This place seems to be getting a bit of a beating, so I'll try and level up the playing field somewhat with my experience of Coast 2 Coast...
So, this place popped up last year (I believe) and dominates one of the big glass buildings towards the Brindley Place side of Broad Street. The building always seems to be pretty clean (which is unusual for Broad Street) and is well signed, so you'll spot it if you are heading here.
I had wanted to go when it first opened, but as I always say "too many restaurants, not enough meals in the day". I joined their mailing list to keep an eye on what's going on and received a voucher for a free main course on my birthday. This seemed as good a reason as any to take a trip down and try it out.
We made a reservation through their super easy online booking and rocked up of an eve to see what was in store at this posher-than-average Americana style bar and diner. First thing to note is that if you're a fan of Frankie and Benny's, you're probably going to love this place. It has a similar sense of decor and menu, whilst being a tad more new and independent (although there are now quite a few branches across the UK).
The voucher I had received has stated "one free main course". Now, this isn't my first rodeo and I was expecting a lot of stipulations, but no! I was informed by the helpful and polite waitress (who was training) that I could have anything I wanted off the menu! Result! I opted for the second most expensive steak (the most expensive was off the menu) and some sides. We also both ordered a cocktail to accompany our meal.
The steak was pretty damn good, actually. Well cooked and served with nice fries. It certainly wasn't the BEST steak I have ever eaten, but I didn't have any complaints about it. We even got an apology for our food being late (it was about 6:30 on a busy Friday night), but we hadn't noticed any delay at all...
The dessert bit was strange. We were pretty full and weren't sure if we would fit in a sweet, so a peruse of the menu would have been nice. Our waitress informed us that there WASN'T a menu and proceeded to tell us what was on that night. Now, I get that this must be a bit of a skill is the menu changes regularly... But A) I want to see what's IN the desserts B) I want to know the Price of the desserts and C) How am I supposed to remember a massive list?! By the time she got to the end I had totally forgotten what she had said at the start and we gave up and opted not to bother. This was a shame really as we might have stayed for another course if we could have physically read and seen the menu. **NOTE - This was March last year and could well have changed**
Our bill was higher than you might have thought (with Dan's burger coming in at £15 - a little on the high side really), but we were looked after and the food was good. Now, I would give this place more like 3.5 stars, but looking at some of the poorer reviews it has received, I have bumped it up to 4.
I hope to go back soon and see if the dessert menu policy has changed and if it's deserving of that star based generosity... read more