East Bay Diner - Bellmore, NY

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2405 Merrick Blvd, Bellmore NY 11710
(516) 781-5075

This 1960's-era diner appears to be authentic in every way. The exterior is weathered and drab, the laminate on the tables is worn to bare wood around the edges from repeated cleaning, and the jukeboxes in the booths have tape across the coin slots (presumably to warn guests that they don't work). In fact, the whole place looks like it hasn't been renovated since it was built.

That being said, the East Bay Diner is one of the best diners I've visited in quite a long time.

I stopped by there with my goddaughters earlier today after having had enough of the sun on Jones Beach. I hesitated at first: The run-down exterior isn't very inviting. But I also noticed quite a few cars in the parking lot for 3:15 p.m. on Saturday, so I decided to give it a shot.

We were promptly seated, and before we even settled into the booth, were greeted by our server, Helen. She asked what we would like to drink, it being well over 90 degrees outside. She also talked to the kids at length about what they'd like to eat and created special combos for them "on-the-fly." A couple of minutes later, our soup arrived; and just as we were taking the last spoonfuls, she brought our entrees. What more can I say? The service was excellent. Better than I've experienced at a lot of "fancy" places, in fact.

As for the food itself, Nayarith had her usual diner favorite (grilled cheese), which was, well, grilled cheese. Kimberly and I each had homemade matzoh ball soup (a bit salty for Kimberly's taste, but I thought it was fine), and the three of us shared a Romanian steak (generously sized and cooked to perfection). We also had three orders of fries and soft drinks, and the kids each had amply-sized slices of cheesecake for desert. The diner also threw in some freebies: pickles, cucumbers, assorted melon chunks, etc.

The bill? About $36.00 before tax and tip. Better than reasonable, in my opinion.

The server, Helen, deserves special praise. Not only was she attentive to our needs and patient with the kids, she was genuinely warm and friendly. She asked them about their school, how they were enjoying their vacation, what kinds of things they'd done over the summer, and so forth, and truly listened to their answers.

My advice? Stop here whenever you're hungry and in the Bellmore area. Good food, good service, good prices. What more can you ask for?

-Rich