The staff here was so friendly. Parking is easily accessible as they have a lot. The waitress did offer some suggestions when we asked her what she would order as we were super indecisive. The food was great, fresh and tasty. It wasn't too busy when we went and the place was very clean and spacious. I can't wait to go back! read more

Mark Twain Diner Restaurant - French Dip - Diners Near Me - Union, New Jersey

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I was always curious about this place whenever I dropped off my son at Kean University. He tried this spot and said it wasn't bad. I finally got the chance to try this spot. Too bad, it wasn't a good experience. The place isn't special. It's just your typical old diner. Some people like that charm, so people don't. St least, the place was clean and large enough to accommodate a group of over twenty people. The staff was friendly and did their best to serve such a large group. Unfortunately, the food was subpar. It wasn't my worst experience at a diner, but it wasn't good. My soup came in a hot bowl, but the actual dish was lukewarm. Others had it cold. That and the pasta salad were very, very bland. My chicken salad sandwich, on the other hand, was just salty. I really didn't like it. I finished it because I was that hungry. I left with a bad feeling having been full with food that just wasn't good. I wonder why my son likes this place. He said the stuff he orders were ok. He did say the their tiramisu was horrible. Maybe I ordered the wrong things. Maybe they just couldn't handle a large group at once. I dunno. Unless I am really hungry in the area and there is no other place open to eat I won't be coming back. read more

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This review is long over do! Whenever I am in the Westfield or Newark areas, I MUST come here. I regularly will have their Greek sampler; has gyro, spanakopita, Greek Salad all in one. They also have a great breakfast menu served all day. I usually get two sunny side up eggs over Taylor Ham with home fries (they will add onions and peppers making the potatoes even more delicious. Great diner coffee and a full bar. The service is always great. A lot of veteran wait staff that know the business and what great service means. read more

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My husband and I visited for the first and unfortunately the last time. The 2 stars I gave is for our waitress (she was very kind) and for the cleanliness of the restaurant from what we saw. The food was overpriced and bland as heck! Zero flavor. We probably used all of the condiments on the table to try to help. No free refills on juice which is kind of unheard of nowadays. Also, the senior menu is from the hours of 3-5pm?? How many seniors are out eating at that time? The majority of seniors are out early. Dodging the peak time traffic. Just seems slick to have it during those hours. We definitely wouldn't recommend based on the food alone. read more

Mark Twain Diner Restaurant - Diners Near Me - Union, New Jersey

Great diner. Amazing, delicious breakfast that filled the entire platter at a reasonable price ($14). Service was impeccable. Had an older gentleman serving us that constantly was checking on us. How all diners should be. Not sure why all reviews not 5 stars. This place is awesome. read more

A classic New Jersey diner, menu being pretty broad and seating is the standard booths and tables. Lots of different choices for breakfast and other meals. All served all day long. Chicken noodle soup was actually quite good, lots of chicken and noodles. The chicken marsala was a good size, but the sauce wasn't very interesting, not a lot of wine or savory-ness, just a bland gravy. Black Forest cake was nothing like the original, it was just so. Service was okay, server was friendly but forgot part of the order until reminded. It was a quiet night so probably just off. They have a Jack Daniels sauce section, reminds me of the Midwest diners I saw in the past with this. They made three stars on the strength of the chicken noodle soup alone, and the chicken sandwich was a good size, large grilled chicken breasts (one big side butterflied, effectively). And generous with the fries. read more

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I used to go to this diner in the 70's after the bars closed. I don't expect the cooks to still be good all this time later, and I'm not wrong. Either everything is coated in garlic powder, or so much salt you can't eat it, or there's no seasoning at all. Everything I ordered today went into the garbage, it was disgusting. These diners/restaurants count on you paying 20% more for everything and they pay their cooks little to nothing of a salary. We put up with it, they will keep serving crap food and getting top dollar. It's a Greek owned diner and their spinach pie, 2 weeks ago, was disgusting!!!!! read more

Food wasn't bad had breakfast for dinner. Our Service was good. We had the booth near the bathroom s which are in need of a good cleaning. I could smell the urine from my seat. read more

