The Corner Room
100 W College Ave, State College, PA, 16801
The Corner Room Menu
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Address :
100 W College Ave
State College, PA, 16801 - Phone (814) 237-3051
- Website https://www.hotelstatecollege.com/cornerroom/
- Click To Get Directions
Opening Hours
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Specialities
- Takes Reservations : No
Delivery : No
Take-out : Yes
Accepts Credit Cards : Yes
Good For : Lunch
Parking : Street
Bike Parking : Yes
Wheelchair Accessible : Yes
Good for Kids : Yes
Good for Groups : Yes
Attire : Casual
Ambience : Casual
Noise Level : Average
Alcohol : Full Bar
Outdoor Seating : No
Wi-Fi : Free
Has TV : No
Waiter Service : Yes
Caters : No
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Gordon H.
Ate here while at PSU for business. Food was okay, prices were relatively cheap. I had the french onion soup and a shrimp salad. Both were filling, but nothing really special. Slightly above your standard Chilis and Applebees.
(3)Channa P.
Stopped at this place for lunch after looking for a good eats during my first couple of hours at Penn State. I went with the steak burger topped with bbq and bacon , and it was pretty good. It was definitely leaner than ground beef, but nothing really to write home about. My fries on the other hand were fantastic. The Pittsburgh sandwich one plate over looked pretty good. To my surprise despite all the ingredients including beef brisket, fries, cheese, and fried egg, it really was not a heart attack on a plate. You should probably take a preemptive bayer just in case.
(3)Sara U.
Maybe my problem is that I do not understand cost anymore since living in NY. I read a review that says this place is expensive and I was surprised. $4.25 for a glass of wine. This may be the cheapest glass of wine I have EVER had in my life. Was the wine good? Hell if I remember. I would have drank toilet water for that price. No wait that doesn't make sense. Probably should not offer to pay to drink grotesque liquids. I ordered burger and fries, and thought both were very good. Is it out of this word good, no, but was much above my expectations. The service was almost reliable (a few times I waited for a chance to ask for a refill) and the manager (I am assuming) was quite personable and stopped by our table a few times to get me aforementioned refill. I am impressed with the amount of restaurants and bars that flood College Ave and wish I had a chance to check out more during my limited time there, but I am happy that we gave this place a try.
(4)Danny B.
The Corner Room is a classic, all-American diner and is a staple in State College's restaurant scene. I've eaten breakfast, lunch, and supper there but go there most often for breakfast. The service is good to very good and efficient; prices are very reasonable and may run slightly low by local standards.
(4)Kyle F.
If you're in Happy Valley, you somehow inevitably end up eating at the Corner Room. It's one of those restaurants that's associated with State College and Penn State. The service is okay, mostly college students work there so don't expect to roll out the red carpet and break out the champagne. The food is okay, nothing special--you can find better restaurants in State College with a better menu and prices. The Corner Room is one of those ho-hum places that gets a lot of business due to it's prime location on College and S. Allen. Don't go in with high expectations and you'll be just fine.
(3)Mike S.
I come from New Jersey, Land of the Diners. This place was on par with some of the nicer diners from home. No complaints! We were seated quickly, though it was busy at lunchtime on a Sunday. The staff were friendly, and the waitress took care of us. The food was good!
(5)Derek M.
Decent service. Limited vegetarian options. Mediocre food. Slow checkout. There's not much reason to go here aside from the stereotypical state college "ambiance," although the all-you-can-eat pasta night on Monday isn't a bad deal.
(3)Zach T.
A PSU tradition that's more about ambiance and, well, tradition than about fantastic food. Great for breakfast and lunch. Cheap (under $30 for 4), and accommodating if dining with children. I had the burger which was pretty standard fare.
(4)Nick S.
Great place to eat. Had a hot turkey sandwich with mashed potatoes and gravy. Everything was hot and delicious and the wait for the food wasn't that long. The waiter was nice and attentive when he approached our table. There was a long wait from drinks to the food order but it was well worth it.
(4)John M.
3/31/15 Back again w wife Spaghetti and clam special $7. Plus $2 yuengling draft Wife had chick parm $10. Plus $2 miller lite Visiting son at PSU.... Regular stop, great place to relax in booth by window After 3 hr drive
(5)Jeff N.
Convenient and dependable stand-by. Went for breakfast. Food was good, comparable to other diners and breakfast/lunch spots. Service was quick, friendly, and attentive. Inexpensive. True that there are probably better options (especially for dinner), but still good breakfasts.
(3)Janis W.
My son is a freshman this year, and when I drove up to State College to pick him up for Thanksgiving break I decided it was time to introduce him to the Corner Room! As a graduate student I spent many meals here working on group projects and loved it then, and it still delivers. It was a cold November day, so I did the soup and sandwich combo - the clam chowder was so delicious and piping hot - just the way I like it. The 1/2 BLT finished the meal off nicely. My son had a pulled pork sandwich and the homemade chips with Old Bay seasoning on them were to die for! Definitely coming back here again and soon!
(4)betsy s.
I've eaten here 4 or 5 times and each time has been unimpressive. The most recent visit, me and my lunch guests all described our meals as "basic." If you're looking for something that's just "meh" this is your spot. The service was shoddy, and when I asked the waitress a question about the menu, instead of finding out the answer for me, she said she didn't know and just stared at me. Mediocre food, mediocre service.
(2)David R.
Ahh The Corner Room! A classic State College restaurant on the corner of College Ave and Allen! I used to go here as a student every Thursday for their burger specials! When family visited I took them here because every other student did (#Parentapproved) and it was close to my college apt that was only a few blocks away! Funny enough my brother and his GF thought to take me here because they felt it was safe for people who avoided gluten. Fast forward to a recent lunch that was accompanied by my brother and his girlfriend. It was Sunday Funday but we opted to keep it sober as I had a long drive ahead of me. We were led into the dining room after noticing the brunch buffet in full swing. After promptly being sat in a booth we were greeted by our server. I opted for the fajita salad and added Guac for a dollar more (duh! #Nobrainer). All in all, I was pleased to enjoy this detox of a meal. It was nothing to rave about but came out as expected. Not a ton of vegetables in this fajita salad but it was made better with guac. If you're looking for fancier, trendier sunday funday brunch location then check out other places away from downtown!
(3)Chris D.
Not really sure what the buzz is about this place. I'm sure that most people are paying for nostalgia and not the food. I think you can find much better, and less crowded, options for the same price or less.
(2)Sam H.
I have a feeling that people other than students that come here do so because of nostalgia. It has a "college" feel with the way the structure looks. They offered the $9.95 Sunday buffet with the standard fare. We ordered the pulled pork sandwich, strawberry salad, cheese steak sandwich and the bacon cheeseburger. My cheeseburger bun was the size of the HUB. All the other dishes we had were somewhat nondescript. The place was packed and there was a waiting list. I'm not really sure what the appeal of this place is. Oh yeah, the nostalgia.
(2)EG K.
I ordered the Mos burger well done with caramelized onions and Swiss cheese. I got a medium burger with sautéed onions without any flavor, unmelted cheese on a cold bun and cold fries. After returning it and asking to melt the cheese and for hot fries, the cheese still wasn't melted and I got half the amount of fries. The only reason I'm giving two stars is because our waitress was very good.
(2)Cindy L.
This place is okay for breakfast or lunch. It's kind of slow. They have this white sangria with blueberries and apples in it. That's my favorite there (not even a food item). I think it's seasonal though. This is one of those places where if one person in the group suggests it and everyone else is just like "whatever" *shrug* then they all go. It's not a restaurant where everyone in a group is like "we HAVE to go to Corner Room!" Nope but it's not bad.
(3)Jeremy P.
The Bloody Mary's are pretty tasty; mimosas as well. The Food is very sub par. It was obvious to our party of four that the food is delivered frozen off a Sysco truck. Tyler was freindly and hooked us up with a large pitcher of mimosa. There are better options to be had during the pantalone wearing months.
(2)Jay D.
Went to The Corner Room last night, and to sum it up in one word:slow. We went on the later side for dinner, around 7:30 pm. Our booth was near the window, so you could watch what was going on outside. There was a live band next door, which we could hear. We were seated quickly, and ordered water to drink. The water was filled with a lot of ice, so we drank it quickly and were hoping for refills. Our server, Geoff, was slow with refills, and we had to ask a few times. I ordered a cheeseburger, my girlfriend had a meatball grinder, and her brother had a Reuben. It was decent food, the side of chips was great. My cheeseburger was a bit undercooked, but not by a scandalous amount. The downside was the amount of time it took to get our food. It was reasonably priced, but don't go here if you're in a hurry!
(2)Randy B.
I just found a large amount of human hair in my cheese burger Never Eat At This Place!! Disgusting!!!! Manager did not say anything just stared at me
(1)Matt S.
Overall, I would try somewhere else go. As far as the food, I got the fish platter (which only contained one piece of fish) and it was drastic undercooked. The coleslaw was pretty good, but the fries were meh (Note: I was somewhat inebriated so you have to assume the food would have been even noticeably worse if I was sober) . The only bright side was our server. He was very nice and his service was speedy. I wish I could remember his name because he deserves the recognition, but I can't (He was white, mid 20's, glasses, black hair/slightly balding). If I lived in State College I would give the place another shot, but if you are just visiting for the day/weekend I would try somewhere else.
