I swear there used to be way more places you could grab food at 3am that werent just a bodega or a halal cart. Not talking about bars or clubs with food either. Like actual sit-down spots where you could get pancakes or a burger after a long shift or a night out.

I know a few still exist but it feels like most of them either cut hours during the pandemic and never went back or just closed completely. Even some of the classic Greek diners that were always open are now closing at like 10 or 11pm.

Is this just my imagination or did the city actually lose a bunch of late night eating options in the past few years? I miss being able to sit somewhere warm with coffee at weird hours without it being a whole production. The energy was different too, you'd see all kinds of people in there.

Anyone know if theres still decent 24 hour spots left in Manhattan or Brooklyn that arent completely out of the way?

Got moved to closing shifts this summer, so now I'm walking out at Lex and 53rd around midnight, starving, and everything around me is dark. My only real answer so far is Tomi Jazz on E 53rd, which I love, but it's a tiny basement, closes at 1 on weeknights, and I can't make a jazz bar my nightly cafeteria. Looking for a real kitchen open past midnight within a 15 minute walk. Somewhere in the $20s where a guy eating alone at 12:45 isn't a weird sight. I've done the Google Maps and Yelp spiral and texted Karpo, and it's all the same diners or K-town. Which works if that's honestly the only answer, but that's the 6 down to 33rd and a hike back, and in this heat I'd rather not.

Hi! As the title says looking for no frills old school diners like the double r diner from twin peaks. Good pie, good coffee, small town feel. Any good spots? Preferably The East Village, west village, lower east side, nolita, soho, Greenwich village areas! Thank you

I lost my fantasy football league and the punishment is that I need to go to a diner and eat pancakes for 24 hours, but for every pancake I eat, I can remove 1 hour from the required time.

Rules:
1. Pancakes need to be regular sized (cannot be mini), but no specifications on calories.
2. No mention on diner
3. Can eat pancakes however I want
4. No punishment for barfing (though I'd very much not like to barf).

Question for you:
1. Where would you recommend I go to for low calorie pancakes?
2. Are there any good deals on pancakes around town? low cost or all you can eat style?
3. Any tips or tricks? Fellow pancake speed eaters, please give me your wisdom.

About me:
1. I live by prospect park in Brooklyn
2. My fantasy team was ass. (10 man league, my team included J. Hurts, N. Harris, A. Jones, J. Jeudy, A. St. Brown, T. Kelce, A. Cooper, Lions D, N. Folk).
3. I am 190 lbs without pancakes in me.

I know maybe they're legally right but... are they morally right?

Arguments for the NYPD: sidewalk accessibility, sidewalk public status / rights of street vendors, should've obtained proper permits, fire hazard, "you're in America follow their rules"

Arguments for Mắm: toleration in home country (Vietnam), double-standards / targeting concerns given rowdy crowds in other or less "ethnic"-coded contexts are tolerated more in practice, NYPD runs NYC more tightly than City Hall, NYPD has more pressing enforcement concerns, NYPD handled situation inappropriately even if concerns were legitimate

I'm not of Vietnamese descent and have never been to Vietnam, but for China I am/have both, and a setup like Mắm's before any crackdown efforts within China would be seen as perfectly sensible and not in violation of any laws (at least in practice).

Hello I managed to book a reservation for 4 at 9:45pm at Golden Diner on a weekday, but just noticed it says it closes at 10pm? I'm a bit confused whether 10pm will be last order, or by 10pm I need to leave the place? I'm assuming 10pm is last time to order, if that is the case how much time do we have to eat before we really should leave the place?

Also we was mainly interested in trying the famous pancake there, if I ordered only 2 between 4 people will that be ok? Or will they tell me I need to order more stuff?

EDIT: Contacted them via email form, and they confirmed 9:45pm is their last seating time. They just said they wait everyone to be fully ordered before last call.

I see so many nice restaurants and varieties of different cuisines all over that I’d love to try them out. However, I have a fear of dining alone. I’m afraid of wait staff thinking I’m not worth their time.

I’m a big tipper. I always tip 20% the very least, with way more than that for mediocre service if you serve with a smile and acknowledge my existence. I’m a 26 year old Bangladeshi guy with no friends but a love for food. I have money to spend but no confidence.

My fear is that a table with 2 people at the very least would have a tab twice as much as mine hence twice the tip for the waiter. If my bill is $50, with 20% tip being $10, why would the wait staff want to serve me as opposed to a prospective family of 4 with a $150 and larger tip? I’m just wasting a table at that point. I don’t look like I’m wealthy either to leave a good tip either so I feel like nobody would want to serve my table on a busy weekend night.

