Eddie’s Diner

I am from America (Hollywood)…
… and this is not like an «American Diner» — it is MUCH better! The quality of the meat and the bun are very high. The elements come together to make a solid burger better than any you find in Los Angeles. It even has a bar if you want grab a drink (a little pricey). The dinning experience and the Doctor Who memorabilia is awesome. The pics on the walls and the booth and the «surprise» on your way to the bathroom. So great.
What made it better was running into such nice people! We met a wonderful family from France and they proceeded to speak to us about their experiences.
We had such a great, solid experience here. Will totally eat here again when we visit again!

This restaurant was pointed out by out our guide. If you are a fan of Doctor Who, this was one of the filming locations. The food and shakes were ok. You have to order you food at the counter and they will deliver to your table. Overall positive experience.

I continually punish myself by going to these places expecting so much!
Ok, so as you can tell, its themed as an American Diner. I don’t know if the proprieter has ever been to the States and experienced a real diner or just watched Happy Days, either way they haven’t done a great job.
Yes it kitsch, yes its a little a tack but its also very fake.
In true British style waitress service has been replaced by ‘pay before you dine’ so you pay at the counter and eventually a server aims your food at you.
I had the exciting named ‘Mexican’, billed as a burger with spicy salsa — well, it was a burger, it had salsa but it was neither spicy nor tasty. The patty was just your average cheap store brought affair the bun, well was a bun — thats about it really. The salsa was essentially the type that comes in a jar that you dip Doritos in. There may have been spice in there once, maybe it got depressed and left! For nearly £7.00 I was a little disappointed.
The fries were, well fies, just plain old fries from the store.
A soda was £1.80 and to be fair it was a good soda, well it was just plain old Coke but hey it was nice!
I didn’t bother with the shake as didn’t look very thick (just milk and syrup) certainly not worth £3.00.
Overall, it seems they put their effort into the décor, they succeed in giving a superficial 1950’s diner look but seriously lack the atmosphere and service.
The food is pretty poor and overpriced for what it is. I’ve had better burgers out of van on the side of the road.
Once again I’m left dissapointed.

None of the food is made fresh,
Everything comes frozen out of a bag and the chef makes no attempt to hide this! The food is very overpriced, greasy, bland and décor is cheap and tacky.
Avoid this restaurant and if you fancy a burger head next door to GBK.

If you’re a Doctor Who fan and you want to see the diner from «The Impossible Astronaut», then you have to go here. If you’re not a Doctor Who fan, then you might want to skip it. The place is small, and you’ll probably be surrounded by a bunch of (likely) annoying Doctor Who fans.
The food is alright, not the most authentic recreation of a 1950s diner, but they make a passable burger. It would help if the made their cherry cokes with cherry syrup, instead of just cracking open a can, but otherwise the food was good.

Who ever came up with the idea of taking away waiters to take your order needs some serious talking to. Yeah I’m sure it saves money, but as you pay for your food before you get it and the waiters job is to deliver it and maybe clear away the dirty plastic baskets when they can be bothered, they don’t really care whether you have a good experience, ’cause you have already paid. Tip, I think not.
The chocolate shake was milk and ice crème and a hint of chocolate — the fact that it looked almost white should have been a clue. A Chocolate shake should be dark brown. I could barely taste the chocolate. I suspect a teaspoon of chocolate syrup was added to a vanilla shake.
The Burger patty was OK, not great tasting, and probably cooked from frozen, the bun was probably fresh — it was advertised as such — but cold. Fries were OK, but probably frozen. They should toast the bun at least.
This is a 50’s dinner, the staff should dress the part too.
Service was slow, atmosphere was non-​existant. McDonalds is better quality than this.
I went because it was the location used in Dr Who’s Series 6, the Impossible Astronaut Episode and is located near Torchwood.
My advice if you are a fan, go in, take some snaps, don’t eat there, go to Salt’s around the corner which will cost you about the same and you’ll have a fantastic meal.

I loved this restaurant! I am an American & have been living in the UK for about 3 months now, and after trying many different «American» restaurants around not only Britain but Europe, I can say this is the most authentic I’ve had so far. I had a chili cheese dog and, with some added onions, it tasted exactly like I’d get it at home! It was delicious and so were the fries — yes, American fries, not chips. Even the ketchup tasted like home — and believe me, there is generally quite a difference between UK and US ketchup.
The service was wonderful and the food was on my table by the time I was finished admiring the charming 50s décor. The prices are not McDonald’s-esque but neither is the food or the experience. Would definitely recommend Eddie’s to anyone!

