Food was delicious! The country fried steak was amazing, and best breakfast gravy I've ever had. My husband is a chef and incredibly picky, and he enjoyed every bite! The only thing is, the serving staff didn't seem too thrilled to be there, which is a bummer since everything else, including the atmosphere, was great! Highly recommend giving it a try, I know we'll be going back for sure! read more

This was the best diner EVER! I had the meat omelette it was delicious and fast service. Really recommend it, I want to go again tomorrow to try the deep fried sandwich special! Love it read more

Great little diner, found this place thanks to yelp. I had the french toast which was delicious, my friends had some omelettes and had no complaints either. The waitress we had was very friendly and got our order entered perfectly. I would definitely come here again, we all liked it very much. Only reason I have to knock it down 1 star is because of the bathrooms. read more

Great service and good food. I would recommend and I will definitely come back on future trips!

My wife and I came here for breakfast with our children, and were a little worried when the place was nearly deserted. We thought the upside would be faster service, but we were gravely mistaken. Our order was taken promptly, but they had a special (Eggs Benedict) that was causing the stand-in cook some real trouble. Our simple pancakes, french toast and bacon took over 30 minutes with 5 hungry kids waiting. When the food arrived, the pancakes were burnt and the french toast was dripping wet in the center. We were so hungry and sick of waiting that we ate the sub-standard fare and asked for a second stack of pancakes that weren't burnt. They didn't add that to our bill, which was the right thing to do. Our experience may not have been typical, but it was terrible. Oh, and the bathrooms? Seriously disturbing. I couldn't bring myself to give this place a second chance. read more

Went on a sunday Friendly ,good service great food at a very reasonable price read more

Great breakfast and good atmosphere! The Country Benedict is delicious and I'm coming back. I love this place!

Great place!!! Little hard to find but worth it. Diverse menu and good prices. I had a baller club sandwich with great fries. Good service and friendly staff read more

Long over due review. Our favorite spot down the street from where we live. This place is beautiful with a grate view, service is wonderful it's a locals joint, food is simple, but man they have the recipes down to a point. My mouth is watering just thinking about this place. read more

1st time here. Great little hidden spot. Food is yummy, service decent, price just right, overall very pleased. Definitely would come back next time. read more

My wife and I had what I would consider the worst service in the desert from this establishment. My wife's first cup of coffee had lipstick on a dirty cup and it took a while for our waitress to come around to handle the matter. As we tried to make contact or waive down a server or waitress they amazingly went around us and did not make visual contact with us as they serviced customers around us. After a bit of time as our waitress came to take our order, we asked for a clean cup along with our order. For some reason after that, it seemed to set the tone for a bad experience that made us wonder. Why? They continued to wait everyone else in the establishment and the host went to every table but ours to chat and check on customers around the restaurant. Felt as if we were not welcome or worth the time. I had to wonder? Everyone else in CJ's seemed to be enjoying their experience. This was not the Sunday morning experience I wanted to start off an outing with my wife.. read more

Great food, cozy ambiance, reasonable prices and great service! We will keep going back!

The service sucked and the food was served cold. I wouldn't recommend this place. The restaurant was busy at first, but not to busy to get standard service which we didn't receive. The waitress never brought our food or check in after we received our food. I would go elsewhere to eat. read more

No Turkey sausage or bacon. Regular bacon overcooked. Pancakes were good and my husband enjoyed his French toast.

Was told about this place by friends. Be sure to check a map to find it. It is part of an industrial center. The food, and plenty of it was excellent. They have agreat selection. They are only open from morning to 2pm as I recall. Great parking too. read more

Tried CJ's while visiting Palm Desert during a pickleball tournament. Ordered the Denver omelet with Mary. Quick delivery and good taste. Quick filling of water glass and cleaning table. Was very pleased. read more

Cjs diner has been breakfast for the two consecutive mornings following my 6 tooth extraction surgery. A solid joint for sure! It's not gourmet, but it's scrumptious! The food is taste satisfying, filling, well priced, and real. read more

Had breakfast here yesterday b/c of Yelp and UrbanSpoon reviews and it didn't disappoint. Tucked away off Cook but well worth finding. Denver omelet full of fresh green pepper, ham and cheese. Hash browns to die for and rye toast was delicious. Food arrived piping hot. Hostess was a lovely young woman-very friendly and made us feel right at home. Coffee cups and water were always full. Only downside was a family with the most obnoxious two boys were seated at the table next to our booth and God bless the sweet hostess for politely shushing them when their parents couldn't be bothered. Will be our "go to" breakfast place in Palm Desert! read more

