My fiancé and I have been here a few times over the past 2 years. It's one of the only places that rivals an actual diner in Hackettstown. The staff is friendly but the food is a different story. The food comes out in a fashionable time but tastes sub par. Not to mention every time I eat here I have diarrhea almost instantly. I thought it was me the first few times but never actually took it into account until my fiancé made a comment. One morning we came here to eat and I had to go to the bathroom afterwards. The bathroom was absolutely disgusting! They had 4 air fresheners in one stall! Usually if you clean and detail the bathroom you shouldn't need that many air fresheners. It also seems that I'm not the only one that had diarrhea here because someone else spilled in the floor. If this is what the bathroom looks like then how clean is the kitchen?!?!? The only reason this place is getting 2 stars is due to the staff being friendly! Otherwise it would be a 1 star review. read more

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Heading through this town to visit some farms and spotted this diner! I hadn't read yelp reviews for it until after the fact (and kinda glad I didn't because I probably wouldn't have stopped), but I had an average (what you would expect) experience for a diner. Thus the 3 stars. The waitress was friendly, food came out pretty quick, the place looked clean, and it did have a pretty good crowd of locals going. The food was okay, not 5 star cuisine, but good. I honestly wouldn't hesitate to come back if I was in the area, but it wouldn't be a "make a special trip" sort of place. read more

For breakfast, it's always our spot. Foods always good. When I ask for well done they do it. Staff is very professional and nice. Enjoy being there. Hate the parking tho on a weekend. The cost to pay for Delicious food. read more

Flavorless food, incorrect menu descriptions, disconnected staff. Food: My husband got a pork chop special. It basically tasted like cheap bbq sauce on over cooked pork chops, served with canned veggies and boxed mashed potatoes. The brown gravy had no taste and the portion was sad compared to the price. I got a chicken dish off their sauteed menu. Description said Garlic Marinara, what I got served was brown water with no taste. Anyone who cooks can tell you that just a dash of salt and pepper is enough to make most foods tasty, but nothing we received was seasoned at all. Staff: the wait staff seemed disinterested. I am not sure if this is due to their knowledge that the food us terrible, the reactions of customers who have had bad experiences, or just bad attitudes, but without more than one experience at this establishment I cannot make an honest assessment. I did notice that when our waitress came by, as long as we smiled she seemed genuinely happy to help us, but I got the feeling that she was waiting for us to complain. Overall, I would suggest avoiding this place unless you are in the mood to stuff yourself with flavorless things. read more

Backing off of my last review. For some reason they haven't been up to their usual par with breakfast. The coffee has not been good the last 4 or 5 times I've been in. I'm not sure if they changed type or if it's something regarding water. It is not the same as it has usually been. Same thing on the breakfast. I got stale rye bread the last time and there's a noticeable difference in overall quality the last few visits. I'm going to stay away for a little while and come back and see if things improve. read more

Better with new ownership. Great staff and great food now. Above average but not the absolute best. Nothing really bad to say besides the parking, but that can't be changed and doesn't have anything to do with the food. Overall good place to eat breakfast, lunch, or dinner any time of day! read more

I'd love to tell you about the food here but haven't tried it yet because 12:00 actually means 11:20 here. I don't know if their clocks are fast or their host is crabby or some combination thereof. Not what we were looking for but the Taco Bell down the street adheres to Eastern Standard Time and is the only other thing open after 11. read more

Came here tonight and as soon as we sat at the table we were grossed out.The booth seats had crumbs on them as well as the table. The space clearly was not wiped down and disinfected in between each sitting. As we started to really look around we started to see that it looks liked nothing had been wiped down in some time. To top it off the food was not good. I ordered disco fries and the gravy tasted like nothing. My boyfriend ordered French toast and his plate had pieces of lettuce on it... if you are at all concerned about cleanliness, especially now, I definitely would not go here. read more

I eat here at least 2 times a month. I have never had a bad meal and the portion sizes are large. I have also had many to go orders and they are always packed nice and it's made quickly. It very easy to eat clean here as well which is great to be able to enjoy a meal while my kids can get anything they want. Penne with vodka sauce is phenomenal. read more

Since my last review the river star has upped thier game. The food quality is good and diverse, the wait staff pleasant and efficient. It has become a favorite of the family for a quick bite in a nice setting read more