(2)Sa K.
If you like Caesar salads, this is the place. I added a crab cake. It was very tasty. The prices are a bit high but I would say it is worth it. My friend ordered meat, and she felt very satisfied about it. The waiter was so niceee!
(4)Evan B.
Sigh. What has happened to all of these classic restaurants since I went to school? THE FOOD SUCKED -- period. The only saving grace was the window seat and being able to enjoy the "sights" walking down College Ave. I didn't even go for anything crazy -- a simply cheeseburger w/ smoked cheddar and their house chips. My burger came well done, ordered medium (and confirmed on the bill). I took one bite, showed the inside to the waiter and asked him how he thought it was done. He said "yeh, that looks well done to me, but the kitchen is really backed up and there's no way I can get you another one any time soon". I was literally in shock. No offer to take it off the bill, bring something else, etc... I mean, how the heck do you eff up a HAMBURGER, but more importantly that was the worst customer service I've had in a long long time. I always tip 20-25%, but you sir get a big fat zero. That is COMPLETELY unacceptable, especially considering you admitted the restaurant was at fault. If it's not something you can handle, you grab the manager. End of discussion.
(1)Adam C.
My girlfriend and I love the Corner. Lots of good staff members and a good menu. The look and feel of the restaurant reminds you of an old diner but it's a great spot
(4)Samantha B.
It was packed due to it being family weekend. But they turned the tables around pretty quick (shout out to chaynee). We ordered wings and fries.This place is very budget friendly.
(3)Annie L.
Pretty average all-American food place, more casual that you might expect from how it looks. My favorite promotions are all you can eat pasta in Monday nights, and the breakfast special. Good food, above average service
(4)Cindy J.
The Corner Room is a great meeting place for reunions, etc., but watch out for what you order. I had the worst chili ever (fortunately it was just a cup of it). I swear it was made with marinara sauce. The side salad was served on a saucer and the lettuce was not torn into small enough pieces, so that when I had to cut it, it fell all over the table. The only good part of lunch was the company and the grilled sticky.
(2)Kevin S.
I've only ever eaten breakfast here. The food is good, the prices are better and the service is prompt. Nothing fancy.
(4)Dan K.
I have eaten breakfast here many Sundays. We usually order the buffet. This Sunday, service was slow, and we attributed it to the inexperience of our server. I had the buffet, my wife an omelette, and my son eggs and bacon. The omelette took over 45 minutes to be served. By the time it arrived, I was finished eating my breakfast. They also brought my sons breakfast at this time. It must have sat under a heat lamp for the 45 minutes, to serve at the same time as the omelette. It was hard and very unappealing, visually as well as in taste. Obviously, there were major concerns about the efficiency of the kitchen. Based on past experiences, I'm sure this was an isolated incident
(3)Jo L.
Came to State College for a friend's graduation and ate here for dinner. We also like the name of the place. =P I liked their cups and there are etch and sketch toys to play with. And we got to sit in a really nice booth. Made us feel fancy! We ours the Crab and Artichoke Dip as the appetizer. I kind of liked it but is not a huge fan of crab. My one friend LOVED it though. The graduate ordered a Cheeseburger. My other friend ordered the Fettuccine Alfredo. And I got the Pulled Pork BBQ burger. I didn't try the things they got but I liked my burger. The pulled pork was good and it came with chips that was good with the pork. I didn't like the bun they used much though.
(3)Tim D.
I like the corner room ! A previous commenter was right when they said it had a diner like menu, but it's nice inside and you can almost always get a booth for lunch. The food is pretty good, but my favorite is the bison burger. The milkshakes are great too. Would have given it more stars but sometimes I come away thinking that the prices were a bit much for the quality of food, but I still keep going back. It's not outstanding but consistently good with friendly service in a great location.
(3)Melissa L.
I can hardly believe the average review here is 3 stars! I come to a Penn State game with my family every year, and we always make a point to come here for breakfast the day after the game. The servers are fast and friendly. The atmosphere is loud and bustling, and I've never had bad food there. I've eaten here 10 times or more and I've had omelettes and pancakes and milkshakes and sandwiches, and everything has always been great! Even when the line is long, it moves quickly, and it is so worth it. It's a PSU classic, and I always look forward to eating there.
(5)Ka Seng L.
Good food, outstanding service! The sirloin was very well seasoned, a little overcooked but good nonetheless. The service was amazing, our waitress was attentive and she was very kind. Service was very good.
(4)Tan W.
Ate here with 4 other people, neither of us were very impressed with our food. Ordered Philly cheesesteak (best thing about it was the bread), hamburger (it was definitely undercooked and not the medium that was ordered), 4 cheese mac and cheese (may have been the best dinner ordered), fish tacos (I'm a huge fan of fish tacos and typically order it if it's on the menu, this was easily the worse I've ever had, it's as if they grabbed a mission flour tortilla, threw in a few pieces of fish, then a little lettuce, tomatos, cheese, salsa...very disappointing and I may have to refrain from fish tacos for awhile after this bland experience), and I can't recall what the last dish was ordered, it was apparently forgettable. Appetizers: buffalo dip, skip it, Tator tot nacho style was not bad Dessert: sticky buns were tasty, all of us enjoyed it We were here for the week, it was our least favorite and biggest regret. Our server was nice, and the beer special was less them the soda
(2)Denny M.
Tried a bison burger which was pretty dam good. Diner like setting, friendly and right near a couple cool pubs. Summer had baked penne which she said was very good. Not fine dining but good food.
(3)Terri C.
Our party of seven visited for supper and each of us loved our meals. One of our coworkers had a son who graduated from Penn State and had eaten here several times -- including the lunch the day before our visit -- so that was a harbinger of a good restaurant. Our tables ordered two appetizers: fried zucchini and fried cheese sticks. The sauce that came with each plate was delicious and the zucchini and cheese sticks plentiful, lightly battered, crispy and full of flavor. I ordered a reuben and it was wonderful. My coworker had ordered a reuben for lunch the day before and said her sandwich was wonderful, too. There were cheap draft beer specials, the food was relatively inexpensive, flavorful, quickly prepared and served by a friendly gal named Abby. Abby was extremely attentive, competent and friendly: nobody could ask for better service. The gal at the front desk, however, was in training so we had a bit of wait to leave the restaurant because she wasn't sure what she was doing, her supervisor didn't seem to be terribly helpful and the manager, a well-muscled, dark-haired young man kept barking unhelpful comments at both of them. This wasn't too cool and should not have happened. I would certainly go back for the food and the service. Our experience, overall, was very, very good.
(5)Benjamin M.
As many other reviewers have noted, if you're visiting State College you'll probably eventually wind up at Corner Room at some point, after fighting for a metered parking space downtown, of course. There was a bit of a wait to get a table for lunch, but the line actually moved along rather quickly. However, once we got a table, things slowed down exponentially. It took a long time for our waitress to show up and became one of those, "I'm going to order my drink and my meal at the same time" moments, for fear we might not see her again for the remainder of the afternoon. Same thing with the wait for the food....tick, tick, tick. Once our meals finally arrived, I had no complaints with my Hot Turkey sandwich, fries and gravy, which was gone in no time. As far as waiting for the check...yep....tick, tick, tick, yawn. Good food and reasonable prices, just don't be in a hurry to get anywhere afterwards.
(3)Michael W.
Came here for lunch one day. Apparently this spot has been here forever, so I guess it's some sort of Penn State staple. This place does have that old school, local feel to it so, it definitely has some spunk. Aside from that, it really is just another diner in a nicer setting. Sure, you have nice decor, but as a student, who really cares? For lunch, I decided to order the chicken marinara sandwich. Prices here are pretty standard; around $7-10 per entree. As far as how it tasted, it was alright, but nothing to rave about. My sandwich came with a side of steak fries, which were...steak fries. My friends that I came with got burgers which looked pretty conventional as well. On the downside, this place has limited hours. It closes relatively early, so you definitely won't be finding diner food at 12am after a hard night of drinking. The service is alright, and I've never seen this place packed. I'm just going to attribute that to the food here being mediocre.
(3)Liz M.
One word: milkshake. Get it. (Food is ok, staff is friendly and speedy.)
(3)Angela A.
This place is an institution in State College. Their burgers are amazing and salads done right with fries on top! When I visited recently, for the first time since graduating 4.5 years ago, the Corner Room was on my MUST VISIT list. I remember going there for lunch after class, dinner with parents/roommates, and even after "Spend a Summer Day" - my very first visit!
(5)Bill R.
Came here for a breakfast business meeting with, who else, a Penn State prof. He had his usual: the special with eggs, potatoes, and toast. Being the adventurous type, I got the special breakfast casserole with home fries and scrapple to complete my Pennsylvania experience. I really enjoyed everything I had. All of it was quite tasty. Prices are very reasonable and I enjoyed the ambiance. Only negative: slow on the coffee refills (why not give us a coffee pitcher?) so the prof took charge and got up to fill us up.
(4)Andres L.
