The service was nothing if not efficient at The Diner in Camden, from the quick seating at a just-cleared table-come-booth to our plates being whipped away the second things were done. A different face appeared every time to serve us, but stopped just short of being intrusive or rushed. The black decor perhaps owed more to the restaurant’s Camden home than it’s US heritage, and bordered on oppressive. Thankfully this was a speedy operation with a healthy bustle that detracted from it.
The menu was comprised of classic american-style cholesterol-laden breakfast fare. Sadly that leaves slim pickings for coeliacs between the pancakes, burgers and sausages, however somewhere on the wipe-down red white and blue menu I found a small salad section. Helpful waitress number 2 was quick to go and confirm that only one salad was ok (having recently discovered that a Cobb salad mainly comprises of meat and fat, probably for the best) so I ordered a Ranch Salad.
Bonus points for tea that comes in mugs, and lime with my diet coke; but my salad, whilst filling, was a little lacklustre. Plenty of chicken involved, but a little over seasoned, potatoes were so small to be confused for the chopped slices of ‘swiss cheese’, and the lettuce was well…just lettuce. I was pleased at least to note that the american theme stopped short of an inhumanely large portion, so the only thing keeping me from finishing was the unbroken volume of green stuff – a symptom of a topped salad in a deep bowl.
The people next to us were tucking into lunchtime beers and banana splits, and they perhaps had the right idea – why would you order a salad in an american diner anyway?
Glutenfreeability 4 (good staff, but limited options)
Food 5
Service 6
The Coeliactivist 