The Golden Diner Pancakes Are Still Worth the Wait on the Lower East Side

"Golden Diner came on the scene back in 2019, putting an Asian spin on diner classics, with items like brightly colored Thai Cobb salads with fish sauce-y vinaigrette, and breakfast sandwiches with scallion pancake-style milk buns. TikTok crowds got wind of the diner around 2024, leading to longer wait times. But while coming here might require more planning (or patience) than it used to, the food remains consistently worth the wait."

"Those pillowy, fermented honey butter pancakes deserve all their accolades; you can gild the lily by adding berry compote for $4, but that isn't necessary. The diner has a strong rep for breakfast, but its savory, lunchier options are worth attention. The katsu club subtly differentiates itself with crispy cutlets and punchy katsu sauce, and the textbook cheeseburger is juicy and sloppy in the best way."

"Thai tea-flavored tres leches cake puts just an interesting enough spin on the beloved Latin sweet, and the pistachio rice pudding is a study in interesting textures (three words: candied cardamom pistachios). Your odds of getting in have recently increased slightly: Now, Golden Diner opens an hour earlier at 9 a.m. Two days in, fans were on it already, with a line of about 10 to 15 people around 8:50 a.m. But once we left at 10:30 a.m., crowds thinned considerably."

Golden Diner opened in 2019, applying Asian flavors to diner classics such as Thai Cobb salads with fish-sauce vinaigrette and scallion-pancake-style milk-bun breakfast sandwiches. Viral attention around 2024 increased wait times, though the food remains consistently worth waiting for. Pillowy, fermented honey-butter pancakes are a standout, optionally paired with berry compote. Savory items include a crispy katsu club with punchy katsu sauce and a textbook, juicy cheeseburger. Desserts like Thai tea–flavored tres leches and pistachio rice pudding with candied cardamom pistachios add inventive textures. The diner now opens at 9 a.m., and nearby Mandarin coffee offers a hojicha latte while waiting.

Read at Eater NY