Burgers have gotten consistently better. Came here with family to reminisce on the good old days at UPark. I only come here on Thursdays though. It's definitely worth a try. One thing to stay away from is the stickie. I know the service at the diner is terrible but the stickies are worth the wait. Here the portions are smaller and not done as well. Last few times I've been here, I've managed to get free food somehow. Mostly because the server added something on the order by mistake but didn't charge us. Who knows? Maybe you'll get lucky too.
(3)Chester F.
The best breakfast in state college. Great service and its very quick! the "early bird special" is basically its own food group to me. check out the history on the walls and the menu for some really great old time breakfast staples like perfectly poached eggs, baked grapefruit and scrapple!
(5)Steve T.
I've eaten here five or six times on my trips to Penn State and it works. Food is typical pub fare but a step above most. On our recent jaunt, we ordered the cheeseburgers purportedly made with ground steak. They were good, a little on the small side as far as pub burgers go, but hit the spot. The hot wings were spicy with a crispy skin and were solid. Nachos had cheese wiz, which we hate, but were otherwise pretty good with plenty of sour cream, guacamole, black olives, and tomato. They have many menu items that cover breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I've also ordered their salads, both the Greek and Cobb, and they are generous helpings with fresh ingredients. Two Sam Adam's summer drafts helped round out the early dinner. Service was fine, and our booth by the window on a beautiful Penn State summer evening completed the gestalt. There is usually metered street parking available nearby. You may have to walk a couple blocks but you are on the main drag. If you are in town and honkerin for pub fare and beers, this is as good a stop as any.
(4)Lauren P.
We were in town for a wedding and wanted breakfast that was quick, inexpensive, and we didn't have to wait. This was the perfect place. The outside is so cute with the large windows and booths looking out onto the main street of Penn State. We went early (around 9:45) which I highly recommend to beat the rush. The hostess sat our party of 6 right away. The breakfast buffet was a great deal but the food just looked average-plain French toast and pancakes, eggs, bacon, sausage and some pastries. We all decided to order off the menu instead. Everyone enjoyed their meal-the waitress was quick to take our order, got everything correct and brought the food out quickly. I had a side of fruit and bagel sandwich which was delicious. I do wish they had more a variety of bagels to choose from as plain and I believe raison were the only choices. The others in my group ordered French toast, eggs benedict and an omelet which they all enjoyed. The one choice I was envious of was the breakfast quesadilla which looked delicious and comes with a side of sour cream, guacamole and salsa.
(3)Matthew D.
Classic Penn State place. Good food affordable prices. Great to take the family.
(5)Peter M.
Very satisfied with my breakfast from the Corner Room. Ordered two eggs over easy with pancakes and scrapple. The eggs were perfectly cooked, malted pancakes were incredible and the scrapple was so-so. Portion was really good for the price. If I were to go again, I think I would just order the pancakes because they were THAT good. The decor was dated but it was a real restaurant, not just a diner or fast food setup like most other downtown State College restaurants. It was interesting to note that the servers all have their hometowns on their name tags, similar to the way Disney World does it. I found it interesting that our server was from a small PA town yet spoke with an affected (and fairly annoying) southern/southwestern accent.
(3)Joe M.
Kind of a tourist-trappy place in downtown State College. Reliable fare, friendly service. I should've had the Monday special of all you can eat pasta for $6.99 but opted for the burger. It was passable and came with cold fries.
(3)Megan K.
The Corner Room is a State College mainstay. Its not a fancy place but the interior is well kept and the service is speedy. I can recomend the soups, they are always good! They run specials and have a good sized menu. You can't go wrong with a visit to teh corner room if you want a small town traditional foods.
(4)Thomas N.
Just creating this review to note that they do not take reservations. Yelp staff feel free to correct and delete this review.
(4)Katie P.
While this place holds history and is quite well known to the State College/Penn State communities, it certainly lacks pizzazz and taste. I've been here a couple of times, and have ordered several different things -- yet everything tastes remotely the same and lacks seasoning. Its traditional burgers/sandwiches with menu items that have probably been on there since the place opened. It needs something new, something fresh. The atmosphere is nice, relaxing, and the waitstaff is generally pretty speedy and friendly, which is the only thing saving this place. Minus the fact that you have to pay at the cashier (which is right where the entrance is to the place -- logistical nightmare when it's busy). Overall, average food and prices. Not terrible, but not the most satisfying place ever. But it will always be packed, just because of tradition.
(3)Michael Y.
A must see at Penn State
(5)Dave H.
The Corner Room has been hyped to me for as long as I can remember, and I've been meaning to try it for half as long. There's always a line outside, though not as long as the Waffle Shop line nearby. A friend and I ventured in, and were seated quickly. The place was packed. Prices not out of this world. Good signs so far. This spot has been open since 1926, and it shows. It's dingy-looking, in an stuffy Old World Denny's kind of way. Eew. I ordered a fish omelette, to my friend's amusement. I don't usually eat omelettes with FISH so it's not fair to judge the place by the dish. It tasted weird. I think I set myself up for failure there. My friend ordered a more normal breakfast - eggs, toast, meat - and wasn't impressed with it. I wouldn't return anytime soon, much rather preferring to hit up the Waffle Shop.
(2)Marlee S.
The corner room is just mediocre. The service is okay, and the food can be found at any diner you come across in the middle of no where. I went on Monday for the "All You Can Eat Pasta" night because I thought I'd get to try as many combinations of pasta and sauce as I wanted. I asked the waitress if I would be able to get half portions because I was planning on getting different kinds and she said that was fine. We were a party of five, and the food came out pretty quickly. I was rather impressed with that at the time, but in retrospect I think it's just because they don't put much time into their food. My first round was linguine with the meat sauce. The meat sauce was basically your standard tomato sauce with verryyyyy little ground meat in it. Maybe three or four bites worth in the half portion? After eating all the meat I asked for the corkscrew pasta with quattro formaggio. I ate a bit of it, and it was okay. Probably better than the meat sauce, but I wanted to try another one that could be better. When I tried to order round three, she said that they didn't allow customers to order more pasta unless they've finished what they were already given.... and here I thought this was supposed to be all you can eat?? Wtf??? They should have some disclaimer about this. Or she could have told me so when I asked about half portions because I obviously wanted to try different combinations! Also, the strawberry shake wasn't very thick, like they put too much milk in there. So two stars to The Corner Room - one for their cheap prices and another for their quick service. I might go and try something else, but not the AYCE pasta.
(2)A K.
I went here with a group of friends at the beginning of this semester. I've been to restaurants with large groups before but I've never quite experienced service THIS slow. So our group split between 2 tables which means that neither table was larger than your average family. After about an hour and fifteen minutes of waiting - and the waitress? Good luck, she stopped by every so often but it would've been nice if she'd brought something to chew on - dinner FINALLY came. I was also disappointed by the way the corner room handles their charge policies. If you charge your meal, 20% of your meal will be held on your card. This is annoying if you ordered an $18 meal and absurd if you ordered a $180 meal. Most places do $1-5, max. I called to complain and while sympathetic, the manager informed me it was "just the system" and that it would disappear, which, fortunately, it did. Funny, because I haven't experienced the % hold anywhere else I've dined. I don't really get why this is a state college staple, unless what PSU really means it wait absurdly long for your food and be ignored by your waitress.
(2)Derek M.
It's not a bad place to hang out, but don't expect much from the food. The quesadillas and the burgers we ordered were typical mediocre restaurant food. The french fries were underwhelming, but I enjoyed the onion rings. Basically, this is a place you go because you're a broke college student looking for a restaurant meal under $10. The service was quick, the ambiance was cozy, and the Etch-a-Sketches at the door were a treat. But don't expect this to be the place for a surprisingly delicious bite to eat. It's just average. But sometimes, you may just want average.
(3)Rachel G.
The service here is amusingly uncoordinated--we've gotten drinks well after our food, which comes out incredibly fast. On Thursdays, the Corner Room offers half-price burgers which I've always found to be average, but definitely not nearly as bad, in my experience, as some of those described below. For $3, though, they meet the mark. As someone else commented earlier: this place SO reminds me of the dining hall food I had as an undergrad...so maybe it's worth the nostalgia?
(2)Richard M.
The food is fine, but sure has a problem with Foul language being used in the kitchen which is right beside the seated custumers. How could anyone in any way not understand this concept? Why does a custumer have to listen to the constant use of the F bomb as though it's a word in our dinning vocabulary? I just don't get it......sad
(2)Jessica M.
Just alright for breakfast. One would expect a dish on the "specials list" (Stuffed French toast) to actually be stuffed with fresh fruit. This is a solid 3 star place because it was a breakfast for two people with food and coffee for less than $20. The service was attentive and fast.
(3)G.U. E.
Food is great and so is service. Love their unlimited pasta deal. Good price.
(5)Katherine B.
Excellent burgers, fantastic onion rings, outstanding service. I will most definitely visit the Corner Room again on future visits to State College!
(4)Michelle C.
