The best and worst American barbecue in London for delivery and takeaway
American / ★★★★★ / ★★★★☆ / ★★★☆☆ / ★★☆☆☆ / ★☆☆☆☆ / Barbecue/BBQ

The best and worst American barbecue in London for delivery and takeaway

Update 19/4/2021 – added reviews of The Big Smoke (Bromley), Crossroads and Pappy’s Summer and barbecue go together like Bank Holidays and rain. One naturally follows the other, but even better is a summer filled with American-style barbecue, a world away from a typical suburban garden grill topped with bangers and burgers. The low ‘n’ … Continue reading

Kauboi Ramen review – the barbecue noodle soup Texas-Japan mashup you never knew you needed
American / ★★★★☆ / Barbecue/BBQ / Japanese / Japanese Noodles

Kauboi Ramen review – the barbecue noodle soup Texas-Japan mashup you never knew you needed

Kauboi Ramen is an eatery seemingly custom-made to muddy the argumentative waters swirling around authenticity. Set inside the compact bar area for Texas Joe’s, Kauboi Ramen serves up Japanese-style ramen noodle soups – but with Texan-style barbecued meats instead of the usual chashu pork. Continue reading

Prairie Fire review – the smoke and fire of American barbecue arrives in White City
American / ★★★☆☆ / Barbecue/BBQ

Prairie Fire review – the smoke and fire of American barbecue arrives in White City

But the embers are already flickering out I’ve watched the growth and rise of Prairie Fire with interest and concern. Originally a street food stall with a stint at the original Mercato Metropolitano, this American barbecue restaurant has now found itself a permanent home in a former railway arch in White City across the road … Continue reading

Mercato Metropolitano review – the Southwark street food hall trying to be everything to everyone
★★★★★ / ★★★★☆ / ★★★☆☆ / ★★☆☆☆ / ★☆☆☆☆ / Street food/food court

Mercato Metropolitano review – the Southwark street food hall trying to be everything to everyone

Halfway between Elephant & Castle and London Bridge, but nowhere in particular Updated 30/9/2019 – added reviews of new traders and updated the reviews of Badiani, Duman, Little Sicily and Turkish Garden Updated 16/4/2019 – added hyperlinked table of contents, corrected spelling and grammatical errors The weird thing about street food in London isn’t the … Continue reading

Red’s True Barbecue Manchester review – the barbecue king in the north has been dethroned
★★★☆☆ / Barbecue/BBQ

Red’s True Barbecue Manchester review – the barbecue king in the north has been dethroned

This review of a Manchester restaurant is a break from The Picky Glutton’s usual London-based coverage Despite its obnoxious pseudo-religious marketing schtick and occasional wobble in the kitchen, the Shoreditch branch of Red’s True Barbecue was one of the best American-style barbecue restaurants in London when I reviewed the place. That made its unexpected closure … Continue reading

Bababoom vs Maison Bab review – new wave kebabs head-to-head
★★★★☆ / ★★★☆☆ / Eclectic / Turkish Kebabs

Bababoom vs Maison Bab review – new wave kebabs head-to-head

Islington brisket vs Covent Garden celeriac Traditional Turkish kebabs are nigh-on perfect. Whether you prefer shish, kofte, doner, iskender or beyti, the smoke and sizzle of a charcoal mangal is hard to beat. The wisest restauranteurs know better than to attempt ‘elevating’ or ‘refining’ these timeless classics, but instead attempt to put their own personal … Continue reading

Tacos del 74 Dalston review – even worse than Tex-Mex food
★☆☆☆☆ / Mexican

Tacos del 74 Dalston review – even worse than Tex-Mex food

You couldn’t pay me to eat here again. People like to sneer at hipsterish restaurants and bars in Shoreditch and Dalston. They’re seen by many as faddy, shallow trend-chasing establishment serving up fare that’s incomprehensible and inedible to ‘normal’ folk. I have little time for such half-baked nonsense, preferring to judge each establishment on its … Continue reading

Miss P’s Barbecue review – proper BBQ comes to Croydon
★★★★☆ / Barbecue/BBQ

Miss P’s Barbecue review – proper BBQ comes to Croydon

Disclosure: I backed this restaurant’s crowdfunding effort on Kickstarter (in the range of £50-£100). Update 17/10/17 – corrected details about the pulled pork and fixed some typos. Unlike some other reviewers, I’m not obsessively critical of the famed Michelin Guide (not that either gives a fig about what I think). While it certainly has its … Continue reading