This place is actually not that new...The Lighthouse Diner has been around for as long as I can remember. We used to spend every New Years Morning here, for brunch with my family and my best friends family. The building itself is new, because the old diner had a fire, the owners sold it and the news ones rebuilt it (so in that sense it is new)...but there has been a diner in this location for a very long time. With that having said, I love this diner. It is our "local diner" so we frequent it a lot (Sunday brunch, burgers before a movie, or that late night munchie fix you need after a night at the bars). The late night staff is usually more friendly and outgoing than the daytime staff - I have no idea why - maybe they are used to dealing with the drunks that wander in from Mulchay's (which happens to be across the street) ahhaa - but regardless everyone always says hi and talks to you. The food comes out pretty fast, they are reasonably priced and they have the BEST MOZZARELLA STICKS out of any of the Diners on Sunrise Highway!! Their buffalo wings are served with out any sauce on them BUT don't let this disappoint you, they are so tasty its incredible. read more

I ordered the garlic parm fries and although the actual fries were fine the garlic parm sauce was awful and tasted very vinegary. For the entree I got the vegetarian panini which was crispy on the outside and had a nice amount of vegetables that almost made up for the fries but then I ordered the cannoli cheesecake for desert to-go. Upon opening the box at home I noticed that the smell was off putting but Still proceeded to eat a piece and of course it had completely gone sour. Really poor experience especially from a place that has fairly positive reviews. read more

Has to get five for the corned beef hash!!! I would be sad if they ever changed it (as good as homemade, I don't even bother making it anymore). Sausage is amazing too. Hosts are friendly. So glad that I rediscovered it after 25 years..... Blows away my local diner. read more

Would 100% recommend Sunrise across the street instead. The food at Sunrise is much better and cheaper. The people are rude and uncooperative. I don't know a restaurant that won't give separate checks. The food wasn't that great and I regret spending my money on them instead of Sunrise diner. Very disappointed. read more

A group of us went to Lighthouse the evening of 10/19. The staff made us feel like we were an inconvenience. They got our orders wrong and refused to fix them. This morning 2 people in our party had food poisoning. Unless you're into that, we would not recommend Lighthouse Diner. read more

Food is ok. Hostess very rude. Bright spot: Frankie from the old Massapequa diner is here!!!!

The food was delicious and the service was excellent. Told that the owners are Greek, three of the six in our party ordered the chicken souvlaki--YUMMO! The portions are huge. The other three in our party ordered breakfast items and enjoyed them. read more

I think its great! Easy and exactly what a dinner should be with out the ciche of "diner" I dont really need polished metal and pictures of lucy and elvis to make me want to be in a diner. I think the food was great (for diner food). I would certainly go again. read more

Great location within walking distance from the Wantagh train station. They have great hours like most diners and provide a place to get solid food any time of the day. Compared to other diners in the area, the omelettes I found a little lacking. Where Lighthouse really excels is with dinner foods. The Sliced Steak Panini is absolutely massive and comes with a side of fries and cole slaw. The sweet potato fries are exceptional and I highly recommend them. Their open face turkey sandwich could easily feed two people and yield leftovers. They also make phenomenal soup! The service is decent, feels a little bit slow. I've been told by the waiter that panini orders can bottleneck orders as they don't have enough grills in the back to fully satisfy demand of orders. I guess the patrons know what to get on the menu! If you're in the mood for diner food at a diner, definitely suggest this place. If you're more interested in getting breakfast, go down the road to the Massapequa Diner or on Hempstead Turnpike to the Embassy Diner. read more

The Lighthouse Diner has occupied the corner of Wantagh Avenue and Sunrise Highway almost forever. I'm writing this at the end of December 2015, based on three visits during the autumn, but before Catherine A's negative review. If indeed there was a new cook starting in December, then I stand corrected. My own experience was so favorable that I found myself wondering what a cook of this ability was doing in a diner. Breakfasts and lunches have been routine. I normally order either omelets or hash and eggs, and the quality has been standard diner fare. What impressed me were two dinners, one of leg of lamb (quite good) and one of roast duck (excellent). Duck can be tricky to cook properly, and doesn't often appear on diner menus, but this was exceptional. Unfortunately I haven't had a chance to order it again to be sure this quality is consistent, but I plan to do that soon. In the past I was also impressed by their preparation of bluefish, but I haven't tried it recently. Prices seem to have increased recently, but are not out of line with other diners. Ultimately, the Lighthouse Diner is competing with similar diners an easy drive on Sunrise Highway. All are very similar for breakfast and lunch, but from my own experience, Lighthouse has (had?) an edge for anyone ordering a full dinner. read more