On the plus side, it's pretty cheap and the food comes out fast. The food, while decent, is definitely nothing to get excited over and portions are on the small side. Two of us housed the nacho plate in about five minutes (and I didn't even feel that guilty since there wasn't much to it!). A chicken Caesar salad was pretty good but way small, and the boy's hot roast beef sammy with mashed potatoes was kid-sized. Our server, while extremely attentive, was also extremely over-the-top fake nice. It was very annoying. When we saw him out at a bar later that night, I couldn't muster the energy for anything other than a quick wave. Next time I'm in the area I'll probably do a little more research and head elsewhere, but I wouldn't be opposed to eating here again.
(3)Anna D.
The menu is a standard deli menu with sandwiches, salads, and breakfast options. The breakfast buffet is about 10 bucks and included a mediocre selection of scrambled eggs, ham, sausage, biscuits and gravy, potatoes, and pancakes. Downsides were: no bacon, fresh fruit, or pastries. I had an omelette with green peppers. The omelette was overcooked and the peppers should have been diced. My meal came with a hash brown that looked and tasted like McDonald's hash brown. Gross. The only thing I loved about the meal was the hot chocolate. It was creamy and perfect. Service was on the slow side, especially at the end of the meal, when we were waiting for our bill. The prices were about the same as IHOP's, but I'd say that IHOP's breakfast is better. This place is not bad for a hangout at a college campus, but I wouldn't say it's the best or a must-see in the area.
(3)Janet F.
After having been back a few times, I think my first visit was a fluke. In the visits since the service has been abysmal and the food merely so-so, with the notable exception of the french onion soup, which is still amazing. Unfortunately, I rarely make restaurant choices based on the quality of the soup.
(2)Paige D.
Overarching theme? Bland food. I didn't hate it, but I didn't particularly enjoy it. I got the burger that had chipotle bbq, and was hoping it would be spicy. It wasn't even "State College" spicy (yes, that's one of our rating scales. I ordered it medium, and it was probably more on the side of rare, which doesn't bother me, but make sure to get your burger well done if you don't like a ton of pink in it. French fries were decent, but small portions. Overall... it's ok. I'd be okay not going back. I just want a restaurant in town with spicy food! GAH!
(2)Javier G.
Half priced burgers on Thursdays! Great deal for a reasonably nice sit-down dinner. We also had a birthday in the party - they were nice enough to sing to the birthday boy and give him a free ice cream sundae.
(4)Alpha Q.
Good burger! good service. Next time in State College, I go there again.
(4)Brian B.
I made the mistake today of returning to the Corner Room. Granted it was a split second decision but I still expected a pleasant meal. Appetizer of mozzarella sticks came out fine, not that many sticks but we were both hungry. But dear lord, the meals. My girlfriend got the daily special of Teriyaki Sandwich while I got my personal favorite meal of shepard's pie. Her sandwich looked plain atrocious and tasted as if someone had rubbed the beef down with charcoal beforehand. The meat was also overcooked to an extreme. My shepard's pie tasted fine but when i reached the edges, I nearly threw up into my plate. I could tell the pie was premade and just reheated but I wasn't expecting to nearly vomit in front of everyone due to the meal. At least the staff took the sandwich off the bill. Lemme put it this way: Unless you're getting something that can be cooked in a frier or alongside a burger, stay FAR AWAY.
(1)Adrienne F.
Best Place for Grilled Stickies!
(5)Irene F.
OK, so clearly one star off for wings that are really pretty awful. Another star off for having things on the menu that don't actually get made, like eggplant parm. Why is that such a complicated dish that you are taking it off your menu?? That being said, the jager chicken (sans ham for me) was really yummy! The portions were big, also, so I had leftovers (always good when you have a fridge in your hotel room!). Bathrooms are scary and far away, pee elsewhere!
(3)Marianne C.
Five stars for Emma. Two stars for the food. It's inexpensive but bland. While I was in graduate school, Emma was my waitress every weekday morning and she always remembered my usual order and never let my coffee cup get too close to empty. She's working there still after forty years. She's the best thing about the place.
(5)Rolton S.
I did not enjoy my lunch at the Corner Room. This must have been three years ago, but some things stick with you, like a fishing hook in muscle. I visited with my girlfriend and a close friend. We had heard pretty good things about the Corner Room from other friends. We went in during an early afternoon on a weekday in the summer, and so the place was nearly empty. We're starting off on all the right feet. Walking in and seeing the menu, it looked to me like the perfect place to order a simple lunch. I can only think to proceed chronologically. The salad was soggy and tasteless. Well, so what? I wasn't that worried about the salad... I mean, it's a burger and fries kind of place, right? The salad probably got scooped out of a bin where it's been sitting all day. Well, maybe it got prepped last night. Okay, fine, yes, that was a generous fiction. They grabbed handfuls of the sad, vaguely vegetative stuff from some bag in the fridge, where the so-called salad has been lurking for far too long. But the true damage to this limp little pile of lettuce was the nearly half an inch of standing water. Since it did not appear to be raining in the kitchen, I reasonably concluded that someone had finally taken the homeopathic approach to salad dressing. I am sorry to report to the culinary community that dilution to few parts per billion does not seem to work well for flavor. After a few bites, my thirst was fully quenched, and I allowed the server to take it away. It was replaced, eventually, by my burger and fries. The fries were more than dead; they were corpse-like. They had gone from (presumably once) hot to below room temperature. Suppose that you go over to a friend's house and, without asking, you rudely pull a handful of fries from a bag on their counter. You find them to be oddly cool, and you learn that your friend removed them from the fridge an hour earlier, intending but forgetting to reheat and eat them. You would, naturally, rebuke your friend for saving fries as leftovers, but your sense of touch would report as mine: cellar temperature. The clammy skin of the fry did not prepare my tongue for the bizarre dryness that lay within. If I had only kept my salad, I thought, it could have made a suitable accompaniment. I reached for my water. It proved to be heavily fortified. I usually don't mind tap water at restaurants, but this was drawn from a public pool. I recalled reading that ingestion of swimming pool chemicals only presented carcinogenic danger in the long-term. Accordingly, I dismissed any concern for my immediate health. The chlorine began to make my eyes water. Or perhaps I was reacting, but only subconsciously, to what was unfolding. The ketchup was quite good - Heinz, if I recall correctly - but it could not marshall a defense against the dehydrated fries. It did warm them up a bit, though. The burger. The burger really surprised me. It is not difficult to make burgers, and at this point, having tried what passed at the Corner Room for salad and fries, my bar was set quite low. I would go so far as to say that I had taken the bar off the rack entirely, and I generously laid it on the ground. This turned out to be a very bad decision. I should never have let go of that bar, as it left me alone and weaponless, locked in hand-to-hand combat against the burger. I had ordered bacon on my cheeseburger, seemingly just a few minutes earlier, but I found no evidence of bacon on my plate. I worried that it could be a false memory, created by my psyche as a way to try to protect my mind from trauma. I often retreat into bacon-related fantasy when stressed. The bacon-less burger squatted on my plate, menacing my fries with its ghoulish gape. The top bun was sort of half-on and half-off, and in a gentler time, it might have looked like a jauntily tilted cap. But here, in this place, as gravity took hold of the top bun, the cheese stretched hideously. I picked it up, and it was heavy in my hands. The smell was dull, thick, almost metallic. As I took a bite, I realized that I HAD ordered the bacon. No, no, no, I HAD ordered it, and this thing, this hard, greasy, meat-burger-thing had devoured my bacon. Our waiter finally wandered by with my strawberry shake around the time that my expression changed from discontentment to horror. I know this because I could see my own face. I could see us all, as if simultaneously within the room and from a great distance. I was struck momentarily dumb as he mumbled, "Everything okay so far?" He offered the sentence in that way that servers have: only half a question, almost an assertion. It came to me with sudden dread that I must prevent myself from speaking. If I allowed my throat to make a sound, a torrent would emerge beginning with "LIAR!" I would not be able to stop, and my shuddering, sobbing form would collapse under the booth, repeating over and over, "nothing can ever be 'okay' again." The shake was very watery. And I never went back.
(1)Jimmy K.
Many people say that when you come to Penn State, you must try the Corner Room. Food is decent. And very moderately priced. It's a good place to grab a bite to eat if you're downtown.
(3)Kathleen K.
I am so glad to see other people agree that this place is really just not that good. Its the location and reputation as a "PSU mainstay" that keeps this place open. The food is never that great, with the random exception or two (the grilled mushroom panini isn't bad, but way overpriced). Steer clear of the grilled tuna salad (or is it salmon? I forget already because the taste was completely neutral); it is super expensive and doesn't come with anything on it but a piece of de-thawed fish and salad greens. No vegetables, toppings, nothing. Just lettuce (or at least this is precisely how mine arrived to the table). Further, most of the servers must be HRIM majors because its like being greeted by the "somebody's got a case of the Monday's" lady from Office Space. Settle down. Overall, I'd just avoid it unless you're looking for a warm place to sit and look out the window in the nice big booths, which is honestly the only reason I sometimes go there.
(2)Jen M.
