Splat. I was only seconds into my meal at Mollie’s and I’d already made a real mess of my trousers.
It was a schoolboy error and entirely my fault. Rather than popping the pepperoni fried olives straight into my mouth, I bit into one just to see what was inside.
I was just curious to see exactly why these tasty nibbles were so damn tasty. The result, however, was a spurt of reddish oil all over the thigh area of my light khaki chinos. Oh dear.
But it was worth the embarrassment and extra washing as these gobstopper-size ‘Martini’ olives are easily the most delicious thing I’ve put in my mouth for months. Stuffed with cream cheese and pepperoni before being coated in crunchy panko breadcrumbs and deep-fried, these irresistible nibbles (£5.50) are new on the menu at Mollie’s, the motel diner on the edge of Cribbs Causeway and worth the journey on their own.
I’ve been a huge fan of Mollie’s since it opened four years ago. As somebody who hates shopping, it has always been the highlight of a family trip to the Mall – the only thing to look forward to after traipsing around endless shops with a smouldering bank card.
Located on the roundabout that takes traffic up to The Mall, near all the posh car dealerships, it’s based on those classic American diners of old. The restaurant, which has plenty of parking and EV charging points, has an unmissable neon red sign outside and is light, spacious and airy within – fans of Grease and Happy Days would love it.
The bar and fully open kitchen runs down the entire length of the room, the chefs looking out across the Formica tables and blue leather booth seating, separated by retro ribbed glass partitions. There are red plastic tomato-shaped ketchup dispensers on the tables, side lights and useful points to recharge your phone.
Open all day, breakfast (served from 6.30am) is very popular here due to its position close to the motorway. Breakfast offerings include a full English (£13), a £7 breakfast bun (egg, bacon, avocado and sauce) and a pancake stack with blueberries, maple syrup, fresh cream, berries, yoghurt and granola for £8.50.
Served from noon through to the evening, the all-day menu includes burgers, sandwiches, salads, chicken dishes, steak and loaded fries. New dishes include a chicken bun (citrus buttermilk fried chicken, iceberg, ranch dressing, jalapeño mayo in a brioche bun) and a deli meat sub (a warm sub sandwich with salami, pepperoni, chorizo, red pepper mayo, rocket and tomato).
After those incredible pepperoni fried olives, I had the new Mollie’s burger, The New Yorker (£14). Apparently, it’s inspired by burgers served in New York’s steak house restaurants and it’s served with a pot of steak sauce for dipping.
Inside the soft, brioche-like bun, there were two juicy beef patties, melting American cheese, a punchy chimichurri mayo, fruity house relish and crunchy pickles. It was a proper messy burger – juices ran down my fingers – and perfect in every way, a burger against which others will be judged the rest of this year and possibly next.
The accompanying skinny fries (£4) were hot, salty and crisp on the edges. They made for perfect dipping into the rich steak sauce.
I followed that with the retro lemon meringue pie (£6.50). It was an enormous portion – a deep dome of light, fluffy, sticky meringue on top of a thin layer of zesty lemon curd and a crumbly, buttery pastry base.
It was good to be back at Mollie’s and the new menu features plenty of interesting dishes worth a return visit. The food is fairly priced and the service is spot on – it’s just a shame I had to leave rather than walk across the car park to one of the bedrooms and sleep it off before breakfast back in the diner. I’ll plan things better next time – and I’ll leave my best trousers at home, too.
Mollie’s Motel and Diner, A4018, Cribbs Causeway, Bristol, BS10 7TL. Tel: 0117 3747740. mollies.com