{"id":253886,"date":"2025-09-25T15:26:14","date_gmt":"2025-09-25T15:26:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/253886\/"},"modified":"2025-09-25T15:26:14","modified_gmt":"2025-09-25T15:26:14","slug":"the-nyc-diner-isnt-dead-top-critic-picks-citys-5-best-right-now","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/253886\/","title":{"rendered":"The NYC diner isn’t dead \u2014\u00a0top critic picks city’s 5 best right now"},"content":{"rendered":"

Adapt or die-ner.<\/p>\n

Times are undeniably tough for New York City\u2019s legendary diner culture, squeezed by\u00a0skyrocketing food costs and rent hikes leading to higher menu prices \u2014 all amid stagnating demand<\/a>, as Big Apple eaters turn their attentions elsewhere.<\/p>\n

Longtime local restaurant critic Robert Sietsema told The Post that the city is currently locked into an \u201cera where everyone is obsessed with food\u201d \u2014\u00a0where younger diners need their food to be more \u201cinnovative\u201d and \u201cbeautiful\u201d than any homely diner burger ever could be.<\/p>\n

Veteran food critic Robert Sietsema picked his five favorite New York City diners \u2014\u00a0from Tribeca to Harlem and beyond. Donald Pearsall \/ NY Post Design<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re willing to pay more \u2014\u00a0 [but] somehow the old food doesn\u2019t cut it,\u201d said the former Village Voice critic, who maintains an active Substack newsletter<\/a>. \u201cThey want foie gras on top of their special blend of rib and brisket.\u201d<\/p>\n

But even with the decks stacked higher than pancakes against the beloved genre, fans of Gotham\u2019s storied greasy spoons need not lose hope, Sietsema stated. <\/p>\n

Just as the city is ever-evolving, a new generation of grub shacks is reinventing for the modern age \u2014\u00a0with haunts like the Lower East Side\u2019s thriving Golden Diner and Nolita\u2019s Thai Diner wooing younger gourmands. <\/p>\n

And as long as there\u2019s demand for \u201cnormal\u201d and \u201creasonably priced\u201d fare, Sietsema said, some iteration of the classic diner will be here to service that need. Here are the critic\u2019s five favorite retro luncheonettes right now \u2014 and how they\u2019re meeting the moment.<\/p>\n

Kellogg\u2019s Diner<\/p>\n

Kellogg\u2019s Diner has once again become a major draw in trendy Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Getty Images<\/p>\n

Perhaps nowhere is the diner\u2019s evolution more evident than this near century-old Brooklyn standby, which Sietsema said was once of the city\u2019s worst diners, notorious for its \u201cjiggly\u201d fried eggs.<\/p>\n

However, after filing for bankruptcy in 2023,<\/a> the nosh-talgic haunt \u2014 which had a cameo on HBO\u2019s \u201cGirls\u201d in 2013 \u2014 was revived by Louis Skibar, owner of\u00a0Coppelia<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Texas native and Roberta\u2019s alum Jackie Carnesi came in to helm the kitchen, and with her input, Kellogg\u2019s experienced a major gastronomic glow-up.<\/a><\/p>\n

This renaissance saw the introduction of Tex-Mex classics such as guajillo-braised short rib hash with chipotle sauce ($15)<\/a> and San Antonio cheese enchiladas with chili gravy ($22), which Sietsema especially enjoyed.<\/p>\n

\u201cKellogg kind of led the way among diners adding Mexican food and doing a really great job of it.\u201d Sietsema told The Post. \u201c[It\u2019s] not Mexican food busted down to diner hamburger level or nachos level.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also noted that even the classics like chicken pot pie ($23) were \u201crendered with superior fidelity, washed down with a wine list that wouldn\u2019t make you gag.\u201d<\/p>\n

Old pic of Kellogg\u2019s Diner, which underwent a major overhaul after filing for bankruptcy in 2023. New York Post<\/p>\n

Sietsema also praised Kellogg\u2019s for expanding its service to 24 hours a day, noting that they upped the prices a bit but not \u201coverwhelmingly so.\u201d<\/p>\n

518 Metropolitan Avenue, Williamsburg<\/p>\n

Azara Kitchen<\/p>\n

Azara Kitchen in Harlem, where diners enjoy diner classics like Caesar salad alongside peanut stews and other West African staples. Tamara Beckwith<\/p>\n

But is a diner that serves more upmarket and diverse fare really still a diner? <\/p>\n

Sietsema thinks yes \u2014 citing Azara Kitchen, where diner classics like Caesar salads ($19) and plain omelets ($17) bump plates with West African classics like peanut butter lamb stew ($20), along with shrimp n\u2019 grits ($24) and other soul food staples.<\/p>\n

