East River Diner

Clean, rear décor, and solid reasonably priced food is reason enough for a visit. The attentive staff are icing on the chocolate fudge cake. :-)

East River Diner is my go-​to UES diner. I’ve been there a bunch of times, esp. for brunch on the wkends and they always get it right. The service is prompt and friendly, and the restaurant itself is clean. I’ve also ordered delivery from there when I’ve been sick and/​or lazy, and enjoyed how quickly it came.
Overall, it’s a pretty standard diner but I have no complaints other than the fact that they never have Splenda on the table. The waitress is always able to source up packets for me though. Otherwise, a solid place and I’m sure I’ll be back soon.

I want so badly to give this place a great review, because the service is SO friendly and it’s a great, clean place to grab a bite at any time of day. I really like the atmosphere– bright, cheery, and casual. Unfortunately, the food I’ve had here just hasn’t been that great.
The first time I went, my husband ordered a chicken sandwich and I had a tuna melt. The tuna melt was fine, but a bit dry. My husband had no complaints about his sandwich. The second time, husband ordered a bowl of soup for $ 5. I kid you not– it was Campbell’s chicken noodle. I’d recognize those tiny noodles and dehydrated pieces of «chicken» anywhere. I had the moussaka. It came with a «Greek» salad which was just a normal salad with large chunks of feta, a couple of kalamata olives, and bottled Italian dressing. I much rather would have used the olive oil & vinegar they have on the table (which I think is a great idea to have!). The moussaka itself was so overloaded with salt I could barely touch it.
I think this place could use a little Restaurant Impossible to improve the food. My husband and I couldn’t stop talking about what Robert would say about this place!

Service was horrible and food was bland and flavorless. As soon as we sat down three waiters came to take our order before we could look at the menu. We kept saying we needed a minute and then they literally came back a minute later. When I said we were still looking at the menu, the guy said «you said one minute!». The waiters were literally running around with drinks and spilling on us, our coats and food. When I complained they just ignored me. The food had no flavor and we had to wait to get knives while our food got cold. Even salt, pepper and hot sauce don’t add much flavor tithe omelettes. This place is a nightmare and the worst diner experience I have ever had.

2 am in the UES, we’re searching for a diner. Jackson Hole– closed. Big Daddy’s– closed. Wandering down 1^st Ave, the East River Diner is an oasis in the desert of closed restaurants
Inside it is clean, calm. Music is an 80s and soft rock mix. The menu is standard diner fare, and it has the standard diner taste. Yes, I’ve had better eggs and potatoes, but it’s 2am in the UES, and it really hits the spot.

Coffee here is pretty damn good! Mmmmm… coffee. Hot tasty coffee. Served in those classic heavy thick white coffee mugs. A refill? Yes, please. Top it off again? Oh yeah! Another cup before I leave? Oh baby, give it to me!
Yeah, I like my caffeine in the morning. I’m a coffee whore.
For some reason I got up early today and decided to take a walk off the normal beaten path to my subway stop. It was a nice sunny morning out and cool in the shade. I came across East River Diner and jumped in for a quick breakfast. The place itself is bright, clean, and sunny. As the UES is diner central over here this one is not too different from the others. It’s a solid locals diner that boasts a nice list of breakfast specials as a decent diner should! Standard menu of all the normal diner stuff — breakfast, burgers, wraps, entrees, salads, etc.
I ordered one of the breakfast specials — Two scrambled eggs, bacon cooked crispy, home fries, whole wheat toast, and coffee for $ 5.95. Had it with egg whites for an extra $ 1. I must say that the eggs were prepared with no oil, butter, or greasiness on the plate at all. I even liked the home fries as they had a nice seasoning on them and chopped pepper and onion. A good deal for a diner breakfast that hot the spot. Still, why do diners charge extra for egg whites? Minor pet peeve.
My waitress was super friendly and attentive. Food was served up quick and hot. Numerous coffee and water refills. It’s a nice diner option to have in the neighborhood.
Another coffee refill? Sure, why not? Hey — why is everything shaking?

having plenty of friends in Jersey that I visit often, I know of the marvel that is pork roll… and it’s rare that I find a place here in the city that has it. but now that I know — East River Diner, you got a friend in me!
challah bread French toast with pork roll? yes please. the French toast was good, but the pork roll was as glorious as it should be. I’m getting a hankering for it now.
standard diner menu with a few neat additions (a nice variety of burgers of wraps) and decent prices. very clean place, and fast service. the coffee ain’t bad either.
DID I MENTION THE PORK ROLL?!