Formerly lived in Flanders but by the time we could get there for breakfast on Sunday mornings there was no place to park. Have recently retired and moved to another state, but happened to be there on a Sunday and got a place to park, so we went in. First mistake... What can possibly go wrong with breakfast? In short, my wife had scrambled eggs, bacon & potatoes, I had two over easy, potatoes & toast. We both had coffee. Sounds pretty generic to me. Service was great, quick, pleasant. No problems there. The eggs on both were fine. Both potatoes were totally saturated in oil, wife's bacon actually had very little brown (meat) mostly fat. Didn't remember ordering limp bacon (more grease). I never leave toast, however in this case I made an exception, as did she. There was so much butter on it it was inedible (more grease). At this point, I felt I needed a Lipitor. Oh, both coffees weak and nondescript. Did we complain, no. We just won't go back there again should we be in town. IHOP would be a better choice. read more

Ordered the shake and burger combo, both were very good. Waitress was rude when my party ( which was made up of 6 people) ordered milkshakes. The temperature control in the restaurant isn't very good and most of my table was cold for the whole meal. read more

We just ate at the River Star Diner. We eat here at least weekly...the food is good, the service is great and the prices are comparable to other diners in the are. We would recommend the River Star Diner to everyone...and we have done so. read more

First and foremost, let me get this straight; this ain't my first rodeo, you can't try to play me like this. Very slow service, and when the food finally arrived, I was shocked. The omelette was garlicky, hard, cold, over cooked, and tough. The home fries on the side were undercooked, and tasted like eating a raw potato. The rye toast... ahh diner toast.. what I look forward to most about every diner outing. Utterly disappointed to find my toast cold, under toasted, and butter was almost nonexistent. Me and my pal decided to order a side of fries as an appetizer, the small portioned plate came out at the same time as our meal. They were good tho. read more

My wife and I stopped by for a quick bite to eat. We have passed this place on many occasions and it always seems busy so we gave it try. Well first off it was chilly inside, my wife even left her coat on. Waitress was very friendly and accommodating and gave us time to make selections. We ordered a classic rueben and a chicken panini. The rueben was nothing special and the panini was good. The French fries had an fry oil taste and clearly the oil needed to be changed more frequently. So the food was somewhat acceptable but the cleanliness of this place is unacceptable..... Floors, windows, under counters and especially the bathrooms needed immediate attention. We could see into the kitchen and the floor and ceiling also needed attention. It seems to us that the staff should be more concerned about cleanliness rather than conversing with other staff members. We will not be returning to this location for sure... read more

Overall great service, wonderful food. Classic diner feel and attentive staff. Keep up the great work River Star! read more

River Star Diner - Amazing food, excellent service and overall classic diner feel. Would recommend to anyone who stops by cause this shit is fantastic. - Diners Near Me - Hackettstown, New Jersey

Standard diner fair. Standard diner service. Nothing more, nothing less. Completely satisfactory.

I thought the diner was a decent place my first two times going there. Food and service was satisfactory. Then my third and fourth visits there were disappointing. I had major issues with the service and food. I give it a two stars for cleanliness, menu selection and overall price. read more

I've been going here for years and never been disappointed. It's a good classic diner. Nothing more, nothing less. Food is always fresh and well prepared and of course the menu is huge. I like their Lasagne which is surprisingly good for a diner. Their breakfasts are good too. They have a lot of daily specials. Service is friendly and efficient and there's always a good crowd. Prices are good too. May not attract the hipsters but who cares about them anyway. read more

This was my first time eating here tonight and the food was fantastic. Although it took a little while to be seated and to order our food, I still would wanna come back read more

The portions are huge and tasty! But last time we went the vent on the ceiling was leaking right where the waitresses came out with the food. I couldn't stop watching. read more

Good food, good milkshakes. Service was brief, but frequent due to how full the restaurant was at the time. My group's meals were all adequate, but didn't do anything in particular to make it any more than just a diner. Would eat here again, a cheap, casual place for a quick meal. read more

I went here for breakfast, with my 14 months old and my husband, I had the egg Benedicts soooo good!!! The service was ok, there was not a changing table in any of the bathrooms, I had to change my son in the car, that really pissed me off, I will recommend this place for their food but that's all. read more

