If you’re a meat lover planning to visit Boneyard, word of advice – prepare yourself for a mild to severe food coma. If your eyes, like mine, are bigger than your belly, word of advice - wear stretchy pants.
The Venue
Push through Boneyard's heavy black doors to be greeted by a simple décor that bears an American industrial feel. Almost an entire wall is dedicated to their bottled beer and they have wooden island tables for you to munch and slurp away at. Looking you right in the face is the venue’s menu. It hangs behind the counter but note that it doesn’t include everything on there; so make sure to ask about any other drink/food offerings available.
You can also leave Boneyard and join a more communal area where Londoners can enjoy food together from other stalls. We opted for this and plonked ourselves at one of the round tables where coloured lightbulbs danced above our heads.
There's a rustic, stripped-back feel to The Boneyard, and a communal terraced area outside.
Food and Drink
The brains behind Boneyard ensured no corners were cut with their wacky drink offerings. These guys serve up anything from your ordinary bottled beer to alcohol-laced slush puppies. Yes, ALCOHOL laced slush puppies. Coming in three flavours - Mojito, Margarita and Disarono fused with Raspberry - we couldn’t resist slurping all three. Was the brain freeze worth it you ask? Yes, every single aching moment. If you’re going on a date here (which is highly recommended) you can splash the cash and pop open a bottle of bubbly for £25.
Ordering a bit of everything, we weren’t left waiting long before our feast of tater tots, pork ribs and chicken burger and chips arrived. First to step up to the plate was the mighty meaty pork ribs. They were topped with bourbon barbeque sauce and challenged you to get down and dirty. Obviously, I had no problem with this as every last strip of tender meat was eaten from the bone. The sides (aka the chips, salad and tater tots) were your run of the mill eats but the chicken burger is where things got interesting. The brioche bun and spicy avocado were super fresh which helped it earn first place as my favourite dish of the night.
Get stuck into BBQ'd ribs and towering burgers helped down by boozy slush puppies.
Clientele and Atmosphere
Some people (aka me) reckon that your weekend starts on a Thursday. With this in mind, Boneyard was the perfect kick start to a smashing few days off. Other people must harbour the same theory because the place became busier with every tick of my watch.
One thing I noticed about Boneyard was its clientele. Although Boneyard has a Shoreditch vibe, families with young children and older businessmen tumbled towards Boneyard with hungry tummies. Like me, they happily sported BBQ smothered faces and sticky fingers. Having said that, a sexy hipster was never too far away so be prepared and have a napkin near. Turns out BBQ isn’t a ‘sexy’ look…I found this out the hard way.
As for the atmosphere, it was unique. The kind of unique where you don’t show up and complain about how s**t your day was. You simply plaster a smile on your face and focus on the good things, like Boneyard's unbelievably delicious menu.
The Boneyard is a good date spot, but it's also for young families and the work-weary.
Conclusion
Boneyard is a more than acceptable name for this establishment. Like its hanging neon sign states, it’s bad to the bone and will bring a tasty selection of eats to any Londoner that gives it a chance.
