Restaurants: Head for Filling Station if you are running on empty

THE Filling Station has long been an institution on the Royal Mile, serving up a great blend of classic American food and brightly coloured cocktails to tourists and locals alike.

So when it shut down recently for a refurbishment, there were no doubt a few raised eyebrows wondering exactly what was going to change.

Now, I'll confess that it had been a while since I last dined at The Filling Station, but even so both my companion and I were a little bemused as to what exactly had changed during it's recent closure.

The restaurant still embodies the classic American diner feel, from the grand polished wooden bar to the snug little booths in the dining area.

The walls are still festooned with licence plates, old gas station signs and the grills and hubcaps of classic American cars, while the jukebox still blasts out the sounds of classic rock, albeit a little too loudly at times.

The only thing missing was the good, ole' style, service-with-a-smile that Americans do so well, our waitress having perhaps misheard her instructions at training and instead perfected service with a scowl.

Still, the fact that it was fairly busy on a Monday night, including a large, extremely drunken hen party, may have had something to do with her demeanour.

A quick glance at the menu gave us some idea of what had changed, as it seemed more expansive than before, while losing none of it's transatlantic feel, with everything from spicy chicken wings and jalapeno poppers, deep-fried spicy peppers stuffed with sour cream in a breaded batter, to burgers, fajitas and the classic steak and eggs. With a well-stocked bar there was no shortage of beers, wines and spirits on offer, but this being an American diner experience I decided to go for something a little more traditional – the shake.

The menu promised a range of flavours, but a quick check with the bar narrowed that down considerably to just vanilla.

Any disappointment at the lack of flavours was more than compensated for by the big frothy drink that arrived, with a liberal scoop of ice cream topping it all off.

My friend opted to continue the theme and give up wine for the night to enjoy a classic glass bottle of coke, and with drinks in hand we started trying to make a choice from the gargantuan menu.

We decided to pass on starters, tempting though they were, in favour of saving some room for a desert, and with that in mind I opted not to try to devour an entire rack of ribs in BBQ sauce, or induce a heart attack with the slaughterhouse special giant double cheeseburger with bacon.

Instead I chose one of the recommended specials, the chicken Americano pizza, and after much consideration my friend decided she would try out the New York chicken. Quite what was New York about a spicy chicken breast covered in barbecue sauce, served up with onion rings, corn on the cob and french fries was never really explained, but whatever it was, it was certainly tasty.

As for my pizza, it definitely lived up to the tag of special. The light crispy base was topped with red onions, jalapenos and a great pizza sauce, and was covered with liberal slices of extra-fiery pepperoni and sizeable strips of fried chicken.

The flavours of both meals may have been far from subtle, but that's hardly what you expect from American cuisine. Instead, you get great-sized portions of extremely tasty food that may not do much for your cholesterol but will certainly put a smile on your face.

Indeed, so filling were the main courses that deserts, with titles like the waffle toffee, seemed almost too much, but in the interests of discovery we both opted to try them out.

After deciding we couldn't quite manage the over-the- top giant cookie sandwich, which came with brownies and ice cream, and sounded like it could satisfy a small village of chocolate-crazed children, I went for the lightest sounding desert, Eli's vanilla cheesecake.

Unable to resist chocolate for too long, my friend opted for the chocolate marble.

It was shame after such a great main that the deserts failed to live up to their descriptions, with the cheesecake being fairly stodgy and smothered with a sharp strawberry sauce that was just too sickly sweet.

The chocolate marble, too, was less than impressive, a big slice of chocolate cake with ice cream on the side and a chocolate sauce.

But with good prices and a great atmosphere, it was a small complaint and there is certainly no doubt that the Filling Station is an ideal place to go if your stomach is running on empty.

THE BILL
• 1 x New York chicken £11.25
• 1 x Chicken Americano Pizza £8.45
• 1 x House fries £2.55
• 1 x Chocolate marble £3.95
• 1 x Eli's vanilla cheesecake £3.95
• 1 x Classic milkshake £3.50
• 1 x Coca Cola £2.35
• 1 x Espresso £1.60
• 1 x Pot of tea £1.60
Total £39.20

Quality ***
Menu Choice ***
Surroundings ****
Service **
Value ****

• The Filling Station, 235 High Street, 0131-226 2488