JFK Terminal 4 has few eateries At Central Diner to rest my legs and wait for a friend A guy shouts out orders to the kitchen while standing in front of it. So don't sit in front of the kitchen unless you like all that shouting. However, he is the one who knew that my burger was missing the avocado and that I wasn't given utensils. Seems like he is the only guy who knows what is going on. Burger was a little charred. Fries were good. No Coca Cola, only Pepsi but they didn't say so till they served it. Finally someone noticed that my Pepsi was all gone and asked if I wanted another one. I got it promptly too. read more

Central Diner - Diners Near Me - Jamaica, New York

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We were surprised this place received 1.5 stars when in our opinion it was totally decent. Food was standard diner food and burgers were good. Service was exceptional when we visited in spite of bitter complaints to the contrary. Ignoring the fact that it's extremely expensive for what it is and most of their business is from people with layovers this is a decent place to get a burger and a beer. The staff is friendly as well as attentive. Give it a shot they seem to have improved since most of these were written. read more

Worst food I've ever eaten. Just kidding the waitress showed a severe ineptitude for customer service when attempting to take our order. She said "this is too much just sit at the booth"-which had no seats. Within the 3 minutes I spoke to her she rolled her eyes about 20 times and graphically complained when we asked for 3 seperate checks and then groaned when we ordered mozzarella sticks. She got mad when we asked for ice cream and said we couldn't have it and then said "just move" and walked away to finish off this lovely experience. I then proceeded to exit the diner with significantly few brain cells than when I entered. read more

Ok so here i am at the airport waiting for a family member who arrives in 2 hours. I was super early because i had the fear of 'holiday traffic' in my mind since it's the friday starting memorial day wknd. Plus i came early as i wanted to make sure i got a parking spot near the exit. So of course what i do is look for a place to sit and have a bite and do some work, answer an email or two... And it had to be where i was, on the street side of security. The food is okay, it's an airport diner. People were eating burgers today. I asked the smiley waitress what she recommended, and she said they make the burgers fresh to order. That was all i had to hear. I didnt want any heated and reheated or nuked-up food. It was ok. I'd go with a burger but skip the mushrooms (rubbery). Lettuce, tomato all ok. The fries are standard string fries and they all taste better hot. Those kinds of fries are condiment suckers so i made sure i stopped eating them when they went cool rather than squirting more mayo-ketchup on my plate!! I got my food in less than 10 minutes, and the people around me are happily eating burgers too. The internet is not free here but it's not anywhere in term 4. Yes this placed is way overpriced, way! Burger fries and a soft drink for $20. It's a seller's market. But hey if you want to eat something and sit down here you go. Service was excellent, with smiles and speed, from both the waitress and the food runner/busser guy. read more

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Sorry, only hood for the waiting time. Service sucks, food was Ok. Such a nice place... I hope they step it up. read more

Central Diner - Nice place! - Diners Near Me - Jamaica, New York

Horrible food with unbelievably awful taste. We have no idea how possible the food could ever taste so bad! Grab a sandwich at other deli stands if possible. read more

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A 3 year old could have made a better chicken ceasar salad. My friends fish and chips were cold on the inside. Go to Dunkin.

The service, as so many before me have testified, is that special brand of NY, "I could really give less of a shit". Kind of like the French. The coffee is not for human consumption; it's probably an effective cleaning product or roach repellent. Welcome to NY, nothing to see here. read more

Ugh. Maybe the service is better during the day time, but at night it's a pretty terrible place all around. Tired and surly staff that keep shuffling you around. It's dirty and the food is mediocre at best. Has one of the most expensive cups of coffee anywhere and it's not any good either. If you're starving and need to sit down, at least it's there... read more

Not terrible food, but not outstanding. Service was absolutely horrendous. It took them at least 10 minutes to acknowledge me, and 2 other people left due to lack of acknowledgement while I was there. The food was okay, but extremely overpriced. People only eat here out of convenience. Definitely not because of the quality or customer service. The employees were blatantly gossiping while customers were waiting to be served. Those customers were the ones who ended up leaving. Business could be better if employees were adequate. Some of the worst employees I've ever witnessed, and I've traveled a lot. read more

