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Woodbridge Reo Diner Inc
- Hours:
Mon-Sun 6 am - 6 am
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Private Lot
- Attire:
- Casual
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- No
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Good For:
- Late Night, Lunch, Dinner, Breakfast
- Alcohol:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
20 reviews for Woodbridge Reo Diner Inc
20 reviews in English
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Review from matt r.
Union, NJ
10/7/2011
2nd visit 1st was a couple of years ago before I started doing reviews so there wasn't anything "wow" or "omg awful" to jog my memory so we'll base it on this visit yesterday
3 of us went for lunch on a thursday parking lot is a bit on a the small side but since we were here at 1130a there were a few spaces
hostess is very nice & polite, booth was clean(not all are so i note this), i was the only person to have a beverage pink lemondade very tasty
we had onion, matzoh ball & chicen rice soup we all liked them
we skipped appys i had the chicken scampi over rice--pretty good rice a tad underdone chicken was juicy but thin so the ends a bit hard
2 others both had stuffed cabbage--pretty good, a tad dry, could have used some onions & another spice or two but huge portions good enough for a 2nd meal
desserts were rice pudding, a huge cheese danish & tapioca all pretty good
our server Lucy was very professional, timely & friendly I would recommend requesting her if she's available
ttl bill with tip came to $40 & factoring in we all got a 2nd meal from our entrees a good value
I prefer to give a detailed rating as opposed to just saying I liked it or I didn't.
For me I rate a restaurant in 4 categories in order of importance:
Food
Service
Value
Décor/ambience/misc
If you're wondering why this is the order for me I rather have great food & so-so service than the other way around. You can always plan around a slower evening to make it just as enjoyable but not around mediocre food whether it's fast or slow paced.
My 3rd item I call value instead of price because based on the taste & serving portion of the item compared to similar items at other restaurants tells me if it's a good value. For instance the best steak I've ever had to date runs about $44 but besides being delicious(a way to tell is it stands on its own w/o adding any sauces) it is boneless & about 24oz so you get two good meals.
Food(2.0), service(1.5), value(1.0) & décor/ambience/misc(0.5)
I then take the # stars for each category & multiply by the # in parentheses then divide by 5 to get my final rating. If the final average is exactly 1/2 I'll round up or down depending on other reviews.
So my calculations are as follows:
FOOD 3.5 x 2 = 7.0
SERVICE 5 x 1.5 = 7.5
VALUE 4.5 x 1 = 4.5
AMBIENCE/OTHER 3.0 x .5 = 2.0
Total pts 21 divided by 5 = 4.2 which rounds to 4 -
Review from Anthony D.
Woodbridge Township, NJ
1/1/2012
My favorite is their pizza burger. Best gravy fries too.
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Review from Tim H.
Rahway, NJ
7/28/2011
I have been here twice both on business occasions. The first time I ordered the lunch special, stuffed cabbage that included a soup and dessert, for $9.95. The cabbage wasn't the best in the world but it was pretty good, the soup was also pretty good, and the chocolate ice cream I had, well, chocolate ice cream is always good.
The second time I ordered a chicken salad sans cheese with I think it was honey bacon dressing. The waitress however brought it with cheese. Upon my mentioning my original order, she was very apologetic and almost immediately brought out the dish with the cheese removed. The salad and dressing were very good. The $9.75 damage was not the greatest bargain but wasn't anything to complain about either.
My reason for the rating was not only for the cheap eats that I found to be sufficiently tasty, but in particular for the service and demeanor of our waitress, who was extremely friendly and humble. As I mentioned, she maintained her cheerful positive demeanor while in addition being apologetic as she quickly fixed my order.
I know I sound like a broken record in all my reviews but customer service and character of the personnel go a very long way for me and I intend to back up that philosophy with my hard-earned earnings. -
Review from Michael B.
Manhattan, NY
6/6/2011
Either good or bad, depending on what you're looking for.
Practically the definition of "homey." For Thanksgiving, they scotch taped those paper turkey decorations to the lights (think: Kindergarten classroom).
