Cancel

    Open app

    Search

    On The Fly Diner

    4.8 (48 reviews)
    Closed Closed
    Updated 1 week ago

    On The Fly Diner Photos

    Business Info

    ON THE FLY DINER ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?

    You might also consider

    Recommended Reviews - On The Fly Diner

    Your trust is our priority, so businesses can't pay to alter or remove their reviews. Learn more about reviews.
    Yelp app icon
    Browse more easily on the app
    Review Feed Illustration

    Reviews With Photos

    French toast
    Kaz S.

    Delicious food! We loved our orders of gumbo and French toast. They also gave us some bread for the table, an orange juice and a coffee. Servers switched out and seemed to have some miscommunication on our gumbo and we were given a smaller portion and add shrimp, but were given smaller portion with no shrimp and charged for the larger portion (shrimp wasn't on bill). The gumbo was delicious but servers didn't come and check with us or were to be found to ask about the shrimp, so we asked the server and she just said "I never saw any seafood on the order ticket" so we just dropped it and moved on. Overall good experience just I think need some more care put into the service side. We love the slogan of "be nice or leave" and they have an awesome mural on the wall, the inside is otherwise not over the top decor but simple and clean.

    Biscuits and Gravy (8/10) & Braised Chicken Special (7/10); off to the side is a grit cake
    Cassie C.

    A diner I'd been looking forward to trying ever since they opened and they sure lived up to my expectations. Not your typical diner as they serve southern style food packed with flavor. From the entrees we ordered I'd say you can't go wrong with either. They've got hearty dishes on their menu for breakfast & lunch; both of which are offered all day. The staff is incredibly friendly and accommodating, regularly re-filling water glasses and coffee cups and sharing their menu recommendations. The space itself was clean, the restroom was tidy, and there was ample parking on a Sunday morning. We'll be back for the bread pudding that sounded absolutely delicious!

    Chicken sandwich with hushpuppies
    Brynn K.

    Fantastic chicken sandwich, Fluffy hush puppies, delightful and friendly service. A good place with cozy small town vibes in the city.

    Gumbo
    Ted K.

    Cute place. The owners are the nicest people. Had the gumbo which was very good. They had three types of hot sauce that you could add to it. Would be fun to go there during Mardi Gras

    Menu
    Ryan M.

    Service is great, ambience is perfect for a nice breakfast. They source all their ingredients locally farm to table with fresh eggs. We had the eggs Benedict and country fried steak special. Steaks had NO fat or gristle on it, was seasoned and breaded perfectly. You can tell this family owned business takes pride in their food and show that with their flavor and plating. Highly recommend!!!

    Giant French Toasr
    Helene W.

    Great food, friendly atmosphere! I had the French toast... should have ordered a single (pictures to follow) yummy and now I have enough for tomorrow ! My friends had the Shrimp Po Boy and A Traditional Breakfast. Every dis that went by looked amazing. Great presentation and plenty of food! Definitely someplace I will return to!!'

    The food was amazing! It's rare in syracuse to get fresh homemade food and this place does it right. Try everything if you can. And the staff is so nice!

    Gumbo

    I love Cajun food; the music, too. I'm always hoping a good Cajun restaurant would show up here in the Syracuse area. I haven't had much luck these last few years. Fortunately, I finally have an awesome diner specializing in New Orleans/Cajun food a 20 minute drive from my home in Solvay to the North Side to On The Fly Diner. Every time I do have the chance to try Cajun I always go for the Gumbo first. If the Gumbo is good, everything will be good. Well. the Gumbo is awesome; absolutely delicious. So are the biscuits. I order the Gumbo 2 out of every 3 visits, but I have also enjoyed their breakfast special (omg...the bacon!) and a Shrimp Po' Boy. I have yet to try the giant Fried Chicken Sandwich or the Shrimp & Grits' and whatever Chef Gray comes up with.

    Shrimp Po Boy and Cajun Fries
    Peyton M.

    The place is small but has soul. Everyone on the staff was friendly. But most importantly, the shrimp Poboy that I had was absolutely delicious and and it completely satiated that craving I've been having since the last time I left Louisiana. I highly suggest y'all try this place out.

    Crawfish mac and cheese
    Cassandra K.

