When you want hometown quality food this is the place to go! The prices are quite high at times but that is something you can look passed when you taste this food. The pancakes are amazing, the Irish Benedict and Patty Melt are my absolute favorites!! What I love most is that I live just around the corner from this Diner. I encourage everyone who lives in the area or who is passing through to stop at Crazy Otto's Empire Diner! read more

We ordered an omelet and the homemade chili and both where excellent. The serves was amazing. The building was were authentic and lots of fun to look at, with all the posters and drivers plates. I recommend trying the in house made fruit pies that they make. read more

Terrible food. I ordered stuffed French toast and hash browns. Hash browns were burnt and the cream in the French toast was straight up cream cheese lathered on. Absolutely disgusting, and I'm dumbfounded I was charged almost $13 for that garbage. read more

My husband and I were on a road trip and desperately looking for a non-chain restaurant to eat at. We spotted this diner and ran in just as they were about to close for the day. The staff graciously allowed us to stay and we're so happy they did because their food was diner food done right! I had the rueben which was fantastic and my husband had the bacon cheeseburger which was even better. Everything was super hot and fresh. We even talked ourselves into dessert which was a slice of double decker pecan pie, not your average caramel custard and pecan variety, it was chewy caramel on bottom with pecans and custard on top. Just great. Although we're from chicago, if we ever have the chance to drive through ny again, we will find a way to stop here. Not to be missed. totally exceeded our expectations. read more

Very fair prices, the omelets are huge, burgers are juicy. prime rib and eggs on the weekend. Staff is very friendly.......would like to see some sort of eating challenge. read more

I have been going to the Empire Diner with my Dad for more than a year now, and I have loved the food, the service, and the atmosphere! For most of our visits to Empire Diner, a lovely woman named Lisa was our server. The staff are very easy to talk to, and even when we don't recognize a server, we can warm right up to them. The quality of the food is absolutely delectable and whenever I come whether it be for breakfast, lunch, or dinner, I now always order a burger after being introduced to their cheeseburgers. The cool thing is that they will let you order a burger without the fryer being on, so you could even get there at 7:30 and have one. And they are not just easy to order, the restaurant has won Best Burger and Cheeseburger awards as well. There are a large amount of items to catch your attention from all different eras. These can range from license plates, to movie, song, and model posters, to funny sayings. Even Arnold Schwarzenegger has paid a visit in 2005 to serve people coffee. You can find more about the history of their restaurant at: http://www.crazyottosdiners.com/history.html I apologize to anyone if this seems more like a personal letter than a review, but I have been to the Empire Diner so many times that all I can do is write a personal review. I hope that you enjoy the restaurant as much as I have. read more

Visit the Empire Diner and you get a rare combination of a classic railroad car diner and great food. Prices are a smidgeon higher than most diners but the quantity of food and little extras are a bennie. Hadn't been in the Empire Diner for a spell. It had been in decline but it obviously has new ownership with vastly expanded offerings. Not a gourmet restaurant but superb for a diner in our opinion. Best, Terry read more

Great atmosphere! The food was awesome and the staff was exceptionally friendly. I got the ham, eggs, and pancakes. The ham was thick and the pancakes where fluffy. read more

WOW, what a great place. We found this on Yelp and we were looking for food after taking a trip down the Erie Canal. Yelp gave it excellent ratings, so we went. CLASSIC diner even in the diner car. Not too busy on a Saturday night, we were waited on by Danny, the manager for the day. A super cool dude, a fellow Californian, and he was engaging and fun. We ordered honey fried chicken dinner and another chicken dinner. We ate more than we thought we would because it was so good (although some of the fried chicken was fried too much-but it did taste yummy). It's rated as the best diner in NY State and we can see why. Don't miss this. read more

Old time diner with the old time diner feel and menu. Hot roast beef sandwich and prime rib were spot on. Waitress was friendly and the prices reasonable. I love these mom and pop places and this one was just added to my list of places to stop in when in the area. read more

I came here with my family about 2 weeks ago but I forgot to write a review. Ok so the food is good but it's nothing special. Just a regular diner meal. I do love the set up inside the restaurant. It gives off an oldy vibe and my mom said it brings back the whole "80's" look. It's a lot better than Denny's and it's very original. The one thing that bothered me about this place were the flies flying around the whole diner. Every time I tried to eat my meal I can hear them buzzing around my ear! Other than that, I would like to come here again without the flies. read more

serendipitously found crazy ottos empire diner. this has to be the no 1 best diner in the world ! food, atmosphere, people, eccentricity, wonderful, delicious awesome!!!! read more

