Location: The corner of Ganton / Newburgh street, Soho
On Monday evening Ben and myself were privileged to be invited to a preopening night at Pitt Cue Co’s new home (and its not a van under a bridge). On first impressions, let me just say, Barbecoa, Bodeans, best to pack you bags and ship out, there is a new BBQ Sheriff in town and its called Pitt Cue Co…. bang bang.
On entering the restaurant we were greeted to a polished concrete floor, a tricked out bar with all the Rye and Bourbon a man could ever want. The selection of ales and whiskey could lead to some seriously long and dangerous evenings propping up the counter. Whilst sipping on our ales, the allure of sweet smoke beckoned down the stairs to the basement restaurant below. We couldnt resist and plunged downstairs to be seated in a compact, but comfortable restaurant.
We quickly jumped into some sides whilst making our decision, and we sampled the smoked crispy chicken wings that were tasty, drenched in a homemade tomato based wing sauce which was mighty fine. The wings needed a tad more crispiness, but were dispatched shortly. The little surprise was the pickled celery, something of a flavour sensation. The other side was the crispy shiitake mushrooms. The easiest way to describe these beauties, is to think of them as the ultimate homage, to the humble gilled funghi. These bad boys were pickled then deep fried and served piping hot… WOW.
On reviewing the menu which is well laid out and has nothing over £9, we decided to go for one of each of the meats. The menu dictates you can choose one meat and one vege side, but for additional sheets you can get additional meats and sides. Great concept, more meat. On the back of this we decided to go for a taste of all the meats (St Louis Ribs, Pulled Pork, Brisket and Beef Ribs). In addition we sampled the Burnt Ends Mash, Beans and Slaw. The food was quickly served, delicately laid out on plain white platters. What took us by surprise was the quality of the presentation, which was stylish (BBQ restaurants of London, time to sit up and take note….). This was short lived, the food was too good to stare at, it needed to be devoured.
St Louis Ribs – The ribs were tasty, had a good bite through and were sweety and sticky. The kicker for me was the slightly seared skin married to the beautiful glaze…. The ribs were possibly a touch undersmoked, but as the team pointed out they were still working on the smoke recipe. For the majority of BBQ Punters, these will be better than anything they have tasted.
Pulled Pork – The pulled pork was well pulled, drenched in a beautiful glossy sauce that really brought the flavours to the forefront. We would have loved some bark, but the pulled pork hit the mark and is the best we have tasted at any BBQ restaurant this side of the pond.
Brisket – The brisket was classy, had a great smoke ring and the flavour was excellent. Not competition brisket in that it was too tender, but on the tongue it was moist, flavoursome and we WILL be back to sample this on a bun with slaw
Beef Ribs – The best I have, full stop. These were the highlight of the evening for us. If they were being served in the Midwest, there would have been a queue down the street and all the way up Carnaby street. Rich, sassy, bold and melt in your mouth ribs… Quality meat, cooked perfectly with just the right amount of smoke. WOW. Double order next time please…
But I am not being fair, Tom, Neil and the rest of the team have served up some quality accompaniments to BBQ which was a bit of a revelation to the taste buds. These guys are stars at pickling, and the pickles absolutely popped. The flavours marry so well with the BBQ and the rest of the sides. The beans had flavour but were a tad on the dry side, we prefer our BBQ Beans struggling to stay afloat, swimming in a decadent bath of brown sugar, BBQ Sauce and burnt ends. However, the lads had another trick up their sleeve. The BBQ Burnt End Mash was something that created the perfect matrimony of both side of the Atlantic (ie a George Clooney and Keira Knightley kind of marriage), dirtyliscious crispy burnt ends, sweet, tender, delicately placed on a cloud of the fluffiest cheesy mash mankind has tasted. WOW. Yes – we will be back for you!
We finished off with the Snickers Mess dessert, an amalgamation of cream, toffee, chocolate, peanut butter and meringue (and it seemd like a whole lot more!) that creates a dessert explosion with every mouthful. First class… how can you go wrong.
Rating – 4 out of 5, the only thing holding it back from a perfect score was a slight kiss of smoke. To be fair it was the teams first serving and we are being a bit harsh. Would we go back again? Hell Yes. Real Q’ with great portion sizes and good prices. GO GO GO
Value – Excellent, no dish over £10. Expect to pay £20-£30.
Comment – We will be back, very very soon. The best BBQ in london!Tom, Neil and his team are hero’'s… BBQ Hero’s
Plus I have all sorts of nasty thoughts of the chief being informed in the kitchen and then he/she gobbing on my food!! (Too much watching Road Trip??!)
