BBQ Heaven

Yesterday I went to possibly my favourite restaurant in London, for what I think is the fifth time. Now I would go more often, unfortunately you can't book and it isn't exactly healthy. It has won many awards in the last year (it's first), it's not snooty or posh or even that expensive but you do have to play the game to get the goods. But boy is it worth it!

Pitt Cue is a place I take people who like meat, red meat! Barbecued and dripping with flavour! Every time I introduce someone to this corner restaurant just off Carnaby street it's like going through the acts of a play. They start by saying something like "this is a little cosy". And it is, this tiny restaurant seats 30 at any one time and its almost too popular for it's own good. Patience is most definitely a virtue. You wait in the all too cramped bar upstairs, twenty to thirty minutes later its "Soooo when are we going to sit down?" or "I'm so hungry!" Unfortunately the wait is usually quite long, forty five minutes to an hour from when your name goes down on the list. The cocktails help though they have a great range of sours, bourbon, beer and cider. Once you get the tap on the shoulder and are shown to your seat you know the food is only minutes away. By this point my guests are champing at the bit, their taste buds and salivating glands already primed and ready due to the heavenly aromas coming from the kitchen and the sight of other diners plates.

Now if you are as greedy as I am, I would recommend ordering two meat dishes and two sides. You get bread and pickles as part of the course, just to make sure you roll out instead of walk. The menu changes a lot but pulled pork, sausage and beef ribs are regulars.

If I didn't know better I would say the Pitt Cue chefs use some sort of black magic, which forces me to lick the beef ribs clean. However I'm pretty sure its just a brilliant BBQ recipe and wonderfully reared meat. I know this, as Pitt Cue even breed their own Mangalitza pigs for the pork in the restaurant.Yesterday there were also extras on the menu of crumbed pork cheek and chicken nuggets which were superb! Sides include mash (with gravy), slaw, beans (with meat..... there's a lot of meat) all are fab and accompany the mains with smokey BBQ goodness!

Whilst eating my friends don't say an awful lot. The moaning and complaining is over. They just make some semi-erotic noises with a few low groans when they try a combination of the pulled pork and the gravy mash. A high pitched exclamation upon reaching climax while half way through a beef rib, or maybe that's just me.

 The final act is generally groans and a refusal to look at the pudding menu. You say genuine thank yous to the waiters and to the bar staff and leave with a large smile on your face. Forgotten is the hour you spent  juggling your drink and your bag while yet another diner squeezes in. Only the last thirty minutes of BBQ heaven are in your thoughts. You may or may not realise it then but you've just had one of the best meals you'll ever have.