Vynl

This Thai-​American Diner serves good food in my opinion. With album-​themed bathrooms, it was the best part of my visit to this restaurant.
The service was mediocre but the record/​vynl themed restaurant made up for it.

I enjoyed Vynl. They had large booths for our party of 6, didn’t have to wait on the weekend for brunch, they’re a little cheaper than most other brunch places (and you don’t lost out on taste), and they have cool bathrooms (neat mosaics).

Ok, now I have been to Vynl several times and have really enjoyed everything I have eaten. Great for brunch, lunch, or dinner, Vynl has much to offer.
They definitely make a great burger, but I have also been very impressed with the Vynl Roasted Veggie Burger (sweet onion, carrot, mushroom, red bell pepper, asparagus, sweet potato, tofu, black bean, spinach, lentils & chickpeas blended together and topped off with havarti on toasted multigrain bread) and the Pan Seared Salmon (finished with our apple, shallot brandy glaze, mashed sweet potatoes & grilled asparagus). Both were really great, and I look forward to eating them again soon!
Overall, I have been enjoying trying the food at Vynl. The menu can be slightly random, but I have really been impressed with the food.

There are a few restaurants throughout the city that have a few outposts, and for the most part it’s fair to assume that each outpost is like the other. While the quality may vary slightly (like I think Grand Szechuan in Chelsea is the best of the G.S. chain…), you know you can get the same food at each place.
Well, a while back I wrote a pretty scathing review of the Vynl in Hell’s Kitchen. It was gross there. I had the worst meatloaf sandwich I had ever had there, and everyone else’s food was pretty gross, too.
Fortunately, the UES Vynl is nothing like the Midtown West Vynl. The menu isn’t even the same. The meatloaf sandwich wasn’t even ON the menu (thank god). Their veggie burger was reportedly «excellent». I got the chicken burger with goat cheese and that was quite tasty, too. The fries are also good.
Thumbs up, UES Vynl. Too bad about your derelict West Side sibling, always tarnishing the family reputation…

I really miss the Glory days of Vynl… They’ve been through 3 changes in the menu in less than a year and each time it’s gotten progressively worse. I used to love coming and having the masaman curry or the turkey meatloaf sandwich (both of which have been eliminated). It’s only saving grace is that their burger and fries are good after drinking and they kept the breakfast burrito with beans and fresh pico de gallo.
No offense Dave Martin, I know you’re a top chef contestant but if you can’t get people to execute you’re menu properly, then why even bother.

I’d be inclined to rate Vynl at four stars but for the atrocious service. It took what felt like an age for anybody to bother come asking us if we, say, might happen to order something for lunch. We were half inclined to walk right out of there on principle, but mercifully someone showed up to put us out of our misery.
The food was good — I got the veggie burger and fries, and was fairly satisfied. If you decide to eat here, be prepared for some inedible service.

Its not a first date place, but a great SECOND date place :)
I love the cobb salad wrap, as well as god gift to people «MAC-​N_​CHESSE» :) yummm, the bathrooms are cute (themed, beyonce, madonna, and the beatles)

I was less kind to the Vynl in Hell’s Kitchen, but now that I’m in a wheelchair, I’m excited to come to this branch of the chainlet, as most TRULY handicapped accessible restaurants in the neighborhorhood are old lady diners.
Vynl has a diverse menu of Thai and comfort foods, and they often have drink specials too. I really like the fact that I can come here and have turkey meatloaf with a French martini, in my wheelchair, without having the bartender have to carry me up the stairs.

I’m a definite repeat diner at the UES Vynl. I looooove the rock n’ roll décor — very fun. The bathrooms are kind of one of my favorite things; they are themed as divas! You can choose to be either Beyonce or Madonna. Sorry guys, those are your only choices.
There is SUCH a great variety here, everything from pizza to Thai food to salads to burgers to omelettes. Oh, and the milkshakes are pretty phenomenal. It’s a great place that people of different tastes can agree on, seriously. Try it!!!

(from 07/​23/​2008 via Citysearch)
I usually eat breakfast/​brunch at the diner a few blocks east, but Vynl provides a little bit of atmosphere. I love the music/​disco/​record theme and it makes a meal slightly more enjoyable. Vynl was a perfect choice for my Dad and I on Saturday for brunch around 10am.
Our omlettes came out quickly and they were delicious. The service was fine — no complaints there. It was everything we were looking for… tasty, quick and cheap. The brunch food options are pretty standard, but it sure beats eating brunch at a diner… I’ll be back for sure.
Pros: Quick, Cheap, Quality Food, Beats Brunch at a Diner, Cool Atmosphere
Cons: None

I really like this place, I do.
The atmosphere is really cute inside, the drinks and drink specials are amazing (and cheap too!), and the food is delicious.
BUT my only qualm about this location is the service. The servers are very inconsistent and often times incredibly SLOW and f o r g e t f u l. (the outcome of using only ONE server for the entire outside seating area). However, there are days when you wish that the servers would stop coming to your table to see if everything is okay.

