The Diner EC2

How often do you go somewhere perfect – somewhere that totally lives up to all your expectations? Maybe we’ve been restaurant critics for too long, but we’d say: ‘almost never’. Most of the time, you can come away with some legitimate beef or other (and all too often, at least in this town, it has something to do with the cost).

Our sunny Saturday lunchtime visit to this new corner diner, however, was a refreshing antidote to this gloomy world view. “How are you?’ said the smiling barman, as the family walked in, quickly summoning an equally smiley waitress to seat us at one of the comfortable banquette tables. Had we been run over without noticing, and emerged in some sort of Pleasantville? Barely had we sat down, and some colouring books and a big pot of crayons arrived for the children. (Non-parents need not fret, though: the vibe is buzzy enough to soak up all but the most determinedly disruptive little ones, and most tables are occupied by Hoxton hipsters and their squeezes.)

And, it just kept on getting better. The unchanging menu is precisely what you’d hope for. Team Harden had a burger, fish fingers, cajun chicken and some very good chips: all the sort of things which can be done simply and well, and they were. New York Cheesecake – all too rare in London – was very good too (if served in a portion too small to pass muster stateside), and coffee was on the strong side of authentic.

The sweet waitress kept everything ticking along, in the most affable way. In fact, we ended up tipping twice. Not that the service charge wasn’t clearly shown on the bill – it was – but the cost still seemed very reasonable. Perhaps it really was a dream.