Food was adequate, nothing special BUT when the check came we paid with a credit card, there was a 2.50 surcharge added,. If we were told this in advance or it was posted somewhere I would not have been so upset. The range banks POS currently 1.5% to 3.5% A the highest % it would be 1.40$ for our 2 burgers which was 40.00$ read more

Great tasty food,Nice Staff and Great Service and great place to enjoy a meal alone or with family and friends read more

Star Restaurant - a sandwich and french fries on a plate - American Near Me - Novato, California

Over the past several years, Star is not getting any better. Sadly, due to Mill's closing last month, our family has been to Star twice in the past month. It was our family's favorite place to eat for many years. My Mom was here visiting from Montana and wanted to go to Star for breakfast. Mom ordered her eggs over medium, as did I - the whites and yolk were runny - the waitress never came back to check on us, therefore I went to find her, and found the manager instead. No one ever came back to bring us properly cooked eggs. I vowed not to return, yet we did. A few days later we went in for lunch and practically served ourselves. Since Mill's closed it seems Star is much busier, but not properly staffed to handle the increased business. We grabbed menus and found ourselves a table. It took at least fifteen minutes for the waitress to come, she asked for our drink order, we all wanted water, when she came back, we placed our order. I ordered the chicken salad which was very good. My Mom ordered a sandwich, the bread had mold on it, she sent it back and ordered ice cream, my Granddaughter's ribs were dry, we asked for extra sauce, but never got it. It will be a long time before I return to Star. When word of mouth and reviews get better, maybe I'll try it myself before taking family or friends there. read more

We often go to this restaurant. John P. Is just wrong. Its had the same staff all throughout COVID crisis and they worked hard to treat their staff well. It one of the many things we love about it. Its not only our favorite restaurant in this region, but it has consistently won the prestige's Michelin Star Award for best dinner's under $40. The manager is always there and works hard to make sure all is running smoothly. The only down side is you MUST have a reservation as they are too popular! read more

I have been coming to Star Restaurant for years. We have celebrated many things and enjoyed many meals here. I have been wanting a banana split for a few days and today we stopped and had dinner and shared a banana split. We both had the "Triple Grilled cheese, Please". It was one of the best I had. The banana split was delicious. They have the best raspberry sauce. The only thing that was off was that there was lots of tables still not cleared in the back where we sat, and there was silverware on a napkin where I sat that was dirty from coffee. But other than that the food was delicious. The atmosphere is homie and I really do like this place, a lot! read more

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Poor quality food- it did not agree with me. My stomach rumbled for the next couple of days.

My Points Index {100}: Authenticity 40% Food 30% Service 10% Price 10% Ambient 5% Cleanliness 5% Authenticity 2.5/5 Food 2.5/5 Service 3/5 Price 3/5 Ambient 3/5 Cleanliness 3/5 53 points Remark: Food is disappointed. read more

I went to this place with my dad a few weeks ago and it's really not clean inside... carpeted throughout, dirty windows, outdated, the bathrooms are dirty. The food was very average if not below average... Heavily overdressed salad. Just didn't seem fresh. The sign out front that says 'recently remodeled' must be years and years old. read more

I've been coming to Star sporadically since I moved here a year ago. Its your basic diner with bland food that you basically need to season yourself. I live around the corner and always order my orders to-go so once I get home its time to dig through the spice cupboard. I know this place has been in business for years and I would like to continue seeing them operate for many more years so please.... management if you are reading this please take my advice to heart! First off... if someone orders French fries cut a couple small slots in the top corners of the box so the steam doesn't gather and make the fries soggy. Second, if someone orders a side of breakfast gravy to eat with their breakfast give them a proper side maybe in a small soup cup or small container. The tiny 2oz container did nothing except annoy me because I got like 2 bites of gravy and ate a dry breakfast. Third, I also ordered a country breakfast with a side of bacon and then called back to add a side of chocolate chip pancakes to to my order. The cook for some reason threw the bacon in the pancake container and the bacon ended up coated in chocolate. My step daughter (who doesn't like bacon) ended up with some bacon flavored pancakes and my boyfriend ended up with chocolate coated bacon. It was kind of amusing but also baffling as to why you would do this. Ugh, this is the fifth time I've been here and I want to at some point bump up my rating so make these small tweaks and maybe we can get to a 4 star review together!! read more

