(347) 537-3447

754 9th AVE. 51st St. (51st Street)
New York, NY 10019 40.7658 -73.9895

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Neighborhoods: Clinton, Midtown

VYNL-NYC.COM

Hours:

Mon 11am-11pm

Tue-Wed 11am-12am

Thu-Fri 11am-1am

Sat 9:30am-1am

Sun 9:30am-11pm

Price:

$$

Last updated 11.30.11

Category:

Restaurants, Catering

Payment Methods:

American Express, Visa, MasterCard

Restaurant Special Features:

Brunch

Cuisine:

Thai, Traditional American

What People Are Saying About Vynl

The Owner

Vynl

Owner

"Nouvelle diner food" "spun well" is the genre of this "groovy" "album"-themed Thai-American in Hell's Kitchen; its "old LP menus", "action figures of Michael Jackson to the Spice Girls" and "quirky" "wanna-be actor" staff make it a "fun" "locals" place.

And the price is right. - Zagat

Come check our NEW Upper West Side location at 507 Columbus Ave!

CityGrid

Featured Review

Contributor

Contributor

The Scene – A distinctive array of neighborhood characters sinks into squishy black-vinyl banquettes, watching the world pass by. Actors and producers seal deals over big salads; couples cuddle behind whimsical plastic partitions; and cheery waitresses mix milkshakes for kids. As if this casual spot needs any more personality, there's a ceramic bust of Elvis and a slew of celebrity action figures behind the bar. – – The Scene – The inexpensive American-Thai menu offers a random mix that couldn't be more satisfying. American favorites, like spicy meat loaf with creamy…

