I haven't been to a NJ retro diner in probably 2 decades. I brought my dad, who has Alzheimer's and we were equally fascinated by the old skool decor & ambiance. We swung by on a whim, enchanted by the sparking, beckoning appearance of the building. I was sad and confused to see some low Yelp scores after our visit today. We both had excellent omelets, and even more amazing service from our server (Kali, Kaily - not sure how to spell). She immediately adapted to his strange speech due to his disease, was on point, and warming. The strong coffee was delicious! I found the women's restroom to be spotless, as was the rest of the establishment. Even the shiny ceiling decor was dazzling & clean. (When you look up in most places - it's not!) The dessert counter looked amazing - but we were too full to indulge. We will be back, just for that! They have a Cannoli cheesecake that looks amazing and worth returning for. I recommend giving this diner a go, especially in the off-season like we did. It's probably hard to keep with the summer tourists. I hope to see them succeed through the summer as they did in December. read more

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I feel awful i really hate giving a bad review But i went there and i was served Luke warm coffee. The place was half empty and im sorry with my past history with hard rock buffet with coli and being half dead and two stomachs surgeries i wont take a chance. After drinking the coffee and it was at best luke warm i was very concerned if you cant even serve me a hot cup of coffee i cant trust you to serve me food at the right temp. So i looked at all the reviews and i was like let get out of here i told my wife lets go im not taking a chance Im a retired chef i worked in many kitchens i know what to look for and im sorry i wont ever come back I worked one place where i got food poisoning. Twice because the manager was an idiot and they have a union protecting idiots And in the same place i swiped the huge pot of soup on to the floor because the cook was a moron who used a sea food based sauce on a vegetarian soup he could of killed patients at the hospital Im done with idiot Serving food and drinks at the proper Temperature Is a must if you cant serve coffee hot how on earth can i trust you to serve me food Then i read all the negative reviews sorry time to go. Good luck serving people that dont know better And dont come out with excuses or oh sorry with an excuse Run the place the correct way or sell it read more

Decent diner in the Toms River area. They have all your diner standards and is in a great location. They have fresh baked goods there but I really like the cheesecake. The restaurant has the retro diner vibe which I like. The food itself is good and the service is decent. Open later in the night too. There are other and cheaper options but this place is solid. read more

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First off I use to love coming here, now it's trash! Don't waste you time or money. The food didn't look good nor did it taste good. The server seemed to have an attitude not wanting to deal with an elderly lady pushing 100 not knowing what she wanted to eat. Never use the bathrooms there, flies and dirty. Overall this was a bad pick, I should have went to McDonald's! read more

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Went to this diner about 4:30 pm on a Thursday in mid June. It was not crowded and we sat down immediately. I had a BLT and asked for crispy bacon and they did a great job. Came with a pickle, coleslaw and extra mayo on the side. My husband had scrambled eggs, toast, hash browns and fat linked sausage. All very good. This food was not greasy. It tasted fresh. Service from Pauline was fast, polite and professional as well as friendly. We will be back. It was a clean place. Old school looking diner, like the 1950's. It was big and roomy. read more

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The service is lousy. The waiters waitress are the bottom of the barrel for sure. The women at the register / maybe like an assistant manager is an airhead . On Monday March 17th Went there for lunch. ordered a cup of chicken soup. Took a while When served my I took my first spoonful. I had to spit it back into the cup. The waitress explained that they put vinegar in it to spoiling retardant! They took the soup off the bill. The turkey Berger was just ok. I think it was undercooked. Coffee was ok. There were only two other people eating there at 12:30 noon. The men's room was filthy. It looked like they cleaned it when they made the fucking soup. Three weeks ago. Folks don't waist your money. It's disgusting and the food may make you sick. The spoilage chemicals can make you sick. DO NOT EAT THERE PLEASE. Needs to be purchased. Torn down and re built. Great location especially in ummer with people looking to eat something decent when leaving the beach and getting in the parkway . read more

Horrible!, ordered pancakes with fresh bananas, they came out baked in peaces and dry as hell,so i asked for a BLT on rye toast with mayo on side. Came out reg toast, bacon was brown all fat and soaked in grease with tones of mayonnaise. What happened to all the real American Greek Diners. Very sad very disappointing. Never go there again just horrible. read more

