Ellen's Stardust Diner

[Skimbleshanks2]

Posted: 9/17/15 at 2:27pm

I'm going to Ellen's Stardust Diner for the FIRST TIME this weekend... Any advice on when to show up since they don't take reservations?? I'm going for brunch... Heard they take requests. I will be lifting up my paws to request Hedwig LOL!!!!

Any help would be appreciated...

[thommg]

Posted: 9/17/15 at 3:12pm

This might not be much help but I took my family there for a Sunday brunch last year and it was the worst experience of the weekend. Cold food that took forever to get, a waitress that took our order & disappeared (and, no, she was not waiting to sing). The only way we got a check is because we just got up from the table and started to leave. I would never recommend  this place to anyone.

 

[dramamama611]

Posted: 9/17/15 at 3:30pm

It's pretty gross.  

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 9/17/15 at 3:32pm

Tourist trap well past its expiration date.

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 9/17/15 at 3:36pm

It's not awful, but it's very loud and an extrovert's dream. I'm an introvert.

[Liza's Headband]

Posted: 9/17/15 at 3:38pm

Agreed with everyone here. It's the worst. 

[Skimbleshanks2]

Posted: 9/17/15 at 3:45pm

So disappointing... I've heard that Feinstein's does a brunch but I need to investigate...

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 9/17/15 at 3:46pm

I had to eat there with my little cousin's school group that was visiting a few years ago and I prayed for sweet merciful death to get me out of there.

[Jshan05]

Posted: 9/17/15 at 3:50pm

Not great food and extremely campy...and not in the best way. While they have some talented singers, it's definitely more of a tourist trap. If you've never been, you should go at least once...but that might be all you need!

[BroadwayFan12]

Posted: 9/17/15 at 4:10pm

I ate there once and it was one time too many.

[Broadway Geek2]

Posted: 9/17/15 at 4:11pm

If you go on a weekend, try to get there before 11AM.

Do not let them put you in the basement (which is really the Jazz Club, but the singers rarely venture there).

[Mike Costa]

Posted: 9/17/15 at 5:48pm

Skimble, Please do not make some out of work actor have to stop serving pancakes to sing from Hedwig to a karaoke track during the busy brunch time.  They end up losing tips each time they have to stop and sing because patrons then have to wait to get their pancakes and, unfortunately, tip less for having to wait.  It is a lose/lose situation all around, especially for the actor who is getting paid $5/hr.

There is much better food and better ways to spend your time in Manhattan at brunch time.

[Skimbleshanks2]

Posted: 9/17/15 at 6:18pm

Wow.... Thanks for the advice ... Just got off the phone with my friend. We've decided to go elsewhere to eat. What a shame -- being that close to the Winter Garden theater and unable to live up to the quality of CATS and ROCKY. 

We might look at places around the Marriott Marquis... I want to be close to GLORIA :)

[Scarlet Leigh]

Posted: 9/17/15 at 7:21pm

Only ever been there once. Walked in, rudely addressed by the hostess and just kinda pointed in the direction of a table to sit at. Get to table, looked down, realized that the silverware was filthy dirty as if they have just left the silverware from the people that had been at the table before is there. Left at once. Never gone back. Reading other peoples experiences, apparently a good choice to stay away. 

[Matt1]

Posted: 9/17/15 at 7:40pm

Good idea to go elsewhere...It is a terrible place.

[Elfuhbuh]

Posted: 9/17/15 at 9:37pm

The few times we went to NYC, my grandmother always insisted on going to that place for breakfast or lunch at some point during our trip. They sang for me on my birthday one year, which was cool, but the food is just okay; I preferred the Jekyll & Hyde Club, personally.

It's worth it to go at least once, I think.

[ChildofEarth]

Posted: 9/17/15 at 9:56pm

To be honest, the worst part about the place is just how crowded it gets - they have to forcibly pull out your table for you to sit down and then you are left wondering how you will get out of your seat when the time comes - so you either stay too long or eat too fast so you can get out. 

Terrible.

[adamgreer]

Posted: 9/17/15 at 9:57pm

Awful place. Food is gross and overpriced. It's loud, and the singing isn't that good. 

