You know that there has to be something good and decent on offer when you walk past a 24 Diner just around closing time and it is a packed as this. That was the situation I found myself in on Saturday night as I departed the Globe Pub on Irving Park Rd after a couple of pints of Boddingtons Ale. I had a recollection of having seen a diner as I walked past earlier in the day en route to Jolly Spencer’s Shop and so with a need for something to soak up the beer I headed back down Irving Park road, past the El stop and under the metra bridge to find Diner Grill .

Despite it being very crowded in there I somehow managed to get a stool at the counter and then just had to decide what was going to work the best for me off the basic menu. My head was working between hungry head and blogger head. I figured the best test of this place was going to be some eggs, so I opted for 2 fried eggs on toast, then my hungry head decided that it wanted a grilled cheese sandwich as well.

I then settled down to watch the guy on the flat top pumping out everyones food. Quite remarkable the speed they were working at. The counter was full and it was at least 3 deep behind me. Despite the beer fuelled hungry folks all around it was a good atmosphere and quite jovial.

I have to say that there was nothing wrong with any of the food I got. It may not have looked pretty but I don’t think it was supposed to be. My only real complaint is those two crinkly bits of pickle you can see peeking out from beneath my cheese sandwich. They looked so sad, but I was not going to eat either of them. The fried eggs were just as I had asked for, the yolk lovely and runny and I just needed to add a sprinkling of salt to season them up. The grilled cheese was good too, despite being cooked on the flat top it was not greasy at all and the toasting was just about right. I am not sure that I would have the desire to come all the way up here when totally sober, but if you have the munchies late night or just need a midnight snack I would recommend trying this place out.

Diner Grill or Dinner Grill depending on which side of the sign you read is located at 1635 W Irving Park Rd about 5 minutes from the Irving Park CTA El Stop