A lunchtime visit to Karen’s Diner at World Square was an expensive treat for us. We heard great things about the in your face “I want to speak to the manager” restaurant experience. But does it really live up to all the hype?
Sure, it was a weekday, and the restaurant wasn’t packed – TBH it was the only time we could get a reservation.
Housed in the old Burger Project restaurant up the rainbow stairs at World Square, the restaurant hadn’t changed much apart from some lower really dimly lit lighting and a few colouring in crayon arts of the logo on the walls. Instantly I wanted to complain that they didn’t offer the same chipotle chips as the previous restaurant that was in that location. Can I talk to the manager about this?
Seated at a table that would eventually be too small to be able to handle the amount of food we ordered, we met our “staff”, a rag tag bunch of misfits, who looked like they came from a shift at Supre, and had the attitude to match. Middle finger salutes included.
Our wait staff were less Karen and more “disinterested”. Until that is, the love child of Lance Bass and Perez Hilton took to the microphone to engage a sparsely filled room of lunchtime drunks in a round of spin the wheel challenges that are purely designed to embarrass everyone in the restaurant.
Of course, us gays were singled out for the reading challenge, and we totally failed… and couldn’t get back to our seats quick enough. That’s when the food turned up and our table nearly fell over.
The burgers, onion rings and mozzarella sticks were plainly just incredible… no joke and I really wanted to thank the cook, but the wait staff said he didn’t care…. so alas, another underpaid service worker goes unrewarded, thanks to over inflated front of house staff.
But the food was A+. Pricey, but given the price of lettuce these days, I am surprised they still had lettuce on the burger. I did ask for truffles, but I was called a smart arse.
The server delivered the food by shoving each dish in my face, apparently he also does not wear a mask on public transport, and has no idea about social distancing… if I get covid, I am suing!
Two of the three main wait staff were totally more interested in their phones – with the exception of baby Bass-Hilton who’s 90s hair do made up for the other two not giving a toss. He went the extra mile to Karen the experience. And although it was triggering for us older gays who lived through the 90s, it made the experience that much more believable.
I won’t say it was a comfortable experience, but if you are into cringe and stomach cramps after stuffing yourself with tonnes of food, then Karen’s may be a place to go.
It’s also a fun place to take that office manager from work who thinks she is the shit, and have her slapped down a few pegs.
Our two person meal cost $90 with tip. (How dare they ask for a tip in a non tipping country) and that was for two burgers and fries, and sides of onion rings and cheese sticks and two sodas. We couldn’t finish it all either, so don’t go nuts… you will eat well just on the basics.
4/5 Karens.