This diner looks quaint and charming: a replica of a 1950s hamburger joint in Terminal 4 of JFK. It was a welcoming sight for us having a long, turbulent international flight behind us and a five hour lay-over in front of us. We walk in to see three or four employees huddled around the hostess desk goofing off. After 20 seconds or so they finally get it together to seat us with a gruff: "Sit here. Menus are at the end of the table." Ten minutes or so later our order are finally taken. We wait for our food and observe even more employees kicking back and chuckling it up. One is apparently the manager, and he is, as bad, if not worse than the rest. He barks an order and then giggles as if it's an established fact that no one takes their job seriously. We finally receive our nachos and they are cold, the cheese isn't even melted. We call the waitress back. And then, to my amazement, we watch as she and the "cook" discuss the merits of whether cheese on the nachos should be melted or not. This is all occurring within 10 feet of us. Up until this point it was evident that this place is void of professionalism, speaking about our preference of food in front of us demonstrates that they also lack common courtesy. The nachos appear at the same time as the rest of our food. The cheese placed on it is the liquid fake stuff -- the kind you'd expect at a bowling alley that you pay $4 for, not the $12 they are charging. And the plate is still cold. My BLT and my husband's quesadilla was barely adequate. The salsa was spoiled. We didn't bother to tell them. Though the diner had perhaps two other parties there, it took a excruciatingly long time for the waitress to bring our bill. Sharing the sordid details of her social life with coworkers was more important than attending to us. Even more awkward was the payment transaction. She stood their, waiting, as my husband signed the credit card receipt and added her tip. He, being a kind gentlemen, was generous. If it were up to me she would have received nada. This place is tragic. High prices. Mediocre food. Poor service. More than that, though, it's positioned at an international terminal, which may make it the first experience many international visitors have with American diners. How sad for them. How sad for US. read more

Slow service and overpriced mediocre food. I ordered the Spaghetti and Meatballs and when it finally came after 30-40 min, it had barely any sauce. It was like eating plain pasta. I asked for more sauce but the waiter must have forgotten because after 20 min, we still had no sauce. Ended up carrying the plate to the counter in front of the kitchen to ask for it. Overall, first meal in NY was disappointing. read more

Central Diner - Diners Near Me - Jamaica, New York

There is no doubt this place has TWO whole stars for a reason, entered the place and I was not greeted in very welcoming way, sat down at bar area and decided to change to the tables and when I asked I was given attitude and said I couldn't because it was for two or more which I totally understand, but then I was told to follow a server to a table and she said "sit down at the table" She didn't specify or walk towards the table with me. It just feels like the people that work here, don't want to be here. As for the food, had a BLT with an Iced Tea, asked to have water instead because the tea didn't have a very good taste to it, the server said " I've been serving this all day, what's wrong with it?" I said "It doesn't taste good to me, I'll pay for it just please bring me some water instead " First time here... defines not a welcoming comfortable place.... read more

Food very good Cleaniness Very good serving Very fast being an airport diner Very attetive. read more

Central Diner - very neat and great ambience as of now - Diners Near Me - Jamaica, New York

Firstly, shoutout to the Central Diner for allowing all the attorneys trying to fight the President's Muslim Ban. Law firms have been picking up the tab in exchange and at my shift today I had a pretty solid breakfast sandwich which interestingly came on a hamburger roll, making it feel like a more substantial breakfast than otherwise. I'm also interested in their meatloaf. read more

Fresh off a great trip to Mexico, but a pretty stressful flight back, my friends and I thought it best to take a breather before reentering our lives in NYC, so we continued our vacation, if only for an hour more, at the Central Diner in JFK. We entered the establishment around 10:00, and we were greeted by "Drea" who had the warmest smile and best personality. We noticed this, because it was apparent she was wearing multiple hats, and though it was probably towards the end of a long shift, she still summoned a professional, personable and caring attitude. Three rounds later, we were staring down the midnight hour, which we discovered was the time they locked their doors. Not wanting to hold the staff up, we requested a check, but we did ask to speak to the manager to share with him how delightful Drea had been. This is where the reduction of two stars takes place, and the blame is squarely on the Chris', the dismissive manager's shoulders. Here's the exchange: (Chris saunters over maybe fifteen minutes after asking to speak with him with the GOOD NEWS we had. His body language was reticent and dismissive, and it was clear that he did not to speak to us. Chris: You all wanted to see me? *** Here, my friend extends his to shake Chris', but it was quite apparent that Chris was not the warm and fuzzy type; he reluctantly extended his hand in return. My friend: Yes, we just wanted to let you know that after a rough flight, things were made better by Drea. Chris: Well, it would be better if you take the survey. Me: We plan on doing that, but we thought you'd like to know who wonderful she was with us. I'm sure "corporate" listens to you, too. Chris: Yeah, but it's still better to do that. By the way, MY RESTAURANT closes at 12:00. *** It was 12:03, and we would have been long gone if he weren't so hesitant to speak to us. At this point, we halted conversation with him recognizing we were speaking to someone who couldn't care less about praise of those he supervises. For Drea, I leave three stars here, but five in my heart. Polite and professional, she also makes a mean margarita. Thank you! For "corporate," per Chris' suggestion, I'm reaching out to you with the request that you consider making Drea, or another team member, manager, and send this Chris packing. Really, in a world where most people simply want to complain, this dimwitted fool shunned folks who were most happy with the service they had received. read more

