Dirty Bones Soho — Restaurant in London

Dirty Bones Soho: A Yank Diner Does Soho with Savvy Dirty Bones Soho offers a lively slice of Americana right in the heart of town, and it manages to pull it off with a good dose of London charm. The atmosphere's got a proper buzz about it, the kind that suggests a good time is practically mandatory. Our waitress, Theresa, was an absolute gem. Friendly as you like and always on hand without being intrusive – a real credit to the place. On the drinks front, a simple water did the trick for some, but the PICKLEBACK was a curious and rather successful experiment – that briny pickle juice giving a cheeky kick after the bourbon. The Margarita was a solid effort too, well-balanced and refreshing. The starters set a playful tone. Those Corn Ribs were surprisingly good, all charred and sweet. But the Cheesy Truffle Fries? Utterly decadent, a proper indulgence. Then there were the CHEESEBURGER DUMPLINGS – a clever little invention, those gyoza packed with burger flavour and that signature sauce adding a nice bit of oomph. For mains, THE CLASSIC burger did exactly what it said on the tin – a top-notch double patty with all the right bits. No messing about, just a proper good burger. The CRISPY FRIED CHICKEN was another winner – seriously crispy skin and juicy meat, with those little shots of hot maple and cool ranch allowing for a bit of customisation. All in all, Dirty Bones Soho delivers a tasty and enjoyable experience. Theresa’s excellent service certainly added to the charm. If you're after some hearty American fare with a bit of Soho swagger, you could do far worse than paying them a visit. You'll likely leave feeling rather satisfied, and perhaps a little bit naughty. Nick...

My partner and I went over the weekend. We have been to the restaurant on Canarby St before which was fantastic so we had good expectations for the service and food.

We had booked for 8pm, but it took 15 minutes to get even seated. Whilst being seated, we were offered tap water to have whilst there was going to be a bit of a wait. There were 2 groups around at the same time so whilst the wait was slightly long, it wasn't unexpected and we were happy to wait.

Unfortunately, the tap water had been forgotten, and by 8:40 when we finally got the attention of one of the servers we were able to get this. Our drinks order wasn't taken until 8:50 and whilst I was trying to get our food ordered at the same time as our drinks due to it now being 50 minutes into our 90 minute table slot, the server ran off immediately and never even gave us the chance to order our food. Our drinks came at 9:05, and we got a food order in at the same time with the food coming at 9:15. The main my partner got was not what he ordered, which was disappointing, and after another 5 minutes it got replaced

The chicken, sauces and drinks we got were lovely and the reason we came back, I have nothing but the highest compliments for the bar and kitchen staff.

But the service we got was quite frankly the worst service we have ever gotten. The wait of 50 minutes to get a drinks order in, and seeing us get leapfrogged by groups that came after us, was frustrating at best. None of our servers could give us even a second to breathe before trying to get our food order in before sprinting away, or not giving us a single apology for the wrong food being sent and the wait or the service in general. I will never be...

With so many Dirty Bones locations, yet such mediocre food, it's hard to understand the appeal. This Soho location has the ambience of a dark cave, even in the day time with the massive front window open and exposing the dining room to the unmistakable din of nearby Piccadilly Circus. The small room the restaurant occupies is comfortable, albeit slightly odd (the bathroom is hidden behind a bookshelf and there's no signage. Without asking staff, there's no way to know where it is. What's the point?). The food, though, is a miss.

The Veggie Mac Daddy burger is £12; it's description on the menu has a trademark symbol, as I assume Dirty Bones gets cheaper stock if they mention the manufacturer. Good for them. It would be nice if that cost saving was passed on to the customer. It's a larger burger, I'll give them that, but it's inflated with mushrooms charred to the point of tasting so burnt I had to refill my water glass. Would a piece of lettuce® or tomato® really be too much trouble? Anything to cut through the burnt, too-salty flavor would be welcome. The £6 truffle cheese fries are nice, but arrived cold and the cheese sauce is a little too close to Cheez-Whiz for my liking. The chipotle mushroom tacos are alright, but as is the norm here, small for the price (£9 for two).

Drinks are the real push at Dirty Bones, as the bar takes up a lot of room that tables could otherwise occupy (if they could fill them). A small can of coke will cost you £4, roughly 400% more than it's worth. I splurged on a £5 "butter baby" milkshake and it was the best thing I...