I went in here today and ordered an Ahi tuna sandwich and something was just off about it. I come here often, so I trust the quality of their food. The sandwich smelled bad. It was the tuna. To be fair, I did not know that it means it's not cooked completely. I brought it up with my server, and they brought it over to the manager. He came over, we had a brief conversation and he generously took it off my bill. The service was excellent as it always is. The problem came when I paid for the bill. I left a generous tip for our server, because I wanted them to be compensated for the meal taken off. But not more than 30 seconds after I was making my way out with my family member who was with me, one of the girls from the front came out and wanted to see my receipt. She claimed that "someone had paid in cash.". They had my receipt at the front desk. I just paid on my card.. It took me a moment, and I realize that the manager had thought that I hadn't paid and wanted to see proof of it. I can't believe that they would do this over a $23 sandwich. I've been here plenty of times before I never had a problem. Who does this? I am not a person who sends things back or who asks for things for free. This is the first time I have ever done so because I honestly thought the quality of the sandwich was going to cause a health issue with me and I thought that management should know about it. I'm not coming back again. read more

We tried Chit Chat Diner because of the atmosphere and the setting did not disappoint - the building is gorgeous inside and clean. The service was entirely the opposite experience - our server was angry, rude, impatient, and although we only milkshakes, kids food, and a salad - she got the order wrong. She left midway through us ordering to take other orders, didn't come back for 10+ mins and hadn't gotten the answer to the one question we asked, and it took over 30 minutes for our child mac and cheese and apple sauce to arrive. The server never brought waters for the water, the kid drinks came last, and we were missing straws. When I asked about the missing milkshake, the server told us we hadn't actually ordered it, then when she brought it... It was just milk with whipped cream on top. We raised these issues to the manager, who was nice enough to remake the milkshake, but then the server came over to say "did I do something to offend you?" ... How totally inappropriate to confront us. She was so incompetent and so confrontational. It was a horrible experience overall. read more

Always a good experience at chit chat! Great good.. nice ambiance.. excellent service! read more

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A restaurant themed around Alice in Wonderland. Very dreamy and perfect for taking photos for Instagram and Facebook.The food was just average that typical of a large chain restaurant. There were many guests, so the service wasn't great... too busy to offer water or coffee. But it's still a good option for occasionally meeting up with friends for a meal and chat. read more

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Very good. We had a chef salad and turkey club. Deducted a star because the salad came out in a hot bowl and would been better cold and crisp. Also waited until after I was done with lunch to refill empty water glass. Overall very good. read more

Chit Chat Diner - Turkey club. $1 more for tots. - Diners Near Me - West Orange, New Jersey

Chicken fingers were warm should have been warmer gravy was cold lemon meringue pie was good Service was very nice Ambiance was nice For the meal I had I felt it was overpriced read more

The brunch menu on Saturday and Sundays doesn't disappoint! Any item ordered off the brunch menu comes with a complimentary mimosa, Bellini or Bloody Mary. Love the avocado toast with blistered tomatoes and balsamic glaze! read more

Great ambience, pleasant dining, amazing service and quality food options! Decor is A+ over a beautiful NY skyline. Will return. read more

This place used to be so good. It fell off so bad. I always ordered the short rib hash. It was so delicious but then I ordered it today and they had these little baby potatoes in it. It's like they're trying to cut corners and cut cost on the food. I don't appreciate being charged the same amount for something I love so much for the past six years for it to be changed I guess because of the cost of living why would you skim the customers out of their food? It just doesn't make any sense. I've ordered this particular meal for over six years and today I got it and it was absolutely horrible. The short rib has had these little small miniature potatoes when I'm used to the fingering potatoes in this meal why would you change this? I am very upset. I wouldn't never order from this place again. I do not play with food that I like being changed to something. I don't like you guys are being cheap with your customers and it's not fair to charge the same price which is actually a lot of money for less than what I received before. you guys gave me a whole bunch of miniature potatoes like we're living in the depression time with a whole bunch of shredded up meat I wouldn't feed this to my dog. It was horrible. read more

