Viand Cafe

Esccaped from rain on upper east side into this little diner across street from Arader Galleries on Madison. Graham Arader is no doubt the king of historic maps and exceptionally knowledgeable in any 18^th-​19^th printed object on paper. If you need a 16^th century map of the «new world» or an original elephant folio Audubon print of American bald eagle, Arader’s is the place. Now back to restaurant, seems they do a good delivery service for lunch. They do have all the classic diner fare, soup was good (Chicken noodle) but not remarkable. Gyro plate good but not exceptional. Serving was large though, nothing to complain about, not cheap but this is trendy upper east side where I remember a ham and cheese sandwich being $ 14 my first trip to this area over 20 years ago.

Surly Russian staff that can make you uncomfortable at times. Decent matzo ball soup and a pretty good Bloody Mary, though it was a child-​sized libation. Nothing too special about this place.

Overpriced, bland diner fare. The tables were tiny and cramped. Three burgers (with two orders of fries), a soup and a salad were $ 70. Not worth the price.

This place has good food, buuuuuuuut the service is terrible!!! The waiter tried to rush us out by coming to the table every two minutes, to interrupt. They also added a «service charge» of 15% to our bill, which has been illegal for some time now. Would definitely NOT recommend this place to anyone and would not go there again. There are a plenty of great diners around where I would go to instead.

Viand is one of those coffeeshops of a bygone ere on the Upper East Side. It has a neighborhood clientele and unfussy service and food. It’s great on the way to the Met for brunch or lunch. I love their smoked salmon lox on a bagel and their fresh turkey sandwiches. Also, Mike Bloomberg is a regular here.

I can’t understand why, as of writing this review, that this Viand has only a two and a half star average rating. I love this Viand and every time I visit New York this is one of the places I look forward to eating at the most. I’ve been eating here for about the past 10 years and not once have I ever been disappointed in any way, whether it be with cleanliness, service, or food. When I think of a place that I go to that is consistent, I honestly can not think of a more perfect example than this place. When I walk in here I know exactly how my food is going to be and what it’s going to taste like. Also, the food comes out consistently fast. I’m a huge grilled cheese fan and this is one of the first places that comes to mind when I’m looking to satisfy my grilled cheese craving. The fries are also very good and crispy. Don’t order too much for your main meal because you want to save room for dessert. My favorite dessert here is the marble loaf cake. It’s one of the best I’ve ever had — very moist and thick. Overall, Viand gives you a consistent, classic, diner experience that keeps making me want to return!

I’ve loved this place. But just walked by and saw note closed by city for health reasons. One star as warning. Hope this is fixed…

Stopped by a couple of days ago for breakfast and saw a big sign on the front door saying it was closed by the health department.
Next to the health department notice, the management posted a sign saying it was closed for plumbing repairs and would reopen. Meanwhile I passed by a few times and it looks as if they are packing the place up getting ready to leave. This does not look good. I always enjoyed their Mediterranean omelette and I always felt that the staff was friendly.
I went to the health department site, and on their restaurant ratings page they indicated that the restaurant is closed, and closed was written in red letters.
Looks as if this restaurant is definitely closed for the forseeable future.
Oh well.

The service is BAD. I had to desperately wave at the waiter for 10 minutes to get my check, and the place wasn’t even busy.
And then he decided to tack a service charge to my bill! Unbelievable.
The food is just standard diner fare, but it’s priced like it was a real restaurant.
In short: bad food, worse service.

Got a ham melt & waffle fries, pretty good. Also hard to mess that up. Quick service but a very rude hostess/​server. Mediocre at most.

Was not impressed, overpriced, unprofessional service, and long over whelming menu .
I didn’t eat here just sat and had some water which glass was dirty and shot glass sized so that was disappointing. Although I must say fries looked appealing and boy friend said BLT was tasty. But it ended up costing him like 16 bucks for the whole just those two things, silly prices for dinner food. I Would not come back to try something here, infact I’m glad I just got water.

I am not going to give 5 stars, just because of the limits of what I ordered (I only ordered «Yankee Bean Soup» and a Cappuccino, because it was already past 4pm, and I had dinner plans), which may not have been reflective of the rest of the foods (though I would be happy to test the rest of the menu out later on, if I end up there again). However, I was extremely pleased with the soup and the coffee, both of which came very quickly.
I was not sure what to expect for the «Yankee Bean Soup» (I had no idea what it really meant, but took the waitress’ word that it was good), but it was basically a tomato based soup with beans and vegetables. And it was delicious! I would definitely order it again if I am around the area. The prices (at least for the soup) was very reasonable, and i think my coffee may have been more expensive than the cup of soup. The cappuccino was good as well.
There is a $ 6 minimum charge until around early dinner time, which then rises to $ 8. The bathroom was not the most attractive or cleanest, but as long as it’s usable, right???

Short memo: My grandparents lived across the street pushing 40 years ago, at 50 E. 79 Street, directly across the street. High caliber places like Longchamps, Starks, and Schraffts within a block are long gone. Thankfully, the real epitome of American luxury, The Carlyle still stands.
Was delighted to enjoy drinks and eats in the outside tables at Viande. This was with a very special friend not long ago, when the weather was fine. It’s a great place to go before or after Museums like The Metropolitan or The Whitney, numerous private Art Galleries, or even refreshments before or after Central Park.
In this particular venue, every other reviewer misses the point: This area has always been known as ‘The Silk Stocking District.’ You’re paying for the location and the somewhat posh crowd.

