I stopped in at the Roscoe Diner on my way back from a trip to upstate NY on a recommendation from a colleague who used to frequent the spot during his college days. Â
It was a solid diner experience, I just stopped and ordered a pastrami on rye and some curly fries to go. Â Waiter was kind, service was quick and the gal at the counter was really nice. Â
Might stop back in on a later trip, but wouldn't go out of my way.
Situated right off route 17 the Roscoe diner is a good place to stop after you have been traveling some time and need to grab a bite to eat.
I have had grilled chicken sandwiches here and for the most part I can't complain.
Standard diner menu, they seem to close kind of early though.
Walking into Roscoe Diner, you get the feeling of being trapped in an 80's pastel nightmare. Â Right off Route 17, it's the quick-on, quick-off place you go to take a break from your road trip to Binghamton, Ithaca or wherever else in upstate New York you might be going. Â
Despite its Pepto-pink nightmare decor, Roscoe Diner has efficient service with the traditional staple of diner menu grub (wraps, burgers, rubens, salads, breakfast food). Â The food is completely adequate. It's nothing less and certainly doesn't pretend to be anything more. Â And that's what I like about this place. Â
The folks are friendly too and my lunch was barely $12. Not bad.
OK, I admit - I go to diners for breakfast food, regardless of time of day. Â Sometimes i MIGHT have a grilled cheese sandwich at one, but that's very rare. Â So, given that info, my review is based on breakfast food. They are evidently famous for the deep fried french toast. Â I have had it. Â Its OK, but a little greasy for me. Â I have had the regular too, and frankly, that's really good, but the price is not as good or reasonable. Â I also have a hankering for bacon with my diner food breakfasts, and their bacon the ONE TIME i had it was literally inedible. Â I made them take it off the bill. Â I don't have any idea what kind of bacon it was, or if it was cooked wrong or what, but it was NOT GOOD and I was not going to pay for it.
I don't drink coffee unless I make it, so cant comment personally, but, people I have been with have not had issues with the coffee. Â And overall they have been pleased, but its been scrambled eggs or hamburgers, depending on time of day and travelling companion. Â
I like this place to stop, but have never visited the restrooms, so cant comment. Â For me its a convenient place to grab a bite on the road between NYC and Buffalo or other points west. Â Getting on and off Rt 17 (not yet 86) is easy, parking is easy and its a very safe area. Â Enjoy
Good size portions at a fair price. Although not sure what all the hoopla was about. Its a good joint to munch at when you're in the area. The mesquite burger with bacon was quite tasty but I have a feeling after a full morning of paddling under the sun I was ravenous enough to think anything would tastes great.
Review Source:Boyfriend and I stopped here on a Sunday evening to grab a bite on our way to Binghamton. It was 9:20, and they closed at 10. We walked in and the hostess looked at her watch and told us, " we close in forty minutes" umm okay. We were in no rush and still left before 10. That was just rude. Our waitress was nice enough, they were out of bison burgers, and the food was really pricey for its quality.
Review Source:We look forward to stopping at the Roscoe Diner on our way to Ithaca. It's the halfway mark for us and the food is good. We go every other month and love traveling Rt 17 or future 86. I would like to give it 5 stars because we enjoy the food and service has always been friendly but the bathrooms need some cleaning and the hostess needs to be a little more pleasant.
Review Source:2.5 Â Stars, maybe. Â We were en route to Claryville, NY and the billboards for Roscoe Diner beckoned. Â "World Famous" and a mention of great Greek food stirred my interest. Â Greek salad at the diner, Hell's yeah! Â Um, no didn't happen.