You had me at «real maple syrup», East River Diner.
I moved to the neighborhood recently and I had previously tried getting my greasy Sunday brunch on at Green Kitchen, but just nothing was quite right there. But at the East River Diner, it’s so right.
We got whole wheat blueberry pancakes ($ 8.75?) with butter and real maple syrup (additional $ 1.50), and 2 eggs over medium with potatoes and toast ($ 5.75?). The pancakes were delish; my only complaint was that $ 1.50 only got me a tiny 1.6 oz pot of maple syrup, which is NOT ENOUGH for a native Minnesotan who is about to eat three plate-​sized pancakes. If I had an appropriate container, I would bring some in my purse next time, because I don’t want to drop three to five on maple syrup every time I go there.
Very small complaint: I asked for the eggs over medium (I actually like my eggs over easy, but I hate uncooked whites, so I always ask for medium to try to avoid this) and the whites were still not cooked!!! Argh! But the potatoes were very good and even the toast was good! It was so crispy! Yum.
The atmosphere felt nice and service was quick and friendly. Yay! I’ve found my Sunday brunch place!

Had Tuna on Rye which came with coleslaw (which was the amazing by the way) and pickles. The sandwich it self was huge, I could not finish it and I have a very good appetite.
Place is very neat, the owner and waitstaff very friendly. I would go again.

its still great, i just had Eggs Benedict — there is always enough food in one order for two, and at night this glamorous mature gentleman Tony works the graveyard shift. Gracie Mews Diner, a block up, is highly regarded but it is much more expensive and the food is half as good. Please never go away, East River Diner.

Absolutely one of my favorite places for breakfast! I still refer to it as Café 79. A friend took me here and it was great. Great service and very «small town feel» which is a nice change for the city. Great food with more than generous portions. If you are ever on the East Side… this is a great food stop!

They have pork roll. That’s all you need to know

After moving in to my apartment, my parents and I went to Café 79, and ate lunch. Without a host, we really weren’t sure where we were supposed to sit, and no real visible sign to seat yourself.
The food was really good, with large portions to take home. I’d say the place is good for families, but I didn’t check for a kid’s menu. I had the Four Seasons Foccacia, and it was delish! Loved every bite, and saved some for later.
Prices are slightly higher than Gracie Mew’s down the street, but it’s not bad for what you get.
Service was good. I didn’t expect much, but the waiter was very kind. Unfortunately, he promised to keep our water cups full, but really didn’t do it. Food made up for it.
I’d highly recommend the chicken noodle soup for a day that you are sick. I think it’s homemade, and it’s really great!
Don’t go for an «ambiance.» It’s clean, but the booths really could use some good vacuuming.

I don’t know what’s bothering all the crabby little waiters in this place, but without fail, on the few occasions that we’ve made the mistake of eating here, they were always nasty and inattentive. God forbid one should mention this to them and the service only becomes worse. As I’ve mentioned in the past, I always try to look at the bright side and accredit poor service to an occasional fluke, but this place insults customers so regularly that they have thoroughly disproven my theory. They are just consistently lousy here.
The food here is a similar story: Bland, questionably fresh, non-​impressive diner fare flung onto the tables as carelessly as possible. On every occasion that we were there, early in the evening, they’ve run out of major menu items and offered no substitutions or suggestions for alternate choices. Even if they do have what you want, they’ll often «forget» components of the meal, and, if you should remind them, God only knows what they might do to your food, as is evident by the angry, contemptuous looks they give you in place of an apology. And don’t even bother mentioning any of this to the indifferent buffoon of a «manager», who gives even less of a shit than the waiters do. It almost seems as if he trains these rude servers to aspire to be as careless and unconcerned as he is.
As if this dismal dining experience wasn’t enough to send any half-​witted diner running in the opposite direction, the filthy Café 79 now boasts a blaring «C» rating in their window. Hallelujah. Maybe that’ll put a match under their asses to clean up their act, figuratively AND literally, although I wouldn’t know for sure, since that «C» in the window finally did it for me and I will never return here again to find out.
There are some good diners on the UES, but this is not one of them. Keep going and don’t waste your time at this dump.