Not the best experience, the service was poor and the food was not even good. We got ordered multiple food items and the only thing good was the fries. We orders guac that was $10 which came with chips which were stale and salty. The guac was our appetizer and they forgot about it! We ordered burger which had no taste, we asked for mayonnaise 3 times. The service was terrible it seemed like no one wanted to work there. Highly disappointed in service, management and food. Wont be going back and waste of money!!!! read more

The coffee tasted acidic, the food arrived the butter hardly melted on the pancakes, the bacon tasted old and rubbery. I paid for food that i couldn't enjoy. First time i entered the restaurant after driving by occasionally!!!! read more

We have been coming here almost once a week and it just gets better and better. The food is plentiful, the desserts are decadent, and the I love love love their wait staff (Kristin/?anne, "uncle" Jim, Charlene... ) always very attentive. I always have enough food to be stuffed and more to bring home. read more

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Last night, my boyfriend and I ate dinner at the Mark Twain Diner in Union. We went after we both got off work, so it was around 6:30 pm. The diner was extremely easy to get to from where I live, just drive up Route 22 and when you get off at the Elizabeth/Union exit, it's not far down! There were two sections for parking, providing visitors with the number of spaces. Upon arriving, there's a little vestibule you walk through to the entrance where the host stand is, which I thought was unique! When we walked in, we were directed to a booth immediately, and as soon as we sat, our server, Annie, came over to greet us. Annie was warm and welcoming. Multiple times, she offered things we didn't think to ask for. For example, when my boyfriend ordered water and I ordered a coffee, she asked if I wanted one too! She was just the right amount of attentive and provided exceptional service. While waiting for the food (which was not long AT ALL) I observed our surroundings. The diner had a full bar, intricate lighting, and a neutral color palette. The atmosphere seemed very comforting and home-like. I ordered the Florentine Panini - a panini with grilled chicken breast, provolone cheese, baby spinach, and pesto. It was delicious. My boyfriend ordered the Southwest sandwich - a chicken sandwich with bacon, chorizo, and a chipotle mayo sauce. He wouldn't stop talking about how good it was on the car ride home! Both entrees were served with fries and the option for soup, coleslaw, and pickles. The portions were huge! My sandwich was cut into three large sections, and the curly fries were spilling out of the container they were placed in on my plate. I ended up eating only one section of the sandwich and I took the other two home. A credit to Annie, I would have left the other two pieces at the booth when we left, but she came running out of the building to bring me the to-go box that was left at the table. Very sweet! Overall, the experience was wonderful! Although it's a little pricey, the Mark Twain Diner is worth the extra pennies for the portion sizes alone, but more importantly, the great food, service, and atmosphere! read more

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Server, Jay, was pleasant and attentive. Service was fairly fast. -philly cheesesteak: mushrooms absorbed a bit too much oil, good flavor otherwise -southwest sandwich: chorizo was food, wished it had another piece of chicken. chipotle sauce was nice. Overall, good food and service. Would return. read more

Service is quite fast, food is good, big portions and love the spacious seats. Love that the atmosphere is relaxed, and their choice of music. read more

Mark Twain Diner Restaurant - Classic Egg Benedict - Diners Near Me - Union, New Jersey

Growing up in New Jersey kind of forces you to be a big fan/critic of diners. You know what's good and you know what isn't. That said, I had high hopes for the Mark Twain Diner. Visited here with my daughter and her friend after watching her former college field hockey team played at nearby Kean University. We were pretty hungry and my daughter's friend had never eaten in a diner before so we had big plans. I had a Reuben sandwich, which was served open face, fries, and started with French onion soup. My daughter had a ham and cheese Omelet, Hash browns, and a small stack of Chocolate chip pancakes. My daughter's friend had cheese cake stuffed French toast and Hash browns. While our waitress was fun and engaging, the meal was just ok. French onion soup wasn't great-cheese wasn't melted and the soup was only warm. It also had a sweetness to it that I didn't love. My Reuben tasted great, but they were a bit skimpy on the corned beef and there was too much cheese. My daughter's omelette was a little small, but tasty and her chocolate chip pancakes were a little dry. Her friend's meal was the best of the three (though I would never have ordered it). She LOVED the cheesecake stuffed French toast. Maybe we caught them on a bad night, but I wasn't blown away the night we went. I'd try again if I was in the area. read more