Chit Chat Diner - Little baby, miniature potatoes, like we're in the depression time with a bunch of shredded - Diners Near Me - West Orange, New Jersey

We love a good diner -especially on the East Coast - and this one may be the best ever ! Very festive and unique decor. Service was great and we all loved our food - such a variety of choices. I liked my fried chicken - was a bit dry - but that was ok for me. Breakfast or sandwiches- whatever you fancy whenever you want it. read more

This has become a regular place for me and for us. It's a pleasure that it's close to home, being less than a mile away. Having gone there often now, I (and we), have tried more and more of the expansive diner menu. First, take the disgruntled reviews some felt they had an axe to grind with a huge boulder of salt. Instead, just throw those trash reviews away, because they are dead wrong. I have a larger sample size, as I eat here all the time, living less than a mile away, so just dismiss and ignore the ingrates. No. Check that, as the place is already successful and very popular, so maybe those who know and cherish the place will have less of a wait due to the misplaced and thoroughly unwarranted negativity. Good riddance to the naysayers who never want to come back, as it will mean less of a wait for those who actually know it's the best diner in NJ (the diner state, more than the garden state). Second, diners are mostly about breakfast and you will love their breakfasts and brunch, but we have also had dinner there too, more and more often when cooking is just not what we want to do on some nights. Breakfast and brunch though can draw crowds on weekends, so be prepared to wait. And, if you want your food prepared a certain way, they will almost always get it just right. All you need do is specify. And if you need to send it back for any reason, like your easy-over eggs came too well done, or the hash-browns were not done enough, you'll send it back and get a freshly remade order pretty quickly. They do accommodate and "no substitutions" is not a part of their vocabulary. It's a diner, so do not expect ultra high-end dinner cuisine, but pretty much as good a diner as there is in a state that's famous for them. My wife loves the oxtail special when it's available. I used to think the Tick Tock on Route 3 in Clifton was the best I'd sampled, but the crown has been taken by the Chit Chat. Still, there's plenty of dinner entrees that will surpass what's served at what are considered "better, upper-crust" restaurants. Besides breakfasts, dinner specials, and everyday dinner entrees, their burgers are super, as well as their fries, both the shoestring and waffle cut varieties. The sandwiches are also darn terrific. And after the main courses? Third are the drinks. Frankly, they do not skimp on the alcohol. Someone said otherwise in a review, terming them sugar water. I heartily dispute that as nonsense. Potent! Desserts? This is my fourth point. They have an incredibly diverse selection of cakes and pies. Check out the display case on your way in to know what's available that day. Your eyes will pop out of your head at the choices. I also highly recommend their milk shakes. Those are just fantastic. Fifth? The decor is thematic. It's a MacKenzie-Childs creation with incredible views of the Manhattan skyline, better than the Highlawn Pavilion that's across the road. A recently added deck offers more of this great view. Overall, the place is spotlessly clean and offers a lot of charm. The owner, Gus Katsanos, is often onsite too, making sure his guests get only the best. He's an exceptional host. What are the flaws? Not many and not something anyone can accurately criticize. Apparently, there are some detractors though for reasons they specified in their hatchet jobs. Cannot relate to their bad experiences. Trust me more than them, as my sample size is high compared to these other folks, who come off as unreasonably disgruntled. As indicated, they are a busy place for breakfast and brunch on weekends and the wait time can be a challenge. This seems to be a source of some of the frustration of the complainers. Yet, some people do wait and it's not as long as the long line may look. Try the counter, especially breakfast time. The parking is good, except when it gets crowded. Cars come and go and people can wait a few minutes. Or, try the old bowling alley lot that is a few yards West on Eagle Rock Avenue. And service is generally pretty good. The longtime waiters and waitresses are very good and only the occasional newbie can disappoint. Still, overall, this place deserves a 4 or 5 star rating every single time. Lastly, not to forget to mention, the grounds around the building are nothing to sneeze at. Very nicely done with charmingly playful statuary and elegant foliage. Really, no expense was spared to make this diner a standout and something extra special. read more

