The Tube Diner - Bristol Food Review
Posted on: 2017-03-14
Our rating:
Hearty American comfort food at its best
If you haven’t heard of Paintworks you probably haven’t heard of The Tube Diner on Bath Road. It’s situated within Paintworks, a collection of working studios and loft apartments as well as a space for events and exhibitions. It’s easily missed and I have driven past it many a time and not given it much thought but I’m so glad I took a turning off the main road and ventured into this little wonderland.
The Tube Diner has been around for 6 years and is owned by Charlie, also head chef, and his wife. The 'tube' itself hasn’t been changed from when Charlie bought it and has the original American interiors that hit you with a wave of nostalgia as you walk in. It doesn’t look like much from the outside but once you go in, much like Dr Who’s tardis, it is much bigger and brighter than you could have imagined. With the radio playing, cola bottle lamp shades hanging from the ceiling, and framed old newspaper cuttings, I felt like I really had stepped back into 1950s America and I loved it.
First things first and I had to have pancakes. If you go to an American diner you have to have pancakes right? There is a selection of toppings you can have but banana and toffee sounded unique so I went for that. They were even better than I expected. A stack of three perfectly cooked pancakes drenched in toffee sauce, lots of banana and vanilla ice cream; it was a dream. It was sweet but not too sickly and such a big plate, even though it was a child’s portion, it is an absolute bargain at around £4. The pancake toppings change often so you can’t possibly get bored of having them and Charlie tells me that when certain fruits come into season, like strawberries, they use these imaginatively as a topping and in the past have served strawberry & vanilla cream pancakes. I hope I can come back throughout each season and try every variety of pancakes they offer. The best thing is they don’t skimp on the toppings, because there’s nothing worse than getting a big stack of pancakes with five blueberries on top, or a tiny drizzle of maple syrup. If you have a big appetite you can even order a stack of six pancakes here, and it only costs £6.95!
Have you ever heard of a chilli dog hoagie? I hadn’t but I knew it was a famous American food so I put my trust in Charlie and hoped it would be worth it. Luckily it turned out to be more than worth it and I’m now a little bit obsessed with it. At The Tube Diner they use great quality ingredients so they put 74% pork frankfurters inside a brioche bun, top it with their signature beef chilli and a generous helping of cheese, cook it so that the cheese melts and serve it all with seasoned fries, salad and homemade coleslaw. Absolutely amazing. I needn’t have been apprehensive because it was delicious comfort food at its best. The homemade beef chilli was so tasty and combined with the bun and melted cheese it was foodie heaven. You can get jalapeños on top if you can handle spice, or like me you can ask for it without them and it won’t compromise on taste at all. The seasoned fries were crispy but not greasy, and so moreish.
If you need anymore comfort in the form of food you will love the dirty fries they serve with their own 16 hour slow-roasted pulled pork and melted cheese. Again, plenty of topping, a generous portion and the sweet pulled pork was divine. Your taste buds can tell it’s fresh, homemade, quality food, and that’s why The Tube Diner serves up to 150 people a day in a quiet isolated part of Bristol. It’s no wonder it is doing so well and people come back for more every day on their lunch breaks.
On a sunny day it’s delightful to have the sun streaming into the diner, be able to look out the window at your food being cooked opposite, and have the choice of sitting outside too. Good quality, fresh, mouth-watering American food is hard to come by in Bristol but The Tube Diner offers all this with super friendly service too. Make sure you take that turning off Bath Road next time and delve into this American dream.
Atmosphere 5
Value 5
Food 5
Service 5
Address: Paintworks Event Space, Bath Road, Brislington, Bristol BS4 3EH. Check out The Tube Diner on Paintwork's website here and find them on Facebook.
Article by:
Born in Bath, Safia has lived on the outskirts of the city her whole life and is the Editor of 365bath.com. After studying journalism in Bristol she now spends a lot of her time searching for new foodie delights in both cities and finding new things to do. You're most likely to find her sipping a soya latte in a lovely little independent cafe!
