Pitt Cue Co started life as a food truck on the South Bank two years ago. Their take on American BBQ (ribs, pulled pork, chicken wings, along with generous helpings of coleslaw and pickles) proved so successful they opened a permanent restaurant in Soho in early 2012.
The menu is brief so we try as much of it as possible, including both the day’s specials: a hunk of smoked, nicely marbled feather blade (£16.50) and chunky slices of ox cheek (£16.50) that have spent so long in the smoker just a gentle prod makes them disintegrate. The cheek is served on a bone marrow trencher, a slice of toasted sourdough saturated in beef juices. These guys really know what they’re doing.
The beef ribs (£11) are huge in both size and taste, sticky and with tasty bits of char, and the meat pulls off the bone with ease. On the side there’s crunchy green chilli slaw and rich savoury bone marrow mash.
The pig’s head sausage (£6.50) is presented as two squares of grilled meat, and the pulled pork (£6) is almost mushy, practically swimming in sweet barbecue sauce, but they’re no match for the awe-inspiring beef.
To drink there is bourbon and craft beer, but you should try the pickle backs, bourbon chased with a shot of brine, which the waitress tells us divides people like Marmite. If like us you’re a fan of intense flavours you’ll love the sharp snap of pickle juice after the smooth, clean bourbon; imagine a far more exquisite version of tequila, lime and salt.
And what about the (in)famous queues because of their no-bookings policy? Our plan to arrive just as they open at midday on Sunday pays off, however within a couple of minutes of being seated it’s full. With space for around 30 in the miniscule basement dining area and the bar upstairs, it’s a pretty cramped, elbows-touching space. Not that this is the sort of place where you hang around; food is served on chipped trays and napkins are piled on the table, which you’ll need quite a few of.
Pitt Cue Co have already released a cookbook, so the next step can only be a second, larger venue that will probably take bookings and we’ll hazard a guess that it may be located in the East End. Good on them.
IMAGE: Paul Winch-Furness / www.paulwf.co.uk by Simon Anderson, via Flickr
