The Diner – Kensal Rise & Camden

I must admit, I love The Diner restaurant chain that has branches in Soho, Camden, Islington and Kensal Rise. I love the whole concept of easygoing American food and this eatery group offers exactly that and more. I’ve been to two of their branches, one in Camden and one in Kensal Rise which is my local. This restaurant is a busy one, very popular with families as they provide simple food that kids love and they provide activity packages and board games – a nice little touch which just goes well with the laid-back spirit of the place. 

What I love about The Diner is exactly that – the laidback vibe of the place and the simplicity of the food. The menu includes a variety of burgers, hot dogs and sandwiches with a twist. The boyfriend and I tried plenty of stuff from the menu and we loved all of them.

The Diner’s chefs use excellent quality beef which just makes the burgers damn tasty with huge juicy flavoursome meat patties in the middle and crispy buns in the outside. All of the burgers come with the usual garnish of salad, gherkins, tomato and onion ring. However, serving quality burgers should be fairly evident in place that focuses on American cuisine that counts the burger as its signature dish.

It is well worth to be a bit adventurous and try some other dishes. Monte Christo sandwich was a brilliant found. It is variety of the French Croque Monsiuer with an exciting and very American twist. According to some internet sources it is a typical New York dish which is basically a fried ham and cheese sandwich but the way they serve it at The Diner is just something else. It comes with blueberry sauce and maple syrup, an excellent combo that is so brilliant the BF orders it every time we go to grab an American inspired bite. 

My personal favourite however is the beef chilli that can be ordered as a side dish, on a burger and as main course as Chilli Con Carne with cheese, sour cream and crackers. I have absolutely no idea what they do with the chilli around here that makes it so bloody good but I reckon it might come down to the beef again. It is hands down the best CCC I have ever had.

I could just go on and on about everything from the vast variety of beers – chilli beer with a whole chilli in the bottle or the banana bread beer, anyone? – to the tasty alcoholic milkshakes but ‘nuff said, you get the idea. The Diner’s branches across London are good places to chill out and eat something delicious and easygoing. Oh, and it’s relatively cheap too.