The Diner At Chapman’s Bar

In my quest to be first to review, I stumbled upon this place on Unilocal nearby search, albeit for a previous incarnation from 2012.
On first impressions of finding Chapmans pub, it certainly does not give off any country pub kerb appeal whatsoever. Quite a run down exterior in fact & we were unable to clearly see where the entrance was, until we spotted staff unloading her car and she kindly pointed us to the bar, as the main restaurant was not open yet.
So, we proceeded into the bar & it was like a flashback to being in a Still Game episode based in the Clansman! Superbly friendly bar staff and one other couple in with a child at the time. Having seen the dining room post meal, it’s a shame we didn’t arrive later to experience it, as it is a stark interior contrast. The main pub having that ‘old smell and feel’ to it, whilst the dining room exudes the vision of the diner, wanting to have it match it’s vision to it’s food.
We stuck with just ordering one course. Fi went for Chicken Strips with curly fries and I went for a BBQ chicken wrap with fries. Fairly inexpensive at a fiver per dish. Only thing that let it down, was that the kitchen wasn’t prepped for lunch service & it was a near on 35 – 40 minute wait before we got our lunch. Apologetic enough & at no point did we feel ready to walk out.
Probably picked a day when things were not going their way, so I cannot in all consciousness, give a bad review for that — happens to us all!
I didn’t hold out much hope for quality, fearing it was being defrosted and popped in the fryer. Okay, I was wrong. The chicken was not frozen on either dishes & in fact, cooked fresh and seasoned accordingly. My wrap was covered in foil to retain it’s heat & the fresh homemade salsa in the wrap, was delicious as was the chicken on both dishes. Fries were bought in frozen, but I cannot fault them. Well cooked, crispy & full of flavour.
Spoke to one of the chefs who runs this diner & she explained how everything is done from scratch, bar the fries. I have to admire this place. From having a negative preconceived view on it’s look and interior, I was totally won over by the care to make food fresh.
The potential is there for this place to establish a great reputation. Sadly, to do that requires heavy investment to freshen up it’s appearance and get marketing itself to the local residents, to which there are an abundance of that probably don’t know of its existence.
I’ll be back at some point no doubt, so if you feel like dismissing this place… please don’t. Give it a chance & over time it will flourish.
You Gotta Eat Here — For Sure! :-D