So, to say the food here is incredible...... is the BIGGEST UNDERSTATEMENT!!!!! Not only was the owner present and incredibly pleasant, but our waitress Abbie was AMAZING!!!! They have bacon gravy, which is phenomenal..... the French toast, unbelievable! Pancakes, beautiful and gigantic!!! I hope we visit the area again soon, because we will definitely be back to this wonderful place. read more

Have come here a lot with a couple buddies. Great atmosphere, friendly and timely staff, great food and options. It's pretty typical diner fare. My one complaint is that it's a little pricey. I'd recommend the Hobo Eggs because you get 4 breakfasts for the price of 1.5, haha. read more

One of the best diners in the area. Veggie omelette was amazing and service was great. Reasonably priced but man the food is outstanding.

To put it bluntly, this place is either hit or miss. Either they have great food and service or not. I don't go there very often, and when the thought comes up, I ask if I feel lucky. read more

5 stars as a Diner. Olde timey design? Check. Sassy waitress? Check. Rock solid Reuben dripping with corned beef sauerkraut 1000 island and fresh off the grill? Oh Yeah. Nice eggs and hash. Good coffee. This is in my top 10 diners anywhere. also check State Line Diner on the NJ NY border, Lake Effect diner in Buffalo, Jays in Henrietta. read more

My steak and eggs were very bland, sadly, but my husbands' otto omelet was really delicious. Hash browns were basic. Overall just your regular greasy spoon but they did have a lot of tempting French toast options that were probably delicious. read more

Cool diner. Diner food served hot and fast and tasty. Would recommend you give it a try. We pass through regularly and will pop off the highway to visit Crazy Otto's. read more

Friendly staff, good food at a reasonable price. Chopped salad wasn't a true chopped salad but it was good. Loved the decorations!

Good food, good service. Typical diner. No complaints. Staff was super friendly and the servers hustled.

Five stars for a diner!We found this on Yelp and we're not disappointed at all. Great service, excellent food. A huge menu with breakfast and lunch options. A cozy diner with lots to look at while you eat or while the kids wait for their food. Pretty easy to find with google maps or the Yelp map, just a couple turns off the NYS thruway. Herkimer has good signage to find your way back to the thruway. The ambiance is great, noisy, typical diner. It would be uncomfortable for someone with aphasia and you need to be able to climb three steps to get in. Probably too small for a wheelchair but a person with a walker and a couple strong-bodied friends could manage. Bathroom is clean. Stools, booths and a couple tables which can be pushed together for a larger group. Bring coins to park in front at the meters. I think they might have a few free spots in the dirt parking lot behind the diner. This place is way more fun than any fast food joint you might pass on the way. It showed the flavor of the town and if we weren't in such a rush I really would be tempted to stroll the nearby streets. All the wait staff makes you feel so welcome and they are very accommodating. Thanks to Kim and all the other ladies. read more

Crazy Ottos Empire Diner - This place is so fun, lots of ambient noise, fast service,delicious food and awesome staff. - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Herkimer, New York

I love the atmosphere but I must be ordering the wrong food. I just have not been impressed by the food that I have ordered Witchwood cheeseburgers and fries and breakfast. The wait time was insane read more

I love diners and this place did not disappoint. Great food, staff and atmosphere! Best stop on our road trip so far.

This place has a very cool outside, but the food wasn't very good. Had a fish platter, that was very over-cooked.

This place is very cool! It is an old style bullet diner. Very well decorated and clean The food was the Tale of Two Sandwiches. The Schnitzel Sandwich was amazing. Tasty pork cutlet and a great horseradish mustard. Unfortunately the French Dip was not very good. It was fatty. The bread was too soggy to dip but the hash browns were very good. So a 5 for the one Sandwich and a 3 for the other Sandwich left my rating at a 4. read more

Stopped based on recommendations. We had the daily soup special which was split pea. It was very good. Then we had the lunch special, chicken and biscuits. It was as if they took the contents of a frozen pot pie and dumped them on two split stale dense biscuits. It was god-awful. The server never came back to check on us for anything. Maybe we should have ordered burgers? I won't be back. read more