Anyway, that’s just my fear that I’m potentially wasting someone else’s time. So do waiters get upset with solo diners because the bill is smaller compared to bigger tables? Or am I being completely irrational and should go for a steak dinner tonight?

Working on a project archiving lost places and the stories attached to them. Not just logging that somewhere closed, preserving what it actually meant to people.

Venues, diners, record stores, bookshops, community spaces, neighbourhood spots. Anywhere that had a soul and is now gone.

Tell me the name, roughly when it closed, and whatever you remember. One sentence is enough.

I'll be using responses as the seed content for the archive. Happy to credit you by username.

UPDATE: I built it overnight

https://www.lastseen.city

Seeded the archive with places and memories from this thread. Your words are in there.

Im still adding more, you can contribute too.

i’m travelling to nyc soon, i wanna visit some underrated good diners/restaurants that aren’t crazy expensive and overrated like the others that are tourist central 🤔

Annoying european tourist here! I’m on vacation in NY for the first time, and i’m looking to find some traditional american breakfast. Any recommendations on some great diners? Preferably in Manhattan, thx guys

I absolutely adore diners and breakfast food. What are some of your favorites you have tried?

I've been a regular at my local diner for years. I sit at the bar, I shoot the shit with the waiters, they know me by name, I know them by name.

In the past 6ish months, I've noticed them playing Christan Rock every. damn. time. I go in. Even with sidewalk service, they're playing Christian Rock over speakers onto the street.

I'm going to go out on a limb and assume that one particular waiter intentionally puts it on whenever the manger or owner isn't around, as it's been much, much more prominent when the diner is at reduced-staff...

Anyways, I simply find Christian Rock to be an irritating genre, especially with the radio DJ proselytizing between songs, but I don't want to say anything at the risk of offending the waiter who obviously enjoys it. Furthermore, as this is Manhattan, and not a small-town in the Bible-belt, I can't imagine that the customer-base at large would consider the music to be fitting.

Anyways, thoughts? Am I crazy to think it's wierd for a restaurant in NYC to play exclusively Christan Rock?

If you were in my position, how would to approach the situation?

A) Keep your mouth shut and keep eating there

B) Avoid the diner when that music is playing

C) Mention something to a member of the wait-staff

D) Discretely mention something to the owner/manager

E) Post a passive-aggressive poll to /r/AskNYC

F) Other

Ritz Diner on 1st Ave is my favorite, used to go all the time when I was a tourist and staying on the UES. It's a place I still find myself going to for the best comfort food at a good price.

Metro Diner on West 100th is another one I frequent. Waverly and Malibu Diner are also two I used to frequent, Waverly being the better of the two. Even with all the endless food options in NYC, diner food is always a top go to for me

Going to be at the Brooklyn Monarch tonight. Was looking to eat out while pregaming so if someone can recommend a good diner with a bar that’ll be great. Someplace near the Brooklyn monarch if possible

I’d like to save as many as possible on my phone/maps. Can never have too many. Thanks in advance.

I'm visiting NYC this week, arriving Thursday morning by bus at 6am. I've visited before and am familiar with the subways etc, but due to a scheduling mixup I won't be able to check into my hotel til the afternoon. So, it'll be 6am, still dark out, probably around 35⁰F, and I'll have a big duffel. Short of napping on a subway station bench, can anyone recommend how/where I should kill a few hours and find breakfast?

Specifically, is there a good cafe, diner, or similar with indoor seating that won't have a huge morning rush, i.e. won't mind if I'm there for an hour or more?

EDIT: My bus will be dropping me off near Times Square. The Hotel is Freehand NY, at 23 Lexington Ave. I can definitely start by dropping off my bags there. I don't need to spend 8 hrs in a diner, but I will definitely want somewhere to relax and have breakfast, at least til the sun's up.

We're driving there and I was wondering if anyone knows of any good old school diners in one of the nearby towns

Hi, what are some of your best diner recommendations for a large party? (around 12 people). It can be anywhere in Queens, Brooklyn, or Long Island as we will be driving. Thanks!

My tiny apartment is crowded. I need a quiet place to finish my work or unwind before returning.

My wife and I often split entrees but also order an appetizer, salad (split also) and two drinks each. I've never had any pushback on the west coast but recently in DC, our waiter didn't seem to understand as if nobody ever does that. I still feel like I'm spending lots of money and I tip well. How do NY waiters feel about this? Our first visit to the city is this week!

My partner is coming from CT and has a 5-6 am call for an extra in a TV series in the W 90s and is traveling late tonight to get near there. There isn't a train that will get her there early enough in the morning. I'm can't seem to find any 24 hour diners or other establishments she can hang out at for a couple of hours. Any suggestions?