Jines Restaurant

Jines Restaurant is a family-owned upscale Greek diner at 658 Park Avenue in Rochester, NY, operating in the heart of the Park Avenue neighborhood since 1971. Founder George Gines immigrated from Greece in 1954 and initially worked at his uncles' Critics Ice Cream shops around Rochester. He converted a West Main Street ice cream parlor into a full-service restaurant in 1961 before opening the Park Avenue location a decade later. Now in its third generation, the restaurant is run day-to-day by George's son Peter, along with Peter's wife Amy and their two sons, George and Sam.

Jines serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner with a menu that bridges classic diner fare and Greek cuisine. Highlights include:

• Breakfast: A large selection of omelets (including a Greek omelet and spinach-bacon), Belgian waffles, and granola-crusted cinnamon swirl French toast
• Greek specialties: Moussaka, souvlaki, homemade spanakopita, gyro plates, and shish kebab
• Dinner entrées: New York strip steak, Mediterranean chicken, and broiled orange sesame mahi mahi
• Homemade desserts: Baklava and rice pudding

The restaurant also offers a wine list and craft draft beer selection. Catering is available for private events, with menus customized to fit different budgets.

Hours run Sunday through Tuesday from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Wednesday through Saturday from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Jines Restaurant is known for its combination of Greek home cooking and American diner staples, with meats roasted in-house and a menu broad enough to move from a grilled cheese sandwich to a grilled filet. The Gines family's five-decade tenure on Park Avenue has made the restaurant a fixture of the neighborhood, and its sidewalk seating draws steady foot traffic during warmer months.

Jines sits on Park Avenue in Rochester's Park Avenue Historic District, a tree-lined corridor of late-19th- and early-20th-century architecture filled with independent shops and cafés. The George Eastman Museum and the Memorial Art Gallery are both within walking distance. Highland Park, home to the annual Rochester Lilac Festival each spring, is nearby to the south. Street parking is available along Park Avenue, and the restaurant is easily accessible on foot from the surrounding residential blocks.