We had breakfast here and it was absolutely wonderful. Our server Rose was very sweet, accommodating, and funny. A few other members of the staff checked on us as well and everyone was so nice and friendly! The food was delicious and very reasonably priced! We had the 2 eggs and bacon plates and pancakes. it was perfect classic diner food. They also had iced and hot lattes that were the perfect way to start the day. I would highly recommend and if I ever come back out to palm dessert I'll be sure to make a stop back at CJ's! Okay read more

5 stars for server Isela who brought us everything we asked for and checked on us. The 3 stars are for the food. Had to send the Huevos Rancheros back because the food was cold. It was also very bland. The bacon was very thin. The pancakes were ok. read more

Before hitting the freeway to head out of town we, once more, had to stop at our favorite breakfast/lunch diner in the desert. CJS never disappoints. From our chorizo and eggs to our scrumptious French toast with berries and cream to the mouth watering hot chocolate our tummies were full and satisfied to start our trip home. Thanks again Pam and all the other friendly servers. You make our time in the desert worth the long trip. We get wonderful quality food and kind and insightful desert advice. Happy 4th to all at CJs. Remember if you're in the area for the holiday don't think twice. Head to CJs Diner for a delicious breakfast or lunch before you enjoy all the 4th of July festivities. Stay safe all. read more

Friendly, clean and fabulous breakfast!! Love the outside seating with flowers, very charming!!!

Very laid back diner with a small bar seating, ample tables and a few booths at the windows. Dead fly on the window sill. Crumbs and used napkin on the floor. Seemed like a friendly family location for locals. Prompt service. Specials of the day: pulled pork sandwich, fried chicken and bean soup. Obvious choice to me for diner food is fried chicken. Liked that I had a choice of dark meat over dark. Fried chicken served up with mash and gravy plus coleslaw. Coleslaw tasted stale to me although my husband thought it was good. Large portion equivalent to half chicken. This came out in 5 minutes. Meat was fall off the bone like pressure-cooked or sous vide. Not complaining but it's a little different from typical textures. Obviously this is the more efficient time saving way to go. Skin could have been more crispy. A little bland although when paired with the gravy, it was fine. Corned beef hash: comes out of a can, but it's good. Served with hash browns, 2 eggs and choice of toast. Poached eggs done perfectly! Hash browns could be more crisp. Toast is toast: came buttered and two jelly condiments. No drinks: About $30 out the door after taxes and tip. I wouldn't order the chicken again, but the corned beef was ok. Knowing what to expect from a diner experience would put things in perspective. read more

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CJ's is an affordable well-organized restaurant which experienced wait staff and a fast kitchen. Everything looked clean and they clearly have a regular clientele. Food is consistent if not terribly creative, and definitely worth adding to a regular round of breakfast places to enjoy. Prices are affordable, and a great value for what you get. I give them a solid thumbs up! read more

***** AVOID THIS PLACE ***** ***** AVOID THIS PLACE ***** ***** AVOID THIS PLACE ***** If you're elderly and/or Caucasian please ignore this review as it really does not apply to you. For the rest of you though, pay attention. Do not, I repeat, DO NOT waste your time coming to this place. My family and I decided on this place due to some of the great reviews that people have posted. Yelp usually does not do me wrong but this time was an exception. We walked in to the diner and we're almost immediately seated in a booth and our drink order was taken, that is the only positive in this review. We are seated next to a few elderly people and a empty booth was soon occupied by a couple young white folks. Our drinks arrive and we wait... and wait... and wait... The young white folks that walked in 5 maybe 10 minutes after us get their order taken and so do the elderly group in the booth next to us. We wait... still nothing. The skinny white chick with her sagging jeans and ass crack showing for all to see doesn't even look at our table. Not a glance, not a word. We wait... still nothing. I also noticed another "non white" group at their table aimlessly looking around the diner waiting for service. That pretty much sealed the deal for me and I was done with this place. 30 minutes after walking into the door we have only water on our tables and my family is starving at this point. I gather my family together and proceed to walk out the door and the host says "Have a great day!". I annoyingly said "Thank You, but we didn't get any service." Did they try anything to fix the situation or even ask how they could make our experience worth while? No, they didn't. I used Yelp again to find another breakfast spot in the area and ended up at a great diner called "Keedy's Fountain and Grill" on Highway 111, where we were served and eating within 15 minutes of being seated. That's how service should be! So to sum it up.... white and elderly (which is most of the residents in this area) you're good to go, enjoy the Monte Cristo with your Geritol. Any pigment in your skin and you're invisible to the staff at this place so GO TO KEEDY'S!!!! BTW, this is being shared to over 3,000 people via Twitter and facebook. Thanks for nothing CJ's. ***** AVOID THIS PLACE ***** ***** AVOID THIS PLACE ***** ***** AVOID THIS PLACE ***** ***** AVOID THIS PLACE ***** read more

