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Empire II

4.0 (21 reviews)
Closed 5:30 am - 4:00 pm

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EMPIRE II ATMOSPHERE

What's the vibe?
Quiet
Dogs allowed
Good for groups
Good for kids

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1 month ago

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5 months ago

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4 months ago

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8 months ago

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2 years ago

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4 years ago

This is a true staple of Waldwick. Love the food. Love the old timey classic diner atmosphere. Friendly people. Just a really great place.

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3 years ago

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4 years ago

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15 years ago

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8 years ago

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6 years ago

You always get a great breakfast at the luncheonette. Yummy food, great service and staff. A true small town classic!

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10 years ago

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11 years ago

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10 years ago

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14 years ago

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13 years ago

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8 years ago

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Review Highlights - Empire II

There is the phrase 5-star dive bar, well this is a 5-star dive diner and that is a compliment.

Mentioned in 2 reviews

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Graze - Spring Harvest Bowl

Graze

(81 reviews)

Met up with a few friends at Graze, and overall we had a great time. The wait was a bit long, but…read morehonestly pretty reasonable for a Sunday. I didn't get to see or experience the ambiance inside but I'm sure it's nice - we were seated outside as eating was our priority! I ordered a matcha, and it tasted a little watered down, but still okay. The main courses made up for it. The steak was phenomenal and the sides had so much flavor that nothing felt like an afterthought. Our waitress also had a fun personality, which added to the experience. I'll definitely be back.

4.5 stars -- only because I've only been there once. Once I return, I'm sure I'm going to pop up to…read more5 stars! This tiny place in Ho-Ho-Kus was a truly lovely brunch experience. The food was fresh (how did they find a flawless avocado in the middle of winter???) and the flavors delicious. The service was outstanding -- weekend brunch was packed, and they put your name on a list in case you want to walk around town while you're waiting. Don't go too far, because somehow they're able to move the tables without making folks feel rushed. Each person we encountered -- the host, the folks at the counter, our server -- was nicer than the last. I got a bowl that had slightly cooked spinach, poached eggs, sweet potatoes and that GOHgeous avocado I mentioned above. One thing I really liked about this bowl is that it didn't have rice in it -- something that would've made it too overwhelming. This was the perfect combo and portion size. Someone else in our small group got the avocado toast (more avocado!!) and also said it was excellent. Definitely plan to return!

Saddle River Cafe - Torte

Saddle River Cafe

(164 reviews)

THE GOOD ----------------…read more+ PHENOMENAL FOOD!!!!! ++++ Miso Marinated Salmon - Was absolutely delicious. Salmon was cooked perfectly, wasn't dry and still moist. The citrus scented wild rice was excellent too. ++++ Truffle Burger - Honestly, one of the BEST burgers I've had in a longggggg, longgggg time. Everything was perfect about it - the caramelized onions, gruyere on top, bacon, truffle aioli, and, of course, the burger itself. The patty was dripppping with juices with every single bite and cooked to medium excellence. Oh, and those truffle fries that came with it? To die for! Loved the thinness of them and there was PLENTY of it to go around. ++++ Kids Macaroni & Cheese with Fruit - Relatively simple, but the creamy kind of mac and cheese. Kids absolutely loved it. The fruits were just grapes and a few little slices of pineapple, which we would have liked a bit more of. ++++ Kids Cheeseburger and Fries - Burger was DEFINITELY, without a doubt cooked well-done. It was a bit on the tiny side, but we still split it between the kids. Once again, fries were fantastic and there was more than enough to share. ++++ Banana-Rama Smoothie - Strawberry, banana goodness. Could definitely tell this was not artificial from the "true" flavor of the smoothie. It wasn't super sweet. + Service was very good throughout the evening. ++++ Food came out shockingly fast and fresh. ++++ Our waiter was friendly, on point and came by to check on us a few times. + Plenty of space inside of the restaurant, including an outdoor-indoor tent that is heated. + Decor was modern and contemporary, very clean inside. + Ambiance for dinner was dark and intimate, which caught me off guard because I thought it would be more casual, but perfect for group gatherings still and casual dine-ins. + PLENTY of parking in the large lot in front and to the side of the restaurant, which is shared within a little strip mall. + They take reservations online. THE NOT SO GOOD ---------------------------- - Nada! MIXED THOUGHTS --------------------------- = Nada! RANDOM OBSERVATIONS -------------------------------------- = Dined from 5:45 - 7:15 PM on a Friday and most of the evening crowd was older and there weren't many families with kids. There were maybe 2-3 families with kids, but they left by 6:15 PM. Most of the groups were groups of 4, seemingly catching up during a nice meal. CONCLUSION -------------------- = I was pleasantly surprised by the experience we had here. I figured this would be a super casual Friday after work/school dinner with the fam, but this turned out to be one of the best meals we've had in North Jersey in a while. Food, service and ambiance here was excellent. Wish they had .5 stars on Yelp because Saddle River Cafe is as close to perfection as it can get at 4.5 stars!