Now, anyone who knows anything about Penn State knows about the Cornor Room. It is just about a historic landmark of the State College Area. The exterior is very recognizable to anyone who has passed through the area. "Meeting at the Cornor" is very common. It is definitely a place to try to say that you have been there. They have a wide variety of food options at a pretty good price, but from experience it is nothing to drool over. The food tastes average - mostly your typical American-style greasy food as well as some ok, deli sandwiches and soups. They serve brunch on Sundays as well. Always a line on a weekend, especially if it is a football or parents weekend. Seems to be one of the most recognizable places around, but not for much of a reason. Service is ok, atmosphere is nothing special, but the location is pretty good. No idea why people brag about this place, but if you want an easy place to meet - this would be your place I guess.
(3)John M.
3/31/15 Back again w wife Spaghetti and clam special $7. Plus $2 yuengling draft Wife had chick parm $10. Plus $2 miller lite Visiting son at PSU.... Regular stop, great place to relax in booth by window After 3 hr drive
(5)Jeff N.
Convenient and dependable stand-by. Went for breakfast. Food was good, comparable to other diners and breakfast/lunch spots. Service was quick, friendly, and attentive. Inexpensive. True that there are probably better options (especially for dinner), but still good breakfasts.
(3)David R.
Ahh The Corner Room! A classic State College restaurant on the corner of College Ave and Allen! I used to go here as a student every Thursday for their burger specials! When family visited I took them here because every other student did (#Parentapproved) and it was close to my college apt that was only a few blocks away! Funny enough my brother and his GF thought to take me here because they felt it was safe for people who avoided gluten. Fast forward to a recent lunch that was accompanied by my brother and his girlfriend. It was Sunday Funday but we opted to keep it sober as I had a long drive ahead of me. We were led into the dining room after noticing the brunch buffet in full swing. After promptly being sat in a booth we were greeted by our server. I opted for the fajita salad and added Guac for a dollar more (duh! #Nobrainer). All in all, I was pleased to enjoy this detox of a meal. It was nothing to rave about but came out as expected. Not a ton of vegetables in this fajita salad but it was made better with guac. If you're looking for fancier, trendier sunday funday brunch location then check out other places away from downtown!
(3)Chris D.
Not really sure what the buzz is about this place. I'm sure that most people are paying for nostalgia and not the food. I think you can find much better, and less crowded, options for the same price or less.
(2)Sam H.
I have a feeling that people other than students that come here do so because of nostalgia. It has a "college" feel with the way the structure looks. They offered the $9.95 Sunday buffet with the standard fare. We ordered the pulled pork sandwich, strawberry salad, cheese steak sandwich and the bacon cheeseburger. My cheeseburger bun was the size of the HUB. All the other dishes we had were somewhat nondescript. The place was packed and there was a waiting list. I'm not really sure what the appeal of this place is. Oh yeah, the nostalgia.
(2)EG K.
I ordered the Mos burger well done with caramelized onions and Swiss cheese. I got a medium burger with sautéed onions without any flavor, unmelted cheese on a cold bun and cold fries. After returning it and asking to melt the cheese and for hot fries, the cheese still wasn't melted and I got half the amount of fries. The only reason I'm giving two stars is because our waitress was very good.
(2)Cindy L.
This place is okay for breakfast or lunch. It's kind of slow. They have this white sangria with blueberries and apples in it. That's my favorite there (not even a food item). I think it's seasonal though. This is one of those places where if one person in the group suggests it and everyone else is just like "whatever" *shrug* then they all go. It's not a restaurant where everyone in a group is like "we HAVE to go to Corner Room!" Nope but it's not bad.
(3)Jeremy P.
The Bloody Mary's are pretty tasty; mimosas as well. The Food is very sub par. It was obvious to our party of four that the food is delivered frozen off a Sysco truck. Tyler was freindly and hooked us up with a large pitcher of mimosa. There are better options to be had during the pantalone wearing months.
(2)Jay D.
Went to The Corner Room last night, and to sum it up in one word:slow. We went on the later side for dinner, around 7:30 pm. Our booth was near the window, so you could watch what was going on outside. There was a live band next door, which we could hear. We were seated quickly, and ordered water to drink. The water was filled with a lot of ice, so we drank it quickly and were hoping for refills. Our server, Geoff, was slow with refills, and we had to ask a few times. I ordered a cheeseburger, my girlfriend had a meatball grinder, and her brother had a Reuben. It was decent food, the side of chips was great. My cheeseburger was a bit undercooked, but not by a scandalous amount. The downside was the amount of time it took to get our food. It was reasonably priced, but don't go here if you're in a hurry!
(2)Randy B.
I just found a large amount of human hair in my cheese burger Never Eat At This Place!! Disgusting!!!! Manager did not say anything just stared at me
(1)Matt S.
Overall, I would try somewhere else go. As far as the food, I got the fish platter (which only contained one piece of fish) and it was drastic undercooked. The coleslaw was pretty good, but the fries were meh (Note: I was somewhat inebriated so you have to assume the food would have been even noticeably worse if I was sober) . The only bright side was our server. He was very nice and his service was speedy. I wish I could remember his name because he deserves the recognition, but I can't (He was white, mid 20's, glasses, black hair/slightly balding). If I lived in State College I would give the place another shot, but if you are just visiting for the day/weekend I would try somewhere else.
(2)Sa K.
If you like Caesar salads, this is the place. I added a crab cake. It was very tasty. The prices are a bit high but I would say it is worth it. My friend ordered meat, and she felt very satisfied about it. The waiter was so niceee!
(4)Evan B.
Sigh. What has happened to all of these classic restaurants since I went to school? THE FOOD SUCKED -- period. The only saving grace was the window seat and being able to enjoy the "sights" walking down College Ave. I didn't even go for anything crazy -- a simply cheeseburger w/ smoked cheddar and their house chips. My burger came well done, ordered medium (and confirmed on the bill). I took one bite, showed the inside to the waiter and asked him how he thought it was done. He said "yeh, that looks well done to me, but the kitchen is really backed up and there's no way I can get you another one any time soon". I was literally in shock. No offer to take it off the bill, bring something else, etc... I mean, how the heck do you eff up a HAMBURGER, but more importantly that was the worst customer service I've had in a long long time. I always tip 20-25%, but you sir get a big fat zero. That is COMPLETELY unacceptable, especially considering you admitted the restaurant was at fault. If it's not something you can handle, you grab the manager. End of discussion.
(1)Adam C.
My girlfriend and I love the Corner. Lots of good staff members and a good menu. The look and feel of the restaurant reminds you of an old diner but it's a great spot
(4)Janis W.
My son is a freshman this year, and when I drove up to State College to pick him up for Thanksgiving break I decided it was time to introduce him to the Corner Room! As a graduate student I spent many meals here working on group projects and loved it then, and it still delivers. It was a cold November day, so I did the soup and sandwich combo - the clam chowder was so delicious and piping hot - just the way I like it. The 1/2 BLT finished the meal off nicely. My son had a pulled pork sandwich and the homemade chips with Old Bay seasoning on them were to die for! Definitely coming back here again and soon!
(4)Samantha B.
It was packed due to it being family weekend. But they turned the tables around pretty quick (shout out to chaynee). We ordered wings and fries.This place is very budget friendly.
(3)betsy s.
I've eaten here 4 or 5 times and each time has been unimpressive. The most recent visit, me and my lunch guests all described our meals as "basic." If you're looking for something that's just "meh" this is your spot. The service was shoddy, and when I asked the waitress a question about the menu, instead of finding out the answer for me, she said she didn't know and just stared at me. Mediocre food, mediocre service.
(2)Annie L.
Pretty average all-American food place, more casual that you might expect from how it looks. My favorite promotions are all you can eat pasta in Monday nights, and the breakfast special. Good food, above average service
(4)Cindy J.
The Corner Room is a great meeting place for reunions, etc., but watch out for what you order. I had the worst chili ever (fortunately it was just a cup of it). I swear it was made with marinara sauce. The side salad was served on a saucer and the lettuce was not torn into small enough pieces, so that when I had to cut it, it fell all over the table. The only good part of lunch was the company and the grilled sticky.
(2)Kevin S.
I've only ever eaten breakfast here. The food is good, the prices are better and the service is prompt. Nothing fancy.
(4)Dan K.
I have eaten breakfast here many Sundays. We usually order the buffet. This Sunday, service was slow, and we attributed it to the inexperience of our server. I had the buffet, my wife an omelette, and my son eggs and bacon. The omelette took over 45 minutes to be served. By the time it arrived, I was finished eating my breakfast. They also brought my sons breakfast at this time. It must have sat under a heat lamp for the 45 minutes, to serve at the same time as the omelette. It was hard and very unappealing, visually as well as in taste. Obviously, there were major concerns about the efficiency of the kitchen. Based on past experiences, I'm sure this was an isolated incident
(3)Jo L.
Came to State College for a friend's graduation and ate here for dinner. We also like the name of the place. =P I liked their cups and there are etch and sketch toys to play with. And we got to sit in a really nice booth. Made us feel fancy! We ours the Crab and Artichoke Dip as the appetizer. I kind of liked it but is not a huge fan of crab. My one friend LOVED it though. The graduate ordered a Cheeseburger. My other friend ordered the Fettuccine Alfredo. And I got the Pulled Pork BBQ burger. I didn't try the things they got but I liked my burger. The pulled pork was good and it came with chips that was good with the pork. I didn't like the bun they used much though.
(3)Tim D.