I'm torn between one and two stars, I see its currently average at two stars so am giving it one star to hopefully bring the average down to 1.5 stars. 3rd occasion of eating here, third occasion of feeling disappointed. in most recent meal the home fries were cold for both my friend and I. We explained to the waiter and thought he would exchange them, instead put them under heat lamp that made eggs go all brown on the edges. Despite writing down our order the chef still got it wrong. Food was swimming in cheap oil. Even basics such as my friend asking for his bread to come buttered were overlooked. Had to wait ages for coffee until we reminded the server. Prices too high for the quality and service. Three bad experiences, never again. read more

Ate dinner here between connecting flights. As far as airport eateries go, this one isn't bad. I see lot's of other poor reviews of Central Diner on Yelp, and I guess we just got lucky. No complaints other than the prices were really high, but hey....it's New York City. Can't be in this town and expect to be thrifty. read more

Good food quality amazing service. Wifi is easy to access . Not my first visit and I'm sure I'll come again read more

Central Diner - Terminal 4 waiting for the next flight - Diners Near Me - Jamaica, New York

If I could give zero stars I would. Treated us so poorly when all we wanted was a space to sit with our mom and enjoy some ice cream and coffee. We ordered a coffee and an ice cream sundae and were told to get a diner booth. Then another server comes along and tells us we can't sit there and moved us to the counter which we did move. This server then calls the manager and says "we are making things up" and the first server comes along and says he has forgotten our order. You don't make such comments to a customer. The place was completely empty and even then these people had no manners and way to treat their customers. They spoilt what could have been a wonderful last minute coffee with family. Do not go here to taste their entirely unprofessional service. read more

Big PASS. Worst experience I've ever had at a diner. Walked in, exhausted from my plane ride, just wanting to sit and have a good meal on my layover. 45 mins into waiting, noticing the man who came 20 mins after me already got served with a full meal, and asking someone to check on my order for me, I finally gave up. All I ordered was an omelet, so unless they were chasing a hen around waiting for it to hatch an egg, it really shouldn't have taken this long. Prices are ridiculously high. Staff seems to have the "it's not my problem" air about them. read more

Delicious burger, crispy fries. Quick service, very clean tables and chairs. Staff was very kind. As a 20 year NYC diner veteran, this diner was better than most. Yes it was small but it wasn't crowded and it did not smell like bathroom freshener, and did not have roaches which is a double win. Would recommend to anyone who needs a burger and fries. read more

The food is decent, but I have had much better airport food elsewhere in JFK. It is also really overpriced and the milkshakes as advertised are much smaller than you would expect. My chocolate milkshake had the consistency of chocolate milk. read more

Central Diner - Meatball parm sandwich, fries, and chocolate milkshake - Diners Near Me - Jamaica, New York

Arrived real early from my Vegas flight (6am) and this was the first location I spotted after coming off my plane and walking through the airport. Was greeted promptly and seated. Because I was waiting on a few more family members to arrive from a different location I decided to start with a small bowl of tomato soup and grilled cheese. Something not too heavy, just to hold me over until they arrived. Food was yummy and service was good. I enjoyed the NFL honors for a bit until i decided to find another place that had mimosas! Hey, I'm on Vacation It was real quiet at the time which I arrived, which made it that much better. Oh, and I didn't try a pie or cheesecake, but they looked uhmazing. Next time read more

Diner food with really slow service. Expect to wait 10 min for a server and half an hour for food. This is true in mid afternoon when the diner is not totally full. But hey, when one has a monopoly, who cares about service or quality.I actually departed after being there 40 minutes without receiving my omelette. This diner has been the same for years. Avoid. read more

Do Not Eat at this horrible RipOff place! They are clearly taking advantage of people as they leave NY. We had the misfortune of eating here last week before seeing our kids off on a trip, as this is the only choice for food at Terminal 4 before security. There was only one waitress, we ordered 2 sandwiches and 2 burgers and that took 40 minutes! The burgers were defrosted and had a gross texture, my wife took few bites and refused to eat it. The fries were frozen out of a bag. My Ruben sandwich had greasy bread, bland crout and 3 slices of dried crusty pastrami! Worst ever! Having said that, the price to quality of food and service ratio is way off! $90 for that garbage! I felt like filing a Police report, because I got robbed! If you are thinking of eating here, DO NOT! read more

Central Diner - Diners Near Me - Jamaica, New York

Got off a plane after a long flight and had 4 hours to kill until my next flight. So I decided to have a sandwich (the Club or the BLT can't remember now) with fries. It hit the spot after travelling overseas for 4 weeks. Good solid sandwich and filling. I had seen some of the negative comments on yelp but I figured it's a diner, not a gourmet restaurant. Good choice in the end. read more

