RESTAURANT REVIEW: ROCK IN DINER

Last Saturday night me and Max went along to check out that new American diner on Narborough road called 'Rock In Diner.' From the outside it looked like they'd really spend some time and money doing the place up, and it was of course the plot that was the ever so successful Al's diner back in the 90s/early 00s. Here's my review.

NAME: ROCK IN DINER

LOCATION: 2 SAXON STREET (OFF NARBOROUGH ROAD), LEICESTER LE3 0BL.

ATMOSPHERE: It's a pretty small, intimate plot and kind of because of that it had a really good feel for it. It's still pretty new and it felt like the buzz hadn't worn off. Everyone was happy to be there and checking it out. A couple of dates, a few asian families and some grebs made up the client base and classic American music (The Beach Boys and Sam Cooke among others) pumped out of a free jukebox you could pick music off. The staff were al really friendly and it was genrally a good vibe. Me and Max hung around for a little while after eating and I guess that's always a good sign. 9/10

The drinks range was what you would typically expect from an american place.

DECOR: The decor was amazing, this is where they had really pulled it out of the bag. From the classic neon lights outside to the checkerboard diner floor to the red leather booths it really looked the part. Little details were so on point like the little red baskets they served fries in and the little memorabilia they had up on the ways. They have spared no expense here and it really looked the part. 10/10

FOOD: The food was pretty good too! They had a real wide range on the menu, so I guess you can kind of get whatever you want. The fires were good with a little cajun spice on them, the burgers were really good and they all had pretty nice ingredients in. Max had Nachos with salsa, jalapeños and cheese and a mexican chicken burger meal, I had a nacho burger (similar to Maxs nanchos but in a bun with a quarter pounder) and some onion rings on the side. When I asked for some nancho cheese on my fries they obliged free of charge which was nice. Meals came with a side (think KFC sides) and a drink. 8/10

SERVICE: The guys were fantastic. From repeating your order back to you after putting it in (A little thing that I always like) to obliging with our little extra bits to popping over 2 warmed wet towels when we had almost finished you could see that this business meant a lot to the guys who were working there. We collared the main bloke, told him we had really enjoyed our meal and the diner and he told us it was 10 years in the making. You could tell they were obviously proud of it and have got off on the right food in terms of keeping the service standards high. My one criticism would be that our food took a little while to come out, so don't visit if you're in a rush. We were probably waiting 20 minutes, but with the nice music and settings it wasn't such a bad thing. 8/10 

PRICE: The price was a great sell too, as I'm sure you can see from the menu. I was absolutely stuffed and spent £7.50ish on a burger, onion rings, fries, beans and two drinks whilst Max spend £8.50ish on a burger, nanchos, fries, beans and two drinks. You can't moan at that, it's legit the same prices as a big boy McDonalds and we could see from the kitchen it's all cooked from scratch to order. Nose over the menu, You'll see right the way through it's all kept low. Even the milkshakes and deserts are do-able and you'd be looking at around a tenner all in. 9/10

You could pick songs for free off an all american playlisted Jukebox

CONCLUSION: We were both really impressed with this place, I'm kind of annoyed it's moved in a couple of years after I've moved out of the area. If I was still around this way it could be a weekly visit situation. For the price of a McDonalds it's so worth it and the actual place itself had a really nice vibe. Narborough road tend to struggle with change and don't really take to new things, but with the huge asian community around that area (that tend to love american food places) hopefully it'll be a success. Look at Instanbul and the other Turkish meze places, they've really settled in well. If our night there was anything to go by then I've got a feeling it's going to stick around. At half the price and with better food and service, the near by Tinsletown could be in big trouble with this new competition just down the road. Fantastic.

FINAL MARK: 44/50