I THOUGHT we were meant to be a health conscious generation, but all of a sudden London appears to have gone burger, rib and chicken and chip crazy. Everywhere you look a new 'gastro-junk' place seems to be opening, and they are attracting huge followings. The Rib Man, Lucky Chip, Burger and Lobster and Chicken Shop are among those at the forefront and Honky Tonk, a new opening in Chelsea, is aiming to join them.
As the name suggests, this place is a shrine to America and the owners - who are also behind the quirky Supperclub in Notting Hill - couldn't have chosen a more appropriate place in which to do their disgustingly calorific yet dangerously tasty business - Hollywood Road.
Their restaurant is in an area known, by estate agents, mainly, as Little Chelsea but their concept is big, bold, and slickly operated. The decor evokes New York and the exposed brickwork and lights, chalk boards, leather booths and smooth floorboards combine for a decidedly cool interior.
We arrived from the Friday evening chill, and the place was pumping. Waitresses in tiny denim hot pants buzzed around attentively, while the bar was packed with people kicking back with cocktails and rocking out to a decent a soundtrack.
Speaking of the cocktails - the marmalade margarita (£7.50) is amazing and way too easy to drink. The starter menu comprises classic American fayre like crabcakes, ribs (both beef and pork), chicken wings and meatballs and the somewhat leftfield choice of Welsh rarebit (£7.50). My companion, being a contrary type, plumped for the latter, which was given a complete makeover for this menu. A huge brioche slavered in rich cheese sauce was topped with asparagus, a poached egg and truffle oil. The first few mouthfuls were delicious until its size started to render it somewhat sickly.
Cornish crab and shrimp cakes with sweet chilli mayo (£6.95) were an altogether more delicate affair and absolutely excellent. There are a succinct ten main courses on offer, including larger portions of ribs, 'not-fried' chicken, mac 'n' cheese, a burger, ribeye steak and smoked chicken cobb salad.
My friend's idiosyncratic menu choices extended to her second course - fish of the day certainly raised my eyebrow when she ordered it and I wasn't jealous when I was tucking into the thickest, meatiest set of beef ribs (£14.95) I have ever seen.
The fish - a piece of salmon, was perfectly fine and was accompanied with more asparagus and some kind of salad but there is only one direction to take here, and that's a carnivorous one. I'd say there was slightly too much sauce over the ribs and it was ever so slightly sweet for me, but the sheer volume of tender flesh, decent rosemary chips in a mini deep fat fryer and a refreshing apple slaw on the side made the dish, served on a wooden board, a triumph.
As you'd expect with any diner-style operation, Honky Tonk is a whole lot of fun in an area which has been crying out for something a bit different, and this place steers admirably clear of descending into Stateside cliché. It's well worth a go.
Honky Tonk,
6 Hollywood Road,
Chelsea
SW10 9HY
0207 351 1588
