DIRTY BONES: WELCOME TO THE HOOD

A new ‘premium’ hotdog spot has just landed in my hood and so naturally I had to check it out. They operate a lunchtime kiosk from 12-3pm and then open up the main restaurant from 6pm onwards.

The entrance / where hotdogs are served at lunchtime:

I trotted down with a friend the other eve to taste what Dirty Bones had to offer. Descending into the basement, you are greeted with a take on an old school hot dog diner. I personally loved the design: lots of brown, patterned walls, low hanging ceiling lamps of different shapes and sizes and  an impressive spread of random retro bits and pieces.

The bar

The main dining area

The menu has 5 hot dog options on offer and most of them are available in pork, beef and veggie and all come with American yellow mustard except the ‘Brit Dog’ which comes with English mustard. They also serve ‘bones’ which consist of chicken, ribs and steak dishes.

I don’t eat pork or beef, so veggie it was for me. The staff are knowledgable, professional and laid back and helped me out with my order. I settled on the ‘Asian’ which had kimchi purée, wasabi mayo, crispy seaweed and sesame slotted neatly in  a brioche style hot dog bun (£8.00):

I dug it. I just wished it was ever so slightly bigger and the wasabi mayo is rather subtle, so would have loved if they pumped this up a bit more.

Also, shared a side of triple cooked fries with my friend (£3.00):

Well let’s just say I won’t be sharing fries next time, the portions are small, so 1 each is advisable. They ain’t trying to go wild and inventive with their fries fare and that’s just fine by me, as they are perfectly cooked using real potatoes – none of that reconstituted powdery shit. You also need to try their ‘secret’ recipe  barbecue sauce – I just kept dunking those fries in – CRAZY TASTY!

Had the ‘Deputy Dog’ cocktail: El Jimador tequila, solerno, fresh mint and lime, ting (£8.00):

It was light and refreshing, exactly what I was craving at the time but too much ice detracted from the flavour somewhat.

Another room outback

This separate dining space, accessible through the main bar would be ideal for parties and even has its own bar area.

Sure, some may see Dirty Bones as jumping on the gourmet fast food bandwagon, brioche style bun and all but who seriously cares when the food, service and decor is kick ass?

I also got chatting with the guys who run this spot – both are entertaining and energetic and this attitude definitely informs the convivial spirit of this space. Kensington has many laudable qualities but boisterous and fun isn’t one of ’em. All I can say is, this place has been a long time coming and I can’t wait to hang out more at Dirty Bones.