I sheepishly admit that I love Vynl. As a huge 80’s/retro fan, I really heart the décor.
Regarding the food: Whether dinner or brunch, I’ve always enjoyed the food and the cocktails (especially the watermelon/​champagne drink), and the service has always been good.
A great place to hang out, have some drinks and annoy your friends by singing along to the music they play (80’s/90’s). Totally kitschy, but I completely dig it.

I wanted to like Vynl. Googies was a safe brunch bet mainly for the shoestring fries.
Today was my 3^rd attempt at Vynl. Each time has been categorized by terrible service. The first time they were open only a week so I figured they got another try. The second time the service was better but not good but it was packed so I figured okay one more try. Today it was over ¾ empty and yet the service was still lousy.
My lunch mate and I enjoyed our food (Latin eggs for me and burger for her). Burger came with good fries except that they were cold. The eggs came with a super greasy potato latke. The side order of mac ‘n cheese that we ordered to share didn’t arrive with the rest of our food. Our waiter (Pat?) was very adept at circling the restaurant while avoiding our table. When he finally came by ½ way through our food and we asked about our mac ‘n cheese he said oh it’ll be right out. It showed up after we finished our food. It was good, but again bad service.
They have an interesting menu with a mix of diner and Thai food. The bathrooms are cool, each named after something different (Madonna, beyonce, the Beatles) and plays the music of the artist on the door. Definitely a talking point, and you’ll have lots of time to talk in between the lazy service.

I have eaten here a few times and by ‘here’, i mean take out or delivery. The take out menus they supply are typed up like a ransom note, various fonts and typesets are used. The actual restaurant’s décor didn’t do it for me either. I’ve seen that some reviewers describe the interior as ‘hip’ or ‘retro’, however I would use the word ‘annoying’. I get a vibe that the owner’s wife/​girlfriend wanted to create something ‘special’ after watching too many Martha Stewart and ‘Do it Yourself’ videos.
I have had the meatloaf sandwich a few times and its really good. Its served on a toasted bread that makes the whole thing extra tasty.
They also have a good mac&cheese. Its served with toasted breadcrumbs baked on top, really good. Its a diet killer.
I’ve never been to the other Vynl locations, but the one on the UES actually delivers.

Well, I WAS excited when I saw Vynl opened. Notice the use of the past tense…
Since it’s located on the UES, I expected to see lots of kiddies, especially since I visited Hi Life down the block which posted a sign, «Fold your strollers.» Well I was right… the very first booth in the place housed two little rugrats and their nannies. The little ones didn’t mind broadcasting their presence and the nannies didn’t stop them… nor did they stop them from bouncing up and down on the couches. I, unfortunately, was sitting on the other side and got the full experience… bouncing.
Vynl’s menu is, for lack of a better word, «interesting». Well, the menu is 2 different artist’s album covers, so that’s cute… and will be educational for the youngins’. But they have french toast, mac & cheese, and then asian inspired dishes… I’m guessing since Vynl is in Googie’s old space, they wanted to continue on with the diner like thang? (Yeah, I know Vynl’s a chain, okay?) They also have a bar as well as a number of non-​child friendly beverages.
I enjoyed the décor far more than the food. The walls are covered with tiny square mirrors, vinyl records («Dad, what are those?» I’m sure can be heard daily.), and disco balls. There’s a pop culture theme with each of the tables featuring a mosaic… Bob Marley, Prince, Greatful Dead, Rubik’s Cube, Betty Boop, Tiffany’s, Fred & Barney, conversation hearts. They also have a number of dolls on display: Donnie & Marie, the Spice Girls, Biggie, De La Soul, Elvis, Michael Jackson.
Perhaps the BEST THING about Vynl is the restrooms. I’m guessing that the sex of the artist tells you which restrooms were for men or women… there’s Beyonce, Madonna, and the Beatles. Each restroom features a wall sized mosaic of the artist as well as a doll/​dolls dressed as the artist with pictures of the artist as well. Tracks by the singer/​singers play in the restroom as well so if whoever you’re dining with doesn’t come back for a while, they’re most likely busting a move. I know I was!!!
The service at Vynl was less than (fill in the blank)…our waitress was doing us a favor answering our questions. As I’m a vegetarian, I needed to know if certain dishes could be made without certain animal products. Since Pad Thai is usually made with a fish sauce, I asked for it without it. I was told they could make it with black bean sauce. I asked for it to be done just without the fish sauce. What I got was a plate of hot, white Pad Thai noodles, plain… with bean sprouts and chunks of steamed tofu. Now, do you like PLAIN noodles?!?
Luckily we ordered the steamed dumplings for an appetizer. 5 more than likely frozen dumplings from Costco came with a great spicy sesame sauce. I loved the sauce so much, I held on to it. Well, it’s this sauce that I threw all over my plain noodles… I also asked for another thing of it.
My sister had the chicken club which comes with a side of «home made» potato chips. No, it didn’t come with fries… I don’t know if they’ll let you substitute. The dish also came with harrisa paste… which neither of us tried. I don’t know about you, but the word «paste» isn’t something that I think of when considering food.
While we didn’t have dessert, we saw the chocolate cake whizz by and if it tasted as good as it looked, it’s the best thing there.