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If you want classic diner food, and a lot of it, with really friendly servers and the best calamari in town, look no further than Mark Twain Diner. Not a single person in my party of 6 went hungry and everyone agreed that the calamari was outstanding in every way. Fresh, big pieces of squid, hand breaded and fried - I would come back just for the calamari. With a classic NJ diner feel inside, I felt an old standby, the tuna melt, was a no brainer. No only was the tuna melt very good, it CAME with soup and pasta salad with pickles. The pasta salad was really special and the matzo ball soup was particularly delicious. I had to take half of the sandwich home because it was so big AND I subbed fries for a casaer salad which was enormous and delicious. Didn't have a single bad bit here and left fat and happy. read more

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Had dinner there Tuesday Night with My Goddaughter Sarah, with both had dietary need meet. Paul the waiter and also bartender, one of best service in New Jersey! Birge gluten free requests and my post cancer therapy menu request where simple for them! read more

This is for their takeout service The food was cooked well. Sent texts when food was packed and ready to be picked up. Everyone was courteous Been a fan of Mark Twain for years read more

The atmosphere was okay. Our server was training, but was very kind even though he struggled with a few things. Our order was messed up, but again we've all had a first job before. The taste of the food wasn't the greatest & I know ofc that wasn't the servers fault, but I wouldn't go back here. I previously heard great things about this place, but I was sadly disappointed. They have room for wheelchairs, but many of the servers had strong accents and were difficult to understand. Nonetheless, everyone seemed kind, but attempting to communicate with the staff in ASL/notes was extremely difficult for me. read more

Mark Twain Diner Restaurant - Menu - Diners Near Me - Union, New Jersey

Classic North Jersey Diner. Good food, good service & good coffee! The Diner is a little dated, but it was clean & they carried the theme through. Description of 2 of dishes are in my pics. In the area, give them a try. read more

A-OK catch up spot with friends. It can get loud there so I would suggest going with friends you know well so that speaking loudly/occasionally getting drowned out volume wise won't feel weird. This is your standard diner with a miles long menu so don't worry about not being able to find something to eat. Parking lot can get busy on the weekend but usually service is quick so I haven't had to deal with wait time. We sat at the counter on the weekend so it was nice to watch food being made. I would say the taste is predictable. They are generous with portions so I tend to get omelettes since you can get pancakes AND hash browns with your order. That's perfect for my level of indecision when it comes to ordering breakfast. Also got iced coffee which was alright. Nothing to write home about. The waiters and waitresses can be pretty busy so it can take awhile to flag them down. read more

Mark Twain Diner Restaurant - Garden omelette - Diners Near Me - Union, New Jersey

Great food variety, good service, the best desserts, fair prices. And I'm happy the salad bar is back.

Great spot for breakfast lunch or dinner , service is quick , great selection of steaks on the menu and other great selections , prices are a little high in my opinion for a diner but we'll worth the price ! Waiters are very nice and attentive as well ! read more

Happy with service and food. Welcoming atmosphere. Had a good omelette. Impressed I was able to have side of pancakes instead of toast. Plenty of help on duty. Large parking lot. Convenient location. read more

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Generous amount of food. I ordered Turkey, which is one of the dishes I rate diners on. Compared to other diners, this is a bit above average. However, even with loads of gravy (they gave me a bowl full) and with a mild stuffing, I felt it was a little bland. Good for people on a low-salt diet? I needed to add a lot of pepper and some salt. I still would have liked a more savory taste. Nevertheless, the portion was big and the "side salad" was more like a mini salad entree. Take a look at the pictures. Wait staff was very nice. Lots of people there on a Sunday morning, so you may have to wait. Price is slightly high, but then everything is compared to a few years ago. BUT I'd rather pay more for this kind of quality. I will go back when I am in the area again. read more

