Coney Island, Stillwater OK

Coney Island is just steps from the Oklahoma State campus and The Strip. Students love it for its late-night fare; alumni love it because it hasn’t changed.

Lee (Mr. Orange Power/Mr. OP) has been after me to review more Stillwater restaurants, especially those that alumni and visitors may not know about. Coney Island doesn’t fit the latter part, but I’ve never done a post about it. And besides, what better way to share more about Stillwater and the university community than through food?!

Every college town has that dive restaurant…you know, the one near the bars, open late, that serves up quintissential late-night fare. In Stillwater, that place is Coney Island. It opened in 1969 on The Strip, the heart of Stillwater’s college bar scene, across the street from campus.

Coney Island also has another location in Clinton OK, about 2 hours SW of Stillwater. Coney Island is open Monday-Wednesday 11am-9pm, and Thursday-Saturday 11am-2:30am. As you can image, the line at Coney Island begins to grow at about 1:30AM on weekends, right about the same time as last call at the bars.

Last month Mr. OP and Steve were in town for a men’s basketball game. We walked to Coney Island afterwards, and halfway there Steve and I regretted the decision. Walking anywhere with Mr. OP takes absolutely forever because he stops to talk to and take pictures with everyone. On gameday he wears a blazing orange jumpsuit, but even when it’s not gameday, people recognize him. Then again, he is kind of a celebrity

Coney Island hasn’t changed much since it opened, but that’s part of the charm

Coney Island operates as a fast-casual concept. During the day and early evening, staff delivers the food to your table. Late-night and when it’s super crowded, staff will call your name when your food is ready, and you pick it up at the doorway between the kitchen and dining room

Because it was late on a Saturday afternoon on our visit, there were only a few other guests in line ahead of us, and just a few occupied tables. The Coney Island menu is pretty simple, featuring Coneys, burgers, chili, hot dogs and sides. Oh, and they sell beer as well. The great thing about Coney Island is the prices, as you can get an entire meal for about $10. They also recently added F’real milkshakes and Hunt Brothers pizza to the menu. Large flat-screen TV’s recently replaced the static menu boards above the counter.

One thing I’ve learned from my friends who love Coney Island…they get the same thing nearly every time. In college, Mr. OP worked at the radio station next door to Coney Island, and said he came here for lunch every day. And always got 2 cheese coneys and cheese tots. On this visit he stuck with the regular tots

I have had the Coneys and do like them, but I’m honestly not a huge hot dog person. You can’t even see the hot dog or the chili under all that cheese. But then again, is there really such thing as too much cheese?!

Our friends Jack & Betty drove by us as we walked to Coney Island, and they met us there. Jack got the Nuke dog, cheese Coney and cheese tots

Wow, that’s a lot going on with the Nuke dog! I thought it was one huge hot dog, but turns out it’s 2 in one container. The challenge? Taking a bite and not losing half the toppings. As you can see below, that did not go well for Jack.

He said it is delicious, and a very good mix of flavors , but difficult to eat. We agreed that it’s kind of like a taco, when it breaks apart after one bite.

Betty did the fried onion burger

Another recent addition to the Coney Island menu is onion rings

Steve said they are delicious. I wanted to try one, but didn’t want to take a whole onion ring. Personally I prefer breaded, but also do need to try these…for research purposes, of course.

I always do the deluxe fried onion cheeseburger, with bacon. I went back and forth between cheese tots and regular tots, but finally decided on regular.

The burgers are simple, no frills, with very flavorful meat. I’d never heard of an onion burger until I moved to Oklahoma, and Coney Island does them well. The deluxe burger adds pickles, lettuce and tomato. My patty was cooked well-done; I prefer medium, but with thin patties like this that is nearly impossible. I love that the tots are always hot and fresh, and very crispy. And just in case you want to tell everyone about your tots, you can do it with a shirt

This was my first visit to Coney Island during daylight hours. To me, it’s better as late-night food, but I know a lot of people swear by it no matter what time it is. And besides, I’m certainly not going to pass up an opportunity for a late afternoon burger and tots! The food is always consistent, good, hot, and everything is cooked to order.

For reviews of more restaurants in Stillwater, click on the photos below!