Red’s True Barbecue - Shoreditch

Since our beloved neighbours (read crappy café downstairs) started having ‘jazz’ nights on a Saturday the other half and I have been wandering around central London discovering new places to eat. After being turned away from Dishoom in King’s Cross for the second time (a three hour wait for a curry - er, no, not on any night of the week, not ever) we ended up in Pizza Union (amazing selection of pizzas, taste great, arrive quickly and really cheap). Sensing that I was irate (not like me at all - cough) BeautyqueenUK decided to find something to cheer me up, and did so by booking a table at Red’s True Barbecue in Shoreditch for the following Saturday. 

Sat in Pizza Union I was shown a few pictures on social media, gave the menu a cursory glance and grunted some form of approval (I really wanted a curry that night). Step forward a week and torrential rain and we made our way through the streets of Shoreditch, dodged the hipsters and trendy folk and walked into the church of meat - and so it came to pass that I renounced my religion and dedicated myself to one true god, Red, and his barbecue.

As soon as we walked through the door the sweet smell of the BBQ hit me and my stomach immediately said “you are supposed to be avoiding red meat” as my brain shouted “eat everything, everything, you are so hungry you need to eat for twelve“. I nearly started drooling before we had even been seated - now that is a half decent first impression to give off. 

We were greeted and shown to our table really quickly but once seated the waiter took his time to explain how everything worked (not rocket science, but nice to be talked through when you first visit) and we were then handed a copy of the good book (the menu) each to have a look at. 

A quick glance over the good book before trying to order everything

I opted for a bespoke tray of meat, choosing from the range of brisket, ribs, burnt ends, pulled pork, chicken and sausage. Yes, I initially had decided that I would try everything but after attempting to order it, and getting a strange look from our waiter he crouched down and quietly asked me how hungry I really was. In his opinion I had ordered far too much and suggested maybe three types of meat rather than EVERYTHING. He did this without making me feel a bit special (sir, I applaud you, thank you) and so I opted for Red's Pulled Pork, Smoked Sticky Chicken and Burnt Ends (brisket). 

Rachel opted for the Juicy Lucifer burger (£13.50). In her own words “I’ve died and gone to heaven”…..(just look at the pictures of it, I start drooling when I remember how it looked and smelt).

As we waited for the food to arrive, which didn’t take that long at all (five to ten minutes) I couldn’t help but indulge in a bit of people spotting which quickly turned into people eating watching. I strangely resembled a poor kid staring through the window of a high end chocolate shop - every dish that came from the kitchen looked amazing and combined with the funky atmosphere, music and neon I believed I had found my church.

As soon as the tray of meat was placed in front of me I knew the waiter had been right - there is no way on Earth I would have been able to take on everything. The tray was packed with meat (see the picture), the fries were plentiful and the onion rings were crispy and to die for. 

This is my bespoke tray of meaty goodness

So the meat - is it all it’s cracked up to be? Hell yeah. The burnt ends (£9.50) were crispy and were packed with smoky flavour. A touch of one of the many sauces on offer and they were devoured quickly. At only one stage did I look up from eating to catch a glimpse of Rachel’s burger (it looked AMAZING).

Rachel had the Juicy Lucifer burger

Red’s pulled pork (£5.50 with the bespoke tray) wasn’t fatty in the slightest (one reservation I have when ordering - I hate fat on meat, in fact my parents used to say that I had a future career in surgery the way I dissected meat at the dinner table) and melted in my mouth. I could have sat and eaten this all night, every night for a year and not gotten bored of it. Again, with a touch of sauce, a few fries and onion rings this blended and had me pushing on for more. By the time it came to the half of chicken I was starting to wane (much to my shame - oh look I’m rhyming again).

The ¼ smoked sticky chicken (£5.95) was by far the best I have tasted from a BBQ ever (sorry Red Dog Saloon, yours was great, but this is unworldly good). Quarter of a chicken by the time I came to eating it was too much but oh boy does it have flavour. Not only is the coating a lovely sweet and rich explosion of flavour, the meat itself was juicy and succulent. Even though stuffed to the gills I forced it all down while ordering a hard shake (in a fit of madness). 