The waitresses were warm and friendly in a 1950s kind of way. I think ours started at the diner after graduating high school, & has worked there ever since. Kinda like a small town: all the staff & the patrons seemed to know each other.
The food came in very large portions, but lacked flavor. I think they literally just boiled my corn beef hash (no seasoning) and served it. -
Review from Paul M.
Hollywood, CA
8/27/2011
Had the Fat Irene. Great!
Alex treated us right! -
Review from Rob E.
Wilmington, DE
9/25/2011 1 Check-in Here
Place hasn't changed much since I was a late-night regular here 6 yrs ago. It's your classic Jersey diner with diner quality food and prices. Don't go expecting the world and you won't be disappointed.
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Review from Valissa W.
12/10/2009 1 Check-in Here
There's a table of Civil War reenactors seated along the back wall. A group of Ed Hardy shirts sips their 4pm hangover cure. A gaggle of blue haired ladies huddles around the dessert display.
Oooh, so THIS is New Jersey!
Reo is a classic mid-Atlantic Diner. The menu is 1000-items thick, there's an impressively stocked salad bar, and they have well over a dozen dessert options (titled "Happy Endings" on the menu, haha). It's a lot bigger than it looks too; turn the corner and the seats seem to go on for miles. And while they were oh-so-generous with the portions, I must say that I was a little disappointed with my open-faced meatloaf sandwich (lukewarm and dry), but the mashed potatoes? mmmmmm
Now if only I'd seen some toxic waste wash up from the Shore and had the servers been a little more surly (they were actually quite nice)... now THAT would have made Reo a true NJ icon.Listed in: Central NJ
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Review from Ryan L.
1/28/2010
This gets 3 stars for the scene alone. Sadly, the food cannot bump it up more.
A table full of Civil War enthusiasts dressed in full garb in the back. The surly old timers wondering how the heck i got there (thanks yelp app!). Women with big hair and louder voices., and guys in their tightest bedazzled shirt fist pumping their way through dinner. This is a NJ diner experience for sure!
The pics along the front wall of the restaurant are an impressive compilation in regards to the historical importance of this place. Many peeps, some famous and some just from the neighborhood, have passed through the doors and stared longingly at the rotating tower of desserts (not just the stoned high schoolers, but everyone).
The menu was surprisingly large, and also included my personal all-time fave, the phat sandwiches. But since i had to board a plane soon after, I couldn't afford to eat one and have to apologize to my seat neighbors later. Feeling kinda brekkie at 5pm, i went with among other things, pancakes. They were nothing great, and the meatloaf sandwich i tried was a little dry. I was disappointed.
The place was nice and clean and the bathrooms were exquisite. I was very impressed with them. If I had a top 10 list of cleanest bathrooms in America, i wouldn't hesitate to add this gem. My only regret is if the food were better, it would've been the perfect experience. If i ever the opportunity to come back, i will try some other things on the menu. -
Review from James B.
Edison, NJ
2/2/2011 1 Check-in Here
I've eaten here a few time with friends but never again after last time. Food was horrible & service was poor & that's being nice.
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Review from Pete V.
Woodbridge, NJ
2/28/2011
Breakfast is OK, lunch/dinner... less so.
As has been mentioned in other reviews, this is the quintessential Jersey diner experience. Not the shiny chrome diners you see on TV, but the gritty authentic real thing. Some of the regulars reinforce every stereotype in the book, the bathrooms could be in an Italian palace (the ceilings are frescoed!), and the staff is nice but you get that authentic dump-the-plate-in-front-of-you-and-head-outside-fo r-a-smoke attitude. Plus half the signed celebrity photos behind the counter are of 80s-era Bon Jovi.
Breakfast is pretty good. Quality is average but you get mountains of food at a good price. Lunch and dinner are low-end greasy diner fare; nothing special, and probably disappointing if you have a craving for something. The food doesn't *suck*, exactly, but it's something to put in your mouth to make the hunger stop. It's standard diner food.
All in all, as long as you know what you're getting into it's not a bad place. Just don't expect anything fancy and you won't be disappointed.
