Third Rail Diner

Drove out here from Woodstock for breakfast, but they’re closed for vacation till Nov. 15. Wish they had put a notice on Unilocal so we could’ve avoided driving 30 minutes out of our way.

A really cool, old, hole-​in-​the-​wall, divey joint where the staff are hellishly friendly & fun. You should see the size of the pancakes they serve & they embed bacon in them! Service is FAST & the servers are great! One of the chefs let us sample some tomato & rice soup he’d just started making — as in, he was experimenting with the recipe — & it was really good stuff!
DAMN! REALLY sad to see that this place has closed! Happy I got to eat there once but this is such a bummer!

Went yesterday for lunch and returned again today. We love the food, the atmosphere and the community. People just talk to each other if you are sitting at the counter. It’s a fun place to visit. The one pancake on the menu can feed three people. Coffee was so-​so but this is a place you really should experience if you are in the area. My egg on an English muffin was very good. Definitely give it a try.

When I am not there. I think about when I can go again.

TL: DR Friendly service cozy atmosphere and great food
The cozy atmosphere was accompanied by friendly and fun service. The food was awesome. As a family we had three massive pancakes, a trolly burger and a derailment burger. The meat was expertly cooked to your likings and seasoned very well. The only negative, which was to be expected it that the tables hold only 4 people.

A small, simple, unassuming building holds great breakfast food and a lot of love. We were greeted warmly upon entering and immediately offered coffee. The menu is only a prop, tell the husband and wife team what you want and she’ll make it for you. I had over easy eggs on toast, home fries with onions and a couple bites of my friend’s ginormous blueberry pancake. Just what I wanted and so good. She took half of her pancake with her, it was too good to leave. The counter houses an antique train panorama which is delightful. We left feeling we’d eaten with family. No frills comfort food reasonably priced prepared with love.

Wow, wow, and some more. The location doesn’t reveal the hidden gem. One of kind food, great service from the husband and wife owner and cook. Ambience is totally feel at home. Recommend it to all.

The diner equivalent of Cheers!
We were in the area for a wedding and visited based on the Unilocal reviews. We walked in and were the only non-​locals in the place, everyone else being addressed by name. The service was good and friendly and the breakfast tasty. I had the bacon pancake «strips» and corned beef hash. The word «strips» is a misnomer since each of the stack of four takes up all of an oblong plate; I worked my way through three of the four tasty things but hit the wall before the fourth. The corned beef hash was about the best I’ve had. As we were leaving, somebody ordered a blueberry pancake and the place filled with the smells of blueberries as the medium pizza sized pancake was cooking.
They picked us out as out-​of-​town « Unilocalers» but entertained us with jokes and trivia questions and made us feel right at home.

My husband and I stopped here a few months back after having read about their write up in the local paper. Down to earth, local mom and pop diner. The burgers and fries were pretty standard, prices were a bit high for the location and quality. Very friendly waitstaff, able to share a lot of local knowledge about Kingston. Always nice to support local business!

It turns out I have never been to a real diner before.
What can I say, they have a menu of two pages, but everything on it made with care, fresh and tastes delicious.
The coffee was much better than most posh coffee houses.
Pancakes were huge and fluffy as they can be.
I had a mushroom omlet, that was light, and tasty.
They even accommodate us and used or own GF bread to make french toast for my kids.
We watched the owner making that day’s burger patties, so obviously what you will be getting is not your 50 patties for $ 20 from wholesalers.
Last but not least we absolutely loved the jokes that shared with us, and the train themed table –with a running train to add the joy– in this place.
Thank you and we hope we can see you again.

Pancakes the size of NY state! Yummy pork sausage patties and corned-​beef hash. Perfect over easy eggs and toast… Everything is just as a diner should be.
Did I mention the bacon-​pancakes! (bacon *inside* pancakes! Utter genius!)
Friendly, accommodating service, and trains! A super cute model train runs under the counter so aim for a seat there. Little trains on the window sills and train-​themed things everywhere.
In short: 80s music + bottomless coffee + awesome food + service = will come back every time we’re in the area!

We were staying over night in Kingston and wanted to try a good local breakfast place. This place was highly rated by people on Unilocal so we gave it a try. We arrived just as the place was opening and the owners were very welcoming and friendly. They served up huge portions of delicious pancakes and good coffee.
Looks like a rail car and has cute decorations to match including working model trains under the counter.
What a great hidden Gem.

