Busy Bee Restaurant

Jesse Symonds

Excellent old fashioned diner, from the food to the decor to the friendly older fellas who have been at it for over 40 years. Everything is authentic, delicious and cooked fresh.

Maggie Tesone

Waitress was an angel great food great value 5 stars is not enough

The Busy Bee is very local and very unpretentious. I love it here, especially the coffee, the service, and the fact that they have only one beer in the cooler. It is a diner for ordinary people, maybe not the kind of restaurant for people who read restaurant reviews to decide where to go. They want Jim's.

I'm in the Food Service field since 1982. I recently moved to Rochester from The Bronx, been here almost 2 months. Out of all the places I have ate at, this is MY FAVORITE. Though I only go on Saturdays for breakfast, my job, a kitchen is 2 blocks away, this is a MUST stop at before I put my hours in. The food...it's hot AND fresh. The eggs, I've NEVER seen eggs as yellow, fluffy and the right texture AND taste as these. The breakfast menu, you won't believe the price!! As for the ambiance of the place...there is none. Heck all you come to do is eat, pay and go, but... They allow you, not saying they don't. They allow you to read the newspaper, check your email, (no wifi), and relax after a good meal. This place is a stop at when you don't want to pay for something you're not getting. As to say, you get what you pay for GOOD FOOD!! I don't know if they are open on Sundays, but if they are.. I will be buying, The NY Times, NY Daily News and The NY post to read while I eat a late light breakfast & a good lunch. I had to stop in this place for another reason. Like I said I am from The Bronx and the name of the place is the same name as a Rapper, Chief Rocker Busy Bee. Who, was just inducted into The Hip Hop Hall of Fame in THE BRONX!!

I have been eating at Busy Bee for 35+ years. The last of the "greasy spoon" diners. For those of Us that remember a packed "Nick's" at 2-3 am..or "Marks" on Lake.... We remember great food for great prices..... Stop in , grab a booth and fall back in time. Let Steve , cook you up a filling breakfast... Don't forget the pancakes!!! ✌️

Very small and probably wouldn't have noticed the location had it not come up on Google, but it was good food at even better prices. Plus, hard to beat breakfast available all day. Certainly a place that I would recommend to anyone in the area.

You can't please everyone in the world and just because of a bad experience people use this as a platform to "get back" at the restaurant for one minor mistake that might of been made while they were there, and out of towners reviews should be discarded anyway. Listen to a local rochesterian the food is good staff is great the nestaligia of this place is great old town Rochester feel. Everything doesn't have to be brand new it's nice to enjoy a piece of City as it once was. Don't change a thing busy bee it's perfect the way it is.

Nice old fashioned diner. Friendly staff, good food and great prices. Customers have been regulars for years. Very nice

One of the best deals downtown. The food is very good and the prices are fair. I can see why they were very busy before the pandemic but now Downtown Rochester is a ghost town and they have very few customers. If you get a chance give them a try. I'd recommend the BLT club sandwich. Note: they are cash only, but they do have an ATM.

Very cute diner with great service. Everyone was kind and the food was so good. My boyfriend had a western omelette and still has not stopped talking about it. I had the 2-2-2 and was pleasantly surprised about all the prices. Would recommend to all I know!

Incredible, old-fashioned diner with prices that seem to have been frozen in the 1990s. The taste is fantastic, variety and specials are great! The only negative is that these masters of American cuisine close up at 2:30pm.

My favorite little diner downtown Rochester.... Update, I haven't been there in a few months, and things have really went downhill. The five dollar lunch special was $8, the meat sauce that he used has definitely changed and not for the better. Price of everything is pretty much doubled. I usually have a glass of water with ice, but some reason he won't get a new ice machine and he has no ice available. Absolutely ridiculous, too bad I won't be back.

Darrell Killingsworth

Nice old fashioned diner. Friendly staff, good food and great prices. Customers have been regulars for years. Very nice

Chloe Schaffer

Very cute diner with great service. Everyone was kind and the food was so good. My boyfriend had a western omelette and still has not stopped talking about it. I had the 2-2-2 and was pleasantly surprised about all the prices. Would recommend to all I know!

