I'm not sure what the inspiration (and the name) behind this week-old place is, but it seems to be all old school and funky. It's evident from the DJ playing soulful records in the corner of the dining room, the red-tinged lighting and one of the coolest decorated toilets I've ever seen. Fat Albert? Yep. Soul Glo?? Yep (watch Coming To America for all you youngsters).
Thankfully the food is good too. Just look at the menu for all the excellent cuts of meat that are underused - pig's ears, bone marrow, ox tail, beef cheeks (I hope they add some of my other favourites later on) - these actually sparked my intrigue and anticipation. There are of course some standards for the less adventurous.
- Pickled okra (no photo) - tastes like okra that's been boiled in vinegar but retains some crunch. It's a simple snack;
- Pig's ear chips with cayenne salt (no photo) - 4 serves of these were just enough for 8 people. Better than the Duck & Waffle version. The best accompaniment for cocktails;
- Sweetbread nuggets (lamb sweetbreads, honey & thyme glaze)(no photo) - you'll never go back to McNuggets after these fried salty sweet ones;
- Jerk chicken wings - little grilled chicken drumsticks;
- Mac & cheese (with 3 cheeses) - rich flavoursome with a nice crust topped with (more) cheese;
- Roasted bone marrow (with pickles, smoked salt, sourdough) - not a fan of this. It's essentially fat on toast (as it is everywhere) but the bread was average and the marrow didn't have much seasoning;
- Shoestring fries (with capsicum ketchup) - fries with a slightly spicy (paprika?) seasoning. Nothing special;
- Fried chicken and waffles (with spiced maple syrup) - very tasty crispy batter, tender chicken;
- Tongue & cheek (veal, grilled tongue, braised cheek, sweet potato puree) - the tongue wasn't so memorable, but the cheek was tender as expected;
- Pork ribs (slaw, bourbon BBQ sauce) - you can never go past pork ribs. I expected the typical pork rack of ribs, but this was actually (surprisingly) a short section of pork belly on the rib. The skin had a little crispiness, the meat was succulent and the little bits of fat in between the layers kept it quite moist;
- Apple pie (cinnamon, spiced rub) - 4 crusty fried puffs of hot apple filling. Reminded me like an upmarket version of McDonald's apple pie with more caramel tones. It was fine but I'm not enamoured. A more sharing way to end the meal;
- Quince & rhubarb cobbler - quince, rhubarb, icecream - a slightly more refined way to end the meal.
Go there to hang out and have some snacks and drinks. Enjoy the atmosphere. This place (with a few menu tweaks from various London influences on me) would be the type of thing I'd like to own myself. Will definitely be back.
Next time I would order Sweet bread nuggets and Pig's ear chips with pre-drinks or whilst waiting for other people to arrive. Mac & cheese (or the Ox tail slider I didn't try) as a filler, and pork ribs to finish it off. Apple pie is easy to share, but otherwise I'd save dessert and have more drinks.