I simply couldn’t finish the fries I had ordered and when the waiter came back to clear the table I could see the look (not in a smug way) in his eye that said “I told you so” and I was so, so grateful he had intervened at the ordering stage. 

Beaten but stuffed

Apart from the woman sat on the table next to us (think Vicky Pollard on speed) who was sooooooo loud and rather thick (she was asking what kind of animals the meat came from) the entire experience was immense. The hard shake (chocolate & salted caramel) came in a milk bottle and it was again full of flavour - rather than being just ice cream with a shot of booze you could taste the malt with the Wild Turkey Honey shot as more of an undertone which made drinking it far, far too easy. 

The bill came in at just under £65 for what was one of the best meals I’ve eaten in London. When I go again I’m going to make sure I’m prepped for a mammoth eating session, take my time (we were in, served, fed and out the door again within an hour - at no point did we feel rushed by the staff) and really savour the atmosphere, the smells and most of all the meats. 

If I had to summarise my visit - epic.

As Jesus said to John the Baptist, "pass the salt mate and don’t be so tight with the ribs….”

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

As I have said, we visited the Shoreditch branch of Red’s but they are all over the place so there is no excuse not to visit and possible convert to the one true religion - meat. I would also point out that we visited Red’s to see what it was like, they didn’t know we were coming and we received no payment or gratis food for this review. So, 100% no bias here folks.

To find your local Red’s place of worship just click here:

If you want to drool, just look at the #lettherebemeat hash tag on Instagram.

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Scarlet's - Covent Garden's Sassy Sister

Yep it’s a tough job to be sampling cocktails on a Monday night but someone’s got to do it.  Yes the worst school night of the week (Sundays don’t count being technically still the weekend) saw @Bromley_Boozer and @BeautykingUK hit newly opened Scarlet’s in Covent Garden. You might have guessed it from the lack of action on this blog recently but Stephen is busy being worn out by a new job, therefore, this post has been turned over to me (he still wouldn‘t give me the password for the blog to post it myself though - I think he is scared I will pull a prank like broadcast that he is secretly in with love with RS - a private joke).

As this place is pretty easy to find being only 2 minutes walk from Leicester Square tube station, the customary arguing over directions/maps didn’t take long. Stephen was so visibly disappointed that I had been able to get us there so easily he suggested a walk around to “kill some time” but I had spotted his cunning plan to get us lost so he could claim an epic fail and overruled him.

Once inside we were warmly welcomed by staff and secured a table by the window which proved to be an ideal people watching spot.  Well I say people watching but really this is code for a Stephen appraisal of the fashion sense/physical attributes of more or less every single passer-by (I‘ve also heard his management appraisals follow the same theme).  It’s not even slightly annoying….

Getting back to the purpose of the visit though the food and cocktails menus are impressive, the cocktails one being so extensive it’s actually a book. First choice for me had to be the rhubarb and  raspberry martini and it was easily the nicest cocktail I’ve had all year.  It tasted as fresh as if the edible flower on top had just that second been picked. It’s made with the French liqueur Chambord which I love because the bottle reminds me of vintage perfume bottles, and Chase rhubarb vodka. 

Stephen had a Gincello which also looked pretty, in fact when I suggested this might be a bit too girly for his big touch macho image (he thinks) he responded with “I’m going to <expletive deleted> drink it not <expletive deleted> it”.  The smug expression on his face indicated he liked the blend of gin, limencello, and fruit juice topped with prosecco.  

Drinking on an empty stomach can lead to trouble so it was time for food with Stephen choosing an appetizer of chicken skewers with peanut butter, coconut, lemongrass and green chilli.  It wasn’t around for long and in an unprecedented healthy move even ate the watercress that it came with.