My experience at Central diner was super terrific the food is Great! Me And my family of six enjoyed our time eating there. The Service was so good the young lady by the name of Brittany was so nice and Pleasant she made us feel really comfortable I give this place 5stars read more

we wait for 20 min but nothing on the table even a glass of water。The food is ready but no one is serving. The waiters are chatting. I asked the waiters and they didn't know until the third time. The attitude was very arrogant and the food was very bad. read more

Central Diner - Diners Near Me - Jamaica, New York

Had such a great experience here waiting for our flight. Food was great, staff was polite, and we loved the idea of an old school diner. The place was clean and overall great. Giving it 4 stars bc service was a little slow but no regrets coming here. Would def come back! read more

Terrible service here, genuinely horrendous. The waiters here are inattentive and incredibly rude. They have very little patience and openly show this. We sat down for 20 minutes before anyone even acknowledged our presence. As we were rushing to catch our flight, we were only able to order 2 cold brew coffees which took another 20 minutes which is incomprehensible. Rather stay hungry than come here, all you'll get is bad service. read more

I had just landed in terminal four. The food was amazing. I was starving and the burger was perfectly grilled with sautéed onions. The fries were great as well. Great stop before or after a flight. read more

This place is really bad with what they serve!! I'm not sure if they care at all about the quality of the food here as their aren't many options once you leave the security area of the airport and arrive down in baggage claim. If I would've known how bad it was here I would've happily chose McD before heading down to eat here. First off the food here is expensive compared to what you get and not worth it at all. I ordered a house salad and the lettuce was very dry even with the dressing on top. It seems as if they never had rinsed it before serving or had been sitting around for a long time. My wife had gotten the fish and chips which was terrible. The fish tasted not fresh at all and had been frozen before. Not even sure what kind of fish, but it was bland and not seasoned plus it seemed as if it could've come straight out of a box. My mom had gotten the turkey dinner and the turkey came out as cold cuts made for a sandwich. Not even an actual turkey was served!! Her mashed potatoes looked as if they were processed and had a weird yellow color to it. My two nieces had the mac and cheese and they both didn't like them as they tasted bland with no seasoning. If ever I'm going back to JFK airport again, I'm definitely choosing a fast food option instead at least then I know what I'm getting without being ripped off and eating something that won't make me regret about later. read more

You walk in, so excited to see this mirage off a restaurant right in the center of the lower level of jfk. You've been walking for ages in 13° temperatures, you have no choice but to sleep at the airport for your layover because everything is crazy out. It's the middle of the night. Everything is closed. And here's a diner. It's cute, and fairly empty. They allow you to seat yourself as it is empty tonight. You choose a booth for you and your traveling companion and you order hot coffee while you peruse the menu. She brings the coffee, and it is really really good coffee. The waitress returns and asks what you've decided and you'll have fries. The waitress then turns to say "that's it?" With a look of disgust. The diner is empty yet she continues with "6 paying customers could sit at this booth, but you want fries and coffee?" Then walks away. Then the restaurant gets even more empty as you leave. Tossing 6$ on the table to cover the 2 small coffees. read more

Servers are friendly but service is slow, the food was edible and the vanilla milkshake tasted like strawberry. A vending machine could produce a better dining experience than Central Diner. read more

This place is the worst restaurant ever. Very rude waitress ever. Dirty table and seat. Food is tolerable. I told them my tip was 15%, but the waitress charged 18%. I will never go this place ever. read more

The waitress was nice and the location within then terminal is perfect but almost everything else is bad . From the quality of the food (below average diner quality) and the wait time (it took forever even though it wasn't very busy). The fries were good . read more

Central Diner - Diners Near Me - Jamaica, New York

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I think it's really quite respectable considering it's a burger joint in the public portion of JFK Terminal 4, just outside the international arrival gate. I got a rueben (with fries) and a coke. sandwich and fries were $12.99 with seemed OK, but the soda was like $3. Food was decent, service was quick and the staff was pleasant. read more

Absolute trash. Food was terrible and the service was slow. Avoid this place at all costs

Are here because we were too early to check in for an international flight. Definitely wouldn't recommend it, but if you have to eat in the international terminal before going through security it's the only sit down option. The food wasn't horrible. I had a grilled cheese and tomato soup combo, my friends had a BLT and a tuna melt, both which came with fries. We all thought the food was decent. The service on the other hand was horrible. I understand it probably sucks working here, but our waitress wasn't even responsive when j would ask her questions. She would just look at me. It was difficult to get waters and have her bring the check. The drinks were pretty expensive, even for New York and an airport terminal, so beware. This is definitely not a place to go unless you have no other option. read more