Eds Easy Diner, on the corner of Great Newport Street, is another popular branch of the kitsch American diner offering a sinful selection of delicious burgers, fries and thick malt shakes.

The Venue
Eds Easy Diner is much like the other branches in the city; the choices of interior colours range for gaudy to garish but this is part of its squeakily camp appeal. Operating mini juke boxes are placed on each table supplying endless American cheese - as if there wasn’t enough on the fries. This is a small venue but they have done their best to accommodate as many seats as possible with a row of red leather stools lining a large curved bar, behind which the kitchen staff can be seen preparing your food. Other high stools and tables dot the space if you’re not a fan of being at the centre of such frantic activity.

The Atmosphere
During the evening, Ed’s is full to bursting which is unsurprising given its location in an area of the West End that never sleeps. Tourists, homesick Americans, couples, and fun-loving groups on carefully-planned nights out shuffle through the big doors looking for US-style sustenance. The kitchen and waiting staff seem to have a good rapport and their friendly nature and prompt service create a consistently warm ambience.

The Food
On the burger front, The Big Bubba is a smashing bacon cheeseburger with crispy salad, fresh tomatoes, melted cheese and two strips of crispy bacon criss-crossed over a juicy and succulent burger. As with many diners, there is still the age-old problem of the juices running to the bottom of the bun and making it a little soggy underneath, but this isn’t a major deterrent. If, for some inexplicable reason you find yourself in Eds Easy Diner without an appetite for burgers or hot dogs, there are slightly healthier options in the form of salads: the chicken Dijon consists of tender (and plentiful) strips of chicken breast with sweet red pepper in a delightfully creamy honey and Dijon mustard dressing.

For extras there are the Atomic fries or Atomic onion rings which come with a variety of classic dips including chilli, salsa and guacamole, a veritable South American dip trip. You’ll find yourself favouring one dip over others because some dips just don’t work well with onion rings and fries, but it’s nice to be presented with such a wealth of options.

The desserts are simply marvellous; the Kit Kat Choco-lat Sundae is nothing more than an exercise in endurance, the cheesecake with vanilla ice cream is soft and creamy with a perfectly light biscuit base and the American Malt Waffle is probably the best in any US-style diner in the capital - a freshly-made circular waffle accompanied by a melting dome of vanilla ice cream on top is served with several streams of maple syrup oozing down into each square hole.

The Drink
The milkshakes are wonderful milk and ice cream malt combos brought to you in their original containers so you can top up your glass throughout the meal. The particularly wicked (yet somehow so very right) flavour is the peanut butter malt shake is so sinfully gorgeous, you’ll need a friend to prize the straw from your lips.

The Last Word
Sometimes you just want to pick up your meal with you hands and revel in the immoral but tasty world of fast food. Eds Easy Diner always delivers and this lovely branch is no exception.

venue information venue map view london review user reviews (1)