BILL WYMAN’S STICKY FINGERS – Great food, Great music, Great memories.
Come for the food, stay for the music and marvel at the memorabilia from the golden age of rock and in my opinion the greatest band of all time – The Rolling Stones!
rating: 3.5
So, if youre any member of Joe of Joanna Public and you hear about an American food restaurant called Bill Wymans Sticky Fingers that serves ribs and other American food, you could be forgiven for assuming Bill Wyman is the founders name and its called Sticky Fingers because thats how your fingers get after eating the food. However, if you are a Rolling Stones fan, it would be unforgivable for it to take more than 4 seconds upon entering Sticky Fingers to understand the more obvious reason why this establishment is called Sticky Fingers. This is of course the title of The Rolling Stones 1971 album and Bill Wyman - as any rock music fan will know - is the bass player for The Rolling Stones. But in the spirit of being neighbourly, I resisted to balk at my dinner companion when they did not immediately get the latter and compromised that the name probably had a double meaning, which is why it was so cleaver. I am, however, a huge Rolling Stones fan; so when I entered the restaurant with Gimme Shelter playing in the background, golden albums to my right and staring straight at a guitar Wyman played while on tour in the 70s, Sticky Fingers was already sold as somewhat of a Mecca for me. But I was here to sample more than the atmosphere, so took my seat, along with my musically challenged dinner guest, and prepared myself for what the owners believe are the best ribs in London. The beer selection is sadly limited even for common imported and local beers. Other than a Miller there is nothing in the way of real American brews, which is disappointing, but not a catastrophe because the cocktail menu is so vast and exciting.
I start with a classic, sweet and refreshing cocktail; their Lemon Tree falls into the perfect place between sweet and sour, not allowing either flavour sensation to be dominant. Don q Limon rum is mixed with lemon and passion fruit juice, fresh mint and chambord to produce a real thirst quenching kick. Going for something slightly harder, and because Im a man who lives and dies by his hard liquor the latter is yet to occur I try the Killer Zombie. The added killer comes from the fact they mix white, dark and gold rum, which for me didnt quite sit right together. The alcohol was slightly too overpowering and didnt allow the sweetness of the orange juice or the flavours of the curacao to come through. If you like hard shakes, but like to seem sophisticated and stick to the cocktail like grownups, go for a Baileys Banana Colada. Just like a pina colada and a good one at that its sweet and cream with the sweetness of the creaminess of the cocunut milk fusing with the acidity of the pineapple and producing a deliciously bitter/ sweet blend. Add the Banana and the Baileys and you have the ultimate hard banana milkshake. Save this one for desert.
For starters its vegetarian nachos with a spicy cheese fondu, which is a lovely twist. A nacho chip is generally speaking a nacho chip; round or triangular you can only get it wrong if theyre stale and soft, so it call comes down to the quality of the salsa, sour cream and the guacamole. At Sticky Fingers, theyre all sublime. The salsa is thick, sweet and with lumps of ripe tomato throughout; the cream sour, creamy and thick and the guac is chunky, with lumps of avocado, tomato and red onion still there. And if you like it spicy then just get it as it comes as it is loaded with a healthy portion of jalapenos, which for me, because I was born with an asbestos coated mouth is Heaven. This is followed by Panko Crusted King Prawns. Theyre sizable and well flavoured but the prawn is a little tough; consequently you end up eating it in one mouthful, and burning your chin on the batter. It also means theres no worry of double dipping in the delicious Creole mustard its like the perfect blend between an English mustard and a honey mustard sweeter than English, hotter than honey. Nevertheless, it is the ribs I have heard rave reviews about and it is the ribs I want! I get the classic barbecue baby back ribs. Best ribs in London? I cant quantify that; they are however a carnivores dream. Its certainly one of the largest racks of ribs I have seen and doesnt even require the knife to cut through it. The meat is soft and succulent and has a delicious hickory smoked flavour all the way through. It doesnt quite fall off the bone as you pull them apart, but it does shred, which is fine in my book when they taste this good and after a whole rack, you will be left with sticky fingers. But if ribs arent your thing (whats wrong with you, seriously?) then Sticky Fingers also serve up a banging burger. As California is the greatest place I have ever been (and because the bleakness of the British winter has me wishing for sunny pastures) I go for The Californian Burger, which translates to a fat patty topped with cheese, bacon, salse, sour cream and guacamole. The meat is thick and juicy; brown on the outside, pinkish on the inside. But again the power of good ingredients comes through and its the guacamole that makes this burger. While it might not satisfy the dietary requirements of some of the health freaks I met on Venice Beach and in Santa Monica, I know there are a lot of people in Cali that would give this burger the thumbs up, before snatching it out of my greasy mitts. Sticky Fingers offers three kinds of steak, sirloin, ribeye and fillet and for those who dont favour the red meat, there is chicken in the same variety of flavours as the ribs. Snapper, Salmon and a selection of salads, from Caesar to Goats Cheese are also on offer to keep everyone happy.
Onto Desert and I need something sweet, so the toffee pudding seems guaranteed to do the trick and it doesnt disappoint. Its thick, its sticky and its ever so sweet. Once the ice cream melts it breaks down the toffee just enough for the spoon to be able to cut through without any effort and the result is a clash of heat and texture that goes down a treat. But try as I might to enjoy the toffee to its full, I cant take my eyes off The Tableside Campfire. Six lightly toasted marshmallows on skewers are accompanied by strawberries, oreos and a bowl of chocolate fondue; its like nothing I have ever been served in a restaurant. Dinner at Sticky Fingers is more than just a dining experience. Come for the food, stay for the music and marvel at the memorabilia from the golden age of rock and in my opinion the greatest band of all time The Rolling Stones!
A three-course meal at Sticky Fingers will cost you from £25 - £35 excluding drinks and service charge. Every Monday they have Monday Madness that offers up to 50% off all main courses and they also have Ribby Tuesday that offers great savings on Rib platters on surely the name of the promotion gives it away. Sticky Fingers is located at 1A Phillimore Gardens London W8 7QG For more information or to book a table visit http://www.stickyfingers.co.uk/ And if you are a fan of Sticky Fingers and believe it to be the best American Restaurant in London, remember to register your vote when the polls open on 25/11/11.