I've gone here a few times. Sometimes the service is decent, other times you can't find a waitress to save your life. And yeah, stick with the foods you know, for the most part, although the last time I was there, there was barely any tuna in their tuna club sandwich. BARELY. And I've gotten that sandwich before and it was usually decent. Just not that last time. Again, sometimes it's good, sometimes it sucks. And that goes for food AND service. Don't get me wrong, not ALL of the servers there are bad at their jobs... there *are* some real good ones there (too bad I don't remember her name, but she's a young woman, college age maybe). Anyway, I think I'm going to just find a different place to go for diner food. They need better management there. read more

Used to be good, but seems to have declined sharply. Last few times have not been great. Last time found hair in food and kids chocolate milk was spoilt read more

Where do I begin? How about breakfast where the toast comes out slightly burnt, the scrambled eggs are slimy, and the tasteless home fries have clearly been sitting on the griddle for hours. Today I did lunch there, turkey club. A good diner makes a club sandwich where you can barely take a bite of one of the quarters because it's packed with turkey, well that wasn't River Star. Had no problems taking a bite and it seemed as though the bread slices are a smaller square. The french fries were over cooked and unenjoyable. This place was really good 10 years ago, but it seems like that remodel a few years ago now means poor cheap cooks. I'm done going there read more

It took foreverrrrrrrr to get our food. They forgot to bring some items to our table as well. Other than that, the food was good and I enjoyed it. read more

Had lunch here today. Got seated right away. However no waitress came to take our order. People that came after us got a waitress right away. and got their food ahead of us. Finally we told someone we have no waitress. We ordered our food, which took an exceptionally long time. Tbe soup was watery and tepid. The turkey didn't taste good the vegetables were warm, gravy ok. Was really upset when a man vacumed by our table while we were eating. read more

Only been here once, but I was not impressed. I got a "panini" that came on a pita (???) and had clearly never seen the inside of a panini press. My fries were unsalted, which is an irreversible condition once they've been out of the fryer oil for eight seconds. My boyfriend got a burger and thought it was good, but we hadn't eaten all day and I feel confident saying his standards were low. However, the waitstaff was perfectly lovely and timely. read more

Great bacon cheeseburgers and shakes, decent prices, good breakfast deals. Don't stray from normal diner food when you order, it doesn't look fancy cause it isn't. read more

My favorite go to diner in the area. I personally eat here a couple times a week. Love the staff, the cakes are fantastic.... Can't ask for much more from a diner. There's always a paper on the counter and relevant news on the TVs. The owner is very nice, and Jamie is the best waitress on this side of the Mississippi! read more

The bacon burger with a milk shake is outstanding. The waitress recommended the Italian panini, the best panini i have ever had. The portion was huge, the chicken was cooked perfect. Great local diner with excellent food and good service. We like to sit in the back with a view of the river. Two thumbs up! read more

Perfect diner food. Tons of choices, both hralthy and unhealthy. Great atmosphere. Friendly service.

Ordered a turkey with stuffing diner got a dried out open face turkey sandwich. Then I pointed it out to the waitress and she apologized and ask if she could just bring me stuffing instead of taking the whole plate back. She return with a square of something that looked like a small brownie. I said what is this. She said stuffing. I did not eat the dried out turkey and she never said a word about offering anything else. Will not be going back there again. read more

Not a good experience. First, my water cup had someone else's lipstick on it so it must not have been washed well. Our server was friendly but didn't check on us after we received our food. The food was just okay. The prices were cheap but I would've rather had it be more expensive for better quality. read more

our breakfast experience is getting cold spoons in hot coffee and hot tea water (no saucers). No sugar substitute. When requested did not get enough for 2 cups. Both plates chipped. Potatoes cold twice. Reheated potatoes, now eggs cold. waitress tired. Owner aware but did not manage a bad breakfast. etc. read more

The food is great here and is probably my favorite place in town. River Star really has a great atmosphere and is overall nice to be in. The staff is nice and the mints at the counter are always good! read more

Ordered a turkey burger. The turkey burger part was not good. I think it was frozen and processed. It didn't have the texture of regular ground turkey meat, and didn't taste freshly made. read more

Breakfast is OK- Service is good, girls are friendly HOWEVER there is a funky smell in the air-dirty mop water, mold in the basement and stale grease-- I could still smell it in my nose after I left. I would love it if it smelled better. read more

Has gotten better over the years. Huge menu. Had the Eggs Benedict and surprisingly it was delicious. No where around Hackettstown do they serve that so I was very happy when it turned out good. We will be back more often! read more