I love this little cafe. They have a good breakfast and lunch menu. Great service, a nice atmosphere, and good food. I found this place by chance in the business area of Palm Desert but I am glad I did. I plan to go back the next time I'm in the area. read more

CJ's Diner - Diners Near Me - Palm Desert, California

Outstanding breakfast and wonderful people. They were very busy and didn't have enough servers I think but that's normal now Goi g to return! read more

The food was okay, a little bland depending what you get; service was nice but would have attitude immediately when something was slightly not in their way. We had paid & given Mary our check, knowing there wasn't a tip in that. We left her tip at the table, as one typically does. One of the people in our parties noticed she told her coworker "so my tip is..." with major attitude & was staring us down, making it very obvious & made us uncomfortable. Wanted to retract our tip after seeing that but being a waitress myself, I understand how important tips are to us. read more

This mornings selection...CJ's Diner. It's a little hidden away but well worth the find. Straight forward, All American diner. Traditional menu. Great coffee. Lightning fast. Friendly people. Excellent service! read more

We had a 5-star breakfast with peaceful outdoor seating. Great coffee, my omelet was perfect and husband's biscuits & gravy were exceptional. Prices were in line with other restaurants around the area. read more

CJ's Diner is in the middle of nowhere, but conveniently close to the Marriott. The place closes early, so get there and order before 2 pm. The service at CJ's is great. Very friendly and quick. The place is clean, but not much of an ambiance - just what you'd expect from a diner in the middle of nowhere. The food is fine. Some of the items were actually very good. Their fries are double fried, so they come out super crispy and delicious. Their broccoli soup was yummy as well. Their chicken fingers were crispy and not frozen. So I appreciate that they make their food fresh. However, their bbq chicken salad was drenched in dressing and wasn't my favorite. The sandwiches looked decent, but not exceptional. read more

The first time i went to CJ's, i had the corned beef hash which came with 2 eggs any way you like, and toast. It was freaking amazing!!! Today i went back but was a tad late for breakfast, and had the soup and salad combo, chicken noodle soup, and half a B.L.T. The food is so yummy here!!! I will stop by every time I'm in the desert :) read more

You won't be sorry coming here to eat! They are so friendly and the food is so good. Bring your family and friends and relax and enjoy being fed read more

CJ's Diner - Very full on a Thursday afternoon off season - Diners Near Me - Palm Desert, California

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Wanted to grab a quick bite with some girlfriends before driving home from a desert weekend getaway. Looked up "diners" on Yelp and saw this place was right around the corner. Driving through an industrial zone and down a couple side streets, we weren't sure what we would find...but were we ever pleasantly surprised. The service was impecable, I cannot say enough nice things about our waitress and the adorable and polite bus boy ("excuse me miss, would you like me to bring you another Dr. Pepper?"). You can tell this is a place the locals frequent. The food was great, just what we were looking for. My group ordered pancakes, french dip, club sandwich, southwest chicken sandwich and a burger. We were all very happy with our food, just what we were in the mood for. The prices are great too. This will definitely be a regular stop for us when were are out that way. read more

