Antenna Diner, Crystal Palace, London

It finally happened. We decided to visit the newest addition to the Crystal Palace triangle tonight for dinner. The very aptly named Antenna American diner. Apt, because Crystal Palace holds an antenna; we also have a local gem called Antenna studios and the local rag is known as the 'Transmitter'. Anyway I digress. Gipsy Spread and I were truly excited to try out this new addition to our local food landscape. We have seen the queues for a breakfast table at the weekends since it opened on the 14th February 2014.

We arrived about 7.30pm on a Thursday evening and were seated promptly in a booth; just as I had wanted, as you can only reserve these if your party has a minimum of 6 diners. The decor is classic 1950's american milkshake bar with vibrant pinks and candy-stripe greens, along with iconic circular images on the wall of Miami at the time.

We had, of course checked the menu out online before we arrived and there were two veggie burger options for me, this was of course if I didn't want the vegetarian mac n cheese. Gipsy Spread though was like a pig in woopsy with about 10 choices of burgers or 'dogs, all served with fries and coleslaw. We went traditional. I had the chickpea, bean and halloumi burger, whilst Gipsy Spread opted for the chilli cheese dog, but hot dang, with a strawberry milkshake.

 

 

 

The restaurant is a classic American style diner, not fine dining and our meals reflected this. My burger was great, there were whole chickpeas amongst the bean pattie and it was topped with grilled halloumi and served in a bap on a bed of rocket. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

 

 

Gipsy Spread's chilli dog, had a smoked wiener, with good quality cheddar cheese and a beef chilli that resonated with heat. We both enjoyed the crisp and classic fries, as well as the fresh and light coleslaw, which the waitress added jalepenos to for me.

 



There is no alcoholic drinks menu, but Gipsy Spread was keen to try the ice cream milkshake anyway and it did not disappoint. There appeared to be fresh strawberries in there with the ice-cream. Sadly, with no wine to be ordered, there wasn't anything for me other than mineral water... I really hope this changes.


Regardless, the food was great. We got exactly what we paid for, with excellent and friendly service, just what I expect from 'the triangle'. The bill came to £24 without service, and with service, this was still a fantastic experience and great value. We'll definitely come again. The waitress advised us that the breakfasts are fantastic and we did not need much more convincing.