Roadside diner staples meet Melbourne flair, resulting in chicken-salt hash browns, bread-and-butter pickle Martinis, and coffee you’ll want refills of.
“American diner culture is quite close to my heart,” says Daniel Wilson. That might sound surprising from the executive chef of bustling Japanese grill Yakimono, in Melbourne’s CBD.
But the New Zealand-born chef spent three years training in Michigan, in America’s Midwest, before a stint under French chef Daniel Boulud at upscale restaurant Daniel in New York City.
“There was a diner across the road and I frequented that quite a bit,” says Wilson, who launched Huxtaburger, the Melbourne chain that kicked off a wave of American-style burger joints in the early 2010s.
This weekend, Wilson returns to his past at Dan’s Diner as part of an all-Dan line-up alongside Dan Hunter, of regional Victorian restaurant Brae, and Daniel Puskas, of Sydney three-hat restaurant Sixpenny, for the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival.
The menu at the Fed Square pop-up takes cues from classic US roadside diners, adding contemporary Aussie tweaks (hello, wagyu patty melt and peach cobbler doughnuts).
Wilson will riff on the greasy spoon playbook, serving fried chicken and waffles with togarashi maple syrup; and mini hash browns ferrying Yarra Valley salmon caviar and seaweed creme fraîche.
The festival pop-up joins a fresh wave of casual eateries that meld the quintessential American diner with the flair and finesse of Melbourne’s dining scene, among them Operator Diner in the CBD and Ghosty’s in Bendigo. These new-school venues serve classic cheeseburgers and club sandwiches alongside items sourced closer to home, including Milo milkshakes and chicken-salt hash browns.
Raphael Exton Pery, who launched a sandwich pop-up during the pandemic, expanded his JollyGood brand in January with a flagship bar and diner in Collingwood serving burgers, beer, Bloody Marys and bottomless filter coffee.
The former Gimlet chef wanted to recreate the approachable, democratic diners he encountered in the US, particularly Los Angeles.
“I knew I could sit at the bar, chat to the bartender, have a nice meal by myself or with a group of friends, and I wanted to instil that in this place, with the big bar and communal table,” he says.
It’s that growing appetite for accessibility and nostalgia that has made the modern diner so alluring, Wilson believes. “They’re a place of comfort and rejuvenation,” he says. “They’re not challenging, the food is familiar and the coffee’s always flowing. It’s a bit of a warm hug.”
Whether it’s part of the wider revival of retro-inspired food, a continuation of the US-style-sandwich craze, a longing for old-school hospitality after COVID, or simply The Bear factor, we’re happy it’s here. Here are five new spots to try.
Dan’s Diner, Federation Square
Dan Murphy’s is rebooting the retro diner at the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival. Chefs Dan Hunter, Daniel Puskas and Daniel Wilson are zhooshing up American classics on a menu featuring pork and venison meatloaf; disco fries with eggplant and chicken gravy; and a banana split with spiced rum caramel. The pop-up is going all out with chequered flooring, booth seating and laminate tabletops, plus cocktails such as the Danhattan (naturally) and a non-alcoholic Cherry Cola Sour by another Dan (Dan Docherty, from Collingwood wine bar Commis).
Dan’s Diner is open for lunch, drinks and dinner daily from noon, no bookings needed, from March 15-24 at Federation Square, Melbourne.
JollyGood Diner, Collingwood
This new addition to Johnston Street brings an Aussie wine bar aesthetic and sensibility to the American diner, with a focus on cocktails (bread-and-butter pickle Martini anyone?) and tap beers until late (Thursday to Saturday) alongside classic American dishes such as NY deli sandwiches, cheeseburgers and wedge salad, plus “damn fine” coffee and pie to please any Twin Peaks enthusiast. At weekends the kitchen turns out breakfast sandwiches and buttermilk pancake stacks. Knock them back with a Michelada (like a Mexican Bloody Mary, with beer instead of vodka).
27A-29A Johnston Street, Collingwood, jollygoodmelbourne.com
Skinnys Eatery, Preston
This charming corner deli weaves in influences from all over the globe, from its Melbourne milk bar aesthetic (complete with Nippy’s flavoured milk in the fridge) to its American-diner-style menu of subs, bagels, hoagies, and crowd-favourite hash browns (with chicken salt). Come lunchtime, you’ll find British pub staples such as rarebit and Scotch eggs (served with a sidecar of curry sauce). Stick around for $1 batch coffee refills, or a classic Aussie spider and a house-made doughnut or Roman-style maritozzi bun.
107 Gilbert Road, Preston
Walrus, Brunswick
The diners of the US West Coast were the inspiration behind this unfussy Sydney Road eatery, which not only looks the part (leather-upholstered bar stools, laminate and plywood booths), but also serves a more faithful version of American diner fare than most in Melbourne. Slide into a booth for eggs with French toast, pancakes or a wedge of apple pie, and sides such as home fries and crispy streaky bacon from Hagen’s Organic Butcher.
312 Sydney Road, Brunswick
Ghosty’s Diner, Bendigo
This former toastie bar relaunched as a good old-fashioned diner to herald the return of the warm hospitality lost during the transactional pandemic period. A gorgeous refit features dark plywood panelling, terracotta laminate tabletops, hand-painted signage and cosy booths, where you can linger with buttermilk pancakes and bottomless Coffee Supreme filter, pastrami on rye or chicken tenders glazed in hot maple. There’s also a tiny Vegas-style chapel out the back for those hankering for a shotgun wedding pre- or post-meal.
35 View Street, Bendigo, ghostysdiner.com.au
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