Open Mon–Fri midday–midnight, Sat–Sun 11am–midnight
The style and crowd:
In celebration of the arrival of Christianity in Ireland, we headed down to Honky Tonk for some St Paddy’s Day feasting and drinking. ‘2 for 1 St Patrick’s Day cocktails’ on a sign outside hinted at the way to celebrate the life of old St Paddy in true Irish style, and a few revellers strewn across the bar were being entertained by the lively bar man, but other than that the place was pretty much empty, despite the enticing décor and atmosphere. We were led to the dining area (which seemed a shame as we might have preferred to stay in the livelier bar) and got comfy in our booth with some bottles of Brooklyn.
The food:
Presently, the waitress came over and told us about the menu as well as some home truths about her sex life, a quirk we actually rather appreciated. For the starter, I had the chicken quesadilla (£6.75) which consisted of flour tortillas stuffed with home smoked chicken, Applewood cheese, peppers and onions, served with fresh guacamole. Admittedly, I ordered them on my previous visit – they’re just so good! My eating companion, Jesse, had the nachos (£6.95) covered in cheddar and Applewood cheese, homemade guacamole, salsa and sour cream. This was an equally enormous and delicious starter and can be chickened or beefed for a small fee.
For the main, I thought I’d try the veggie option – the halloumi burger (£9.95) with roasted aubergine, peppers, flat mushroom, lettuce, tomato, burger sauce, grilled halloumi cheese and guacamole on a brioche bun, served with a side of rosemary fries. The generous portion of halloumi was undercooked because it was too thick, so I ended up leaving half of it.
Jesse’s choice was a lot better: the Honky Tonk Burger (£12.95), a 7oz of rare breed Longhorn beef, topped with cheese, bacon, caramelised onion, guacamole, salsa, baby gem lettuce, tomato and burger sauce, all in a brioche bun and served with a side of rosemary fries. He loved the burger and its accompaniments but found the brioche bun a little incongruous. In my opinion, Honky Tonk’s American burgers, although satisfying, are a little over-priced. The starters and sides are much more interesting.
The drinks:
We also tried the Argentinian Malbec on Jesse’s recommendation, which claimed to have ‘violet aromas and purity of raspberry and red fruit, with a kick of white pepper’. It was smooth but I felt it was lacking ‘kick’.
Though we enjoyed banter with the entertaining bar staff and most of the food was good, we felt there were probably more exciting places to celebrate the saint’s day.