I like the corner room ! A previous commenter was right when they said it had a diner like menu, but it's nice inside and you can almost always get a booth for lunch. The food is pretty good, but my favorite is the bison burger. The milkshakes are great too. Would have given it more stars but sometimes I come away thinking that the prices were a bit much for the quality of food, but I still keep going back. It's not outstanding but consistently good with friendly service in a great location.
(3)Melissa L.
I can hardly believe the average review here is 3 stars! I come to a Penn State game with my family every year, and we always make a point to come here for breakfast the day after the game. The servers are fast and friendly. The atmosphere is loud and bustling, and I've never had bad food there. I've eaten here 10 times or more and I've had omelettes and pancakes and milkshakes and sandwiches, and everything has always been great! Even when the line is long, it moves quickly, and it is so worth it. It's a PSU classic, and I always look forward to eating there.
(5)Ka Seng L.
Good food, outstanding service! The sirloin was very well seasoned, a little overcooked but good nonetheless. The service was amazing, our waitress was attentive and she was very kind. Service was very good.
(4)Tan W.
Ate here with 4 other people, neither of us were very impressed with our food. Ordered Philly cheesesteak (best thing about it was the bread), hamburger (it was definitely undercooked and not the medium that was ordered), 4 cheese mac and cheese (may have been the best dinner ordered), fish tacos (I'm a huge fan of fish tacos and typically order it if it's on the menu, this was easily the worse I've ever had, it's as if they grabbed a mission flour tortilla, threw in a few pieces of fish, then a little lettuce, tomatos, cheese, salsa...very disappointing and I may have to refrain from fish tacos for awhile after this bland experience), and I can't recall what the last dish was ordered, it was apparently forgettable. Appetizers: buffalo dip, skip it, Tator tot nacho style was not bad Dessert: sticky buns were tasty, all of us enjoyed it We were here for the week, it was our least favorite and biggest regret. Our server was nice, and the beer special was less them the soda
(2)Denny M.
Tried a bison burger which was pretty dam good. Diner like setting, friendly and right near a couple cool pubs. Summer had baked penne which she said was very good. Not fine dining but good food.
(3)Terri C.
Our party of seven visited for supper and each of us loved our meals. One of our coworkers had a son who graduated from Penn State and had eaten here several times -- including the lunch the day before our visit -- so that was a harbinger of a good restaurant. Our tables ordered two appetizers: fried zucchini and fried cheese sticks. The sauce that came with each plate was delicious and the zucchini and cheese sticks plentiful, lightly battered, crispy and full of flavor. I ordered a reuben and it was wonderful. My coworker had ordered a reuben for lunch the day before and said her sandwich was wonderful, too. There were cheap draft beer specials, the food was relatively inexpensive, flavorful, quickly prepared and served by a friendly gal named Abby. Abby was extremely attentive, competent and friendly: nobody could ask for better service. The gal at the front desk, however, was in training so we had a bit of wait to leave the restaurant because she wasn't sure what she was doing, her supervisor didn't seem to be terribly helpful and the manager, a well-muscled, dark-haired young man kept barking unhelpful comments at both of them. This wasn't too cool and should not have happened. I would certainly go back for the food and the service. Our experience, overall, was very, very good.
(5)Benjamin M.
As many other reviewers have noted, if you're visiting State College you'll probably eventually wind up at Corner Room at some point, after fighting for a metered parking space downtown, of course. There was a bit of a wait to get a table for lunch, but the line actually moved along rather quickly. However, once we got a table, things slowed down exponentially. It took a long time for our waitress to show up and became one of those, "I'm going to order my drink and my meal at the same time" moments, for fear we might not see her again for the remainder of the afternoon. Same thing with the wait for the food....tick, tick, tick. Once our meals finally arrived, I had no complaints with my Hot Turkey sandwich, fries and gravy, which was gone in no time. As far as waiting for the check...yep....tick, tick, tick, yawn. Good food and reasonable prices, just don't be in a hurry to get anywhere afterwards.
(3)Michael W.
Came here for lunch one day. Apparently this spot has been here forever, so I guess it's some sort of Penn State staple. This place does have that old school, local feel to it so, it definitely has some spunk. Aside from that, it really is just another diner in a nicer setting. Sure, you have nice decor, but as a student, who really cares? For lunch, I decided to order the chicken marinara sandwich. Prices here are pretty standard; around $7-10 per entree. As far as how it tasted, it was alright, but nothing to rave about. My sandwich came with a side of steak fries, which were...steak fries. My friends that I came with got burgers which looked pretty conventional as well. On the downside, this place has limited hours. It closes relatively early, so you definitely won't be finding diner food at 12am after a hard night of drinking. The service is alright, and I've never seen this place packed. I'm just going to attribute that to the food here being mediocre.
(3)Liz M.
One word: milkshake. Get it. (Food is ok, staff is friendly and speedy.)
(3)Angela A.
This place is an institution in State College. Their burgers are amazing and salads done right with fries on top! When I visited recently, for the first time since graduating 4.5 years ago, the Corner Room was on my MUST VISIT list. I remember going there for lunch after class, dinner with parents/roommates, and even after "Spend a Summer Day" - my very first visit!
(5)Bill R.
Came here for a breakfast business meeting with, who else, a Penn State prof. He had his usual: the special with eggs, potatoes, and toast. Being the adventurous type, I got the special breakfast casserole with home fries and scrapple to complete my Pennsylvania experience. I really enjoyed everything I had. All of it was quite tasty. Prices are very reasonable and I enjoyed the ambiance. Only negative: slow on the coffee refills (why not give us a coffee pitcher?) so the prof took charge and got up to fill us up.
(4)Andres L.
Burgers have gotten consistently better. Came here with family to reminisce on the good old days at UPark. I only come here on Thursdays though. It's definitely worth a try. One thing to stay away from is the stickie. I know the service at the diner is terrible but the stickies are worth the wait. Here the portions are smaller and not done as well. Last few times I've been here, I've managed to get free food somehow. Mostly because the server added something on the order by mistake but didn't charge us. Who knows? Maybe you'll get lucky too.
(3)Chester F.
The best breakfast in state college. Great service and its very quick! the "early bird special" is basically its own food group to me. check out the history on the walls and the menu for some really great old time breakfast staples like perfectly poached eggs, baked grapefruit and scrapple!
(5)Steve T.
I've eaten here five or six times on my trips to Penn State and it works. Food is typical pub fare but a step above most. On our recent jaunt, we ordered the cheeseburgers purportedly made with ground steak. They were good, a little on the small side as far as pub burgers go, but hit the spot. The hot wings were spicy with a crispy skin and were solid. Nachos had cheese wiz, which we hate, but were otherwise pretty good with plenty of sour cream, guacamole, black olives, and tomato. They have many menu items that cover breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I've also ordered their salads, both the Greek and Cobb, and they are generous helpings with fresh ingredients. Two Sam Adam's summer drafts helped round out the early dinner. Service was fine, and our booth by the window on a beautiful Penn State summer evening completed the gestalt. There is usually metered street parking available nearby. You may have to walk a couple blocks but you are on the main drag. If you are in town and honkerin for pub fare and beers, this is as good a stop as any.
(4)Lauren P.
We were in town for a wedding and wanted breakfast that was quick, inexpensive, and we didn't have to wait. This was the perfect place. The outside is so cute with the large windows and booths looking out onto the main street of Penn State. We went early (around 9:45) which I highly recommend to beat the rush. The hostess sat our party of 6 right away. The breakfast buffet was a great deal but the food just looked average-plain French toast and pancakes, eggs, bacon, sausage and some pastries. We all decided to order off the menu instead. Everyone enjoyed their meal-the waitress was quick to take our order, got everything correct and brought the food out quickly. I had a side of fruit and bagel sandwich which was delicious. I do wish they had more a variety of bagels to choose from as plain and I believe raison were the only choices. The others in my group ordered French toast, eggs benedict and an omelet which they all enjoyed. The one choice I was envious of was the breakfast quesadilla which looked delicious and comes with a side of sour cream, guacamole and salsa.
(3)Matthew D.
Classic Penn State place. Good food affordable prices. Great to take the family.
(5)Channa P.
Stopped at this place for lunch after looking for a good eats during my first couple of hours at Penn State. I went with the steak burger topped with bbq and bacon , and it was pretty good. It was definitely leaner than ground beef, but nothing really to write home about. My fries on the other hand were fantastic. The Pittsburgh sandwich one plate over looked pretty good. To my surprise despite all the ingredients including beef brisket, fries, cheese, and fried egg, it really was not a heart attack on a plate. You should probably take a preemptive bayer just in case.
(3)Sara U.
Maybe my problem is that I do not understand cost anymore since living in NY. I read a review that says this place is expensive and I was surprised. $4.25 for a glass of wine. This may be the cheapest glass of wine I have EVER had in my life. Was the wine good? Hell if I remember. I would have drank toilet water for that price. No wait that doesn't make sense. Probably should not offer to pay to drink grotesque liquids. I ordered burger and fries, and thought both were very good. Is it out of this word good, no, but was much above my expectations. The service was almost reliable (a few times I waited for a chance to ask for a refill) and the manager (I am assuming) was quite personable and stopped by our table a few times to get me aforementioned refill. I am impressed with the amount of restaurants and bars that flood College Ave and wish I had a chance to check out more during my limited time there, but I am happy that we gave this place a try.
