The Gem Diner
| Address: | 832 Spencer St, Syracuse, NY 13204, USA |
| Phone: | +1 315-314-7380 |
| Site: | thegemdiner.com |
| Rating: | 4.3 |
| Working: | Closed 6AM–10PM 6AM–10PM 6AM–10PM 6AM–10PM 6AM–10PM 6AM–7PM |
Location
Photos 100
Reviews 12
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H G
Have wanted to enjoy an authentic Syracuse diner experience. Gem has a long history as just this. We arrived around 1:30pm on 1/27/2016. Lunch was in full swing. Patrons ranged from white to blue collar as well as a broad spectrum from mom and pop to students. In my opinion, Its always a good sign to see this kind of mix- and I prefer it. The greeting Staff was very friendly and down to earth. We had a slight 10-15 wait for our table. That was expected due to arriving at the peak lunch time service. We were led to a small windowless prison like dining room in the very back. It has blank walls and a kitchen door. Zero atmosphere. FOOD: My acid test for any stainless steel classic diner is the equally classic burger and fries.. What I ordered: a medium well done Swiss Burger. Lettuce, tomatoes, and red onion slices were requested on the side. Gravy for my fries was also ordered on the side. I also asked for my bun to be toasted- it was not. What I received: Nothing was on the side as ordered. A scrap of lettuce, two tiny rings of red onion and two small tomato ends were on the open face bun. They forgot the Swiss Cheese. My French-fries were mushy and undercooked. On top of them was an ocean of gravy making the fries even soggier. They were of low quality and basically inedible. The meal was quite poor. I ate a third of it and walked out hungry. The high point was the fresh ice tea....a refill came just before the check. I give this experience a 1 out of 10 burgers.. We will not go back. A shame. Was looking forward to finding a new place to visit regularly. The staff was great, the holding-cell back dining room is a place to avoid.
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michael perry
Went to The Gem for brunch today and let me say The Gem was not a Gem at all. I ordered a country fried steak which came with home fries, toast, and eggs. The only edible part of my meal was the eggs. The country fried steak was a meat that I couldnt identify so I asked what it was and was told beef, I asked my server if she had ever had grey steak before. I was then informed that it comes frozen and all of the area restaurants order from the same place. My reply was that I found the meat unidentifiable and that I had never had anything that tasted like this did. The reply folloeing that was that everyone always raves about their country fried steak (I cant imagine that to be true). My home fries were under cooked and the toast was well hockey puck hard. Needless to say we will not be returning. The server did offer me a tip, she said at least next time I know what not to order. My reply "there wont be a next time).
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Victoria Yeldon
Met my family this morning at the gem for the first time. I wasnt that bothered by how long it took to get our food or the crazy line to get in. But when I received my biscuits and gravy they were the worst. The biscuit was hard, so hard in fact the gravy didnt soak into it. At the end of our meal our waitress finally came back and I told her I didnt like it. I literally had only picked at it. She said ok and left to attend to more tables. Next she brought the check and I asked her if she charged me for the biscuits and gravy. She told me that the boss was a real stickler and they dont refund for food that people just didnt like. Unless something was wrong with it they dont do anything. I told her the biscuits were stale and hard. She replied that she would mention it to the manager but they were make fresh yesterday. Then she left again obviously with no care for customer satisfaction. Will not be going back.
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Harvey Caywood
Theyre saving my life as a middle-aged bachelor; cause micro-wave "dinners" only go so far and baloney sandwiches get "old" after a short while. Gem is light-years beyond what I can do for myself with respect to nurishment - let alone, the potential for self-induced poisoning is virtually zero when my meals are placed in their capable hands. All employees there are extremely responsive; ultra effective too, cause theyre very skilled, motivated and Customer-Satisfaction Driven. The only thing for me when there is being addressed as "Sir"... but that happens alot in a universal manner. Its a burden borne when ones hair goes alittle grey and motions alittle slower.
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Jeff Bachstein
We ended up at The Gem because of a mishap at another restaurant. So glad we did. Chuck immediately set our party of 8 up in the back room with Bridgette. We had our food in about 10 minutes, cooked perfectly. The food and deserts were incredible. Chuck checked on us several times and Brigette was excellent and very attentive to us. Havent been in probably 20 years, but will definitely be back. It is now our new favorite dinner. If you havent been in awhile, you need to check it out.
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Adam Perkins
The food was good and so was the service. Too bad their local customer "Jerry" would not stop clearing is throat every 4 min. You would think the employees could say something while a room full of paying customers could enjoy our meal without the constant reminder of the phlegm being relocated from is ass to his mouth . If u are on a first name basis and keep going to his table to BS , then you should not have an issue with asking him to respect others in your establishment.
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Jay Smith
Rotten service! Rotten wait staff. Menu said potato pancakes and she came out with hash browns with sour cream on them. Then, when I sent it back with out touching it, and asked for something else she said she was going to charge me for both. The order of eggs my friend got where cooked wrong as well. Nothing was done about it. I will go out of my way to tell others of my rotten experience.
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Jeremy Ridgestone
The Gem is an amazing diner. The fried chicken dinner is one of my favorites. If I wasnt trying to loose weight, Id be all over the desserts. TBH, I like the Gem a lot better than another nearby diner. Extremely clean and friendly. The owner is totally hands-on, and the staff are always friendly and helpful, even when you have a toddler or two in tow.
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Andrew Grossardt
The platonic ideal of diner food. Big menu, great service, watery coffee, pretty much exactly what you want when you eat in a double-wide trailer. I had the fried pickles, boneless wings, one of the (massive) burgers, and some hashbrowns. Everything was better than I hoped itd be, and if I lived in Syracuse, I would destroy my body here.
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John Toomey
Three of us had lunch on a Friday.Place was busy but we were seated quickly. Service was great, waitress friendly and engaging. Food come in reasonable time, all meals were generous and tasty. Noticde large breakfasts still being served next to us. Prices what youd except, would go again and recommend.
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Paul Sweeney
This diner has lot of entries with eggs, meat, potato and toasts or biscuits. Pancake is also offered. I had meat lover omelette with bacon, chopped ham, sausage and pepperoni and cheese to go with hash brown or home fries and 2 toasts. This diner is worth going back. I see they offers pies too.
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A Private User
Service was horrible. Had to ask the busser to get a server to give us coffee. Once we go got coffee the server threw sweet n low on the table. The real server then came over and said "sorry for the wait, everyones so needy today" food was ok, not anything special.
