Cafe Luka

New York, United States

3.8

Open now

20 reviews

Accepts Credit Cards
Free Wi-Fi

Contacts

QR code, vCard

Telephone:
+1 929-260-1178
Address:
1319 1st Ave, New York, NY, 10021
b/t 71st St & 70th St
Upper East Side
Nearby public transportation stops & stations:
400 ftE 72 St / 1 Av
0.4 mi67th St / Lexington Ave
0.4 mi68th Street - Hunter College (6)
Categories:
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Bussiness info

Takes Reservations
No
Delivery
Yes
Take-out
Yes
Accepts Credit Cards
Yes
Good For
Brunch
Parking
Street
Bike Parking
Yes
Good for Kids
Yes
Good for Groups
Yes
Attire
Casual
Ambience
Casual
Noise Level
Average
Alcohol
Beer & Wine Only
Outdoor Seating
No
Wi-Fi
Free
Has TV
Yes
Waiter Service
Yes
Caters
Yes

Today

Today 6:00 am – 1:00 am
Open now
Local time (New York) 16:11 Tuesday, 24 June 2025

Business hours

Monday 6:00 am – 1:00 am
Tuesday 6:00 am – 1:00 am
Wednesday 6:00 am – 1:00 am
Thursday 6:00 am – 1:00 am
Friday 6:00 am – 1:00 am
Saturday 6:00 am – 1:00 am
Sunday 6:00 am – 1:00 am

Description

Specialties

Café Luka is a neighborhood oasis in midtown Manhattan complete with mouthwatering, classic American food and your favorite drinks to wash it all down. We have a full bar and a cocktail menu along with special deals that change every day. Be sure to pick up your free sangria with an entrée after 5pm each day!

Breakfast, lunch dinner — we have it all. Pick from eggs & omelettes, bagels, homemade soups & salads, and a huge variety of burgers, sandwiches and wraps! The popular Chicken Burger is always a big hit at Café Luka, and for those trying to watch what they eat, we also carry Gluten Free Pancakes and Breads.

On the go or can’t make it here? Café Luka is available for take-​out and will even deliver strait to you! This is a friendly place for friends and family, old and young, to sit back, relax, and make it their home away from home. Whatever your palate of taste may be, Café Luka has what you’re looking for. We’ll see you soon!

History

Established in 2000.

Café Luka is the product of two brothers that are hands on owner operators. Since 2000, they’re made an effort to know everybody by name and treat everyone like family– At Café Luka, it’s been a consistent mission to take pride in consistency of good food, good service and a good experience. With 15 years of success, we’re looking forward to seeing you soon.

Meet the Manager

Gavin S.

Manager

Gavin is the manager at Café Luka. He has a passion for offering guests a great experience at this New York restaurant, dishing out great tasting food and your favorite drinks. He hopes that you have a wonderful experience and that you come again soon.