Busy at 145pm — we waited about 5 minutes to be seated. I had tasty matzoh ball soup. Companions had: Western omelet with home fried potatoes and, turkey burger. Everyone was happy and full. My companions are regulars, love this place. Attentive, professional and pleasant staff.

Quick spot to pop in and grab some lunch. I had the matzo ball soup. Not a spot I would rush back to though.

Gross! Avoid this place by any means!
This is filthy super over price place where the service is horrible. Worst salad i have had in my life!
My waitress was a woman that almost shouted at me when i didn’t knew what to order.
I paid 25 dollars for a salad i couldn’t even look at.

First off let me say how disturbing it is to have to pay $ 25 for a chicken, portobella and arugula salad with a coffee. I know this is the land of Mad Men and Mad Princesses but these are absurd prices for almost zero taste. And btw, the arugula was actually just a bed of iceberg lettuce. It’s like people just hand you «food» to say they’re in the restaurant business. It doesn’t matter what it is.
The atmosphere here is the only pull Viand has. There’s the essential diner aura– Art Deco design, green color, mirrors, shameless appearance, as if smoking is somehow discreetly permitted after hours.
The staff is beyond rude– pushy and I believe as some reviewer mentioned, «surly»…as if they’re rushing to get you seated, food ordered and out of their establishment. The waitress kept pushing me to order ASAP. Why? There’s no one here– it’s a Wednesday for Godsake. And the owner is like some old school union delegate, micromanaging every waiter to make sure the orders get to the tables– even if it’s just a bowl of soup.

50’s style diner in the upper east side? You betcha. Nestled between two high end clothing store is this out of place restaurant. We couldn’t believe it either. This place feels like it should be off some highway in middle america with Guy Fieri pulling up in is convertible.
Seating is self service. You go in, pick your spot and a waiter will get you started with the menu. I didn’t order any drinks but my friend ordered their freshly squeezed lemonade sans sugar. Yup, that’s right. just water and lemon juice. Waiter was like, however you like it, we’ll make it.
For dinner, I opted for their Beefburger, medium rare. Pretty good burger, it wasn’t oozing with juice when you bite into it but it wasn’t dry either. The burger was cooked perfectly. Brown and charred on the outside with a pinkish inside. It came with a side of fries but you can choose from salads to bake potato. Once again, whatever you like.
My friend opted for the hand carved turkey breast BLT. It came highly recommended by the waiter and when he brought it out, looked really good. Midway during one of our dinner conversation, my friend literally had to stop and forced the sandwich down since it was so dry. Upon further inspection, the turkey breast was definitely dry as was the bacon. Coupled that with the toasted bread and you get the idea.
The fact that you can find a diner in Manhattan is amazing. The place is worth dropping by just for the experience. I’d recommended the Beefburger but can’t say the same for the Turkey BLT.

You can’t get more bland than Viand!
After a night out with the gang last night I still somehow got up early and headed out to work. Since it is so nice out today I decided to explore the hood a bit and took a different route to the subway. At this point I was ravenous for breakfast after a night out drinking and I happened across Viand Café.
The place itself has an art deco look with all green furnishings and mirrored walls with a few pictures of faded celebrities hanging on them. It looks like a diner stuck in time and could be a film set piece from the 80’s. It’s a clean place that features the typical Greek owned diner menu that covers everything but the kitchen sink. I took a spot at the counter and ordered a breakfast special. Scrambled eggs, home fries, whole wheat toast, coffee.
Now, being in this UES area on Madison Ave everything seems a bit pricier, and this place is no exception. If you are going to charge me $ 7 for breakfast at least make it edible! Bland, bland, bland! The eggs were hastily prepared and kind of undercooked — not really scrambled, and the home fries were half raw potatoes! No onion, pepper, or anything mixed in that give home fries some flavoring. Even the toast seemed to have only one side toasted. WTF??? With all the better diners in the area I won’t be coming back here any time soon. At least the coffee was decent diner swill.
I had to laugh when I looked over and saw a Daily News article about how this place is Mayor Bloomberg’s favorite diner to eat at and take business associates and other politicians there for meals because he lives close by. Really? You’re worth a gazillion dollars and this is where you take dignitaries too? Bleech!
The two stars I am giving this place is really for the friendly staff I encountered there. Otherwise, pass this one by and head a few minutes over to another diner in the area.

A diet Coke never tasted so good! After walking miles around Central Park this quaint café is perfect!
On the Upper East side in the midst of over-​priced, stuffy and long wait-​time restaurants, Viand was a delightful find.
The waitresses were so friendly and so quick. The vibe was very New York-​ish in a Seinfeld way. I was delighted with my Waldorf Wrap (chicken salad, walnuts, apples, raisins, & tortilla). The chicken salad was light and not too mayonnaise-​y, the apples crisp as ever, the raisins huge, plump and tasty and the tortilla was fresh and not soggy. I had to test my will-​power to only eat half so I could enjoy the other half later on. Kept in the fridge at our hotel I ate the other half 2 days later and it was just as amazing!
Hubby had the turkey club. He mistakingly thought it would be hot and melted and when it arrived as cold-​cuts and not hot, he wasn’t thrilled. The bread was toasted, not his favorite, but it was a heaping portion of turkey and the coleslaw and fries were divine!
Way to go Viand Café, we loved you!