Nissi’s American Diner opened their doors on Mapperley Top back in March serving up their take of American Diner food with a menu featuring all the classics including breakfasts, waffles, pancakes, burgers, and hot dogs along with milkshakes, cheesecake, apple pie, and even a banana split for the sweeter tooth.
The team behind the theme will be familiar as they were recently running Nissi’s Gourmet Burgers up on Wollaton Street. That place has closed now, so all the action is going to be up on Plains Road in the space formerly occupied by Holy Cannoli (if you know this part of town well).
BURGER SECTION OF THE MENU
I had checked out the menu in advance and was very tempted to try one of their breakfasts which they serve each day until 4pm, but not today, for this first visit I was here specifically to check out their burgers. I had seen a picture on Instagram the night before and now I wanted one, that’s kind of how my life works!
I was happy to see that the burgers were Smash-burgers which is currently my favourite style. They were offering ones with chicken and with halloumi, but I wanted meat and lots of it so my choices were between the MARGARET, the DIRTY AMERICAN, or the AMERICAN BACON.
There was not much to distinguish between any of the options so purely because I like bacon I ordered the AMERICAN BACON, if I had to give any other reason, well the MARGARET had gherkins (which I would have just fished out) and the DIRTY AMERICAN didn’t have bacon although it was a close call as it had fried onions and sounded like a perfect fairground burger.
THE AMERICAN BACON BURGER WITH FRIES
I had eaten the takeaway offerings from Nissi’s Burgers before and enjoyed them (read more here) but I was keen to see how good they were served up on a plate straight from the grill in the diner
The AMERICAN BACON was described on the menu as “Two smashed beef burgers, American cheese, streaky bacon, lettuce, tomato, red onion & burger sauce” for the princely sum of £12.50.
It sounds a lot but it did come with fries and a rather excellent homemade coleslaw so not bad really price wise.
I was very happy with the fries, they were those hand cut ones with a little bit of skin on, very crisp crunchy outside, soft inside, perfectly cooked, with no residual oil to spoil the party. Lovely Stuff. I have to say that it was also a very decent portion too!
AMERICAN BACON BURGER
It was very decent, the burgers properly smashed with a nice char as opposed to squashed like some places. I was happy to find perfectly molten cheese blankets draped across each burger patty.
Slices of crispy streaky bacon laid on top of the burgers added some saltiness and extra texture to each mouthful. There was plenty enough to call it an American Bacon burger too, no skimping with this ingredient!
I also enjoyed the flavours of the burger sauce mixed with the thinly sliced red onion and the cooling elements of the tomato and lettuce were a simple yet perfect foil. It was a very well put together classic combination and very well balanced
My only gripe and a minor issue was that the bun fell apart too easily as there was too much filling. In reality one can’t or shouldn’t really complain about too much inside the bun. I didn’t have to use a knife and fork and after all I do have fingers for picking up burger bun detritus that spilled out of the stack.
As I ate my burger I was being nosey as I perused quite obviously the food being scoffed at the table next to me to see what they had ordered. Everyone seemed happy and keen to talk. It was that sort of atmosphere.
Some had burgers like mine and seemed very happy. Others had the breakfasts which looked like proper American Diner efforts I ate in The states perhaps with a hint of a nod to the long lost Little Chef. I reckon I will be back to try one sometime soon 😎🤪🥳
Overall I could not fault the food I ate at the Diner and will say without doubt that it is well worth checking out. One note of caution is that is relatively small though and quite busy. Having said that people came and went while we were scoffing so time it right and you’ll get a table.
Nissi’s American Diner is located at 21B Plains Road, Mapperley, Nottingham, NG3 5LG and they are open Wednesday to Sunday.
Parking is available (free for two hours) just around the corner on Bonington Road (first right as you pass the diner on your way from town). If you want to ride the bus here well it is pretty handy as the bus stop is right outside (19,25, 45, 46, 47 all come up here)
You can check Nissi’s American Diner out on their Facebook Page, Instagram Profile, and on their Twitter Feed
