Ultimate Classic Rock critic Michael Gallucci rated "Tunnel of Love" as Dire Straits' 4th best song and said it contains Mark Knopfler's best guitar solo.

[2] Classic Rock critic Paul Rees rated it to be Dire Straits' 2nd best song, saying that it combines "Dylan's and Springsteen's biggest moments with Geordie grit.

[5] Dire Straits Additional musicians Two music videos exist for the song, one depicting Mark Knopfler, John Illsley and Pick Withers performing on a blank set, intercut with imagery and actors, most notably the "heroine" played by a young Leslie Ash relevant to the lyrics, the other featuring a larger band arrangement and telling the story of a couple escaping a group of soldiers who chase them from a funfair.

In 1980s concerts, Dire Straits played the central theme of The Animals' "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" during an extended instrumental introduction to the song, as Knopfler talked about that group's hometown of Newcastle.

[...] Later, as Knopfler walks alone through the 'carousel and the carnival arcades,' waiting for another night and another girl, he wraps his voice like a ratty old raincoat around Bittan's gently tinkling piano and the long guitar solo that ends the track.