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20 reviews of Cafe Luka

No registration required
Place rating: 1
Manhattan, NY
I have been here before for work breakfast (omlette) and lunch (salad). Overall, in the past, it was adequate, not great.
Today, on the other hand, the food was not good. My partner had a grilled chicken sandwich. I felt badly as he struggled to take a bite. He said it was like rubber. My chicken mesclun salad was equally as bad. I asked for seared chicken and it came out like hard dry flavorless object in a bed of uninspired and wilted greens.
Never again.
I am done!
Place rating: 5
Manhattan, NY
The only true diner in Manhattan. John the proprietor welcomes you with the warmest greeting, can bs with the best of them.
Then the incredible waitstaff. Love it when the waiters great you with «the usual? Barbacue chicken burger, no sauce, no bread no cheese and a side salad?»
Food incredible, service incredible, Café Luka incredible.
Place rating: 5
Manhattan, NY
My 14 year old son and I were coming from a morning doctor appointment where he was sad to lean that he had to wear his cast for 3 more weeks — we wanted to find a nice diner for breakfast. We found Café Luka with Google and it turns out to be a perfect diner. The food was excellent, coffee fresh and good and served in real mug, but it was the service that made us want to go back. The manager/​owner could not have been nicer, immediately recognizing my son’s cast and commiserating and remembering his own from when he was the same age. He made us both feel better and then gave my son a huge cookie as we were leaving. Thank you for a great New York morning.
Place rating: 4
West Islip, NY
Cute little NYC diner. Traditional diner food and lots of options! Today I ordered the Greek salad — the large is very big and plenty for a whole meal. Best part is that you can order it chopped! Lots of grape leaves and feta cheese — the best parts.
My friend ordered an omelette which looked amazing — very large portion as well. We hung around and chatted for a while with no issue. Great little spot for breakfast /​lunch on a Sunday.
Place rating: 4
ROOSEVELT ISL, NY
«Affordable Bites on the UES»
Stopped by here for a quick lunch of chicken and rice soup and a baked potato. Everything was pretty standard — not mind blowing and not meh. The service is really spot on. It seems like this place is a favorite with many of the residents in the area, which is a major plus. AND!!! they Café Luka has gluten-​free pancakes.
NOTE: If you pay with debit or credit, you have to leave your tip in cash.
Place rating: 4
Bainbridge Island, WA
Just what one should expect for a NYC breakfast… perfect. High energy, great service and good basic food, not gourmet but good. Loved the atmosphere and the main wait staff. The greeter and the one who took our order had personality, the rest (about a dozen, it seemed) all had specific tasks and were very efficient, hardly looked up. The place is like a well oiled machine, no wasted motion.
Highly recommend it for that special NY experience
Place rating: 5
Brooklyn, NY
These folks don’t mess around with their service. They are outstanding! Every move they make seems to be intuitive, thoughtful, and with the customer in mind. I stop by here often.
Place rating: 1
New York, NY
I ordered a turkey dinner today to be delivered. It was INEDIBLE. JUST TERRIBLE. This place is ok for eggs I guess. Also the brisket sandwich is tasty. Anything other than that just do yourself a favor and stay away.
Place rating: 2
Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, NY
Went here for breakfast, food was not that good. How do you mess up breakfast? I ordered eggs and corn beef hash and it was disgusting. I expected better from local neighborhood diner.
Would not go back to the place again.
Place rating: 5
Manhattan, NY
I LOVE BREAKFAST! And Café Luka definitely caters to my breakfast needs. Sometimes, I just want good old fashioned breakfast food, not the hipster kale stuff. For that, I can go to SoHo. But Café Luka serves mean pancakes. They’re so buttery and fluffy. I was addicted. The breakfast potatoes are delicious as well! The omelettes and eggs are pretty average, nothing to rave about. The sausages are the fat kind, not the tiny little pinky-​sized sausages. Portions are great, food was delicious, and service was great. It seems like they get a lot of regulars. I will definitely become a regular. I haven’t tried their lunches, but I’m so stoked they serve breakfast all day. Woohoo! I’ll definitely be back.
Place rating: 5
Middletown, DE
Great food and great service. Food was delivered quick and hot. Coffee was topped off often. Attentive staff and good atmosphere. All around a good place to stop and recharge.
Place rating: 1
San Francisco, CA
Terrible food. A place this small with 100 items on their menu can only fail to delight. The breakfast is the worst, the coffee is horrendous. An absolute no go.
Place rating: 4
Cranbury, NJ
Great place to come with family for a nice meal at breakfast, lunch, or dinner! One of my favorite things about Café Luca is their ability to deal with food allergies, just tell your waiter and they will make sure your meal is cooked without any nuts in it or nearby it. Overall a very good place to get a good meal at any time of day.
Place rating: 5
New York, NY
Superb food and outstanding service. Stumbled upon this place even though i live in the neighborhood and becoming a regular.
Place rating: 4
ASTORIA, NY
Came here when I lived in the area, now I come after grueling overnight shifts dealing with NYC’s best (patients) Mornings are full of hospital staff, decompressing, eating and having a morning cocktail. Decent size space, its like a Diner and a café had a baby– boom café luka. Staff is fast and friendly, the owner is amusing and entertaining. Full diner style menu but we only ever have breakfast and mimosas.
Place rating: 5
Southeast, Denver, CO
What a great place! The service is great and food as well! And I love the way they take care of my parents who live around the corner!
Place rating: 4
Mays Landing, NJ
Café Luca was a great place to enjoy lunch. Fresh Cobb Salad was excellent. Friendly owners and staff added to the experience. We will definitely return.
Place rating: 4
Hoboken, NJ
Good spot for anything you want anytime, and fast delivery. The chocolate chip pancakes are literally cake batter with chocolate, super healthy breakfast with syrup. The fresh turkey sandwich is so big you can get two meals off of it. Good breakfast and lunch, and fast service, nice people and owner too.
Place rating: 2
Philadelphia, PA
I do not recommend the burger options here. I ordered mine medium but you would’ve thought it was well-​done. My friend ordered his well-​done so maybe I got caught in the crossfire of his poor decision making. The burger was just very very tasteless, and too charred.
Staff was friendly and quick. Seating and atmosphere were great for a busy NY area. I found everything but the food to be in the 4 – 5 star range (I would opt for breakfast next time)
Place rating: 5
New York, NY
My favorite diner in NYC for two reasons:
1) The food
2) The service
The food is consistently fantastic. I always get the eggs florentine because the eggs are always poached perfectly — and the spinach and feta are incredible. Their brunch comes with fruit salad, coffee and another drink. I’ve also had their open-​faced tuna melt — and it’s awesome.
The service is friendly and fast — I love going on Saturday or Sunday mornings because I know the staff to be nice, enthusiastic and kind. It makes eating here a true pleasure.
Finally, the drinks. My girlfriend and I get a good laugh every time because their brunch special comes with coffee and juice or a mimosa/​bloody mary. You’re guaranteed to have at least 6 drinks on the table at any moment –and there’s nothing wrong with that.
My go-​to diner in NYC, for sure.