The Venue
Renowned for his musical talents as the bassist in the Rolling Stones, Bill Wyman decided to turn his focus as a restaurateur and founded Sticky Fingers; an all American Diner featuring Rock and Roll Memorabilia, guitars and a vintage red motorbike restored to all its glistening glory - displaying proudly at the front. The decor, a quintessential diner-esque mix of red booth seating, wooden floors and dark gloss tables, created a traditional setting ready to enjoy a hearty South American ‘Sticky fingers’ feast. The smells of smoky ribs, fresh cooked chips and burger juices filtered through the restaurant, enticing all our taste buds and nearly fueling my inner yankee to holla at the waitress and get my order in.
Sticky Fingers holds onto a diner theme in the esteemed West End.
The Atmosphere
The atmosphere was spot on, helped by the friendly attentive host Adam and our waiter for the evening, Peter. Although Sticky Fingers is located in one of the most exclusive parts of London - why Kensington of course - it didn’t feel pretentious as is my first yet rather dwindling impression of venues in the area. I thought it made a good job of creating that casual and cosy American ‘diner’ vibe. There was a good buzz to the place especially considering it was only a Tuesday when we visited, but you could still hold a good conversation and there was a mix of couples and families there, catering for all an occasion. Aptly the playlist consisted of rock tunes, which I was quite a fan of and glad it didn’t play too loud or over play any songs, although I thought it may have been biased to one band in particular.
The Food and Drink
Unlike most diner joints boasting a comprehensive menu ten pages long of options, Sticky Fingers serves a more refined and meaty range of only the best burgers, ribs, chicken, hard shakes and cocktails they have to offer.
Choosing a sharing Nachos Fondito: Home fried corn tortilla fries with Sticky's tomato salsa, guacamole, sour cream, freshly chopped red onion, jalapeno peppers and cheese sauce (£11.95) topped with Pulled Pork for an extra £3, was not only an easy choice to make, but the easiest food I’ve ever inhaled.....I mean eaten. Tender strings of pork, and crisp nachos slowly soaking into a rich mix of cheesy fondue - this was a genuine cheese lovers American dream. With the taste of Nachos still pleasantly lingering, my Cajun Burger (one of the specials of the day) arrived stacked to the heavens with a juicy medium cooked prime beef burger smothered in cajun spices, caramelised onions and blue cheese. The soft white bun now oozing full of flavour made it an easy job to pick up and squish down to size to chomp on - here is where the sticky part came in.
With generous portion sizes, we may not have been able to finish our burgers but we definitely had room for a couple of sweet and fruity cocktails to wash our food down with. One I'd recommend is the Lemon Tree; a refreshing combination of Bacardi Limon rum, passion fruit juice and Chambord, lemon juice and fresh mint offers a punch of sweetness to offset the saltiness of the food.
Summary
Lightly placed under the umbrella term of the ‘Diner’ which we all fondly recognise and love, Sticky Fingers is nestled in the more esteemed West side of London and so has its own individual experience to offer and a really friendly team to make you enjoy every moment of it.
