Restaurant Review - The Diner Soho

Whilst out with Sophia from the Tattooed Tea Lady the other week, we decided to go for dinner and the place that we chose to go was The Diner.

You may have heard of The Diner before, or at least seen a picture of the menu on Instagram as it is very popular with anyone who likes trendy places or American food.

If you hadn’t guessed by the title of the restaurant, The Diner is a American themed restaurant, with the menu inspired by a 50’s diner (complete with a Lumberjacks breakfast, eggs, bacon and pancakes that are served all day!) with the interior feeling a little bit more modern, but definitely with a nod to the diner style with its leatherette booths and bar that holds center stage.

After being seated in a lovely roomy corner booth, we studied the menu.

Being a American themed restaurant it had all the usuals, chips, burgers, hot dogs and all day breakfasts. It didn’t have a huge seletion to choose from, but I think most people would be able to find at least one thing on the menu that they are happy with.

I went for the steak and chips, one of my favourite meals and something I order quite often.

The steak and fries comes with two fried eggs on top,  I wasn’t too certain on that combo so asked for no eggs and for my steak to be cooked medium.

When the food came out I was very impressed, you get a nice amount of steak for the price you pay and it was cooked perfectly. My only complaint with the steak is that it was a little on the chewy side. The fries where lovely, thin and long, golden brown, crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside. I doused these with salt and vinegar and very much enjoyed them.

I think the meal was very tasty and pretty good value for money, I had steak, fries and a diet coke all for under £15. They also served some delicious looking cocktails, but I am off the booze for the moment.

I also have to take a moment to compliment the great service we received. Our waitor was a lovely friendly guy who was very attentive and made sure we had everything we need, including my vinegar! The service is also very fast and they have a kids menu making it great for the family.

LAB Bar

Last night I went to LAB (London Academy of Bartenders) bar in Soho.

The bar prides itself on being at the forefront of making exceptional cocktails for the past 10 years, and after trying a couple I can tell you that they are definitely doing something right.

The cocktail menu has over 100 cocktails on it, all unique to LAB Bar, you won't find any Mai Tais or piña coladas on the menu.

The selection of cocktails is brilliant, and they are put into sections such as tall, bubbly and martinis. Unfortunately though, having such a big selection can be overwhelming, especially if you are trying to pick something quickly as the bartender is waiting for your choice, it does however force you to try something new.

I went for the Honey Drizzle Swizzle, which contains honey, Drambuie, vodka, lime juice and limoncello.

I loved my cocktail and I think it definitely emphasised what LAB Bar are trying to create.

When you first taste the cocktail it is like a very tart lemonade but then afterwards you get the sweet taste of honey, very unusual in a cocktail but it had me wanting to go back for more, meaning my drink lasted all of two minutes.

Not everyone was as lucky as I was from our panic ordering. 

My boyfriend had a Peardrop, which was very sweet but he liked it and my friend ordered a Cracker Jack which was pretty awful, he did however order it just for the name and when he looked at the ingredients he discovered it contains black pepper and egg whites which may explain why he wasn't so keen...

The cocktails are all around the £8 mark, which is average for a London cocktail place.

The bar does get busy, but the music isn't overbearingly loud and you can ring up to reserve a table which is always welcome.

Something I really did enjoy about this bar is that the bouncer outside wouldn't let it get too crowded, it did mean you may have to wait 5 minutes to get inside, but it means you won't be bum to bum with the other drinkers.

Check out the LAB Bar website, where they have the full drinks menu so you can be a bit better prepared for what drink to order then we was.