Brooklyn Diner, New York

Brooklyn Diner in New York was my first stop for food when rif and I landed, after being stranded for more than 20 hours in Syracuse due to a snow storm. I was tired and famished, and the diner on 57th Street was just a few blocks away from our hotel.

Brooklyn Diner

Cake display

The waiters were friendly and we were promptly ushered to our seats by the window. I read good reviews about the chicken pot pie ($23.95) so that was what I ordered. Was tempted to get some soup to go with the pie but my waiter told me to trust him and hold off that order.

Chicken pot pie

I told him I was “really, really hungry” and that extra bowl of soup would do me good. In return, he told me that if I could finish the entire bowl of chicken pie and still want soup, he would buy me that bowl of soup. The chicken pie was enormous – it is large enough for 2-3 adults, and was larger than my head.

Size comparison

Tasty filling

Tastewise, I thought it was quite good. Yes, I was ravenous but I liked that they were generous with the chicken chunks and vegetables. There was a good balance between meat, vegetables and cream in the filling, and I liked how the puff pastry isn’t too “heavy” so you get nice bits of buttery pastry in each mouthful.

Spaghetti with meatballs

rif ordered the spaghetti with meatballs ($20.95) and it came with five meatballs the size of golf balls which got me super excited because I’ve never eaten meatballs this huge. Though my waistline would definitely protest if I were to eat such food every day.

Comfort food

I found this just ok – nothing great but it wasn’t bad either. Portions were more than generous and if you’re a small eater, you might have to take the rest to go. We barely had space for the Strawberry Blonde Cheesecake ($12.95) but since it was a house special, I went ahead to order one regardless.

All cakes come with whipped cream and our cheesecake had a side of valrhona fudge for that extra sinful bite. Our bill wasn’t cheap – then again, I was told Brooklyn Diner is one of the more expensive diners in New York city but we had a pleasant experience on a whole.