I give this place - 5 stars it was the absolute most disgusting food I ever ate in my life I've been there 2 times and the second time was worse than the first time the service was terrible and the prices were outrageous save your money go across the street to McDonald's I will never go back to this place ever again their hamburger tasted like flabbish goat meat in the French toast and eggs was served to my wife ice cold preserved sweet potato chips that were like rubber and the little spoonful of macaroni salad made me want to puke the prices were so high I could have gone to Outback Steakhouse for what I paid for this crappy lunch read more

I've been to Crazy Otto's many times for a breakfast ... cute place, quick service. Today with Sis and two others - Two of us had the Egg and Meat Breakfast - comes with 2 Eggs any style, choice of meat (get the ham, you get a HUGE piece of ham steak), home fries and either toast or biscuit with sausage gravy - I get the toast, not into sausage gravy. Sis had the combo Belgium waffle with and 2 eggs any style with choice of meat - she got the sausage pattie which looked homemade - she didn't like but I believe that's a personal preference. The last diner had a senior meal of 1 slice of french toast and 1 egg with choice of meat - she had bacon. All in all a good standard breakfast - including tax $58 and change plus tip ... which I think is on the expensive side for a standard no frills breakfast in their area. Service was Excellent - I will say that - every time we've been the service is excellent. I've seen alot of reviewers eat here as a thruway stop - DEFINITELY good idea. Not far from the exit and easy on and off. read more

Nice big fluffy pancakes. Stuffed French toast . Worth stopping for

Friendly service, Good breakfast, great homemade corn beef hash! Large portions but still a bit pricey.

Average all around. Prices are fair to high, quality of food is mediocre. Atmosphere is loaded with posters of crappy movies from the 90's. Staff was pleasant on my last trip, but it's always cramped and dingy. I'd recommend grabbing your meal somewhere else. read more

It's interesting that most of the reviews are from people just passing through. I'll chime in as a local person who has on numerous occasions stopped in for lunch in the middle of a bunch of errands in Herkimer. I love hamburgers that aren't like thawed out hockey pucks, so burgers are my usual choice here, plus fries. I like the 50s style of the place, too. read more

While traveling home from vacation on the NYS Thruway we followed a friend's suggestion and exited at the Herkimer exit and drove aprox. 1 1/2 miles into town to this diner for lunch. Turned out to be a wonderful repast in an eclectic vintage diner of days gone by. We were met by an enthusiastic wait staff and great food. Our waitress Betsy was sheer delight. Definitely a welcome change from turnpike rest stop dining. read more

Stop by this diner based on reviews on my way home from camp. Door man was very kind and accommodating considering how busy it was. We got in fairly quick to enjoy the great atmosphere. You can tell this place is well liked. The food was good but not great. For the price it was fine. Service was good but definitely affected by how busy the place was. I would recommend. read more

Good food, large portions, great staff, reasonable price, and a decent selection of gluten free yumminess. We liked it so much that we all bought t-shirts! read more

Expected ordinary diner. This place was far from ordinary. Fabulous food and really good service. I suspect it's one of the better restaurants in town. read more

At one time or another I have made it a point to check out diners in all 50 states. This diner in my hometown is arguably the best diner I have experienced. Incredible staff of servers always make you feel at home and Scott and Kim the owners see to it that you're food is always exactly right. read more

Denver omelette delicious stuffed with ham, onion and pepper. Very nice ambiance. Missing classic diner desserts.

I absolutely LOVE Crazy Ottos Empire Diner!!! Not only is the staff warm, friendly and fun, the food is always fantastic, and the speed at which they serve everything seriously seems impossible! They always blow my mind whenever they bring my food out literally within 5 minutes of ordering! Not even exaggerating! It's CRAZY! (Hence the name I guess! LOL) The owners, Scott and Kim Tranter, are two of the nicest people I've ever met, and they regularly go out of their way to show their appreciation for your business by coming out from behind the counter with smiles and friendly greetings. Today I'm having the special: Bacon Avocado Omelet with hashbrowns, biscuits & gravy and coffee for only $8.95! It is soooooo yummy! (and HUGE! It'll feed me for 3 days!) You just can't beat the prices! Not to mention THE 50s decor ROCKS, the biscuits & gravy are the best I've had ANYWHERE, and they have the absolute BEST coffee to boot! So yeah, you could definitely say I LOVE THIS PLACE!!! I'm so glad it's local! :-D read more

Crazy Ottos Empire Diner - Bacon Avocado Omelet w/ hashbrowns, biscuits & gravy and coffee for only $8.95, and served in barely over 5min! Can you say YUMM!? :-) - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Herkimer, New York

See all