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LONDON | Seemingly not so long ago, the common refrain heard across London was “let’s do lunch”, however these days you’re more likely to hear people saying “let’s do brunch”. Great brunch spots have sprouted up all over London, and it’s a trend that looks like its here to stay. One of London’s most popular spots for brunch is Dirty Bones – the chain has spots in London and New York, and is many people’s venue of choice for over-the-top burgers, fried chicken, cocktails and everything in between. We recently stopped by their Shoreditch branch, to try their famed brunch menu.
Upon entering, you’re drawn towards an opulent fully stocked bar against an urban gastropub style setting. The décor is modest, with purple velvet parlour style booths adding a swanky undercurrent, with the trademark Dirty Bones neon sign to finish off the look. It’s a Saturday afternoon and the restaurant is packed with achingly cool diners and staff alike, but there’s no pretentiousness here, it’s a relaxed inviting atmosphere.
We bopped our heads to the backdrop sounds of old school East Coast hip hop and funk music whilst scanning the full menu. Dirty Bones don’t mess around with their dishes, the menu includes overindulgent New York inspired comfort foods and cocktails such as Yankee Hot Dogs, gluttonous burgers such as the Mac Daddy – Beef burger topped with Mac & Cheese and bite sized cheeseburger dumplings. The brunch menu includes things like the Uptown Spritz cocktail, Spiked Iced Coffee with cognac, as well as experimental dishes such as the Matcha French toast with bacon. As well as brunch, the menu also you covered for lunches and dinner with the likes of the Spiced Roast Veg Salad, Flat Iron Steak and, of course, Chicken & Waffles.
With so much choice, we hit an indecisive moment. Our waiter suggested the Short Rib Hash – 14 hour slow-cooked pulled short rib garnished with caramelised shallots, mustard seeds and served with crispy potatoes and two sunny side-up eggs. Being the greedy pair we were, myself and my guest also opted for the Matcha Custard French toast with candied bacon and Mac & Cheese. The Short Rib hash was a flavoursome dish, the pork was chewy and rich however overall, quite forgettable. The candied bacon was a little too crispy, but the Matcha French toast had us craving more – crisp on the outside, with a perfect balance of moist and fluffy on the inside. The Mac & Cheese was the star dish. The smoked cheddar and taleggio cheeses blended perfectly to make one heck of an oozy cheesy dish.
Dessert was Caramel Banana Waffles – decadently sweet caramelised banana, Toblerone, chocolate sauce, blueberry jam, salted peanut butter gelato and crushed nuts on a warm fluffy baked waffle. Top notch stuff. We washed our brunch marathon down with a tall glass of creamy butterscotch and vanilla Butter Baby milkshake.
Overall, there’s a lot to recommend about Dirty Bones. Service is fantastic and the atmosphere hits all of the right notes. It’s a fun place with good food – if you know what to order. Thankfully there are a lot more hits than missed. Definitely get the caramel banana waffles and mac & cheese, but avoid the candied bacon. And depending on how big your previous night was, you might want to consider the Boozy Brunch Flight which gives you 4 cocktails when ordering a brunch main. We weren’t quite up for it when we visited, but know we’ll be trying it the next time we’re back.
Dirty Bones (Shoreditch)
1 Club Row
London E1 6JX
United Kingdom
Telephone: 020 7920 6434
Email: [email protected]
Website
Open
Mon – Fri: 12:00pm to 12:00am
Sat: 10:00pm to 12:00am
Sun: 10:00am to 11:00pm