Two stars for the food which was decent but nothing to write home about, plus an extra half-star if you will for friendly service. Â Or sodas weren't cold enough and served with very little ice. Â Weird,, but true. Â All of our food was served lukewarm. Â We had soup, 2 entrees, an appetizer, salads and one dessert. Prices were a little on the high side. Â The chicken orzo soup was tasty, but not nearly hot enough. Â We didn't send it back because we had a long day and were eager to eat something. Â No crackers or bread appeared so we requested some, which finally came 3/4 way through the soup. Â We ordered fries with melted cheese and gravy as an appetizer. We got them a few minutes after our entrees appeared. Um, okayyyy! What I was hoping for, hot fries with yummy melted goodness and tasty gravy appeared as something very un-like that. Â Skimpy , under-done fries with skimpy American cheese and a dollop of gravy. Â Wah!!!! As to why we didn't send it back, see above. Â And its's also a personal policy of yours truly not to send things back because I've worked in the service industry and stuff does sometimes happen to returned items. Â Sooooo, on to the entrees. Â My better half had a gyro which he said was not bad. Â The seasoned fries that came with it were a scant handful , at most. Â A diner makes you think of hearty portions, no? This isn't Le Cirque!!! Â I ordered Chicken Francese which was what you you might get at a wedding where the food was okay but the band kicked ass!!! It served a purpose, that's it. Â The bread and butter that were supposed to come with my meal never came. Â If I was more into the other stuff I was eating, I might not have noticed. It is what it is!!! On the plus side , our server was very sweet and the food was out quickly. Â When we left, we went up the block, literally and lo and behold no less than 4 of so cool looking joints, a panini place and a gyro place among them! Next time we will check them out!!!
Roscoe Dinner has almost a monopoly as the place to eat or stop for coffee between Binghamton and Monticello NY.
It is also an oasis of sorts.
Stick with the breakfasts at any hour, and you'll do fine.
They do a huge volume
Debating between 3 and 4 stars...Roscoe Diner earns 4 based on our many visits
Food was awful. Expensive. Â Bathrooms smelly and dirty. Coffee was burned. Â Gravy was from a can. Pie was old and rubbery. Â Don't know where they get off charging so much. Waitress was friendly, hostess was not.
Recommend narrowing the menu and focusing on serving good food. Â And good coffee. Â Then the prices won't seem so outrageous next to the quality.
Growing up, my grandparents lived in Roscoe and we always came here for breakfast. The French Toast is soooo good! You wouldn't want to eat it every day because its probably the greasiest and most unhealthy thing you'll ever eat. But every once in a while, just do it! You might regret it afterwards, but it tastes so good while you're eating it! :-)
Review Source:Like many others, I have been passing the Roscoe Diner for years. Â Depending on the timing, I have stopped there more often then any other place on Route 17 (or is it 86 yet?).
So, what makes it famous? Â It seems their definition is to have been one of the only places for miles and miles, for many years. Â Known, but not famous. Â Famous would require them doing something great - they do not.
The food is average diner food, the service is quick and possibly friendly, and the prices are competitive for NYC (however we are over 100 miles away). Â Once you have eaten here a few times, you owe it to yourself to branch out in Roscoe, NY and explore the town. Â You might find some stores and restaurants that might please you more.
PS: Â Don't get the donut at Roscoe Diner. It is considered a "pastry" and will cost you $2.50.
The Roscoe diner is pretty much your basic diner. It has been around a long time and it's one of the easiest places to get to off of 17 if you are headed upstate or coming down from Binghamton way.
The food is pretty much regular diner fare, nothing special but the times I have been there it has always been good. Service has always been great and they staff has always been smiling.
Today was just a quick stop for dessert and coffee and both the cherry pie and coffee hit the spot.
Like many of the reviewers, I've been hitting this diner at least once, sometimes twice a year on my way back and forth on route 17. My first time was as a college student in 95, my last time in October 2010. I've noticed changes over time - although the decor isn't one of them - mostly related to portion size and quality. I don't think I'm suffering from a case of 'used-to-be-better-back-in-the-day-itis' when I say, it used to be better., Portions were a bit larger and the quality, meaning the overall taste and flavor, used to be a bit better. Damn this economic downturn! It's even affected how food tastes...