My family is in Red Hook for vacation and had to try this diner based on the reviews. It was a short hike but well worth it. It’s a tiny place with great big character and the food was delicious! We just love special little diners like this! I had two eggs sunny side up with the best corned beef hash I’ve had. My kids loved their pancakes which were huge! Perfect iced tea. What a cute little place. We hit up the Forsyth Park in Kingston afterwards where the kids could run off the pancakes– really pretty little park with a great playground! The Third Rail diner helped make a memorable day from our family vacation.

Probably the best diner I have eaten in. small, cozy, and filled with amazingly friendly people (both the staff and locals). you sit down and immediately feel like you’re a part of this wonderful community.
we had the blueberry pancake, which is larger than a bar stool, two eggs, toast and a side of bacon. everything was superb. well worth the 2 hour car ride!

This is hands down one of the best, if not the best, diners I’ve ever been to. Do not be fooled by the look of it on the outside!
My boyfriend and I came up to Woodstock from Long Island for a long weekend, and can’t stop talking about how great our experience was at Third Rail Diner. Being from New York, we’ve been to a lot of diners, but this was definitely our favorite.
Walking in, you immediately feel like you’re at home and are greeted by the owners. We sat at a booth and were surrounded by old train souvenirs and relics, which were very interesting to look at! The diner used to be a old train car that they renovated into a diner.
The one owner was so extremely friendly and didn’t rush us at all. He told us to take as much time as we needed, which we enjoyed not feeling rushed. I got the fish fillet sandwich and it was perfect! Usually when you go to a diner, they just throw a large piece of fish on a bun that is way too small for the piece of fish. Here, the sandwich was so easy to hold and all of the ingredients were perfectly in place! My boyfriend got the loco motive burger, and he still hasn’t stopped talking about! We also ordered cheese fries and they had no problem at all giving us more cheese if we needed. The food was just so, so good!
I’ve never had any dining experience that was as accommodating and welcoming as the one I had at Third Rail Diner. For the next time we come back upstate, we’ve already decided that this diner will forever be our go to!
You can tell how the place was filled with regulars, which speaks for itself. Everyone who walked in, whether they were from the area or not, felt like an old friend. The divey feeling is something not to miss, and any meal here will not be regretted! If only every restaurant can be as welcoming as Third Rail!

I found this place for breakfast using the Unilocal iPhone app.
I arrived one cold frigid, snowy, icy Saturday morning about 8:15 am. I wanted to get some breakfast and get back to my hotel by 9:00 am to watch ESPN College GameDay!
There was one other table of diners when I arrived. I was promptly greeted by a bearded gentleman who would serve as my waiter — and the lady behind the counter doing the cooking.
They asked me how I was and where was I from and I told them. I told them I had found their diner using the Unilocal app and selected their diner to eat at due to all the great reviews. I guess I should not have mentioned that I used Unilocal,because she proceeded to make a nasty comment about Unilocal.Just remember lady, I don’t work for Unilocal,I am a traveling consumer that likes to use the Unilocal app to help me determine where to eat, probably a good idea to keep such comments to yourself.
Beyond that, the two folks working there were very interactive and constantly talking to me.
I ordered an Omelette with Corned Beef Hash, and coffee. The waiter guy went out of his way to tell me about the coffee. It was actually pretty good — much better than I was expecting for diner grade coffee.
While I was waiting, I was treated to a performance by their model railroad — hence the name «Third Rail Diner.» They have a model railroad embedded beneath the clear surface of the diner counter. He turned on the train and I watched it circle the track circuit a time or two. Very cool!
The food came out, the omelette was very good. The Corned Beef Hash was so-​so, not bad, just not great. I asked for, and received a bottle of hot sauce to spice things up.
Overall, great service, a fun little diner, good food, and nice people! Check out Third Rail Diner! I would eat here again if I was in the area!

Everything is fresh, homemade and delicious. They truly care that you are happy with your meal and will make you feel like family. The blueberry pancakes are my favorite (even though I was never able to finish one, because of the massive size) The burgers are great too.
Small, but family owned and fun. If you are a local you should make this your place, if you’re not it’s worth the effort to find it. Wonderful people and tasty food.

More than your «typical diner». This place really emphasizes the importance of locally family owned business.
The diner is located in an old rail car and while the space is small, the energy of the owners and staff makes up for it.
This is a place to visit for sure.

What a great little place! 4 tables and a counter of fun! A working train set under the counter kept us amused as dis Hot Flash Linda at the griddle. Made the biggest pancake I have ever seen.
Worth the little ride off the Thruway to eat here. We will definitely go back!

Read the other reviews. I don’t need to tell you.
Go.
NOW!
Breakfast. Lunch. Doesn’t matter.
Everything is quantiful and delicious.
This place is run by awesome people.
What the Hell else do you want?
SUPPORT LOCAL BUSINESSES!