Crystal Restaurant - Watertown, NY
- What: 1940s style restaurant enclosed by rich wood paneling and original furnishings. The menu has defied inflationary trends and offers classic diner fare. The Crystal is also noted for their "Tom and Jerry" holiday beverage.
- Where: 87 Public Square, Watertown, New York, Jefferson County.
- When: 1946 - Present
- Contact: This site is open to the public 7am - 11:30pm daily.
- Phone: (315) 782 - 9938
- Web: http://www.northpoleny.org
- Click here to add your own memory of the Crystal Restaurant to our guestbook.
Whether you are looking for a quick tuna salad sandwich for lunch or a hot Tom & Jerry to celebrate the Christmas season, “The Crystal” is the place to go in Watertown and has been since the Dephthereos family took over in the early 1930s. From the classic period signs on the outside to the pressed tin ceiling, mosaic tile floor and dark wood booths that line the perimeter, this always-busy restaurant is a highlight of the once-bustling-but-now deteriorating Public Square. It is really like a movie set, where you might easily expect to see Julia Roberts or Viggo Mortensen [a hometown boy] consuming their generous helpings of meat loaf and mashed potatoes or mac and cheese. More commonly, you will find lawyers in business suits at one table, a family with young children at the next, senior citizens lounging with their coffee mugs at yet another and conversation flowing freely among them. The Crystal boasts of one of the last stand-up bars in the country and some of the cheapest prices for food.
Additional Photos
Click photos to view full size
Facade of Crystal Restaurant on Public Square in Watertown
Owner Peter Dephtereos with waitresses in front of Crystal Restaurant.
Antique postcard of Crystal Restaurant interior, no date.
Lunchtime at the Crystal Restaurant
Patrons having lunch at some of original booths in the Crystal Restaurant
Regulars gathered for lunch in Crystal with veteran waitress.
Selection of Crystal menus from over the years.
Waitress prepares a Crystal Christmas holiday season favorite Tom & Jerry drink from the Dephtereos ceramic bowl at one of the few stand-up bars in the region [Photo courtesy of the Watertown Daily Times]
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)