Mark Twain Diner Restaurant - This is a side salad? I can almost make a meal out of it! - Diners Near Me - Union, New Jersey

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This is how my tiramisu cheesecake ended up. Long story short, after club meeting a few of us went to the diner to grab a bite to eat. A couple of us ordered the chicken wings. They were not happy with them because they were the freezer wings you can get from relatively any store. They told the waitress that they thought the wings were fresh and were told that they had fresh wings, but that's not what was ordered. The manager came over and they asked if they could give them back and get the fresh wings and he told us yes, but they would have to pay for them. They then asked if they could have one order to split and they were told they'd have to pay for it, so they declined. At the end of the meal, they asked if we'd like dessert. None of beautiful desserts on display when you walk in were included in the options. They then offered me the Tiramisu Cheesecake and I said sure. The manager walked over to the table with the Cheesecake and when I reached for it, instead of putting it on my hand, he sat it on the table. I thought about it and said he!! no that, he can take that cake and stick it in his behind, and for extra measure, I made sure they couldn't serve it to anybody else by mashing it up and leaving it where they could see it. Our bill was over $200.00. Needless to say, we'll never go back there again. The service was good (we liked our waitress), but the manager leaves much to me desired. Despite our disapproval of how we were pretty much discarded, we still left the waitress a nice tip. One thing I don't tolerate is poor service. I can spend my money elsewhere and WILL! read more

Mark Twain Diner Restaurant - Crushed up cheese cake - Diners Near Me - Union, New Jersey

Terrible. Order $40 worth of food brought it back to hotel immediately got sick both myself and my wife called the diner asked for a refund even though we've been going there for over 30 years we were denied our money back. Still nauseous having trouble with my stomach avoid this restaurant like the plague because that's very well what you may contract by eating there read more

Stopped in because I was in the area and my dad was hungry. Overall experience was not great. The panini was a sloppy mess, the chicken in it was tasty thought. The steak was tough and tasteless, and my gyro was obviously frozen meat slapped on a grill and then to make it worse the pita was ripping apart. The presentation of the dishes was so sloppy compared to the Tropicana and Huck Finn. The server was nice enough but barely there. When my dad stated again that he wanted his steak medium well, she was obviously annoyed. I wouldn't go back and don't recommend. read more

Have been a longtime customer of this establishment. Prior to Covid and beyond even before there last renovation many years ago. But have overlooked many mishaps over the past few years. My first pet peeve is the owners dont acknowledge you even though you're known as a regular. The STAFF KNOWS WHO YOU ARE ! Why not the owners ???? I can go back on many many issues. The cost of beverages and additional credit card charges. I'm a business owner and don't have that luxury. They certainly will know who I am when I say I had a ' Baked Potato That Was Left Over From The Last Supper ' totally un called for. It's time for diners/restaurants to rewrite menu's. Pantry to menu. But most diner owners have to have it all. Without any regard for the clientele. read more

I love this place... back in the days it was not as good as it is now, the food is amazing the service is above and beyond and the ambience very familiar and friendly!! read more

Not a fan of diner food but here the experience was great. Ordered a club sandwich and it brought back fond memories of my childhood. Fries were crispy and had the right amount of salt. Tried their blueberry danish pastry which was disappointing as it was served cold - should have been slightly warmed up. My husband ordered their gyro and said it was pretty good too. Service is quick and efficient! Would definitely return for round 2! read more

Mark Twain Diner Restaurant - Diners Near Me - Union, New Jersey

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Kind a touristy spot but I was here on business and the food is great. Fair pricing and some good pie choices as well. read more

Mark Twain Diner Restaurant - Diners Near Me - Union, New Jersey

This looks like your typical NJ diner. They have a big parking lot so you don't have the anxiety of parking on the street. It looks a little dated in there but that is typical for nj diners. There is a big dining area and they also have booths. The menu has all the diner classics and more. Anything you can possibly imagine... they have. The omelets and other breakfast items are usually my go-to. All made fresh and to order. The service is typical of a diner too. Nothing too fancy... they take your order and bring it out haha. The food was good but it is diner food so tough to go over 3-4 stars. The portions are big and the prices are right. I always admire the dessert cases when walking in since everything looks good. The diner cheesecake is my jam usually so try that out if they have it in stock. Not sure what the Mark Twain reference is about but it works! read more

