The Diner, Covent Garden

Who are they?
The Goodlife Diner are a chain of American-style diner restaurants, serving a mixture of burgers, hot sandwiches, hotdogs, ribs, wings, all-day breakfasts, milkshakes and everything else you would expect. The surroundings are also decked out in proper 1950s style as well, which adds to the feel of the place and there's a lot of variety in the stock burgers (and beers too!) on offer and plenty of different extras to customise.

Thoughts

I went down with a group of friends on a Monday night and despite us making a reservation and them losing it, there was plenty of room to accommodate the nine of us. I opted for the Grab Burger (a double cheeseburger with lettuce, pickles and burger sauce with a slider bun) and their signature Diner Fries (thick cut with lots of pepper and herbs), roughly £12 in all. I also shared a large plate of Diner Chicken Wings between five of us, which came with a spicy sauce coating rather than the blue cheese dip.

Despite not looking particularly large, the burger was a solid fellow and was complimented nicely by the burger sauce and American cheese. The bun managed to hold up okay until about half way, when the bottom half had absorbed too much burger sauce and leftover oil from the burger and started to disintegrate, whilst the top half remained as normal. I did enjoy the chips, although I felt that they were made with slightly too much black pepper and all too often I needed a drink to cleanse the palette. The wings, despite not coming with the sauce as advertised, were excellent and were spicy enough to leave a heat that lingered for a few moments in the mouth without ruining the rest of the meal.

Conclusion

A solid effort on the burger and wings front, although perhaps less so with the chips, and an enjoyable night if you like your US-styled restaurants. Despite being on the corner of Covent Garden, traditionally a tourist trap with inflated prices, I felt that it wasn't a grossly unfair cost and the fast service and banter we got from the waitresses on the night was a welcome change from the po-faced serving staff I usually get.

It's worth noting that the non-burger fare on offer, including a lovely looking hot dog with pulled pork and the BBQ pork ribs, also looked excellent and a return trip might be in order.

Score:

7.5/10

Where can I find them?

http://www.goodlifediner.com/
Lots of different restaurants across the capital.