Gave this place 3 chances since it reopened. Literally everything needs work. Had breakfast the first 2 times. I could go back in the kitchen and cook better breakfast with my eyes closed. Flavorless omelet both times, and both times had to ask for jam even though toast came with it. 3rd time, got the saddest burger of my life, cold unmelted cheese, garlic in the meat seasoning? Who does that at a restaurant? I get it if you ASK for garlic, but leave that up to people. The wait staff is almost totally inattentive. They spend easily 90% of their time facing away from the restaurant behind the counter, and when they do come to the table, they don't look at the table first. They look at your face and ask if there's anything you need (in very poor english), failing to notice empty glasses, cups, and plates. You have to get their atttention to ask for refills, and THEN they notice, even acting surprised. Wtf? In 3 times eating there, they NEVER come around to ask if you want more coffee, ice tea, or whatever. The quality of the food is not even close worth the price. It's like a crappy caffeteria. The staff doesn't seem to have a manager coaching them and maintaining a standard of quality of service, they forget the extras you ask for, they bring coffee but no cream, ever. Have to ask for it. They basically aren't working most of the time, talking and laughing amongst themselves. Also notice the chefs staring at my pretty wife instead of making good food, while the waitresses stand and giggle about god knows what. Then the food doesn't come out at the same time, so someone at the table is always waiting while the others are served. And then none of the food was worth the wait. I've never not finished a cheeseburger in my whole life, but this one I didn't even eat half of. The sandwiches the other 3 of our party had were so sad and boring. And please learn English! How do you expect to take an order and for people to ask for customizations, when the waitress just nods and smiles hoping you dont notice she has no idea what you said?? And then sure enough you dont get everything you asked for, but now the waitress is nowhere to be seen. And this was with a total of just 3 occupied tables and 2 waitresses working! And what's with the stupid cowboy outfits?? We are not coming back. read more

So we've been to this diner quite a few times over the years, and I'll be honest...the food, is pretty tasty! I wouldn't say healthy, but then, that's a pretty typical diner meal. We recently went in and had a western burger and the roast beef sandwich with peppers/onions...both were delicious actually! (or we were just really hungry? but I'm pretty sure it tasted good) portions are giant, so you never leave hungry. So...our only complaints...as far as food, the fries have NO flavor. That's a bummer, especially with a yummy sandwich! Unappealing things... We get and can appreciate that stars wants to keep it's old look, that's cool, the fake flowers hanging down everywhere have a fun charm to them in their own way. But dirty, is no good. Our table wasn't very clean, the booths were kind of falling apart, the menus were stained, covered in grossness from not being replaced in far too long or cleaned, but I think the worst was seeing the floors and the windows next to our booth full of dust and dead bugs. I want to hope that the kitchen is clean, but anytime the open areas are that dirty, especially when it's not busy, makes a ya wonder right? read more

Star Restaurant - American Near Me - Novato, California

Love the atmosphere. Comfortable and pleasant. I'm an old-timer who has seen the changes at that location over the years and I'm not surprised to see Stars lasting as long as it has. Good. Food. Nice people. read more

Great food at a good price, love the old time coffee shop tastes!!! great pies to! Joe Special is so good, same for the pancakes!!!

