Cup Diner & Bar

i like restaurants that are huge. it’s something i miss about not living in new york. this place is huge and i like the space a lot. having said that:
the food is sub par, the service kinda blows and it’s overpriced.
titz, out.

I was in the area waiting for a movie and decided to stop by the Cup one afternoon.
I’d heard a lot of negative things, but I’d also heard some good things so I wanted to give it a fair shot…
I got a creepy feeling from the moment I walked in the door and should have trusted my gut and ran.
It’s huge, for the type of restaurant it is. And especially when a place like that is practically empty all the manufactured kitsch just comes across as trying too hard.
I ordered the steak & provolone sandwich (a daily special) and an iced tea. The meat tasted like it was on the verge of being spoiled and the bread was stale, but other than that it was an extremely bland sandwich. The fries were also unimpressive. large, thick slices of potato that were barely cooked all the way through. Even the iced tea tasted off. My check came out to something like $ 16…I kept thinking I could have eaten at Café Bar down the street for the same price, and it undoubtedly would have been better!
The only saving grace of this place is that the service was awesome. And they didn’t harass me for sitting there, just taking up space for two hours while I waited for my movie.

Eh, I’m here for the free wi fi.
It’s too cold in here. The service is ok. The cheesecake was ok.
They gave us the bill before we asked for it… two hours before they closed.
Oh and not enough plugs.

I keep WANTING to like Cup. Like a pathetic ex-​girlfriend whose been repeatedly dumped by some studly man-​cake, I keep believing that «It will be better this time.» But the bottom line is, this place just sucks.
The food might as well be deep friend Styrofoam. No matter what I’ve ordered (chicken fingers, a waffle, a burger) it all tastes the same: bland, greasy, and devoid of flavor.
And to add insult to injury, the prices are laughably inflated. Isn’t the benefit of eating at a diner supposed to be that, even if the food sucks, at least it was cheap?

Cup is despicable.
The food is overpriced and unmemorable. I can’t remember what I ate here two days after the fact.
The place is too big. The floorplan is 2 to 4 times the size it needs to be. The ceiling is too high, especially since the drop-​ceiling has been removed, revealing major duct work.
The only thing that seemed impressive about Cup was its late night service. Tonight we came in search of a midnight snack. The place was closed down at 12:30 on a Friday and they didn’t even have the courtesy to turn off the neon sign that claims 24 hour service. I predict this business will fold within 6 months.

Diners always hold promise. Gaudy lights, comfy booths, and a bar. Good lord a bar with two for one specials? This had all the makings of a good experience.
Firstly, the drinks. With two for one pricing, you get the alcohol equivalent of one drink spread over two. okay fair enough, I’ve seen this game before.
Now the menu is huge. Its so big that for first-​time-​visitors you’re likely to be silent during the time between the first waitress appearance and the second. There’s just too much to read. They also have so-​called «evolution» items which call themselves healthy on the menu. But good luck discerning which items are healthy in which ways as low-​carb, low-​fat, low-​sodium, and low-​calorie all have the same icon. Is the chili low-​carb or low sodium? Good luck.
Of course, be careful what you order. I had green curly fries. Potatoes aren’t suppose to be green, and green potatoes are actually poisonous. That’s not cool. The ketchup tastes funny. It’s not heinz, it’s just in heinz bottles. and finally, the pulled pork sandwich wasn’t pulled. It was weird chunks of pork. Fatty, gelatinous, old tasting pork chunks thrown on a roll. This isn’t hyperbole when I say that Alpo looks more appetizing. It was appalling. To add insult to injury the soda tasted weird and saccharine in a bad way.
Maybe I ordered the most appalling thing on the menu. who knows. But overall the food experience was so poor that I can’t even take into account that the service was pretty good, and the art on the walls is fun to look at. This was some of the worst food I’d ever been served anywhere in my life. I’m sorry cup, there’s no way I could ever come back. Green Potatoes are an unforgivable sin in the quantities I was served.

Came here under the promise of better food and service. Well, the service was good, but one meal at the table was inedible and one person was sick shortly after.
Also, my drink was all sour mix. Gross.
The service is the reason for the sole shining star. Friendly and consistent.

