Eating at Back in Time, Chelmsford

Where does one go to celebrate the special birthday of a loved family member? Fortunately, this time, the decision was taken out of my hands when, a few days back, thirteen of us descended on Back in Time, in Chelmsford, a place hitherto I was not even aware of, although it is located just up the road to where I once worked.

According to its website it is: “One of Chelmsford’s longest established theme restaurants, Back-Inn Time is a lively American Diner, promising good food and good times. Back-Inn Time’s relaxed atmosphere and mouth watering array of all-American favourites makes this a great place to bring the family or meet with friends. The menu is a journey across America, from South Western chicken, fillet steak, fajitas and Mexican chilli, to New York strip steaks, big ribs and a huge choice of personalised hamburgers. There’s an extensive and ever changing selection of specials where fish and vegetarian choices can always be found. Desserts just can’t be ignored at Back-Inn Time where they include American pancakes and New York style baked vanilla cheesecake. But if your appetite is just not up to the size of the portions, a doggy bag can be requested without embarrassment”.

Our table was booked for early evening and we stayed a good three hours and at no time did we feel rushed or ignored, as we did what people normally do in such circumstances – chat and catch up and enjoy each other’s company, and in cosy surroundings. I liked the ambience and the service. I was fascinated by the toy train going around the railway around the inside perimeter. The menu looked tempting for any liking the sort of food on offer, especially the steaks, but we chose to go for the Christmas set menu, which for £22 per head was good value, and with it came a lot of choice.

Moreover, there was plenty of it and, despite not eating since breakfast, I found I was too full up to finish. I loved the service including sensitive touches like making a fuss of the birthday girl and attending to the needs of this disabled man and individual requests. There was a decent children’s menu. The food was good and well presented; indeed some of it quite novel, especially the desserts, although not quite achieving the always looked for wow factor food wise, but then there was no complaint by the diners.

While I would normally opt against the one-hour drive needed to get from door to door, Back in Time is definitely a restaurant I happily recommend if looking for somewhere different, especially if one is enthused by the American theme, and it is on my list of places to return to. Food, ambience, service and value all score highly.