We eat at Star weekly, my son loves the chocolate chip pancakes and eats every bite! Staff is super friendly and honest, nice, good people. Thanks for being open!! read more

A classic, no apologies, ode to comfort food. Broad menu, surprisingly high quality and flavor, and amazing staff, not to mention the affordable prices and hearty portions. It never disappoints. read more

Worse service ever. Rude waitress!!! Gave us our menus and 30 seconds later asked if we were ready! When we said no, HEAVY SIGH. When food was brought, it was the wrong order. She said I didn't order what I ' thought I did'. Hmm. When she brought it back to the cook she told home " customer ordered the wrong thing'. Nope!! Waitress ordered the wrong thing! Never came back to table to check, forgot to give us check. We had to flag her down and there was only 2 other tables and they were eating!!!never again read more

Ordered take out at 735am. Was told it would take 15 minutes. 8:05am and they haven't even started. Great customer service in person and on the phone from a slow chef and a useless waitress. I wish you many more of your petrified pies, and a Happy New Year! read more

I have been coming here for years. The food like the decor is basic. There are enough food options to cater for most people's needs. You will be very limited if you happen to be vegan. The staff are always friendly and efficient. Never had a bad experience here. I guess that's why I keep returning. read more

The owner should be ashamed of leaving their staff with no support. As a result there was an angry server, half cooked food and customers walking out the door more than coming in. Disappointing. read more

Giant portions, average diner food, soggy bacon cold hash browns, toast that was swimming in a half stick of butter. Service was slow and inefficient. Not bc they were busy, just a meandering attitude on the place combined with the 1 waitress chatting with the regulars. Had to ask twice for cream. Pancake came with no butter had to ask twice. The older man, I believe is manager or owner, is seriously depressing. Never smiled, mumbled when speaking and seemed to hate being there. The waitress has her regulars that she waited on before myself and another couple that came in after us. She is friendly but obnoxiously loud. This place has been around forever. It could use a remodel, a good cleaning, some happy employees and generally be more inviting. Wouldn't recommend or go back. read more

Our breakfast was delicious. However,hire more Help!!! We were there Sunday, 25 April at 11:30. One waitress for the entire restaurant. Not even a busboy to help. The poor lady was literally running from table to table. The waitress did a great job but service could have been better. Davedpp15@hotmail.com read more

Bad service all around. Two menus you gotta study through is too much. The staff there mostly spook Spanish and our lady server was sticking her head down into our menu, trying to read / study the menu. Our food arrived and it was not as we had ordered it. My pupusa was filled with stuff I had never seen before in my lifetime. They did not clear our plates until like way late. We ordered two desserts and when just one dessert arrived it was all completely the entirely wrong order. They could Not at all even attempt to make it correct. We then passed on the desserts and asked for the bill. They charged us a series of charges for stuff we did even order and the bill was for over 45 dollars when it should have been for only 18 dollars. They even charged us for the crazy dessert we did not even take any bites of. It then took them 3 attempts at getting our badly messed up checks straightened out. Plus, the awful old country music they were playing and those ugly cowboy outfits (no offense, but still) ... It gave the whole place a Bad Bad vibe. We did not leave any tip and we will NOT be going back. read more

This is my favorite restaurant, Chrissie's a pleasure to talk with and is very knowledgeable of the menu. I ordered for my kids and myself. This is by far, the best egg and cheese omelet I have ever had, my kids actually ate all their food, this is a first. Thank you STAR for being open and having such a great person working behind the counter! Hope to be back soon. Kevin Bemis read more

I won't ever go back. The so-called waitress wanted us to sit by the bathrooms, and the restaurant was NOT full, because she was the only one working and had "to be able to see everyone". This was at noon. There were only 3 other tables with customers at them. I got us away from the bathrooms. Then she argued with us when we asked for our soups to be hotter. Said we were the first to ever complain. Lukewarm soup is not hot soup. But to make it even worse, i left a cash tip and paid with a credit card for the bill. Just checked my statement and she added a $10 tip to the bill even though I wrote a zero with a line drawn through it to show there was no tip. I am disputing this - the $10 tip, not the actual meal charge. Glad I don't have to ever go here again. And if anyone does go there, I highly suggest you pay cash so that she can't double dip on the tip. read more