Such a great diner. The atmosphere is amazing, as well as everyone that works here. Food is just as good as It sounds and looks. Gus really knows how to help out and guide you in the right direction when It comes to the food! Waiters and waitresses are all very helpful and amazing! read more

3 eggs sunny up, home fries, corn beef hash. That's is my order at the lighthouse diner regardless of the time of day. I've tried some of their sandwiches as well. Typical diner menu. Typical diner feel but very good food. Frankly, it's one of the best diners I've been to in Nassau. When I am in a diner mood, I drive from south Merrick to this spot because nothing is simply as good. If you're in the area and have yet to try this place it's certainly worth it! read more

Ordered a panini that was 5 inches thick, cut so poorly that it had no bottom. Sent it back. 2nd one was cut ok, but, still too thick for a panini. Worst of all, had no flavor. Not going here again. read more

What happened to this place?! It used to be a good diner with quality food. Did new management take over this year? From poor service to horrible food it was awful. I ordered an omelette with bacon and avocado and the bacon was RAW. That's right. Completely uncooked. Gross. When I showed the waiter he was shocked and said he'd show the manager. My friend ordered a hamburger deluxe medium rare and got a well done dry burger. Again showed the waiter immediately and he said he'd show the manager. Waited for 20 minutes nothing happened. We went to leave and was handed a bill for the FULL AMOUNT. The manager who I've never seen before told me we ate some of it so there was no refund. I told him that I would probably be sick from the raw bacon and after I discovered it which was the third bite I stopped eating. He said you ate the toast and avocado costs us $2.50. It was a bill for $38 and he took $5 off. He said " that's for the bacon". Gee thanks. I'll take my business over to Sunrise diner from now on. read more

better off going across the street. I have eaten here twice and got sick BOTH times from it. First time I got a gyro and was underwhelmed. My boyfriend got chicken fingers that were obviously frozen but the seasoned curly fries he enjoyed. The second time I had an omelet and sausage with homefries and the homefries were flavorless and the sausage was cold. My boyfriend got the challah bread french toast and it had off flavorings and was inedible. Just go to the sunrise diner instead. read more

Ordered in from here tonight. This was in my top 5 worst meals I've ever had. Absolutely awful! The food was packaged so poorly and leaking all over the bag. I ordered a turkey dinner and it looked like it was about 2 days old. Dry, tasteless, and disgusting. The salad was small but the lettuce was the best part of the meal unfortunately. The home fries were soft and tasteless. No seasoning. The escarole and broccoli had a weird odor and was overcooked. The food will make you sick! Never going here or ordering from here again. read more

My boyfriend and I went there this morning for breakfast. They got his order completely wrong - wasn't even close. He didn't want to say anything but I did and I was polite about it. While the waitress did apologize, she proceeded to start talking about us to other customers right around our table saying things like 'I make mistakes, I'm busy, I can't take it anymore'. We were very polite when his new food came, we ate, paid the bill, left a normal tip, and walked out while the waitress and a regular she complained to about us both gave us the evil eye the whole way out. We will definitely NEVER go back! Weekends are too short to spend it dealing with terrible, rude and incompetent people!!! read more

Just walked out of this place. My 86 year old grand mother wanted a kids menu burger because she can barely finish a normal sized one. Waitress said no and also the manager said no. That's fine I'll go elsewhere where they will break a rule for an old lady that's 95 pounds. I will never be back here and I did go here often. Shame. All the manager was worried about was following the menu not keeping her boss in business. read more

Understandbly it was a busy day, but we waited an hour for breakfast before the waitress came over to tell us our ticket got lost and she had to retake the order. Then she told us it was going to be rushed for us. 20 minutes later we were still waiting. When the food finally came, we asked for a manager, who came over and gave us a bunch of excuses and no apology. She then offered us free dessert, which we declined because we were eating breakfast and wanted to get out of there. Never again. read more

So disappointed ! After coming to the Lighthouse diner for years, the past few experiences has convinced me to search elsewhere. On one occasion, I ordered a western omelet minus the peppers, add mushrooms. The waiter took my order happily. When the bill arrived, the cost of the omelet was $3.00 more because of a substitution. The server never mentioned this and the owner manager said the computer was not equipped to substitute,.He took off a dollar. Really ?? Why would one nickel and dime a frequent patron. There are other episodes but this one really left a bad taste in my mouth. read more

The food is really good but the rudest people work there. Once they charged refills for coffee (how they figured out how many cups I had when waiter filled my cup a little here and there is beyond me). Another time the hostess got my phone order wrong and proceeded to tell me it was my fault while calling me "honey" 7 times.Go across the street to Sunrise diner for better food and great (nice) service. read more

