Dada’s Diner (American) – Acton, London

Dada’s Diner is an American-inspired restaurant in Acton, west London, with a varied menu that mainly revolves around a selection of lamb, beef, chicken and veggie burgers – 15 to be precise.

There’s then Dada’s Specials that include the classic American staple of Chicken & Waffle, as well as a Jacob’s Ladder Cut Short Ribs and a Rib Eye Steak.

What’s more, this 40-seater eatery – 30 indoors and 10 outdoors – offers breakfast and brunch until 4pm.

Having been open for two years, Dada’s Diner is beautifully decked out, with that quintessential American diner look and customary red-cushioned seating.

Apple Pie Milkshake (left), Smarties Milkshake (right) – £3.90 each

Although one Lion considered the Apple Pie Milkshake to be a little too sweet for comfort, it was, nevertheless, thoroughly enjoyed by the others, particularly with a portion of the pie used in the shake being plonked on top for a bit of a bite.

As for its Smarties counterpart, then it lacked depth of flavour. Its major shortcoming was the apparent lack of chocolate therein culminating in an altogether subtle taste. We discovered towards the end, however, that much of the Smarties had sunk to the bottom; ergo, be sure to regularly mix this to get the most out of it.

Orange, Lemonade – £2.00 each (small)

Lots of lemon made this a bitter beverage, which, in hidnsight, was hardly surprising given our request for no sugar to be added. To their credit though, this was freshly squeezed and, thus, eye-squintingly refreshing.

Chicken Wings (Southern Fried, Buffalo or BBQ) – 6 Pieces £4.50/ £5.90, 10 Pieces £6.90/ £8.90

Anorexic chicken wings but large in size that were well sauced, chewy, and decent. The sauce being powerful on both flavours.

Chicken & Waffles – Maple Syrup & Coleslaw, £7.50

For just £7.50, we got served a full waffle, lots of superbly cooked crispy chicken that was moist and succulent sans any oil, and topped with just the right amount of crunchy-cum-tangy coleslaw, and a tiny bowl of sticky maple syrup which, in comparison to the size of the rest, just wasn’t quite enough.

Most importantly though, the waffle was freshly made – relatively hollow on the inside while being crispy on the out – and altogether so good that we wanted another serving, especially at that price.

Rib Eye Steak – with Skin On Fries & Tarragon Butter, £13.50

A rib eye steak at £13.50 will invariably raise the question of mark-up, which in turn prompts the question of quality.

Rib eye is a relatively fatty cut of meat, and it was certainly the case here.

Add to that the thinness of this particular serving, coupled with the fact that the fat simply wasn’t properly crisped up, and what we were left with at the end was a lot of wasted meat.

The steak itself was well seasoned though; but an average cut will, of course, only ever deliver average results.

Harissa Lamb Burger – Red Onion, Pickled Beetroot, Harissa Mayo, £6.90

A nice little 6oz burger made better by a sufficient quantity of harissa mayo sauce.

With the pickled beetroot coming through nicely, the lamb patty was good without being anything special.

Mexican Lamb Burger – Guacamole, Salsa & Cheddar Cheese, £8.50

A scruffy looking lamb burger with not much of the taste of Mexico coming through.

The bun was thin, the meat patty decently seasoned, but that’s all she wrote.

Juicy Lucy – Beef Patty Stuffed with American, Blue or Cheddar Cheese, Avocado, GrilledRed Onions & Sriracha Mayo, £7.50

The biggest shortcoming of this Juicy Lucy was the beef patty itself – cooked well done and thus rather dry.

What’s more, the avocado was so small that it was sorely missed. We also found a jalapeno lurking about which wasn’t mentioned on the menu.

But again, and similar to its Mexican cousin, this failed on delivering any distinctly prominent flavours.

Mac & Cheese £3.00

Simple reheated macaroni and cheese here. Nothing more to be said really.

French Fries £2.00

This good portion of French skin-on fries were crunchy and addictive.