Nic's Diner + Lounge

[Pete]

Went to a soft opening last night but they were only offering burgers and a couple of sandwiches off the menu.

First of all, the space is beautiful. Way nicer than expected with lots of dark millwork and etched glass. Wait staff wears white shirts and ties; cloth napkins on the table.

It's also bigger than it looks. As you walk in, there is a semi-private dining area straight ahead through etched glass, with another room to the left. To the right is the main dining area with booths along the perimeter and high top marble tables in the middle. They spent a lot of money on the interior.

I ordered the Nic's Original to compare to what is served at Nic's Grill on Penn. It seemed to be almost exactly the same but served on a big plate with a steak knife, which was welcome in order to tackle that beast. It was fantastic.

My dining companions tried some of the other burgers along with the pork cutlet sandwich. All reports were highly favorable.

You'll see the dinner menu below. There will be a separate menu for breakfast / lunch. They hope to open on Tuesday.

You can see they have some high-priced items on the menu, such as a couple of steaks. Whereas a Nic's burger with cheese, fries and drink costs $9.92 at Nic's Grill, here it is $11.25 w/o a drink.

Nic was working the grill and seemed really happy with everything, as he should be. Absolutely gorgeous place and I can't wait to try their breakfast items.

The downstairs bar is kind of amazing. Absolutely beautiful and bigger than I would have thought. They will have all types of beer, signature prohibition theme cocktails and several wines on tap. This is going to be a great spot and there was no burger/grill smell to be detected in the least.

[ChaseDweller]

Hey that's me (far left edge, talking to the blonde woman) in the last pic! I agree with everything Pete said. Beautiful space, amazing burgers.

[Thomas Vu]

This looks much better than the one on Penn.

[Head]

Tears in my eyes from happiness! (For Nic, not carnivorism, but for that TOO!) I'm finishing a big job in Ada, and should be able to get to this lair in a couple o days. I'm going to bring all my vegan friends I can think of.

[Head]

Is "carnivorism" a word? I'd sure be embarrassed if I were thought of as someone with an 8th grade education.

[turnpup]

^^^^^

If it isn't, it should be!

[Pete]

[kevinpate]

Looks quite nice inside.
Are opening day and regular operating hours established yet?

[BBatesokc]

So, a burger and drink for lunch is going to run $14, plus a tip = $17. Isn't that double the prices at the original Nic's?

*Just saw there will be a separate menu for lunch. Any idea what those burger prices will be?

[sooner88]

So, a burger and drink for lunch is going to run $14, plus a tip = $17. Isn't that double the prices at the original Nic's?

*Just saw there will be a separate menu for lunch. Any idea what those burger prices will be?

From looking at the menus posted it seems like the burger menu will be for lunch too. A cheeseburger, fries and drink at Nic's is ~$11 so I could see a ~$3 price increase being reasonable for the setting.

[warreng88]

Does anyone know if they will take cards or is it just cash still?

[SoonerDave]

So, a burger and drink for lunch is going to run $14, plus a tip = $17. Isn't that double the prices at the original Nic's?

*Just saw there will be a separate menu for lunch. Any idea what those burger prices will be?

Yeah that concerns me a little, too...I was thinking he was just opening a downtown instance of what he already had, not a different concept place with similar food. A lot of people are drawn to Nic's because of the simplicity of the setup. Not saying there's anything *wrong* with building a nicer place in the new location, but it just may not match up what people are *expecting* when they think of Nic's Diner.

[Teo9969]

Yeah that concerns me a little, too...I was thinking he was just opening a downtown instance of what he already had, not a different concept place with similar food. A lot of people are drawn to Nic's because of the simplicity of the setup. Not saying there's anything *wrong* with building a nicer place in the new location, but it just may not match up what people are *expecting* when they think of Nic's Diner.

I never got that impression. I'm pretty sure he would never go for a "2nd location" of the original, for a variety of reasons, chief among them being that he will want to continue to man the grill at 12th and Penn and he will have more control over that. This wasn't his project only, and with other people involved, you lose control...that his name is on it is surprising enough to me.

[SoonerDave]

I never got that impression. I'm pretty sure he would never go for a "2nd location" of the original, for a variety of reasons, chief among them being that he will want to continue to man the grill at 12th and Penn and he will have more control over that. This wasn't his project only, and with other people involved, you lose control...that his name is on it is surprising enough to me.

Well, maybe that was just my expectation. I know it's what I thought when I first heard "Hey Nic's is opening up a location downtown!" my first thought was that it was going to be a concept substantially similar to what was already so popular.

Just have to see how it goes.

[HangryHippo]

Well, maybe that was just my expectation. I know it's what I thought when I first heard "Hey Nic's is opening up a location downtown!" my first thought was that it was going to be a concept substantially similar to what was already so popular.

Just have to see how it goes.

I'm with Teo on this one. I never expected this new establishment to be substantially similar in any way to what he already had.

[jccouger]

For some reason the 555-5555 phone # isn't working for me.

[BBatesokc]

From looking at the menus posted it seems like the burger menu will be for lunch too. A cheeseburger, fries and drink at Nic's is ~$11 so I could see a ~$3 price increase being reasonable for the setting.

Thanks. i was thinking the combo cheeseburger was $7.

[jccouger]

This was posted 5 days ago:

http://oklahomacity.craigslist.org/fbh/5826127497.html

Hopefully they open this week

[sooner88]

This article said they'd be opening today as long as the soft openings went well.

http://newsok.com/three-new-restaura...rticle/5522555

[jccouger]

Can anybody confirm they are open today or anyway to ask them myself?

[Pete]

Can anybody confirm they are open today or anyway to ask them myself?

They are open today.

[jackirons]

went for dinner today. the burger was just as good as the original location.

[sooner88]

I will agree that if you compare it to the original location, it is expensive. But if you look at the finishes and base it off something more comparable, republic maybe, it's right in line. I think that even though the main draw is burgers, there will be little competition with the Garage... Think it's comparing apples to oranges. This place is going to kill it.

[OKCisOK4me]

The Garage is casual (shorts/t-shirt minimal) while this place looks more trendy. I wouldn't wear anything less than nice jeans and a polo or button-up shirt with nice dress shoes to this place...which means I'm much more likely to go to The Garage if I'm down that way.

[warreng88]

Again, I assume credit/debit cards are accepted?