If you celebrate St. Patrick’s Day on March 17 with corned beef and cabbage, you’ll want to check out R Diner in Monroe.
Monroe News readers voted the South Monroe Street restaurant as the best place in Monroe County for the traditional Irish meal.
Purchased in 2017, Ilir and Blerina Kurti own the business located at 723 S. Monroe St.
The restaurant is known for its comfort food and secured first place for breakfast in a Monroe News 2025 poll. It was also recognized as a top contender for best soup.
The diner offers breakfast, lunch and dinner and has a reputation for friendly and fast service. It is open from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sundays.
Corned beef and cabbage is only served on St. Patrick’s Day. About 250 meals were served last year.
“I am so excited. This makes me happy,” Blerina Kurti said. “Our corned beef is very good. It’s my husband’s recipe and everything is made from scratch.”
Second place was Anson’s Pizza & Restaurant at 911 Exeter Road in Carleton.
In January, the restaurant, known for its house-made dough and pizza sauce, was voted by readers for having the best spaghetti in the county.
Silver Star Bar located at 10400 Sumpter Road in Maybee placed third.
— Contact reporter Lisa Vidaurri-Bowling at lvidaurribowling@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on The Monroe News: This diner serves the best corned beef and cabbage in Monroe County
Reporting by Lisa Vidaurri Bowling, The Monroe News / The Monroe News
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