Review: Mollie's Diner, Oxfordshire, shakes it up with retro US style

Its vivid red neon sign beckons drivers from the twisting A420 between Oxford and Swindon to a different world – one of high quality comfort food served by cheerful staff in classy, minimal surroundings.

And while the diner among the trees may feel more like Oregon than Oxfordshire it is one of the county’s best-loved, if more eccentric, culinary destinations – attracting passers-by in search of something better than mass-produced fast food or petrol station pasties, and dedicated fans for whom Mollie’s is a destination in its own right.

And any place that can pull in people 15 miles out of town for burgers, hotdogs and shakes, just has to be worth investigating.

Mollie's at Buckland. Pictures by Tim Hughes

Opened by Nick Jones and the team behind Soho House, the transformed former Little Chef near Buckland is a world away from the celeb hangout of its sibling Soho Farmhouse at the other end of the county, though still radiates cool and its founders’ attention to detail and love of great design.

While it is no longer under the Soho House umbrella, it has stuck to its original principles, which Nick told me when it opened four years ago was all about: “reinventing the British roadside experience... with affordable style for everyone to eat, drink and sleep over”.

That means great breakfasts, high end burgers, hotdogs, salads, chicken, ribs and steaks. It also means shakes, freshly-pressed juices and predictably excellent coffee are joined on the drinks list by extravagant cocktails (and mocktails), craft beer and wine.

The motel, across the car park is equally slick – simply stylish with polished oak and Conran-designed furniture – and with a funky lounge/ work space with snacks and drinks available from a little General Store and space to chill with board games among the potted plants.

The diner has moved subtly away from its funky early days when evenings saw club DJs spinning tunes from Technics decks, but the groove remains.

In a bid to keep things fresh, the menu has been jazzed up by newly appointed Head of Food, Kate Brooke-Green. And it was a mix of curiosity and a need for feel-good food that saw me herding the kids into car and heading in the direction of Faringdon with milkshakes on our minds.

It was a Saturday afternoon and busy, with its open kitchen buzzing – though the place is so light and airy it never feels crowded. We took a place in one of the booths which run in pairs the length of the room. They are cosy, intimate and spacious – allowing you to spread out and dream of California. It’s pure Pulp Fiction – but without the bungled armed robbery of course.

While the menu has been tweaked, it was good to see the signature classics remain – and that started with its crowning glories, the milkshakes. Served in retro soda fountain glasses, these beauties (£5.50) are perfect – generously proportioned, nicely flavoured without being too rich or sweet, and topped with whipped cream and either slices of fruit, chocolate sauce, or, in the case of the Oreo variety, the eponymous biscuit.

They are thick but not cloying and easily slurped up. All too easily. They are so good, and dangerously quick to drink that it is tempting to order another. Don’t. Not if you want to finish the rest of your meal. They are wonderful, but take it from one who has fallen to temptation: they are a meal in a glass and one is enough.

On the subject of liquid refreshment, a nice touch is that chilled sparkling water as well as still, is free and brought to the table in carafes or available for you to help yourself to from keg beer-style taps.

There are nibbles and small plates to begin, with buffalo wings, popcorn chicken and sweetcorn fritters rubbing shoulders with smoked salmon and shrimp cocktail (£6-£8), but fortified by milkshake we dived straight into the mains.

The burgers, dogs, grilled cheese and eggs (Benedict, Royale and Florentine) all sounded great, but it was the steaks that caught our eyes. A flat iron with Bernaise and fries (£16.50) was good value and well cooked, while the 10oz rib eye, served medium rare and also with fries, was outstanding. At £24 it wasn’t cheap but was more than worth splashing out on. Thick, exceptionally juicy, aromatic and heartmeltingly tender, it was one of the finest steaks I’ve had the pleasure to have been acquainted with for some time – better than many of the chewy cuts I’ve been faced with at pricier places back in Oxford.

It was so good I zoned out, though a huge spatchcock chicken with fries, creamy ‘slaw, fresh watercress and a little pot of smoky chipotle sauce (£16) also went down well and looked juicy and beautifully cooked. I had fancied a munch, in the interests of research, but its owner wouldn’t let me anywhere near it – which is always a good sign.

A classic dish of chicken and waffles (£14) was also devoured in solitary fashion. The buttermilk fried chicken was a crunchy looking boulder – crisp outside and tender within – and topped with a strip of (over-crisp) bacon and thick maple syrup. The verdict was a resounding thumbs up.

After that, there was no room for puds – of which there is a great choice. Though one of the kids couldn’t resist a second chocolate milkshake while I relaxed with a ‘Posh’ beer (£5.50 a pint) – made for Mollie’s by London’s Forest Road Brewery. It is smooth, drinkable and delicately hopped without any of the overbearing citrous sourness that mars far too many craft pale ales in my humble, and no doubt controversial, opinion.

It was a tremendous dinner, and while a little pricier than the more ubiquitous purveyors of American food, the exceptional quality makes it great value. Despite the name, Mollie’s is so much more than a diner; it’s a very good restaurant posing as a roadside eatery – and is well worth the trip.

THE FACTS:

MOLLIE’S DINER is on the A420 at Buckland, near Faringdon, a 20 minute drive from the centre of Oxford
BOOK at mollies.com, email oxfordshire@mollies.com or call 01367 707777
OPEN: 8am-10pm daily (drive-thru: noon-10pm)
BEST FOR: Crowd-pleasing American comfort food with great produce expertly cooked  
PRICE: A little pricier than the average roadside eatery but good value considering the quality. Small plates from £6 and mains from £10 including sides
DON’T MISS: The milkshakes are the best in the business. The spatchcock chicken is generous and delicious