5 Charming New York City Diners With Vintage '70s Vibes And Delicious Eats

There are many reasons to visit New York City: the landmarks, the history, and, of course, the food. NYC is so full of restaurants that it would take roughly 22 years to visit them all, assuming you stopped at a new place every day. From the most affordable Michelin-starred restaurants in New York to 2025's "best new restaurant" in the city, you have plenty of high-end options to tickle your taste buds. But what if you just want a plate of eggs and hash browns or a decent sandwich for lunch? In that case, Manhattan has plenty of diners, many with retro vibes, to satisfy your needs.

We're not talking about any old diner, either. We're on the prowl for vintage restaurants that act as a time capsule to the past, roughly around the 1970s or earlier. Fortunately, New York City has those in spades, and we've compiled a list of five of them.

Keep in mind that, because ranking a vintage diner is a purely subjective experience, our list isn't in order from "best" to "least best." Instead, we hunted for a variety of diners that capture the essence of old-fashioned dining, from the menu to the seating and decor. These places are also dotted throughout the city, so whether you're hanging out near Wall Street or strolling through Greenwich Village, you can easily get to one of these diners for your next meal.

At first glance, you might assume that a place called the Financial District would be dominated by banks, stock traders, and other financial institutions. While that is true, FiDi (as the locals call it) is actually one of New York's most underrated dining scenes. It's also where you'll find a literal hidden gem in the form of the Pearl Diner. Surrounded by skyscrapers, this restaurant stands out for its single-story appearance and neon sign. The inside echos this quaint retro vibe, and once you're seated, you might find it hard to believe you're in the middle of a modern metropolis.

As far as the vintage aesthetic, the diner's lunch counter comes with fixed stools, and the booths look like they haven't been updated since at least the last century. Another clear indication you're in a '70s-era diner is the popcorn ceiling, which was hugely popular during the decade. The Pearl Diner is only open for breakfast and lunch, which is fitting since it caters to the hustle and bustle of FiDi, where workers go home once they're off the clock. From Monday through Friday, Pearl is open 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., and it's only open until 2 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays, so plan accordingly.

The menu is about as "classic diner" as you'd expect, with an extensive list of breakfast options, including sandwiches, egg plates, and a New York staple, bagels. But if you're visiting for lunch, you can order pretty much any type of delicious diner-style sandwich you can imagine, from Reubens to grilled cheese to roast beef. But the secret to the Pearl, as with any old-fashioned diner, is that the menu is almost overwhelmingly large. Burgers, seafood, Greek specialities, salads, wraps, pies — Whatever you're craving, you can order it.

When it comes to iconic New York landmarks, the Flatiron Building is certainly within the top five, alongside the Empire State Building and the Statue of Liberty. If you head across the street from the Flatiron Building, you'll see a sign for Eisenberg's Sandwich, which has been serving the area since 1929. While Eisenberg's isn't in business anymore (in New York, at least), the diner itself has been rebranded as S&P Lunch, and it's just as historic as ever. In fact, the original name was S&P Sandwiches, so the new owners are just going back to the diner's roots.

Inside, the front section of S&P is the quintessential lunch counter, which looks like it probably did back in the 1930s. In the back are the tables and a long booth against the wall, flanked by a mirror to help the space look bigger than it is. Even the bathroom is covered in vintage '70s-style tiling, making S&P truly a restaurant frozen in time.

The menu here is nowhere near as lengthy as the one at Pearl Diner, but it still captures the old-fashioned diner aesthetic. Breakfast options include eggs, omelets, and sandwiches. You can even get pastrami or corned beef with your eggs if you need some extra protein. For lunch, the sandwiches are exactly what you'd expect, such as tuna, pastrami, egg salad, turkey, and ham. For an appetizer, you can order matzo ball or split pea soup to complete the entire diner experience.

Next, we're headed down to the Tribeca neighborhood, a short walk from the secret spot on the Hudson River where you can kayak for free, Pier 26. Although the name of this place is the Square Diner, the building itself is actually a triangle. A big part of the diner's vintage aesthetic comes from the fact that it's been in business for over a century, although the current facade was created in the 1940s by the Pullman Dining Car Company. The original Square Diner is thought to have opened in 1922, in a wooden shack, and then redesigned with the aforementioned train-car style later on.