Mark Twain Diner Restaurant - Diners Near Me - Union, New Jersey

Definitely great service, a large amount of food, and decent ambiance. The food was a little under seasoned but for the amount of food and the price, you can't beat it. read more

Not sure who checks these orders but when I order medium rare, I didn't mean raw, I also ordered a Western omelette but got an omelette with onions and hot sauce, hash browns weren't even cooked, basically threw out the entire dinner, will never order here again and highly recommend no one Else does either, who ever checks these orders is totally incompetent read more

Stopped in for lunch. Pretty run of the mill diner. I ordered a Buffalo Chicken wrap. Not bad, but the chicken was a little soggy. The blue cheese crumbles were excessive and overpowering. It came with a bunch of sides, though. I got the pasta salad and cream of chicken soup. Both were solid. The fries were good. Dipping them in gravy was nice touch as recommended by the New Jersey natives I was with. There is quite a lot on the menu and they serve breakfast all day which is pretty cool. Maybe I ordered the wrong thing. Others at my table ordered omelets which looked good, but I didn't taste them. The service wasn't great. We had to hunt down our server to order food. I also was left without a water refill for quite awhile. Not too expensive, but you get what you pay for. Pretty average spot in my humble opinion. read more

Mark Twain Diner Restaurant - Buffalo Chicken Wrap - Diners Near Me - Union, New Jersey

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I'm local to the area, and have supported this diner for years. During Covid we continued to patron the establishment, because it's a local business in our community. However, this past Sunday was my last visit to the Mark Twain Diner. Came for breakfast on Palm Sunday with daughter and granddaughter who were visiting from out of state. Service was good,everyone enjoyed their meal. Breakfast potatoes were not hot, but diner was packed, I guess they reheated a lot of premade food. My granddaughter left table to use restroom, and the female bus person came and cleared her plate. Her breakfast sandwich was still on the plate, she was still eating. I tried to tell the woman 3X to leave her meal, but the woman understood no English. or pretended not to. She then picked up my half full coffee cup to take it away. I explained again, we ere still eating; she was disturbing our breakfast. She continued to clear our plates, before we could flag our waiter for to go boxes. The woman then handed me back my coffee cup half full. as if I'm going to drink from it after she walked away from the tablewith it. There are plenty more diners and breakfast stops on Morris Ave and Rt 22, to go to, rather than having your dining experience ruined at Mark Twain. I complained on the way out to the manager. The Mark Twain has gotten as bad as their other dumpy restaurant, The Pilgram Diner in Cedar Grove. read more

We were looking for a diner on our way to the airport and figured we'd try this one. We all loved it. I'm a big Reuben fan, but the meat has to be lean. Our waitress double checked to make sure it was. She rocked. The sandwich was so good and the pastrami was perfect. She was also super sweet to my 3 year old, which wins bonus points for me. Thank you! I think her name was Marcela! read more

I ordered a gyro and I't sucked. I expected the meat to be marinated , not grilled and tough. I expected tzatziki sauce to have cucumbers in it, like a classic sauce and be a larger portion. the tomatoes didn't seem fresh. For a Greek Diner they should have done a better job, very disappointed. read more

I have been going to the Mark Twain Diner since I moved to Union in 1973. Yes, I am that old. The Diner has changed hands a number of times and the quality has changed along with it. We have been ordering from them, steadily for the last year or so. And in the last year or so, they have been very very good. Now, from my point of view, COVID did change things. I have worked in a number of restaurants over the years. One of the secrets? Order the food that moves. Diners move a lot of breakfast food...eggs, sausage, pancakes. So that stuff is going to be fresh. They move a lot of burgers, chicken dishes. So that stuff is going to be fresh. Don't order the more unusual things on the menu. Anything that does not move quickly is much more likely not to be fresh. We order a core group of foods from Mark Twain and they deliver excellent quality stuff. read more