New owner alert I have to say that this place was amazing! The food is beyond great and always great service! Try it out !!! Affordable pricing, great portions and dinner will be soon !!! And I just seen online there is a new menu !! Thank you CJs!! read more

Went to CJ and love their expanded menu. I had the breakfast sliders and they were great. A must try if you hungry for breakfast.

I think it is absolutely appalling that this business remains open during the governors orders! Complete disregard for authority and just because they may get a few patrons that want to buck the system or are not afraid doesn't make it right! People like this are the reason that things will continue to stay the way they are and not allow other innocent businesses to open that have followed the guidelines. I wouldn't spend a penny here again even when things open up read more

I fully support this business! The breakfast platter is delicious, and the Gyro platter is a fave for me. God bless these Patriots! Stand strong against tyranny! read more

The food quality has improved since what used to be the Lakeside diner. Now CJ's has taken over. The new management has also done. A very good job brightening up and remodeling much of the dining area. The service was spot on and as a breakfast and lunch spot, it's definitely a go to place and it was great to see one of the former servers Allie doing her thing read more

My wife and I came in for lunch last week and the food was ok, no taste we will never go again

Benedict Archie was awesome. Highly recommend. Super cute place. Nice staff. Quick service.

We found this quant little diner by accident. We were 6 adults, 3 children. The kids were a bit loud but the staff was so wonderful about it. The FOOD, SERVICE was wonderful. Amazing burgers, they have gluten free breads, yah!!!! Far from us but would take a ride for such goodness all around. read more

Stop in the Lakeside Diner this Monday morning. The breakfast was excellent. The service was great. I'll be back for sure.

Breakfast was tasty kids had no complaints portion size was good. Omelette was nice and fluffy not over done.

I have been to this diner hundreds of times and love it. First it is quant, outdated and a little run down. That being said, great food. The owner, Athena is one of the most wonderful and hard working people I have ever met. She will make you feel welcome and like you are in her home. Great coffee, great burgers and great food all around. Athena and the food are what make it. Those two things mean the world. I recommend this place to everyone P.s. One problem is they open sometimes before 7 and sometimes later. No set time ish. Don't go to early. Even with that, definitely still worth it. read more

Great food and always nice. I love this place. I love the Caesar salad and their soups ! Portions are great and its a nice environment to hang out and relax. read more

I thought for my 100th review I'd pick something memorable for such a benchmark occasion. But much like anything in life that is built up in anticipation (wink), I'm going to save my truly awesome experiences for later and make this one quick, awkward and underwhelming. I may even buy you breakfast after at Colonial Diner. The gyro is good. The breakfast....if I can just move my hand over the keyboard here to the shift key....THERE we go...is OK. Please don't send my toast out 6 minutes after the eggs are cold because when you offer to replace them the toast will then be cold. The service....wait my arm doesn't bend that way...let me adjust for a sec.. is not very friendly but they get the job done. Decent place I guess...aaaaaannnnnnd I'm done. I'll call you? read more

CJ’s - the front of the building - Diners Near Me - Forked River, New Jersey

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Visiting the colonial diner reminded me of the good old days. We used to come every Sunday morning for breakfast. This place is family owned and the owner has been the same for years. It's awesome diner food. Very family friendly. I love the fact that while we ate dinner one of the waitresses sound down at the table with an elderly man eating alone who was definitely a regular to chat with him for a while. I loveeee the cream of broccoli soup here it has always been one of my favorites. The breakfast is delicious!!! I know that's broad but I have never had a dish I didn't like. For dinner, I paid $10 and had soup, salad, my meal and dessert. It was so much food so I had half my meal to go home with and the waitress packed my dessert for me to go. HOW CAN YOU BEAT THAT?! You really can't go wrong here. Breakfast anytime of days. Delicious meals... Sandwiches, platters, pasta... Something for everyone! read more

CJ’s - Eggs Benedict - Diners Near Me - Forked River, New Jersey

Awful place. Everything sub par, food, service, and atmosphere. I will never go to this establishment again.

Worst breakfast ever won't go back we used to go to colonial before it was bought out always great food and service toast was stale and burnt not recommended try another place read more

rude people, ok food, waiting for ever... and why risk your car being hit in that parking lot ...Not worth it for the wait ... read more

Stopped in for breakfast and had a great experience. Our waitress was wonderful, staff was friendly, place was clean, and food was good!