His 8oz British beef burger on a toasted brioche bun with Isle of Mull cheese and smoked bacon was a surprising success.  This is because he had constantly looked across to the Five Guys across the road muttering that nothing could be as good as their burgers.  In the end though he had to admit that he enjoyed it and the bacon was crispier on his Scarlet’s burger so disaster was averted.  

My kale, radish, mango, walnut & ricotta salad was an interesting blend of flavours, was fresh and light and was perfectly accompanied by my glass of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc which I can (and do) drink by the bottle (Stephen would probably insert ‘more like from the bottle‘). 

The butternut squash & spinach risotto that followed was well seasoned, not too heavy or sticky and such a generous portion that it couldn’t be finished. There was just about room for a pudding of grilled figs with honey crème fraiche that was a welcome and refreshing end to a lovely meal.

Scarlet’s really is that rare thing in central London, affordable, good quality, friendly and fun.  We’re going back as I am dying to try the pornstar martini sharer cocktail. I just think it would be the perfect end to a stressful day at the office followed by some dancing downstairs (they’re open until 3am). Just maybe not on a school night….

RECOMMENDED

Scarlet’s
Upper St Martin’s Lane, Covent Garden, London WC2H 9NY

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The Drift - Bishopsgate, London

Today we have a joint post with @Bromley_Boozer - we had an agreement, I would write about the food and she would stick to her comfort zone of writing about the drinks we imbibed whilst at The Drift, a surprisingly large bar split over two levels located at the base of The Heron Tower, on Bishopsgate in the City of London.

You can’t really miss The Heron Tower, it’s massive and this is why I was happy to laugh in the face of directions from Mrs Boozer and take massive offence that she had brought a map. After fifteen minutes of looking aimlessly around Bishopsgate it dawned on us that we were walking in the wrong direction, a swift about turn and we finally arrived. It should be easy to find, you don’t need the map reading skills of a special forces officer, no, if anything, the struggle to find it speaks volumes about our sense of direction (think dead homing pigeon).

So, on with the important bits.

What drift bar says…

‘Escape to a bar & restaurant that wants you to stay, linger, explore & quite simply drift… a sanctuary in the heart of the city, the drift brims with quirky collectibles, hidden alcoves, a mixology table & fine dining nook, whilst offering delights such as a flambe menu, seasonal menu & innovative cocktails.

‘Open for breakfast, brunch, lunch, dinner & drinks, the drift can meet your needs any time of the day. quirky cocktails & a wide selection of wines sit alongside a carefully crafted seasonal menu, whilst music & a late license until the early hours on Thursday & Friday make the drift the perfect place to start & end the party.’

The Drinks

When Beautyking invited me for dinner at Drift Bar (all his real friends were busy) the first thing I did was peek at the online drinks menu, in particular cocktails.  And not only did the cocktails look outstanding the menu quoted Alice in Wonderland “You’re entirely bonkers, but I tell you what….all the best people are.” And as everyone knows that the best people are most definitely the bonkers ones I couldn’t wait to get there.

First up was a Skinny Russian Rose Martini with Smirnoff Black vodka, leeches liqueur and ginger syrup, garnished with a rose petal.  Not only did it look pretty with its flower, it also weirdly tasted pretty, sort of perfumed but in a nice way.  As an added bonus you won’t be piling on the pounds as it’s listed as only containing 80 calories. What more reason do you need to have at least a few more? 

Beautyking’s Mojito of choice was a mango one (he could have chosen mint classic, strawberry & lavender, passion fruit or kumquat).  And from the sneaky bit that I drank whilst he wasn’t looking it was tangy with the fresh mint working well with the sweet mango.  One to try at home for a summer BBQ, if I can eat enough jam to collect the jars to serve them in.

My Tiramisu Martini was listed as a pudding cocktail and I’m certain that I’ve never drunk a cocktail with mascarpone in it before.  And I’ve drunk a lot of cocktails. I’m not sure you could  taste it though, as the overwhelming flavour was of coffee and gingerbread. It was delicious though and worth the chocolate powder moustache that is every cappuccino drinker at work’s worst nightmare.

