Lexington Candy Shop

Big let down.
The staff was extremely rude:
— there was one other table, 2 servers and we waited 10 min to order
— old Russian lady had too much attitude. She was doing us a favor by taking our order.
— she Took a fork that fell on the floor and didn’t replace it. We ordered bread without butter with our eggs and she doused it with butter — wouldn’t replace it when we asked.
— tried to split a check and the register clerk gave us attitude
Food was sub par:
— eggs were awful
— pancakes were decent
— went to use the restroom and the bacon grill was pressed up against the outside wall. Seemed a bit unsanitary.
I would not go back.

Despite it cozy charm, its grouchy owners, and its so-​so food, this place is dirty. One look at the filthy front door handle turned me away, and, after one experience, I would never use the restroom again. It’s coasting in its laurels as a ‘50s hangout, and has an A rating from the city, but we all know what that means.

Pancake Heaven
I love good pancakes, and I haven’t had great ones in yyyears. The Lexington Candy Shop mercifully ended the drought – with moist, fluffy, not too sweet, golden brown discs of delight. Think IHOP eons back when they defined the category.
My fried eggs over came out perfectly – cooked in a skillet, with butter, «never on the grill.» Fat link sausage, also yummy. My friend gave both his spinach and cheddar omelette, and the Orwashers (old-​fashioned white) toast, two thumbs up.
LCS has nestled at the corner of 83 and Lex since 1925, through three generations of family ownership. Walk into this compact diner, and you enter a cozy time warp. These guys stand for something, and their breakfast proves it. Joy for both tastebuds and imaginations. A must-​repeat.

I recently was here and forgot to review. I got a hamburger and a float that where perfect!!! The ice cream was creamy and the service was very kind and they felt like old friends, please go here!!!

I went to this place because i kept walking by it and it looked really cute! Besides, who doesnt love a local landmark?! I was in for major disappointment. I found this place to be extremely overpriced with poor service and bland, boring food. L I ordered a simple salad, which was tiny and came to $ 12– no tip included. To top it all off, the place had very poor service– the waitress seemed less than thrilled to be waiting on me and didn’t check on me once. I even had to go up front to ask for the bill.
I would never return to this place. I don’t care if it’s legendary, that doesn’t mean you can ignore other aspects of a business, such as providing good food and customer service.

It was the negative, not the positive parts of my experience that motivated me to write this review. The former left a stronger impression– hence the 2 stars– and was enough to dissuade me from ever returning to this establishment.
I’ll start with the good parts. I very much enjoyed the Greek omelet, which was moist and replete with spinach and feta cheese. My choice of bread was toasted rye, served buttered, and my request for honey was met without the fuss I sometimes encounter at other diners. The coffee was very hot and very tasty. The clientele seemed like regulars who have been coming here for years, adding to the neighborhood-​eatery feel of the place. The Spanish-​speaking staff was very friendly and accommodating. The owner, on the other hand, was profoundly unpleasant, which leads me to the critical part of the review.
While enjoying a conversation with a longtime patron sitting next to me at the counter, the background music suddenly soared to such volume that I could hardly hear my neighbor speak. We were both taken by surprise and turned our eyes toward the counter, where the owner was chatting with two patrons. He made no indication that anything was out of the ordinary while the music blared raucously over the speakers. After waiting what seemed a reasonable time to allow for a decibel rate adjustment, I asked the owner if it were possible to lower the volume. The indignant sneer he shot at me truly caught me off guard.
«Really?» he reproached. «Isn’t it obvious they’re trying to fix the volume?»
«No, it isn’t,» I replied, taken aback by his admonishment. He broke from his discourse, walked passed me with a contemptuous expression, disappeared behind the counter, and within a few seconds the sound was brought down to tolerable levels. He avoided eye contact with me for the duration of my visit.
Any business owner with an ounce of etiquette and aptitude in customer service would have apologized for the inconvenience and advised that he would address the matter. That the owner defaulted to belligerence toward a customer who raised a reasonable grievance does not bode well, in my opinion, for the Lexington Candy Shop.
While the owner’s hostility was the primary element of my discontent, other factors compounded what turned out to be an unpleasant experience overall. The omelette, while delicious, was overpriced at $ 13.50 and did not even come with a side (home fries are served with omelets in most diners). Finally, and perhaps most disconcerting by an objective standard, a cockroach ran across the counter halfway through my meal.
Sure, the owner may have been having a bad day or had resented that an unfamiliar customer brought to his attention a problem he was hoping might be resolved momentarily. Nevertheless, first impressions make the biggest impact, and with countless other diners in the neighborhood to choose from, the owner’s behavior, along with the other considerations I described, quashed any desire I might have had to return.

Very cool retro, well just a plain old diner. Love this place it’s cool and it allows is too young to have had the experience to… we’ll have the old school diner counter service. The service is fast, not always with a smile, and the food is good and hot. Would come here all the time if I lived here!

