#8: Ed's Diner Review
Sunday, February 7, 2010 at 12:32PM
Ed's DinerI have been admonished for wandering off script. Too much travel crap (a bit show offy too). Well I'm back in the M25 and I have some reviews for you.
On Friday lunch time a colleague said that he was going down to Ed's Easy Diner to grab a burger. Ed's, it turns out, had been a regular childhood treat for him. He said that while he knew the burgers weren't great, they did the job quickly and efficiently. I didn't have much time but couldn't miss the opportunity. We made our way along to the Old Compton Street bar.
The restaurant is in the style of a 50s diner, replete with the naff slogans of the period daubed on the walls: no dancing in the aisles, that kind of thing. You sit at a horseshoe shaped counter on a stool. To add to the feel the Seeburg juke boxes are counter mounted. Chuck in 20p for a play. All very Happy Days.
I ordered a straightforward cheeseburger (swiss, but you can choose others) as per rules and side of classic fries. My oppo did not order chips but onion rings, which should have been a warning.
Lets start with the ugly: the chips were gash. Institutional frozen foodservice spuds I would say. Not acceptable in anywhere that sells itself as a proper burger joint. The menu allows fries covered in gravy, chilli or cheese too, but this would serve only to mask the dry, heavy, flavourless morass of potato below.
The cheeseburger was better, but the bar set by the fries was low. Nevertheless it fulfills key criteria - easy to eat, with appropriate garnishes. classic sesame bun (entirely bog standard but also entirely appropriate for the job), pickles, lettuce. The meat itself I thought was a bit of a disappointment, thin and somewhat overwhelmed by everything else in the sandwich. I have to say the overall flavour wasn't disilmilar to a Big Mac: not unpleasant, but quite heavy on the acid of sauce and pickles, with not much meatiness.
Quick and efficient, yes. Exceptional, no. If they put some effort into serving proper fries I would be a lot happier and a bit more meat in the burger wouldn't go amiss either. Probably a great place to take the kids, but for weirdo obsessives like me looking for the best, look elsewhere.
Other stuff: Full marks for French's burger mustard and Heinz Ketchup being left out on the counter. Drinks: The peanut butter shake is a class act. Soda is bottomless. Value: not cheap. £12 for burger, fries and a coke.
Ed's Diner, 12 Moor Street, Old Compton Street, Soho, London, W1D 5NG. Tel: 020 7434 4439





Burger Monkey is away
I am on my holidays in a country where per capita consumption of beef is 70kg per year. While this is not a travel blog, I hope to post some pictures in the coming days - internet connection permitting. In down time I hope also to do some write ups from London which I have neglected to do over Christmas.