Tinseltown

I agree with many of the other points made earlier. The food isn't Michelin star quality, but basically for us Muslims it is a trade-off really. Yes the burgers may not be as tasty and gourmet as some non-Halal establishments, but considering they are halal, Muslims continue to go there as there aren't too many alternatives. The young fun atmosphere, as well as the milkshakes (Oreo is best!) seem to make it all worthwhile. The service isn't great, that indeed is true, but I find management more than pleasant if you have some sort of a query to raise.

Plus - when it's someone's birthday and they have a dedicated Tinseltown video clip on display, as tacky as it is, there is something fun about it too.

And to answer the review earlier regarding having their burgers "rare", "medium/rare" etc, the reason all burgers are "well done" here is because they're for Muslims the meat cannot contain blood in it. Everything has to be well cooked. So if you are after a choice in how you want your meat cooked, I would certainly not choose a halal establishment!
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FoodJunkie - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 8
Thursday, August 28, 2008

AVOID! Customer service & care is the worst I've ever experienced.

I went here for the first time today with my girlfriend but was refused the intimacy of a booth because as the manager told us he was hoping to fill booths up with more lucrative groups so they were reserved in case any turned up. This was despite the fact that they were alll empty as was the near deserted restaurant.

At Tinseltown, the customer comes last, the money first... I won't be going there ever again and shall ensure no-one i know wants to either!
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motorcycle_boy
Overall rating
Food 0 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 0 | Value for money 0
Thursday, August 14, 2008

This place was so good I don't know what restaurant you lot went to. It was the best burger place I ever went to and its halal, their burgers were so big. They were great, but the service was not that good. The manager had to come to our table and said sorry to us and give us some free drinks but overall I think this is a great restaurant. So I don't know what you lot are on about!
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Bob Marley
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 4
Thursday, July 10, 2008

It's got to be one of the strangest restaurants I've ever been to. Everything on the menu is very "American diner", but the actual food is very standard frozen kebab-shop fare. Basically, it's a kebab shop dressed up as an American diner. And they have milkshakes. Which actually weren't too bad, but were extremely small portions (about 1/3 a typical American milkshake) and very overpriced (£3.50-£3.99).

Service was kind of poor, too. They made an effort to be responsive, but they were just incompetent (brought wrong coffee, offered to fix it but brought it incorrectly again). Door/greeting staff wasn't very friendly, either.

Best American diner in Europe is probably a placed called "Breakfast In America" in Paris, ironically enough.
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Ryan
Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 4 | Atmosphere 3 | Value for money 1
Sunday, May 25, 2008

My god. I've been to Tinseltown and I'm absolutely stunned at the lousy service, poor quality food and terrible milkshakes. Variety doesn't equal excellence (though I suppose most are impressed by the lengthy milkshake list). Burgers still frozen in the middle and mustering all the flavour of hockeypucks; limp, sorry-looking fries. All of our food was served at different times, with a good 20 minutes from first person to last person being served. So bad it's hilarious. Want to hear the punchline? Apparently they're opening in America. They'll be laughed right out of town. Ho. Ho. Ho.
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The Queen Crab - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 0 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 0 | Value for money 0
Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Do not touch this restaurant with a bargepole if you appreciate quality food and care what you put in your mouth. How a self-styled American diner serve up pre-packed burgers and frozen chips beggars belief.

It doesn't come close to matching either the experience, service, ambience or food credentials of the likes of the Eagle Diner in Rathbone Place or the Diner in Curtain Road Shoreditch.

In fact, you'd be better off going to Iceland (without Kerry Katona) buying the same stuff and then go home, horribly overcook it, play MTV ridiculously loudly and then throw everything on your plate and the contents of your wallet in the bin.

OK, so it's open 24 hours a day. Big deal. That just gives them the opportunity to disappoint customers round the clock.