If you’re looking for a light-​hearted meal with a group of friends, somewhere like Eddie’s should be quite high up the list. With not too many places around enjoying the same sort of American diner theme, it’s quite a unique place to come for some food. The Diner theme is very well executed, with the tables and booths, choice of food on the menu and pictures on the walls exactly how one would imagine a 1950’s Diner in New York. If you aren’t grabbed by the sort of ambience on offer upon entry, you’re best bet is to turn around as it’s unlikely the food will grab you either. Having said that, groups of friends looking for something a bit different will enjoy themselves here.
With greasey burgers, hot dogs, french fries and other American classics, Eddie’s Diner really does provide an authentic American dining experience. With such authenticity comes a cost, in this case it’s unhealthy and calorific food on offer, so be warned if you’re a health freak. With a nice selection of drinks on offer too, Eddie’s charge affordable, if a little high, prices on its menu. Definitely geared towards the younger generations, despite parents probably being more familiar with some of the faces pictured on the walls, this is a cool place to have for locals.

The whole look and feel of Eddie’s American Diner is very cheesy. But a good cheesy! Its like you have entered a diner in the 50’s and everything is a novelty but it’s ok because that’s what the restaurant is aiming to do. It serves a wide selection of food and some classic American foods that I wasn’t even familiar with.
I would recommend going in a group because you will enjoy the experience a lot more ordering those funny looking drinks whilst laughing at the Marylin Monroe statue as she tries to pull down her skirt. What I like about it is the choice of fatty foods and sugary drinks because we all like to spoil ourselves once in a while so why not do that with some American food! I remember somebody ordered an Ice Cream Soda that looked very frothy and not my sort of drink. But it was very tasty and gave me a sugar rush and then I was bouncing around all day. They have many main meals involving burgers and hot dogs and I have never had a problem with the food because it’s always appetizing when you eat it. The prices are not bad either, roughly around £12 per person.
I wouldn’t recommend visiting Eddies American Diner for a classy meal but more as a novelty. At least there are some catchy jazz tunes to sing along too.

Hmmm this isn’t one of my favourite restaurants to say the least!
They serve typical american food such as burgers, burgers and more burgers but for some reason they seem to have expensive Russian price tags!
From the outside this restaurant will grab you by your hair and pull you in as it looks so exciting… BUT… looks, in this case are certainly deceiving!
The burgers resemble cardboard and the chips are nothing to write home about.
The one thing I would recommend this restaurant for though is their chocolate milkshakes… They are out of this world!
Price wise they are more expensive (but not much tastier) than McDonalds! I would skip past this restaurant and head to GBK next door where the food is much better!

Before GBK came to the bay this was very much the posh alternative to MacDonalds.
It was the place to go if you wanted a proper burger that was a bit thicker than a bit of cardboard. Unfortunately it was a little greasy and stodgy made with what only tasted like unhealthy ingredients. And there was always the complaint that it was expensive compared to MacDonalds.
Apart from the average quality of food there is of course the late 50′;s theme throughout the restaurant which is maybe there to detract fro mthe cuisine that manifests itself in 50’s peroid pictures, life size models of Elvis and the obligatory Wurlitzer jukebox.
I stil ldon’t know why people would go here when there is a GBK right next door.

Nice and lovely decorated little place for a quick lunch. The food is great and very tasty, I especially loved the curly fries.

Such a disappointment. That’s the best way to describe Eddie’s. It’s a place that looks incredible; you stand outside, looking for a place to eat and suddenly it catches your attention. At first glance, it grabs you looking equal parts a set from Grease and the Jack Rabbit Slim’s restaurant from Pulp Fiction. Enter, and you’ll find it’s a little cheesy, but it’s passable; nothing too offensive in the plastic, stereotypical décor. It doesn’t shine, but it does its job.
No, instead the disappointment comes, unfortunately, from the food. A restaurant is not like a bar. A bar can have expensive drinks, poorly made by snooty, offensive staff and still be successful due to the ambience or the atmosphere of the place (oh, hello Soda Bar!) but a restaurant must ultimately live and die on the quality of the food. Bad décor hurts the experience, but the food can save it.
Sadly, Eddie’s food is absolutely rubbish. It looks and tastes like a child’s plastic toy food. I had a chilli dog with cheese and fries, with a chocolate milkshake, expecting a rich bouquet of flavours for my tongue. Nope. The hot dog was flavourless, the chilli was bland and spiceless and the fries tasted like cardboard. The chocolate milkshake was good, but that was only because it’s impossible to make a hash of chocolate milkshake; apply chocolate, add milk, then shake. It certainly wasn’t worth the £3 I paid for it though.
Eddie’s looks good from outside, but you’re in the Bay; there are finer nicer places to eat. Don’t be fooled by the dressing.