Editor's Tips

The Extras:
Discover more midtown dining favorites.
ambiance
98.07999610900879% positive
  1. Its all about atmosphere, and the food was very good and big portions, not expensive either.
  2. fun place, good cheap food
  3. great food for the price, fun atmosphere
  4. Good good, good atmosphere but TERRIBLE SERVER !
  5. The staff is nice, the atmosphere is comfy, all around fun great place!
  6. The ambience was a little weird - it has a very old school diner feel and decor to it - but the food was good.
  7. Great fun place for lunch - or any meal!
  8. LOVE their fried chicken and we go back here whenever we need something quick, fun and tasty!
  9. Love the decoration !
  10. The management should hire people who want their patrons to have a good fun time and enjoy their experience, instead of "wanna be" models with horrific attitudes.
  11. The whole record decor was fun, and the music was perfect.
  12. will probably make my way back to the other location for three things: affordable prices, theme and FOOD!
  13. Ambience is fun.
  14. LOVE Vinyl - always good food, inexpensive and fun.
  15. Fun atmosphere and great quality at an affordable place, in a unpretentious setting.
  16. Great food, great view of the passing parade on 9th Ave., friendly staff.
  17. The record decor was fun.
  18. She did a great job at recommending food and wine, and she kept us entertained with her fun personality.
  19. All-around fun and good service.
  20. the decor is interesting and i also like how each separate bathroom has its own 'theme'-- with a doll of the celebrity and their music playing in the background.
  21. love the causal fun atmosphere at Vynl.
  22. This place has some really great food and a really cute atmosphere.
  23. The staff is teriffic, the food is delicious and the atmosphere is welcoming and warm, the drinks are good too.
  24. The atmosphere is fun and cute and the "themed" bathrooms are the best part.
  25. Service was very pleasant and decor very creative.
  26. The new location has a prominent bar where you can wait for your table, big improvement from their crowded space before.
drinks
96.96999549865723% positive
  1. Nice bar menu, fresh food, nice for the healthly minded person.
  2. After a few beers with friends I was looking to stuff my face with a good meal in the company of a few friends.
  3. The drinks were sooooo good and the service was excellent.
  4. There are so many good places to eat/drink on 9th and in that area, this is not good food, good service, or a good value.
  5. Great cocktails too!
  6. The speciality cocktails were great and reasonably priced and the food excellent.
  7. The staff is teriffic, the food is delicious and the atmosphere is welcoming and warm, the drinks are good too.
  8. From the menus to the popstar dolls behind the bar, Vynl has huge amounts of character, great food, service and joy.
  9. My job requires me to wine and dine my clients on a frequent enough basis, and I think I've finally found the perfect place to do it.
  10. She did a great job at recommending food and wine, and she kept us entertained with her fun personality.
  11. The new location has a prominent bar where you can wait for your table, big improvement from their crowded space before.
food quality
88.88999938964844% positive
  1. always think of it as a nice place to go for a relaxed mid-week type of meal.
  2. The food was ice cold, and our requests fell on deaf ears.
  3. The place is beautiful very clean, the food delicious, but for hospitality business it's not only good looking that matters.
  4. The food is still good, but I can get good food many places in NYC.
  5. this place has good food, it's a great value, but the service is quite bad.
  6. The service was good -- our waitress was friendly -- but the food had absolutely no flavor!
  7. We stayed at least an hour longer than plan for another round after a great meal.
  8. From the menus to the popstar dolls behind the bar, Vynl has huge amounts of character, great food, service and joy.
  9. The speciality cocktails were great and reasonably priced and the food excellent.
  10. The food was good but I base all of my return visits on great service.
  11. The food is delicious, the portions are huge, and a hearty meal for two people was about $22 (with tip).
  12. should mention that the food was deliciously filling and the watermelon lemonade(expressively reccommended by the waiter) was just what he said it would be, "Fantastic"!
  13. Good food, but terrible service.
  14. bit overpriced to this fast asian food!
  15. The food is still good, but I was disgusted to find that with brunch items, you're only given ONE LOUSY SLICE of toast.
  16. The food is consistently good and I always enjoy there lively brunch.
  17. The cobb salad is fabulous and the ample tuna steak is still the best deal in the city, even though the low price didn't move down the street with the restaurant.
  18. So loud talking isn't really possible, and the food is ok, but nothing fantastic.
