River City Writer

Ah, the Highlevel Diner (10912 88 Avenue).  There is a reason it’s one of the most popular restaurants in Garneau, if not the entire city.

The atmosphere is cozy and comfortable. It feels like home, when you’re at the Highlevel Diner. The serving staff are always friendly, and seem to instinctively know when you need a coffee refill, and when you need to be left alone to chat with the people you’re dining with.

The last time I was at the Highlevel Diner, I was on a date and, like always, our server knew exactly when to offer refills on our coffee and tea, and when to stay back and let us get to know one another.

But, enough about the service. As important as it is, if the food is no good, quality of service becomes irrelevant.

I admit that I’ve only eaten at the Highlevel Diner a handful of times. But, I’ve had something different to eat each of those times.

The first thing I ever ate at the Highlevel was the veggie burger. Though I’m not a vegetarian, I enjoy a lot of vegetarian food, and I’ve found that veggie burgers are sometimes tastier than their fleshy equivalents.

Unfortunately, the above statement cannot be made of the veggie burgers at the Highlevel Diner.

The burger was dry, falling apart, and the texture was not even close to the texture of a real meat patty.

The patty is full of oatmeal and alfalfa sprouts. This, in itself is not a bad thing. However, they aren’t ground up and formed into a patty as much as they’re just thrown together losely, without much of a binding agent. This, in my opinion, is not a good burger.

Now, despite the disappointing texture, the Highlevel Diner veggie burger is actually doesn’t taste too bad. However, even when I go for vegetarian food, I’m something of a crypto-carnivore, and I want most of my meat replacements to have the same (or at least similar) taste and texture as the meat that they’re imitating.

Other items that I’ve eaten at the Highlevel Diner include the chili (which, I think, is available as a vegetarian dish), the Mediterranean appetizer plate, and the nachoes. All of these dishes were excellent.

I’ve also eaten a couple of desserts at the Highlevel Diner: brownies and cinnamon buns. Again, these were excellent.

Specific pricing information, unfortunately, has escaped from my brain the time of writing this article, but I can say that the prices at the Highlevel Diner are very reasonable. Most of the items on the menu are $15 or less, which is becoming harder and harder to find in Alberta’s booming economy.

So, if you’re looking for a laidback, home-style diner, check out the Highlevel Diner. It certainly fits the bill.

For more restaurant reviews and information, check out my Edmonton Restaurant Guide.