A local person said we should try this place while passing through town. At first sight we thought it was cool. After looking through he menu it looked a bit pricey especially for the area. We got the burger special for $10 which was fair and the chicken sandwich for $16 which is way too much. The chips that came with them were made on site and were stale and tasted weird and a really small portion. The soda tasted off even after switching to a different flavor. The servers were friendly and the atmosphere cool but the food was two thumbs down. read more

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The omelette's are amazing, hell, everything is good!! Service is above and beyond and the atmosphere is amazing with a lot of great people

The diner was very cozy and cute. Had a wonderful waitress Betsy, very friendly and gave us a history of the diner. The food was pretty good, plenty of it. The home fries could have been a little warmer. read more

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Bacon gravy over biscuits - you can hurt yourself eating these! True deliciousness in every bite. Such a great place. Friendly staff, amazing food, lots of looking around - one of my new favorite places!! **UPDATE** Please ignore review from ADAM S. This is a disgruntled customer who is having a tantrum and is using social media for revenge. As a loyal customer to Crazy Otto's, both my husband and I have never had anything we didn't like. Their food is cooked fresh and is always delicious! One of my very favorites is the chicken and biscuits!! You will never have a bad meal and be sure to arrive hungry. The portions are large, the food is amazing and the staff are wonderful!! read more

Great place for breakfast with a huge menu for picky eaters. Service was outstanding! read more

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My review may or may not be as crazy as Crazy Otto's Empire Diner. Bear in mind, these five stars are given for this fine establishment under its self-proclaimed diner status. As far as diners go, it's one of the good ones. Service 5/5: fast, friendly, brought stickers and gratis bread pudding desserts for the little ones, and secret margs for us adults. Burgers are not only award-winning, but on point and were accompanied by the right kind of pickle (perfect dill--none of that bread and butter trash here) and onion rings of the gods (crispy and CRISPIER!) It wasn't cheat day for me, so I'll have to come back to actually eat here, but my party was knocked out and bowed down. read more

Empire Diner is insanely busy for a good reason, it's just that good. Try the Train Wreck. It's wicked read more

Great 1950s vibe with classic diner food. Breakfast was great. Excellent corned beef hash. Service was excellent thank you Betsy!

I have fond memories of the Empire Diner from my childhood. Was very excited to visit Otto's as an adult. The staff was super friendly and the food was exactly what you'd expect from a diner (nothing too fancy, standard diner food made well and quick). I appreciate the new deck for outside seating (though there's no ramp for handicap accessibility). Unfortunately, the decore is eclectic in a BAD way -- overwhelming and messy, every surface covered by something random. It made me feel claustrophobic and detracted from the dining experience. They've covered up the mirrored walls with posters and every inch of the tables in advertisements and even the ceilings have faded movie posters and too many license plates. I hope they'll redecorate and let the classic silver diner aesthetic shine! read more

I've been here just one time, I can only base this off a single menu item, so take this with a grain of salt (an item my breakfast burrito could have used more of). Breakfast was alright, the environment is cool, the service was pretty good despite the place being packed (which is a pretty good sign that this is a well loved establishment), and I would be willing to give Crazy Otto's another try. I just wasn't blown away, which is sometimes ok in the morning. Not everyone is looking to get their socks knocked off by eggs. read more

The food is good, the service is good and the ambiance is probably the most unique thing it has going for it (1950s style diner). Why this is 4 stars and not 3, is how they well they treated people I used to work with. It was clear this was a place they were comfortable going to regularly and that says a lot about the owners. Thank you for being so kind! read more

Stopped here for a change of pace from Thruway rest area fare and very glad I did. Had the chicken fried steak with their homemade sausage gravy and my nephew had their homemade hollandaise-laden Eggs Benedict. Our excellent waitress, Mellisa (friendly and funny) also told us they make their own corned beef, so next time I'm headed to Albany I'm stopping for a plate of that--smothered in sausage gravy! Food was tasty and the portions were huge and easily filled up a couple hungry dudes! Just sad I was too full to try a piece of pie! read more

