The Real Thing Diner

Coco-Cola rules at The Real Thing Diner, but there is more to explore than the beautiful Coca-Cola memorabilia displayed for customer’s amusement.   The ambiance screams Coca-Cola in your face with its predominant colors of red and white, but wait till you get to the menu. 

Owned by singer-song writer Noelle Cassandra and KV Golamco who worked with Coca-Cola for 6 years, The Real Thing Diner offers all American food with Coca-Cola products as part of the ingredients.  I am not a big fan of soda but my first visit was followed by several trips to the diner because hey, they serve good food and the visits were always worth it.

Coca-Cola Baby Back Ribs was an instant hit to my palate.  Incredibly meaty, fork tender, and its cola marinade gave it the right caramelized crunch on the outside.  The savory sweet taste that was enduring up to the tiniest shred of the meat was a dead give a way that it was marinated well with flavors and spices meant to burst into the palate as you chew on it.

Coca-Cola Baby Back Ribs

I have been in love to Bonchon Chicken for a while now but Sarsi Wings has distinct flavor and character worthy to be craved for.  Buffalo wings covered with sweet and thick Sarsi sauce sprinkled with herb and spices for a good measure.  The distinct taste of Sarsi was what made this dish stand out compare to the usual Buffalo wings out there.  If you are into sweet and spicy fare, this dish is worth a try.

Sarsi Wings

Coca-Cola BBQ Burger was the usual cheesy burger made special with Coca-Cola BBQ sauce generously smothered on the patty while on grill giving the sauce a time to permeate every tiny morsel of the meat.  The sauce was also used as a spread on the bun giving it further flavor in every bite. 

Coca-Cola BBQ Burger

It may looked like the lamest and the saddest fish fillet on the planet in my opinion but Eight O’Clock Apple Green Tea Fish Fillet was one mean dish one should not miss when dining at The Real Thing Diner.  The fish was so tender and silky to the palate.  Dip it into the Eight O’Clock Apple Green Tea sauce that comes with it then the fun fare of flavors will begin playfully dancing inside your mouth.  Imagine a push and pull of the bitter taste of green tea and the sweetness of the apple flirting with each other, you’ll know the score.

Eight O’Clock Apple Green Tea Fish Fillet

Their Hail Caesar! Salad was really nothing special until I discover a little secret.  Fresh and crispy lettuce lightly tossed in a dressing and sprinkled with bacon bits and parmesan cheese was the usual fare.  But you know where the magic lies? I tossed it with the Eight O’Clock Apple Green Tea sauce that comes with my fish fillet and it was a whole new different love affair with my salad. 

Hail Caesar! Salad

Tasting their Creamy Tomato Soup was like slurping into a homemade spaghetti sauce without having to ask for pasta.  Yes it was like that, only better.  It was creamy, rich, and downright filling. The sour taste of the tomato does not overpower the cream therefore making it not too overwhelming to the taste. 

Creamy Tomato Soup

Two of their Non-Alcoholic Coca-Cola Mixed Drinks I have tried was Cinnamon Snifter which is a combination of Coca-Cola, Sarsi, Cinnamon, and Vanilla Ice Cream, while the other one was Brazilian Chocolate Iced Coffee, a combination of Coca-Cola, Coffee, Sarsi, Chocolate, and Whipped Cream.  If you are a Coke fan, these drinks are one delightful twist to the usual.

Brazilian Chocolate Iced Coffee

Cinnamon Snifter

Simple yet eye catching, The Real Thing Diner’s ambiance is a dead giveaway that once you enter the diner, you are up for a fun fare of anything Coca-Cola.  Designed like a modern diner accentuated by cute and definitely hard to find Coca-Cola memorabilia, coke lovers or not would surely be amused.

The food attendants were very friendly and accommodating.  They were obviously trained to know their foods really well, offering dishes not based on what’s the most expensive on the menu, but based on what they think will suits to your liking. There are wait time before the orders were served but it doesn’t bother me because food were freshly cooked therefore it’s worth the wait.

If you are a memorabilia collector, they do Coke Swap Night from time to time so if you’re interested, you can check their website for the schedule.

I have dined at The Real Thing Diner more than a couple of times and I must say that the experiences were all good.  They were consistent in terms of quality and service.  I have recommended this diner to some close friends and so far everyone seems like happy with it. It is definitely one of the place I will always go back to.

The Real Thing Diner

2nd floor, IL Terrazzo,

305 Tomas Morato cor. Sct Madrinan,

1100 Quezon City, Philippines

Phone: (632) 352-4320

Website: http://www.therealthingdiner.com

Facebook: The Real Thing Diner