Johnny’s Luncheonette

Johnny’s was the perfect place for delicious food after a night of moderate+ drinking.
I love the old-​school feel, including the stylized menus and even the pattern on the table.
The menu is out of this world. It was impossible to choose one dish, so my husband and I split two: the pastrami scramble and the coconut and almond french toast. Both really hit the spot. The french toast had a light crunch and had a great ratio of coconut-​to-​almond. The scramble had an ample portion of pastrami and onions. Even the home fries were on point! And challah bread as a side is a really nice touch.
Great spot for families and young adults, alike. Home run!

I liked this place until I ordered on doordash and received a piece of carrot cake that was literally coated in mold. Avoid.

I’m so tired of the poor service at Johnny’s. If you don’t order when the staff is ready for you, you’ll wait 20 minutes. And the orders are never correct. A simple order of two poached eggs on toast ends up as two hard poached eggs in a bowl of water with dry toast.

Don’t bother with this place as there are far better delis in the area. Still at the table, but so bad I had to post. Coffee had spinach in the cup, orders came out wrong and the food was just skimpy, bad and expensive. Even Panera is far better! Avoid this place if you can.

My girlfriend and I stopped in to Johnny’s on MLK day they pretty busy for it being a 11am on Monday. We were placed on a wait, the host quickly moved the wait down, and we were sat in about 10 minutes
I ordered the Buffalo Mac & Cheese. It was very good, not overly spicy but had a lot of blue cheese crumbles in it, good for my tastes. The dish itself wasn’t very big.
My girlfriend had the «Gone Bananas» dish which was basically banana bread French toast with a chocolate drizzle, sliced bananas, and whipped cream. It was very rich in taste, but delicious.
Our Server was a young woman by the name of Liza. I was very impressed with her attentiveness and courtesy, and I would recommend that if she’s available ask for her.
Overall: I would recommend this diner based on price, service and taste of food.
Cons, there is no parking, bring quarters to feed the meter.
Keep up the good work :)

My favorite place ever! Love the gluten free options. At peak times on the weekends you may have to wait, but if you’re not a big group you won’t have too wait too long.

This place was great. I had a blueberry muffin with omelette. My gf had a veggie omelette, which tasted good. Their coffee seems to be brewed fresh! The problem is the very looooooong waiting lines, even on weekdays!

This is one of my favorite restaurants! The servers are friendly, the service is fast and the food is consistently delicious! Old favorites and new specials are always a hit.

One of my favorite places in Newton Center, especially as a BC student. I love love love the Johnny Marsh special, the blueberry muffins get me every time. Honestly, every time I used to go over the past 3 years I was never disappointed, but recently things have been a bit iffy-​er. I think they got a younger waitstaff, which results in a long time waiting to pay and getting cold food. Still love going!

This is a cute little place the people are friendly there is a fresh catch of the day option for fish which is all local. It’s an open kitchen at the bar where you can see all the action happening.
The atmosphere is retro and makes me feel like I’m in Happy Days which is awesome.
The food was very well prepared. I ate the salmon burger which was amazing!!! My husband got the catch of the day, which was haddock, I don’t know how exactly it was prepared but it was amazing. Both meals had a choice of fries, sweet potatoe fries, onion rings, or chips. The sweet potato fries were good but perhaps a hair too thick as the middles weren’t quite done enough. For the size and items we ate the prices were reasonable.
The place is pretty small so not great for large groups but parties of two to four would do fine.

Been here multiple times, always a good choice for breakfast. It can become crowded at times, but you can call ahead and sometimes put your name in. The food is good. The pastrami scramble is always good. There is a good selection of omelets as well. Will continue to go back when we need a solid breakfast.

We came here for a late breakfast. I got a short stack and Heather got an omelette. The pancakes were extremely buttery, not necessarily in a good way. It was pleasant enough, but probably not worth the calories. The omelette was also extremely buttery, but otherwise ordinary. Service was a bit curt, but otherwise fine. The challah toast was closer to Wonder Bread. (Shanda!)
Through the ‘90s and early 2000s, Johnny’s Luncheonette was one of the best eateries in the area. I loved to come here and get their pancakes, their sandwiches, really anything – it was such a fun an innovative environment, and the (now former) owner would often come around to chat. Alas, it seemed to lose steam gradually over a decade, and now it has been superceded by many excellent options nearby.

Use to be amazing went there recently new owner ship and it was terrible I do not recommend

Holy cow quick service. We had a group of 5. All of us were «special», like we want the cheeseburger no cheese special. And, they were kind accommodating and didn’t complain when we asked them to split the check.
The only thing different that I cannot really complain about… the sweet potato fries. They were different than West Coast for sure but still delicious and so much of the food it was crazy!
Didn’t leave hungry. Great prices for the food. Happy.

My parents and I waited a good 20 minutes to be seated one weekend, and it seems like it might be typical. The retro vibe of the place seems to draw a lot of families, so be expecting to wait in line with a lot of hungry/​rowdy kids on weekends.
I ordered the Madeline Omelette (mozzarella, basil, tomato), and it was okay. Not bad, not spectacular. Portions are pretty generous. I wouldn’t want to wait in a line for it again, but I might go back on a less popular day.