Anyway - this is a diner. It's world famous because it's one of the last diners on route 17 in that area and is heavily promoted via billboards. World famous? Maybe self proclaimed, like having the world's greatest something or other, even though the claim has never been validated. But whatever! I'm getting away from the point.
I stop here for two reasons (1) quick, good tasting food and (2) clean bathrooms. Let's be honest, if I didn't have to use the bathroom, we might dine elsewhere. But when you have to go, you have to go, and it's just so damned convenient when the place you have to go in also has this awesome dated diner attached to the bathrooms.
I think it's worth 3 stars because, even though the portions have changed and the quality may be off, it's still good food served quick, and the wait staff are usually friendly (if their poorly dressed local boyfriends aren't getting on their cases for talking too long to the male customers. That's just being insecure.)
For 20+ years, stopping at the Roscoe Diner for a bite and a bathroom break on the way to visit family in Athens, PA, has been a tradition. While the food may not be as good today as we remember it being years ago, it is still solid diner fare, and the tome-like menu means you'll find something you want, no matter your mood. Service is friendly and the coffee keeps coming. Simple, cheap, and reliable.
Review Source:I had a debate with my buddies the entire ride home about what makes this diner so "famous".
Is it the "stuck in time" Â cheesy 70's decor?
Is it the menu that takes 3 full pulls before the stickiness relents and allows you to open it?
Is it the waitress who thinks that JFK is still in office?
....I have no idea. But what I do know is that this is one of your only non-fast food options on the way back to the city. The food is not bad, just stick to the basics...eggs...burgers...coffee and triple decker sandwiches. Anything else....may the force be with you.
You know what? Â There aren't many options in the vicinity of Roscoe so this place gets 4 stars! Â I had a Greek omelette and they kindly gave me a side salad instead of home fries and left my toast dry, when asked. Â Mom had eggplant parm which also came with a side of spaghetti -- way too much food but good. Â My bf had a gyro which he enjoyed. Â Worth a visit if you're driving by.
Review Source:world famous ... maybe just one of the few remaining diners you can find along route 17 is better stated. Â Please - I needed a heart beat from the waitress, a greeting of "some sort" from the hostess, a little bit of eye contact from the cashier or a warm body somewhere to demonstrate that you care! Â Alas, the mood of the bored staff is uncaring and it showed everywhere - including the food. Â If you drive another 1/4 mile into town, there seemed to be a few interesting places to eat that I never noticed before. Â That will be my next stop along route 17 - not the Roscoe diner ... sorry to say ...
Review Source:World Famous Roscoe Diner! Â Â Yes, it is famous, ask any college student travelling to an Upstate NY College. Â Â Being from Western NY, I didn't get to join my friends who stopped at the dinner on their way to Ithaca but I heard alot about it. Â Â Now that my SIL lives downstate, it's as good a stopping point for us as it was for my college friends. Â Â Most of the other diners on Route 17 have met their demise but Roscoe lives on.
It's typical diner fare but it's always good - my club sandwich was huge and very tasty! Â Â Omelets are good as is their greek salad. Â If you love feta, try the Greek chicken wrap - it had as much feta as it had chicken!
Don't let the Roscoe Diner go the way of the other Route 17 diners - stop by soon!
I can't tell you how many years I've been hitting up Roscoe while traveling up and down route 17, but it's been a lot. I stopped there this morning on my way upstate, for the first time since last fall. I was not as impressed this morning as I used to be, perhaps all my years of culinary exploration have changed the way my palate perceives the food at Roscoe's, or maybe the place really isn't as good.
I'll say one thing is for sure, the portions are definitely not as big as they were even in my last visit. My last visit here was in the October timeframe of last year, and back then I was a portly 210+ lbs and I could drop a 3-egg omelet with homefries in no time. During that October visit, my European Omelet was so big that I got a doggie bag and saved half of it for my lunch the next day. Now, contrast that with today, I'm back down to my fighting weight of 170 lbs, a stiff breeze can knock me over and I have trouble finishing one piece of keesh nowadays. Yet I gobbled up what appeared to be a very small 3-egg omelet today, downed all the homefries and both pieces of toast with jelly, and still left kind of half hungry!