Still the same, but the walls need painted etc. The food is not as good, small burnt omelets. My southern dinner, chicken fried steak had no breading. It was a processed patty with dimples. No butter for the bread. Boiled veggies, no seasoning at all. Our meals were bland, not what they used to be. Grazie's downtown is so much better. Need to step it up if you want to stay in business. 20 homeless in the park behind does not add to the experience. read more

Although the Golden Omelet remains my all time Novato favorite I do very much enjoy the normal goodness of the Star. Located on a neon lighted corner of Novato Blvd this 1950s decorated diner serves excellent food delivered by personable and efficient servers. It is a joy to sit, eat, chat, engage in raporte with the waitresses (I have not seen a man serving...ever) and keep downing the many cups of java or the beverage of your choice. You will notice that everyone seems to know each other, and it is true since most there are regulars who have been customers forever. I especially like the two breakfast burritos which are ample and super flavorful. And you can get things as you like, whether for breakfast or lunch. Just a good place to go and eat...esp. if you like the 50s diner glow. read more

Very Delicious Breakfast Lunch or Dinners to have family outings . Great service no complaints

The restaurant was clean which affords a two star but besides that service was horrible. Server kept his head down and had several customers trying to wave him down. Price not worth what you get. Does not tell you about additional charges for substitutions. Food was soaked in grease/oil when it came out. Does not refill drinks unless you wave server down. read more

Worst service ever. Only two waitresses with a packed restaurant. Waited for a few minutes before we were acknowledged, then waited a few more minutes before we were told we could sit anywhere we wanted. Our waitress in the back room was nice but way too busy. Kitchen was so busy it took an hour before we got our food. The waitress in the front didn't say a word when she took our card to pay at the register. Won't be going back. read more

$5.95 breakfast special is pretty decent. Better quality than other local places. This definitely isn't Marvin's or Toast, but decent diner food. Bonus it's quiet during the week- at least every time I have came in for a weekday breakfast it's been pretty empty. Last time for the breakfast special I got eggs over easy, potatoes, bacon and wheat toast. With coffee. Bacon was a bit overcooked and toast had too much butter. Coffee was weak. This time, eggs over easy, potatoes, sausage and wheat toast. read more

Star Restaurant - Breakfast special - American Near Me - Novato, California

Mushrooms in the Joe's Scrabble were delicious. Pancakes a bit dry. Omellete had nice, fresh fruit served with it. Prices on par with other breakfasts in the neighborhood. Service quick but a little brusque. In general, good food, if unspectacular. The Star has been a Novato fixture for 20 years it seems. I don't know why we don't go there more often. read more

Star Restaurant - Joe's scramble - American Near Me - Novato, California

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So I called asking for two banana walnut pancakes and i repeated it twice on the phone and the woman kept saying waffle and I said pancakes and I thought she heard me and as soon as I picked it up. She gave me waffles WHEN I said on the phone pancakes. Anywho next time hear what the costumer is saying and repeat it. read more

Driving through town hungry and saw this place so we pulled in. Walked in and could tell it wasn't a chain restaurant. Very different type of decor - vines and flowers along the ceiling - this type of decoration would normally be dusty (yes, I pay attention to those things) but they seemed clean. Although the place is outdated and could use a makeover it seemed clean. We didn't see the whole restaurant though because we sat right near the door. Hubby got the Friday special crab sandwich and he really liked it. He chose potato salad as his side and said it was great. He also ordered a Bloody Mary which he shared with me. It was surprising good. I got a French dip with fries (asked for extra crispy). There was enough meat but it was just ok. They put it on a garlic sourdough roll which made it very tasty. A better quality meat would make it superb. Those fries though! Wow, crispy outside and tender inside. I'd go back just for the fries. The waitress was very sweet and friendly. She was the only one though and even had to be the cashier. There weren't a ton of people but she was still busy and handled it well. We would definitely stop back in and try them again. read more