Horrible diner. Used to love it now with one bad experience I am very hesitant on returning. My boyfriend loves the Chicken Parmesan from this diner. I ordered him that for pick up and went home to Eggplant instead. Called them up and they said don't worry we will keep the credit for you......... I go there today with my sister and tell them I have a credit, they gave me a hard time saying they don't have records of credits. They asked me if I wanted I could bring in a record of my bank statement... They should keep a record of all their credits for customers under phone numbers! They just lost a very loyal customer. Also the old lady that is always at the front desk has a very nasty attitude. I've caught her giving nasty looks at her spending customers!!! Do they not care about their customers!!!!!!!!!!!!! read more

well I must say, I used to love this diner, they had the best challah bread always fresh and warm, their blue cheese dressing was great and their soups even better but since trhey renovated the challah bread has become cold rolls the dressing no longer exisyts and the soup is so so, I was there recently and had a cheese burger deluxe medium rare, well the burger was well done, the fries under cooked. This was my last visit to the lighthouse, I miss the good old days but the place is just not the same since the renovation read more

My boyfriend had dinner there on Friday night with his daughters ages 8 and 6. He wanted to get a small bowl of pasta with butter for his younger daughter and was told that their is no pasta on the children's menu but he could order a small bowl of pasta off the menu. He ordered the pasta and went on eating his dinner. When the check arrived, he was charged $9.00 for a small bowl of pasta with butter. He went to up to the cashier at the front and verbalized not being happy about the price of the pasta as in the menu, a small bowl of pasta with tomato sauce was $8.25 and why was he charged even more for pasta without butter. The cashier stated that there was nothing that he could do and that he should've looked at the menu. POOR CUSTOMER SERVICE AT THIS PLACE!!!! WE WILL NEVER BE GOING BACK THERE!!!!! read more

Food is consistently good, often great. They serve the best french dip I've ever had, and the breakfast foods are really good, too. Always nice to have a 24 hour spot with the hours I tend to work, especially if the food is quality. read more

Awful and the hostesses attitude was even worse. We were seated in a corner booth and she placed a table of nine so close we all kept hitting one another. Anyplace can be crowded but when we confronted the hostess she did nothing and offered no apologies. Customer service is lost on this place. We would never return. East bay is worlds better at appreciating their customers. read more

I'm not a diner person but it was 1 AM and I was hungry so I went in to eat. First red flag right off the bat was a piece of crusty food on the menu they gave me, so I wasn't optimistic. I ordered huevos rancheros and OJ. The juice tasted like it was from concentrate and the eggs were pretty bad; different parts of the dish were different temperatures so I asked them to reheat it and it was still pretty bad when hot. The service was decent. read more

Service and good quality have gone wayy down from the past. If you show up past 9am I guarantee you will be very sad with the service throughout the day. The hostess is the nastiest woman who talks about customers behind their backs as they leave, Ive heard her do it. She definetly needs to go, and is not the classiest person, as you might imagine. I used to love it now I hate it, better off trying somewhere else, I mean there are atleast 5 better diners in the area on sunrise hwy/merrick rd. read more

I have to say that I went here against my own judgement but I was glad I did. They redeemed themselves in my eyes with outstanding service and great food! Perhaps my last visit was just a one off occurrence. read more

good diner. had the chicken panini with bacon and cheddar on it. not bad. the fries were good and they listen to how I wanted them cooked as i line crunchy fries which they delivered and the waiter even stayed to make sure they were crunchy enough for me which is a big plus in my book. would definetly go back. read more

been coming here for 25_ years. superior diner. very good prices on the food, very good waitor service. Matt C is the best waitor they got. make sure you request him if you are there during the day time hours. their vegetarian panini is their best dish, served any time with fresh grilled vegetables on crispy panini bread. this place is highly recommeded read more

After a late night out, Myself and several friends decided to dine at Lighthouse Diner. As we entered, the server was delightful and properly seated my party of 10. When we were being chauffeured to our table, I happened to glance at the manager. What I witnessed was not pleasant. I proceeded to see the manager bug the shit on a waiter and curse him out. Very appalling. When the manager was finished yelling at the waiter, the waiter turned to our table and locked eyes with one of my friends. He approached the table and said "Hi". No one responded. He then said "Can I take your order?". My friend Jimmy said "Yes, I would like a Lighthouse Sampler and would like to substitute my chicken wings with curly fries. The waiter with a funny haircut said "No." That's when the shit went down. My friend Michael said "I've done this one hundred times and I know for a fact that you can substitute anything on the menu for the zucchini stick". The waiter hesitated but then countered with "No, no you can't". Mike was pissed. This ensued for a good 4 minutes until the waiter asked his manager and then agreed to our request. Long story short, we think they spit in our food read more

