Open Tue–Sat 6pm–midnight, Sun 6pm–10pm, private room available for hire
The style:
Hip basement hangout where the tunes come hard and fast throughout the night providing a soundtrack that’s matched by a buzzing vibe and a quality meat-laden menu. Style-wise think old school saloon with a modern twist – there’s a pinball machine, wooden floors, vintage tiles and dim lighting, with bric-a-brac lining the walls on randomly positioned shelves. Doors are manned by burly bouncers whose main job, presumably, is to reach out a padded hand to stop you falling down the darkly lit, cavernous stairs on your way in.
The crowd:
Loud and proud: shrinking violets need not apply. The overriding vibe of this restaurant-cum-mini-club is fun, good times and chatter, all in equal measure. We went on a Friday night when there was a better than average live singer tunefully delivering Adele and Katy Perry tracks. This went down well with the lively crowd, and in particular with the kids who’d come out with mum and dad for Friday dinner. I’ve not observed an X-Factor style fan club at a restaurant before, but there’s a first for everything.
The food:
The capital’s love for fast food pounds on with pace, and fittingly, Dirty Bones serves up classic hot dogs and typical American cuisine done impeccably well. With the recommendation of our friendly, enthusiastic waitress, we started with the Classic Yankee hot dog – sauerkraut in a light and airy toasted brioche bun, smothered in mustard and ketchup, which was far and away better than anything we tasted at our local fun fair, aged 16.
We followed that with delicious crispy fried chicken, succulent and tender, and delectable ribs in BBQ sauce made, intriguingly, with an injection of bourbon and marshmallows. So good was this sauce that there was talk at our table of downing it in shot form – all the flavour without the hangover (don’t worry, we thought better of it). Sweet pickles, the saltiest of padron peppers and a sizeable halloumi salad accompanied our mains.
By this point we were full to bursting, but, after a pathetic attempt to eschew our waitress’ coaxing, we succumbed to two ice cream desserts – one accompanied by a doughnut; the other by a melt-in-your-mouth chocolate cookie. We polished off the lot with relish.
The drinks:
Led astray yet again by our waitress, we tried The Littlest Hobo, essentially a gin-infused fruit juice, and the Mutt’s Nuts, a combination of bourbon, bitters and cinnamon and vanilla-infused maple syrup. Both were refreshingly drinkable and served as excellent pre-cursors to the soft-bodied and even more drinkable Malbec/Merlot we drank with our food.
Dirty Bones is a class act. There’s great service, great drinks, a vibrant atmosphere, and it’s unpretentious in its offering of simple but delicious food. They should have a cocktail on their menu called the Dog’s B********.
