Reset Day Review – Pitt Cue Company

I’m a big fan of barbecue. I’ve always loved ribs, and have come through the sweet & sour and  barbecue from the Chinese restaurant through to the ribs by the likes of TGI Fridays to more lofty heights of the current London Barbecue scene.

Man Vs Food turned me onto the concept that there was more to barbecue than just ribs, and a trip to Bodean’s a few years ago introduced me to Brisket, Pulled Pork and Burnt Ends.

Thanks to Meetup (again!) I’ve had the pleasure of going to various burger and barbecue places, ones that I would never have known to visit. However this Sunday, we went to the daddy of all London Barbecue Restaurants, the Pitt Cue Company.

Knowing the queues for which it is famous, we rocked up at 11:30 on Sunday. First in the queue, with 7 of us waiting. By the time 10 to 12 had come, there were 2 more groups behind us. The door opened promptly at 12, and we headed to the bar upstairs to grab a drink while they sorted out our table.

That all sorted, we trooped downstairs to quite possibly the smallest dining room I’ve ever seen. Whilst Pitt Cue may have 30 seats total, that must include the bar seats upstairs! This was the view from our nook, which seated 6 snugly, but managed with our 7.

The choices on the menu change twice a day. For lunch there was the option of:

• Pulled Pork
• Sirloin of Mangalitza Pork
• Featherblade of Beef

The table was split 4 pork & 3 Featherblade.

Starters were also bought. I had scratchings (my favourite ever food I think) and others had deep fried jowl and dripping on toast.

 

The food arrived quickly and, in short, was delicious. The best barbecue I’ve ever had.

The scratchings were beautifully cooked, not very spicy (certainly not Black Country style) halfway between scratchings and crackling. They were arranged into little wheels and went well with the smooth US-style apple sauce.

I also managed to try the dripping on sourdough, and that went down very well too.

I think the jowl was a touch more challenging – the table was split on whether it was good or not. I didn’t try it, unfortunately.

The mains arrived, and if you’re used to places like Bodeans or Red Dog, you’ll be surprised by the relatively small portion sizes. However, this is the ‘fine dining’ end of barbecue, and the food is prepared with care and love, the flavours go together so well.

I’d never had featherblade before, it was brisket-like in texture it that it pulled very easily, but it was nicer to eat in slices, the flavour between brisket and steak. There was a lovely bark on it, with a pronounced smoke ring. The outside crunchy/chewiness balanced beautifully with the soft & tender inside. The dark, quite sweet barbecue sauce was an excellent counterpoint to the intense meatiness of the cut. I had it with the green chili coleslaw, and that was a good choice. Again, amongst the best coleslaw I’ve ever had. It wasn’t hot, despite the chili, more warming and it was nicely creamy without being cloying.

I also tried the bone marrow mashed potato and that was really good as well, very rich with a lovely swirl of gravy on the top.

 

The pork looked good, but I’m glad I had the beef!

The staff were very knowledgeable and friendly, and were very quick to respond to requests.

Dessert was a baked plum cheesecake, but as I was the only one who wanted dessert, I opted to give it a miss, which I now regret rather.

All in, it cost £25 for me for a starter, main & side and a soft drink.

Highly, highly recommended, and somewhere I will look to come back to as soon as I can.  I’d imagine the queues get pretty outrageous at times, but since I know how good the food is, the wait would be worth it.

The best meal I’ve had in almost a year, and the best barbecue I’ve had ever.