N o matter what i have ordered my food has come out hot to my licking . the staff is very friendly and attentive . i love the dinner .The food cost is spot on average read more

My favorite diner in the Lacey area. Never had a bad meal here. Breakfast highlights includes omlettes. Pork Roll Egg and Cheese sandwiches, pancakes... Lunch dinner favorites include roasted turkey, Greek chicken is amazing. Definitely my first choice around here when looking diner type food. read more

The one star is because the food was very good. I however have something different to say about the customer service. I ordered off the special menu for dinner: roast sirloin of beef. Came with a vegetable and potato, soup, salad, dessert. Soup and salad came first, as it normally would. Delicious. When my dinner came, it was what looked like roast beef however it was FILLED with TONS of garlic. In between each piece of meat. Unfortunately I do not like garlic at all and would not have ordered it if I had known. No big deal, I asked for just a cheeseburger instead, nothing with it, just a cheeseburger, I already had my sides. And it was delicious. Time for dessert. Had some rice pudding, which was the best rice pudding I have ever had. Time for the bill. She graciously took off the roast beef dinner and added the burger ($4.45)...and the soup (1.85)...and the potatoes ($2.50 or $2.95, can't remember I was so stunned)...and the salad ($3.75)...and the vegetable $2 something)...and the rice pudding (can't remember exact amount)!!! $20 I paid because there was garlic swimming through the roast beef! Most places would have just supplemented the cheeseburger for the roast beef, especially since I had already had my soup and salad, and she didn't take my sides away so I ate some of it while I waited for my cheeseburger! So my husband said, maybe a mistake, I'll say something at the register. The snotty girl could have cared less, told my husband there was nothing she could do because the owners were not there, and when I said 'but I just paid $20 for a cheeseburger! The waitress didn't even say anything !' The snotty girl just walked away from me, saying 'well there is nothing I can do about it' I am quite sure an owner or a manager would have just taken it off. Especially since the waitress didn't say, well, since you are only getting a cheeseburger, you will have to pay for everything separate! It would have been cheaper to charge me for what I originally ordered and just added the $4cheeseburger. That is bad business. We are new to the area and we're excited to find a place we could go to. It's a shame too, because the food was delicious. I would also consider hiring a friendly cashier! read more

This dinner is disgusting at best - had to send my breakfast back twice because hair in the eggs. They had and attitude when I showed them the food. NEVER AGAIN. read more

So I want to start off by saying that I've been coming to this diner with my son since we bought a house here in forked river last august. The 1 star rating is NOT because of the food, or cleanliness of the restaurant. The gentleman that I believe owns the place ( and if he doesn't then he really cares about it because he is always kind, respectful and professional) is a great guy. When he is there, the place runs smoothly and everyone seems to be happy. Today was my husbands first day off of work in over 60 days, so my 6 year old said he wants to "take daddy to OUR diner!" I noticed right away that the man that I think owns the diner, was not there. We sat down, ready to order. The waitress took a while to come over but we didn't mind. We don't have a lot of time together as a family most days so we were happy to be sitting down chatting. When she finally came over she took our drink order. I was ordering from the special menu, so my meal included a coffee and a small juice. My husband always gets water with lemon and our son ordered his usual kids chocolate milk. When she returned with our drinks we told her we were ready to order. Our son loves to order for himself. He asked for an order of chocolate chip pancakes. I ordered the egg platter special, and my husband asked for egg whites, potatoes and Canadian bacon. When our food arrived tne first thing I realized aaa our 6 y/o got a huge order of 3 giant pancakes, usually he gets 2. We didn't mind because he did not say short stack, however usually he doesn't have to. I guess most employees assume he cannot consume such a large order and usually just bring him a short stack, knowing he is so little. We knew that was not her fault, though, so no big deal. The coffee was not good. So I drank my juice and shared my husbands water , since the waitress never came back to refill any of our drinks anyway. Again, we did not complain. Our son ate about 6 bites of his pancakes and was full, which we knew would happen from the size of his plate. We weren't going to wrap it up because We had a fun filled day outdoors ahead of us. when she did not return for a while with the check, we decided to go to the register to pay so we could begin our day. She met us at the register, clearly upset that we were there before she had returned with Our check. I took our son outside while my husband paid. When he met us outside he exclaimed "Wow, that is an expensive breakfast place," surprised, I asked him how much it was. When he told me the bill was $43 (plus he gave her a $7 tip), I knew something was not right. I told my boys to get the car ready and I'd go back to see what happened. The waitress was extremely frustrated when I asked her for a breakdown of our receipt saying she'd have to write it all up again. I was a little upset with her response but I just waited. As she was writing it in front of me I noticed she charged me for the juice and coffee that came with my meal and also charged us for a second cup of coffee. When I explained to her that mine was includdd in my meal, she walked away to look at the specials board and said "oh, yeah, ok. But your husband had a cup" I told her no, that he only had water. She was clearly very frustrated. She crossed out the price of the two cups of coffee and juice and then said the bacon on my plate was an extra charge. Again, I told her no, the board said its was included. She walks away again to look, and again, I was right. So she crossed that out as well. She the. Very rudely asked how I would like my money returned. I told her cash is fine. She went into the register and returned the $12 and change to me, never once apologizing for HER mistake. Before walking out I said "no worries, we all make mistakes" and she very argumentatively said "I already apologized to you". I told her she was very rude and unprofessional. She laughed at me and again said she apologized once, she was not about to "beg for my forgiveness". I have never been treated that way there, or anywhere, especially when I did nothing wrong. She was in the wrong, overcharged us by quite a bit, yet acted as if I was out of line coming back for my money. I am writing this in hopes the owner possibly speaks with her because as I stated earlier, we love this place and would like to return. However, I would be very uncomfortable if I had to cross paths with that very rude woman again. More than likely I will return and if she is there I will kindly ask for a different server. She still received a $7 tip on a $28 meal, which looking back, I kind of wish I asked for that back as well. read more

