Golden Dawn Diner
We found ourselves in Burlington a few weeks ago. I had heard nothing but good things about the Golden Dawn Diner. This particular diner was on my “diner to do list” so when we found ourselves in the Burlington area around a meal time, it wasn’t a question if we would go. I don’t know if it’s embarrassing I have a diner to do list but it was at the top. I had extremely high expectations before going, expectations that were met.
Atmosphere: A
The atmosphere is really cute. The outside is cobblestone with diner plastered at the top. There is no missing it. While the inside isn’t as festive, it is massive. It was cleanly and I have no complaints.
Coffee: A
The waitress refilled the coffee several times. It was really good. Nothing too interesting, I had coffee with whipped cream (so shocking).
Menu: A
The menu has a lot of different options and specials. The one complaint I have is the specials at the front aren’t listed anywhere else. The hostess rushed us to the table before we could really look. The menu is as large as any diner and they have a lot of options for those looking.
The first time I went I ordered the grilled vegetables salad. It consisted of arugula, mozzarella, grilled vegetables. It was a really good salad. It was actually one of the best salads I’ve had in a diner in a while. The arugula was extremely fresh as was the mozzarella. I was able to order a side of pita bread too.
We ended up coming back a second time a few weeks later because I liked the restaurant so much. I was craving lasagna and tried that. I haven’t had lasagna in a very long time and saw someone else order it. It looked good do I went for it. It was good, it had a large amount of cheese as well as actual noodles. I would recommend either of the meals I had here and they had plenty of other options.
Dessert: C
We ordered dessert the first time we went. Since they had no red velvet cake, I ordered the “Boston Creme Cake”. For those who don’t know, donuts are my second favorite dessert behind cake. My meal was so good I had high expectations for this. The cake was a thin layer of chocolate frosting, whipped cream center and dry crusty cake. The whipped cream was great but honestly not much else of the cake was. I ate the whipped cream and frosting but left the rest. The whipped cream saved this cake from a F to C but I wouldn’t order it again. I will stick to my Boston Creme donuts instead. I didn’t leave feeling weighed down from cake but I didn’t enjoy the cake.
Would I come back?
Overall Thoughts: A-
Yes, I really enjoyed the Golden Dawn Diner in Burlington. Both the salad and lasagna were good and I have no complaints. I will be back again eventually (but probably not for dessert). The service was great and it was a very cute and enjoyable diner. I’m glad my online reviews didn’t let me down.
Questions for you:
Have you ever had Boston Creme Cake?
What is your favorite lasagna?
Yeah! This sounds looovvely! I am so jealous of all these diners you go to! I LOVE diners! I am not a fan of cream, so boston cream pie would never be one I would choose, but this does sound good. I am sure a place like this has a killer cake I would enjoy!
It’s funny you say that Tina because the cake was the only part I didn’t enjoy. I am sure they have other cake that was better or maybe we caught them on a bad day.
I’ve eaten there many times but that was 20’years ago! Burlington is my home town, my family has been there since 1645.
I never love diner desserts – their chocolate is never right in my opinion. Next time you are on Lond Island, I recommend (if you haven’t already been) The Landmark Diner, East Bay Diner and the Premiere Diner. Would love to hear your reviews on my faves!
I used to go to the Golden Dawn III diner in Mercerville (it was down the street from my grandma). I read that it’s now closed… bummer. Have good memories from the Golden Dawn eateries.
I went through a Boston cream pie phase when I was in 2nd or 3rd grade. I used to order it for dessert all the time when we went out to eat.
I LOVE Burlington! 🙂 That food looks absolutely divine!
Do you live in NJ Nicole? 🙂