was rather small and empty. Upon entering, we were happy to be greeted by cold air conditioning during a heatwave. But no other greeting. Just a gentleman standing next to a stack of menus waiting to seat anyone who walked in. No hello, just "how many?". No biggie. We were seated in a big, cozy booth next to the windows. The blinds were open (which I thought was different for night time). Our view was of Sunrise Hwy and the stores across the way. I loved the old school feel of this diner. The waitress was prompt to come over and take drink orders. I told her it was our first time and asked for recommendations. She didn't tell us what was good to eat, instead what she "sold" most, in a heavy spanish accent. The tap water came quickly to the table and tasted, like tap water. Unsweetened iced tea = only 1 refill? Soda's, no limit. A complementary macaroni salad was also put on the table. It was a nice gesture, but not my favorite. A bread basket was brought only after an entree was ordered. Challah, corn bread and crackers. California Breakfast came with 2 eggs, 2 sausage, 2 pancakes and bacon. All on the same plate. I immediately asked for another dish because everything was on top of the pancakes, which by the time the plate came, were mush from the heat/condensation. Surprise! Underneath the pancakes was a piece of griddled ham. The sausage was of the fat kind...not your Jimmy Dean pinky sized sausage lol. They were tasty. The eggs were scrambled and hot. The bacon was shriveled and cheap. Inedible really. The ham was thin and good and the pancakes were just ok. Even if not mushy, I probably wouldn't order them again. Syrup was in a glass container instead if prepackaged plastic. Also ordered was a chicken kebob over rice (one of the $14.95 dinner specials) that came with soup and salad. The chicken noodle soup was a strange tasting broth with noodles...no veggies, no chicken. The salad was iceberg lettuce with a few slices of red onion and tomato. The chicken kabob comes with a garlic/butter (scampi) sauce, we ordered it without. It was charred a little too much but ok. LOTS of rice, one kebob. The best meal on the table was the kids meal. Chicken fingers (3 big ones) with fries, a drink (milk or soda, juice extra?!) and ice cream or rainbow sherbert for dessert. The chicken fingers were hot and not greasy or overcooked. The fries, the same. The sherbert was plentiful and yummy on a hot summer night, but had sharp pieces of ice in it. As I was thinking about what I would try if we returned, my child started screaming about the ants crawling next to her on the window sill. I brought it to the attention of the waitress and her response was "yes, they are from outside and come in to the......" I stopped her and said, please don't tell me, I'm still eating. She laughed and walked away. It was kinda hard sitting there watching my child cringe and me feeling like there were ants under my feet. So we hurried to get the check. Upon paying, I told a large, bearded man who said he was the manager, about the ants. He thanked me for telling him and said it would be addressed. Although he didn't act surprised. This place is 24/7. The prices are what you'd expect for L.I. diner fare. The food was hot and ok. The service was not horrible. The diner itself was outdated but cute. I would have given one more star if we didn't have visitors at our table! read more

I don't think anyone would argue that California Diner is a solid 24 hour diner - comes in super clutch after a night in town when you've got the munchies or Sunday breakfast with the family. Either way the food is on point with giant diner sized portions. A little on the expensive side but the quality is there so it's worth it. Sometimes it can get super crowded. I've had to wait 45/1hr for a table for 2 on a Sunday morning before so beware. read more

The food was way too expensive for what they were serving, the services was quick but the server barely knew english... Most importantly the food wasn't good it wasn't more anything we payed for, the cheese burger was Eh but it has this weird choowe shit tht came up very often, the fries we're mediocre, my friends had the grilled cheese and french toast and they said they weren't pleased... Sadly it was a let down. read more

I've been going to the Cal since junior high school, and it's always been consistent. Slight changes in management and some items are no longer available, but neither is the smoking section. Went a couple weeks ago, and got my regular disco fries with a Club Sandwich. Still awesome. Fries are almost always perfect, and the sandwich is still stacked. I'm really glad it hasn't changed too much since practically everything around here has. Real, classic diner food. read more

Good solid diner food and plenty of it. Portions are huge. This isn't haute cuisine but you don't go there for that...just good food at good prices read more

Went back a couple of times. I first had a Chicken Caeser Wrap. Truth be told.... it was pretty bad. It was a wrap with all salad.. Chicken was added at the end and the dressing was to the side. Basically they gave me the ingredients and had me make it myself. Not the quality I was hoping for. Taste was lacking too. On my last trip, I went back to ordering a burger. I ordered the breakfast burger that had a fried egg on top. This was one was really good. Nice and big, and the fried egg added a lot of extra flavor. Fries and onion rings were also good. read more

Came for a late lunch so not busy at all. Took over 10 minutes for my order to get taken. Drink never arrived. Never checked on me, i tried to get some attention with no luck. Didn't get the sauce I asked for. Took a ridiculously long time to get the check, which then had to be corrected. Got attitude at checkout when I asked them to check the price of what I had ordered. Food was good but left with a bitter taste. read more

Giving 1 star because there is nothing lower. I went here with my husband for a lunch and was served *pink* coleslaw! It was pink because it was SPOILED. We paid for the coffee and left. read more

I had spaghetti with meatballs at 2 AM....good food and huge servings...7 large meatballs! Giant but plain salad (1 slice each of cucumber, red onion and tomato on a mountain of iceberg lettuce) with piles of bread and crackers. I could not come close to eating it all. Great friendly service $14 read more

I'm never disappointed here. This diner is slightly out of my way but whenever I try my local diner (Holbrook) I'm just simply never pleased. The ownership and management couldn't be more accommodating and the food absolutely never disappoints. Worth a slight detour for a truly classic diner. Highly recommend. read more

Had the Italiano special. It was so filling. Unreal portion of food. Comes with a salad , soup , meal , dessert & coffee . Plus rice pudding is so yummy. I have also had the normal twin cheese delux - very good . The salad is also very good and fresh. Gary k. read more