Diners come and diners go and just before the parkway there has always been the Crystal for a quick breakfast before the NJ Shore drive north home route. Stopped in this morning and we are quickly seated before the morning rush. Server comes to take our order, but we have no menu's. The cast of characters of ladies who work at diners was directly out of central casting. They were classic! Honestly very nice servers personable and accommodating. Once we do order breakfast prices are high $10.95 for a scrambled egg & cheese sandwich? Regardless standard breakfast meals ordered and served quickly. Omelets were good sandwich was OK. French fries were undercooked, and the brown gravy side was 'Weak" ... Real issue here is the restrooms. OMG DISGRACEFULL. If you are the owner have someone clean the place please. DISGUSTING. Almost took it down to 3 stars they were that bad. On the way out we inquired about the All baking done on premises and beautiful display case of pastries and cakes. We were told NAH we have everything brought in. Hmm better change that menu. \ Lots of options in the area this fits in the middle. read more

Time to eat my breakfast at the Crystal Diner where everything is good and the help is great and friendly as always read more

Crystal Diner - Time to eat my wonderful and delicious breakfast at the Crystal Diner - Diners Near Me - Toms River, New Jersey

Excellent breakfast hot and fresh food delicious coffee we will be back . Plenty of food took a slice of chocolate cream pie home oh it was fantastic. A big slice too for $4.99 . I highly recommend it. We used to go to Jackson diner cannot compare or mug rack we got greasy food read more

I asked for rare and made it clear I wanted rare I received well done. I would not recommend this business for anyone who wants their food properly cooked and received. I am extremely disappointed and there are flies everywhere flying around the sitting areas read more

Crystal Diner - Ordered rare burger didn't receive rare burger - Diners Near Me - Toms River, New Jersey

Came here with the entire Marshall Crenshaw band. We absolutely loved it and adored the old school 50s decor. It was one of my favorite lunches we've had together as a band read more

The food was horrible. We stopped on our way into seaside as we always pass this place but have never tried it. The booth was clean and we were optimistic about our food until a taste of the tartar sauce was tried. It was spoiled rotten. Hoping we don't get food poisoning! read more

Don't know what happened to this place,use to be pretty decent. Don't know if they have different cooks or what's going on but food was not good at all. No flavor at all and food looked old. Also, please invest in some better forks!!! Won't be coming here again. read more

Great service. Food was very good . Staff was very pleasant. Reasonable price. I will be back

I haven't visited this diner in a long time. The homemade pickles and coleslaw that comes with you meal is one of the best. It reminded me of a NY deli style and it was worth having more sent to the table. My wife had a salad she enjoyed and I had the gyro. I enjoyed my meal. It's def not the best thing in the world, but what I consider diner food I enjoyed. My son loved the fries. The waitress was very busy and delayed ordering food and delivering the check, but I think they are understaffed or don't wanna hire. Overall, I would come back just for the coleslaw and pickles alone. read more

I'd give a zero if I could. They don't tell you they charge 2 dollars for to go and you're the one picking it up. Rude staff rude manager . They didn't care one bit about our complaint. Never again. Food was bad. Toast burnt crumbled. Chicken under cooked! Don't pick up your food you will be charged. Never again! read more

I would give it a zero but the waiter was nice! Manager/owner was extremely rude charged us and 8 dollars additional for a cup of coffee and a coke after paying 53.81 for lunch! read more

Food was horrible, service was worse... the place was clean but empty. Now I know why.

Started with soup which tasted vinegary. Did not finish it. The main meal was something I could have cooked at home. The flys were so distracting. That doesn't say much for the cleanliness of the place. My partner went to the men's room, but came out quickly because of all the flys . Add this diner to my list of do not patronize this establishment. I'll go up the street where there have never been any flies. I must say our waitress was very accommodating. read more

The only thing going for this place is the service was good. Food was shoddy and the surcharge was sneaky. Also when they add the tip to the final charge, they added a few more cents then was written on the receipt. read more

My family and I stopped here for brunch on a recent Sunday morning. Overall, thought the place was pretty good so not sure why there are so many poor reviews: Pros: - food was great. I had a buffalo chicken wrap that was one of the better ones I've had in a while. - server was super friendly and responsive. My son even said "Daddy, she is so polite!" - food came out pretty quickly Cons: - place is is need a of some updates to the decor as it's looking a little dated - it took a few minutes for the server to come over after we sat down but after that it was quick read more