    A really cute place! Everyone was so nice and friendly. You know youre in for a treat when the other customers talk to you about what is best, and have a friendly attitude to everyone working. The crawfish mac and cheese was really tasty.

    Eggs Benedict
    Tonjia M.

    We went to On the Fly last weekend for the first time and had one of the best breakfasts we have had out in a restaurant! I cannot even pin point our favorite parts of our meal because everything was absolutely perfect (although I will say the side potatoes were SO GOOD)!! Nothing was over salted or oily like many places. I would also like to point out that all the staff are so friendly and welcoming! The retro mural is an awesome throwback, too! We look forward to returning and enjoying more meals together!

    Shrimp po boy and hush puppies.
    Thomas C.

    My wife stumbled upon On the Fly Diners IG a couple days ago. We were planning on finding a place to have lunch today, and thought we'd go give them a try. Their IG describes them as a "ghost kitchen specializing in Cajun fare" and while they call themselves a diner, their menu is anything but traditional diner fare, with several different po' boys (including gator), gumbo, biscuits and gravy and fried chicken sandwiches. We pulled in and one of the owners, Gray, was outside painting the door. Very nice guy, greeted us and thanked us for coming. We walked in and met the other owner, Chris, behind the counter who was doing the cooking and serving. There was no one else in the restaurant at the time, so he told us we could sit wherever we'd like. There's two fairly large dining areas, one in the front and one in the back. We headed to the back and chose a table. We instantly loved the look of the place, as they've got a very funky style, with a large green velvet sectional couch in the middle of the back room, and a stuffed bear and deer head on one of the walls. They also had very cool upbeat funky music playing. Chris brought over the menu. I asked him to give me some info on the place, as I couldn't really find anything about them. He told us him and Gray both have culinary backgrounds. Chris is a Syracuse native who's worked at restaurants like Saint Urban and Apizza Regionale, while Gray came from the Seattle area. Both of them grew up eating southern Cajun type food and realized there wasn't anything in the area serving that type of food. They started out as a ghost kitchen until they bought the building on Court St that formerly housed the Fusion Diner & Cakery. They came up with their Creole inspired menu and remodeled the place completely themselves. My wife ordered the shrimp po boy with hush puppies as a side and I got the chicken sandwiches with a side of collards. Food was brought quickly and we loved it. My chicken sandwich had a ton of different flavors between the sauce on the filet, pickles, bacon, smoked gouda and their vinegar based slaw. My wife also loved her po boy, they use Lyncourt Bakery rolls, the shrimp was cooked perfectly and the tomato relish was extremely fresh and seasoned well. The collard greens and hush puppies were delicious and I dunno what the Off the Fly sauce it, but I'd probably drink it. Chris was nice enough to give us a sample of their gumbo which was also packed with flavor. Chris and Gray both asked our opinions before we left and told us they plan to let other small eateries use their kitchen as a ghost kitchen, to help out others the same way they were. They plan to have some fun sounding events every week as well - tonight was going to be a slider pop up with some of the other eateries they work with, all coming together to come up with 6 unique sliders to offer. We honestly had 0 complaints. The food is different, creative and delicious, the restaurant has a very cool, trendy look and feel, great music, and friendly owners who clearly care very much about the food they put out.

    Eggs Benedict. The chef adds lemon zest - nice touch.
    S W.

    Great spot! Wife and I have been to quite a few restaurants and this is one of the best breakfasts we have ever had. The Chef is clearly well-trained. Everything is made in-house. We had the eggs Benedict and biscuits and gravy. Amount of food is responsible and priced very fairly. Service was friendly and attentive. Give this place a chance - you will go back for more.

    Sausage Biscuits and Gravy, Collard Greens

    See all

    2 years ago

    Food was delicious, owners were so kind and so proud of their restaurant. Fried chicken was amazing!Can't wait to go back.

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 1
    Love this 2
    Oh no 0

    2 years ago

    Helpful 2
    Thanks 1
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    1 year ago

    Great food and service! Owners very nice and attentive. Nice environment. Small menu but the flavors and portion sizes are on point!