Beautyking’s pudding cocktail was a cranberry brulee (Tanqueray gin, cranberry sauce, egg white, sugar, lemon & a dash of danger) and almost looked too weird to drink.  A tiny sieve was balanced in the drink with the egg white bit, leaving the cranberry cocktail underneath. I’m not sure what the dash of danger ingredient was though but it has an incredibly sweet taste and as someone who doesn‘t like Cranberries, Beautyking was adamant in between sips that this was a taste sensation. 

The Food

The nicest thing for me was the unhurried service we received, while Mrs Boozer got slightly irritated by the wait I actually liked the five to ten minutes we were given to soak up the atmosphere, have a look around, do a spot of people watching and get an all around feel for the place. 

The menu was impressive, I knew what I wanted weeks before I arrived. In fact, when approached and asked if we would like to go along the first thing I did was identify a meat dish that would knock years off my life (joke) it was so large and make up for the fact that I would be dining with a vegetarian (another joke). Step forward Reef & beef, but you’ll have to wait as the starters simply had me drooling.

I opted to start with Great British Bloody Mary mussels. First of all, the presentation, stunning, the aroma, out of this world, the taste, oh my god, it was like an orgy in my mouth (phrase probably copyright of Stewie Griffin from Family Guy). The mussels were cooked to perfection and almost melted in the mouth.

Rather than a fishy taste, the mussels blended with the thick rich tomato sauce to add an edge of bitterness that made this a match made in heaven. 

The portion size was superb, not too much but just enough to take the edge off my grumbling stomach. 

Mrs Boozer opted for roasted Portobello mushrooms and Taleggio cheese on bruschetta and with the speed with which they were demolished they must have been good! 

So, onto meat overload, the Reef & Beef, half a lobster, and a 4oz steak with onion rings and a plant pot full of chipped potatoes. I shamed myself, I couldn’t finish it all, I was stuffed by the time I had finished this to the point where a) I couldn’t have a dessert, and b) had to force down my drinks. Satisfied would be an understatement at this point.

Once again, the presentation did nothing to let down the dishes, they looked amazing, I was provided with the right tools to attack the lobster (although I did fear that I would take out those at nearby tables with bits of lobster shrapnel once I started cracking the claw) and the steak was cooked to perfection and as I had ordered - medium rare. 

Needless to say, the meat was tender, just hot enough and bloody in the middle. I broke out into the mental meat sweats in my head, and that is a sign that I’m really enjoying it. The lobster again melted in the mouth. When it first arrived I thought that it was tiny but looks can be deceptive, any larger and I would have had to have left it.

The onion rings were crispy, the batter light and fluffy. Normally onion rings can lack taste but not these, packed with onion I was hooked. Indeed, the chipped potatoes (chips to you and me) were also really tasty and I kept reaching for more until I physically couldn’t force any more down my throat. 

Mrs Boozer went for an Halloumi & hummus burger with red pepper, roast mushroom & tomato chutney. Strangely enough this looked really nice. There was a huge, thick slice of halloumi and the aroma had even me feeling as I though I could wolf my way through it in seconds. Needless to say, she was satisfied with the burger and even managed to eat more chips than me (the plant pots conceal what appears to be a bottomless pit of chips).

With both of my dishes coming in at well under £30 in total and Mrs Boozer’s at £15 this really was great value for money. 

The bars on both levels are wide and open, and it does have those little nooks with seats to get away from the crowds. I liked the interior, it was peaceful and the LED lights in the wall had me thinking my drinks had been spiked until I realised that they were slowly flashing! 

I enjoyed what was a very civilised Tuesday night in the City. The bar was busy and I can imagine it gets packed on a Thursday and Friday. That said, it has that much space, two long bars and a great location. Combine this with the out of this world cocktails and lovely food and you do have an affordable bolt-hole to drink, eat or just be merry in the heart of the financial district. 

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED 

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