Ed's Easy Diner (Restaurant)

Top 10 things to know about Ed’s Easy Diner:
 
1) Growing old isn’t a frightening proposition; Ed’s Easy Diner has been feeding restaurant-goers from their Soho branch since 1987. Now they are going from strength to strength, opening new branches in Victoria and Edinburgh.

2) Visiting their new baby at Victoria reminded me of how ghastly shopping centre food courts can be. Walking past the golden arches and the colonel, you are reminded quality is at a premium here.

3) You just can’t beat American style customer service; on arrival I was greeted by a sprightly waitress who was almost flying out of the kitchen door with a menu in hand. I suspect the term “waiting time” just isn’t in their vocabulary.

4) Most of us don’t remember the fabulous 50s, but if you’re not a fan of the bygone era, I’d steer well clear of Ed’s Easy Diner. It’s all shiny chrome settings, red leather booths and neon signs.

5) Even if the décor doesn’t set the scene, their famous jukebox certainly does with hits from the 50s/60s. We were serenaded by Paul Anka’s “Puppy Love”; clearly he’s never heard of Tinder.

6) I had “The Original Burger”, which I would say is the forefather of the gourmet burger fad. From £2.25 a quarter of a century ago to £6.45 nowadays, the recipe is still the same: a solid patty with strong beefiness taste. Although in the era of bone marrow burgers, it was a touch dry.

7) This is the age of supersizing, and you can upgrade Ed’s plate so you get onions rings, fries and coleslaw. You do need to be ambidextrous with your cutlery skills though as the plate tends to be so full, the sides have a propensity of making an escape.

8) No American diner is complete without the obligatory milkshake. What is surprising is its not sickly sweet here. This can’t be the same recipe as the 1987 version when surely people even struggled to spell the word calories.

9) Reviewing with a post-Halloween hangover was an atrocious idea; there are no hiding places here, the lights are brighter than a TV studio.

10) Ed’s might be a little dated and in no danger of winning any burger awards, but it definitely offers an assured, reliable alternative for the frequent traveller....read more