Papa's American Diner

Papa's is one of the many places to eat in Darwen, but is quickly gaining a reputation as somewhere you can get good American food in a simple and welcoming environment, whilst not breaking the bank.

There's a great free car park pretty much opposite it, which is always nice. It's always a bit awkward when you want to go somewhere you've heard good things about, only to find there's nowhere nearby to park.

The frontage is relatively small, but inside there are several tables and booths, stretching back into the diner itself. It's not a 1950's soda-pop type diner, but more of an American style 'dive bar', with chunky wood battening, mounted hubcaps and lighting features made from bottles and glasses, as well as full sight lines into the action in the kitchen.

As we walk in, we are greeted at the main desk by a cheerful member of staff, who tells us to sit wherever we like and order at the till when ready. We opt for a booth towards the back of the restaurant as a birthday party is in full swing in the middle. The menus are more like take-out menus, but jam packed with all sorts of amazing sounding things from deep fried pizzas and chicken parmo, to a dedicated mac and cheese menu.

Whilst browsing the menu, we see a gigantic plate of chunky ribs covered in sauce taken out to the party table and placed in front of a stunned looking man, as the rest of the party gasp, laugh, and take photos.

We decide as the menu isn't structured formally with a starter, main, dessert etc, that we will both order a burger each, and ordered the Nutter Clucker and The Darrener respectively, and also a serving of Dressed Up Bacon Mac from the mac and cheese menu.

Now here's the interesting part which impressed me; despite the theming as an American diner/dive bar, and the setup of a small restaurant, the service I saw and heard in the kitchen was excellent. The team were checking timings of food with each other to make sure everything was prepared properly and in the right time frame, and I even heard discussion about whether the bechamel sauce was ready, and saw a chef taste it to make sure it was ok. That's a good thing. It's really nice to see a kitchen team with such slick operation, and genuine interest in the quality and taste of their products.

Before long, our meal came out, all together, presented in metal serving dishes, to further go with the American dive feel. I like that the paper lining of the dishes had trivia questions for you to uncover and quiz each other with as you progress in your meal. I was also really impressed that we were able to order root beer. So many American themed places never have root beer, and it really is an American diner staple!

I had to try the bacon mac and cheese before anything else, and it was absolutely amazing. The real deal, really well made and seasoned, and full of flavour and comforting melty cheese. I could've sat there any simply ate my way through the whole bowl, but needed to move onto the burger.

The fries were fresh, hot and crisp, perfect. The burgers were juicy and cooked perfectly. The barbecue sauce was really nice quality, and the soft brioche bun was the right choice too. Basically the food was really excellent.

The staff were friendly, cheerful, and helpful. They asked how we found the meal, if we enjoyed various elements of it, and when asked if we could have a take-away box to take home, were happy to suggest one of their foil boxes to keep our mac and cheese fresh.

The value was excellent, the quality of the food was excellent, the staff were excellent, and the atmosphere and venue was excellent. The website looks more geared to take-away or ordering online, but don't judge a book by its cover, because Papa's itself could very easily have a full on website, and full restaurant style and menus if it wanted to, because its that good. Seriously, give it a go.

We'll definitely be returning, because there's a lot of other things on that menu I'd like to try!


Papa's American Diner
193 Duckworth Street
Darwen
BB3 1AU
(01254) 777 977
www.papas-diner.co.uk