Three New Midtown Eateries Will Be At Grand Central Terminal

MIDTOWN, NY — Grand Central Terminal will be the home to three new restaurants, according to a spokeswoman for the Big Apple landmark.

Luke’s Lobster Grand Central called the space home on Wednesday, and dates have yet to be set for Dirty Taco and Bourke Street Bakery.

“You can feel the excitement all around Grand Central Terminal this summer as our passengers and tourists enjoy some of the best dining and retail options New York City has to offer, Metro-North Railroad President and LIRR Interim President Catherine Rinaldi said to Patch via email. “We welcome the new tenants to our iconic terminal. These dining options add to the delicious and unique list of foods our customers can taste while waiting for their train or passing through.”

Luke’s Lobster features a full bar, to-go cocktails and has a robust selection of wines, hard ciders and beer. Its menu also includes lobster rolls, chowders, bisques and do-it-yourself roll kits for an easy dinner that can be whipped up fresh in five minutes after a commute.

The lobster joint also has partnerships with Peak Organic Brewing for its Luke’s Light beer and Wyman’s Family Farms for its Maine Blueberry Mojito.

As part of its corporate commitment to the environment, Luke’s has also teamed up with MiiR to provide reusable 16-ounce tumblers. Each beer refill with a Luke’s MiiR tumbler comes with a $1 discount.

Luke’s is selling a special $25 cocktail in a MiiR 10 ounce reusable and refillable lowball mug donated by MiiR. All of the profits from the drinks will be donated to Riverkeeper, a nonprofit that protects and restores the Hudson River from source to sea.

“We’re honored to share space in such an iconic landmark,” Luke Holden, founder and CEO of Luke’s Lobster, said by email. “I started the company here and spent almost a decade in NYC. Luke’s has become a place where New Yorkers go to celebrate the everyday – nailing a big presentation, learning about your college acceptance, ending your first day on the job or meeting friends for happy hour on a long weekend.”

Holden hopes Luke’s will simply be the start to the finish of the day – a good bite, sip or snack on the way home or a bright spot in people’s daily commute.”

Ben Conniff, Luke’s Lobster co-founder and chief innovation officer, shared Holden’s sentiments.

"There's a Pavlovian response that's universal to folks cracking open a beer at the end of a long day of work,” Conniff said via email. “For lobstermen, it's after you've unloaded your last trap, refueled, and tied up your boat. For New York City commuters, it's the moment you find your seat on the train. In both cases, the ‘psssfftt’ sound of the beer cracking open tells your body and mind to relax: another day's haul is done. Luke's is proud to now be a part of that moment."

Luke’s Lobster is open from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. seven days a week.

Dirty Taco, an urban L.A.-styled taco place, is expected to open by the end of July.

The taco spot was created by Armenian and Korean chefs. Together they fused their cultural traditions into their street tacos, which come with free chips with every order of three tacos for its first week in business.

"Dirty Taco will be opening for service at the end of this week!” said owners Jake Geragos and Tae Lee by email. “ We are very excited to serve our LA street style tacos in GCT, providing fresh, made daily tacos, salsas, street corn, and guacamole."

Every week the Dirty Taco will also feature a new special taco on the menu to pay homage to the variety of L.A. street carts.

Dirty’s breakfast menu is from 8 to 11 a.m. and its full menu is from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Bourke Street Bakery, an Australian café and bakery known for its savory sausage rolls, flaky meat pies and sourdough bread program, is also expected to open in late July.

Guests will be able to order Bourke’s famous Ginger Crème Brule, which put the Sydney bakery on the map in 2004, and it will only be available to the GCT Bourke Street menu.

The menu features grab-and-go style breakfast granola cups, seasonal salads unique to the location and its classic pastries, sandwiches, cakes, sourdough and coffee for the terminus’ busy travelers.

Mini lamingtons, an Aussie treat — are available every weekend and the shakshuka egg Danish is a cult favorite among Bourke Street regulars.

The Australian bakery only uses sustainably sourced craft beans from Counter Culture for a smooth brew as well as killer espresso drinks.

The bakery is open seven days a week from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.