Herald Rating:
The menu is authentic 1950s New York diner fare - from bagels, Reuben sandwiches and New York hot dogs to griddle cakes and latkes. The sweet menu is all about cheesecake and pies - choc cherry, lemon meringue and banana toffee. It all sounded so good we wanted to try a little of everything.
The look, like the menu, is all-American. Leather booths line one wall of the diner, while the other side is occupied by the deli counter - where back-lit signs show "Pie by the Slice" and "Sour Pickles" and you can watch white-hatted chefs prepare the food. The busy waitresses wear matching 1950s-style uniforms.
We ordered the chicken sandwich (with chicken skin, iceberg lettuce and dipping gravy, $15); a bagel with a poached egg ($7.50); the toasted Reuben sandwich (pastrami on rye with swiss cheese, sauerkraut, Russian dressing and mustard, $22); the griddle cakes (blueberry buttermilk pancakes with cinnamon butter and strudel crunch, $17.50) and a New York hot dog ($6.50). Every single dish was a winner. It was great to ponder a menu that is so very different from every other cafe - not an eggs benedict in sight! - and want to try everything on it.
The coffee is the only letdown. In true American diner fashion, they serve (bottomless) filter coffee only - no lattes or flat whites here - and it's an acquired taste. Best to stick to the sodas (from Wellington company Six Barrel Soda) and, for a nostalgic treat, the coke floats. Yum!
