Alistairs American Diner — Restaurant in London

Re-opening Edit! The VERY BEST, FAMILY RUN café in SE19 is back and better and brighter than ever. The whole café has been refurbished and is fresh, bright and more American Diner than ever. Today (reopening day) I had a truly excellent smoked salmon and spinach omelette with salad, with a coke zero all for £8.00... Alistair continues to be the warmest, friendliest, best value and now glossiest café on the Triangle.

.................... Lockdown Edit: As I can't eat-in in my favourite CP cafe, I had takeaway today. Rush now to buy their home made scones with the simply sensational home made plum jam. And the chocolate cookies are genuinely the best I have EVER tasted. A full take away service is available so support your local business! ...................

Cute, diner-style cafe with wonderful, friendly service. I've just moved into central Crystal Palace and am surveying all the local cafes. Alistair's does double duty: serving both traditional "English" cooked breakfasts (see photo.. the cooked breakfast is a useful cost/quality comparator) as well classic American options.. with some appealing Cypriot touches! Really lovely service, clean, smart interior and fair prices. Definitely top of my list for Recovery Breakfast in Crystal Palace. The cafe is quite small, with comfy diner seating so...

Great branding and huge portions does not make up for a poor, not-very-American experience. We desperately wanted to love this place but unfortunately the quality just doesn't cut it. Such a shame as the menu looks great as does the decor and the staff are absolutely lovely. I feel bad for leaving a negative review but I feel some honesty might help manage other people's expectations. This is essentially a greasy-spoon and there's nothing wrong with that. In fact I could see myself going back for a fry-up. The problem is, you're expecting an American diner and you won't get that here. An overcooked burger lacking flavour with unnecessarily thick raw red onion and tomatoes just isn't pleasant no matter how huge it is. This place has to decide if it wants to live up to it's American branding or rebrand as an above-average cafe which is what it currently is. Sincerely hope this feedback is helpful to the owners, future customers or...

Hearty Cypriot rice and lentil veggie soup. Big bowl of thick soup and a slice of lemon with 2 chunky slices of brown bread plus choice of spread. I was chatting to the charming owners today and despite the soup tasting so rich and delicious they told me it was absolutely 100% vegetarian. The secret apparently is to find the right sort of red lentil that will hold its texture when cooked. Mainly rice and lentils so I presume has a higher protein than the average veg soup. This is very popular locally and frequently runs out early at the weekend. Suggest popping in before lunch and take it away. Alternatively Mondays very quiet. Really good veggie option. Where could you find such a treat other...