  19. Great fun place for lunch - or any meal!
  20. There are so many good places to eat/drink on 9th and in that area, this is not good food, good service, or a good value.
  21. LOVE their fried chicken and we go back here whenever we need something quick, fun and tasty!
  22. Good standard food
  23. The food, once great, is now un-edible.
  24. The menu is similar with some refreshing additions to the cool comfort food/Asian diner theme.
  25. After a few beers with friends I was looking to stuff my face with a good meal in the company of a few friends.
  26. Wonderful staff, good food, great $.
  27. Apple, pear cranberry crisp was delicious.
  28. had the grilled salmon with field greens, and the salmon was better than I have had in much more expensive restaurants.
  29. We went one night and I was so happy to have found a place that serves what seems like Everything including the Best Watermelon martinis, chicken satay, turkey meat loaf, and so so much more.
  30. Salmon Burger special melted in your mouth, great fries, first rate shakes.
  31. didn't enjoy the fried chicken meal (but then again I'm from the deep south where chicken is always perfection) nor did I enjoy the macaroni with bread crumbs.
  32. Vynl is a great place to eat a good meal at an inexpensive price.
  33. Its all about atmosphere, and the food was very good and big portions, not expensive either.
  34. Nice bar menu, fresh food, nice for the healthly minded person.
  35. The food is really good - health conscious g.
  36. She did a great job at recommending food and wine, and she kept us entertained with her fun personality.
  37. Had an excellent meal here on saturday night - try the butternut squash wontons, they are to die for.
  38. The ambience was a little weird - it has a very old school diner feel and decor to it - but the food was good.
  39. The food wasn't good
  40. Consistently an enjoyable, memorable and delicious food experience.
  41. The staff is teriffic, the food is delicious and the atmosphere is welcoming and warm, the drinks are good too.
  42. The waiter was very nice and the food was amazing for the price.
  43. LOVE Vinyl - always good food, inexpensive and fun.
  44. The watermelon mojito is great and the food is decent too.
  45. Great food, great view of the passing parade on 9th Ave., friendly staff.
  46. This place has some really great food and a really cute atmosphere.
  47. Good comfort food!
  48. great food for the price, fun atmosphere
  49. As a customer since this place first opened 9 years ago, you won't find a more fresh or reasonably priced brunch in this part of hell's kitchen!
  50. The food is pretty good.
  51. Excellent friendly service and quick food.
  52. The food is delicious, portions are large, and price is good.
  53. fun place, good cheap food
  54. The food is very good (french toasts are soooo yummy) with good variety.
menu variety
100.0% positive
  1. love the album-cover menus, mosaic tables and the Elvis bust.
  2. And the menus are great!
  3. Nice bar menu, fresh food, nice for the healthly minded person.
  4. Everything on the menu sounds great - I'm such a picky eater.
  5. Creative menu, friendly staff.
  6. From the menus to the popstar dolls behind the bar, Vynl has huge amounts of character, great food, service and joy.
  7. The whole concept of LP jackets for menus, great music playing and the celebrity doll collection is a great touch along with some very interesting asian influenced menu selections!
  8. The waiter looked at me annoyed and was condescending when I asked him questions about the extensive menu.
  9. The food is very good (french toasts are soooo yummy) with good variety.
  10. The menu is similar with some refreshing additions to the cool comfort food/Asian diner theme.
overall
100.0% positive
  1. Fun atmosphere and great quality at an affordable place, in a unpretentious setting.
  2. The cobb salad is fabulous and the ample tuna steak is still the best deal in the city, even though the low price didn't move down the street with the restaurant.
  3. All around good place
  4. always think of it as a nice place to go for a relaxed mid-week type of meal.
  5. which is a great place to stay in the city; I highly recommend the two ;)
  6. Vynl is a great place to eat a good meal at an inexpensive price.
  7. The staff is nice, the atmosphere is comfy, all around fun great place!
  8. All I have to say, is it was the best experience that I've had in a restaurant in a very long time.
  9. Just one great reasonable place for a fabulous lunch.
  10. dont know why management changed a great place, but they did so at a HUGE cost.
return potential
100.0% positive
  1. loved the themed bathrooms and can't wait to go back to check out the one i missed(odd eh?)
  2. LOVE their fried chicken and we go back here whenever we need something quick, fun and tasty!
  3. The food was good but I base all of my return visits on great service.
  4. All around, good experience and I'll be back.
service
85.64999580383301% positive