Ordered a turkey club wrap and all the tomatoes in the wrap were clearly rotten!
Disgusting. Never eating here again.
Gave them 1 star for speedy delivery.

I’m really teetering between 2 stars and 3, but I guess I will settle on 2. My friend and I popped into this place to watch the marathon along 1^st Ave. I mean because really, why shouldn’t we be eating while people are running 26 miles? Makes sense to me. We were sat at a booth that had a perfect view of 1^st Avenue. Awesome. The meal, however, was not so awesome. I ordered the turkey, swiss and avocado omelet. It was stuffed with the most low-​grade cheese and meat. The potatoes that came on the side were mushy and barely cooked. The fruit cup was nice and fresh as was the OJ. I found the price to be a tad on the heavy side especially considering the portion size and what you get: $ 13 for a small omelet a scoop of potatoes, thin toast and a shot of fresh OJ. It was more of a $ 10 meal.
The service was friendly and the deliver of the food was really quick. The interior was kind of shabby and gross. A step below your typical diner gross (torn seats, sticky tables, trash and food by my feet).
If it weren’t for the marathon, I would have never step foot inside this place. If I’m not actually running the marathon next year, I’d probably return as it gave an awesome view of all the dedicated runners passing by. So I guess I’ll be back next year.

A terse and specific review:
Great black-​and-​white milkshakes. Just enough chocolate sauce.

I can only base this review on two things: Delivery, and Blue Berry Pancakes.
!.) Delivery: Well it took about 20 minutes from the time I ordered for the food to be in my kitchen so that’s an A+ in my book!
2) Blueberry Pancakes: SOOOOOOOO GOOOOOOOD!!! I have been struggling to find a place on the UES that has good blueberry pancakes and I have been let down every time until now! You get 2 HUGE pancaked that are so generously filled with delicious blueberry’s. They are SOO good!
I will be ordering time and time again, and I know I won’t be disappointed!
****UPDATE: I order delivery breakfast all the time since they have the BEST BLUEBERRY PANCAKES EVER… and the last time, it only took 12 minutes from the time I ordered for it to get to my apartment!!! Amazing!!!

Good staff. The turkey club is enough for two.

I was devastated when I returned from the holidays last year to find my neighborhood go-​to had closed. There was a note on the window that said they had closed. I spent the past 9 months trying to find a replacement and ultimately failed. Nothing lived up to my expectations — they were either overpriced with mediocre food or disappointing food at reasonable prices.
To my surprise, I walked by about a month ago and found new signage and the windows had been re-​papered so you could see that they had installed new lighting inside. Renovations! Café 79 wasn’t closed forever but temporarily closed for renovations. They didn’t post when they’d reopen but I’d go by every weekend to check. They opened approximately three weeks ago. I was worried the renovations would mean a different (more expensive menu). Luckily, the menu was the same. And they’ve now added a weekend brunch special for $ 12.95 that includes a coffee/​tea, juice, fruit cup/​half melon, and entrée.
I can’t express how much I love brunch here. It is your typical diner food but at reasonable prices and always delicious, well prepared, and fast service. Enjoyed the brunch special with the steak and eggs my first visit. There was no additional charge for the steak & eggs and it was great. It isn’t a steakhouse quality steak but good enough to satiate a meat craving. I went the following day again cause my friend was also excited it has reopened. I had the lumberjack special with a side of chocolate chip pancakes. My friends and I enjoy the chocolate chip pancakes. They were kind enough to let me substitute chocolate chip pancakes instead of the regular pancakes that come with the lumberjack special.
Went again last week and enjoyed the corned beef hash (and a side of chocolate chip pancakes for the table). The waiter mixed up the sides (swapped the french fries and home fries on my friends’ plates) and instead of getting us an extra plate to swap them on to, he brought us two more sides of french fries and home fries! It was a carb overload but we appreciated the gesture and willingness to fix their mistake.
Highly recommend this place — I’ve never been for lunch/​dinner but I’ve never been disappointed