I just moved to the area and been testing out diners around here. By far the best diner I've eaten at! The food came out so fast, the staff is friendly, prices are reasonable, and the food is phenomenal! Very happy I found this place! read more

My husband just came home from having lunch and couldn't stop raving! Great meal and great service.

Great little diner. Quiet, good food & service. A hidden gem on Lacey Road.

Disgusting place. We had to shoo the flies away while we ate INDOORS. Won't be eating here ever again. I don't recommend.

Food was gross. Owner kept trying to seat us inside when there's a global pandemic going on. We asked to be seated outside but were refused.

I've heard that restaurants put things on "special" that they are trying to get rid of. Well they should have gotten rid of the corned beef a few days before I went there! Being new to the area, we've been trying new places and the Yelp rating for Colonial Diner looked great. At first, I was very excited that we found a wonderful local restaurant. The soup was delicious and the salad was nice and fresh. My husband ordered pork chops and I ordered the corned beef special. Both plates looked beautiful when brought to table. My husband's pork chops were okay, but the corned beef was sour! Everything that was boiled along with it, the cabbage, the carrots, and even my husbands corn on the cob, had the same sour, spoiled taste. It was so bad I couldn't even stand the smell, which got worse waiting for the one waitress who had to serve the entire place. (It was not the smell of cabbage, it was the smell of spoiled meat). The waitress did ask if I wanted something else, but my stomach was so turned off that I couldn't eat a thing from there. We also declined dessert which was included with both our meals. But what added insult to injury is that no one offered to not charge for the meal that I clearly didn't eat. Everyone was very pleasant there, and I probably would have paid for it anyway, but the right thing to do was to at least offer to deduct it from the bill. Needless to say, we won't be going back. read more

Wonderful staff, very clean, really good food, safe neighborhood. Don't be fooled by the one star reviews. They're being written by Democrats who in their hearts know that President Donald J. Trump is going to win overwhelmingly. read more

One of the best diners I've ever been to, and I've been to a lot! Not many places where you can you get this much food at a high quality for a reasonable price. It really makes you feel like you're in a hometown restaurant, very quaint. It's nice you get both a soup and a salad with the special, both were delicious, especially the cream of broccoli. I ordered the chicken francaise (one of the best ive had) and my mom got the meatloaf, which she thought was very good. finished off with ice cream for dessert. The waitress was friendly and attentive, and the atmosphere was cozy and friendly. It was a little busy on a Saturday night and we sat at a smaller table that was the only downside. I will definitely be returning and would recommend this place to anyone! read more