Rob Lewkowicz

The Busy Bee is very local and very unpretentious. I love it here, especially the coffee, the service, and the fact that they have only one beer in the cooler. It is a diner for ordinary people, maybe not the kind of restaurant for people who read restaurant reviews to decide where to go. They want Jim's.

Johnathan Blades

My favorite little diner downtown Rochester.... Update, I haven't been there in a few months, and things have really went downhill. The five dollar lunch special was $8, the meat sauce that he used has definitely changed and not for the better. Price of everything is pretty much doubled. I usually have a glass of water with ice, but some reason he won't get a new ice machine and he has no ice available. Absolutely ridiculous, too bad I won't be back.

PHENIOX RISING

I have been eating at Busy Bee for 35+ years. The last of the "greasy spoon" diners. For those of Us that remember a packed "Nick's" at 2-3 am..or "Marks" on Lake.... We remember great food for great prices..... Stop in , grab a booth and fall back in time. Let Steve , cook you up a filling breakfast... Don't forget the pancakes!!! ✌️

Paul Bowman

Very small and probably wouldn't have noticed the location had it not come up on Google, but it was good food at even better prices. Plus, hard to beat breakfast available all day. Certainly a place that I would recommend to anyone in the area.

Joel S

One of the best deals downtown. The food is very good and the prices are fair. I can see why they were very busy before the pandemic but now Downtown Rochester is a ghost town and they have very few customers. If you get a chance give them a try. I'd recommend the BLT club sandwich. Note: they are cash only, but they do have an ATM.

Allen Vanderlinde

Incredible, old-fashioned diner with prices that seem to have been frozen in the 1990s. The taste is fantastic, variety and specials are great! The only negative is that these masters of American cuisine close up at 2:30pm.

Brian Valder

You can't please everyone in the world and just because of a bad experience people use this as a platform to "get back" at the restaurant for one minor mistake that might of been made while they were there, and out of towners reviews should be discarded anyway. Listen to a local rochesterian the food is good staff is great the nestaligia of this place is great old town Rochester feel. Everything doesn't have to be brand new it's nice to enjoy a piece of City as it once was. Don't change a thing busy bee it's perfect the way it is.

Michael Chappell

I'm in the Food Service field since 1982. I recently moved to Rochester from The Bronx, been here almost 2 months. Out of all the places I have ate at, this is MY FAVORITE. Though I only go on Saturdays for breakfast, my job, a kitchen is 2 blocks away, this is a MUST stop at before I put my hours in. The food...it's hot AND fresh. The eggs, I've NEVER seen eggs as yellow, fluffy and the right texture AND taste as these. The breakfast menu, you won't believe the price!! As for the ambiance of the place...there is none. Heck all you come to do is eat, pay and go, but... They allow you, not saying they don't. They allow you to read the newspaper, check your email, (no wifi), and relax after a good meal. This place is a stop at when you don't want to pay for something you're not getting. As to say, you get what you pay for GOOD FOOD!! I don't know if they are open on Sundays, but if they are.. I will be buying, The NY Times, NY Daily News and The NY post to read while I eat a late light breakfast & a good lunch. I had to stop in this place for another reason. Like I said I am from The Bronx and the name of the place is the same name as a Rapper, Chief Rocker Busy Bee. Who, was just inducted into The Hip Hop Hall of Fame in THE BRONX!!

great character in building. Food tasted great.

Joe L

great character in building. Food tasted great.