  1. Even worse, though, is the utterly abysmal service.
  2. The management should hire people who want their patrons to have a good fun time and enjoy their experience, instead of "wanna be" models with horrific attitudes.
  3. should mention that the food was deliciously filling and the watermelon lemonade(expressively reccommended by the waiter) was just what he said it would be, "Fantastic"!
  4. The service is generally pretty good.
  5. this place has good food, it's a great value, but the service is quite bad.
  6. The food is delicious, the portions are huge, and a hearty meal for two people was about $22 (with tip).
  7. The staff is teriffic, the food is delicious and the atmosphere is welcoming and warm, the drinks are good too.
  8. Wonderful staff, good food, great $.
  9. All-around fun and good service.
  10. never been so mistreated in a restaurant before, from the hostess not knowing what she was doing, to the bartender assuming I didnt need the mananger from a flippy Waiter waiter with a bad attitude
  11. This place is very reasonable and the staff is very nice.
  12. Great food, great view of the passing parade on 9th Ave., friendly staff.
  13. Good food, but terrible service.
  14. From the menus to the popstar dolls behind the bar, Vynl has huge amounts of character, great food, service and joy.
  15. was told, I was the next big group on the list but they were constantly cramming newer groups of two into available spaces the hostess faked nice but was snide when confronted.
  16. Only thing I can say negative is that the service wasn't great.
  17. Excellent friendly service and quick food.
  18. Staff was attentive, though I'm not sure if it was because it wasn't very crowded when I went.
  19. There are so many good places to eat/drink on 9th and in that area, this is not good food, good service, or a good value.
  20. The waiter was very nice and the food was amazing for the price.
  21. service is pretty good too.
  22. nice staff !
  23. The host was very nice, everybody over there have very good looking, tattoos etc etc, but my waiter i think was more interested in his visual instead of giving a good service!
  24. Presentation is wonderful, the staff is great and you will love it!
  25. The staff is nice, the atmosphere is comfy, all around fun great place!
  26. The drinks were sooooo good and the service was excellent.
  27. Creative menu, friendly staff.
  28. The service was good -- our waitress was friendly -- but the food had absolutely no flavor!
  29. The service was great!
  30. The food was good but I base all of my return visits on great service.
  31. And over all, the prima donna's who are used to offer 1/2 good customer serivces got upset once someone who actually didnt take their half CAN service
  32. Great service
  33. The service was horrible and the host was so RUDE!
  34. Hostess was friendly tonight, but the wait staff couldn't be bothered with my boyfriend and me.
  35. The wait staff has always been attentive and quick.
  36. The waiter looked at me annoyed and was condescending when I asked him questions about the extensive menu.
value
91.23000144958496% positive
  1. had the grilled salmon with field greens, and the salmon was better than I have had in much more expensive restaurants.
  2. The cobb salad is fabulous and the ample tuna steak is still the best deal in the city, even though the low price didn't move down the street with the restaurant.
  3. great food for the price, fun atmosphere
  4. fun place, good cheap food
  5. The waiter was very nice and the food was amazing for the price.
  6. Vynl is a great place to eat a good meal at an inexpensive price.
  7. good value
  8. The food is delicious, the portions are huge, and a hearty meal for two people was about $22 (with tip).
  9. The food is delicious, portions are large, and price is good.
  10. Its all about atmosphere, and the food was very good and big portions, not expensive either.
  11. Perfectly cooked, great portions.
  12. LOVE Vinyl - always good food, inexpensive and fun.
  13. From the menus to the popstar dolls behind the bar, Vynl has huge amounts of character, great food, service and joy.
  14. Fun atmosphere and great quality at an affordable place, in a unpretentious setting.
  15. The portions are pretty big, which may or may not be a plus.
  16. this place has good food, it's a great value, but the service is quite bad.
  17. There are so many good places to eat/drink on 9th and in that area, this is not good food, good service, or a good value.
  18. will probably make my way back to the other location for three things: affordable prices, theme and FOOD!
  19. bit overpriced to this fast asian food!
wait time
100.0% positive
  1. Excellent friendly service and quick food.
  2. All I have to say, is it was the best experience that I've had in a restaurant in a very long time.
  3. LOVE their fried chicken and we go back here whenever we need something quick, fun and tasty!
  4. The wait staff has always been attentive and quick.
2 Star Rating: Below Average