I will start this as I always do by saying that I don't give out five stars unless I am really blown away. I am giving five stars here and that is rare. I go to a ton of diners since I am on the road everyday. I find that diners give you a great variety and most of the time they are pretty good. This one is top notch. I can't wait to go back to Herkimer just to eat here again. The decor is very old school diner but felt a bit more hip. They had posters, photos, a Batman figurine and much more. The food smelled awesome as you walked in the door but also didn't make you smell like a dinner for the rest of the day. I sat at the bar and the wait staff was there immediately. Coffee was very good and I needed it for a Monday after a long weekend. I ordered the CBLT Chopped Salad. It came out promptly and by then the waitress had filled my coffee again. The salad was just as advertised and the dressing was delicious. I have to say the dressing was a little thin but since the flavor was so good it is forgiven. If you are in the area hit this place up you won't regret it. read more

Crazy Ottos Empire Diner - CBLT chopped salad - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Herkimer, New York

We just had a wonderful lunch at Crazy Otto's Empire Diner in Herkimer, NY. Besides being served by the best waitress Melissa, Cathy's Haddock dinner was so fresh that she ate it all. My Cheeseburger was cooked perfectly .. so juicy! we had not heard of Crazy Otto's before and will recommend it to anyone visiting the area who loves old diners. Located in the original building, the decor of license plates and old photos was perfect read more

Crazy Ottos Empire Diner - Melissa is the best! - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Herkimer, New York

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Loved it! Great food and staff, had the special omelette which did not disappoint. Ambience was fantastic

Went there to visit my brother he lives near Herkimer .GREAT BREAKFAST Awesome atmosphere the biggest and best sausage I ever had .I highly recommend read more

Good food! Staff were nice and I really enjoyed the ambiance of the restaurant they really care about customers

I'm now knowing why this place is called Crazy Ottos. The food was crazy bland. Almost none of the staff had there mask on correctly from what we could see and they where all just hanging out with each other. I had the Rigatoni carbonara. The sauce was planned and tasted of glue and paste. The bacon added no flavor. I wasn't a fan of the salad either. The only good part of my meal was the garlic bread. Another person in my party had the the Ruben burger. The burger tasted frozen and left the person feeling ill. Best dinner in NY? No Way!!! That's like calling McDonald's the best gourmet burger restaurant. This place is a disgrace to dinners. The only good thing was the cute Wall-r poster. read more

This diner was a great find on our road trip to Syracuse. The food was tasty and the service was great! Our waitress, Samantha, was very friendly. There were 4 of us and we all had sandwiches and French fries. Nice atmosphere and friendly people. Just 5 minutes off the highway. read more

One of the BEST diner meals ever! My husband had the ricotta stuffed pasta with Italian sausage and chicken with a spicy creamy tomato sauce. I had the Irish Benedict that was DELICIOUS!! Our server, Reba, was the one who recommended our meals and she was absolutely correct. She was energetic and friendly, as was the entire staff at Otto's!! read more

Stopped here on our way to a wedding in Buffalo... I consider myself an eggs Benedict connoisseur... Probably the best eggs Benny with homemade hash and homemade hollandaise sauce I've ever had! If I get a chance to eat here again, I certainly will. The wait staff is super friendly and all around good stop! I would give it more stars than five if I could! read more

the place was decorated amazing. the service was so kind. the food was so delicious. I definitely recommend coming ps.the blt so good

Stopped in here on the way home to Chicago from a crazy road trip through NY/CT/MA. Service was great even though we rolled in 30 minutes before close. Portions were large and food was good. Diner has a lot of character and history. Definitely a cool road trip find! read more

Such a cute and yummy spot for breakfast! Wonderful for all ages.. lots of menu options and friendly staff! read more

Crazy Ottos Empire Diner - Scotty's chili cheese dog omelette! - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Herkimer, New York

Ordered takeout right before noon and ready in 15 minutes. Everyone was very friendly. Waitress double checked our order to make sure substitution was correct, it was. Philly cheesesteak and trainwreck were both flavorful and would definitely order again. Highly recommend going here. read more

Shrinkflation!! Good is good, but the plates are getting smaller. Used to get a full spatula of hash browns. Servers think I'm someone I'm not and over charge me, well one in particular. Plus the owner loses his cool on Facebook. Going apeshit in public in your business' name isn't a good look, sure the complaint was sorta bullshit,but sorta not. I don't know. I'm just not giving them anymore of my business. read more

Always Friendly Staff & Amazing food. I definitely recommend checking out this Gem & Trying the Biscuits & Gravy.

