The Diner Serves All Your Classic American Breakfast Favourites
Sometimes all you need is a good Western breakfast to remind you of the comforts of home. The Diner provides exactly that. With 3 locations across Taipei, you’re never too far from scrambled eggs, pancakes, bacon, hashbrowns, milkshakes, and more.
We checked out The Diner’s Da’an location on a Saturday morning in January. This low-key restaurant is totally chilled-out and nails the American diner vibe — it has all the charm of a small-town breakfast joint, complete with vintage artwork on the walls and condiment bottles on the tables.
The Diner also serves bottomless coffee, free with most breakfast meals. The quality is what you’d expect with free refills, but it’s comforting nonetheless.
We were starving and ready for a breakfast feast. Here’s what we got:
This chocolate milkshake (NT$190) was perfection.
The Meat Lover’s Breakfast — a classic platter with scrambled eggs, potatoes O’Brien, bacon, ham, sausage, and toast served with whipped butter and jelly — was just like breakfast from home. It was priced at NT$320.
The Smoked Salmon & Avocado Eggs Benedict (NT$380), served with a hashbrown and salad, was creamy and met expectations.
The banana walnut pancakes were blissful. They were huge, fluffy, and served with both whipped butter and 100% maple syrup. The NT$360 Pancake Breakfast Set came with scrambled eggs, hashbrowns, and bacon. What else could you possibly need?
We also made the trek out to the Nangang location on a different Saturday morning. It’s a bit tricky to find on the second floor of a multi-building complex, and the vibe is totally different. This location is classier and more polished, seeming more like a steakhouse/bar than a diner.
We were in the mood for lunch rather than breakfast (perhaps influenced by the atmosphere?) and went for burgers. Unfortunately they weren’t as good as breakfast.
The Aloha Burger (NT$360) with beef, pineapple, bacon, and sauce was disappointingly plain. At least the side potato wedges were good!
The Lamb Burger (NT$360) had a lamb patty with herbs, feta cheese, and pickled onions. This was the better of the two burgers we tried as the flavours were stronger, but it didn’t blow us away.
Clearly The Diner is best for breakfast!
What’s the vibe?
This changes depending on location.
The Da’an location resembles a small-town American diner. The warm and comforting vibes make it totally laid back.
The Nangang location is classier, feeling more like a polished American steakhouse/bar.
We haven’t tried the Xinyi location yet!
Worth it?
Yes, for brunch.
We wouldn’t recommend the burgers as much, but the breakfast was exactly what we were looking for. It was solid even by American standards.
Would you go back?
Yes.
The Diner beckons us on weekend mornings.
Visited: January 2018
| The Diner |
| Chinese Name: 樂子 |
| Xinyi Location: Hours: Sun - Thurs: 9am - 11pm Fri & Sat: 9am - 11:30pm Phone: 7737-5055 English Address: No. 12, Songshou Road, Xinyi District, Taipei City, 110 Chinese Address: 台北市信義區松壽路12號1F |
| Da'an Location: Hours: Mon - Thurs: 9am - 10pm Fri: 9am - 10:30pm Sat: 8am - 10:30pm Sun: 8am - 10pm Phone: 2700-1680 English Address: No. 145, Rui'an Street, Da’an District, Taipei City, 106 Chinese Address: 台北市大安區瑞安街145號1F |
| Nangang Location: Hours: Mon - Fri: 11am - 9:30pm Sat & Sun: 8:30am - 9:30pm Phone: 2788-3330 English Address: 2F, Building A, No. 166, Jing Mao 2 Road, Nangang District Chinese Address: 台北市南港區經貿二路166號A棟2F |