Avoid at all costs. You have been warned.
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andy Palmer - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 3 | Value for money 1
Monday, April 21, 2008

As my son is going away I got family together for a meal and on someone's recommendation went to Tinseltown in Farringdon. A few of us went down to get a table and we were told by a 'beefy' doorman that we had to wait for the rest of our party to arrive (as they were in taxis). So there we were outside on what proved to be a somewhat chilly night in April. Talk about service and we hadn't even entered the diner. Eventually our entire party went in and we were shown to an overly lit booth and given menus which had seen better days. My husband took the browsing menu opportunity to visit the 'dirty' toilets and while doing what men do, was gaped upon a young asian female who on walking into the wrong toilet, made no effort to leave!!! Back to the table and milk shake fever took hold, however, we declined the meals as there was no option but halal meat which was against all our beliefs. Waiting for shakes, we were invaded by groups of young asian and arabic males (some of whom looked like they had descended from a bollywood version of the Godfather) and quite honestly felt quite the minority, halal menu only and raucous young men, at least the shakes might fend off the pervading blues. The waitress carried over the paltry, plastic disposable contained shakes. It was all going downhill fast and we couldn't wait to get away. Bad presentation, yob culture atmosphere, gestapo like lighting, female voyeurs and intimidating doormen. This really is a place to avoid if you just want a pleasant family meal.
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Overall rating
Food 0 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 0 | Value for money 0
Sunday, April 06, 2008

In response to some of the comments made about tinseltown, everyone knows that tinseltowns food has gone down hill and its not the best place to eat, (but certain things on the menu are still nice) that is why the regular people know that you only go there when you want their excellent milkshakes, or you want to munch after a nite out clubbing. Try their mint aero or oreo cookie milkshakes!
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emma
Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 4 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 4
Saturday, March 01, 2008

TINSELTOWN - Hampstead

I have been a fan of your website for some time, and while I have been happy to use it for advice and tips on where to eat, I have never felt compelled to post a review. Until now.

Let me say from the outset that I am very happy to pay for good food and good service, and while I complained numerous times during this meal, I did not enjoy making a pain of myself.

So to the review: simply the worst American meal I can remember. What was wrong with Tinseltown in Hampstead? What was right more to the point.

The menus were all falling apart and looked 20 years old.

My wife informed me that the ladies' toilets were quote, "not at all pleasant".

The restaurant was so cold, we had to ask for the air conditioning to be turned down.

There was a large screen playing VH1 on it - but I did not want to hear about the latest expensive homes in Santa Barabra any more than I wanted to sit in an igloo of a restaurant. So after we asked for the air con to be turned down, we then asked for the same treatment for the TV.

Then the food. We all ordered burgers. I like mine medium rare, my wife medium, and my mate rare. Forget that. We were informed by the friendly waitress that it was well-done, and only well-done. Frankly, if I am paying for a hamburger, I usually like to have it cooked the way I want it. But we let that go and waited for our food.

When it arrived, I can safely state that I have never seen 6 (for some reason we each got two) burgers looking more like cheap school dinner pieces of meat. They were dry, they were burnt, and frankly they looked inedible. Imagine a familiar brand of mass produced food, you know the one, white bearded gentleman on the box, literally rock hard and burnt to a cinder. Simply not on for more than £7 a portion.

I knew immediately they were not freshly made on the premises. So I asked our waitress to find out from the chef, were they freshly cooked. She came back with the answer "yes". We were incredulous. What I should have asked, which I did after our first bite, was were they "freshly made on the premises?" Of course then the answer came back "no".

What sort of an American style burger restaurant brings in pre-prepared burgers that are simply thrown on a flaming grill?

As the waitress cleared our almost untouched plates, I complained once more. Her reaction was to agree, saying the burgers were indeed "not very good". At this point I told the manager we would not be paying for our main courses. His reaction? Not even a struggle or an eyebrow raised - we all sensed he had been in this position before.

The only plus point - and to be fair, it was a big plus - were the milkshakes. Oreo cookie was delicious. Just such a shame that a local restaurant was so astoundingly poor in the food it served. You've guessed, we won't be going back.
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Overall rating
Food 0 | Service 4 | Atmosphere 3 | Value for money 1
Thursday, February 28, 2008

As a person who only eats Halal/Kosher meat, Tinsel town is kind of the only options for this kind of place in the city. I must admit, when I first went there I loved it because it was something new for me, and friends. But as time has gone by the standards of the food has gone downhill.

I do still go there once in a blue moon, just to be forgiving and to give it another chance. Certain things on the menu are not bad and the portions are big enough to share, so that makes it all cheaper. It is a fun place to go with friends, even though it seems to be turning more and more ‘chav’ now, which is a put off...

Basically, it is a decent place to go for halalians when it’s not full of chavvy kids and if they are having a good day in the kitchen... So it is a risk based decision!
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Lina
Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 4 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 5
Thursday, February 28, 2008