CJ'S was wonderful. The food was tasty, fresh and quick. I loved the service and there was no wait on a Sunday or morning @ 10:30. Located in an out of the way place with a small town feel. Glad we went there. read more

I really enjoy this restaurant. The service is friendly, the food is good, and it's a nice environment. It's a great local spot. CJ is here often and really cares about his business. read more

Breakfast was great and well priced for the area, walked a mile from the JW Marriott. And let me tell you it was well worth it. Get the biscuits and gravy and the homemade chocolate milk. read more

The food at CJ's is outstanding, I had the breakfast burrito and it was one of the best I've had. The only reason I'm not giving CJ's 5 stars is the disjointed service, maybe it was just a Sunday morning thing, the service until I got a menu and then after I received the bill detracted from what was an excellent meal. read more

Cj's is the Sh*t! I work in Palm Desert and after eating at every (disgusting) restaurant, we found this little Gem hidden behind the post office. I have eaten a variety of things here including the breakfast burrito, turkey wrap (to die for!), and club. I was satisfied every time without the after lunch hangover feeling. I would definitely recommend this place and I'll probably see you there as I'm eating here everyday for lunch! read more

Good, basic breakfast. Best Value around. My favorite eat-out meal of the day and they do a good job taking care of you. We vacation in Palm Desert often and will be back to CJ's again. read more

Great service and good food! Had the chicken fried steak with 2 eggs over easy on an English muffin and a fresh glass of orange juice.. I was in a food coma! Great little breakfast spot that's completely off the trail. read more

This is my family's first trip to CJ's Diner and thought that this should be a safe bet given they had 4 out of 5 star rating. It wasn't a not worth our time or the headache that it caused. When we entered to waitress with the black glasses was to preoccupied with eating her own personal meal and could not find the time to seat us. We chose to seat ourselves and just laugh it off. (Shoulda left then!) For about 20 mins not a soul came up to our table to offer water or additional place settings for our children. After about a half hour we were finally given water and were able to order coffee. Not once was our tiny coffee cup refilled nor were we asked about any needs. Mind you that there were at least 4-5 servers on walking around...(eating) the food order came out incorrectly and was not great. Save yourself a bit of sanity and pass this place up. Awful dining experience for my family and I. read more

I'm sorry to have to write this, but it was good reviews that brought us in. Frankly, we don't understand how they are getting such great reviews after our experience. Prices: High Portions: Small Floor: Badly in need of vacuuming, debris everywhere (gross) Atmosphere: Kinda noisy Service: Mediocre Food: Not great First of all, we were given only breakfast menu's at 11:05 (I wanted lunch). I wondered if they only had breakfast, but found out later they did serve lunch after 11am. We had to wait quite a while for them to take our order and while sitting there waiting I looked around and noticed the floor was filthy with debris everywhere. Also, one of the waitresses had her pants falling down in back which looked sloppy & gross. Then we noticed the prices were a lot! $11.95 for 2 eggs, 2 bacon and 2 pancakes (no toast or hashbrowns), usually a "2-2-2" is about $6-$8 in most restaurants. We decided the pancakes must be gigantic at that price, so I ordered that planning on giving one pancake to my husband. I was shocked that the pancakes were only about 6-7" across, tiny! Their pancakes are $6.99 for a short stack, which is 2 pancakes, so they charge $3.50 per 6" pancake! Wow. BUT - get this - the bacon WAS BLACK AND BURNT! I couldn't believe it! What kind of place would even serve that? Someone had to put that on the plate and someone else had to serve it and neither thought it shouldn't be served! What kind of place does that? My husband ordered the chili cheese omelet - the chili was so hot (temperature) that he burnt his mouth. He gave me a piece of the omelet and I thought the chili was runny and watery, he agreed. It stayed steaming hot on my plate forever. They must have nuked the chili way too long and then put it in the omelet. Most professional cooks use a thermometer, obviously they don't bother with that here. My husband gave me half of his english muffin and there were 2 jellies served with it on the plate (instead of jelly readily available on the table) one was strawberry which my husband already used and the other grape which I hate - are they trying to cut corners with the jelly? Do homeless people sneak in and steal their jelly? What's the deal with the jelly? We also noticed the omelet was served with a squirt of catsup in a small plastic container - another way to cut costs? That ended up being a waste of their money because he doesn't even like catsup! Could we have sent back the bacon and asked for more strawberry jelly? Sure, but who wants to sit around and wait for what we should have gotten in the first place? So, to sum up my review: They take awhile to get around to take your order when it's not even busy, they don't vacuum, they let their waitresses wear their pants underneath their cracks (yes it was covered by her shirt but still gross), skimp on portions, but still charge more than average, burn the bacon (and serve it anyway), and don't give customers a lunch menu when they arrive after 11am! What's with that? Even if we're being overly picky about the debris on the carpet and the waitress' pants - what about the long wait time, small portions, lacking jelly, watery chili, burned food, and high prices? This place needs help, bad. read more

The place had a very friendly environment. They were understaffed this day and the food came out pretty slow. It wasnt as clean as i would of liked. read more

Service was wonderful. Food was tasty. The diner was clean. We visit there often for breakfast. The rye toast is amazing!

