Pearl Street Diner — Restaurant in City of Albany

In a post covid era where NYC continues to feel the economic ramifications reflected in empty store fronts and shuttered restaurants, the Pearl Street Diner was just what I was looking for in Lower Manhattan. It seems that NYC has a lack of good diners these days. This gem, tucked on Pearl Street away from the congested streets, teems with nostalgia and hearty good food. I stumbled across this place as I was trying to kill time waiting for a meeting to start in lower Manhattan. I was welcomed by a warm staff and immediately served coffee. The vibe feels distinctly "1950's" with the cozy booths and bar seating. The breakfast menu has everything you would expect from a diner in a traditional American sense. The wrap I ordered was made exactly how I requested. I stayed and worked on my laptop for a considerable time and was not rushed out at any moment. If you're in lower Manhattan and want a delicious meal for breakfast for lunch, this is the place to come. You will not...

Coworker and I had lunch there today. We were 2 of 3 patrons in the diner with 3 wait staff, the owner, and cooking staff. Both myself and my coworker ordered a sandwich and water. Totall came to $20.54. Once the check came we polite asked them to split the payment amongst two cards. The waitress returned with what I can only imagine to be a more tenured waitress to say they can no longer split payments on to two cards because they are charge supposedly charge a huge % fee every time they swipe a credit or debit card for transaction.

My response was to please split our check then the same they would have been split had we ate at the counter rather then a booth. Both waitress then said they can not split checks either. All in all the food was mediocre and I rather not deal with an annoying diner policy makes you fight with the wait staff to pay them.

By the way this all happened as the owner and his son...

5 stars across the board!

We came in as a group of six with just 45 minutes before our connecting train to Montreal — and for a minute, we actually thought we’d made it to Montreal already because the service was that good.

They seated us right away, laughed at our jokes (rare skill, 10/10), and somehow had our food out in about 10 minutes. It was hot, delicious, and exactly what we needed before sprinting back to the station.

Instead of panic-shoveling food and running, we actually got to sit, eat, and joke around like normal humans. For a brief moment, we forgot we were on a tight schedule — and that’s saying something when you’ve got Amtrak breathing down your neck.

Pearl Street Diner turned a stressful layover into a smooth snack time. If we’d missed the train, honestly… it would’ve...