Is Monk's Cafe On Seinfeld A Real Restaurant?

Tom's Restaurant actually sits beneath Columbia University's Armstrong Hall, home to NASA's Goddard Space Center (via WIkiCU), and has long been a popular spot with students. Columbia alumnus Meghan McCain told All Day Today that her father, Senator John McCain, was particularly fond of Tom's. "That was my dad's favorite thing about Columbia — that it was by Tom's Restaurant. He used to tell everyone, 'Meghan and I ate at the "Seinfeld" restaurant!'" 

Barack Obama and his Columbia roommate, Phil Boerner, also frequented Tom's in their undergraduate days there in the 1980s. Boerner told The New York Times, "We would just go there for the breakfast special, two eggs over easy and toast. It was like $1.99, and we lived on a lot of bagels."

Fans of "Seinfeld" looking for a true Monk's Cafe experience beyond getting a photo in front of the iconic sign are sometimes let down by their visits to Tom's. On the r/Seinfeld subreddit, u/Bartenderofthemind asked if any fans had eaten there, writing, "I went to Tom's Restaurant in NYC and was disappointed to see that it was not the same inside. Also, there are no Seinfeld-related dishes (such as the big salad)." u/2slowam answered, "I have. Worst 'turkey' sandwich of my life. Don't eat there." 

Disappointing sandwiches aside, Tom's remains a popular destination for visiting fans more than 30 years since Jerry and friends first sat down there for a tuna on rye.