Just behind the grandeur of Liberty, as you weave through the labyrinthine streets of Soho, you will find The Diner. Suddenly, just off Oxford Street where the stores are going mad for London 2012, you’re in America in the 1950s, but in Soho.

With its black exterior and almost blacked-out windows it could be an abandoned business venture from years gone by, but its neon lights and ‘open’ sign invite you inside where the smell of maple syrup and coffee is like a giant hug.

The menu is wonderful. Truly wonderful. Its beautiful words include stacks of pancakes (‘short’ which is three, or ‘high’ which is five), the lumberjack breakfast (pretty much just two of everything on the menu), as well as burgers, fries, nachos, and a salivating array of side dishes which include hash browns, bacon and french toast amid many more. I pretty much order a whole other breakfast meal with the number of sides I order.

And to top off this magnificent menu is a rather tremendous milkshake section which kindly reminds you that you can add peanut butter or Nutella to any shake – I mean, who wouldn’t want to do that?

Photo courtesy of Jackie Lee