Dibi poulet (a West African street food of grilled chicken with onions and mustard sauce) at Azara Kitchen.<\/p>\n

The former Gourmet Magazine contributor billed Azara as a \u201cWest African restaurant that is \u201cno question a diner\u201d claiming that \u201cit is possible to take the diner as a format and reproduce it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis place represents something like a contemporary compendium of Harlem cuisine \u2014 at diner prices,\u201d he observed, noting that the restaurant serves three meals a day.<\/p>\n

348 Lenox Avenue, Central Harlem<\/p>\n

Square Diner<\/p>\n

Sietsema he likes the Square Diner\u2019s all-day breakfast, the legendary tuna melt ($23) and the Mile High Apple Pie ($10) with its \u201cflaky crust and thinly sliced fruit.\u201d Stefan Jeremiah<\/p>\n

Serving hungry diners for around 100 years<\/a>, the hip-to-be Square is one of the last remaining train car diners in Lower Manhattan, making this early 20th-century straggler an anomaly in the trendy and ever-changing neighborhood of Tribeca.<\/p>\n

Sietsema said Square most likely lucked up in the real estate lottery. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s on a lot that is useless to real estate people. It\u2019s a tiny triangle of land,\u201d he told The Post. \u201cYou\u2019re not going to build a high rise condo there, and nobody wants to build what the real estate people call taxpayers, which would be just a little tiny building with retail in it.\u201d<\/p>\n

The shingle-roofed eatery, reportedly manufactured by the Kullman Dining Car Company of Newark, NJ in 1952, serves an encyclopedic array of diner classics from Greek omelettes ($19.75) to corned beef Reubens ($26).<\/p>\n

However, the expert said the highlights are the all-day breakfast, the legendary tuna melt ($23) and the Mile High Apple Pie ($10) with \u201cflaky crust and thinly sliced fruit.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lunchtime Greek Salad with a Turkey burger at Square Dinner. @squarediner\/Instagram<\/p>\n

33 Leonard Street, Tribeca.<\/p>\n

Jackson Hole<\/p>\n

Jackson Hole\u2019s Astoria, Queens location lights up the night with its vintage neon signage. jonbilous \u2013 stock.adobe.com<\/p>\n

Located just west of LaGuardia Airport, the 1950\u2019s-era Airline Diner is currently the most iconic location left in NYC\u2019s classic Jackson Hole Burgers chain \u2014\u00a0a neon-lit beacon just above the Grand Central Parkway that\u2019s open late into the night. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe menu holds few surprises,\u201d Sietsema said of the airport-adjacent eatery, which cinephiles might recognize from the scene from \u201cGoodfellas\u201d where Henry Hill and Tommy DeVito hijack a truck.<\/p>\n

But surprises aren\u2019t why you come here \u2014\u00a0rather, the point is to celebrate the unadulterated old-school charm \u2014\u00a0from tight booths and a black and white checkerboard lunch counter to the twirling stools lined up alongside. <\/p>\n

Offerings entail behemoth 7 oz burgers ($12 for the regular), steak fries ($6), classic milkshakes ($6.75) and chicken sandwiches ($12.50).<\/p>\n

69-35 Astoria Boulevard North, East Elmhurst<\/p>\n

La Bonbonniere<\/p>\n

La Bonbonniere in Manhattan\u2019s West Village is known for its no-frills breakfast staples. Stefano Giovannini<\/p>\n

With its Spartan red and white sign advertising burgers and \u201cCoca-Cola,\u201d this cash-only, vintage snack bar and fountain in the West Village feels like a visitor from the past.<\/p>\n

Fare here is equally no frills, entailing hearty, stick-to-your-ribs breakfast staples like omelets ($11) and French toast ($12.50).<\/p>\n

This is where Sietsema prefers eating his \u201cfavorite breakfast of two eggs over easy, fried potatoes, sage pork sausages, buttered whole wheat toast, and decent diner coffee.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cThey are expert egg cookers here, and the coffee is better than average, still with free refills,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

How does a throwback like this manage to stay afloat in the wealthy West Village neighborhood? Sietsema believes that \u201cfundamentally, the love of diners cuts across all social classes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Eggs, bacon and potatoes at La Bonbonniere, a favorite spot of West Village-dwelling celebrities.<\/p>\n

\u201cI used to go, and there would be Ethan Hawke sitting there eating his breakfast, and I would go, \u2018why are these celebrities in this diner?’\u201d he recounted to The Post. <\/p>\n

\u201cAnd that\u2019s because people go to a diner to feel like a normal person, which is a feeling that they rarely get to have.\u201d<\/p>\n

28 Eighth Avenue, West Village<\/p>\n

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