I am new to the area and decided to check CJs out. So glad I did. Greeted immediately in a friendly manner. Service was prompt and pleasant. Food was great. Enjoyed my entire experience. read more

What a great little breakfast place. It's hard to find, but the service was great and the food came out really fast. Definitely recommend if in the area and want some good pancakes. read more

REALLY good food, prepared perfectly! We have some special requests, and they totally nailed it! Great service, nice people. Our new breakfast go-to place when we're in town! Yum! read more

Food was just okay. My friends and I waited for 30 min on a busy Saturday brunch which wasn't too bad. Waitstaff could be a bit more attentive as we had to keep on asking to either get our orders, have more water, or get the bill. read more

Came out for a short stay in town and found CJs Diner for breakfast. Nice people great food, good service and kid friendly. The kids loved French toast and pancakes. read more

My boyfriend and I arrived at 10:20am on a Sunday morning. The place was about half full, with the only available booth being for a large party. Due to physical conditions, we need a booth and requested one. We were told the large booth was the only one. I offered to wait for a smaller booth to allow for a larger party that might come in. The hostess sighed loudly and just said "whatever, you can just sit there." So we did. Not 3 minutes later, a smaller booth right next to use opened up and two men, obviously friends of the waitress, came and sat there. They got their drinks and ordered before we were even addressed. The bus boy finally came and asked for our drinks. I was excited to see a Monte Cristo on the menu and ordered it, but it's made with Swiss cheese, which I don't eat, so I reviewed the menu and saw that under lunch they had the options of several cheeses, pepper jack being one. So I ordered my Monte Cristo with pepper jack instead. The waitress indicated that the sandwiches are pre-made and that they don't even carry pepper jack. What? Pre-made sandwiches?? Okay... My boyfriend tried to order a half sandwich and soup after confirming that lunch options were available. Then he was told they don't have any soup until after 11am. *Sigh*. Our drinks finally arrived and my diet coke was flat. At this point the two men in the booth next to us had already received their food and were chit chatting with not one, but two waitresses. I finally ended up ording a Country Benedict and my boyfriend ordered a tuna melt. The men next to us ate all their food, paid, and left before our food even arrived. Glad someone gets good service here - apparently not all customers are valued the same here. My country potatoes taste burnt and super salty. The country Benedict was just so bland. It didn't taste like anything at all. I tried to add some Cholula to give it taste, but our bottle was empty and the waitress never came back so we could ask for more. The tuna was an acceptable tuna, nothing impressive. But for the prices we paid...I expected more. I should've taken the 20 minutes drive and gone to Elmer's. I am (as I'm sitting here, in the restaurant, writing this review instead of eating because I felt so strongly) seriously disappointed and have no idea how this place has the reviews it has. I didn't end up eating hardly any of my food, and considering it's an $11 meal...yikes. When we left, we mentioned our terrible experience to the waitress who said that it was our fault because "you guys took a long time to order." -- Yes, we did, because you didn't have what we originally wanted despite it being on the menu. Ridiculous. read more

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Well, we've been here waiting for our food. Everyone around us has gotten their food except for us. It's been about a hour waiting. The gentleman giving us our drinks has been great constantly refilling our drinks.. and oh hey as soon as I'm posting this our food arrives. Guess we'll try the food now. Well at least the food was good.. This place was interesting.. definitely not a place I'll be going back to. read more

Middle daughter and I went here to eat after church one Sunday. Before we got inside, daughter was very skeptical. Now it's one of her favorite places. She had the Eggs Benedict and I had a Monte Cristo unlike no other. As is our custom, we split the two entrees in half so we could have some of each. Both dishes, on special, were absolutely delicious. Very nice little 'Mom and Pop' operation. Easy to pass by as it's in a little strip in a sort of industrial part of town. Good for small groups. read more