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    2 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    2 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    2 years ago

    Helpful 2
    Thanks 1
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Jim B.
    0
    28
    3

    2 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 1

    2 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 1
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    Page 2 of 2

    Ask the Community - On The Fly Diner

    You might also consider

    Stella's Diner

    Stella's Diner

    3.9
    (501 reviews)
    2.5 mi
    $$

    When visiting new areas I always seek out a fun brunch-style breakfast joint and/or diner that…read moreseems to be popular with the locals and I recently came here when in Syracuse. I sat at the counter and my server was great... very friendly and happy I was there. I got there around 7:30AM and it was basically dead, but by the time I left, there was a steady line of folks coming in. Their menu has all the typicals that these places have, many things I enjoy. I tried their corned beef hash (which I requested well-done with jalapeños added), scrambled eggs with cheese, and I also got a side of their breakfast potatoes with sausage gravy on top. The food came out quickly and was piping hot & freshly made. The quantity of potatoes for a single side dish were HUGE! Definitely enough to share. The scrambled eggs were PERFECTLY made! I'm an egg snob, I never want any over-cooked egg visible (no brown) and these were perfectly colored and tasted great. The corned beef hash was good as well. Overall, I enjoyed this visit and I would most definitely return!

    I was craving a little sweet and a little savory this morning and what better place to get that…read morethan Stella's? I got the sausage gravy over home fries for the first time and I have never had anything like it - it was warm and salty and had a nice crunch with the cooked home fries. The pancakes were obviously delicious as well. We got helped right away by an amazing server and our food was out within 15 minutes! There were a lot of people but the noise level was great and everyone seemed to be having a yummy and amazing time.

    Photos
    Breakfast time:)
    Breakfast time:)
    Silver dollar pancakes and bacon
    Silver dollar pancakes and bacon
    Stella's Diner

    See all

    Rise N Shine

    Rise N Shine

    3.8
    (363 reviews)
    2.7 mi
    $$

    Be ready to take food home with you and get at least 2 more meals out of it!!! Beautiful…read morepresentation (mine was served in a tin can and flipped over onto my plate. I had the pierogis/ eggs/bacon special served in a tin can) It was enough for 2 and was delicious! I also had the French toast latte served with a FT stick right on top. Decadent ! Service was speedy, efficient and friendly. If you go plan on going early or putting yourself on the wait list much before you head out the door! It's def worth the wait!!

    Our visit to Rise & Shine Diner was, unfortunately, one of the worst dining experiences we've had…read morein a long time. Even though the restaurant only had two large parties and wasn't particularly busy, we still waited 35 minutes to be seated. That alone didn't make sense, but things only went downhill from there. It was my daughter's birthday, and we were hoping for a fun brunch. Our server started off friendly, but that changed quickly. We ordered our drinks and food at the same time--a chai tea for me, a specialty alcoholic milkshake for my daughter, and no drink for her boyfriend, plus three entrées and a poutine. The drinks took 50 minutes to arrive. The food took over an hour and a half. During all this, the server seemed to avoid our table entirely. When my daughter's boyfriend finally managed to get her attention--very politely, even mentioning that he himself is a server--he simply asked if she had an estimate on our food. She stood there with her hand on her hip and told us the kitchen was backed up, with "three orders ahead of yours," as if that explained everything. We then asked if the poutine, our appetizer, was at least ready. She said they had to make fresh potatoes for it but that she would "rush it." Eventually, she came back with the poutine, plopped it down on the table, and walked away without a single word. No "here you go," no "do you need anything," and--most importantly--no plates. I ended up getting up and asking the hostess for plates so we could actually eat the appetizer. For a place that markets itself as a "fancy diner" with "Instagram-worthy" dishes, the service and execution were nowhere near acceptable. If you're going to lean into trendy presentation and premium pricing, you need the staff to support it. Hire more people. Train them. Do something--because this was unacceptable from start to finish. We won't be returning, and I wouldn't recommend this place to anyone looking for a smooth, enjoyable dining experience. **EDIT** I would like to include the fact of the over priced, over salted, food items don't seem to cover the cost to upgrade your cracked booths so that people's bums are hurt from sitting on them. Needs to be updated and correct staffing issues so that food will be "adequate" for the price. Go anywhere on Westcott than here.

