Ellen's Stardust Diner

Sing a song…
This magical place deserves its own post. If you haven’t been here, then save this link! It’s one of the most fun and random ways to have a meal I have ever known.
Ellen’s Stardust Diner is a 50s themed eatery with a difference – the waiters and waitresses will sing to you while they serve food! It was such a giggle – one minute our waiter was taking our order, the next minute he was up on the benches singing Bruno Mars to the diners.

The place is loud – we met some friends inside and could barely talk to them – you have been warned! The food was good, I had the Sloppy Joe ($15.95) which is their delicious ground sirloin simmered in the house tomato ‘n brown sugar sauce, served with onion rings and slow cooked baked beans, but most memorable was the cookie-flavour milkshake – OMG – I could drink that all day long (no wonder I put on so much weight – ahem).

The singing is amazing! The diner is on Broadway and all the staff want to be on Broadway – whether it’s on stage, writing the songs or making music. They work hard, sing harder and hope to be discovered. Many have been and are now in the shows down the road. Apparently the audition process is tough and working whilst singing and trying to get famous must be even tougher – but the enthusiasm is electric. There is a great love between the staff – they sing together and have a real laugh. At one point, 3 of them were up on the benches harmonising with each other. It was lovely!


The waitstaff go around with a big bucket for tips that they promise to only spend on improving themselves in order to fulfill their dreams – whether that’s singing lessons or a new guitar. The place is packed and we had to queue, but that was lunchtime at a weekend and it was well-worth it anyway. Here is us being serenaded to:

Even though we didn’t get to see a Broadway Show this time, I felt like Ellen’s gave us the experience without the price and with food on the side. I cannot recommend this enough – I shall be visiting every time I go to New York!
Address: 1650 Broadway, New York, NY 10019