One of my favorite restaurants. They always dress up the place according to the season or holiday. There's so many food selections, I'm always trying something new. The waiters are on point with taking orders and being attentive. It's a great place for family, a date or just a solo lunch/dinner. read more

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Wonderful ambiance, delicious food and really good tea. I popped in because I was staying nearby and really enjoyed the Alice in wonderland feel. Service was impeccable (thanks Mari). Definitely worth a stop. read more

Chit Chat Diner - Seating - Diners Near Me - West Orange, New Jersey

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Came here for a friend's birthday. The decor inside is like Alice in Wonderland with its checkered and dreamy flower aesthetics. The food is standard diner food with average prices. The menu will remind you of Cheesecake factory with the various options..if you don't want to be overwhelmed then just peruse the menu online beforehand to mentally prepare. My friend and I both got Mediterranean omelette/scrambled eggs. These looked quite the same. We did feel rushed with the service.. but I know the spot is popular. It gets pretty packed in parking lot and inside as well. There is extra parking in bowling alley right next door in case of difficulty finding spaces. I chalk the popularity up to decorations since I find the service and food just average. read more

Chit Chat Diner - Diners Near Me - West Orange, New Jersey

This is a lovely diner, the view from the large parking lot of New York always picture worthy. It's a great place for a breakfast meeting or a lunch meeting. Breakfast seems less crowded at least during the week. Lunchtime can get pretty packed in and this space can handle a good crowd. Our meeting was very productive; we filled a round table all six of us and the coffee was flowing. I appreciated that they had almond milk as an option. They have a robust menu and great service. I noticed today that they had conversation cards on the table, but I've never used them as I'm typically chitchatting with meal partners. It's also right near a pretty decent Whole Foods if you need to pop in for some organic greens to bring home. If doing so enter Whole Foods from Eagle Rock otherwise Google wants you to turn left on Prospect Avenue, which is typically busy as prospect in Eagle rock is a major intersection. And more interesting is Eagle rock Reservation; a stones throw. Maybe plan a hike with a visit to Chit Chat to work up your appetite or work off your breakfast! read more

20 min wait to be seated and completely overrated. 30 min just to get our cocktails. Waitress did apologize for the long wait but did not offer anything for the inconvenience. Don't bother going to this place, or definitely avoid their sugar water cocktails! WASTE OF MONEY! At check out we told the useless manager about the long wait and awful drinks he refused to compensate in any capacity and said we should have said something earlier. Lesson learned speak up immediately!! He could have given us a dessert at minimum. We were not necessarily asking for him to remove two overpriced sugar water drinks off our bill but any act of customer care would have sufficed. His indignant attitude about the matter was enough for us to decide that we will NEVER go back to this diner. The lomo was mostly rice and not nearly enough beef. The meatloaf was average at best. As already mentioned, we will NEVER return to this diner! read more

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The service was amazing. The chopped chicken vegetable salad is amazing too. I modified the salad by subbing turkey for chicken. and mozzarella for feta. would highly recommend Chit Chat Diner. read more

Chit Chat Diner - Chopped chicken, vegetable salad - Diners Near Me - West Orange, New Jersey

We had the best time of our life! Their food was the best food in world ! We had mozzarella-sticks and French-fries and they even gave us fresh bread with oil.you should go to chit-chat! read more

This place is disgracefully over priced for food that is mediocre at best. I've given this place multiple chances and I'm just disappointed everything time. Can't even get an order correct? How are you a functional business? Just some of the questions I ask myself about this poorly run business. Just know they will never get another penny out of me. read more

Great environment The food is all made to order and taste great The Benedicts are my favorite but their pancakes and waffles great too, see ed with warm syrup read more