    Photos
    Rise N Shine
    Benny flight with the pastrami smoke salmon, smoked brisket, and Westcott California.
    Benny flight with the pastrami smoke salmon, smoked brisket, and Westcott California.
    Homefries Poutine

    See all

    Homefries Poutine
    Oh My Darling

    Oh My Darling

    3.8
    (403 reviews)
    2.8 mi
    $$

    This is one of our go to places whenever I visit my daughter in Syracuse... never disappoints!…read moreThe menu has unique plays on some standards... always delicious and the cocktails are inspired & interesting... you'll probably need a rezzy ENJOY!

    I stopped by with a group of 6 on a Friday afternoon. When me and my friend stopped by there was no…read moreone at front so we stood around awkwardly for a bit before someone came over to bring us to our table. Walking through the restaurant was nice as the space was very large and the decor indoor was cozy and whimsical. Our server was nice throughout the meal. However, I did get a water glass that had marks on it that looked like someone just drank out of it and a crumb on the rim. I asked them if they could get me a clean cup and they ended up bringing the same one as the same mark and crumb were still there. For food, our table ordered a few items to share. We got: -CAULIFLOWER WINGS: The chutney/salsa on top of the fried cauliflower was nice and gave the item a little sour kick. However, the cauliflower itself was not cooked fully so not as soft as I wanted it to be. -SYRACUSE POUTINE: The appearance of the poutine was not the best. However, the gravy it came with was very flavorful and tasty. The potatoes themselves were not fried and were in wedge form but went well with the gravy. The small globs of melted cheese on top were a nice complement. -CAJUN SLIDERS: The slider compliments/sauce went well together but the sliders themselves had grill marks on it which gave a bitter bite to those parts of the slider. Additionally, the fried shrimp inside of the slider still had the tail on and so it was a bit of a surprise to bite into a full tail while eating a slider. All in all, a cute spot to see people but food had some hit or miss components.

    Photos
    Oh My Darling
    Rosemary Hot Honey Dipped Crispy Chicken Full Housemade Mac Cheese Honey Dijon Roasted Brussel Sprouts - GF DF
    Rosemary Hot Honey Dipped Crispy Chicken Full Housemade Mac Cheese Honey Dijon Roasted Brussel Sprouts - GF DF
    Strawberry limeade

    See all

    Strawberry limeade
    The Gem Diner

    The Gem Diner

    3.8
    (170 reviews)
    3.2 mi
    $$

    Lots of parking spaces that fill up fast in the weekend: we arrived at 9am on a 9 degree Saturday…read moreand grabbed one of only two open spots. Entering we received a welcoming blast of warm air in the breezeway. Immediately greeted and quickly seated in a comfortable booth we ordered tall glass of OJ each and perused the menu of many breakfast, lunch, dinner, and side options. My eggs over easy jiggled perfectly on the plate with no run to the whites, English muffin nice toast and buttery as ordered, my favorite meat choice Canadian bacon with a quick flattop heat and char was just what I wanted. My co-diner had the Heavyweight with French Toast, 2 eggs over easy, bacon, home fries, and sourdough toast and did well since I helped by eating half the French toast which had good flavor and lightly dusted with confectioners sugar. Eggs cooked same as mine, bacon good crisp and toast he said was nice crisp outside soft middle. Home fries also had good crisp with soft potato surrounding and he said well seasoned where most places use none. Warm and cosy people waiting by the time we left. Hot spot with eggs spot on! We will return.

    We always stop in on our way through Syracuse. Always a solid meal and a core group of staff…read moreworking. Anthony took great care of us today and checked in without being intrusive. And he likes to crack some jokes once in a while too! Building has plenty of parking, is accessible (ramp up to get in), has plenty of booths or tables for groups of all sizes. Of course there is a counter too (it is a diner!) They recently changed the Challenger Field mural to one supporting a local non-profit for cancer, the Baldwin Fund. I love the investment in local community! We will be back.

    Photos
    Inside of Gem Diner
    Inside of Gem Diner
    Two 2 Eggs, Choice of Meat, Home Fries and Toast over medium with rye toast
    Two 2 Eggs, Choice of Meat, Home Fries and Toast over medium with rye toast
    Lightweight breakfast - scrambled, sausage links & one pancake - perfect!

    See all

    Lightweight breakfast - scrambled, sausage links & one pancake - perfect!

    On The Fly Diner - cajun - Updated July 2026

    Loading...
    Loading...
    Loading...