I was saddened when I just found out that Eddie’s American Diner in Cardiff Bay had closed its doors. They have gone out of business. With the closing of the Doctor Who Experience, one of the area’s biggest draws for tourists, it really doesn’t surprise me. It does make me reminisce about my daughter’s and my visit to the diner when we traveled from Dallas, Texas, to Cardiff for the closing of the Doctor Who Experience. It truly was a special visit that will always be in my memory and my heart.
After my daughter and I visited the Doctor Who Experience and had an awesome time doing so, we decided to take in the sights in Cardiff Bay. We had a general idea of a few things we wanted to see: Ianto’s Shrine, Torchwood and Doctor Who filming locations, and Eddie’s Diner. My friend who is from Wales told me that I would absolutely kick myself if I didn’t go to Eddie’s Diner. It was on my list, but even more so now.
So after checking a few things out, we started to get a little hungry. On the way there, who did we run into? None other than the awesome Russell T. Davies himself. We chatted with him for a few minutes, took a couple of photos with him, and then continued to our destination: Eddie’s Diner. Eddie’s was right around the corner from where we were. For those that are unaware, Eddie’s Diner is an “American” diner in Cardiff Bay. A couple of Doctor Who episodes were also filmed there. The first was “The Impossible Astronaut” with Matt Smith as the Doctor, and the second was “Hell Bent” with Peter Capaldi as the Doctor.
As we approached, we noticed that the place was busy, but not too busy. It seemed to be a seat-yourself type of place, so we found a table right outside and sat down to wait for a server. After about ten minutes of waiting, I walked in and went to the register. A gentleman at the counter told me that we order and pay there and then they bring our food to us. “Oh, okay,” I thought. So I found an open table inside and my daughter and I sat there. After looking at the menu, we decided what we wanted and I went to order it. After speaking with the gentleman (He might have been the owner, maybe the manager) and telling him where we came from to visit, he was elated and thanked us for stopping by. We sat and had our burgers and chips. And let me say OMG, these were some of the best burgers I have ever tasted.
We had noticed some other “tourists” that were in the diner taking photos and just being downright rude to the waitresses and other customers. We did not want to be “those” people. So as we were getting up to leave, I told the gentleman thank you and that the meal was delicious. At that time another gentleman joined him behind the counter and he told him where we were from. They both said, “Did you take any pictures? This is where so-and-so was and that is where so-and-so sat” (which happened to be the booth that we were sitting in eating). The first gentleman said, “You’ve come so far, take as many pictures as you want. Did you see the TARDIS door in the back?” So my daughter took some shots of me in a couple of spots and we went to the door in the back. Just a fabulous time and experience. The staff and the management could not have made our visit any greater. For that, I thank you. One thing I do wish is that they had “Eddie’s Diner” t-shirts. If they did, I missed them. But that would have been so cool to buy.
Since our visit, I have read many reviews of the diner. There were quite a few that differed from my experience. I’m not sure if it had to do with anything specific, but our time and food was great. I am glad I was able to visit and eat there. Even though I was only able to go once, the positive experience we had makes me even more sad that it is now closed.
