We take clients out to all sorts of fancy restaurants, so when we had one request a trip to Brooklyn Diner, we quizzically agreed. We can go any place in Manhattan and you want to go to a diner? A diner called Brooklyn Diner? Which is in Time Square? And has the tagline “The Finer Diner?”
Well… ok…
Brooklyn Diner is the classic Times Square establishment with such a bright neon sign that it blends right in to the rest of the block. When we entered, I realize it’s part of a family of restaurants including Redeye Grill, Tratoria Dell’Arte, and Bond 45, all of which are in the general vicinity of midtown. Turns out, I’ve been to all of their restaurants except Brooklyn Diner, and was actually quite fond of the restaurant family. The food at each was always reliably good, if not above par for Times Square. All are more than any normal person would ever want to spend, but hell, it’s Times Square, so good quality food seemed fair at their price.
Back to “The Finer Diner.”
After a bit of teasing about this pick, we found out that our client’s heard from some of their coworkers that this place was very good, and happened to have a really good lobster roll. Well ok!
I actually wound up getting grilled cheese with split pea soup. It was a very chilly day and this hit the spot. The bread was perfectly crisp, the cheese full of flavor and melty without being a mess, and the soup had great flavor.
I shouldn’t have been so skeptical!
They put hot dogs in it too, which was a fun (and delicious) twist on ham.
Everyone else went right for the lobster roll, which they all said was very good. Even their fries and onion straws were especially crisp and tasty.
I was pleasantly surprised by Brooklyn Diner. I guess my expectations were quite low (I can be so judgmental sometimes!), but I would recommend this place to anyone in the area looking for a casual and relaxing lunch before a Broadway show.
Total Nom Points: 7 out of 10
