Infamous Diner

The Northern Quarter in Manchester has pretty much everything these days in terms of restaurants and bars, from tiki bars to Tex Mex, so why not go for that staple of classic restaurants which is always popular and loved, the classic American Diner. That's what Infamous is going for. The real deal, complete with chequerboard tiled floor and chrome highlights.

The interior is impressive, with chrome brushed ceiling moulds, booth seating, and a bar on one end. As we walk in, the "please wait" podium isn't directly in front of us, but over to the right hand side, which was a bit confusing (and seemed to be for other folks too), but a member of staff greeted us quickly enough and we were led to a booth seat with the unusual feature of an extendable table.

We read the menu, which was as you'd hope and imagine; burgers, sides, fries, hot dogs, pancakes and milkshakes, as well as an 'eating challenge'. We decided on the Infamous Cheese burger and the BBQ Pitstop burger, with a side of onion rings. We were a bit disappointed that they had no root beer that day due to an apparent supplier change according to our server, but it was nice to see that root beer was part of the menu, as it's a real American diner staple. This lead to the only disappointment... we ordered a couple of Pepsi's at £2 each, and we were surprised that they came in the small "refill" looking glasses, but that free refills were not in fact offered, which is a shame, as soda refills are a common thing in the USA. The glasses were small, mostly ice cubes, and a splash of Pepsi, which was gone with a few slurps before we'd even finished our meals, which felt a bit stingy for £2 a pop, and not really in keeping with the American Diner spirit, but given that the drinks menu also included a large variety of cocktails, beers and booze, it's clear that there had to be some degree of embellishment.

However, when our food did turn up, it was good. The burgers were tasty and well seasoned, even though they had to adhere to the health and safety thing of cooking the burgers fully through instead of having them pink. The BBQ pulled pork was really good, and the gigantic crunchy onion rings were quite honestly some of the best I've ever had.

One nice feature I liked was the art in the staircase leading down to the toilets, forming full murals along the entire walls, and even a great ski-lodge mural in the gents toilets.

Infamous is good, the food is good, and the prices are in keeping with the Northern Quarter. I'd certainly visit again for lunch if I was in the area.

Infamous Diner
3-5 Basil Chambers
Nicholas Croft
Manchester
M4 1EY
(0161) 819 1798
http://www.infamousdiner.co.uk