Perhaps it’s our rapacious appetite for all things US pop culture, but I’ve always had a fond appreciation of American diners, and now the big cheese of cuisine Americana has firmly landed in Sydney.

Nighthawk Diner – yep, that popular burger-flippin’ food truck started by Alistair Fogg – is now bricks and mortar, and embodies the essence of the diner, though, pleasingly, with an Australian edge – the vast tinnie selection is all produced Down Under – and the food for the most part is fantastic.

You can sit on high-backed stools at the counter and watch the kitchen team, or take a seat at the banquette running along the exposed-brick wall and floor-to-ceiling windows where hanging baskets trail their greenery. If it’s not at a festival, the Nighthawk food truck shares the space, too.

The menu focuses on burgers and sandwiches – including a Philly cheesesteak and Miami Cuban – along with tacos. A soft hoagie-style bun hosts juicy buttermilk fried chicken, fried jalapeños, iceberg and a smoky barbecue sauce. There’s a double cheeseburger, but unless you have a defibrillator handy, opt for the more modest junior burger – a beef brisket patty with sweet pickles, American cheese and the signature Nighthawk sauce on a soft bun.

Tacos come in four varieties – beef, pork, eggplant and broccoli (where’s the fish taco?) – with the pulled pork crowned in apple slaw, pineapple and a salsa verde, and beef brisket topped with red salsa and smoked provolone the winners. Nachos in a bag – a small bag of Doritos, liquid cheese and salsa – falls into the naff category. The kitchen makes corn chips, so why not make decent nachos?

As so often with Americana, you may feel the urge to overconsume, so when it comes to dessert like chocolate cherry pie with rocky road ice-cream and pastry cigars, it might pay to share.