This Diner is worth the 50 minute drive from the city. Although you can now safely eat inside the restaurant, they still offer outside dining for those of us that aren't ready to unmask inside. The food is incredible. The salads are delicious, the Paninis are the best I ever had. You know how sometimes the description on the menu sounds good but when it comes, you're disappointed? Well, not at Empire Diner. My husband loves the burgers, as do I. Family owned and run, active in the Community as well. Friendly servers, polite, helpful staff. All around, a great find. Enjoy! read more

The food and waitresses are great for the most part, but the management and owners are awful. THE BOSS TELLS THE STAFF THAT IF THEY GET A SECOND JOB THEY WILL GET FIRED David, what in the world is your reasoning on that? It's not very busy now cause of covid and you tell your waitresses you would fire them if they got another job?? Are you insane? What kind of sick person tells their staff that??? Get off your high horse and treat your staff like people. Plus the bleu cheese is straight liquid. What in the world is that? When I order wings with bleu cheese, I don't want bleu cheese flavored liquid with tiny chunks of bleu. I want a nice thick bleu cheese with chunks. STOP WATERING DOWN YOUR BLEU CHEESE! read more

Place has bad service. My wife and I stopped in on a Sunday morning and Was seated in the back. We waited 5 minutes for a server. Other people came in and sat close by were giving coffee and menus and we were still waiting. So we got up and walked put. Never to go there They can put as many good reviews here but it still doesn't take away from there bad service. Because I want back just to see if it was a one time thing and lord and behold THE SERVICE STILL WAS BAD. THANKS FOR NOTHING read more

Went here twice in the last month for breakfast and it did not disappoint. Great breakfast food as I expect from a diner and big portions. Fair prices round out a great dining experience. We'll be back. read more

Great food. Awesome staff. Would highly recommend this place to anyone living in Orange County or just visiting for a day. From breakfast to dinner you can't go wrong! read more

Surprised by the quality and value. This is not to be confused with the Empire Diner in NYC. This one is in Monroe, an exit away from Harriman. Note for any road trip on 87. read more

I was just here on Saturday morning early and had a great breakfast. I just had the normal eggs, potato's and toast, but I have had their omelets and breakfast wraps and they are very good as well. The waitress I had is the BEST! In fact it's one of the reasons I keep coming back here, it's nice to see a friendly face. I mostly come here for breakfast, but do stop by for other meals as well. The food is always good, and the new owners a very friendly and care about their business. I do recommend eating here, and will in the future. read more

I like the COVID protocols. They do a good job at keeping folks safe. The food here is awful though. We had the corned beef and pastrami. They were god awful. The employees are nice. The Buffalo wings are pretty good, too. Just don't have high expectations and you should be okay. read more

Typical local diner. Large portions, decent prices, about $10 per plate. Came for breakfast. Omlets and home fries were good. A good option if you're in the area. read more

Our waitress was fantastic! Wish I had gotten her name. Went in at 8:30 am on a Friday morning and she was the only waitress working but we still had really great service. Our only complaint was the burnt hash browns and pancakes that tasted like a McDonalds sausage McGriddle. I didn't even order sausage so I'm pretty sure my pancakes were cooked on a griddle that had just cooked sausages. read more

GREAT diner! I came in here for the first time this past weekend and was very impressed. The place looks great (recently renovated) and is very clean... compared to the dumpy Monroe and Chester diners. The menu is interesting, better than most diners. I had a mushroom/swiss omelet which was very tasty and my boyfriend had a combo with amazing pancakes and crispy bacon. The home-fries were the best, not under-cooked like most other diners. The portion sizes were generous and the prices were fair. We were both very happy with our meal and the service was friendly. This is my go-to breakfast place, by far the best diner in the area. read more

Pretty standard diner food. I got the corned beef hash with egg (sunny side up), which comes with toast and home fries ($10). The hash was pretty good, but the home fries were kinda bland and needed some salt/pepper. I also got turkey bacon on the side, which was a little way too over-cooked and did not taste very good (why didn't I just get regular bacon, I don't know...). I did get to try a little bit of the turkey sausage, which was good! read more

On a Saturday night after a long drive home my wife and i stopped to get some hot food. After waiting over 40 minutes for our order of eggs for me and a waffle for my wife the food sort of appeared (my toast didn't show till we were leaving). The waffle was very over salty......i never tasted a salted waffle until my wife had me verify that it was that horrible. My eggs wer fried okay but the home fries had a horrible look to them and tasted like they were very , very old. Did you ever have bacon that was salted after it was cooked? My three thin strips of bacon actually had granules of salt on them. Huh? Even the coffee was burnt. Plus, it's not too professional when the manager/cashier walks behind the counter to re-fill his glass of whatever he was slurping. A disgusting experience. I have to sometimes drive pass this place and i dread those next few times since my memory will be rattled. read more

My wife and I had the worst breakfast we ever had. The diner was empty but the service was incredibly slow. My wife ordered a mushroom and cheese omelette that came out with no cheese and was over cooked. My order was barely edible. So if you're looking fir bad meal we found the place for you!!!! PS...,, anybody giving them 5 Stars must be family or friends of the owners. read more