Spacious, a nice mix of contemporary and traditional, but average tasting food
I walked over here w/​my gf, just exploring my neighborhood. I had no idea that they had a huge UA theater here. Anyway, let me get back on track. CUP is a diner that really fit in to the neighborhood (in terms of looks). It looks trendy, with exposed walls and flat screens hung on many places so you get to watch while you eat (kinda like a bar), but less loud cuz you have the spaciousness of a diner. But then they mix that up with some retro looking bar stools like they are from the 50’s and you get a general idea of décor for CUP.
If their food only tasted better…
My gf and I got an order of fried calamari, eggs benedict, and a order of buffalo wings. We just had some really good Calamari @ Carmines earlier in the week, and this cannot compare. It was barely crunchy, and the sauce was so bland and sour I switched to dipping to Ketchup.
The eggs benedict was good, on par w/​diner food. The buffalo wings were on the spicy side, which is good for some, but surprisingly, I can’t handle that kind of spice. I guess you won’t see me at Atomic Wings anytime soon.
Overall, its a fun place to check out, but there’s too many options on that block (Unos, Panera Bread) that I won’t be going back real soon.

— Huge diner with exceptional décor
— Delicious large portions
— Service is just Ok, especially during a busy brunch.
Favs from the menu are: the Chicken Panini, Spicy Curly Fries (!!), Roasted Veggie & Mozzarella Panini.

It was a dark and stormy night when I found myself in Astoria for an audition with a few of my Astoria dwelling actor friends, and though it was really bad out there, two of us insisted on wandering the rain-​soaked streets of queens in search of food and alcohol.
Tales of The Cup as one of Astoria’s finest had reached me via Unilocal and others, but I must say I was not all that impressed. Points for a very spacious interior and a pretty good menu — lots of options and on the cheap side. Although this being the outer boroughs, I don’t have much to compare it to.
But our waiter was flat out rude to my friend, giving her sass (and not the good kind) for ordering a Chocolate Martini when he didn’t know how to make it. We got hot chocolates instead. I ordered Chili and a Quesadilla. Both fine, but certainly nothing to write home about.
Any port in a storm, I guess.

Came here last night finally after a year, ordered grilled chicken with of course curly fries, it was so good! And of course for dessert my usual xango aka fried cheese cake. I’m still feenin for more fried cheese cake.

Decent food, nice waitstaff.
The décor is fun and they serve you quickly if you’re in a rush to go to the movie theater right around the corner.

I live in walking distance to Cup and I am not going to lie, I’m a frequent dweller. However, I’m going to have to agree and say that it is hit or miss with this place. And also agree that it seems like the staff is overly running around or no reason. I have gone for brunches, late night, and dinner. and there have always been a good sized group of people in there eating and drinking.
Now for the food– which is ok. great? no. It’s just typical diner food, plus random other dishes. I was considering the Shrimp Scampi, so I asked my waitress what she thought, and she blatently told me to just order something else… haha. I love the honesty and fun atmosphere the wait staff helps create. (and their fries are amazzziinng)
go here. don’t get anything fancy. get your drink on. and just have fun. the less you expect, the better your experience here will be!

Decent place– I am a fan of their outdoor seating. I’ve only gone on weekend afternoons for lunch– so I can’t comment on the bar scene here. But each time I’ve been, the service has been slooow as molasses– especially when you ask for the check, the waiter OBVIOUSLY sees my credit card in hand, and runs away. this pisses me off. I used to wait tables and rule #1 is that you always process payment first before anything else.
Great curly fries.

I was going to write a drunk review about this place, then my judgment got the better of me and I am happy to write a sober review.
It’s a dressed up diner, with dressed up diner food and weak coffee. It’s got a cool layout and the waitresses are very pleasant, so that was a plus.
However, it’s nothing too special on a Sunday afternoon, just good basic fare. Maybe being able to have a cocktail at 3:00 courtesy of the full bar is something that might peak someones interest.

I highly suggest Cup, especially for brunch. The place has this cool vibe — 1950s meets the present day. How many diners do you know that has a center bar in the middle of the establishment?
The food is good. I notice that their menu makes a point to cater to the healthy-​conscious patrons.

