Dirty Bones – Kensingtons Hottest Dog
I love Kensington. It’s where I dream about living when I’m rolling in dosh purely so I can shop whenever I fancy at Wholefoods. Aside from that it houses several little kooky noshing gems one of which I have now discovered as Dirty Bones the late night posh hotdog diner.
I have to admit we walked passed the entrance several times without clicking that this was our destination. The restaurant has no name-tag just a funky Dirty Bones sign, hipster! The entrance looked like a 24 hour taxi booth and a late night bar hybrid which had us pretty intrigued before we’d even set foot inside. Upon entering we were greeted and directed down a neon tile paved staircase into the den below.
The bar/greeting room was cozy with a retro decor, the waiting table had been 
replaced by a funky pinball machine and the dim lighting gave a trendy grungy feel. However round a hidden corner the restaurant opened out into numerous tables, a DJ booth and some seriously cushy seats. After being seated we were assigned a waitress who was seriously cool. It was apparent from her recommendations she really knew the menu and the four of us went for an eclectic selection. BBQ ribs, lemon dusted fried chicken and two of their ‘dawgs’ a Asian and a Mexican (walked into a bar…..), plus some triple cooked fries and spiced corn.
After being given sharing plates and a load of extra candles to brighten up the ambiently lit table, the food was out in jiffy. The ribs literally fell of the bone, and when teamed with a little of their BBQ marshmellow sauce (yea as good as it sounds) was lush. The chips wee thin and really crispy which ticked the triple cooked chip box! However for some reason they 
were served in white paper bags which didn’t totally fit in with the presentation of the rest of the food, this didn’t effect the taste though! We chose a beef Asian dog (you could have beef, pork or veggie) topped with seaweed and wasabi mayo which gave our meal a refreshing twist. For the Mexican we opted for pork as it was smothered in pulled pork and jalapeños, subtlety spicy and yum.
Personally I think the best choice was the chicken. At first I was a little concerned as it was rather pink, but was assured it’s slow cooked which is lucky as it was really so beautifully tender and the batter was seasoned to perfection. The only thing to let the meal down was the corn which came in a tray and after a promising first taste we all agreed the mix of spices and bourbon tried a little too hard, we believed it may have been better as a rub on the cob. This was literally the only criticism we could find in Dirty Dog. The atmosphere was really buzzing and a hubub of chatter filled the restaurant.
Our cheery waitress was super helpful and we definitely had a bit of banter with her which topped off a ace dining experience, plus with the bill came a little note book in which you could write naughty……oh I mean totally appropriate messages to your peers. Guess which we chose.
A kooky place for tasty food or a post-work drink, Dirty Dog dismisses all snobbery associated with West London. I will gladly spread its name, but sssshhhhh it’s a little bit secret…….
20 Kensington Church St, Kensington, London W8 4EP
020 7920 6434