Hmmm, where to start. I have eaten lunch here twice. Both times the service and food were decent. Today I thought I would try breakfast. I was greeted by a bus boy who asked if I would like coffee or water. I asked for coffee with cream. He promptly set a full to the brim cup of coffee in front of me, spilling a good puddle around the cup. I had no room for cream. The server showed up a considerable amount of time later apologizing, saying, "she likes to chat. " I ordered bagel and lox,and asked if someone could wipe off the table....lox was so salty I could not eat it. Only offered plain bagels too. Coffee spill still on table. Server offers something else. I order veggie omelet, with country potatoes. I get veggie omelet with hash browns. I flag down busboy to wipe table. I ask server for more coffee...twice. coffee comes, server also brings side of country potatoes. Server attempted to ensure my satisfaction. ..a little late now. Veggie omelet and both servings of potatoes/hash browns were tasteless. No salt. A squirts of ketchup was on plate in a little cup. No hot sauce or Tabasco. Only 6 people in place at the time...not sure I'll be back again. read more

Food is delicious, prompt service, friendly staff, pricing is more than reasonable! Good way to start the day!

CJ's Diner is a top notch local's place we love to visit for breakfast - the food is very, very good, the service is even better. We have tried probably half of the breakfast menu and are always satisfied. Their omelets, crispy hash browns, and fried eggs (I like mine over easy) are all made to order, and I stress they cook them the way you order them. This is not a fancy gourmet 5 star restaurant - just a great place for good old home cookin'. To top it off, CJ's sends out "buy one, get one free" mailers to us locals from time to time. Thank you so much - it's a pleasure to get away from home once in a while and enjoy a good home cooked breakfast. read more

Awesome little place, is like you came in to someone's home and they fed you really really good food. Great staff friendly as soon as I walked in, find it and have a great breakfast read more

Food as good as I remember from 6 years ago. We wanted to say hi to CJ but he was going to be in later so missed seeing him. Service was very good and food yummy. read more

My husband and have been coming to CJ'S Diner for years. Everything on the menu is amazing. The service is always good and friendly and the owners come out a talk to their guests, just like you were in their dining room. My most recent favorite is their Tuesday special, corn beef and cabbage. Gotta try it. They have an excellent club sandwich which my husband always gets. Their Cobb salad is crave worthy. There burgers are hand made and amazing with their "to go" fries which are battered. My daughter always orders breakfast, even for lunch. My son's favorite is the CJ Burger with pastrami on top of the burger! I'm stuffed right now with their tuna melt on rye. Wednesday's special is bbq pork ribs and sweet potato fries and their Wednesday soup is albagonas or meatball soup which is yum! Thursdays is their famous fried chicken with mash potatoes and gravy. Get there early being they run out of fried chicken by 1. This lunch also become dinner because its a lot of food, so take somr home. Go to CJ'S Diner, say hi to CJ and his friendly staff. Try their Blues Burger and to go fries.... read more

Horrible service. We, a party of 4, went on a Wednesday for breakfast. We received one meal at a time over a 30 min period. Not wanting to be rude the person receiving the first of the 4 meals had a stone cold meal by the time the 4th meal made an appearance. The middle two meals were room temp and none of us ate at the same time. Avoid. Avoid. Avoid. That said the meal was comped by the owner but only after complaining. I would not return. read more

This was my second trip back here because I had a good experience at the first time. Well, this second time we had absolutely been ignored by our server. I was not going to leave any tips but my busser was very nice, so I did for the poor guy doing the server's job. The food is good, but I wouldn't return because of poor service. read more

Reason I created a yelp account.. I felt like going on a yelpathon with a friend visiting from out of town and this diner far exceeded our expectation! read more

Decided to try this gem after reading the reviews on yelp. Breakfast was absolutely wonderful. Chorizo and refried beans so delicious

I have to say I was very impressed with this place. I didn't get to try what I wanted but that is ok. I was more impressed with their customer service! I was getting our car checked. We walked across to cj diner. As we were walking up they said they were closed. As we turned around the gentleman said we can help you come on in. I was so impressed by that. We had salads and they were good. But very impressed with him being so gracious! Thank you very much we will definitely return! read more