My boyfriend and I had been looking forward to The Diner since Black and Blue shut down. We were hoping a great new restaurant would open and prayed it was one that didn’t only cater towards tourists, like most restaurants on Gloucester Road. It got to the point that when we saw the sign go up, my boyfriend went and asked the builders outside when it would open.
Then it finally did, and hungover one Saturday we were ready.. only to find it closed. Apparently it hadn’t opened properly yet. Take 2, the boy had golf and my head hurt from a long night before at Brompton Club and Bodos Schloss. So I ventured out on my own.
First visit:
The staff were very nice and sat me at a table near the window. I didn’t really notice the decor or the atmosphere because I was in a corner. But, at the same time that worked for me, as I didn’t feel like being stared at while I inhaled my brunch alone. I obviously ordered the Eggs Benedict and toyed with the possibility of also ordering a corn dog, because I love me some corn dog, but thought that was a bit much.
They were super quick to take my OJ order and brought that straight away but unfortunately took their time coming back to take my food order, so eventually I flagged someone down. She took it, and my food arrived fairly promptly but unfortunately they didn’t bring cutlery. So I waited for that as well. It was pretty delicious but the bacon was a bit chewy for my tastes and the hollandaise was a little too buttery and not quite tangy enough. Also, be careful with the pepper. It’s super fine and in a container with large holes so I basically ended up dumping it all over my meal. I’m a big fan of pepper, but it kind of ruined things for me.
Visit 2:
The very next day my boyfriend wanted to go, so there we found ourselves again. We were sat at at a middle booth so I could admire what they did for decor. My favourite part are the walls which look like they were put together from old gymnasium floors, love it!
I ordered the Eggs Benedict again, but this time asked for extra crispy bacon, which I got and I highly recommend they serve the dish like that as a staple. The hollandaise was also better this time, with the right amount of tang. I also used the pepper more cautiously so all in all, this was a much better Benedict. It was £7.
I wanted a root beer, but was told that the kitchen staff drank the last of it the night before and were in very big trouble. Can’t hold it against them though, root beer is pretty awesome. My boyfriend ordered a cherry coke instead and I drank half of it. It was yummy.
We also ordered the wings which were a bit of a disappointment. They were kind of breaded and deep friend and not spicy. They should work on those, and until they do, I wouldn’t order them.
My boyfriend ordered the Grab burger which was USDA beef. Don’t order any of those burgers on the menu because he said they tasted like a frozen patty. I imagine the other hamburgers are better as it says on the menu that they are hand ground scottish beef which are made daily. Next time we will probably go for that option. He also said the bun was too bready which looking at it I’d have to agree with.
One thing I found distracting was one of the waitresses was wearing booty shorts and a backless t-shirt. She was basically naked and it felt awkward because it was 2 o’clock on a Sunday afternoon and there were children in the restaurant. It would have been more appropriate if it were Saturday night. Her outfit just seemed weird and I feel like staff’s clothing shouldn’t be the stand out thing you remember from a restaurant.
Overall, this is probably one of the better dining choices on that part of Gloucester road (but keeping in mind, it’s competition are a steakhouse and italian place geared towards tourists and a Burger King). I am pretty keen to try other things on the menu, they had a toasted cornbread with eggs that sounded delicious, and of course the hot dogs.
Another suggestion would be to change the shakes a little. I was going to order the oreo one until I read the description and it doesn’t look like there are actually oreos in it, but nutella and chocolate instead. I don’t like nutella. They should make a regular oreo shake and I would eat it every day.
In total we ordered: Margarita (pretty small), Cherry Coke, Orange Juice, Grab Burger, Wings and an Eggs Benedict and it was £35. Service isn’t included which is kind of nice as I find it annoying when restaurants add it automatically. We left £5.70 tip which is more than the usual 12.5% added. Other restaurants, take note.
I would recommend a try if you are in the area, but I wouldn’t necessarily venture out to eat there. They have other locations around London as well.
To book:
Web: www.goodlifediner.com
Address: 105 Gloucester Road, SW7
Phone: 02072447666
51.4942343-0.1821135