I would give it a zero, but that would be misleading. We have eaten here before and thought the atmosphere would enough to compensate for the food but we were wrong. The roast beef must have been from the V-[J Day celebration. They served french fries directly out of plastic bags, but that is no excuse not to cook them and the plate of onion rings reminded me of the old joke, «Not only were they awful, but the portion was small.» They stuck together in soggy lumps and were difficult to peel apart and did even cover the small plate. I think they were $ 5.95. A SIL had a burger, which looked and tasted like one of those discs who used to operate those old machines in Coney Island.
It was the most complacent and dismissive meal I have had in NYC in a long time and I grew up here. You know the old saying, you can’t eat atmosphere, well that would have been better, especially if you like peeling paint.

Came in for a milk shake. Place was packed. I paid nearly $ 10 for diluted, milk-​like shake that I could’ve gotten in the street for $ 3.
I wouldn’t recommend the shakes.

My first time coming to this place, and the 4 stars are most definitely for their milkshakes and service! Came in and it was fairly busy. We got a table right away, were attended immediately and being that it was our first time here we received an abundance of options and advice on their menu and milkshakes (all you have to do is ask). As far as price, it’s fair with its location and amount of food. Will most definitely return before the year is up. Try the coffee mocha milkshake, simply amazing!

The legend keeps of going through the ages! This place was great then and still is. Since 1925 this place has been serving up the best egg malts, floats, shakes, and just good food all around. Just read their menu’s ‘about’ mission statement. All their ingredients are fresh and local and prepared the original old-​fashioned way on site. They have a real old time fountain machine for the drinks and still use real malt powder. Their pancakes have been reviewed as some of the best from many travel sources. And just the atmosphere of walking back through time in this place is amazing. I love their chocolate malt and blueberry pancakes.

I feel like this place transports you back in time — they actually mix the soda water and ginger syrup in front of you — the oldest of the old school diners I have ever seen. Unique NY experience.

Two stars because it is a historic location! I thought I would have a special desert treat. I was disappointed in the quality of the ingredients. It was fun for the one experience. i’ve never eaten a meal at this place. From the reviews I’m not sure I would try it. I get the feeling it is overpriced.
I was excited to see this shop in a movie I saw with Woody Allen! If I went in to eat and could meet Woody, I’d feel it’s worth the price for the meal!

«Best breakfast ever!!» exclaimed the 8-​year old sitting one stool away at the counter. Could it be because she was getting the treat of an ice cream soda with her breakfast? Or could it be the golden brown blueberry pancakes cooked on the implausably small grill? Or just the awesome atmosphere? Who cares? This place rocks!

The bf and I stopped in here on a whim while looking for a quick bite after an afternoon at the Met. We were definitely drawn in because of the look of the place, especially by the around-​the-​world coke bottle display that reminded me of the World of Coca-​Cola museum in Atlanta.
We didn’t have an issue with the service at all. Granted, the place wasn’t full, so our server had plenty of time to devote to us, but still, she was pleasant and attentive– no rudeness detected.
I had a bowl of the pumpkin bisque, side of fries, and a chocolate egg cream. The pumpkin bisque, served with a side of oyster crackers, was pretty enjoyable. The huge plate of fries was unfortunately less than stellar — a bit dry, definitely not fresh. But the incredibly chocolatey, malty, yet completely refreshing egg cream was what triggered the diner’s bump up to **** for me. The drinks are what they claim to do well, and they absolutely deliver on this front. My bf also enjoyed his tuna melt, although as a tuna detractor I chose not to try it. But yes, it is all a bit overpriced– probably unjustifiably so.
I appreciated the nostalgic décor because of its authenticity. This place opened in the ‘20s and the last remodeling was in the ‘40s. It is exceedingly rare for restaurants to operate in New York for that amount of time, and it’s almost unheard-​of to go that long without a remodel.
In short, I would recommend coming for the atmosphere and the old-​timey beverages. And maybe order some food selectively.

Went here for the first and last time today.
The service was awful! The place was mostly empty and the service still sucked. The server only gave us water when we first sat down. She never came back to check on us once the food arrived.
The food was subpar at best. I posted a picture of he French toast, which was all mushy and not cooked all the way. Then it took forever to get the check.
For a place that preaches about quality, the quality sucked and I wouldn’t recommend this place to anyone ever.
How this place stays open is beyond me. Don’t waste your time or money here

Overpriced for average, simply generic food and VERY rude and careless service, but the real problem here is the lack of sanitation.
I sat up at the bar and saw a girl in charge of making ice cream sundaes and floats putting her dirty and wet hands straight down into the ice cream containers while touching the ice cream with her bare hands and using a very dirty reused scoop to scoop up the ice cream.
They also deal with cash here and serve you your food without washing their hands, which wouldn’t be a problem, but when carrying the plates, the servers’ hands always end up touching the food on the plate.
Will definitely not return.