I simply love 1950’s themed diners with a little bit of kitsch. There’s brightly colored booths, loads of tables and a sizeable bar. Cup is open late nights and 24 hours on the weekends, providing lots of yummy options and finger foods. On late nights, they screen old-​time movies on the wall (the sound however, is off).
The wait staff is friendly and attentive. I’ve never been unhappy with my service or the food. However, I’ve only gone there for late night adventures (after midnight) or mid-​day on the weekends for brunch. This isn’t a cheap place, but it doesn’t burn a whole in my wallet either. Their desserts are delectable and so are their burgers, cheese fries, and the regular ilk of diner food.
The only weird thing is that they have bottles of Voss water at each table, but you’re not supposed to drink it (unless you feel like paying for it, when other water is free).

Cup is sort of like the weather in Baltimore. If you don’t like it, stick around for awhile and maybe it’ll change. Seriously, Cup has gone through so many management changes that it’s hard to keep up. Everytime I go, I never know what to expect. When it first opened, it was awesome. They were open 24 hours and had the most amazing macaroni & cheese. It seemed like business was doing pretty well, but I suppose it is a rather large space to keep filled ’round the clock on a regular basis. For whatever stupid reason, they took the mac&cheese off the menu (perhaps the chef left and took the recipe with him/​her?) and there was less incentive to go. The rest of the food was still pretty good, but I had less occasion to be in the neighborhood anyway. Eventually, they also started operating on more regular business hours, so goodbye neon «Open 24÷7» sign.
My best friend, who lives down the street, gives me occasional status reports on Cup. At one point, she just refused to go there b/​c the brunch items were just not up to snuff. But like a girl who’s still not over her ex, she keeps giving him another try to see if it’ll work out this time. She assured me a couple months ago that it was back on track, and the last time I was in the neighborhood, I decided to give it a shot.
We walked in and were greeted by the hostess with, «Hey guys, what’s up?» in an overly familiar tone, bubbling with effervescence. It was a tad off-​putting and caught us off-​guard. Never in all our dining occasions have we ever been asked, «What’s up?» We wanted to respond, «We’d like a table. That’s what’s up.» But we refrained b/​c the girl was obviously just trying to be «cool» and figured, «This is how I talk to people in New York City.» I forgot to mention that she reminded me of a girl I knew in college who was from Michigan, complete with cable-​knit sweater over button-​down — wholesome, preppy blond Midwestern girl. I share this anecdote not because it had anything to do with our dining experience at Cup overall, but b/​c my bf and I found it highly amusing in our jaded, slighly cynical New Yorker opinion.
So the food… I had salmon eggs benedict, which was good until the first crrrrunch of eggshell in my mouth. Okay, just pick it out and move on. Can’t let it ruin your entire meal, right? Chew chew chew crrrrrunch again. Gross. I only kept eating b/​c I was really hungry, but it’s just not appetizing if you have to pick through your food for eggshells. By the end of the meal, I had a small collection of tiny broken eggshell bits on the edge of my plate. When I told the waittress, she apologized right away and had a look on her face that read, «Dammit, not again!» At least they took the price of my tea off the bill.
Despite this last experience, I haven’t given up on Cup yet. Who knows, maybe it’ll be sunny in Baltimore and Cup will be awesome again.

The Cup is a perfect place to sit with a friend over a cup of tea for a little peace and quiet and to catch up on the gossip. It’s got the whole «50’s diner» feel, which is kinda annoying, but they leave you alone so you can just relax and do your thing. A full-​service well-​stocked bar in the middle of the restaurant works for a little nip before bed.
Brunch is overpriced, the service can be slow and/​or have attitude.

This past weekend, I ventured into Astoria, Queens to have brunch with some good friends at The Cup Diner. What a great experience!
We were able to eat outside, which was so enjoyable on a gorgeous summer day. We even lucked out to get a table in the shade. Our waitress was very good… she was attentive enough to bring us refills for our drinks, but her presence was not overbearing by any means. She did confuse one order, but corrected it immediately and also apologized. The food was amazing… I had a bacon burger with their spicy curly fries. The fries were so good that I ate all of them, except for one, and that’s only because I accidentally dropped it on the ground. Ha! I also tasted my friend’s French Toast, and that was just perfect. I don’t think I could eat an entire order of the French Toast by myself though… the portion was huge.
I ducked inside the restaurant just for a moment to use the washroom, and I was so impressed with the interior décor. Cup Diner looks like a fun 50s diner inside, with cool free-​standing booths and a fabulous counter right in the middle of all the action. The space is a warehouse, so the ceilings are very high, creating an airy and spacious feeling. I can’t wait to go back and sit in one of the booths!