I’ve been a fan of the Meatwagon since I joined them on one of their rare trips up north (Highgate. If you go much further north you’re in “Here there be dragons” territory). The burger I was served was a revelation. Juicy, rich and full of flavour, it hit all the right buttons. Apparently I wasn’t alone, because the Meatwagon seems to have kicked off a Meat Renaissance in London.
On the hunt for a burger to compare to the Meatwagon’s, my first stop was at the growing chain, Byron Burger. This is a fast-food joint in a modern retro style. I’m afraid it doesn’t live up to Meateasy standards but it does offer a more reliable experience. For starters the restaurants don’t move and it doesn’t take an hour to get a burger. The burger itself felt a bit more traditional from an English point of view. It’s drier, more… I don’t know. It feels like it’s trying to be the perfect fast-food burger. An evolved Burger King? Better quality ingredients, better flavour, more attention to detail, better sides. It’s a burger restaurant, not a fast-food joint.
I’ve visited Byron in Soho, Angel and Kensington and they’re all the same. So… it’s good. Not gourmet. Not amazing. Just – really high quality burgers. Perhaps its the ubiquity of it that further reduces my desire for it? Why obsess over something that’s easy to get hold of?
I’ve not tried Hawksmoor’s burger but given the quality of their steaks I can understand why the food crowd holds it in high regard. It’s regularly up there in the list of the best burgers in London. Maybe I’ll get back there one day but I think if I do, it’ll be for the steak.
In early 2011 a few other burger joints started to pop up, capitalizing on growing need for quality burgers that seems to have stemmed from the Meatwagon’s success. None seemed to get the rave reviews that would send me schlepping across London to sample them until, eventually, thankfully, the Meatwagon evolved (by way of a stolen wagon and the support of the twitterverse) in to the the pop-up Meateasy. Located up the fire escape and across the roof of a broken-down old pub in New Cross, the Meateasy ran through most of summer 2011. It was subject to rave reviews, massive queues and was visited by myself 3 times despite being on the other side of London (Bacon Cheese, Dead Hippy, Chilli) before closing at the end of the summer to the great distress of every hipster and burger enthusiast in London.
Earlier this year London’s they were rewarded for their support with MEATliquor, one of the most fantastic places to eat in London. It serves an expanded menu (though I did sample the Dead Hippy again, just to be sure) and is an amazing venue. It feels like the place Garlic & Shots could be if they got their thumb out of their arse. It feels like Madam JoJos with meat. It’s brilliantly decorated and dark enough that coming in on a sunny day makes you wonder if you haven’t gone blind. Go.
One caveat – if you don’t want to queue, go after 1pm and before 5pm. It gets busy and there are no reservations.
Of course, burgers aren’t the only kind of meat. Just a year or so ago I went to Bodean’s BBQ, an American-style bbq chain serving, as it turns out, pretty bad food. Still, it felt good to be there and really fitted the occasion (stag do). I haven’t been back since, but still long for the taste of a proper rack of ribs. So you can probably tell I was pleased when I discovered Pitt Que, a BBQ joint that was mentioned in the same breath as MEATliquor.
It didn’t disappoint. The ribs weren’t ready (still in the smoker) so I resorted to the lamb belly, a cut I’d not considered before. It was fatty, which is to be expected of belly, and, just, omg. Wow. Mouthgasm. I’ve not been given food that tasty in a long time. I have to visit again. It’s almost too good.
I tried the pulled pork and the pork chop special but wasn’t so impressed with either though this may be because the rich, smokey lamb was simply overpowering everything else as my dining partners seemed to enjoy them very much.
Hopefully when I next make it back the ribs will be available – I’ve got a feeling they’ll be the star of the show.
Pitt Que has the same first-come first-serve seating policy as the MEATliquor and has similar queues as a result but, in addition, it’s shut between 3 and 5pm. We turned up at 2pm and were offered a table immediately, though it looks like a wait of 15 minutes or so is more common at that time.
Next on my list of Duke’s Brew & Que in Dalston and Kua ‘Aina (a Hawaiin themed burger joint) off Carnaby Street. I’ve got high hopes! Of course there are many others, but I just can’t keep track of them all.
If there’s a part of London’s Meat Renaissance that should be on my list, I’d love to know about it.