I only had a few minutes between appointments and hadn't had time to eat breakfast or lunch. I didn't think they would be able to cook me anything, but stopped for a coffee. The waitress told me they could make me pancakes and eggs in a snap, and she went kidding! Less than 5 minutes and I had a hot meal made fresh AND a coffee she put in a to go cup so I could take what I didn't finish with me. They only have margarine, not real butter, but they have a secret ingredient in the batter that made for rich flavor...I only used a tiny drop of syrup and found the pancakes were delicious on their own. Granted, I don't eat a lot of sugar, so a little sweet goes a long way for me, but the sunny side up eggs broken over the hotcakes was a very filling meal. Held me over from 1:20 PM until a very late dinner...and the low price was an unbelievable deal. I was told the spaghetti is worth going back for, and the lunches being cooked up did look and smell tempting They do an egg breakfast sandwich for only $1 WITH tax included! Sadly, they are only open until about 2 PM, which is why my night owl schedule has kept me from discovering this gem, but whenever I'm out and about early enough, I'll be back for the efficient and helpful service. But bring cash, to keep your meal cost reasonable, they don't take credit cards.

Cassandra Kelly

I only had a few minutes between appointments and hadn't had time to eat breakfast or lunch. I didn't think they would be able to cook me anything, but stopped for a coffee. The waitress told me they could make me pancakes and eggs in a snap, and she went kidding! Less than 5 minutes and I had a hot meal made fresh AND a coffee she put in a to go cup so I could take what I didn't finish with me. They only have margarine, not real butter, but they have a secret ingredient in the batter that made for rich flavor...I only used a tiny drop of syrup and found the pancakes were delicious on their own. Granted, I don't eat a lot of sugar, so a little sweet goes a long way for me, but the sunny side up eggs broken over the hotcakes was a very filling meal. Held me over from 1:20 PM until a very late dinner...and the low price was an unbelievable deal. I was told the spaghetti is worth going back for, and the lunches being cooked up did look and smell tempting They do an egg breakfast sandwich for only $1 WITH tax included! Sadly, they are only open until about 2 PM, which is why my night owl schedule has kept me from discovering this gem, but whenever I'm out and about early enough, I'll be back for the efficient and helpful service. But bring cash, to keep your meal cost reasonable, they don't take credit cards.

It was alright… just not what I expected from a NY diner. DO NOT order the coffee. Hash browns and omelette were good.

John Scalera

It was alright… just not what I expected from a NY diner. DO NOT order the coffee. Hash browns and omelette were good.

I should've known something was wrong when I asked at the hotel front desk how far this diner was from the hotel and no one had ever heard of this establishment. Since the reviews were so great I got my phone out and google mapped the walking directions. Less than a mile on a beautiful day, I figured I could do that. I almost walked past it, caught the sign last minute and entered. The place still looks like it's in the 60's, maybe a good thing , I thought, till I realized the last time they probably cleaned was the 60's too. The pleasant waitress seated me and I ordered bacon soft, scrambled eggs and bfast potatoes. My food came in about 5 mins or less, bacon looked more raw than soft, the eggs were okay, but the potatoes were so oily I never even tried them. After 5 mins of sitting and contemplating how I will walk out of there, I called the waitress and announced that I was done. She never once asked how my food was and I was happy because I didn't want to lie to her either. Luckily for me it was only $5.95 so I paid the elderly gentleman who was working the grill and left the waitress a $10 tip.

Samantha Grandison

I should've known something was wrong when I asked at the hotel front desk how far this diner was from the hotel and no one had ever heard of this establishment. Since the reviews were so great I got my phone out and google mapped the walking directions. Less than a mile on a beautiful day, I figured I could do that. I almost walked past it, caught the sign last minute and entered. The place still looks like it's in the 60's, maybe a good thing , I thought, till I realized the last time they probably cleaned was the 60's too. The pleasant waitress seated me and I ordered bacon soft, scrambled eggs and bfast potatoes. My food came in about 5 mins or less, bacon looked more raw than soft, the eggs were okay, but the potatoes were so oily I never even tried them. After 5 mins of sitting and contemplating how I will walk out of there, I called the waitress and announced that I was done. She never once asked how my food was and I was happy because I didn't want to lie to her either. Luckily for me it was only $5.95 so I paid the elderly gentleman who was working the grill and left the waitress a $10 tip.