Dinerbar is the downtown of uptown. Literally, this casual chic place with club music is taken right out of the East Village and smacked on the edge of Spanish Harlem. The neighbourhood is rough around the edges but if you take the 6 train to 96th Street and walk up, you should be fine. (Note there is also a 103rd Street exit, but I personally prefer to walk up from 96th Street.)
I first heard about this happening place from Time Out NY magazine. It was cited as "industrial chic" with basic home cooking with a twist. Since it is somewhat close to my apartment, I took a walk up one evening and found a discreet storefront. Once inside, I was transported to another neighbourhood with the electic mix of young professionals and locals. The open kitchen faces the entrance and is manned by a hip chef who dances to the music.
There are two dining rooms, one for smoking with a long bar as well and a non-smoking room. The atmosphere is dark and candlelit, with good loud music playing. Tables are small and intimate and there seems to be many repeat customers as certain crowds already know each other as they stroll in. I took a table next to the window, prime for bar watching and window watching.
The menu is simple. There is breakfast, eggs, chorizo, bacon, standard fare. And there is breakfast pasta with bacon, egg, parmesan cheese. There are sandwiches such as BLT, chicken steak with cheese, cheeseburger. There are deviations, such as the infamous ravioli sandwich (cheese ravioli on garlic bread). You can add various sides to your sandwich, such as fries, vegies etc.
Then there are sections named hot and cold dishes. Hot covers things like chicken wings, rice and beans, and the cold things like salads. Entrees are pure comfort food, with steak and fries, lamb shoulder chops with mashed potatoes, fried whole fish. Overall, I found the menu less exotic than the review had suggested. Nonetheless, the food is good and consistent.
Service was somewhat erratic, maybe because the young girl who covered our table was new and had too many tables to take care of. But you don't come here for the service. You are here because A: you live uptown and don't want to go downtown on a week night, B: you are so sick of the usual neighbourhoods you would travel anywhere to get away, or C: Dinerbar is a fun place, the people are nice and the price is right.
I believe credit cards are accepted, but I've paid in cash all the times I've been there. Do check before you go as there are virtually no banks nor cash machines in the nearby area.