Maple Leaf Diner

This is out go-to place for breakfast, but lunch is also very good. The soups are excellent! If a soup comes with your entree, do NOT pass it up! Get it to go if you can't finish it and your lunch too!

I understand the varied reviews about the service at the Maple Leaf.  I've found that at lunch time the staff seems to be friendlier.  They know exactly what their regulars will order and there is a lot more smiling.  At other times of day, service is rather perfunctory.  

The food is consistently good and I always enjoy my meal.

The Maple Leaf, which has stood in the same downtown storefront location forever, isn't your typical Jersey diner.  Sure, the menu is broad and many of the trappings of a classic diner are present, but the absence of chrome, the storefront location and the heavy representation of fresh, scratch-made dishes elevate it a step above.  Prices are generally lower than most of the area's diners, although portion sizes tend to be smaller.  Friday is seafood night, and the choices are appealing; execution follows the "nothing more, but nothing less" principle-- what you read on the menu is what you'll find on the plate.  The waitstaff is purely efficient, not lacking in attentiveness when-needed, but not evidencing warmth or personality.  This rift between tasty food at reasonable prices and near-mechanical execution and service is, to paraphrase a fellow Yelper, "just weird."  The 1-2 additional stars that price-value have clearly earned are lost on the sterile and almost unwelcoming service standard, and the impression that this "grand dame" of a local institution isn't likely to change.  Enjoy the Maple Leaf for what it is, and enjoy the company of your dining partners (or a newspaper or good book).