Mediocre at best. Plenty of better choices. The beef barley soup had no beef, the sandwich was dry and the musterd I was going to use to salvage it had expired 16 months ago. Also, awful location to get back onto the highway. read more

I joked when we rode by this place it was probably a 2 star dive but we stopped anyway and after we sat down and I checked Yelp, I wasn't far off. Honestly we should have gone somewhere else; there's so many 4-5 star places to choose, go there! I ordered a Chicken Cheesesteak platter with fries and coleslaw. My pickle was covered in whitish Cole slaw juice and pushed into the inside breading and the fries on my sandwich literally took off the little cheese that was on there since it stuck to the fries as I pulled them off. The bread was extremely dry and my sandwich was 2/3 mushrooms and peppers and like 1/3 sliced chicken lunch meat. All for $10.95. The fries were good but that was about it. To top it off, there are signs on the tables and the bathroom counter advertising a possible free lunch for two (max $20) if you give them a good review on any social media site (and they will contact you via social media). So food was not good with dry bread and basically no meat (left hungry and we took home the other half of my sandwich for the dog) and trying to get people to write good reviews in exchange for possibly winning a $20 lunch? No thanks. I wouldn't come back there for lunch if it was comped. read more

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The diner is old and kind of dirty. No one is taking care of the rest rooms either. We tried overlooking all of this since the diner is so old but then our eggs came and the had hair in them. We won't be going back to this establishment. read more

The sliced London broil was not cooked to order and half of the pieces of meat were bad. when we brought this to the managers attention and because half of the meat was gone, he didn't want to give any kind of compensation. The manager was very unprofessional, although dressed in a suit didn't like his picture taken, and told him take a good look at us cause he will never see us again . The quality has definitely gone downhill. If there was a zero star raining available I would've given it zero stars. read more

My family of 4 stayed in Seaside Heights for a week and we visited a number of breakfast places. I would not recommend Crystal diner: The male server was kind of rude to begin with (I saw a photo of an Italian fancy capuccino on their menu and I said something about it and he quickly corrected that they don't serve capuccinos). Look, just remove the photo, there is zero craft in this joint. The food was not good: the Belgian waffles were hard, as if they were frozen and not fresh, the potatoes were soggy and just not good in taste, my wife had scrambled eggs with cheese and it was loaded with cheap burger sliced fake cheddar cheese. This is just a cheap thoughtless joint run by someone who may have worked as a cook, doesn't understand culinary art, and just wants to make a buck without regard for the future of the business and this probably reflects in the attitudes of the servers. If you want to see great attitudes and great food, I recommend Fast Break, or C&Gs Country diner or the Dune Grass Cafe. About the ambiance, the architecture has a lot of potential if management wanted to bring this out but it is a bit dull inside. Overall, it needs a makeover with Chef Ramsey... read more

I was in Toms River on route 37 going to go north when I decided I was hungry. Where to go for breakfast? Ah the Crystal Diner. This is a typical diner with typical diner food. I cannot write too much cuz it would be silly to rack one's wits trying to think up something original for a typical diner.......enuff said! Staff? The only UN-typical thing was my server's name: Alycyne! Yes, pronounced Allison. She was a sweety. Diner Advice: go between 2AM -8 AM. PS It's really not important what I had for breakfast. read more

Crystal Diner - Diners Near Me - Toms River, New Jersey

This was my 2nd visit here. Impressed with quantity and flavor of food. However, in the middle of eating my "Triple Decker Turkey" sandwich, I noticed GREEN MOLD on bread! Brought this to the waitress's attention and her reply was, "Oh, sorry about that. Will there be anything else"? No real apology...wasn't really surprised...no compensation! I got out of there and will not be returning...with a $3.00 credit card charge to boot!​ read more

The service was meh at best... the food looked horrible and tasted horrible. The general vibe in the diner was sketchy. There was a person sleeping on a booth in the waiting room and there were cigarette boxes everywhere. I definitely do not recommend this place. read more

