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Fatboy's Diner, Trinity Buoy Wharf – Bob Pickett visits east London’s biker-friendly, nostalgia-based eaterie

Words by Bob Pickett: Photos by Bob and Laura Pickett

Fatboy's Diner - a genuine piece of Americana in east London If you have seen the 1998 Gwyneth Paltrow film ‘Sliding Doors’, then you will remember a couple of scenes where her character, Helen Quilley and James Hammerton (John Hannah) visit Fatboy’s Diner, a traditional American roadside diner in London.

So how did a genuine American Dining car (built in New Jersey; opinions differ on when, either the early 1940s or mid-1950s) come to find itself in London, let alone based in a former bouy manufacturing site close to the City and Docklands?

The gleaming kitchen, bar stools at the counter How Fatboy’s came to be in the UK is a bit of a mystery, but it’s migration across London is possible to trace. Arriving in London in the 1990s, for a time, it lived in Covent Garden, before moving to Bishopsgate in the City of London (“The Glory Days” as proprietor Ross calls them). Next, forced by redevelopment and the spiralling cost of land, Fatboy’s moved into the former fruit and vegetable market at Spitalfields, before heading further out and into its present home at Trinity Bouy Wharf.

Juke Box, condiments... must be getting ready for... In many ways, the current home is the perfect venue. Where better to site a displaced 1940s piece of Americana, than the former home of a bouy manufacturing and repairing business, now reborn as the home to artists, 1,000 year long compositions and people living in redesigned metal boxes?

Enough of the history lesson! So what about Fatboy’s and why is it worth the ride round a bunch of former dock roads? Quite simply, Fatboy’s is as close to the real deal as you are going to get this side of Route 66. It is all there – the gleaming chrome kitchen, the bar stools up at the counter and the booths for a more leisurely stay.

THIS! Now THAT is what I call a burger! Walk through the door and Ross makes you feel at home straight away with a cheerful welcome. Choose your seat (the booths are well suited for bikers, giving you a lot more space to stash helmets, jackets etc), pick up a copy of the excellent free bike magazine ‘Rider’s Digest’ from the counter, and browse the menu.

As you would expect, the core menu is 100% beef burgers (they do provide a veggie option), hot dogs, thick shakes and homemade fruit pies. And oh, is it good!

In the interest of you, the reader, we worked our way through the menu (selfless souls that we are). Cooked to order, we are happy to report that the burgers are indeed meaty, juicy and flavoursome (Fatboy’s burgers are cooked well-done. If you want them rarer, just ask). The fries are thick, fat, dusted with seasoning and accompany the burgers perfectly. The hotdogs are long, tasty and come with a range of toppings.

Trinty Bouy Wharf... with one of it's original products sitting by the entrance The shakes are so thick the straws stand up in them. The coffee is ‘proper’ coffee from an espresso machine – good enough to give so-called ‘specialist’ coffee shops a run for their money.

And then there was the blueberry pie… I salivate now, thinking about it! And the portions are generous. Be prepared to loosen your belt a notch when leaving the premises!

Even without Fatboy’s, Trinity Bouy Wharf would be worth a visit. Home to around 350 artists and creative businesses, it is also hired on a regular basis as a set, for both TV programmes and movies (spy drama ‘Spooks’ has been filmed here, amongst others).

It contains London's only lighthouse - the home of 'Longplayer', the music originally played in the 'Chillout Zone' at the Millenium Exhibition at the Dome (now The O2). The music - by 'The Pogues' Jem Finer - plays continuously and without repetition for a thousand years until the 31st December 2999.

London's only lighthouse... and home of a truly unique musical experience Other attractions to this former engineering works (the name comes from the original occupation of building bouys) include ‘The Faraday Effect’; an interactive arts installation documenting the life and works of Michael Faraday. Trinity Bouy Wharf also holds a regular series of shows and exhibitions - check their website for more details.

More modern is the wonderful ‘Container City’. Literally built from old shipping containers, it houses offices, studios, workshops, residential and educational units… and even a pre-school nursery!

Yes, I would love to live there...

But the main draw was - and still is – Fatboy’s. Sit inside and pretend you're eating out by the roadside in 1950s America, or even 'Sliding Doors' (the seat where Gwyneth Paltrow sat is by the jukebox on the counter, if you're interested). Or sit outside and take in the vista over The Thames - just the view over to The O2 is worth seeing.

Container City - inspiring use of recycled cargo containers - I want to live here... If you don’t get the chance at any other time, then if you’re going to visit the MCN London Motorcycle Show at the Excel, Fatboy’s is only a short trip from there. Drop in there, get treated as a valued customer, not another unit to be processed and enjoy some excellent food at reasonable, non-exhibition-exorbitant prices.

But once you go, you’ll come back. Fatboy’s is that kind of place.

Fatboy's Diner - visit, enjoy, return again (and again) Fatboy's Diner, Trinity Bouy Wharf, 64 Orchard Place, London, E14 OJW

Fatboy’s is open from Tuesday to Sunday: 10am to 5pm (at the time of writing, their website still showed their old opening hours, the change came early in 2009). Payment by cash only (definitely no plastic and there is not an ATM close by, so come prepared).

Useful links:

Fatboy's Diner

Trinity Bouy Wharf

Google Maps (just type E14 0JW in the search field)

The Rider's Digest

‘Sliding Doors’ on DVD

The O2, as viewed from Trinty Bouy Wharf









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