MOLLIE'S DINER (BRISTOL) - DECEMBER 2022

In 2019 Gordon Ramsay's 'Future Food Stars' aired which featured a challenge set in Mollie's Diner in Oxford. Ever since then it has been on the top of our list of places to visit. Following many trips myself, and a big road trip together in 2016 real American cuisine is one of our absolute favourites. There are many diners in the UK but most of them rely on fried food with fairly one-dimensional flavours and textures. 

Mollie's is currently only found in two locations - Bristol and Oxford. We heard from the staff that more branches are in the pipeline - surely a good sign that they are doing incredibly well. 

We were on our way back to Hampshire from a festival in Somerset in the first weekend of December where we'd served up our home-smoked chilli, and we had to stop somewhere to feed the baby (and change etc...). So, what better chance to finally get to Mollie's than by taking a different route via Bristol. We hadn't booked, but I popped my head in and asked if they could accommodate two adults and a little one - which of course they could.

The first impression you get of the diner is how well it has been kitted out. From the many electric car charging stations in the car park and the striking contemporary restaurant/hotel, to the impressive neon signage all round and the interior decor itself. It's a very very well thought out place. To the right as you walk in are some bar-styled seating, and as you go through the diner you see the gorgeously upholstered booths and modern tables and chairs. They haven't skimped at all on their furniture! 

As we sat down our waitress came over immediately and welcomed us to Millie's. In the 1 minute I had gone back to get the baby and Hayley there was already a high chair at our designated table - what a good first impression! The menu was the perfect size. Diners often only offer burgers, hot dogs and fries with some slightly boring sides. Here it took us right back to USA with some of the dishes you'd find at a typical diner - grilled cheese sandwiches, cobb salad, chilli dogs, chicken and waffles, mac & cheese etc, and sides like charred corn, sweet potato mash, tenderstem broccoli and avocado salad. 

We opted to start with our drinks which were a strawberry milkshake and homemade lemonade. They were absolutely ace. The milkshake was pretty much a full on strawberry sundae, and the lemonade was sweet, tart and fizzy. We loved them... so did little one :) 

We gave Five Guys another go…

The last time we tried FG was at Disneyland Paris. And we have to say, it was terrible! The food was fairly poor, but the service was the worst we’d ever experienced - but that’s DLP In general.
 

The menu is very simple! Burger, hot dog or cheese sandwich served with fries. We ordered a burger and a hot dog. we were fairly surprised at the price. The burger was £7.45 and the hot dog was £6.45. It’s worth mentioning that unless you order ‘toppers’ to go with your burger, it will literally be a patty in a bun. We went for tomato, onions, ketchup and pickles. We ordered the large fries to share. We wanted a strawberry milkshake, however they had run out of them. We ended up with a bottomless Diet Coke - a clever way of making a little more money, as we never have more than the one! Nando’s have that covered too 🙂
 

As we waited we watched the staff flipping burgers. As expected it was incredibly busy, so at any one time there were around 30 burger buns being prepared which was somewhat worrying that our burger would be cold by the time we got them.
 

We waited around 10 minutes for the food which wasn’t too bad considering the number of people waiting. One thing we noticed which stands out from the likes of McDonalds is that the seating and tables are well spaced and of decent quality - what you’d expect from an American diner. 

 The hot dog was pretty small given that it wasn’t cheap, although it was dense! Both came wrapped in foil which kept them nice and warm, and slightly steamed which makes for great fast food in our opinion. The sausage was lovely. Slightly smoky and salty. We ordered jalapeños which were spicy. Perfect! We did find the ‘squeezy cheese’ a little claggy, although it was a good flavour. We’d give it a strong 8/10, but the cost was more of a 5/10. The burger came with two patties. With the toppers in was probably a little tall to be considered a comfortable eat. Next time we’d go for a single patty. What we did enjoy was the way they were cooked. Slightly rare in the middle and seasoned well.   

Now….. the fries. The large portion was enough to feed a family of four! The other parts of the order were pretty small but with the fries it definitely became a full meal. They were served in what could only be described as a sack. They’re fried in peanut oil which created soft-in-the-middle but crispy fries. We loved them! And, you can add vinegar from the condiment station along with ketchup and Five Guys mayo.   

 Overall, it was a little expensive, but the food is of good quality, and the restaurant is a nice place to dine. We’re looking forward to trying the cheese sandwich!