Happy birthday to me (er… two weeks ago…)! For my birthday was back up in Edinburgh for the week. While I was there I managed to squeeze in a visit to the Fort to do a spot of birthday shopping and to check out one of the new eateries there. Ed’s Easy Diner is a chain of restaurants inspired by traditional 1950s American diners. The Edinburgh Fort restaurant was the first to be opened in Scotland but has since been joined by one is Glasgow with Aberdeen and Inverness to follow.

We went along during a quiet Thursday lunchtime and enjoyed really quick service. I believe that the restaurant building was purpose built and I love that the included a bar and open kitchen area. And that the chefs have to wear those paper hats!

Every table is adorned with a jukebox loaded with 50s and 60s music. Its 20p per song choice and all the money goes to Action Against Hunger which is a really great cause. We were definitely hogging the speakers with all the Beach Boys and Chuck Berry songs!

I guess you’ll be interested in the book then? For a starter we went with the nachos to share and cherry cokes. For me, I was pretty happy that the guacamole came as standard (what is with guac always being extra?!) and that there was no jalapeños but spice fans might be a bit disappointed with the lack of heat.

For his main, David went for the Pulled Pork Burger. It was a tasty burger with a decent amount of pulled pork but not overloaded. The pork was pretty saucy and had a lovely nutty flavour.

I went with the original Coney Island treat – the Chilli Cheese Dog. It was loaded with spicy beef and bean chilli, creamy cheese sauce and diced onions. It was so, so good. A simple meal but done really well. It was very messy to eat though – in a good way of course!

The sides were coleslaw, onions rings and fries. All decent sized portions and well cooked. I especially enjoyed the onion rings.

For dessert we decided on pancakes and of course we had to try their legendary milkshakes. The pancakes came with powdered sugar, vanilla ice cream and maple syrup and were lush! Thick, fluffy, proper American pancakes.

The milkshake I went for was the chocolate and oreo while David just had the oreo with a vanilla base. Both were really thick and delicious. They came in old school style  aluminium cups and each was two servings. Luckily, Ed’s have a supply of takeaway cups so you can save some for later – they are very filling!

Overall, I really enjoyed our visit to Ed’s. It was a really fun environment with good, straightforward food done well. Luckily for us, there’s an Ed’s nearby in Gloucester so we’ll definitely be going again next time the hotdog and milkshake cravings hit.

OK, I’m hungry now….

Big thanks to Ed’s Easy Diner for inviting us along to enjoy a complimentary meal. As always, opinions are my own!