Yep… what they said. A pleasure to meet both of you, pubba’s friend and the T-man’s son.
I concur with Josefus the blue cheese burger was pretty damn good
I once saw Tigerman Jnr eat that Gigantic Burger (or whatever it is called) without a flinch.
He’s going to be a fearsome warrior like me.
Yeah, I think the burgers are the way to go at the Diner. Tried the Philly cheese steak once and was underwhelmed. :s
I’ve never had a bad burger there. In fact, they’ve all been fantastic. Been meaning to try the blue cheese burger that Funk500 and Joesfus mentioned, but I keep on ordering the bacon cheeseburger. Delicious–the best in Taipei.
Went last night…
Mixed thoughts, I think its probably better for lunch/breakfast. Doesn’t have quite the right kind of “pub” feel for a burger and beer in the evening.
Anyway:
About the food:
Had the “blue cheeseburger” and VB bitter… I thought the burger itself was great… just as I like them. Would have preferred a slab of cheese and for it to melt onto the burger, rather than a pile of crumbs. Looked like the meat had already cooled a bit before the cheese was put on. But… a really “asian” portion of “oven” style fries. Just not enough… And worse… covered in salt. OK tastes differ here, but with salt on the table you can always add salt if you want it. But once its on, you can’t take it off. I’m not a health nutter, just don’t like stuff too salty.
My friend had a Country-Fried steak and Boddingtons. She liked the steak, though it looked so-so to me.
About the service/environment:
Predictably they wrongly delivered the VB to my small TW female friend, and Boddington’s to this fat white guy. But that’s completely forgiveable.
Otherwise, great, except… some guy had brought in his small dog. I just don’t like dogs in restaurants. This one appeared to be eating out a small bowl on the floor. He kept on petting this dog (which seemed otherwise content to relax). In the end he got the dog to “stand” on its hind legs and peform various tricks. Whereupon it shook itself, flicking the residual debris from the wet streets of Taipei in my direction. Yuk. My friend was just about ready to walk out. Except for guide dogs, I think the rule should be simple. No dogs.
Overall, a mixed experience. Rolling in the time and cost of getting there from where I live, its probably not quite worth it. But if it was a short walk away then I could see myself popping in from time to time for lunch, but not if dog-man is a regular.
Here’s a map at long last. 
Since this is buried deep in the thread, I’ll also PM the OP and ask them to add it there, too.
Agreed, doga in ANY food environment should NOT be allowed.
As in A-doga?
The Diner has the BEST double cheeseburger I’ve had in Taiwan!
Also, the service is friendly, quick and they seem to aim to please and try to get it just right.
As for the dogs, the only dogs I want to see in a restaurant are Hot Dogs!
He, he!! 
I don’t mind dogs if I were eating on the outside terrace, but in the restaurant and on the tables isn’t cool.
Otherwise, Well done, Diner! :bravo:
Some restaurants allow dogs, and most of their customers know and accept this, but a responsible dog owner should always first ask nearby patrons if they mind the dog being there.
Does the Diner do any vegetarian food?
Their Gardenburger is top-notch. :lick: I can’t remember if there are other veggie options on the menu, but I would assume so.
Well, I suppose I know now! Sorry I just think no dogs in restaurants, except guide dogs. Most restaurants don’t have signs and don’t need to - responsible dog owners (at least the ones I know) are responsible enough to know you don’t take dogs into confined human eating areas. Even if other patrons said no problem, what about people who arrive subsequently? Presumably “the dog was there first” - which is not a logic I accept.
Well, I suppose I know now! Sorry I just think no dogs in restaurants, except guide dogs. Most restaurants don’t have signs and don’t need to - responsible dog owners (at least the ones I know) are responsible enough to know you don’t take dogs into confined human eating areas. Even if other patrons said no problem, what about people who arrive subsequently? Presumably “the dog was there first” - which is not a logic I accept.[/quote]
Hi, london-boy.
I completely agree with you, except where the restaurant has a known policy of taking dogs in. For myself, I only take them to places where there is separate seating, perhaps outdoors. Grandma Nitti’s, for instance, let’s you take a dog into the first floor area, or outside, or on the balcony, or the rooftop. Carnegie’s let you take a dog onto the patio. The Italian Job let you sit on their patio with the dog. There are many more.
I think that compromises are there to be had, but, I totally agree that most restaurants don’t have the set-up to allow that and therefore shouldn’t (nothing bad comes of having a dog near the table, of course, but some people, such as yourself, don’t feel comfortable with it and shouldn’t have to put up with it.)
I’ll have to go and check out the Diner for myself this week. Do they have separate or outdoor seating (I’ll put up with the cold 
)?
Yes, they do have outdoor seating, but not much. 2 tables, IIRC.
The Diner has had dogs inside it almost every time I’ve been there.
The dogs never bothered me because they were quite and well behaved, but I could understand if they bothered other people.
Sounds to me, then, that the Diner owners have no problems with dogs on the premises, so it would be up to london-boy or whoever objects to make their displeasure known. Not to the dog-owners but to the restaurant owners.
If the owners then say they’d prefer to allow dogs, then its up to the objectors to vote with their feet, surely?
My sister got bitten and permanently disfigured as a result of a dog being near her. This was a dog that was apparently “under control”.
Having a dog shake itself and depositing fluff, flakes of skin etc on my table is something “bad” in my opinion.
So its just something we will have disagree about. I just called my cousin who is an Environmental Officer in the UK and a keen dog owner. His view is that there is no “of course” about it - and its for this reason some countries ban dogs in restaurants on hygiene grounds by law.
But this is Taiwan. As sandman says, one can vote with one’s feet.
I thought that I’d read on here somewhere before that it was illegal to have dogs in restaurants.
Big fines, potential restaurant closure, that sort of thing.
In which case, illegal is illegal, no matter what the owner says.
But I could be wrong.
[quote=“Josefus”]I thought that I’d read on here somewhere before that it was illegal to have dogs in restaurants.
Big fines, potential restaurant closure, that sort of thing.
In which case, illegal is illegal, no matter that the owner says.
But I could be wrong.[/quote]
Come to think of it I rarely see dogs in “proper” restaurants in Taiwan (ie not the outdoor ones/ones that open onto the street.) So maybe that’s right.
I can imagine birds aren’t allowed…
In another thread Satellite TV wrote:[quote]I called the police who were only 80m around the corner. The police officer fined the couple and the restaurant owner. Bringing a dog to a restaurant is illegal, let alone bad manners.[/quote]
Taverncaptain also confirmed that it is illegal.
So there you have it.
Having a dog in a restaurant is illegal.
Period.
Unless you’re blind.
In that case, it’s simple. You simply call the waitress or the owner over to your table, and tell her quietly that if he or she doesn’t ask the dog owner to take the dog out you’ll call the cops. Problem solved. No need to say anything at all to the dog owner.
[quote=“Josefus”]I thought that I’d read on here somewhere before that it was illegal to have dogs in restaurants.
Big fines, potential restaurant closure, that sort of thing.
In which case, illegal is illegal, no matter that the owner says.
But I could be wrong.[/quote]
I think that’s only the case if you serve them up on a plate or in a hotpot.
HG