The interior is about as vintage as you'd expect, with plush vinyl booths, a row of counter seats, and even a curved wall of glass bricks flanking the front entrance. Even the logo for the Square Diner uses mid-century fonts and iconography. The inside is awash in earthy tones and tiled surfaces, throwbacks to the '70s when browns, beiges, and other natural hues were all the rage. However, unlike other spots on this list, the Square Diner has a decent outdoor seating area, complete with a covered tent, so you can enjoy the weather when it's not too hot or muggy.

Another element that helps set this diner apart from others is that it's open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. However, the hours fluctuate throughout the week, so make sure to plan accordingly. On Mondays and Tuesdays, Square Diner is open 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.; on Wednesdays through Fridays, it's open 8 a.m. to 9 p.m., then until 7 p.m. on Saturdays and 6 p.m. on Sundays. No matter when you visit, though, breakfast is served all day, including a wide selection of omelets, pancakes, sandwiches, and bagels. Also, there's a different delicious soup of the day during the week, starting with Minestrone on Monday and Manhattan clam chowder on Friday. But be forewarned, Manhattan-style chowder is tomato-based, so don't expect a white, creamy soup.

As you approach Tom's Restaurant, a distinct feeling of deja vu may overwhelm your senses. The sign and the facade look strikingly familiar, but where have you seen it before? The answer is the hit '90s TV show, "Seinfeld." Although the diner was called Monk's Cafe in the show, the iconic neon sign and building were used whenever Jerry and the gang got together over a cup of coffee.

Although Tom's has been around since the 1940s, the diner leans heavily into its "Seinfeld" roots, with images of the cast on the walls and signs with the characters' names acting as partitions for the outdoor seating area. But you don't have to be a "Seinfeld" fan to appreciate the vintage aesthetic of Tom's, which still feels as original and authentic as it did when it first opened. Also, don't expect the interior of Tom's to match what you see in the show. Those scenes were shot at a studio. Tom's Restaurant looks more like a 1970s diner, complete with wooden booths and Formica table tops, which were all the rage then, both in restaurants and in homes. 

In true New York diner style, the menu offers a little bit of everything, from standard breakfast plates to steak dinners, meatloaf, sandwiches, spaghetti, sliced ham, pie, cake, and practically anything else you could imagine. But, unlike the other diners on this list, Tom's has an unwavering schedule to make planning easy. It's open from 7 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. every day of the week.

Our final New York City diner is in one of the city's liveliest neighborhoods, the artsy, foodie paradise of Greenwich Village. Here sits the Waverly Diner, which is easily noticeable at night because of its beaming neon signs. This is also the only diner on this list that is open late, so if you're looking for a bite to eat at a vintage restaurant after 10 p.m., the Waverly is one of the only options. While the diner used to be open 24 hours a day, it now usually closes by 11 p.m. or midnight, depending on the day.

The interior decor is a mix of both mid-century and classical designs, with ornate metal light fixtures hanging from the ceiling and thick vinyl booths lining the walls. Unlike other diners on this list, single guests can still sit in a booth, as there are narrow tables on one side, so you don't have to sit at the counter (and you can get some back support from the booths if needed). But there is still a bar with stools if you prefer the vintage dining experience.

Finally, the menu is as overwhelmingly expansive as you would expect from a diner that's open for all three meals. Omelets, sandwiches, steaks, pasta, salads, and seafood are all available, so no matter what you're craving, you can find something to tickle your taste buds. Or, you can just grab a cup of coffee and a slice of pie, cake, or a cookie. Anything goes at the Waverly.

Considering how many diners are in New York, trying to narrow down a list of the top five would seem like an insurmountable task. Even though we're only looking at retro-style diners that offer '70s (ish) vibes, the Big Apple has more than enough to create a top-10 list and still have a couple of spots left over.  We used a handful of criteria to curate our picks. First, we looked at online roundups of retro diners in the city, such as this list from Eater or this one from a food blogger. Next, we looked at social sites, like this Reddit thread, to see which places actual New Yorkers prefer. While the Reddit list focused mostly on '50s-style diners, there was some definite overlap, making it a suitable resource for our needs. 

Next, while online reviews weren't necessarily a deciding factor, we wanted to feature places with decent reviews and star ratings. While these diners emulate the vibe of a "greasy spoon," we want to make sure you have an enjoyable experience without worrying about unpleasant food or dirty floors. Finally, since there's a bit of subjectivity to this entire endeavor, we put our list in alphabetical order, rather than ranking them from "best" to "least best."