City, Bbq Restaurant Guide

“Fire-cooked” steaks, supplied from North Yorkshire, aged in-house and supplemented by “inventive” side dishes (tacos, parathas and more), are what put Neil Rankin’s BBQ group on the map, with its fifth site opening in Paddington Basin last winter followed by a smashburger spinoff in White City. But even fans can note that what “was once a firm favourite has declined” – service is often “a bit all over the place” and dishes can arrive “lacking genuine flavour”.

“Still a legendary destination with consistently excellent meats, sides, drinks all far cheaper than at Hawksmoor” – these “dark and noisy” operations are “a go-to destination when you want some serious meat (perhaps more chophouse than steak house), with many good options that don’t dent the wallet”; and widely seen as “a better bet than other big high-end steak chains”. “They pack the punters in, so a good tip is to request a booth”. “Steaks are cooked just right. Staff are happy and helpful. Why didn’t I go here years ago?”. Top Menu Tips – “Sunday lunch is legendary”. And “try the ‘All-In’ for a variety of chops on excellent grilled flatbreads, and a couple of tasty sides between two. Also a (poorly promoted) option to BYO for £10 corkage at any time”.

Tomos Parry’s phenomenally successful haunt occupies the first floor of a converted Shoreditch pub (over the Smoking Goat, see also), but with its own separate entrance. Somehow, he brilliantly captured the zeitgeist with his Basque-influenced cooking over fire, producing food that’s as “simple” as it is “outstanding”. “Ingredients are carefully sourced, prepared with care and the flavours really come through”. Many reports recommend you “order the turbot!” (‘Brat’ meaning Turbot in Parry’s native Welsh), but it’s a rather large dish if you are just a couple and the rest of the menu is just as worthy of exploration. “The room is casual and buzzy” and tightly packed, but “despite the cosy tables it still feels like you have your own space”. Top Menu Tip – “Basque cheesecake is a highlight: great flavour and so light”.

“Buzzing, noisy, hot and smoky” – this “incredibly popular” and “unembellished” tribute to the BBQ traditions of the American South started out as a market stall before moving into “darkish, modern-industrial” premises in Brick Lane eight years ago. On the menu: “some of the best roasted meats – the beef brisket is amazing as are a number of the side dishes”. (Founder David Carter has emerged as a hot-shot restaurant creative, following up with Italian nose-to-tail joint Manteca and, most recently, Greek-inspired double act Agora and Oma in Borough Market).

2021 Review: “A nice, laid-back American buzz” has helped win a loyal following over the years for this small chain of Kansas City-style diners: one of the first in London to bring BBQ indoors. “It’s a fun place” (in the right mood) and the food is “decent” and in man-sized portions, but “not particularly special”.

“Still a legendary destination with consistently excellent meats, sides, drinks all far cheaper than at Hawksmoor” – these “dark and noisy” operations are “a go-to destination when you want some serious meat (perhaps more chophouse than steak house), with many good options that don’t dent the wallet”; and widely seen as “a better bet than other big high-end steak chains”. “They pack the punters in, so a good tip is to request a booth”. “Steaks are cooked just right. Staff are happy and helpful. Why didn’t I go here years ago?”. Top Menu Tips – “Sunday lunch is legendary”. And “try the ‘All-In’ for a variety of chops on excellent grilled flatbreads, and a couple of tasty sides between two. Also a (poorly promoted) option to BYO for £10 corkage at any time”.

“Fire-cooked” steaks, supplied from North Yorkshire, aged in-house and supplemented by “inventive” side dishes (tacos, parathas and more), are what put Neil Rankin’s BBQ group on the map, with its fifth site opening in Paddington Basin last winter followed by a smashburger spinoff in White City. But even fans can note that what “was once a firm favourite has declined” – service is often “a bit all over the place” and dishes can arrive “lacking genuine flavour”.

2023 Review: “Quality meat and good value” have carved a fine reputation for this Canonbury gastropub (part of Noble Inns), which is entering its 10th year in 2023. Whole carcasses are butchered on-site, fish is delivered daily, and it’s a beer-lovers dream, with 20 on tap and 60 bottled.

2021 Review: Thomas Griffiths’s stall in Spitalfields Market receives very consistently high ratings from reporters (and he now also has a unit in Market Halls Victoria too). The street-food style fare – brisket sandwich, dumplings, fried-chicken sandwich – belie a sophisticated and sustainable ‘modern British, nose-to-tail cooking’ approach.

2023 Review: The “exquisite kebabs” at this family-run Turk in Kentish Town (which takes its name from the original Victorian sign above the door) have “set the standard in north London for years”. Don’t be put off by the “limited menu and basic amenities (more like a local chippy)” – the food is “fresh, good quality and delicious”, while “service is cheerful”.

“Everything is flame-grilled – including the olives!” at this Belsize Park three-year-old from chef-patron Jake Finn (ex-LPM and The Ritz), whose second branch in St John’s Wood is equally highly rated. They are “buzzy, sometimes noisy” places, “famous locally for their triple cooked potatoes”. Top Menu Tip – “the standout chargrilled leek salad with ricotta and hazelnuts”.

2021 Review: “A great addition to the Notting Hill scene”, this three-year-old Vietnamese BBQ grill serves a “limited menu which one could eat pretty well every day: fresh, zingy and delicious – what more could you want?”. Owner Colin Tu (of the Salvation in Noodles pho joints) serves his mother’s recipe for fermented dipping sauce – MAM is pronounced ‘mum’ in Vietnamese.

A live-fire restaurant at 40FT Brewery in Dalston, from Andrew Clarke and Daniel Watkins, where the BBQ offers “an emphasis on veg (although meat is also available)”, and where beer by-products are used to make ferments and hot sauces. It’s a “fun” and “innovative” place, but not always a consistent one. Top Menu Tip – “Coal Roast Leeks and Pistachio Romesco were amazing. Marmite/Pecorino on Sourdough a must”.

Giant nachos, a bucket of beer and a platter of jumbo shrimp – if that sounds, good head off to these “large and vibrant” US-style ‘Bar.B.Q & Crabshacks’, which have multiplied in recent years from their age-old Chelsea home to colonise Covent Garden, Canary Wharf and Westfield Stratford. They are the kind of places you can make a reservation for 20 and they won’t blink. Top Menu Tip – “great lunch and weekend deals”: e.g. “lobster, salad and chips with a glass of Prosecco for £15 in WC2 – what more could you ask for!”

This “great local Korean” close to Notting Hill Gate tube station offers a “good variety of dishes” – including Japanese sushi and “super lunchtime bento boxes”. “It can get very busy, so booking is advised”.