(4)Danny B.
The Corner Room is a classic, all-American diner and is a staple in State College's restaurant scene. I've eaten breakfast, lunch, and supper there but go there most often for breakfast. The service is good to very good and efficient; prices are very reasonable and may run slightly low by local standards.
(4)Kyle F.
If you're in Happy Valley, you somehow inevitably end up eating at the Corner Room. It's one of those restaurants that's associated with State College and Penn State. The service is okay, mostly college students work there so don't expect to roll out the red carpet and break out the champagne. The food is okay, nothing special--you can find better restaurants in State College with a better menu and prices. The Corner Room is one of those ho-hum places that gets a lot of business due to it's prime location on College and S. Allen. Don't go in with high expectations and you'll be just fine.
(3)Mike S.
I come from New Jersey, Land of the Diners. This place was on par with some of the nicer diners from home. No complaints! We were seated quickly, though it was busy at lunchtime on a Sunday. The staff were friendly, and the waitress took care of us. The food was good!
(5)Peter M.
Very satisfied with my breakfast from the Corner Room. Ordered two eggs over easy with pancakes and scrapple. The eggs were perfectly cooked, malted pancakes were incredible and the scrapple was so-so. Portion was really good for the price. If I were to go again, I think I would just order the pancakes because they were THAT good. The decor was dated but it was a real restaurant, not just a diner or fast food setup like most other downtown State College restaurants. It was interesting to note that the servers all have their hometowns on their name tags, similar to the way Disney World does it. I found it interesting that our server was from a small PA town yet spoke with an affected (and fairly annoying) southern/southwestern accent.
(3)Joe M.
Kind of a tourist-trappy place in downtown State College. Reliable fare, friendly service. I should've had the Monday special of all you can eat pasta for $6.99 but opted for the burger. It was passable and came with cold fries.
(3)Megan K.
The Corner Room is a State College mainstay. Its not a fancy place but the interior is well kept and the service is speedy. I can recomend the soups, they are always good! They run specials and have a good sized menu. You can't go wrong with a visit to teh corner room if you want a small town traditional foods.
(4)Thomas N.
Just creating this review to note that they do not take reservations. Yelp staff feel free to correct and delete this review.
(4)Katie P.
While this place holds history and is quite well known to the State College/Penn State communities, it certainly lacks pizzazz and taste. I've been here a couple of times, and have ordered several different things -- yet everything tastes remotely the same and lacks seasoning. Its traditional burgers/sandwiches with menu items that have probably been on there since the place opened. It needs something new, something fresh. The atmosphere is nice, relaxing, and the waitstaff is generally pretty speedy and friendly, which is the only thing saving this place. Minus the fact that you have to pay at the cashier (which is right where the entrance is to the place -- logistical nightmare when it's busy). Overall, average food and prices. Not terrible, but not the most satisfying place ever. But it will always be packed, just because of tradition.
(3)Michael Y.
A must see at Penn State
(5)Nick S.
Great place to eat. Had a hot turkey sandwich with mashed potatoes and gravy. Everything was hot and delicious and the wait for the food wasn't that long. The waiter was nice and attentive when he approached our table. There was a long wait from drinks to the food order but it was well worth it.
(4)Dave H.
The Corner Room has been hyped to me for as long as I can remember, and I've been meaning to try it for half as long. There's always a line outside, though not as long as the Waffle Shop line nearby. A friend and I ventured in, and were seated quickly. The place was packed. Prices not out of this world. Good signs so far. This spot has been open since 1926, and it shows. It's dingy-looking, in an stuffy Old World Denny's kind of way. Eew. I ordered a fish omelette, to my friend's amusement. I don't usually eat omelettes with FISH so it's not fair to judge the place by the dish. It tasted weird. I think I set myself up for failure there. My friend ordered a more normal breakfast - eggs, toast, meat - and wasn't impressed with it. I wouldn't return anytime soon, much rather preferring to hit up the Waffle Shop.
(2)Richard M.
The food is fine, but sure has a problem with Foul language being used in the kitchen which is right beside the seated custumers. How could anyone in any way not understand this concept? Why does a custumer have to listen to the constant use of the F bomb as though it's a word in our dinning vocabulary? I just don't get it......sad
(2)Jessica M.
Just alright for breakfast. One would expect a dish on the "specials list" (Stuffed French toast) to actually be stuffed with fresh fruit. This is a solid 3 star place because it was a breakfast for two people with food and coffee for less than $20. The service was attentive and fast.
(3)G.U. E.
Food is great and so is service. Love their unlimited pasta deal. Good price.
(5)Katherine B.
Excellent burgers, fantastic onion rings, outstanding service. I will most definitely visit the Corner Room again on future visits to State College!
(4)Michelle C.
On the plus side, it's pretty cheap and the food comes out fast. The food, while decent, is definitely nothing to get excited over and portions are on the small side. Two of us housed the nacho plate in about five minutes (and I didn't even feel that guilty since there wasn't much to it!). A chicken Caesar salad was pretty good but way small, and the boy's hot roast beef sammy with mashed potatoes was kid-sized. Our server, while extremely attentive, was also extremely over-the-top fake nice. It was very annoying. When we saw him out at a bar later that night, I couldn't muster the energy for anything other than a quick wave. Next time I'm in the area I'll probably do a little more research and head elsewhere, but I wouldn't be opposed to eating here again.
(3)Anna D.
The menu is a standard deli menu with sandwiches, salads, and breakfast options. The breakfast buffet is about 10 bucks and included a mediocre selection of scrambled eggs, ham, sausage, biscuits and gravy, potatoes, and pancakes. Downsides were: no bacon, fresh fruit, or pastries. I had an omelette with green peppers. The omelette was overcooked and the peppers should have been diced. My meal came with a hash brown that looked and tasted like McDonald's hash brown. Gross. The only thing I loved about the meal was the hot chocolate. It was creamy and perfect. Service was on the slow side, especially at the end of the meal, when we were waiting for our bill. The prices were about the same as IHOP's, but I'd say that IHOP's breakfast is better. This place is not bad for a hangout at a college campus, but I wouldn't say it's the best or a must-see in the area.
(3)Janet F.
After having been back a few times, I think my first visit was a fluke. In the visits since the service has been abysmal and the food merely so-so, with the notable exception of the french onion soup, which is still amazing. Unfortunately, I rarely make restaurant choices based on the quality of the soup.
(2)Marlee S.
The corner room is just mediocre. The service is okay, and the food can be found at any diner you come across in the middle of no where. I went on Monday for the "All You Can Eat Pasta" night because I thought I'd get to try as many combinations of pasta and sauce as I wanted. I asked the waitress if I would be able to get half portions because I was planning on getting different kinds and she said that was fine. We were a party of five, and the food came out pretty quickly. I was rather impressed with that at the time, but in retrospect I think it's just because they don't put much time into their food. My first round was linguine with the meat sauce. The meat sauce was basically your standard tomato sauce with verryyyyy little ground meat in it. Maybe three or four bites worth in the half portion? After eating all the meat I asked for the corkscrew pasta with quattro formaggio. I ate a bit of it, and it was okay. Probably better than the meat sauce, but I wanted to try another one that could be better. When I tried to order round three, she said that they didn't allow customers to order more pasta unless they've finished what they were already given.... and here I thought this was supposed to be all you can eat?? Wtf??? They should have some disclaimer about this. Or she could have told me so when I asked about half portions because I obviously wanted to try different combinations! Also, the strawberry shake wasn't very thick, like they put too much milk in there. So two stars to The Corner Room - one for their cheap prices and another for their quick service. I might go and try something else, but not the AYCE pasta.
(2)Brian B.
I made the mistake today of returning to the Corner Room. Granted it was a split second decision but I still expected a pleasant meal. Appetizer of mozzarella sticks came out fine, not that many sticks but we were both hungry. But dear lord, the meals. My girlfriend got the daily special of Teriyaki Sandwich while I got my personal favorite meal of shepard's pie. Her sandwich looked plain atrocious and tasted as if someone had rubbed the beef down with charcoal beforehand. The meat was also overcooked to an extreme. My shepard's pie tasted fine but when i reached the edges, I nearly threw up into my plate. I could tell the pie was premade and just reheated but I wasn't expecting to nearly vomit in front of everyone due to the meal. At least the staff took the sandwich off the bill. Lemme put it this way: Unless you're getting something that can be cooked in a frier or alongside a burger, stay FAR AWAY.
(1)Irene F.
OK, so clearly one star off for wings that are really pretty awful. Another star off for having things on the menu that don't actually get made, like eggplant parm. Why is that such a complicated dish that you are taking it off your menu?? That being said, the jager chicken (sans ham for me) was really yummy! The portions were big, also, so I had leftovers (always good when you have a fridge in your hotel room!). Bathrooms are scary and far away, pee elsewhere!
(3)Marianne C.
