By Danny Sherwood

A YEAR on after a kitchen fire halted the thriving Mom’s Diner in its tracks, Wycombe’s down-to-earth, English take on an American Diner is back in business and here to stay.

After much hard work from its owners, Mom’s on Queens Square has recently reopened its doors and is getting back to full strength.

The menu currently includes an impressive range of burgers with sides, American pancakes, waffles, shakes and a 72oz sirloin steak.

Last November, the diner had been picking up steam and after almost two years of trading had become a popular eatery with a wide range of home-cooked food and regular music nights.

Then disaster hit - a kitchen fire forced owners the Iqbal brothers to close the restaurant.

Beleaguered with insurance and other difficulties, it took almost a year to rebuild and reopen.

And despite currently running limited opening hours and menu options, the dedicated team intend to restore Mom's Diner to its former glory.

When we entered, we were greeted with a smile, and offered a table of our choice.

The diner is decorated in red and white, with artwork and photos on the walls of customers enjoying themselves. Everything about Mom's feels simple and welcoming, as a diner should be.

We started our meal with two milkshakes, one Snickers flavour, the other Ferrero Rocher with added Nutella (£2.99 each).

These were not as thick as an authentic American shake, but were a sweet, rich and very enjoyable chocolate-product-turned-drink, almost a meal in themselves.

Mom’s infamous steak challenge sees competitors aim to devour a 72oz sirloin steak along with sides of fries, coleslaw, green salad and a bread roll in an hour, with winners getting their photos on the wall and the food for free.

However, being a Tuesday lunchtime, we opted for a less ambitious menu. A plate of nachos to share (£6.98) was a tasty, if fairly standard, starter and it is evident Mom's is not yet producing everything in house as before, though this is set to change.

The chips were topped with jalapenos, cheese, cream and an English-style, home-made beef chilli with kidney beans. Unfortunately, the pre-bought guacamole bore only a limited resemblance to a homemade version.

In honour of Movember, Mom's Diner has created a pulled beef sandwich of brisket braised for 45 hours before being smoked (£6.99, of which £1 goes to the Movember charity).

In the spirit of creating everything from scratch, the chef even built his own smoker especially for the brisket.

The sandwich itself is served English style, with creamed horseradish and sliced tomatoes. This fusion works very well, creating a soft and luxurious sandwich with a lot of depth of flavour.

My only criticism would be that I would have liked an American-style over-sized portion of meat in mine.

We also ordered a New York Cheese Burger, served with bacon, mushrooms, onion rings and, of course, cheese.

The burger itself was very well put together, with the patty just pink, and the bun soft and floury.

While focusing a lot of attention on the mains, Mom's haven't quite got to grips with the sides. The Cajun fries were pre-bought. While they were perfectly edible, only the large portion justified the £2.59 price tag.

The coleslaw was homemade, which is always good, but the vegetables got a little lost in a pool of frothy, liquid mayonnaise (£1.99).

Since Mom's Diner closed, Wycombe's American food scene has expanded, with the opening of BBQ restaurant Bluegrass.

But the two eateries offer very different experiences. Bluegrass is a restaurant, aiming to authentically recreate American BBQ dishes, while Mom's is a diner, offering a cheaper, more casual and English approach to American-influenced food.

Mom’s is currently open from 11am to 6pm Sunday to Wednesday and 11am until 9pm Thursday to Saturday, with a plan to extend these hours soon.

While not yet running at full steam, Mom's Diner is back, and is a great choice for big flavours and a welcoming atmosphere.