Tramway Diner

Pointless review, I know. The place is closed but this is the only way I could think to my my respects to my wife and I’s favorite UES greasy spoon. Moonstruck doesn’t come close. Loved grabbing a bite and watching the trams float in and out. RIP Tramway.

Liked the sausage. Stay away from the home fries. Too much money for what you get.

Perfectly adequate diner right by the Roosevelt Island Tram and the 59^th Street Bridge. I like the ceramic, fluffy-​looking turkey on the shelf there.

Nothing exceptional here, but it got the job done. The eight-​year-​old enjoyed the pancakes and raved about the sausage – which did look better than average, I admit. I only had a bagel and some coffee, which was fine, but if you screw that up, then you really don’t reserve to be in business.
The main thing that was so interesting about this place was the weird acoustics. I could easily eavesdrop on the entire restaurant from our little booth. I overheard a young guys explaining his was-​Jewish-​but-​is-​now-​mystical-​and-​you-​should-​really-​come-​with-​me-​to-​Braziil-​and-​meet-​my-​shaman philosophy to an older Korean lady who seemed baffled, yet intrigued, by the whole thing. Perfect.

Solid New York diner. This place will not disappoint.

GOOD FOOD TO EXPENSIVE
I ordered 2 different dishes here, the Buffalo Burger and Chicken Marsala. Both were very tasty but to damn expensive. What is this a 5 star restaurant? I thought Diners were supposed to be affordable.
If the price was cheaper I would give it 4 stars.

Rude staff. I heard a customer ask why the bill was so much higher than expected when paying. They were charged extra for the tiniest of changes to their order. When the customer left, the staff openly laughed at them.

The setting and decoration is simple and sufficient.
I tried the chicken with avocado and berries, which was really tasty.
The service was above average for what I was expecting of the place.
Prices are moderate.
I would come back

I had breakfast here after a tram ride. I had a nice sunny window seat with a nice view of the tram, and the street scene. The staff was friendly, and I liked the dated décor. As for the food,? It was nothing special, it was your basic diner breaktfast fare, but I was happy and went a day later.

Good diner food, including deeeeelisssshous sausage links split down the middle and pan fried. Loses major points for one of the grossest bathrooms i’ve ever got stuck using.
But it is fun getting to watch the tram arrive and depart while you eat your sausage and eggs.

Mediocre, I thought the service wasn’t great and the coffee was too watery.
I would only go here on a Monday night because that’s when Plaza Diner a few blocks down the street is closed.

Regular diner food is offered here. Nothing too dressed up and nothing that would be mistaken for fine cuisine, and that’s good for people who just want food without the frills. Good pancakes, above average burgers and very tasty pie. Staff moves food in and out pretty quickly but doesn’t rush patrons away from their tables once they’ve finished. The really good thing about service here is that it’s the same on weekdays as on weekends.

I have given up on trying to get a really good breakfast on the UES before 7:00 a.m. I know, its the city that never sleeps, so who is it exactly that needs breakfast on the weekend before 11? Call me crazy.
They have good coffee, not exceptional but good. They have good pancakes (believe me, this is a plate you might think was a no brainer… yeah, tell that to all the diners that blow it). They dont cook eggs so long you could resole your shoes with them.
The staff actually checks in on you and is responsive to your requests. The prices are diner reasonable. We go here before we go to Moonstruck everytime.

Pro’s: Unlike Serendipity 3 down the street, there are no two-​hour lines here.
Cons: There’s a reason for that. This is all anecdotal but I’m not going back again to know for sure how much of it was out of the ordinary.
1. Bathroom. There’s a key, but the lock does not work. People got walked in on.
2. They offered a «stuffed potato» that was only sold with a side of soup. All the soups had meat in them so I asked for no soup, and the waiter said he would charge me for it anyway. I asked if I could get a baked potato (which they offered) but with cheese and broccoli on it, and he said that was a stuffed potato, and he would charge me for the combo.
3. Sorriest excuse for chocolate cake I can remember ever having (it was actually yellow cake with a gross non-​chocolaty cream layer).
4. Three of us ordered a total of six things. He forgot to bring out three of them. Not like, took a bit longer forgot. Like, we flagged him down when we were done eating forgot.
5. If you still are going because it is open late and beats the line down the block, don’t waste your money on the extra $ 1.30 for «extra thick» chocolate shakes. Incredibly runny.

As plain of a diner as you can get. No mistakes, relatively trouble free and gets the job done.

Can’t vouch for most of the food (I think I once had a tuna melt that was good there), but I have come back for the pie. It’s tasty. If you feel like some down-​home pie notalgia for cheap and are near the Queensboro Bridge this is your place. $ 2.45/slice per menupages.

While I have to give the staff credit for being insanely friendly the food just doesn’t garner the same respect. It’s ok, but it’s not great. But then again, what more do you want from diner service other than fast service, friendly service, and accurate service? Taste isn’t really the central issue for me when I’m drunk at 4 am at the diner.