The Diner

Terrible service - if you enjoy eating at a 6th form canteen then this is the place for you. Our waitress was surly and unhelpful, perking up only when her friends turned up for free beers. The place seems devoid of any management which resulted in incredibly lazy service by a bunch of teens (possibly stragglers from the now defunct boombox) too busy perfecting their Peaches Geldolf impressions to do their jobs, our 'fast food' dinner taking over 45 minutes to turn up - no apology, no explanation and as the place was 3 quarters empty - no excuse. The restaurant was dirty, the floor covered in previous diners scraps, so bad we called one of the staff over to clean up, too busy chatting to one another and popping out for fags to actually take care of customers. The Old street branch is a decent enough lunch venue; bright, clean and fast service from a competent staff, however it's sister branch is to be avoided at all costs-unless punishment dinners our your thing.
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Jay
Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 2 | Value for money 2
Friday, October 03, 2008

I went to this restaurant for lunch and I have to say I was dissappointed. The food is very average and some dishes such as the chips (way overcooked), BBQ beans (stodgy) and corn on the cob (served cold). My partner had a coconut milkshake which was nice but lacked one main ingredient - the coconut.

The decor keeps within the theme, service is OK and the staff seem pleasant enough but be prepared to have 12.5% added on to your bill for it.

On the whole, the food is nothing special and I definitely would not go back, there are far better restaurants in this area.
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Sharon
Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 4 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 3
Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Went to The Diner with a friend after a day's shopping and after reading some of the reviews on here, was pleasantly surprised. They gave us a nice table in a booth and we started off by ordering the milkshakes which didnt disappoint and if anything they were too big!

Our waitress was very sweet and answered all our questions about the different burgers. I ended up having a californian burger with guacamole which was delicious and juicy and we shared sides of chili cheese fries and onion rings.

It was quite busy but we were seated and served quicky and left feeling very full. For £15 a head it's cheap for the area. Will definitely go back.
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Carol M
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 9
Monday, September 01, 2008

We waited about an hour for our food to arrive after finally getting to order, slow service, useless wait staff, Food is so-so, a little bland really but the milkshakes are delicious, When we finally flagged down the one waitress covering the whole booth area we finally got the cheque, disgusted to see that they had added a huge service charge, probably beacuse they wouldn't get any tips otherwise, due to their lack of waitressing skills!
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Janine
Overall rating
Food 0 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 2 | Value for money 0
Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Went here Monday hoping to have a nice bite to eat and drink.

We ended up waiting over half an hour for our drinks. When the drinks finally arrived, we got given the wrong ones and when we tried to tell this to the waitress she told us that the drinks were “close enough”.

When the food finally arrived, sometime after the drinks, I found it to be bland and unexciting. Would not recommend.
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Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 3 | Value for money 1
Tuesday, June 17, 2008

This place was recommended to us by some friends as a cheap and cool venue in soho. The Diner did not disappoint. Tasty shakes, flavoursome burgers and really fast service. There was a queue when we arrived and we had to wait for around ten minutes for a table but after telling the staff we were on our way to a party they put our food on rush order and looked after us really well. It's nice to go to a non poncey place where the attention to detail is apparent and the workers care about your experience. Top marks!

PS The cocktails will knock you out.........
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Natalie
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 7
Sunday, February 17, 2008

Went to this place mainly due to the Time Out review and was a little disappointed. Went in and got served fast enough. Ordered some drinks which took a while to arrive but not too long, same for the food once ordered. So service was pretty good.

We all had burgers and I couldn’t help but find it a bit stodgy really. All the ingredients seemed a bit flat, which surprised me as so many had said the burgers were great. Chips seemed fine, as were the potato wedges, but nothing special. The milkshakes however were great, so I might go back just for them, pricey for £4.20 though. Décor was pretty good, so the overall experience was ok, but not somewhere I’d particularly want to go back to. Worth a shot though if you feel like it.
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Stephen H - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 6
Friday, October 12, 2007

Ate here last week and still dreaming about the chili cheese fries. They have become my new death row meal...
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Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 10
Sunday, September 30, 2007

Not a bad night out and fairly resonable.

The service was very slow however and while the manager/front of house staff where very accomodating at first (warning us we would be next to a large party and would this be ok), the service was slow from our waiter and pretty lack luster.

The beer was good and not too expensive. I went for a burger and added Jalapenos and Guacamole, the burger tasted great and all the veg/salad was fresh. The Jalapenos were definitely not Jalapenos though and I didn't get a taste of a slight chilli hit until the last bite. Fellow diners had the chicken Burrito which one said was the best he has had since he left the South West of america!!

The hard shakes should be the main draw, we chose to opt out of the Mexican Mudpie and change it up a little by substituting the tequila for Cognac. Finishing the meal with a Chocolate milk shake with Hazel nut ice cream, a shot of espresso and a large brandy was a master stroke.

The manager insisted on altering the lighting every 5 mins. Once up, then down, then up again... Gave the whole experience a rather amateur feel.

I had read other reviews which commented on the poor service The Diner sometimes suffers from, it really was a shame it lived up to it.
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Gareth Clayton
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 7
Tuesday, September 25, 2007

Ate here with three friends last week. First impressions were really cool design which manages to pay homage to the American Diner without being cheesy. We quickly ordered some classic cocktails, which while taking their time to come, were expertly and carefully mixed and best of all strong! I also liked the fact that it was pretty much all boothed seating.

Food is pretty much diner classics - loads of variations on burgers, hot dogs, fries etc. I had the Mexican burger which with guacamole and chili was a absolute bargain at £6 (I couldn't even manage half my fries after polishing that off!). Other dishes looked equally satisfying and having lived in the States for a couple of years, I can say they were pretty authentic. Would also recommend the corned beef hash complete with fried egg.

All in all, great food, fab cocktails, cute staff and cool music. Will be back to try more of the menu, esp breakfast as it's great to have that hip New York experience without all the corporate chain rubbish you get in this country, somewhere you can linger with a cup of coffee and a slice of pie.

(Not sure why this is listed as a British restaurant given that it's an American Diner though).
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Karen F
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 9
Monday, July 02, 2007