Not soon after I posted my utterly demoralizing review of the ailing Googie’s did they board up shop and close for good.
Thanks, Unilocal gods, for heeding my passionate foodie call.
Anyway, as is the trend in New York, a newer and trendier version of the same opened. Enter: Vynl: A hybrid of eggs, thai, and music.
Poor, poor Vynl. When did the word fusion become a stand-​in for out right confusion? The menu lacks focus, and the eggs, be them tossed into a vegetable omelet or covered in hollandaise a la Benedict, lacked seasoning, presentation, and grace.
In fact, Vynl threw grace right out the window. Who needs graceful food when you can have window boxes with Barbie dolls dressed up like Beyonce in the bathroom? Who needs a cohesive menu when you can have a cloying musical theme permeate your otherwise nondescript meal?
Apparently, a lot of upper east siders. I haven’t seen lines these long since my drug binges in college. At least in college I knew better than to play Beyonce at 10am.

There used to be this diner here that my mom and I loved called Googies. They had these shoestring french fries. I loved it there.
Now… it’s a Vynl. And not even a good one.
I mean, it’s FINE! But honestly, who needs another Vynl? The food is pretty good, and the drinks are creative sometimes, but the only reason I ever went to the other Vynl was to Hot Guy Watch. The only thing you can really do at this one is Toddler Watch.
Gimmicky places shouldn’t become chains!
I have spoken.

I had lunch with a coworker here today and it was the first time dining at this location of Vynl. It definitely lived up to my expectations. This place has sort of a mod diner feel to it. Being a music lover, the music theme décor is a big plus for me :-) The covers of the menus are actual old record album covers. The place is decorated with both vintage and new music persona dolls (we sat right underneath Michael Jackson and Donny & Marie). Even the bathrooms are musical themed! I was a sucker for the Madonna bathroom, in which, yes — they only play Madonna songs :-D
They serve good, solid diner food here. I had the veggie burger and my coworker had the Latin eggs. The portions are pretty big (neither one of us was able to finish our lunch) and the prices are very reasonable. The staff was friendly and attentive.
I’m so happy to have found a fun new lunch spot within walking distance of my office! And for those rainy days, they deliver too.

The initial flare of attraction for a 20-​something like myself was enough to for me to garner it with a 5 star rating. I have since returned several times, and am able to see through the thinly veiled cool of what is Vynl.
Initial attractions: $ 5 margarita specials ²⁴⁄₇. Good and strong and in non-​default flavors like pomegranate and mango. Afforadably priced all encompassing menu (pad thai alongside meat loaf alongside red curry alongside burgers and ribs). Musically themed bathrooms. A friendly bar tender from SF who was djing decent music from her ipod.
Current detractions: Margarita and drink specials only available at bar seats (you can still order food at the bar). Lack of coherent theme… part of my brain gets flustered from lack of a centrality. It’s music themed, but it’s a diner, but it’s hip looking, but they serve generalities of everything under the sun, but the bartender was really nice and remembered our names.
It’s not that I won’t go back but it’s hard to say «I feel like _​_​_​_​_​_​_​so I’m going to go to Vynl» because it’s a little bit of everything.
Oh yeah, and brushed stainless steel tile. Where do you get brushed stainless steel tile?

YEAY! They’re on the East Side Now!!!
Mac-​n-​cheese, Sirloin Stir Fry, Lemongrass Chicken Wrap, and Carrot Cake are among my favorites! For some reason today when I ordered the Mac-​n-​cheese it just didn’t hit like the one on the West side. It wasn’t buttery/​cheesy/​crispy enough. I’m sure the owner will work it out but usually it’s really good.
Love it!
Date Rating: 8
Pick up Scale: 2
Strong Suggestions: They’re going to have to work out the kinks at this location so be patient.