The Electric Diner is a collaboration between the Soho House people and renowned Chicago based chef Brendan Sodikoff. It’s situated on the Portobello Road on the former site of the Electric Brasserie which closed and has since had a massive renovation.
I was lucky enough to be invited along to the ‘launch do’ of the Electric Diner and was rather excited to be going – I love a good diner.
The restaurant itself is a pretty place and is everything you’d imagine a diner to be. There’s a long bar running along the right hand side with stool seating overlooking the kitchen and red leather booth seating along the left. It was noisy and dark (so dark that not a single photo I took is visible!) but it had a great atmosphere – a bit like Chicken Shop.
Between four of us we decided to share a general selection from the mainly meat based menu and I don’t think to this day I’ve ever eaten so much food – here’s to diabetes!
The steak frites, bearnaise sauce and steak salt (whatever that is) (£16) was heavenly. The chips were like the ones at Honest Burger – thick cut and herby. The steak was cooked on a blisteringly hot grill right in front of me and it was tender meaty loveliness.
The flat iron chicken and preserved lemon (£15) was some of the most succulent chicken I’ve ever come across. How anyone can cook chicken that juicy is nothing short of masterful. The honey fried chicken, chilli and sesame seeds (£16) was sweet, sticky and delicious. Both dishes had bags of flavour with every mouthful.
The sides were all great too. Hash browns (£4) were crunchy and slightly chewy and perfectly seasoned. Thick sliced peppered bacon (£4) deserved it’s own fanfare – it tasted every bit as good as it sounds. Sweet, smokey, crispy – it was incredible. Roasted broccoli (£4) was a much needed break from our meat feast and was very enjoyable.
We tried all three desserts. The chocolate cream pie (£6) was a little too rich and heavy for me, especially after all that meat I’d just stuffed my face with. The coconut pie (£6) however had a devilishly light creamy coconut filling which was totally divine. The mille-feuille (£7) was epic in size. Our waiter judo chopped a knife down the middle of it and the thin layers of crispy pastry cut perfectly. The thick cream could have done with some fresh fruit to liven it up a little but the pastry had plenty of flavour so it didn’t bother me too much.
I haven’t stopped thinking about my dinner at Electric Diner since my visit. I probably put on about 5 stone but boy was it worth it. Service was friendly and chatty and the food was insanely flavourful. They’re currently not taking reservations (obviously!) so get down there pronto. Just wear your stretchy trousers.
10/10
