FROM THE ARCHIVES:
NOTE: Thankfully, Karen’s Diner has now closed on the Gold Coast!
….
“Are you ready?” I ask the Main Squeeze. His lips are pasted into a smile.
Emotionally prepared to be haggled and harassed, we approach Karen’s Diner.
We have been warned: “Expect great food, hilariously rude waiters, a great vibe and maybe a song or two. What the heck ain’t there to love.”
It’s a statement, rather than a question.
As it turns out, questions don’t rate at Karen’s, especially questions from the dining audience.
All is good at Karen’s Diner so long as your sense of humour remains intact, a smile is plastered on your face and your mouth stays closed…
Karen’s Diner is a transcontinental phenomenon, an interactive diner that boasts several venues in the UK and many more in Australia.
The Gold Coast version, which started as a popup, has settled in the middle of Chevron Renaissance, and when we visit for a weekend lunch, the place is packed. It’s so popular that diners are lined up waiting for available tables, while crowds of curious onlookers watch the shenanigans from safe positions outside the picket boundary fence.
We’re led to our table, menus are thrown on the floor in front of us as we’re told to ‘Sit down and shut up!” Right!
Whoops! This is certainly no Happy Days! Arnold’s Diner belongs in another universe entirely.
Actually, Karen’s Diner and Arnold’s do have a few things in common. Both are set in the ’60s with all the trappings: retro décor featuring LP records on the wall, milkshakes and cocktails, and oversized sundaes and burgers pumped out of the kitchen where staff are busy working the grill.
Besides a 15-year-old’s birthday party and a divorce party (sorry they weren’t around for mine!), there are lots of couples and groups of friends enjoying a meal out, just like us! The jukebox is playing swing as happy diners chatter and laugh.
But that’s where similarities between the two diners end. You’d swear that the staff here had got out on the wrong side of bed or swallowed the bitter pill for breakfast.
We find ourselves easily pushed into submission, orders ready before the waiter returns with, “OK Grandma, what are you going to order?”
It’s the nicest thing he says to me all day!
But none of the swearing-laden banter is personal, at least not to us. There are plenty of expletives thrown around, games played and paper bags put over heads, but everyone is laughing and some are ecstatic to receive the attention (albeit negative).
Everyone gets well fed with huge laden burgers, generous serves of fries, chicken wings, shakes and cocktails, all of which are well received by diners.
“So why do people go there when they know someone is going to ‘take the piss’ out of them?” a friend asks when we describe our meal at Karen’s Diner.
Well, it’s not for the burgers alone, no matter how good they are. There is plenty of burger competition on the coast.
No. People are flocking to Karen’s Diner for its infamous interactive dining experience.
My take on Karen’s is that it’s like forbidden fruit. There’s something in all us of us that likes to cross boundaries. The opportunity to do so without taking risks is an attraction, as is the novelty. We may not be a ‘mob of whingers’ but many of us think it’s funny to watch people step over the line, at least in fun.
Then too there’s the psychology of being a ‘watcher’ of bad behaviour, that it makes us feel better about our own lives, (and maybe our children’s). We’re almost relieved that reality is so much better than those waiters acting out in the ‘Karen’ show.
While the command to ‘Shut the f… up!’ makes us draw breath, being told, ‘Nobody cares about your birthday’ has almost universal appeal. It’s the line we’d love to say to someone who thinks they’re extra ‘special’…but of course we don’t say it!
Sure, we are all ‘special’, but when we’re not treated that way at Karen’s, it is not the place to exert our rights…unless, of course, your name is Karen, in which case you’ll receive a free cocktail.
Apart from that, DON’T COMPLAIN! Even when your Slow Karen cocktail takes a while to reach your table. It’s slow, OK?
Even when you realise that there are no split bills for your table of ten.
DON’T COMPLAIN! And…
“For the love of Karen don’t ask to speak to the manager….”
You’ve been warned!
NOTE: “Your $10 ticket will get you a seat in the infamous diner as well as a drink on arrival. Vegetarians, Vegans & Non Alcoholics will all be catered for but don’t expect Karen to be happy about it.” Book online on the Karen’s Diner website.
Good Food Gold Coast dined as a guest of Karen’s Diner.