Not good at all, from the soggy pickle, to dry the burger, to the wilted lettuce. The nasty cheese on the pizza. I couldn't explain how unappealing the choices were. Don't go for lunch or late lunch at 2pm. The fly at my table was very attentive, the waitress not so much. It was not crowded. read more

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I'll just add to the rest of the disappointing reviews. The quality of food here is as cheap as you can get. The cheese in the western omelet is literally easy cheese or those Kraft squares. The orange juice was watery, gravy was out of a fan, and the pancakes were rubber. read more

Crystal Diner - Nasty easy cheese in an omelet. - Diners Near Me - Toms River, New Jersey

horrible customer service. we ordered food through uber eats. It was all wrong. We were not provided with the items expected, ie French fries and pickles. We called the diner and they took no accountability. The person we spoke to actually was frustrated by our questions ( for reference, we called and asked about the turkey for a turkey club) and she hung up on us. We called back and the person who answered the phone said he was too busy to talk ... lol... seriously ..... food isnt even that good... WORST PLACE EVER read more

Solid for breakfast, pie selection pretty good. Clean, good service. Booths available.

The only reason I am giving 3 stars is because of our server Robin professional, friendly, quick. and efficient. We walked in at 2:50 pm and we're seated at a booth. and The 4 waitresses sitting at a table totally ignored all the new tables who were sat down at this time, Our server Robin came to the table and apologized for the wait saying she just started at 3pm The menu not a typical diner menu very limited, no complete dinner specials, no open faced sandwiches, no monte cristo. The food we did order was edible, can't say anymore though except the fries were horrible soggy and fried in very old oil. The coffee was okay. I don't recommend this restaurant and I will not be back. read more

We're not from the area. Stopped in after my son's soccer game. We LOVE diners too since they have something for everyone so we tried this one out. We arrived at 7:45 and was sat immediately. There were only two other tables at the time. Waiter came after about 20 mins of us sitting there waiting and finally gave us a menu. He was nice enough (at first). We decided what drinks and appetizer we wanted. A half hour later, he came to take our initial order. During this time, a large party came in (about 15 people) as well as other smaller tables. I noticed he began running for this table. Providing drinks, appetizers, etc for them. After waiting 45 mins for our drinks and appetizers I got up and spoke to the owner/manager about it. He apologized and went in the back to speak to the waiter (assumed). Waiter came right out with our drinks and water, AND an attitude. Very tense and rude facial expressions. We still didn't have silverware or napkins. With the waiter no where to be found and the appetizer getting cold, my wife got up and took the silverware from empty tables for all of us. A half hour after this, our meals finally came out. Again, with the waiter with attitude. Most of our food was room temp, dry and tasted horrible. We were all hungry from a long day and from waiting almost TWO HOURS for our main course! HORRIBLE EXPERIENCE! I DO NOT recommend this place! Horrible service, horrible food! And, on top of everything, I. Prices every time the waiters opened the doors to the kitchen, the kitchen looked disgustingly dirty! Just horrible overall. NEVER AGAIN. read more

Hmm...I don't know where to begin. Let's talk about the good: The coffee was nice and hot Ok now the bad: My food was ice cold! I ordered 1 fried egg with 4 strips of bacon fried hard. The egg was decent, I guess you can't mess that up. However the bacon was pitiful. I don't know where they get their bacon from but it's gross. I just ate around it and then gave up. The waitress tried the best she could.... I WILL NOT BE COMING BACK. Oh did I tell you the cops showed up?! Too long to tell the story but that's what you can expect at 12:47am. read more

Very disappointed. Food was below average and very overpriced. Some of our food had to be sent back because it was burnt, the bill was wrong when it came out (we were charged extra for a drink) and then i was hit with an additional 4% charge to use a credit card. Terible terible terible. I do not recommend anyone go here. read more

We were in the area looking to buy a mattress. I never realized how mattress people are like used car salesmen. "What will it take for me to put you on this mattress?" Anyway, stoped in and ordered an open faced roast beef (after seeing the guy next to me eating one), grilled cheese and chicken club. All very good, with fries slaw and pickles. The deserts in the showcase looked great and were great. 5 stars for the carrot cake and peanut butter cheese cake. read more

I like the food, but I won't go back because they will charge you 3.00 extra if you use your credit card.