Or dinersaur in this case. Get it?
That's the theme at Jamie's Diner from the menu to the décor, a dinosaur hangs like a chandelier at the entrance, the walls look as though the painter forgot to come back from his tea break, food is served on plastic, uneven trays, and there's a range of 'vintage' chairs and sofas. I think the main, real point of the diner though is that it uses sustainable ingredients to make a quirky American diner because, let's face it, that's what's trendy nowadays - there's even a takeaway bit next door. This is an important point to remember, which I'll come back to.
I went for the chicken burger - added topping of guacamole, just because I wanted it. A Cucumber Number cocktail (lovely by the way, I could have had more) and shared a pot of crinkle cut chips. It's not the best burger I've ever eaten (that title is still held by Haché) but the brioche bun was pretty soft, toasty and complimentary to the meat. The chicken was actually cooked to my liking, it was slightly over-cooked (nothing more worrying that it being under-cooked) but not to the level of Nandos so I liked that. The only thing was that when I halved my burger, one side was completely chicken-less. Most of the minimal items on the menu comes with homeslaw and a pickle. I love coleslaw but found this one to be a bit bland and nothing to it, and well, a gherkin is just a gherkin isn't it? The chips were good however, we only ordered one portion to share between 2 as the waiter said that it's "the size of a large McDonald's portion" but I thought I could have easily had one to myself.
Before going, I read a lot of reviews on various sites but I wasn't put off by it. Having now been there myself, I feel a lot of the more negative reviews are a bit unfair. I think people assume because Mr Oliver's name is attached to it, it's going to be fine-dining, superb food. It's not. Don't get me wrong, I am a big fan of Jamie Oliver, but just because he's on TV every other night doesn't make him the only great chef in the world and everything he touches will be 'pukka'. People should judge Jamie's Diner on what it is - a quick, convenient and fun place to grab a bite to eat before the theatre or shopping. It's based in Piccadilly Circus on Shaftesbury Avenue so it's obviously a tourist trap, but I went just before 6pm on a Friday pre-theatre and there was no queue whatsoever - lucky for me as there is a no booking rule here. Service was good, prices are also good for a Central London hotspot.
Here is where I go back to my original point, this menu was made because of the ingredients that are used. I don't think it tries to be anything it's not. It never said it was going to be the most authentic and best American diner in the world - it's typically Jamie Oliver - happy-go-lucky, making popular foods using sustainable ingredients. And for this, I think it does exactly that. I don't think people should mistake this place for Barbecoa. It's a bit of fun for the tourists. A bit kitsch. And I for one quite like the trays food is served on and the whole dinosaur/rustic theme. I'd give it a 2.5 stars out of 5.
Although there is one sad thing about the diner, it replaced Adam's Ribs - a fond food memory of mine. I remember my aunt took my cousin and I when we were children visiting London for the summer holidays. I had the hugest portion of fries and spare ribs which was all over my hands and my mouth. But hey, nothing lasts forever in this fickle food industry.
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