Also, in case anyone's wondering about the frequent (and bizarre) mention of Civil War soldiers, they do reenactments in a nearby park a few times a year. We're weird around here, but not weird enough to walk around in Civil War garb without a good reason. -
Review from Brian E.
Napa, CA
2/8/2011
Used to be a great diner.
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Review from Dana B.
New York, NY
8/2/2010
One time I ordered a cheesesteak. They forgot to add the cheese. -_-
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Review from Mitch L.
Hudson, FL
2/10/2009
It's hard to find a fresh tasty cup of Joe at a diner but this was the best coffee I've had at any diner in NJ. The portions are huge. My breakfast was perfect!! Everything hot. Nice waitress!! BTW I had the 2 eggs with sausage breafast only $5.75 a bargain and coffee only $1.25
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Review from John G.
Toms River, NJ
7/8/2010
Disappointed. The Reo was much better in the 80's and 90's. Seems as if they went down hill from there. Nothing taste fresh anymore. Seems as if everything is from a can.
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Review from Cookie L.
Sunnyvale, CA
9/1/2007
What, no reviews?!? This place is great! The hardest thing was to make up our minds, since the menu is huge and includes a bunch of daily specials. Service was okay, but the reason to go is for the food.
This isn't a fancy restaurant, but it was great for interesting, comfort-style food. J got one of the specials, "Chicken Murphy", and it was the star of our meal. I had something far less memorable -- the lamb shank, I think -- and ended up coveting J's meal. Good thing for me, he shares.
About their salad bar -- it's not as BIG as you might hope, but I just had to keep returning for more of the boiled shrimp with cocktail sauce. There were usual salad fixings (no baby greens or the like), and I'd say we were satisfied with it, but don't expect a gourmet salad bar here.
Since our bodies were still on pacific time, we were really happy to find this gem of a diner that was open late (until midnight on weekends). Don't know if or when we'll be in the neighborhood again, but you can be sure that if we are, we'll go back. Meanwhile, we're looking up recipes for Chicken Murphy -- it was that good! -
Review from Eliz S.
Scotch Plains, NJ
3/16/2009
The food was good.
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Review from Joana C.
Rahway, NJ
4/13/2010
I always leave the Reo disappointed. The service is always great, the staff is always really nice, but the food is always terrible-- bland and out of a can from what I can tell.
Granted, they have a HUGE menu, and I've only tried a few things. The problem is, the few things I've had have been so awful that I kinda don't want to give the Reo any more chances. -
Review from Edward B.
Essex, NJ
3/17/2010
AWFUL
I am not sure how this diner gets good reviews. I have eaten at the Reo five times over the space of the last 3 years or so. My friend has great childhood memories of this diner and hence his obsession with returning to it, since I am sucker I go.\
Each and every time I eat at this diner I get sick, not the "I ate too much" sick but the "what did I eat sick".
I have not been served a decent meal here, steak, burgers, breakfast, or salad (how do you screw up salad) all totally disappointing some bordering on uneatable.
After your meal here run don't walk to the drug store down the road for some Pepto Bismol. -
Review from amy s.
Brooklyn, NY
7/10/2008 1 photo
i spent many an evening in the reo diner (meet me at the reo! a resounding battle cry of my latter adolescent years) and i wish i still lived a short drive away. the reo is a bastion of new jersey diner experience. you got it all at the reo. the bright lighting, the cranky old-timers, the tables of cops, the stoned high schoolers, the sarcastic waitress with the bright lipstick, the revolving glass tower of desserts, the gleaming bar with the chrome stools, the a/c that is always cranked too high in the summer. oh yes, the reo has all this and a massive menu of regular diner standards. the food is good, the portions are large and the staff is kindly and will remember your face and make you feel good when you return. and i must say, their honey mustard is the greatest condiment i have ever experienced. try it with the chicken fingers and a cherry coke.
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Review from Danielle A.
Woodbridge, NJ
2/12/2010
very nostalgic place. even though the interior could use a little bit of upgrading, it feels like an old diner which it is, and the food is good, the staff is nice, and its a great place to get a quick breakfast or lunch.