CJ’s - The chicken - Diners Near Me - Forked River, New Jersey

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Well I have a problem with ANY diner that cheaps out on the condiments like jelly, syrup, hot sauce (homemade? no label?) and artificial sugar substitute (ie, no Equal). Then when the cutlery is so low end the forks looks like Uri Geller practiced on them (ie, bent and beat up). The food is standard diner stuff, the soups seem canned and the menus need updated. The staff are friendly and welcoming and earned the two stars for them. read more

I visited lakeside diner when I first heard they were doing the right thing and opening despite the governor's tyrannical, unconstitutional orders. I wasn't expecting much more than run of the mill diner food but Boy, was I surprised! We returned 4 times since then. Always a delicious meal. French toast, eggs, salads, waffles- all yummy. read more

After all I've heard about this place I finally stopped in with my family a few weeks ago for lunch. For the most part, the good things I've heard about this place were right. We we're seated promptly and given drinks quickly. Food came extremely fast. For 3 people's orders it only took about 6 or 7 minutes for the food to arrive. I got the corned beef sandwich. It was pretty big and tasted good, but it could've used some seasoning. The fries were really good and thick steak fries. Everyone else's food was good too. For such cheap prices and large portions, you do get a lot of bang for your buck. The final bill was only $27. I'm giving this place 4 stars for a few reasons. Number 1, our server was absolutely miserable. She never said her name, asked us how our food was, and she didn't seem interested in her job at all. Now I'm not sure if she was just having a bad day or whatever, but everyone else was very nice. Secondly, the place needs some serious remodeling. It looks like something straight out of 1970. The tables wobble on the floor, and I almost knocked one over! This place could really benefit from a fresh new look. All in all, the Colonial Diner is a great little place to go for lunch or dinner that won't break the bank. If you happen to drive through Lacey be sure to stop in. read more

Good food and service is good. But really need to replace or repair the cushions on the seats in the booths!

Amazing food and service. Michelle P is the most amazing woman you'll ever meet in your whole life. So kind and a rest person to talk to. Loved her and she made our experience worthwhile. read more

Love the colonial diner clean the workers are very nice the food is excellent love going there and I love the little women that works there she is very polite and always happy and I love her Greek accent read more

Cheap eats. The food was mostly okay. The chicken soup lacked flavor. The corn tasted sour, like someone squeezed a lemon on it (?). The grilled chicken cutlet was tasty and DH enjoyed his clam strips. The waitress was polite. The atmosphere is dated but clean. If you're looking for gourmet go elsewhere. Basic home-style cooking is what you'll find here. read more

Everything is so delicious!!! I am addicted. My kids say its the best pork roll egg and cheese they ever had.

I have lived in Forked River for 20 years. I pass by this diner twice a day to/from work and never tried it. I was driving home after work and was craving beef! Burger? Steak? Roast Beef? Meatloaf? Not sure. I love frequenting local businesses (not nationwide chains). Fast forward. I stop in and decided on the good ole cheeseburger and fries! Yay! Couldn't wait to sink my teeth into that juicy burger! There were three people in diner when I arrived. Two more arrived while I was there. Food arrives. Ummm. Where's the beef? It literally looked like a frozen Shop Rite boxed burger patty. Cheese was still cold...no where near melted. Fries were plentiful, but severely under cooked. I ordered a cheeseburger, fries, and soft drink. The bill was $10.60 (+ tip). No way! Apparently lettuce & tomato are extra. Good grief. I have no problem paying $11.00 for burger/fries/drink if it is worth it. This was not. I would be more financially sound if I hit the drive thru & Dollar Menu at fast food place. To be fair, the menu is extensive offering something for everyone. Perhaps other dishes are delicious. My test was your basic, juicy burger made from a local, small business. Failed. It is definitely a "local" business and if you are comfy having wait staff sit in booth and eat while customers are there...this place is perfect for you. I believe there is a fine line with being "comfy" in a local business and also answering a professional protocol. There is a million other things that staff could be doing rather than sitting/eating (i.e., clean, dust, clean table from patrons who just left, etc.) An eatery can never be clean enough and there is always an endless amount simple chores that should keep staff busy. I hope this local, small business continues to operate, but if I am craving a juicy cheeseburger that runs down my arm, I am heading to Applebee's,..no matter what the price. Sad, but true. read more