Marlton Diner (Marlton, NJ)
The Marlton diner has been on to my to-do list for a while now. It is located in Burlington county off of exit 70. The Marlton diner is a picture-perfect diner in New Jersey.
Marlton Diner Atmosphere: A
The Marlton Diner itself is precisely what you would picture a diner to be like. It has extensive silver paneling on both the outside and inside. The inside is covered with a shiny silver paneling, booths, a bar, Juitbox and of course a bakery. It stands out on Route 70.
Source here
It’s evident upon walking in that it is a “regulars” type of place. There were times I almost felt unwelcome. It was pretty quiet but it was also a weekday evening. The waitress was friendly toward us thankfully, though.
Marlton Diner Coffee: B
The coffee at the Marlton Diner was good but not my favorite. It wasn’t until after the waitress refilled our coffee a few times she informed us she was charging us for an extra cup of coffee.
That information wasn’t stated anywhere on the menu (for instance, two free refills, etc.). While it wasn’t an issue, I would have liked to know I was being charged for an extra cup of coffee. I was under the impression it was unlimited refills.
I’ve been to the Marlton Diner a few times since and haven’t had that issue again.
Marlton Diner Food: B
The Marlton Diner menu had everything a stereotypical diner would, no more and no less. There wasn’t anything unique. The Marlton diner had a few specials but honestly nothing too unusual.
At the Marlton Diner, I ordered the Greek salad with salmon. The salad came oozing with oil (it was soaking through). The dressing was delicious, and one of my favorites in New Jersey. It had all of the typical greek salad toppings: feta cheese, olives, anchovies, and onions. The salmon was good, but it was obvious it was a frozen and reheated fillet. The salad dressing was the best part of the salad, for sure.
Marlton Diner Cost: $$
For my salad with salmon, it was 18.
Overall thoughts: B
Would I come back?
The diner wasn’t bad, but there are other choices I would go too before going back to the Marlton Diner. It’s clear the diner has a lot of regulars it caters too. It isn’t a bad stop but not my favorite. I would go to a few closer to home before stopping back by the Marlton Diner. It was so great to catch up with Liz though so it was always worth it.
Cliff notes:
Atmosphere: A
Coffee: B
Food: B
Cost: $10-20
Overall rating: B, not bad but not great
You can see all the diner reviews here.
Questions for you:
Have you ever felt unwelcome in a restaurant?
Coffee (and soft drinks) are such a high mark up at a restaurant that I expect free refills. Especially with coffee because it’s so nice to have it refilled halfway to warm it back up! That’s disappointing 🙁 But at least you got to catch up with a good friend 🙂
I LOVE the Lolz blog! Especially the Jersey diner reviews! I was pretty disappointed in the not free coffee refills too. I don’t understand how it’s not just a diner standard that all coffee refills are free. Oh well. Plenty more Garden State diners to try!
I read Liz’s blog and love it :). I also read and shared her Like a Girl article, she is an awesome writer! And your blog is awesome too, coming from another professional writer (although I write training manuals and documentation for a living so I’m not sure if that’s a compliment or not, HA!).
This diner looks cool but I totally agree on the refills. At the diners and restaurants I visit locally, if no refills are included the menu states that, lots of times for something like juice or milk a refill is not included, but coffee, soda, etc, are. They should inform you of that before you get a lot of refills too (especially something like coffee, where you might ask for a fresh cup just because it got cold not necessarily that you ran out). It does look like tasty coffee and at least there’s whipped cream!
BTW, ate a Greek salad last night when we went out to eat and thought of you :).
I think unlimited refills for coffee is fine, but pop should be banned. Pop is so bad for your health, it is unwise to drink it at all. The reason restaurants can offer free refills is because it costs them less than 5 cents a bottle to sell HFCS and CO2. Getting off my soapbox…now 🙂
Coffee literally costs the restaurant pennies. Sad that they charged for refills and never noted that there were no free refills anywhere.