Firstly, a little correction - this branch isn't open 24 hours, but it usually closes - depending…read moreon the day of the week - at 2 or 3 in the morning, so for the purposes of most hungry night-owls, it's as near as doesn't matter.
The first thing that strikes you about this American-style diner is, well, its American-style. Anyone who's been to a Hollywood Johnny Rockets will know what kind of thing to expect, with burgers and milkshakes galore.
But what stands out most about this place is the fact that in keeping with the Hollywood theme, to match the celebrity photos on the wall - many of the stars posing with the restaurant chain's founder - and pop videos screaming out from the big screens, each of the dishes and drinks is named after a movie - often so tentatively, that you can't work out what it is.
There are the obvious China Town for the Chinese section of the menu, Italian Job for the pasta dishes and Once Upon a Time in Mexico for the burritos, and the dessert menu features the Waffle Monty (say it out aloud!) while the menu also features a Licence to Grill area and the Basic Drinks tinct (you get the idea!). But it's the milkshake menu - where the joke wears rather thin, with the word shake being clumsily shoehorned in to everything from Gladi-shaker and Shakes on a Plane to Shakes-orcist and Buffy the Vampire Shake-er.
It's bright and noisy, and unless you get a booth, you'll be perched on a high bench, with your food on a table so small and round that it's not particular ideal for a date scenario, but sometimes, by the time the movie's over or you've finished your romantic walk on the Heath, there's no-where else open.
Given that Tinseltown largely has a captive audience as there's literally no-where else in Hampstead to start a sit-down meal after 10pm (correct me if I'm wrong), it doesn't really matter whether the food is any good, as whatever it is, for a hungry post-pub audience, it's better than nothing, but it's more than up to the challenge. The menu is varied, the portions are generous, the prices reasonable and the service is friendly.
