Tinseltown is a halal American-style diner that sells exactly what you would expect: hot dogs, burgers, other grilled meats and milkshakes.
The diner doesn't follow the American tradition of bottomless sodas, and although I didn't check for bottomless coffee I assume that's the same deal. It's also worth highlighting that the milkshakes aren't your traditional American shake; instead they're more in the style of Shakeaway/Shakeout. You choose a chocolate bar or item of confectionary and they put it in a blender with some milk and icecream. The twist on the formula works: I greatly enjoyed my peanut M&M milkshake. The cost of the basic shake is around £3.50, which is about what you'd pay at the milkshake place on the other side of town, so that seemed reasonable.
The burger I had was one with Swiss cheese and barbecue sauce, and it was good. The beef patties were thinner than I've had in other places but they tasted nice. I avoided the bacon, since it's made from cow meat instead of pig meat (due to the halal nature of the place). I also quite enjoyed the chips, and there was ketchup, barbecue and peri-peri sauce on the table to accompany them. The burger was around £9, which I regarded as a little expensive for what you get: the burgers at Wetherspoons are nicer for a little over half the cost.
When it came to pudding the prices were astronomical. A waffle with nutella and icecream was £6, which I regard as too much money for what is a very cheap dish. Unfortunately, the cheesecakes and other desserts were in the same price range, which bewildered me - you can get exactly the same sort of food for half the price at other restaurants in Leicester, so I don't feel that £6 is a reasonable cost.
When it came to service, I thought the staff did well handling the needs of a big and awkward group. Having said that, it did take ages for card payments to go through and at least two people had to input PINs twice due to the card machine's foibles. All in all, this is the sort of place that I would visit if someone suggested it but probably wouldn't seek out myself. read more