If you like you’re Elvis and music and the 1980’s or 1960’s… then this is the café to be…
Relax, eat and drink with friends in a much decorated music themed diner. Youngster who love such a café will be delighted and totally at home here. The prices are reasonable enough.
The service is responsive to your request and the staff are pleasant enough. The food and drinks are very tasty and worth going back for or at all. The building is placed in the heart of Cardiff Bay and stands out from the crowd, so to speak, the crowd of buildings that is.
I recommend it to all except wheel chair people in less they stay outside as there is outside seating.

I love this place even though it’s abit cheesy, as it’s nice to have a change and it’s really retro and in the style of an American 1950’s Soda Bar. They have really really good milkshakes and sell Coca Cola in glass bottles. Cool retro interior.

This place has a kitsch, novelty, 1950s American diner-​style theme with lots of brightly-​coloured plastic, and even brings in Rock ‘n’ Roll dancers at the weekend. This is all slightly let down, however, by the very un-​American, local waiting staff. That said, they seem like a friendly bunch, and they DO offer service with an all-​American smile.
Basically Eddie’s serves burgers. Oh, and hot dogs. Big ones. The food is pretty good, it’s served in generous portions (as one would expect from an American eatery), and the prices aren’t too bad — but with Gourmet Burger Kitchen so close by I fear for the future of this place. GBK’s food just tastes fresher and is better presented, so for me there’s no competition. I guess if you like your burgers in true American style, however, this place would still win — not only for the surroundings but also for the American mustard, pickles, corn dogs, cream soda and root beer that you just won’t find in GBK or just about any other British burger joints.

A 1950s style American burger bar in the heart of Mermaid Quay. At first sight it doesn’t seem too promising with food being served in plastic baskets!
The menu is as one would expect, wide choice of burgers (including veggie ones!) and hot dogs.
Unlike some of the other reviewers I actually found the quality of the food surpassed my expectations. The fries were freshly cooked and my burger was delicious!
Not the cheapest burger café but definitely worth the money.

You can’t really expect much from an American diner really, especially when it’s so cheap. I find it slightly out of place in the very metropolitan part of the Bay. However, since I wanted to pretend I was in ‘Grease’ I had to drag missy in this weekend.
Everything is bright, plastic and garish inside but all in good fun and is very much like the 50’s diners you’ve seen in the movies. The menu consists of Burgers, Burger and Burgers. If your lucky you might get some fries with that.
All tasted very average, but again for the price you really can’t complain. The Welsh accents took me out of my ‘Grease’ fantasy mind, think that should be made to talk like an American.
I will suport this place as atleast there is one reasonable priced place in the Bay for the family on a budget.

Eddie’s can’t seem to decide whether it’s a real fast food restaurant or a posher ‘novelty dining experience’. The pricing is the latter, but the atmosphere and the food is sadly a bit too much of the former.
The décor is fairly fun but hanging a few pictures of James Dean and Elvis Presley on the wall doesn’t instantly give it a 1950s feel. We’ve been in when they were playing 1960s music. The statue of Marilyn Monroe with a built-​in wind machine, stood on the edge of the counter (where it looks like it’s ready to fall on one unlucky customer one day), raises a smirk, but it’s not really like being thrown back into a time-​warp– just in case you were wondering.
The food is actually pretty decent though. It’s nice to see it prepared in front of you. It’s just a little bit greasy but you do get huge portions– one side order of chips is easily enough for 2 people to share.
The service was OK but I wouldn’t rave about it.

I went to Eddie’s American Diner after having an urge for a banana split. The serving was enormous and very nice. But sadly the waitress was really rude to us (admittedly it was a very busy period).
It made me think twice about going back there during peak times — but then I guess you won’t get the same atmosphere if it’s not buzzing with people. So I might return with a group of friends at a quieter time.
It does make a good pit stop if you’re in the bay as it’s very central and the prices are very reasonable. The décor is very 1950’s kitsch teetering on the verge of being tacky which only adds to the place’s appeal.