Went here today for some breakfast and lunch — it was great!
We got the strawberry pancakes, strawberry milk shake and the bacon cheddar hamburger. Pancakes were topped with strawberry preserves and whipped cream. They were good, but I’ve had better. The hamburger was excellent and had a bunch of flavor. Didn’t wait long at all.
Only 4 because I’ve had better pancakes — next time I’m getting the burger. Boom!

After reading some of the other Unilocal reviews, my wife and I decided to just stick to beverages for our visit.
I ordered the old fashioned fountain Coke, she ordered a vanilla milk shake.
The coke was fantastic.
My wife said the milk shake was meh.
Service wasn’t bad since it was fairly dead.
Price was ridiculous. $ 12 for those two beverages.

Der Name ist irreführend, denn was es im «Lexington Candy Shop» definitiv nicht gibt, sind Candies, sprich Bonsches.
Zudem kommt der Tourist hier auch eher weniger vorbei, denn es ist kaum eine Attraktion des Big Apple am Weg. Aber genau das macht den Charme dieser Location aus, denn hierhin geht der New Yorker Familienpapa mit seinem Klan zum Essen.
Das war genau der Grund, warum uns dieser Laden empfohlen wurde. Auf dem Weg vom Central Park zur Roosevelt Island Tram kamen wir hier vorbei und machten hier unsere erste original US-​Burger-​Erfahrung, lange bevor der Hype über den Atlantik nach Hamburg schwappte. Ein Wahnsinnsburger, der kaum zu bewältigen war: reichlich, lecker, frisch.
Zweite Erfahrung war der umwerfende Erdbeer-​Milch-​Shake. Ich bestellte ahnungslos einen Shake und an den Tisch kam ein silberner Shaker, aus dem mir die Bedienung dann eines dieser riesigen Caipi-​Gläser vollkippte. Soviel Milch und dann noch mit Erdbeeren ersetzt mindestens drei Mahlzeiten!
Der Clou war jedoch: als ich in den Shaker schaute, ob evtl. noch ein Schluck für die Reise-​Begleitung übrig wäre, war noch einmal die gleiche Menge vorhanden. Amerika eben!
Sehr gewöhnungsbedürftig für deutsche Verhältnisse übrigens die Tatsache, dass auch hier wie so oft die Toiletten unisex sind, aber in diesem speziellen Fall der Weg dorthin halb durch die Küche führt.
Hoffentlich sind die Salatköpfe, die dort herumlagen, nicht im Restroom-​Waschbecken geputzt worden…

This would have been the perfect place for a classic film noir like «Double Indemnity» where a bleached-​blonde Barbara Stanwyck would have met smitten insurance salesman Fred MacMurray in her sunglasses as they secretly plot the murder of her chump of a husband. The nosy waitress with the beehive ‘do and cat’s-eye glasses would have come by the semi-​private booth every few minutes while the illicit lovers look at each other lustfully figuring out how they’re going to get away with the crime. Except that movie was set in LA in 1943. Still, the home front during World War II is definitely what this vintage soda fountain evokes in spades.
My friend Carlos and I were more than willing to step back in time and let the nostalgia roll over us, even though despite rumor, diners like this were way before my time. It was a hot July day, and Carlos and I were walking from the Met wanting something to wet our whistles before taking the 6 to our next stop, the National ⁹⁄₁₁ Museum. I got wind of this joint from, of all places, the tourist attraction video that played non-​stop on the TV back in my hotel room. Carlos had been there before, so we walked in and found a booth right away. What a time warp (photo:
). Except for the prices (photo:
).
Those were definitely Upper East Side circa 2014 prices, I mean, $ 7.80 for a milkshake… not a car but a milkshake. And how great a milkshake could it be to justify such an exorbitant amount? Well, it was reasonably tasty and certainly thick as all get out, but that’s only because Carlos had the veteran waitress mix his Chocolate Milkshake twice to get the consistency he wanted. To her credit, she did it without hesitation. My large Egg Cream was a bargain by comparison at $ 4.60, but it was kinda on the fizzy-​watery side, not nearly the quality I was hoping an old-​fashioned fountain like Lexington would serve (photo:
). That was it. After all, we had a murder to plan, and we wasn’t leavin’ any fingerprints, doll-​face.
FOUNTAIN DRINKS — 3 stars… good shake, passable egg cream, awfully pricey
AMBIANCE — 5 stars… I wouldn’t change a thing, doll-​face
SERVICE — 4 stars… the waitress has obviously been there for years, and it shows in a good way
TOTAL — 3 stars… be forewarned that this old-​school soda fountain and diner has current Upper East Side prices, otherwise enjoy your own film noir fantasy here