Upper West Siders, rejoice! P.J. Clarke’s has announced the reopening of its UWS restaurant at 44 West 63rd Street.
A sign posted in the window of the UWS restaurant states that new hours will be 12-9pm from Thursday through Sunday (as of Thursday, September 16). Announcements were also made on the restaurant’s Instagram and Facebook pages.
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P.J. Clarke’s has three locations in NYC, one in Philly and one in DC. For its NYC restaurants, P.J.’s was among the largest recipients of the Restaurant Revitalization Fund – reported Eater – receiving a total of $10 million. “Sweet Hospitality, which provides concessions to Broadway theaters” got $10 million as well, and Momofuku got $6.8 million.
The new hours are certainly tighter than what they were previously, but it’s more than enough time to enjoy some burgers, baked clams and mac n cheese.
(and crab cakes)
While the mini-chain expanded to the Upper West Side in 2007, the original P.J. Clarke’s was established in 1884 at 915 Third Avenue at the northeast corner of East 55th Street, and has become a classic location hailed by celebrities. In the first season of the AMC hit show, “Mad Men,” Peggy (Elisabeth Moss) goes out for a night of dancing there with her agency colleagues from Sterling Cooper & Partners. Nat King Cole proclaimed in the late 1950s that P.J. Clarke’s bacon cheeseburger was “the Cadillac of burgers!”
Of course, the bacon cheeseburger at P.J. Clarke’s is now known as the “Cadillac.”
The Cadillac
PJ Clarke has a bad habit, when you split a check, of putting the suggested tip amounts for the full bill on each 1/2 of the bill credit card slip. They tricked me the first time into doing a 40% tip. The second time I went and got my bill, I complained to the manager and he got very pissy with me. That’s the last time I went to a PJ Clarke, even though I love me a Cadillac burger.
Unbelievable and depressing that in a time when small businesses are hurting so badly and every other storefront in the neighborhood is empty that people will take the time to comment on a post about a business (who have been doing business in this town since 1884!) finally re-opening, with sour grapes and pithy off handed opinions. I don’t begrudge anyone having their opinion, but I can’t say I understand the compulsion to slag them off in a public forum just because you might prefer the food at other restaurants.
Small pricey burger does not include fries. pay extra for them. Better deals elsewhere
So many better places with better food, prices and ambience. It has become a total tourist trap. Bareburger and Fred’s on the UWS have far better burgers.
Agreed, it’s way overpriced for what it is.