02/04/12

Newly revamped....HIGHLY DISAPPOINTING!

by tdoggnyc11

Prior to the recent renovations, the old Vynl in Hell's Kitchen used to by my favorite restaurant. My friends and I would eat there several times a month. Last night was the first time we've been back since the renovations were completed....and sadly it will be the last time we'll be returning. Aside from the changes to the restaurant's interior, the old Vynl menu has been totally gutted....and NOT for the better. Gone are all the menu staples that used to keep us coming back. Old favorites like the cobb salad wrap, nachos, veggie burgers, mom's meatloaf, grilled cheese, parmesan truffle fries, and ESPECIALLY the Latin scramble are all gone. Essentially everything that was on the old menu is no longer there.

The new Vynl menu offers a random assortment of overpriced items like deviled eggs, fried oysters, schnitzel, and poutine. The servings are small, and the menu is overpriced. $16 for poutine (french fries with cheese and gravy)?????

Also gone from the restaurant are the frozen margaritas and the fun atmosphere that made Vynl stand out from so many other restaurants in the City.

To the Vynl owner: "if it ain't broke, don't fix it". Bringing in Top Chef participant (Lee Anne Wong) as a consulting chef and totally gutting your menu has totally ruined what so many people use to love about Vynl. Unless you bring back your old menu items, I think you're going to lose a lot of the patrons who've been returning to Vynl for so many years. I hate to say this, but I for one, won't be returning anytime soon.

1 Star Rating: Poor

11/14/10

Bad Brunch timing and communication

by michaeljoel

Called early on a Sunday afternoon to find out available soups and was told they were serving a "rustic tomato" among others... Perfect since I had a taste for grilled cheese and tomato soup.

But when I called a second time and tried to order was told only brunch menu was available and thus no soups. Frustrating since this is not mentioned anywhere on the online menu nor was communicated when I first called.

Disappointing. Note that online menu items may not be available at certain times.

4 Star Rating: Recommended

01/29/10

Fiery Hot Spot

by marisa 17

After a few beers with friends I was looking to stuff my face with a good meal in the company of a few friends.

Vnyl was suggested and what a great choice even though we had to walk all the way from high 50s and 6th Ave.....I had given up eating bread and buns for some time so there was little to choose from but I did have the Latin Scramble for dinner. It was delish!!! and I hear it's a favorite for brunch at Vnyl.

The theme was definitely a good look and I loved the NELLY bathroom... I will probably make my way back to the other location for three things: affordable prices, theme and FOOD!

The only reason it didn't get 5 stars was because they stuffed 7 of us into a round booth and it was a bit uncomfortable...Otherwise the staff was so welcoming and definitely helped with food selections.

OVERALL THOUGH, I LOVED IT!

  • Pros: Theme, Food and Location
5 Star Rating: Highly Recommended

08/25/09

Great well priced food & fun bathrooms!

by glcnyc

Had an excellent meal here on saturday night - try the butternut squash wontons, they are to die for. I addition the peking duck wrap was well liked by my group and the special orange stir-fry.

Great service

  • Pros: Food - exceptional
3 Star Rating: Average

05/23/09

FUN for an evening Novelty Place

by drink_club1

This record-themed place is as much restaurant as bar. The back is mostly booths, though those with round tables can handle ten (skinny) people. The mensroom has a mosaic Elvis and and diorama. You relieve yourself to LOVE ME TENDER, HOLD ME TIGHT. Better not make it TOO tight-- or it won't work.

The staff is business-like, but efficient. They were very tolerant of our expanding group, and late-stay.

We didn't try the main dishes, but had a lot of typical bar appetizers: quesadilla, nachos, calamari. The food was well-presented: art on a plate. Mykel found nothing spectacular about the taste, but the rest of the crew raved. The music was NOT too loud to talk. The record decor was fun. That's it. --Drink club NYC is a roving group of NYC drinkers

  • Pros: Theme bathrooms
  • Cons: Booths kinda tough for a very large group

The Details on Vynl

Place Categories:

  • good asian food
  • great reasonable place
  • good service
  • friendly wait staff
  • nice bar menu
  • pretty big portions
  • good experience
  • good meal
  • not good food
  • fun whole record decor
  • loved themed bathrooms
  • not more fresh brunch
  • good value
  • fun ambience
  • good drinks
  • good atmosphere
  • ridiculous attitude
  • very nice host
  • great speciality cocktails
  • affordable price
  • great lunch
  • always perfection fried chicken
  • affordable comfort foodasian diner theme
  • really great cute atmosphere
  • favorite many restaurants

Message from Vynl

"Nouvelle diner food" "spun well" is the genre of this "groovy" "album"-themed Thai-American in Hell's Kitchen; its "old LP menus", "action figures of Michael Jackson to the Spice Girls" and "quirky" "wanna-be actor" staff make it a "fun" "locals" place.

And the price is right. - Zagat

Come check our NEW Upper West Side location at 507 Columbus Ave!

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