Ed's Diner For Kids

The past few days have been very exciting because we had our gorgeous friends Katy, Daisy and Evie (the team at ModernMummy) to stay and in two days we managed to pack a heck of a lot in! We wanted to show them our Norfolk and our fave things about living here so trips to Cromer and BeWILDerwood (as well as some boring school shoe shopping) were on the cards and in true Katy and I style there HAD to be a meal of epic proportions as well… We’re nothing if not eaters!

After a sunny day at the beach and a not so smooth (will parents and littles EVER agree on school shoes) trip to Clarks for the boring back to school part we headed into Norwich for an Ed’ Diner experience. We’ve been to Ed’s before when it was Jimmy’s birthday a couple of year’s ago and had a fab meal so I was eager to go back for more. I think to Norwich it’s relatively new (Norfolk IS catching up wth the rest of civilisation I promise – we even had a Krispy Kreme shop open a couple of week’s ago. Before that the closest place to buy them was Thetford) and it’s a welcome addition. We loved it when we visited in central London and it feels very en vogue to have one in sleepy old ‘wich!

The decor is fab and American diner to the extreme – we LOVED the neon lights, little juke boxes which take 20 pence pieces on every table and the face that they welcome kids SO warmly. Our waitress Annie was SO good with the children EVEN though they kept running around the restaurant and being little wrigglers. At one point she must have over heard me telling Jimmy he had to eat his food or he wouldn’t get pudding and in swept Annie with the promise of a sticker if everyone could eat up. How good is that!

Jimmy hitting up the jukey for some Beach Boys and banarama action - our children have exceptional taste in music, high fives to them! — Jimmy hitting up the jukey for some Beach Boys and Banarama action – our children have exceptional taste in music, high fives to them!

But I’ve fast forwarded somewhat because before the food even arrived the children were presented with a fantastic bag of fun to keep them occupied at the table. A little material bag which they can colour on and fill in the puzzles and inside of which contains the crayons they will need to do so and some super fun selfie props! Now we were ALL in our element here I can assure you, they may have been intended for the kiddos but… Well, who can resist a moustache on a stick?!

Big girls heads down working on the puzzles which are both on the bag and on the paper kid's menu! — Big girls heads down working on the puzzles which are both on the bag and on the paper kid’s menu!

The new bag to go with the new Kid’s menu at Ed’s went down a treat, almost as well as the food which was totally yum! Three of ours went for a hawt dawg (I HAVE to write it like that when I’m being American) and Evie chose a burger which they had cut into quarters already for her – nice touch! Chips a plenty (because although we’d just eaten some Mac ‘N Cheese Bites and Mozzarella Sticks for starters – DELISH by the way – who can go to a diner without chips) and Nutella milkshakes made the next few moments as silent as can be!

Mozzerella sticks! — Mozzerella sticks – these were fought over and we could have used another portion truth be told!

Macaroni bites which the children funnily enough didn't enjoy but which I thought were SUPERB! — Mac ‘N Cheese Bites which the children funnily enough didn’t enjoy but which I thought were SUPERB! Both these and the Mozzarella Sticks come with jalapeno jelly which is sweet and very tasty!

A Kid's Hawt Dawg... — A Kid’s Hawt Dawg… Look at the cute face in the ketchup!

And the kid's burger which frankly was big enough for an adult, wowsers! — And the kid’s burger which frankly was big enough for an adult, wowsers!

Kids loving their visit to Ed's Diner or, as they renamed it, Egg's Diner - They thought this was HILARE! — Kids loving their visit to Ed’s Diner or, as they renamed it, Egg’s Diner – They thought this was HILARE!

Cheers to a Nutella milkshake... No, they didn't last long! — Cheers to a Nutella milkshake… No, they didn’t last long!

Of course Katy and I HAD to eat something to (It’s not ALL about the kids you know)! We suffered for our art and chose a Chilli Dog (Katy) and… Cough, cough (how embarrasing that I eat like a man) Big Bubba’s Bacon N’Cheese which is basically a burger with EVERYTHING. As in ALL the food (Me)! We also, for review purposes of course, made them Ed’s Plates which means they come with Fries, Coleslaw and Onion Rings… We DID eat and we DID love (I was even beaten which almost never happens and had to leave a bit of mine) but before anyone was allowed to touch their food we had to stand on chairs and get our phones out for a true blogger style picture session! Look at those misbehaving blogger children eating bits of their food, chips and bites of hawt dawgs… They really should know better (jokes)!

My Big Bubba = Big Mumma. I need to live the philosophy that little pickers wear bigger lnickers but... When it looks and smells THIS good! — My Big Bubba = Big Mumma. I need to live the philosophy that little pickers wear bigger lnickers but… When it looks and smells THIS good!

Katy is actually dairy free and our waitress Annie was so good at advising on ingredients going away to look up when she wasn’t sure and reporting back immediately. It turned out Katy couldn’t have the coleslaw but they subbed it for some more of that jalapeno jelly and hey, when you can’t have a milkshake then a beer isn’t a BAD option! They were really good with all of us and although Katy couldn’t enjoy a desert (It’s a shame they don’t have a dairy free version of something but you can’t have EVERYTHING now can you) it didn’t mean the rest of us couldn’t get stuck in. Now our children had to be a bit awks (of course) and wanted main menu deserts as opposed to little people ones (with the exception of Evie who dutifully went for a healthy real fruit lolly and loved it) but they accommodated us by splitting one pancakes desert for my two and making a smaller waffle portion for Daisy. I had… The… Err… Ever so slimming sounding Peanut Butter Choc Stacker which is basically just like a Reece’s Bar but bigger. And creamier. And AMAZING! I actually have to point out that I didn’t eat it all, not even half actually, it was HUGE but I brought it home with me to put in the fridge and torture my willpower… Worth noting that they also do Reece’s Milkshakes which probably (PROBABLY) aren’t quite so calorific if you just want a taste of that goodness peanut butter yum!

Evie showing us all up with her healthy choice!

Jimmy and Florence split a portion of GIANT pancakes - THIS is just HALF a portion! — Jimmy and Florence split a portion of GIANT pancakes – THIS is just HALF a portion!

Daisy's 'mini' waffle! — Daisy’s ‘mini’ waffle!

And more of my healthy choices - it was worth it! People say nothing tastes as good as thin feels - I beg to differ! — And more of my healthy choices – it was worth it! People say nothing tastes as good as thin feels – I beg to differ!

We had a fab meal at Ed’s Diner and the children were so well looked after from the activity packs to the food. They’ve made a real effort to think about what chldren like and what parents need (bravo) and have done it in a very sophisticated way. The packs are extremely good quality and fun for the whole family while there’s PLENTY to colour and puzzle while you wait for food. We’ll be back Ed’s thanks for a fabulous meal!