I called the restaurant several times during the week and no one picked up the phone, so I drove to Starz and asked how late they were open and was told 9pm (also says open till 9pm on door). I arrived at 7:35pm with my wife and her father (who is 85 and this was his birthday dinner) . The waitress told us that she was closing at 8:00pm and wouldn't serve us. I've been coming here for over 20 years and have never been treated this poorly. She had no explanation for closing and didn't care that we drove from San Rafael and that I verified the 9pm closing before coming. This was Friday night 6/18/21 read more

We have been going to Star for more than 10 years. Servers are all happy and very efficient. Food is always good, be it breakfast, lunch or dinner. Always a take home box since they are very generous with their servings. The two Sherry's are fantastic women, excellent servers. All the folks who work there have happy smiles. We go often and will continue to do so. Eileen Plunkett and Erlys Jedlicka from LR read more

Food was ok but customer Service the problem for me. Only one waiter so I'm sure she will be everyone's waiter when you go. She was an older lady with no common sense. Never came to our tables for refills and asked us for our order like 5 times. When she brought the bill it was all wrong. I get is she was busy I'm an understand person but it litterly was my family and another couple place was almost empty! read more

Barely edible, forgot soup and salad. Not enough help. Food gone downhill. Needs cleanup and remodel.

Very disappointed!!! The place is very dirty and run down. Dust and smug marks on the walls glass and mirrored accents. Their pie case is horribly dirty. The waitress wiped my table, still leaving food crumbs from the previous customers. It's obvious they do (if?) the minimum in keeping the place up. 15-20 years ago the place was probably nice. The waitress doesn't get it! Right out the gate she had an attitude and was rude. I wish I had just turned around and walked out. Later on I heard she tell a customer she had worked there for 17 years. It's obvious she is burned out and has lost perspective that she works in a "customer service job". If it wasn't for the waitress that also helped I would have bolted. As to the food, less than mediocre. My fries terrible. It was obvious they had been sitting around and then reheated. They were soggy and tasted terrible. It too bad, there aren't any descent Denny's type restaurants anymore in Marin County. read more

I walked in and here were the few things I noticed: 1. Cool plastic pink flower thingies hanging from the ceiling (but not dusty/dirty as the ones at Giorgio's) 2. Their menu, though printed out nicely and looks *almost* like one of those chain 'diners' out there in northern northern california, there is a clear disclaimer that says "not affiliatedwith any other restaurant... locally owned." 3. A big framed article about them and the owner's photograph (which was eerie since he was standing right next to it) with information on how Mr. Hamami built his business. The man is dedicated, working up to 14 hours/ day. 4. Prices were CHEEP. Less than $8/sandwich, including potato salad, fries, or fruit. I shoulda chosen fruit, but I chose potato salad. (I promise to go to the gym next week.) 5. They have a pie case. They have a PIE case!!! Sadly, I did not partake in their pie. Oh, and your sandwich arrives with the Cuu-test pick thingies with this aaaaahdorable puffy paper 'ball' stuck on the end of it... Not the typical sandwich toothpick or toothpick with shiny mylar at the end. No, no no. they keep their sandwiches together with these cute little decorative things. I can't describe it well and I have no idea what they are called. I also was too embarassed to take them home (I was having lunch with the bossman) so I'll have to wait till next time... I had the tuna melt, which arrived piping hot and was almost 3" in height... bread was toasty and krispy and awesome.... potato salad was okay, a huge scoop almost the size of the sandwich arrived (but in retrospect I shoulda had the fries!) Only minus was that our server lady smelled distinctly of fresh cigarette smoke EVERY time she came by... but I'm a little uber sensitive to that kind of thing.. (Thank you to Lauren Q for reminding me to review this place~~!) read more

Although the breakfast was decent diner quality greasy-spoon type which I kind of enjoy on occasion I am pretty disappointed in them since they are currently closed by the health department for exposed sewer lines and unsanitary equipment, etc. I hope that they finally take down that god-awful, dust and spiderweb-ridden vine thing off the ceiling and clean the place up, I mean really....... Now I'm thinking maybe the name Star spelled backwards could have special meaning??? Hmmm....... read more