Broadway American Diner is one of the many concept restaurants within Arcade @ The Capitol Kempinski, serving up burgers with house-made patties and freshly baked chemical-free buns. In April this year, The Capitol Kempinski launched a one-day promotion in celebration of its 124th anniversary (wow, what a long history!). There were complimentary cupcakes, champagne and discounted F&B for diners, as well as crafted amenities for hotel guests. The deal that caught my eye was the “$12.40 nett for all burgers” at Broadway American Diner, so burgers for dinner it was!
- Our order:
- BBQ Angus Beef Burger ($12.40 nett)
- Buttermilk Chicken & Cheese Burger ($12.40 nett)
- Macaroni & Cheese ($12++)
- Oreo Milkshake ($14++)
- Spent: SGD$55.42
When my husband and I arrived at the restaurant, we were greeted by She Hui, the only wait staff in sight that evening (likely because it was a Monday). But no matter, she always made sure to avail herself to attend to us whenever needed! She took the initiative to inform us which items on the menu were unavailable before going on to recommend us her personal favourites. Upon sharing that I adore cupcakes and muffins, she excitedly told us that Berthold Delikatessen next door sells their baked goods at 50% off between 8pm to 9pm, what a steal! Her bubbly and genuine demeanour really made us feel well taken care of (:
The restaurant has a quirky, casual interior done up in classic American diner style, complete with red plush booth seats and checkered floors. It gave off a modern retro vibe, which was pretty interesting.
Despite the promotion saying ALL burgers at $12.40 nett, we found out that it only applied to select burgers (ie. the ones that were priced at $16++). Oh well, at least there were still quite a few options to choose from. My husband ordered himself a buttermilk chicken and cheese burger. It was huge in length but thin, and I felt there was probably more batter than actual meat. Tastewise, it was not too bad, everything you’d expect a fried chicken to taste like.
I ordered the BBQ Angus beef burger and was thankful that the chef could accommodate my request to change the apple sauce to mushroom sauce. Most of the elements tasted great, like the onion rings, bacon strips and mushroom sauce. I’m not someone who fancies onion rings or bacon strips but the ones on my plate were very palatable. Unfortunately the Angus beef patty, the supposed star of the dish, was slightly overcooked that it became quite tough to chew. It was seasoned well though, such a pity.
As stated on the menu, all burgers come with freshly homebaked sesame wheat buns made only with organic flour and natural ingredients. I thought these buns were delicious – soft, buttered and lightly toasted to a crisp. However, what surprised me was that the burgers didn’t come with any sides like fries or salad. Aren’t these part of the quintessential diner burger meal?
For sharing, we got ourselves a macaroni and cheese starter and an Oreo milkshake. The milkshake was okay, comparable to the one we had at Clove restaurant during our Fairmont stay. Consistency was nicely balanced as it was neither too runny nor too thick, although it did have a hint of artificiality in its sweetness.
The macaroni and cheese dish was my favourite of the night, I simply couldn’t get enough of it! It was comfortingly warm with little bits of salty bacon, made tastier with the mentaiko sauce and had just the right amount of cheesiness so you won’t get sick of it (even till the very end). Green peas were mostly stuck inside the macaroni but it was all so yummy I didn’t mind. What a way to get me to eat my peas, haha. With that said, I have to disclaim that I generally prefer milder cheeses so if you’re looking for something that packs a punch, this probably isn’t the dish for you.
As part of the celebratory promotions for diners, we received some complimentary desserts to enjoy (: The muffin was really as good as She Hui described it to be, great textures and flavours. The cupcakes were a tad dry and not the tastiest thing we had all night, but we were still appreciative of the gesture nonetheless.
My overall rating of the experience: 4 out of 5 stars. Some items we had were awesome, others not so much, and given that this was a joint serving predominantly burgers, we did expect better burger standards than this. They weren’t bad for sure, but they weren’t exactly fantastic either. The $12.40 nett promotion helped make the price point more pocket-friendly but I doubt I’d be forking out the original price for these average-tasting burgers. Solely taking the food, the price and the ambience into consideration, I’d rate this place 3 stars. However, thanks to She Hui’s warm and authentic interactions with us, I decided to add one more star to appreciate her efforts (: Hopefully you get to experience her hospitality too if you do dine here!
Dania Experiences 