• REMOVED: Ellen's Stardust Diner

  • (8)
    7

    Closed

  • White Veg-options
Vegan-friendly
Lacto
Ovo
American
Take-out
Non-veg

Serves meat, vegan options available. Has vegan choices such as shepherd's pie, pastas, salads, desserts. A fun retro 1950s theme diner filled with nostalgic memorabilia. Watch 1950s videos on authentic 1956 Predicta televisions and drive-in theatre screen. Unique diner also features a singing waitstaff and variety shows. Loud atmosphere due to singing and customers applauding. Free Wi-Fi. Removed Jun 2017 for extreme animal cruelty.


Venue map for Ellen's Stardust Diner
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8 Reviews

First Review by davidkim

Lucy9

Points +178

Vegan
27 Jun 2017

Average food, fun environment

Only vegan dish I could find was a pasta with veggies, it wasn't very good and the pasta wasn't even cooked properly. Waiters sing and dance while working making it a very loud environment but fun and entertaining. The manager hassles for extra tips and walks around asking for more money for singing/acting classes for staff.

Pros: entertaining

Cons: not great food, hassled for extra money

angelalynn28

Points +22

Vegan
23 Mar 2017

Super fun, but not super veg-friendly.

The waitress recommended a burrito without cheese. The ranchero sauce on top had meat in it. She apologized and comped my meal, said she never had problems with that dish having meat before. with or without the sauce, the burrito was mediocre. They had a couple other vegan options. Come here for the entertainment, not the food!

Pros: Great Entertainment

Cons: Not many vegan options, Expensive

cookiemonster

Points +1135

Vegan
29 Mar 2016

Vegan's Be Wary

There are 2 vegan items: pasta with no sauce and vegan Shepherd's Pie. The veggie burger is NOT vegan (sorry to the previous reviewers who assumed it was). This assumption is understandable as the menu is not at all clear (see below) and our two different wait staff told us that it was vegan, luckily we insisted that they check with the kitchen and they found out it has eggs in it.

Good: it's a really cool place - the staff sing karaoke style pop and broadway songs and they're fair, fun entertainers. The large selection of in-house made vegan cakes is AMAZING and unique. They are named after musicals and a fair size for $8.50. For a late-night vegan dessert date, this is perfect.

I personally like that the servers are very laid back and casual. I don't mind things like them spilling my mom's float all over her glass and serving it anyway in exchange for no pretense and super fast service. I do not like the casual attitude about vegan/vegetarian items though. In a meat diner, this is one thing, but in a place that advertises having vegan options this is more of a problem that none of the staff had any idea what items could be made vegan and told us non-vegan ones were vegan.

Bad: The menu has one item with a V-vegan sign beside it (sauce-less pasta $17), another with a green box around it and a V (vegan shepherd's pie $17-18), and one more with a big green box around it, no V (veggie burger $16-17). Apparently, this last green box means vegetarian but not vegan, unbeknownst to the wait staff or to any guest that thinks logically.

The restaurant could go a LONG way to being more accomodating by having a few simple vegan dishes. Like, french fries maybe? (None of the sides are vegan) Or a veggie dog or veggie burger without eggs? Or one fun sandwich like BBQ tofu? Seriously not that hard to do and it would make a huge difference. Something easy and fun so that vegans could join their non vegan friends in the fun, loud, diner experience. Why advertise that you have vegan options if the only one is Shepherd's Pie?

This place could be a vegan destination with a couple easy vegan dishes and their delicious vegan cakes. The singing staff and loud, fun atmosphere and the super fast service is great. Unfortunately, they have no committment at all to accomodating vegan guests. I guess the dessert chef just likes making vegan cakes and that's the extent of it.

For late-night dessert - 5 stars. For a vegan-friendly restaurant dinner - 1.

Pros: Fun atmosphere, Great vegan cakes, Fast

Cons: Very limited options, Expensive, Unknowledgable staff

Manda41

Points +20

Vegan
29 Dec 2015

Yum!

Despite the cold long line outside Ellen's the wait really wasn't all that bad! The vegan shepards pie was delicious with tons of flavor and filling too. Don't forget dessert because the Wicked cake is absolutely wicked good! I can't wait to go back the next time I'm in New York!

annasucher

Points +28

Vegan
31 Aug 2015

amazing and fun

2 vegan options- shepherd's pie and bean burger. Shepherd's pie was great. Mixed drink was excellent. Tried 2 of 3 vegan cakes ( out of one) and both tasty.
Affordable. Line moves quickly.

Misanthropin

Points +53

Vegan
26 Feb 2015

Only one vegan alternative

There was only one vegan menu. It tasted good, but I have expected more variety. The vegan cakes were out of stock, which was really disappointing. Not organic!

JonJon

Points +20239

Vegan
31 Aug 2014

Vegan-friendly: A must for this unique atmosphere!

I've been there with a friend of mine living in NY and I was not disappointed. Apart from the food, the place and the principle of singing and dancing waiters/waitresses is great! They are so good! Eating here will offer you a very nice show on Broadway. And you can eat vegan American food!

In terms of food, I took a vegan burger (Jack Lalanne) that was delicious and generous. There were also other vegan options but I didn't try them. The service was really nice and if it was a little expensive for a burger, the whole experience worths the cost.

Pros: really good vegan options, great vibes!, service, location, singing staff

Cons: not cheap

davidkim

Points +16

Vegan
18 Aug 2014

Great start to our day !!

I took my daughter to the city on 8/16/14 for her birthday. The restaurant was exactly where it was supposed to be, a short walk from Grand Central. At 11:00 am there was a big line, but it was handled well and we were seated quickly. LOVED the place. Typical offerings for the vegan, quinoa, black bean burger, but it was good with fresh, well prepared veggies. My Daughter, when given the chance, will eat anything and she wasn't disappointed. Atmosphere was very fun and I will return to show my wife next time we get a chance to go. Two sandwiches and two coffees with tip....$50




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