BITE-SIZED BLURBS: KEN’S DINER

Our Bite-Sized Blurbs are our honest opinions about a local restaurant, bakery or café that aren’t part of a larger Gracilianca series! Bon appétit!

The focus of this bite-sized blurb is Ken’s Diner, a 50’s style diner located in Schonsee Square!

Location: 6104 Schonsee Way, Edmonton, AB T5Z 0K6

Items on the menu:

• Breakfast Wrap: your choice of veggie, denver or bacon & mushroom omelet topped with cheese and wrapped in a flour tortilla, served with hash browns

• Breakfast Burger: 5oz beef patty with crisp bacon and cheddar cheese, dressed with garlic aioli, lettuce, tomato, onion and a fried egg, served with hash browns

• Triple Decker Clubhouse: toasted bread with garlic aioli, sliced turkey, bacon, cheddar cheese, crisp lettuce and tomato, served with your choice of hand cut fries, small house salad or a bowl of soup

• Chocolate milkshake

Tell me more: Ken’s Diner is a small, retro, 50’s-inspired diner located in north Edmonton, tucked away in Schonsee Square. Though it opened in 2020 (as far as we can tell from their social media!), you’ll feel transported decades back in time when you enter their crimson walls and glimpse all the retro art! Ken’s Diner offers your standard diner classics including burgers, hotdogs, sandwiches, and milkshakes, but also mixes it up with all day breakfast options, everchanging daily Lunch and Dinner specials, and an extended brunch menu on weekends!

So, how was it? There aren’t too many non-chain restaurants in this area of north Edmonton (at least that we know of - please give us a shout if you have any hot tips!), so northsider G was pretty stoked to find Ken’s Diner! Parking was a little tricky (it’s in Schonsee Square, which is a little alcove you have to turn into - follow the signs) and the diner itself is on the smaller side, but it’s a charming spot with all the retro feels you could ask for! At the time of writing, their hours are 11 to 6 pm on weekdays and 10 to 6 pm on weekends, which we felt were a bit early to close for a place that serves dinner. As an FYI, it’s counter service, so you place and pay for your order up front, then pick it up at the counter.

For our rankings, we will be looking at a few categorie: taste, presentation, and value!

TASTE:

C: 4/ 5 - I had the breakfast wrap and opted for the bacon and mushroom omelet option, which was quite hearty and delicious! It was everything that I thought a breakfast wrap should be, and it gave me very “home cooked meal” vibes! The hashbrowns were your typical hashbrowns and went well with my wrap. I also loved the milkshake, definitely glad we decided to order this!

G: 4 / 5 - While it wasn’t necessarily life changing, the burger was still a really tasty choice - cooked and seasoned well, with fresh ingredients. No complaints about the hashbrowns either - they were also well-seasoned and had the right amount of crisp!I also enjoyed the milkshake - I’m happy to report that while it satisfied my sweet tooth, it wasn’t too sweet either! (Yes, I know that makes me sound like the Goldilocks of sweets.) Overall, I was pretty happy with my breakfast, and definitely very full.

PRESENTATION:

C: 3.75/5 - My meal was presented nicely, with the wrap, hashbrowns and some fruit on the side! Nothing super fancy but definitely what you would expect from a retro diner. The milkshake was very pretty as well, with loads of whipped cream, sprinkles and a cherry on top!

G: 4/5 - Everything was presented well and the burger was certainly very photogenic! Loved the milkshake presentation too. Very fitting for the 50’s retro diner vibe!

VALUE:

C: 4.25/5 - I think $14.50 for a breakfast wrap is definitely reasonable, considering the size of the wrap and how it came with an abundance of hashbrowns, and even some fruit! The milkshakes are $6.50 for one, which is also a reasonable price considering how much you get.

G: 4/5 - I chose one of the pricer brunch options admittedly - though I was full for most of the day! What I’m really interested in trying is their lunch and dinner specials ($10 and $9/$18 respectively), which on paper sound like stellar prices. No regrets spending money here!

FINAL THOUGHTS: Would you order from Ken’s Diner again?

C: I would! Like G said, I would be interested in trying their lunch and dinner specials one of these days! Also of note is that they have very friendly staff and great service here - even though it is order at the front counter and they have a pick up counter, we felt well taken care of and the staff were prompt to assist us with anything we needed!

G: Yes! Since Ken’s Diner is close by to me (#northsidestillalive), I’d love to check out more of their items - especially the aforementioned lunch and dinner specials! Would love to see more places like this here!

Disclaimer: This review is not affiliated with or sponsored by Ken’s Diner - views expressed are solely our opinions!