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

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

Little Smoke review – Moorgate Smokehouse spin-off doesn’t have the chops
★★☆☆☆ / Steak/chophouse

Little Smoke review – Moorgate Smokehouse spin-off doesn’t have the chops

‘Little’ is the operative word and not in a good way I’ve been reviewing restaurants for long enough now to see multiple restaurants rise and fall, often at the same address. The small space at the edge of City Point near Moorgate is a case in point. Six years ago it was a forgettable and now … Continue reading

Blue’s Smokehouse Twickenham review – dire suburban barbecue fit only for meatheads
★★☆☆☆ / Barbecue/BBQ

Blue’s Smokehouse Twickenham review – dire suburban barbecue fit only for meatheads

The meal so bad, I had to apologise to my dining companion The cliché about the suburbs, especially those south of the river, is that there’s nowhere good to eat. That’s not quite true anymore, if it ever was, especially as London’s property crisis and the increasingly brutal restaurant market push more and more restaurateurs … Continue reading

Temper review – Soho meat palace serves exquisite beef, lamb and goat
★★★★☆ / Barbecue/BBQ / Eclectic / Steak/chophouse

Temper review – Soho meat palace serves exquisite beef, lamb and goat

Chicken? Where we’re going, we don’t need chicken. Update 25/2/2018 – updated formatting, added details of early 2018 revisit I try not to pay too much attention to a restaurant’s PR push before I eat there, as the nauseating buzzwords, jargon and marketing waffle can colour my view of the place before it’s even opened. … Continue reading

Bodean’s Covent Garden review – the mediocrity continues
★★★☆☆ / Barbecue/BBQ

Bodean’s Covent Garden review – the mediocrity continues

Bait and switch tourist trap barbecue For many people Bodean’s is syonymous with American-style barbecue in London, but that doesn’t mean the food is actually any good. As I discovered in my original BBQ group test, the Tower Hill and Fulham branches of Bodean’s were distinctly middling, average and underwhelming – and that’s before you consider all the barbecue … Continue reading

Low, Slow and Juke review – the most hideously disgraceful BBQ in London
American / ★☆☆☆☆ / Barbecue/BBQ

Low, Slow and Juke review – the most hideously disgraceful BBQ in London

Unutterable swear words suppressed The quality of American-style barbecue in London has made leaps and bounds in the past several years, but continual progress is by no means guaranteed. There’s no clearer example of the potential for setting back an entire genre through massive incompetence than Low, Slow and Juke. Owned by pubco Marston’s, this underground … Continue reading

Grillstock Walthamstow review – Bristol BBQ comes to north-east London
★★☆☆☆ / Barbecue/BBQ

Grillstock Walthamstow review – Bristol BBQ comes to north-east London

How Not To Do A Barbecue Restaurant Expectations, prejudices and other pre-conceived notions can cloud your judgement, which is why I try to be as open-minded as possible when reviewing restaurants. Trying to do so when walking through the door at Grillstock Walthamstow was difficult though. My Bristol-based chums had waxed lyrical about the original … Continue reading

Red’s True Barbecue review – the North brings US BBQ to Shoreditch
American / ★★★★☆ / Barbecue/BBQ / Burgers

Red’s True Barbecue review – the North brings US BBQ to Shoreditch

Red Alert! Update 10/5/18 – this restaurant has closed Thanks to restaurants, I now detest the word ‘concept’. In restaurant management and public relations speak, ‘concept’ generally refers to the restaurant’s overall feel from cuisine and service style to atmosphere. Unfortunately, the word has now, in many cases, devolved to simply mean ‘gimmick’. Far too many … Continue reading

★★★★☆ / Barbecue/BBQ

Pitt Cue review – barbecue truck settles down in Soho

Having eaten my way through almost the entire menu, is this domiciled food truck really a bountiful BBQ bonanza? Update August 2013: more up-to-date review published Pitt Cue is a new barbecue restaurant in Soho, just around the corner from Carnaby Street, but it originally started out as a truck underneath Hungerford Bridge on the … Continue reading