A Rock n Roll Dinner (Sticky Fingers Cafe (London))

Member Name: magenta23

Product:	Sticky Fingers Cafe (London)
Date:	17/04/09 (178 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Food, service, atmosphere, prices, theme, music..TOP NIGHT!

Disadvantages: Tacky merchandise.

I visited Sticky Fingers with my boyfriend for his birthday last month. He is a big Rolling Stones fan and I knew it was on his list of 'must dos.' The fact that I was dying to go too was a factor too of course! Needless to say neither of us were disappointed and if you're a Stones fan or just have a healthy appetite it's a great place to spend an evening.

For those of you who are not aquainted with Sticky Fingers, it's a restaurant located at Phillamore Gardens, just off High Street Kensington in London and owned by Ex Rolling Stone, Bill Wyman. Apparently, he often visits the establishment and lucky diners might find themselves sitting on the next table to him. Alas we were not so lucky the night we visited. Opened in 1989, the place is a mecca to Stones fans as every inch of the walls is adorned with memorabilia from signed guitars to tour posters from gigs all over the world, press cuttings, gold discs, signed photographs and paintings. The food is American Diner style: Ribs, burgers, cocktails and shakes. Rolling Stones plays in the background and the service is fast and friendly, just as you would expect from a restaurant owned by a man who eaten in some of the best in the world.

From the name of the place and throughtout the menu the Stones theme carries on, not to the point where it's tacky though. Shots are all named after Stones songs. Fancy a Jumpin Jack Flash? No? Maybe a Paint It Black? We stuck to cocktails for our drinks, and were served as they should be, simply and tasted divine. My partner's trade is alcohol and he gets very annoyed when cocktails are tarted up and no served in the 'proper' glasses for the drink. Top marks from him for authenticity! I went for a gorgeously sour Margerita and followed it with a non alcoholic fruity medly which looked as good as it tasted with a gorgeous strawberry froth on the top. He opted for a Lynchberg Lemonade and a Moscow Mule. Sticky Fingers do classic cocktails well, we decided!

We visited on a Monday. It may have a been a birthday treat, but we are still in a credit crunch so I trotted in clutching my 2 for 1 voucher. Sticky Fingers is taking part in the South West Trains 2 for 1 on London Attractions scheme, and offers 2 for 1 on main meals when shown with valied voucher and train ticket. I was told by the waiter that I could not use it on a Monday as they have their 'Monday Madness' deal on where about 90% of the menu is discounted anyway. I felt this was fair enough as a large majority of the main course had 50% off them anyway.

After our cocktails much soaking up was needed! All the starters looked very tempting, but we opted for Crab Cakes for me and Chilli Potato Skins for him! As usual we swapsied a bit so we could try each others....(for reviewing purposes of course!) Both were delicious. The Crab cakes were beautifully cooked and very tasty and were served with a powerful garlic mayo that I pined for for days afterward! Andy's Chilli Skins were a little spicy for me but tasty none the less, they certainly didn't last very long, much as I told him to savour it! Starters, as with all the menu are generous and beautifully presented. In hindsight I perhaps would have opted for something a little lighter, or even shared as my stomach couldn't cope with the sheer quantity I tried to pack into it that night!

As I mentioned, mains had up to 50% off, this was mainly on the burgers. Typically we opted for the mains with the least discount, still 20% is 20%. 14oz Rib Eye Steak with Chips with Onion rings on the side for him, Ribs and Chicken combo with a side salad for me. Even though we had a mountain of food, I was thankful for that side salad. This is big hearty food, but diet food it ain't. I needed that greenery to freshen it all up a bit. Ribs are hit and miss generally, you get a bad one that's all fat and it'll put you off for ages. Get gorgeously juicy ones where the meat falls off the bone like they serve in Sticky Fingers and you crave them every time you think of them. It was the sort of meal my tummy couldn't finish but my eyes desperately wanted to as it's so good. The Steak, Andy said was cooked to perfection, but in his eyes, still mooing is his idea of perfection, I didn't try. Much as he liked it, the portion even defeated him and that's rare! (Geddit?)

The atmosphere is you would expect, is super cool and laid back. No one minds you meandering through the tables to have a look and the memorabilia. It really does attract all sorts, the fans who come just for being there, like us, the tourists who pop in for dinner after sightseeing (the table next door), and the kid's 12th Birthday party, which took over most of the back of the restaurant when we were there. Even the toilets are impressive, located at the front of the place, you go down quite a narrow staircase to get there. Even the walls of this are covered in press cuttings and photographs and the walls, ceilings and floor of the loos are mirrored! Feels very rock star and luxurious but I imagine a little disorientating if you'd had a few too many of those cocktails!

Service was good, we were served our drinks and starters in superfast time, but we got there early and our service slowed down a bit as the place started to fill up. This was fine as it gave us a chance to soak up the place, and we still weren't kept waiting too long. By the time we got to desserts (well coffees, we couldn't fit in puddings, yummy as they sounded!) the placed was heaving. Our waiter was the spit of Rafa Nadal and was sprinting round the place quicker than Nadal sprints round the court. The staff there really couldn't be working any harder but, however pressured, were polite and friendly. Clearly they enjoyed what they were doing and it made us as customers feel welcome. My pet hate is restaurant there are so formal you're scared to cough, here was as relaxed as you can get.

To get a little idea of the prices, I'll give you a sneaky peak of our bill, usually a private affair.. the things I do for dooyoo!

DRINKS-
Margarita £3.25 (this was on 50% off)
Lynchburg Lemonade £3.25 (50% off)
Moscow Mule £3.25 (50% off)
Fruit Freeze £3.50

STARTERS-
Crab Cakes £5.95
Chilli Skins £5.95

MAINS & SIDES
BBQ Combo £10.46 (this was with 20% off)
14oz Rib Eye £13.56 (20% off)
Rocket Salad £2.95
Onion Rings £2.95

AFTERS
Hot Chocolate £2.45
Irish Coffee £5.50

SERVICE @ 12.5% £7.88

TOTAL £70.90

I guess this is usually more than we usually pay for a meal for two out, but it was a birthday. For the quality of food and size of portions I think the pricing, even without discount is worth it. The fact that it's a themed restaurant and a tourist attraction in it's own right I think they could have charged more. For that reason I'm pleased with the pricing, even if I couldn't afford it everyday. Now knowing what it's like I would order less, I feel a lot of our £70 was wasted and I think you could have a perfectly filling meal if you cut the trimmings, for 1/2 the price. We did, after all choose the most expensive mains on the menu. Service at most places I've eaten is charged at 10% or is at the customers discression. I felt 12.5% was a little cheeky. Having said that, we couldn't have asked for better service and I think we got our money's worth there.

If you fancy Sticky Fingers I would urge you to book. I booked 4 weeks in advance, and while people were just turing up and getting seated it got extremely busy by the time we left and this was on a Monday!
Visit www.stickyfingers.co.uk for more infomation on booking and to look at the menus.

So I hear you cry was there a bad part? Well yes, one. As with all good tourist attractions, there's merchandise. My other half really wanted a little reminder of the trip but the stuff on offer was tacky and over priced. With all the great Stones merch out there, they could have done so much better than some over priced caps, mugs and T shirts with a tacky 'Sticky Fingers' logo printed on it.

I still give it 10/10 regardless of this small point. A must visit for Stones Fans and Foodies alike!

Summary: I'd willingly get my fingers sticky again