The Diner

Ladies and Gents. This is our last review for the next couple of weeks, as I (Andy) am selfishly going away on holiday. Yes, yes, without Nick, but without shattering everyone’s perceptions we don’t do everything together. Sometimes we just need space. Anyway, let’s hope our last review is a good one.

Intro

We’re off to The Diner for this one. They are a small chain, and we visited the Soho establishment. We both ordered the Diablo, which is a bacon cheeseburger essentially.

The Diablo

Patty

Nick

Oh dear. I have never had a patty seasoned with so much salt in my life. At first I thought it was the bacon, so I removed it. Next bite…no..it’s the patty. Not in a particular section, but the whole thing. Such a shame as it meant I could not try and appreciate the meat. Gutted.

Andy

I love salt. I mean bloody love it. It will be the death of me I guarantee you that. But, this burger was the saltiest piece of food I have ever eaten. In all honesty it was bordering on inedible. It was just so salty you couldn’t even taste the meat, let alone anything else in the burger. The texture was ok, but everything else went out the window with the amount of salt on this burger. Seriously, that sh*t cray. Over-seasoned by a mile.

Ouch  Score: 4

Salty

Bun

Nick

They stepped up here. One of my favourite buns this one actually. Lovely brioche and it laughed the Rip Test in the face. I particularly liked the base which was thick (yet light), supporting the burger and toppings very well

Andy

Bun was good actually, nice little glaze on the top, and of decent size to allow decent handling of the burger. The burger wasn’t too juicy though so it wasn’t up against much to be honest. It did everything that was asked of it.

Best bit Score: 8

It glows

Toppings

Nick

The bacon was excellent. Crispy, the way it should be and despite what I thought at first, it wasn’t salty at all. The American cheese was quite good (but didn’t blow me away) but it could have been melted for a few more seconds. I like gooey cheese on my burgers. GOOEY CHEESE.

Andy

The bacon was actually very good, it gave a really nice crunch to the burger. The cheese was smooth and mellow, and the pickles were a nice tangy relief from the salty burger. Again, it’s a shame the patty was so salty as I actually thought the toppings were quite well done. The patty just took the flavour away from the good toppings. I also liked the little salad mix underneath the burger. It’s a great shout, as a bacon cheeseburger shouldn’t be hidden away under any salad.

Crispy Crispy Bacon Score: 7

Melt more cheese melt more

Structure

Nick

Strong. The thick bun base certainly helped keep everything together here but it wasn’t a surprise as the salt in the beef absorbed most of the burger juices.

Andy

Structure was overall quite good. It’s a solid burger, in terms of its structure. I cut mine in half and it still held together fine. I think it lacked the juiciness to really cause any troubles, but all in all I didn’t get deep down and dirty with Diablo.

Thick Base Score: 7

Strong

Verdict

Such a disappointment. Yet, we had heard some really positive things about The Diner recently so we’d like to think they had an off day. The great thing is after chatting to the owner they are going to rectify their mistakes. We definitely think it deserves another chance as it would have been a good solid burger had the patty not been totally over seasoned. However, we had to base our review on what we ate the first time. We will be back, but not until we have completed our first round of reviews.

View more photos in our gallery

www.goodlifediner.com