Attentive service, tasty Reuben, delicious fish tacos, savory sweet potato pancakes. The food is better than I expected. Diner ambiance is fun, but, sometimes I expect cheap-​tasting food from a diner.
In detail:
The Rowdy Reuben: 3.5 stars. Beef was almost «Reuben-​y» enough, more so than expected. The bread was thick and hearty enough dark rye to not get soggy too quickly. Perfect amount of thousand island. Served on a bold orange plate. Good presentation. The best Reuben I’ve had is at The Social Restaurant and Bar in Newton, but this wasn’t bad at all.
Fish Tacos: I was eager to try multiple tastes from the menu so I asked if I could order one fish taco and they allowed it. The tortilla wasn’t quite big enough to hold it, but sometimes that’s the fun of a fish taco. Too much sauce and a little sloppy on the top, but I didn’t come here for gourmet. Great fish, and great blend of tastes, not overwhelming or underwhelming at all.
Sweet Potato Pancakes: slightly underwhelming on the taste. I didn’t taste enough sweet potato. Great pancake texture and better-​than-​diner taste. The syrup tasted cheap, but again, it’s not a ritzy breakfast brunch in Vermont pulling their own maple from the trees.
Overall, good experience. I definitely want to come back. The server, though new, made an effort to get me what I needed and to tell me accurate info about the food. He was also honest when I asked if he had this week potato pancakes, and he said he hadn’t. He did a good job. One of the owners was there, and checked on me a couple times to make sure I was having a good experience. I appreciated it.
I recommend this restaurant for a step or two above the average diner but still at reasonable prices.

I’ve been here twice now and really love this place! Their coffee is great, the vibe is fun, and I love their menu selection (everything from typical breakfast/​diner fare to matzo ball soup to cakes and pies at the counter).
Each time, I’ve gotten the madeline omelette (tomato/​basil/​fresh mozzarella) w/​a few additions. it is a little annoying that they charge $ 1.25 extra for certain veggies– I can understand an extra charge for mushrooms, but $ 1.25 more for a few bits of onion? Oh well, I’ll still do it. :) I also like that you can opt for cantaloupe or salad instead of home fries. The salad dressing is actually quite nice– a sweet balsamic vinaigrette.
My dining companion had lunch fare instead and went for the *Pastrami Diablo*, which he enthusiastically proclaimed THE best pastrami sandwich he’d ever had. He was raving about it so much, I was totally jealous. but I did sneak bites of his fries, pickle & coleslaw, all of which were good!
I’m looking forward to my next visit here and will definitely go for a sandwich next time as well! I highly, highly recommend this place and hope it never goes away! YUM!

Pretty good lunch spot. Never went here in the 10+ years I lived in Newton, but am glad that I did. I went for the omelette, which you should not do if you come here. From everything else we tried, the chicken + waffles are delicious. The salmon + egg was also absolutely great as well, but the best item according to the table is probably The Semi.
The eggs are cooked extremely well here. The coffee was OK (as expected). The wait was 30 minutes, which was a lot longer than I thought.
TIP: Make sure to call ahead — I did, but still had to wait 30 minutes.

My new favorite food is…
Most of this diner’s menu.
Upon simply opening their menu,
I found half a dozen things I wanted
immediately… Right on page one:
Crunchy french toast, sweet potato pancakes,
challah french toast, and chicken and waffles.
The deal: I can’t wait to come back
and eat my way through every page.

Can’t believe in all the years I’ve lived in Newton, I’ve never eaten brunch here! Well, there’s always a first for everything and my only regret is waiting so long to try this place.
I ordered «The Semi,» which came with french toast, bacon, three eggs, home fries, and more toast. I was so happy with everything on my plate. The french toast (made from Challah bread) was crispy and delicious. The eggs were cooked perfectly– sunny side up with the insides oozing out. Even the home fries were bomb. Needless to say, I really enjoyed my meal here.
Our server was also attentive and nice. She came around a couple times to make sure we had everything we needed.
The only thing that sucked was the tiny cramped table we sat at. I barely had any wiggle room. I guess don’t come here if you have a large party because there aren’t really any tables to accommodate more than 8 people.
I’ll definitely be back… next time with a smaller group.

«The crunchy French toast: is that gluten free?»
«No, sorry, we don’t have that.»
«Great, then I’ll have that.»
Lay it on thick, boys and girls, I’m here to eat, not peck. I was in town for a half second, so I requested a friend introduce me to a place that does breakfast well and is quick about it.
The French toast had the right crunch: crispy, but not burnt. Nothing soggy, nothing dry about it. It was just right, and the kicker for me was that I don’t like nuts on things, EVER, but somehow the shaved almonds here blended with the bread and egg just right. No lies, you can taste the almonds, but here – even for an exacting and sometimes pissy palate – the combination fit. A miracle, and well before Christmas!
From my visit, I’d say this is a solid 3-​star joint.
«Why the generous 4, then, Kevin?» you ask. A fair question.
MINI-​milkshakes. I’ve never heard of such a thing. Don’t want to be a glutton? Don’t want to drop $ 5+ on a drink that should accent your meal, not BE the meal?
Mini-​milkshakes are pure genius and are cute to boot. They are served in half-​sized glass milk bottles, with the sweetest little dollop of whip cream as the «cap.» Adorbs. I had strawberry – flawless execution.
Throwback diner atmosphere: check
Prices: check
Expedient and friendly staff: check
Everybody wins.