- Located in a strip mall with plenty of parking available, even on a Friday evening during dinner…read more- Dimly lit interior with warm, romantic vibes; a decent amount of indoor seating, though tables are a bit tightly spaced; heated outdoor patio seating is also available - Service was very cordial, attentive, and efficient; waitstaff checked in multiple times throughout our meal - Food exceeded expectations: the Truffle Burger was cooked perfectly to a juicy medium, packed with deep, rich flavor, and paired with thin, crispy shoestring-style truffle fries; the Miso Marinated Salmon was light yet flavorful, also cooked beautifully, and served over citrusy wild rice with cauliflower florets--the squeeze of chili lime truly elevated the dish; the kiddos enjoyed both the kids' cheeseburger with a generous portion of fries and the kids' mac & cheese with fruit (mostly grapes with two pieces of pineapple--would've loved a bit more pineapple and maybe some berries) - Banana-rama Smoothie was thick, creamy, and lightly fruity--not icy at all, which I really appreciated - Small note: the website advertises an "all day" menu, which didn't seem to be available when we dined in during dinner

Soma Cafe & Creperie - Savory Crepe

Soma Cafe & Creperie

(72 reviews)

$$

Visited this small and cozy cafe for breakfast on the weekend. I got a matcha latte and the hearty…read moreomelette. The matcha was sweeter than I prefer, but still good. Omelette was tasty, but nothing special. Presentation was super cute though! Inside was clean and cute. Not many tables, so there may be a wait depending on how busy it is when you come. Service was great despite how busy it got. I can see myself coming back here!

Our server was easy going and helpful in accommodating me as a vegetarian. I had the panini without…read morethe chicken and substituted mushrooms and avocado. My husband ordered the crepe. They offered two little slips to each customer - one for a savory crepe and one for a sweet and you can build you own. Great concept but it would be beneficial if the server confirmed the order because we asked for nutella, banana, strawberry, and ice cream and got 2/4. We were in a rush to leave so forgot to check the receipt to see if we were charged for the others; however it was $48 (w/o tip) for 1 panini, 1 crepe and 1 latte so a bit overpriced for the quality of food, in my opinion. The sandwich and crepe were both just okay, nothing to rave about. The drink was aesthetically pleasing with the iced Bear and tasted great. We asked for whipped cream on the latte but our server forgot that too. She also forgot to provide us water until we asked and it came at the end of the meal.  Outside dining was not optimal as it's right next to the railroad tracks and quite loud. There is a kids play area which I thought was a nice addition to the space, but I do wish it was gated off for the younger kids as it's so close to the road! Overall, I found that it was a bit overrated and underwhelming... there are so many restaurants to choose from in the area that I wouldn't opt to come back here.

La Vie En Rose Bakery Cafe - Custard pear pie, chocolate chip cookie

La Vie En Rose Bakery Cafe

(152 reviews)

$$

Always nice to visit a small, cozy, hometown Cafe with various egg dishes, pancakes, waffles,…read morequiche, sandwiches, soups, and pastries (scones are excellent). You'll have a leisurely experience. The food overall is pretty good, and portions are regular sized, not large. I enjoyed the loaded eggs with potatoes and the huevos rancheros. We didn't like the eggs with corned beef hash, which consisted of rather large ham chunks. The orange and plain scones were crumbly and yummy. Now that they offer online reservations, I'm more inclined to visit because otherwise you risk showing up and having to wait (or leaving) because it's a small space. There's outdoor and indoor seating.

Finally was able to come and try this adorable brunch spot in Waldwick. My biggest complaint would…read morebe how difficult finding parking is because it's all street parking without lines. So one person parks wrong and it messes up the whole row. There is the option to park in the cvs parking lot but it is frowned upon. You can dine inside our outside under their awning which is lovely in nice weather. We opted to sit inside. The tables on the side we sat were definitely tight and close together. The food was phenomenal. I order the brioche French toast with home fries and two eggs over easy. Happy because they use real maple syrup at this spot. My home fries I asked to be well done and crunchy but they came out a bit mushy but still edible. My friend ordered their weekly special of a pumpkin spice waffle and she said it was delicious. Their coffee was average. Nothing special. The only thing I couldn't figure out was my brioche French toast or the syrup tasted like amaretto which wasn't that big of an issue I would've just liked to know it was flavored. Service was good as it was crazy busy but we still felt well taken care of. I look forward to my next meal here.

First Watch

First Watch

(306 reviews)

$$

First Watch at Montvale NJ. It's located inside a plaza with other restaurants and shopping/grocery…read morecenter. Modern and chic design. Love the wooden table, giving a barn vibe. We had a reservation so did not wait long. It is a popular spot for brunch for sure. The staff are friendly and helpful. But it was so many people, took us some time to get the order. Nevertheless it is good quality food. The tea comes with whole set. You drink as much as you want. Egg Benedict has good runny yolks. Waffle is ok for me. Overall a solid spot for brunch. Parking is a little crazy during rush hours.

My experience at First Watch was a complete failure in both service and management…read more We were a party of 7, seated at 12:00 and ordered by 12:15. Most meals came out around 12:30, but one gluten-free order was completely mishandled. One person in our group did not receive their food with the rest of us. We waited over 20 minutes while everyone else ate, and by the time we were finishing, he had only been given a small side of eggs, his main dish (gluten-free French toast) still had not arrived. We asked staff multiple times, politely, and were consistently dismissed. No eye contact, no updates, no urgency. Our server was absent for long periods (10-15 minutes at a time), drinks were empty, and no one took responsibility for fixing the issue. By 1:10 PM, over an hour after being seated, the full order still hadn't come out. At that point, we had no choice but to ask for it to be wrapped to go, since the rest of us had already finished eating. The most concerning part was the manager's response. After calmly explaining the situation, there was no apology, no attempt to correct the experience, and no effort to take accountability. Saying "I'll talk to your server" and leaving it at that is not an acceptable response to a clear service breakdown. This wasn't just a delay, it was a complete lack of coordination, communication, and basic customer service. Mishandling a gluten-free order and then ignoring the table is unacceptable. The food itself was good, but the way this was handled reflects very poorly on the staff and management. I will not be returning, and I would not recommend this location based on this experience.

Empire II - diners - Updated May 2026

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