[Phantom4ever]

Posted: 9/17/15 at 10:22pm

For my first few years in New York, I was completely enthralled by this place. When they sang a song that my entire table would know, it was such a fun, bonding, exciting time for everyone. However, going there with just one friend can be a bore because it truly is too loud to have any sort of a conversation at all. And that's fine when you're in a big group because you're normally right up next to at least one person and you can scream in each other's ear. But with just one other person, you're across the table from each other so you can't hear a thing. 

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 9/17/15 at 10:29pm

What a shame -- being that close to the Winter Garden theater and unable to live up to the quality of CATS and ROCKY. 

 

That's hilarious!

[mc1227]

Posted: 9/17/15 at 10:35pm

It's one of those touristy places that you have to experience once......once will be quite enough...I don't believe they take reservations and yes, the wait staff will take requests when accompanied by a gratuity.  

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 9/18/15 at 1:55pm

The only redeeming quality is the entrance.

 

Keep that and get a new restaurant inside.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 9/18/15 at 2:04pm

There goes the discussion. 

[Pippin]

Posted: 9/18/15 at 2:38pm

Allow me to chime in. I actually work there, and have been in and out for 5 years, leaving to do theatre work every now and again. 

yes  - it's a tourist trap. However it's in Times Square. Of course it's going to be overpriced and gaudy - almost everything there is, so tourists should know what they are in for when they walk the streets of America's largest outdoor theme park/outhouse. 

 

The food is just diner food. It's in the title. Nothing special. it's not Ellen's Stardust 5 star bistro. Any menu that has Mac "N" cheese and Norman Rockwell's Turkey dinner should be a "dine at your own risk" experience anyway. That being said, there are a few items that actually are edible (I know.....a Ringing endorsement), and there are a few newer inventions as of late that have been quite good, thanks to a new manager that comes from the fine dining world. 

 

What I tell all my friends to do is go out to a nice restaurant for your dinner, and then go there for the desserts, all of which are delicious. The ice cream desserts and top notch, and the cheesecake is some of the best in the city, honestly. Our pastry chef is vegan, and he has made many vegan dessert options that are surprisingly good. 

 

This way, you can have your conversations during dinner in a nice restaurant, and you can enjoy the entertainment at Ellen's, Dessert is also the perfect thing to get because there's hardly any wait time, and it takes not too long to eat. People should really only be there for up to an hour anyway. It does get VERY loud, so it's not for everyone, and I get that. 

 

if you haven't been, you should come try it out. If you've never been because of the "stigma" it has, and you're ready to write it off, you should come see for yourself. If you've not been in the last 5 years, come back. The level of talent on any given day has improved greatly over the years. It's now pretty phenomenal, generally at night more than the daytime shift. yes, there are some weak links, but we have a staff of 85. Not everyone is going to be of the same calibre. 80% of the voices there take my breath away though.  It's actually very slow during the day, never any lines, and at night, if you get there between 5 and 6, you should be ok. 

 

and keep in mind that sometimes it's right place, right time, and right place, wrong time. The particular hour that you are there one time can be a completely different experience than another visit, because the staff is always different, and their song choices are always different. Sometimes we go full out. Sometimes we need to take it easy because we work and sing for ten hours, and when we are not singing, we are yelling over others' singing to communicate with our tables. It also depends on the crowd. If they are wanting to have a good time, we'll give them one. If they are unresponsive or low energy, our energy goes down as well, try though we may to always sing uptempo and keep the energy up. So take a chance, have some pie, and enjoy some amazing talented singers. 

 

Mike Costa - Thank you for the sentiment, but that's not how Ellen's works. We sing constantly, and we have food runners. We run drinks and desserts, and multi task, many times holding a tray with drinks on one hand, and singing into the mic with the other. We do take requests, but we're not a jukebox. if no body there sings from Hedwig on a particular shift, obviously we can't sing it for you. But if you're nice to your server and he/she feels like trying to go the extra mile, sometimes we look up the lyrics on our iPhones and sing while we read the lyrics. We always try to please, and we want people to go away happy and hopefully not deaf. 

 

if anyone has further questions, feel free to PM me

 

Updated On: 9/18/15 at 02:38 PM

[brdway411]

Posted: 9/18/15 at 3:01pm

Having been to Ellen's many times (brought tourists there, not of my own free will). It's not that bad, Yes, it is loud. I have always gotten descent food hot and fast. Have been sat in the basement once, and it was fine, we had entertainment the whole time. It was during the holidaze and a weekday. It's not the best food in the city but a far cry from the worst.