This place has an epic menu that would become a quest if I were local, though I had the special, so I didn't even get started on the standard menu. Chicken enchilada soup to start, lamb ragu over risotto, and a napoleon for dessert. Really top flight throughout. Impressive job by the server, since we had a large group, over a dozen. He handled it very well. If you're in the West Orange area, give this diner a go. read more

This deserves 0 stars but since I'm such a kind generous person I'll rate it one star. this service has been atrocious the food came out so soggy and the waiter was so rude and disrespectful to me and my peers and made fun of my handicap friend. DONT COME HERE read more

Great experience! We popped in for dinner and although they were getting busy, we were able to be seated right away. Beautiful views of Manhattan as they are located atop Eagle Rock. The Vibe: The outside looks like an old stone train station meets the Adams Family. It's hard to describe differently than that- stately yet punchy vibe with led lights under the stone work and odd little statues of children playing giving it a storybook vibe. The interior has an Alice in Wonderland vibe to it. Not overtly themed, but kept loose, punchy and pretty! Bathrooms were clean and matched the decor. The Food: Everything we had tasted great and had typical diner price points. The Jack Daniel's pork chop was excellent! I enjoyed the mushroom soup as well. The quinoa Mediterranean style salad was delicious as well! Dishes going out around us to other diners all looked well presented. The dessert case looked out of this world! Wish I had saved room to try them! Service: Our waitress was lovely! She was welcoming, kind, knowledgeable about the menu and service oriented. Bussing staff kept an eye on the tables and were prompt in clearing dishes and periodically passing through to make sure they hadn't missed anything. Thanks!!!! I would definitely recommend stopping by if you haven't tried them out yet! We came for dinner around 6pm but noticed as we left (around 7pm ish) the place was starting to get very busy. Food for thought if trying to avoid the dinner rush. Thanks for the great experience Chit Chat! We'll be back :) read more

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We left before ordering due to how our allergy questions were handled. When we asked our waitress about allergens, she gave vague answers and showed clear annoyance when we requested that she double-check with the kitchen. She sighed, rolled her eyes, and acted inconvenienced by a basic food safety question. Allergy concerns should always be taken seriously, and her attitude made us uncomfortable trusting the food at all. Because of this, we chose not to order and left. Management did not step in to correct the situation, and the overall experience felt unprofessional and careless. If you have food allergies or dietary restrictions, I would NOT RECOMMEND this place!! read more

We dine at the Chit Chat somewhat regularly. I'm health conscious and typically get the pan fried Salmon which is consistently excellent. I approached the owner who is usually on site to let him know that I thought they always do great job preparing the salmon. He told me the reason its so good is he only procures fresh, wild salmon and his chef knows the proper preparation for it. I was so happy to know that "Gus" really loves to take care of us. read more

Never coming back. This is my third time being here and I never had a problem with it but today was different. We order two amazing coffees and two apps (angus sliders and tacos) and they were both delicious. But I order a Lamb B Burger medium done and they weren't good, had no flavor, it was cooked well-done, and the waffle fries were bland. After asking for another item from the menu from the waiter walked away and told his manager. The manager then came to me and told me "that's the way it is I can't take it off the check". I only took two bites and he did not offer me anything else, I walked away hungry and the manager still made me pay for it even though I didn't eat it. I never been to a restaurant that just told you they won't take it off the bill instead of first offering you something else or apologizing. read more

My brother-in-law and my sister asked me to go here with them and I was glad I did. Even though there were a lot of people, there were plenty of seats and we didn't have to wait for a seat. The server came within minutes and took our drink order and our food order. I had the jumbo fried shrimp with sweet potato fries and corn. They were delicious. The dining room was huge so I wasn't surprised that we didn't have to wait a while to get a seat. I will definitely come back here. read more

Chit chat was sooooo much fun from the waiter to the Mackenzie Childs decor this place was a hit. We went after church for my friends birthday and I loved it. They also have these cards on the table that you can use to play sort of a twenty questions game. read more

