The Diplomat

Well it’s a lovely place, and the two young ladies were both very charming, helpful and enthusiastic;BUT (there’s always a but isn’t there) the food is at most 2 stars, the 3^rd star is strictly for the help. My pal ordered a cheese burger and fries. His verdict: average. He also thought the Living Room Lounge does burgers better and cheaper. At 8 bucks for a burger with fries or salad, I would like to have a patty bigger than 3 – 1.As for my turkey burger, it was pretty good. Toasted multi-​grain bun with fresh spinach and topped with goat cheese. However they could 86 the cranberry aioli without harming the sandwich. But then I think this whole «aioli» thing is over done. I think the most telling thing about this eatery is the salad mix. They call it spring mix;but it’s not. They also don’t have cruets for oil and vinegar dressing. As a matter of fact if you do order oil and vinegar expect a monkey dish of oil and one of malt vinegar. Not that tasty on a salad. Their dinners look interesting and reasonably priced;so they might have a chance.

Work one block away. Came at noon and there was only one other group in the restaurant. Still took exactly one hour to get our food despite there only being 12 customers in the place. Unfortunate as they will not stay open with slow lunch service. Ordered southern fish sandwich and it was ice cold with the actual filet a square like from McDonalds. One of the members of my party received the wrong dish, but was afraid to tell the staff for fear of waiting another hour for the correct food. I’m disappointed as I am hoping somebody will finally make this location work. Hopefully this was an isolated issue or the owners can improve service.

I tried this place before their official opening (not sure when that is/​was?), after finding them unexpectedly open post-​visit to the central library. I haven’t tried any of the other businesses that have had such bad luck in this cool location, but this place is off to a good start in my book. I was there with a small group on a rainy Tuesday, and the bartender was also our server. She was very friendly, and offered great info on the menu. Apparently what they had at that point was only a truncated selection, and it would be expanding at the time of their actual opening. I think that’s a great idea — get everything working smoothly with a smaller menu for a soft opening and make sure all the gears are turning!
Anyhow, all the food we had was great. I had a grilled cheese sandwich with spinach and tomatoes and a side of fries. I don’t remember what everyone else got — maybe some kind of tacos? A bruschetta sampler of some kind? I don’t know — I was face first in awesome cheesy goodness.
As far as drinks, they have a full bar and several local beers on tap. They had some specials going when we were in, but I don’t remember what they were. I look forward to going back and trying the full menu!