Fantastic dinner, excellent food, service with a positive attitude towards their customers. In the area for a few days & had breakfast on several occasions, always the same great service & quality food. Highly recommend. Great value. read more

We went to the Empire diner for dinner tonight. When we walked In the waitress sat us and put the menus on the table and walked away. My husband remarked that they usually ask what we want to drink. We waited and waited and waited some more and nobody came. At least 17 minutes went by. I leaned out of the booth and saw two waitresses just standing there. I waved at them and they paid no attention. I noticed at the booth across from us four other people were trying to get their attention. We put on our jackets and proceeded to leave. As I passed the waitress that sat us down she just looked at us. I looked back and told her we have been sitting there and she never came back. Her answer "I'm not on the clock now". I guess we were suppose to wait for her break to be over with before ordering our food. Their lost. A NEW DINER IS OPENING UP ON 32 IN CENTRAL VALLEY. read more

Thank you Empire diner. Breakfast is always delicious. Convenient location. I love this place!!!

Food = 2 Stars Very bland, uninteresting, plain Service = 3 Stars Fair Price = 2 Stars High priced for what you get I will not be going back. read more

Dave the owner and Kathleen our server were very welcoming! Very accommodating to dietary requirements and they understand the implications! Many alternatives like almond milk, gluten free bread and cookies. The breakfast meats were delicious and the eggs cooked to perfection. I highly recommend that you stop by this is a gem diner! read more

Empire Diner - All that is left of the meal - Diners Near Me - Monroe, New York

been here twice only since it's the only close diner by us. 2nd time we go i find a bug on my plate. I was not going to post but if this happened to someone I would want to know. It sucks because the waitress was really friendly and probably felt embarrassed. read more

Empire Diner - i cant believe I find this on my plate. liked this place but having a bug on my plate was not part of my order - Diners Near Me - Monroe, New York

Very Very disappointed, My girlfriend and I went here a lot. Today we went and we were seated...keep in mind that this place was dead maybe 4 people in here 6 in including me and my girlfriend. I wasn't looking at the menu because I had already known what I wanted so it looked like we were ready to order. I was watching 2 waitresses fooling around talking not paying any mind to both of us sitting down ready to order. After patiently waiting 20 mins and watching these to waitresses talk we decided to get up walk out and tell these ladies to "have a nice day" when they reply "Have a nice day" not even noticing I wasn't being served!! Took my business else where and pretty frustrated to the point I may not return!! read more

Great improvement! We love it here!! Generous portions and friendly staff....my only complaint would be is sitting at the first booth past the dessert counter is freezing! Not sure if there's a a/c vent there but it was so much colder than anywhere else! I'm sure if I complained, they would have moved me-I'm just putting it out there should some people who don't do well in the cold get seated there! Overall, excellent diner! read more

Very nice people, service is great. Food is very good, I never have any complaints. It's a nice easy going atmosphere. I come here a lot n never had any issues. read more

They burned my English muffin and it was served to me. Hash browns if you can call them that were warm at best. I paid 10 bucks for burned bread two perfectly poached eggs and I honestly couldn't call it hollandaise. Waitress didn't even ask how the food was and I can guess why. Hah. Pancake was chewy and paper thin they charge $5 for that and some juice concentrate for your kids. 0 stars for food because any stars would be ignoring the fact they burnt toast. 2 for service because I'm sure it's not the waitresses fault the food being served is supposed to be in the garbage. Obviously they put a value on burning bread and serving it so I'll go with a 0 in value. read more

This place is great! The diner is very clean, everyone is friendly and the food is great - not what you would normally expect from a diner. They even have a nice selection of Gluten Free and Vegan items. I frequent this place regularly and have only had a great experience. read more

Went here for breakfast. It seems like an average diner all around. I ordered corned beef hash as I always do at every diner and it was not enjoyable. Will not be back for breakfast. read more

I came here with my husband to try it out since we heard it was under new ownership. The place looks brighter and they seem to be really proud of the fact that they have old stadium seat from Mets and yankees. If only they'd take pride in their food and service like they do with those seats it would be a great place. I was extremely disappointed when I ordered Challah french toast and instead I got white bread french toast. I asked the waitress if they were out of Challah and she had the nerve to argue that it was indeed that,but little did she know that I'm also a chef/baker so I know what I'm eating! Then in a rude manner she said "I'll get the owner and you can argue with him". Really lady, you need a hospitality class! They are also overpriced for a diner and they have a separate "Gluten-free" menu,but something tells me they probably don't take that seriously either. I really was hoping to like this place cause Monroe needs a good diner,but you guys failed to impress. I suggest you hire a new chef and train your staff to be more hospitable. read more

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A regular diner with sweet staff. Rarely get to come by, since it's out of the way, but love to meet up with friends here when I'm around.

