[UK] Tinseltown - Leicester
Saturday, June 23, 2012
It was one of those nights where we had craving for some American dinner, which is not exactly calories-friendly. Well, as long as they are worth it, then the question would be 'why not?'. With a Hollywood theme setting as backdrop, Tinseltown pioneered the UK market specializing in premium quality milkshakes with a range containing chocolate bars, cakes to sweets. (Let those names come to mind, 'Mars', 'Snickers', 'Malteasers' etc)
Tinseltown advocates going directly to source for their meats, where they mature (age), cut, marinade and cure all served products, with each sauce and marinade created with their own unique recipes. We can certainly vouch for that..
But for now, let us return and focus on their 'to-die-for-milkshakes', yum!
The Ambassador
Ferrero Rocher, Oreo Cookies and ice cream milkshake topped with whipped cream.
Being one of Tinseltown's featured signature milkshakes, it would probably be a crime to miss this but it is literally diet-suicide. I do not dare imagine the calories packed in this glass, but every mouthful sucked through the straw was an orgasmic experience. The milkshake was smooth, rich and creamy with the cookie bits giving it an unique gritty texture. The blended bits of ferrero rocher chocolate balls coupled with oreo cookies (and did I forget to mention ice cream with whipped cream...) certainly sounded like a foolproof recipe bound to capture the hearts of diners anyway. Well, at least it did for us.
Verdict: 8.5/10
There was plenty of entertainment on the many plasma screens hang across the restaurant with MTV being the primary channel. It could however be requested for them to switch channel to the Euro 2012 shall there be enough diners who equally wish to do so!
There is no end to the number of portrait shots of celebrities hang on the wall, which presumably gives that extra 'X-factor' to the ambience.
A rather interesting touch to the usual sauces being provided. Rather than giving customers sachets or bottles of sauces, tomato ketchup, mustard and brown HP sauces were contained as shown above.
Smokey BBQ Cheese Melt Chicken-Zilla (£9.99 + £0.99 for added cheese)
10-12oz of pure marinated boneless chicken, with supposedly crispy skin.
It was a full chicken breast, and this main was really like what the menu suggested 'A big dish for a big appetite'. We decided to order just one main to see how is our stomach capacity, but this proved too much for us, especially after the glass of milkshake. The BBQ sauce that came with the chicken was one of its kind, which tasted very unique. You could taste the 'smokiness' of the BBQ sauce, in a way where it did not taste too saccharine nor 'syrupy'. It was smooth and rich in flavour. Basically it was all that we could have asked for. The boneless chicken breast was very tender and did not tasted dry despite being a flame-grilled dish.
The downside however was that the flavoursome sauce somewhat masked the cheese melts that was supposed to coat the surface of the chicken. It also failed to deliver the 'crispy skin' as stated on the menu, and it was not hard to imagine why considering the viscosity of the sauce.
The dish came with 2 regular sides, but we opted for 2 portions of chips instead and added 99p more for extra melted cheese. The chips tasted like how it should be, evenly well-fried and very crispy. It was pretty thoughtful for the kitchen staffs to actually serve the chips with cheese in a separate bowl to avoid it being a mess, definitely commendable.
There is no end to the number of portrait shots of celebrities hang on the wall, which presumably gives that extra 'X-factor' to the ambience.
Smokey BBQ Cheese Melt Chicken-Zilla (£9.99 + £0.99 for added cheese)
10-12oz of pure marinated boneless chicken, with supposedly crispy skin.
It was a full chicken breast, and this main was really like what the menu suggested 'A big dish for a big appetite'. We decided to order just one main to see how is our stomach capacity, but this proved too much for us, especially after the glass of milkshake. The BBQ sauce that came with the chicken was one of its kind, which tasted very unique. You could taste the 'smokiness' of the BBQ sauce, in a way where it did not taste too saccharine nor 'syrupy'. It was smooth and rich in flavour. Basically it was all that we could have asked for. The boneless chicken breast was very tender and did not tasted dry despite being a flame-grilled dish.
The downside however was that the flavoursome sauce somewhat masked the cheese melts that was supposed to coat the surface of the chicken. It also failed to deliver the 'crispy skin' as stated on the menu, and it was not hard to imagine why considering the viscosity of the sauce.
The dish came with 2 regular sides, but we opted for 2 portions of chips instead and added 99p more for extra melted cheese. The chips tasted like how it should be, evenly well-fried and very crispy. It was pretty thoughtful for the kitchen staffs to actually serve the chips with cheese in a separate bowl to avoid it being a mess, definitely commendable.
Verdict: 8.5/10
It was overall an enjoyable dinner and the portions certainly lived up to expectations of being an American meal. Price wise, it was slightly more expensive compared to what you might otherwise get elsewhere for possibly similar types of food, though portion size might also be reduced. As it is opened till late (1130am-2am from Sunday to Thursday and 1130am to 3.30am on Fridays and Saturdays), it would be a nice place to have some milkshakes late at night when those sinful cravings kick in.
Tinseltown has a couple of branches across UK, for more information for the one near you, please visit www.tinseltown.co.uk
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