Delightfully bizarre! If you want diner food with an eclectic twist, this place is for you. It's very intentionally decorated and the food was good, along with prompt service from staff. read more

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The place is a beautiful place and the server and service was awesome. I went last night for my cousin's bday get together in the back room. It was at least 25 adults and 5 kids. The server was super nice I can't remember his name he was handsome too . Ok soooo everyone ordered and that was pretty seamless. My issue is that most restaurants I've been too when there is a large group and children are present they usually bring their food out along with the salads or appetizers. The kids food came out along with everyone's else's in fact their's came out last. I ordered the short rib grilled cheese, my cousin ordered the pattie melt, someone else ordered the roasted chicken. Everyone ordered something different from the menu. And everything looked delicious. I was actually salivating waiting on my sandwich cause I just knew it was gonna be everything and it wasn't. When I think of short ribs I think of something with a sauce and that was theeee driest sandwich ever, big chunks of meat not very much cheese, onions and ABSOLUTELY NO GRAVY/SAUCE. That thing hurt my heart. My cousin's patties melt was just as dry ohhh I forgot with no flavor at all. The mashed potatoes were powered and it was very noticeable. This was actually my second time coming here and I was excited because the first time everything was delicious not one issue. I did ask the waiter to take my item off the bill and he did, thank you for that. Salt and pepper while cooking goes a long way, use it next time on the burger at least and add gravy or some kind of sauce to the short rib grill cheese. If you're serving a sandwich have opinions of different mayos or aioli's and not just chipotle mayo. Not everyone likes spice and as big of a menu that's offered it should definitely be more than just chipotle, regular mayo and mustard. Please at least think about it!!!!!! read more

Visited this place after my son graduation and I was disappointed. Our servicer had an attitude and forgot a lot of our orders. This place has very average food and is a good place for a quick meal that have parking and a good ambiance . read more

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Food is mediocre at best. Alcoholic drinks were a big miss Staff were friendly. Does get busy but overall tried it three or four times and now would mot go back. read more

Fantastic location and interior. The food is great as well as the service. Remember to enjoy the sculptures outside.

Inconsistent food. Overpriced. Oftentimes very difficult to find parking. Pictured is a $20 takeout buffalo chicken wrap. read more

Chit Chat Diner - $20 buff Buffalo Chicken Wrap - Diners Near Me - West Orange, New Jersey

This diner reminds me of cheesecake factory with their HUGE portions of food, that is easily share with a small group of people. But of course this place is alot better than cheesecake factory. But yet i have not try their desserts yet. Here's few things that we ordered - pulled pork tots - steak salad - garlic butter pasta - homemade meatloaf. DELICIOUS Next time we go back. I want desserts lol read more

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Not my favorite diner experience in New Jersey, but not my least favorite either! The soup was hot and good. Just didn't exceed any expectations. Very trippy interior though! read more

We always enjoy the chitchat diner. Last night we went to dinner and had a fantastic waiter. He was so sweet and accommodating for our group. Everything came out pretty quickly and everyone enjoyed their dinners! We had a variety of food, crab cakes, French toast Taylor ham sandwiches, pork chop, stir fry, and disco fries. The diner is always clean and has pretty views of NYC. Good selection of food too. read more

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Very disappointed at last visit. Could be the actual last visit. The food was awful. Staff not much better. What happened? Not sure if it's new owners or it's just in its decline but I would not recommend it at all and as for ambience they sat us in this add on area in the back next to the waiters table which made the experience even more awful even one star is too much read more

To the main menu at chit chat, I cannot verily testify. But, to the rice pudding, I will now SING the PRAISES! What a pudding! This is a pudding's pudding. Rice, creamy, thick, viscous.... How many words are there for the texture of this treat.... Let me count the ways. Enough of my blabbering (I miss the pudding already). I'll be back!! read more

They have little cards with conversation topics that are so cute !!! I think it would be a super cute first date spot or something where you're trying to get to know someone. The food also was pretty good as well :)! My favorite diner in NJ/NYC read more