We recently booked a Saturday lunch at Charlie’s Diner with in The Brighton Metro, to check out the brand spanking new indoor playground and our opinion remains, we think this places is the bees knees with kids or when you have a family celebration or multiple tastes to cater. Plus they have some great value deals, like ‘Kids Eat Free’ on Monday and Tuesday’s and ‘Feed The Family’ Wednesday’s, where 2 Adults and 2 Kids can enjoy a buffet meal for just $75.

The decor here at Charlie’s? *Much* more on fleek than your average 1990’s Sizzler, in fact it’s quite a trendy place these days!

The kids get cups for bottomless soft drink or juice and the adults can order and pay for drinks direct from the QR code on the table – or if that’s not your thing, you are still welcome to head up to the bar.

Let’s get to what you all want to hear about though – the food! The buffet area is split into sections of Deli, Asian, Carvery, Kids and Pizza, International and of course Sweet. We talked the kids into trying a few new things and a few healthy things, before letting them loose at the well thought out Kids & Pizza section. Fair to say their eyes were falling out of their heads, jaws on the floor and I believe there was an actual happy dance when they found the sweets and self serve scoops.

The adults in our party all approached the buffet differently. I’m a bit of a roast / carvery fan my self and others were talking up the Asian cuisine offering and seafood (including fresh prawns!) Pace yourself you must – there are TONS of options. Also, if you’re someone who is a bit nervous about buffets and germs, especially in the last couple of years, don’t be! All of the food is tucked safely away behind shields, there are tongs galore, sanitiser everywhere and staff constantly refreshing the food. It definitely felt like a buffet done right.

Now lets talk buffet strategy. When something is delicious, do you go back for more of that or save room to try something else? Luckily the staff we so friendly, we didn’t feel rushed at all so we had time to do both! Hello stretchy pants – put those in your strategy for sure.

Before we get onto dessert, let me tell you about the kids entertainment – there is a fantastic, brand new little indoor soft playground in a play room just to the side of the main dining area. Additionally a second kids room that seemed to be for quiet time, perhaps for kids who are happy to sit and colour or bring along their own ipad etc. The quiet kids room is behind glass, providing peace of mind for both children and parents with line of sight back to the table.

Righto, DESSERT! I’m a huge sweet tooth, so it took all my willpower not to load every single thing from the Sweet sections onto my plate. It all looked so fun and amazing. The sticky date pudding was an absolute winner, the ice-cream bar was stocked full of flavours with loads of toppings to help yourself to AND yes we all managed to fit in a serve of fresh fruit.

It goes with out saying the kids loved choosing from a huge selection of desserts and lollies all laid our right before their popping little eyes!

If you want to head there without kids, the Beer Garden has also had a complete refresh and is a lovely spot to spend a date night or lazy Sunday afternoon with friends. Catch up in small or large groups, enjoy drinks, share plates and meals from the ala carte menu, live sport and happy hours.

I’m SO glad we went to check out Charlie’s Diner, it’s definitely an experience and has something for all tastebuds. Our tip? No need to eat much in the hours before you go and you will not need to eat for a long time afterwards!

For all of the opening hours and pricing check out www.brightonmetrohotel.com.au

Charlie’s Diner at Brighton Metro
466 Brighton Road, Brighton SA
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