I’ve never known anyone to go to The Diner for a ‘light bite’. In fact I consider it the perfect venue to indulge your cravings for all things USA, occasionally fantasising about John Travolta, leather-clad and crooning from across the room…just me?!
I’ve always been a fan of Diner, which now have seven branches across London, so when I was invited to try their spectacular new concoction ‘The Bloody Lot’ at their newest location in Spitalfields, I couldn’t resist.
The Bloody Lot (apparently the UK’s largest Bloody Mary) is Diner’s flagship new invention and combines lashings of expertly seasoned Bloody Mary (a 2.5 ltr jug, to be exact) with celery, hot dog sausage, onion rings, lamb slammers, grilled corn, cheese, pickles, tomatoes, bacon and bacon salt. It comes in at £45 and Diner recommends that you share between six, which we thought was a very cost effective way to share cocktails and sides with friends.
We also shared one of my absolute favourite Diner classics, the incredibly moreish Colonel Parker – a hard shake with vanilla ice cream, peanut butter and four roses bourbon.
Diner have also introduced hard teas, using their own unique blend created alongside award-winning firm We Are Tea. These include ‘Cherry Pie’ (Amaretto, berry tea and cherry puree), ‘G & Tea’ (Gin, blended tea, elderflower and apple), ‘Red Slushy’ (Vodka, Chambord, berry tea and cherry puree) and ‘The Burt Reynolds’ (Bourbon, peach puree and blended tea).
It would be blasphemous to go to Diner and not get one of their burgers. My friend went with a ‘Juicy Lucy’, a St Louis pulled pork patty topped up with Diner’s cheese sauce and spicy coleslaw. I went for their signature burger ‘The Diablo’, a mixed beef burger with jalapeno peppers. These were delicious, managing to be delicate and strongly flavoured at the same time. Sadly, though, our main was slightly let down by the almost nuclear burger sauce that covered our portion of ‘Hanger fries’, which wasn’t to our taste.
We finished with a banana split, not overly complicated and a nice, simple way to finish the meal. I thought the dish would have been improved with the sauce being hot, and our waiter was more than happy to oblige.
Diner Spitalfields is sure to be a success due to its favourable location, updated menu and excellent customer service. Get yourself down to the new Spitalfields Diner for a ‘Bloody Lot’ of fun!
4 Horner Square
Old Spitalfields Market
London
E1 6EW
The Diner was founded in 2005 by Marc Francis-Baum, Andreas Akerlund and Patric Franzen, with the aim of bringing an authentic taste of New York to the UK. The trio set up their first Diner in Shoreditch.