Came for breakfast at 12:30. Place closes at 2, and the breakfast crowd was starting to file out. No wait to sit, friendly and quick staff. Food a little slow rolling out, but it was good. Got the cheese and mushroom omelet. Food portions are in line with what you would expect- not over the top large or small. $30 for me and my wife read more

Nice little hidden gem! This is a locals' restaurant that is open for breakfast and lunch. The food was yummy and the staff was very friendly. Hubby ordered the Country Fried Steak and Eggs and I ordered the Biscuits and Gravy with a side of Polish Sausage. It hit the spot! We can't wait to come back! read more

Good quality food and reasonable prices. Called in order from local hotel and was ready on time. Staff is courteous as well. Would def eat again when vacationing in palm desert. read more

Kids didn't complain but I wouldn't return. Food was not hot, neither was the coffee. Prices are definitely not one $. Kids breakfast is $7.95. read more

Our company likes to eat here because it's close to the office however after the last few visits we might have to find a new diner. Customer service is a no-go. The workers seem unhappy and unpleasant. They seem to only be attentive when you don't need anything but otherwise avoid tables and walk briskly from front to back. The owners are very kind and apologetic on behalf of their employees and genuinely care about their customers satisfaction. read more

I had the French dip and sweet potato fries , very nice place and good food I would recommend it

HORRIBLE HORRIBLE service on the first visit! We splurged on this lunch and it was HORRIBLE. Food, service and watched two other tables walk out due to long wait time before any waitress came for drink orders! It was ridiculous- and they werent even busy. Dining room was not even 1/3 full. read more

CJ's Diner - This sad Philly Cheesesteak sandwich was under the hot lamp too long and it was mostly grilled onions and peppers. - Diners Near Me - Palm Desert, California

Busboy from hell After being seated, the waiter took our drink order, appearing annoyed that we wanted to review the menu first, he returned again and when I inquired on the coffee type, he then became real annoyed and downright belligerent towards us as if he owned the place and we were taking up his valuable time yet the place was nearly empty. Then a waitress appeared and took our order, turns out this rude guy named Rodolfo who took our drink order wasn't even our waiter, he was the busboy from hell and customers need to comply by his rules or leave. He is the most unprofessional staff we had ever encountered and ruined our dining experience especially considering we drove 20 minutes just to try this diner. Although the food was good, we will never return after this experience of being belittled as a paying customer. read more

Small portions, $52 for 2 breakfast burritos, a waffle and an order of biscuits and gravy. Service just ok at best. Left hungry and do NOT recommend read more

Banana walnut pancakes flavorful and served piping hot - the way pancakes should be. Recommend CJ's.

Absolutely love this place! We stop here every time we're in town. Food is delicious and service is great!

We had the Traditional Eggs Benedict and pancakes. It was very good. The staff is friendly and service was great. read more

Wow, hidden gem in Palm Desert. Great breakfast and lunch joint. Lots if locals which is always a good sign. Great service.

Please ask for Veronica. She is delightful! Helen is gracious and Raphael is attentive. The mushroom, cheese omelette and pork sausage reminded us of home. The grilled salmon and grilled veggies with a side of rice was filling and delicious. We will be back!!! read more

Lox and Bagel was good, the capers are a nice touch, breakfast burrito was eaten with gusto, and the hubs liked his meal although I honestly don't remember what he ordered. The only thing I would change is to seat customers with menus. We sat for 10 minutes before we finally just went and got them ourselves. The person who took our drink order didn't even notice we didn't have any. Other than that, it's a nice diner. read more

Food was delicious! It's too expensive though. Almost $50 for 3 people for breakfast. That's pretty ridiculous. Food was great though. The breakfast burrito was bomb. So was the biscuits and gravy. It says they deliver but they only deliver to businesses not residences. read more