Holy. Cow. If you are within a half hour of this place... just get there. Homemade hash to die for. Lovely and attentive wait staff served our family of 4 as we sat on deck with our pooch (PWD). They offered dog water but we brought our own. Fantastical burgers.. my son got one with "west coast chili" atop but before letting him order that the waitress offered my son a taste to ensure he'd like the chili (which he did... so did Momma :) Cute interior too but we sat outside on a lovely sunny day under the umbrella. I Yelped it to see what was good in the area. Yelp didn't let us down. I would imagine all food choices are good as they nailed every aspect of our four meals. Would go back weekly if we didn't live 4 hours away... this was a random road stop on our home from Niagara Falls but really glad we went (we'd stayed overnight at Herkimer KOA and that is a sweet little gem too) read more

Wonderfully bizarre super clean place. Love the atmosphere and decor. Food was great too ! Service, top notch.

We stopped at this amazing diner. The staff is awesome and the food is absolutely delicious. We have been there every morning on our vacation. We will definitely be coming back every time we are in this area. We also had lunch here and it was as expected. Totally awesome. Worth stopping by. read more

Stopped here on our road trip and had a good meal with great service! Fun decor inside an old school diner. Our server (Jennifer) was great! Otto even came to visit during our meal! Great place to stop when you're in the area! read more

Always the go to, always gives you enough to feed 3, always a fantastic experience. Absolutely killing it read more

Delicious, easy, popular local diner. Homemade food. Loved our server, Jennifer. This will be our stop every year on our drive home. And more often if we lived closer!! read more

Food and services excellent every time, in love with their French dips, only place that makes them amazingly!

Why ruin a perfectly good Reuben by putting American cheese on it??! I guess I am at fault because didn't read what was in the Reuben prior to ordering, I assumed it's only a Reuben if it has Swiss cheese on it. Unfortunately, I HATE American cheese so I didn't enjoy my meal. Would like to go back and try again but will be sure to take a closer look at the menu prior to ordering. read more

Great breakfast and friendly staff. Great place to go on your birthday. Will visit again. read more

Best place to eat in the entire Mohawk Valley!! Staff is very nice and flexible with the menu! It's fast and served correctly every time we visit. They also gave us 20% off our next meal due to inflation prices. read more

Fantastic old school diner. Happy atmosphere with plenty of vintage diner decor to delight the senses! Food is always delicious AND THEY HAVE GLUTEN FREE! Kudos to the great waitstaff too! read more

If I could give zero stars I would...I got a ham, cheese, and bacon omelet. Ham was hard, grissly, iand dried out. Barely any cheese, and it wasn't bacon. It was fatty bacon bits. Tasted like processed garbage. Kid got the banana pancake special. Pancakes were dry. The special comes with coffee, tea, or soda. So my child had soda for breakfast. Husband got eggs and hash. The hash was canned brown mush served over shredded potatoes. Waitress didn't know how to speak. Her only volume was yelling. Worst breakfast ever...and it was 60 dollars. I would have been happier with a $2 Egg McMuffin from McDonalds. At least I expect that to taste like processed junk. Not sure how they got that best diner award. It's obviously outdated. I definitely won't be returning. read more

Needed a break during a long drive on I-90 and stumbled upon this old silver diner. Had never heard of the Empire Diner or Herkimer NY for that matter, but it is a real find and I would highly recommend. In an otherwise somewhat deserted downtown, this place was full and busy. The food was terrific, one of the better and surprising meals on our trip where we dined at far more expensive places. Everything was well-executed including an irish benedict and very flavorful and perfectly cooked hash browns that in most places are obligatory and tasteless. Staff was friendly and unusually professional for a small diner in a small town, the throwback license plate decor worked and there was easy parking right in front. If you are driving to or from Syracuse or Buffalo, avoid the rest stops and take the short detour to Crazy Ottos. read more