Been going here since Massapequa Diner is renovating. It's okay, not the greatest cooks back there but the service and staff are great. Very nice people and this is a worthy diner. They did mess up an order of mine but only happened once so will let it slide. read more

Awesome late night spot after a night out with some old friends. I have gotten to know the owner and he is constantly evolving his menu. They are willing to go above and beyond to ensure the food quality is top notch. They will personalize orders, and the large quantities offer great value. One of the best diners on LI. If you are in the area, I strongly suggest checking this place out! read more

Whenever we cannot think of where to go to eat we end up at the Lighthouse Diner. Large menu like all diners on Long Island. Food is very good, from breakfast items to big dinner items. Have never been disappointed. Staff is very friendly. Would definitely recommend. read more

It's a diner. But, when I ask if the mashed potatoes are made from a box, or peeled and made in house, I expect a truthful answer. This was a lunch for three. Buffalo Borger was fine, fries undercooked, Monte Cristo was not very tasty at all, but certainly passable, and the Chicken Croquettes Lunch Special was not good at all. Two croquettes sitting in a loose bed of fake potatoes,, Chicken Gravy not visible at all, it must have been lost in the Potato Flakes. The croquettes were quite dry and I asked for more gravy. it came five minutes later and the rest of the dish was now lukewarm at best. Not a great meal, but not horrible either. read more

Nothing special but standard diner food and happens to be some of the best service we've had at a diner in the area. Also the corned beef hash is made from fresh real corned beef instead of the canned stuff- so hard to find. read more

What a shame!!! This place was my favorite dinner and I would go out of my way to go here because the food was decent and consistent and the service was always good . I have noticed that things were not the same the last two times I was there as far as food and service but today was the last time I will ever go there! I have been going here for over 8 years and never complained or returned anything. We waited today for a table for about 20 minutes, and once we were seated waited another 10 minutes for the waitress to come over. We placed our order and then waited another 20 minutes for our food to arrive, although the waitress did come over and said the kitchen was backed up and apologized for the wait. The food finally arrives and the girl ( who was very nice and really none of this is her fault) spills my entire glass of ice water in my lap. Accidents happen and I was as gracious as I could be but when I got dry and saw my French toast I was now starting to get annoyed. They took challah bread toasted it without egg battering it and topped it with powered sugar and sent it out to me . Was dry and cold and not what it should have been . So for the first time I returned it and guess what they did ?????? Instead of making me a new order they drizzled melted butter on the one I sent back and sent it out again. I have been a chef for 30 years and believe me when I tell you it was not edible especially for what they charge. The waitress took it back to show the owner and instead of her coming over to me right way to see what the problem was she waited 15 minutes or so and then walked over and told me that she didn't understand why I sent it back. So instead of making a new order of French toast for a customer who patronizes their place weekly , they thought it a better idea to let me leave hungry. Bacon was also under cooked and cold as well as my wife's eggs over easy. I m sure that loosing my $40 a week won't hurt them but I intend to tell everyone that come in contact with about the obvious down slope of this place!!! All could have been avoided by making me a new order of French toast the correct way . S M H. read more

Never had an issue with the food, however, the manager (owner?) and his son are both very both nasty. When the primary goal is to cheat and overcharge the customer you know there is a problem. I had been going to the Lighthouse for years, however, in the past 6 months every bill I got was WRONG. Something was always rung up separately so that the bill would be higher. For example, pancakes & sausage. Instead of being charged for pancakes with sausage which is one price, for argument sake $7.50, they would separate them out; pancakes $6 and a side order of sausage $3.95. Bringing the grand total to just shy of $10. Each time I pointed it out and had it corrected, reluctantly may I add, yet they continued to manipulate the bill. Sometimes the manager, Mr. Nasty would argue that I had ordered my food that way, because I guess I am THAT stupid. So I now take my business to the many other diners in the neighborhood! read more

Used to come here all the time and never had an issue until recently,I called and asked for a grilled chicken wrap with no lettuce or tomato just plain and simple grilled chicken wrap with bacon for pick up.eveyone I came in contact with was nice and welcoming besides the old tall man who I guess is the owner,I drove all the way home and found they put lettuce on the wrap so I said no big deal drove back and told them I just wanted it plain,the old man starts getting nasty with me telling me I never told them I didn't want lettuce and tomato over the phone and www go back and forth for a few minutes,I get frustrated and tell them to just give me what I paid for,they remade my order and other employe rolls his eyes and hand the order back to me,I got in my car to discover the put tomatoes on the wrap,they screwed up my order twice and when I went back in they told me they were not going to fix it.i will never be going back and hope this place closes for poor customer service.fuck the lighthouse diner. read more