Five stars for Emma. Two stars for the food. It's inexpensive but bland. While I was in graduate school, Emma was my waitress every weekday morning and she always remembered my usual order and never let my coffee cup get too close to empty. She's working there still after forty years. She's the best thing about the place.
(5)Rolton S.
I did not enjoy my lunch at the Corner Room. This must have been three years ago, but some things stick with you, like a fishing hook in muscle. I visited with my girlfriend and a close friend. We had heard pretty good things about the Corner Room from other friends. We went in during an early afternoon on a weekday in the summer, and so the place was nearly empty. We're starting off on all the right feet. Walking in and seeing the menu, it looked to me like the perfect place to order a simple lunch. I can only think to proceed chronologically. The salad was soggy and tasteless. Well, so what? I wasn't that worried about the salad... I mean, it's a burger and fries kind of place, right? The salad probably got scooped out of a bin where it's been sitting all day. Well, maybe it got prepped last night. Okay, fine, yes, that was a generous fiction. They grabbed handfuls of the sad, vaguely vegetative stuff from some bag in the fridge, where the so-called salad has been lurking for far too long. But the true damage to this limp little pile of lettuce was the nearly half an inch of standing water. Since it did not appear to be raining in the kitchen, I reasonably concluded that someone had finally taken the homeopathic approach to salad dressing. I am sorry to report to the culinary community that dilution to few parts per billion does not seem to work well for flavor. After a few bites, my thirst was fully quenched, and I allowed the server to take it away. It was replaced, eventually, by my burger and fries. The fries were more than dead; they were corpse-like. They had gone from (presumably once) hot to below room temperature. Suppose that you go over to a friend's house and, without asking, you rudely pull a handful of fries from a bag on their counter. You find them to be oddly cool, and you learn that your friend removed them from the fridge an hour earlier, intending but forgetting to reheat and eat them. You would, naturally, rebuke your friend for saving fries as leftovers, but your sense of touch would report as mine: cellar temperature. The clammy skin of the fry did not prepare my tongue for the bizarre dryness that lay within. If I had only kept my salad, I thought, it could have made a suitable accompaniment. I reached for my water. It proved to be heavily fortified. I usually don't mind tap water at restaurants, but this was drawn from a public pool. I recalled reading that ingestion of swimming pool chemicals only presented carcinogenic danger in the long-term. Accordingly, I dismissed any concern for my immediate health. The chlorine began to make my eyes water. Or perhaps I was reacting, but only subconsciously, to what was unfolding. The ketchup was quite good - Heinz, if I recall correctly - but it could not marshall a defense against the dehydrated fries. It did warm them up a bit, though. The burger. The burger really surprised me. It is not difficult to make burgers, and at this point, having tried what passed at the Corner Room for salad and fries, my bar was set quite low. I would go so far as to say that I had taken the bar off the rack entirely, and I generously laid it on the ground. This turned out to be a very bad decision. I should never have let go of that bar, as it left me alone and weaponless, locked in hand-to-hand combat against the burger. I had ordered bacon on my cheeseburger, seemingly just a few minutes earlier, but I found no evidence of bacon on my plate. I worried that it could be a false memory, created by my psyche as a way to try to protect my mind from trauma. I often retreat into bacon-related fantasy when stressed. The bacon-less burger squatted on my plate, menacing my fries with its ghoulish gape. The top bun was sort of half-on and half-off, and in a gentler time, it might have looked like a jauntily tilted cap. But here, in this place, as gravity took hold of the top bun, the cheese stretched hideously. I picked it up, and it was heavy in my hands. The smell was dull, thick, almost metallic. As I took a bite, I realized that I HAD ordered the bacon. No, no, no, I HAD ordered it, and this thing, this hard, greasy, meat-burger-thing had devoured my bacon. Our waiter finally wandered by with my strawberry shake around the time that my expression changed from discontentment to horror. I know this because I could see my own face. I could see us all, as if simultaneously within the room and from a great distance. I was struck momentarily dumb as he mumbled, "Everything okay so far?" He offered the sentence in that way that servers have: only half a question, almost an assertion. It came to me with sudden dread that I must prevent myself from speaking. If I allowed my throat to make a sound, a torrent would emerge beginning with "LIAR!" I would not be able to stop, and my shuddering, sobbing form would collapse under the booth, repeating over and over, "nothing can ever be 'okay' again." The shake was very watery. And I never went back.
(1)Jimmy K.
Many people say that when you come to Penn State, you must try the Corner Room. Food is decent. And very moderately priced. It's a good place to grab a bite to eat if you're downtown.
(3)Rachel G.
The service here is amusingly uncoordinated--we've gotten drinks well after our food, which comes out incredibly fast. On Thursdays, the Corner Room offers half-price burgers which I've always found to be average, but definitely not nearly as bad, in my experience, as some of those described below. For $3, though, they meet the mark. As someone else commented earlier: this place SO reminds me of the dining hall food I had as an undergrad...so maybe it's worth the nostalgia?
(2)Derek M.
Decent service. Limited vegetarian options. Mediocre food. Slow checkout. There's not much reason to go here aside from the stereotypical state college "ambiance," although the all-you-can-eat pasta night on Monday isn't a bad deal.
(3)Zach T.
A PSU tradition that's more about ambiance and, well, tradition than about fantastic food. Great for breakfast and lunch. Cheap (under $30 for 4), and accommodating if dining with children. I had the burger which was pretty standard fare.
(4)Kathleen K.
I am so glad to see other people agree that this place is really just not that good. Its the location and reputation as a "PSU mainstay" that keeps this place open. The food is never that great, with the random exception or two (the grilled mushroom panini isn't bad, but way overpriced). Steer clear of the grilled tuna salad (or is it salmon? I forget already because the taste was completely neutral); it is super expensive and doesn't come with anything on it but a piece of de-thawed fish and salad greens. No vegetables, toppings, nothing. Just lettuce (or at least this is precisely how mine arrived to the table). Further, most of the servers must be HRIM majors because its like being greeted by the "somebody's got a case of the Monday's" lady from Office Space. Settle down. Overall, I'd just avoid it unless you're looking for a warm place to sit and look out the window in the nice big booths, which is honestly the only reason I sometimes go there.
(2)Jen M.
Now, anyone who knows anything about Penn State knows about the Cornor Room. It is just about a historic landmark of the State College Area. The exterior is very recognizable to anyone who has passed through the area. "Meeting at the Cornor" is very common. It is definitely a place to try to say that you have been there. They have a wide variety of food options at a pretty good price, but from experience it is nothing to drool over. The food tastes average - mostly your typical American-style greasy food as well as some ok, deli sandwiches and soups. They serve brunch on Sundays as well. Always a line on a weekend, especially if it is a football or parents weekend. Seems to be one of the most recognizable places around, but not for much of a reason. Service is ok, atmosphere is nothing special, but the location is pretty good. No idea why people brag about this place, but if you want an easy place to meet - this would be your place I guess.
(3)Gordon H.
Ate here while at PSU for business. Food was okay, prices were relatively cheap. I had the french onion soup and a shrimp salad. Both were filling, but nothing really special. Slightly above your standard Chilis and Applebees.
(3)A K.
I went here with a group of friends at the beginning of this semester. I've been to restaurants with large groups before but I've never quite experienced service THIS slow. So our group split between 2 tables which means that neither table was larger than your average family. After about an hour and fifteen minutes of waiting - and the waitress? Good luck, she stopped by every so often but it would've been nice if she'd brought something to chew on - dinner FINALLY came. I was also disappointed by the way the corner room handles their charge policies. If you charge your meal, 20% of your meal will be held on your card. This is annoying if you ordered an $18 meal and absurd if you ordered a $180 meal. Most places do $1-5, max. I called to complain and while sympathetic, the manager informed me it was "just the system" and that it would disappear, which, fortunately, it did. Funny, because I haven't experienced the % hold anywhere else I've dined. I don't really get why this is a state college staple, unless what PSU really means it wait absurdly long for your food and be ignored by your waitress.
(2)Paige D.
Overarching theme? Bland food. I didn't hate it, but I didn't particularly enjoy it. I got the burger that had chipotle bbq, and was hoping it would be spicy. It wasn't even "State College" spicy (yes, that's one of our rating scales. I ordered it medium, and it was probably more on the side of rare, which doesn't bother me, but make sure to get your burger well done if you don't like a ton of pink in it. French fries were decent, but small portions. Overall... it's ok. I'd be okay not going back. I just want a restaurant in town with spicy food! GAH!
(2)Derek M.
It's not a bad place to hang out, but don't expect much from the food. The quesadillas and the burgers we ordered were typical mediocre restaurant food. The french fries were underwhelming, but I enjoyed the onion rings. Basically, this is a place you go because you're a broke college student looking for a restaurant meal under $10. The service was quick, the ambiance was cozy, and the Etch-a-Sketches at the door were a treat. But don't expect this to be the place for a surprisingly delicious bite to eat. It's just average. But sometimes, you may just want average.
(3)Javier G.
Half priced burgers on Thursdays! Great deal for a reasonably nice sit-down dinner. We also had a birthday in the party - they were nice enough to sing to the birthday boy and give him a free ice cream sundae.
(4)Alpha Q.
Good burger! good service. Next time in State College, I go there again.
(4)