Also, the homefries were served nearly room temperature. And I waited for my coffee to filled for what seemed to be a lifetime and the server was actually quite curt with me despite me being very friendly.
Today's experience honestly knocked what I would've called a five-star route 17 rest-stop down to barely even 3-stars. I'll go again but if the experience is the same as today on my next visit, I'll skip it!
I agree that it's nothing to go looking for as far as diners go. But the service is decent. The food is fine, portions are hefty. I have never had a problem with my visits. Family and I visit Roscoe at least six times a year and every chance we get we like to put money into the town's economy, so we visit the local dining areas. Roscoe Diner is friendly and has a great small town atmosphere.
Review Source:It's been years since I've been to this diner, but it was once a semi-regular stop when I was making the long drive up Route 17 to Binghamton, N.Y.
There's not a whole hell of a lot happening in "Trout Town, U.S.A.," as Roscoe, N.Y. bills itself, but the Roscoe Diner, a silver shimmer off of Route 17, makes a stop in this town worthwhile. Â Roscoe occupies a very rural stretch of countryside in which you feel that people must regularly disappear into the wilderness like so much mist, but nevertheless the Roscoe Diner is a well-known area institution at which people congregate gladly. Â They even produce bumper stickers that say "See you at the famous Roscoe Diner." Â Very cool.
Inside, the place is very much a typical diner, albeit one covered with banners from a variety of colleges and universities, ranging from the large and well-known (Cornell) to small liberal arts venues. Â The food is typical diner food: good, plentiful and cheap. Â As Nessie V. reports, they also have a rotating dessert case, and that thing can draw you in like the electric light of a bug zapper draws in unsuspecting bugs.
Driving up Route 17 can sometimes feel like the end of the world - and when I was driving it, the thing didn't have cell phone service - so a stop at the Roscoe Diner is pretty much a must to refresh, rejuvenate, and reconnect with your fellow man. Â Plus, it's either this place or the Wendy's in Deposit, N.Y., and while it's certainly a clean, nice Wendy's, you don't want to do that to yourself, because a visit to Deposit will make you cry. Â Â Save yourself some grief, people. Â Swing into the Roscoe Diner for coffee, burgers and pie!
Other than the fact that it's a Upstate NY institution and a landmark on any road trip going to the Roscoe Diner, to me it's just like any other decent diner. The portions are large, food is generally fresh and served prompt. The clientele is a interesting mix of local yocals and the NYC/LI going away for the weekend crowd "lets go to the Roscoe" sort. Overall a good place to grab a decent bite not worth looking for it.
Review Source:I've been going to the Roscoe Diner for more than 40 years, and the place hasn't changed all that much.
The Roscoe Diner has always offered very good diner fare, and I don't think I've ever had a bad meal there. They also offer an outstanding variety of deserts. Prices are about average, and the bumper stickers were free the last time I checked.
The perfect stopping spot half way between NYC and Ithaca, NY. Â Excellent diner food. Â Can't go wrong with anything on the menu - sandwiches, salads, entrees, desserts. Â And they do have one of the most beautiful diner dessert displays you will ever see. Â Mile-high pies in a revolving glass cabinet. Â Yum.
Review Source:I haven't been here in ages, but we always stopped here on the way to gma's house. Â It's a classic diner: Â Lots of fried food and burgers, with a rotating dessert thing with pies and cakes in it. Â Last I was there was when i was an omnivore, so I have no idea what I could eat now, but it was a great change from typical fast food road food. Â Comfy chairs, friendly and accommodating staff. Â I think i remember the fried clams being good (maybe not so much for the clams).
It's popular with hunters and the like, but it always seemed just like regular people in there. Â They give out bumper stickers that said something like "see you at the famous Roscoe Diner" that were a thing. Â Like the Northeastern version of the Mystery Spot bumper stickers.
BTW it's right on the interstate, don't let the map fool you. Â There will be plenty of billboards to help.
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