Nice staff and diner but got food poisoning from here. They also misguided us on allergen information in their foods which led to an allergic reaction. Ordered soup and my plate/crackers/napkin was saturated as if someone spilt the soup before it even got to the table. A shame since there's not many non chain restaurants in the area. Won't be returning here. read more

Grismely was super nice, food was great, southwest egg rolls are always where it's at. Quick delicious lunch!

For starters, the corn beef on my Ruben was spoiled. Shared this to the manager he reported he didn't know what was wrong because it was made yesterday. Not exactly the answer I wanted to hear. In addition to spoil corn beef, the bread was so soggy it had to be scraped off of the plate. Instead of home fries, my mother received bite-size frozen hashbrowns with her omelette. Truly disappointed! We were looking forward to the new ownership of the diner and it's not any better than the old. read more

I get here and the service is very good. But my water tasted dirty. At the end of my meal my friend and I both felt sick after drinking chocolate milk. Overall we weren't satisfied with our meals. I will not be coming back. I don't understand the good ratings. Drove out of my way to try it. read more

Came in around 6 pm last nite. they where pretty busy but the service didnt show that at all. i was very well taken care of and the food was no diner food. will be back for sure read more

I wish I can give negative 5. I asked for cheese burger with fries. I went back to tell them they made the wrong food and the lady was so rude. I couldn't believe it. I politely asked for my money back and she gave me a hard time. Idk if that's how business is done in the diner business but normal people get a return back. She was so rude. The boss needs to give her customer service lessons. Won't be back ever again. read more

Much improved over the last incarnation. I've had the avocado-cheddar omelette on several occasions and enjoyed it immensely! The chicken souvlaki was also excellent. I'm so grateful there's a good diner in Monroe! read more

I used to go here when the diner was monroe diner a landmark and i loved the outside look which was more fun but it was dated i suppose . So i gave this place a try . the 1st visit i paid a lot dint get filled and waitress hurried me as there are so many items on the menu i wanted to read them all and she said well what are you in the mood for i said ill know it when i read it. I just wanted to have some tea and read the menu to see what all they had . 2nd time I went the host was a nice guy the waitress was nice and punctual in timing. I had chicken souvlaki very good and filling and they give you a nice generous portion of a greek salad which I took home and they have a nice limoncello marscarpone cake :D so yea plan on spending for dinner 12 then 2. 50 for coffee or tea plus I had dessert plus tip well it came to 23 bucks. if you had a sandwich or dinner special of course it will be lower and no dessert. but when I go out i want the ambience, privacy and quiet and someone to cook and clean.~Some lady let her 2 kids run around even behind the counter sheesh!! this ruined my whole dining experience and wallet. I know its not the restaurants fault but if i was the waitress and saw kids running and the host saw this too, I'd have to say hey kids calm down sheesh! So I had enough. Seriously the waitress and host should've said to the kids go sit down or please dont run back and forth from the bathroom to the counter behind the counter playing tag. I guess my timing was wrong read more

I went to Empire yesterday for lunch. I had a meal off the lunch special menu. I had a panini with fries, small soup and a pudding for $9.99. It was suggested by my server and it was excellent! She did a great job during the lunch rush. I also ordered a beer. I had a Sam Adams Octoberfest. I was suspicious that they had Octoberfest in February. I had a few sips and then I looked at label in bottle. It said to serve BEFORE Feb. Before I could tell my server, a manager came over to the tables to ask about our meal and service. So I mentioned to him that the beer didn't taste right and label said expired and he should pull the bottles. He thanked me for my comment. Then still charged me for beer. No worries. I paid it. And tipped my waitress 20%. But now he has this review. Here is a tip for the management, don't serve expired items even if it's only a day or 2 old. And when a customer tells you her $6 beer is stale, take it off the bill and offer a replacement. read more

Empire Diner - Diners Near Me - Monroe, New York

I have eaten here about 10 times since they have reopened under new ownership and I must say everything I have had has been great. I consider myself a tough critic and I have been pleased every time. I especially like the Thanksgiving wrap and the Belgian waffles. read more

I was there twice. The first time I had eggs. They were good. This time I had one of their burgers from their burger special menu. Needless to say, I was ill right after I ate it and was in the bathroom very often that night and the next day. I like the stadium seats as you walk in the door. The servers are friendly but when you ask the party that I was with if they want desert and we say can you give us a minute, don't put the check down on the table. We also noticed that the plates were smaller than normal which made the portion size look larger. We were fine with the size of the portion but everything was on top of another. The reason why two stars instead of one was the eggs that I had were OK. FYI- Home fries should have onions in them. read more

The only reason it gets one star is you can't post without a star rating. So I went here on Friday 2/10/17 for breakfast. I went to the mens room to wash my hands and there was someone in the stall. While washing my hands, I could hear the person finishing in the stall. As he was opening the door to the stall, I recognized him as the young man who is always at the register and who seats people when they come in. His cell phone rang and he answered "hello Empire Diner". He then walked past me and left the mens room and went directly back to the register. He DID NOT WASH HIS HANDS. I was repulsed by this. I thought about telling him how disgusting it was as I left but did not. Needless to say, I will never return. They lost a good customer. read more