Chin Chin Labs - Q Grill - Tapping the Admiral

Thursday 20th March - Being a kid is great - no responsibility, people buy you things, constant holidays etc - but I have a feeling that, had someone else been responsible for me a few weeks ago, I wouldn't have been allowed a pre-dinner ice cream.

Apparently, however, I am now a grown up, which means I am allowed to decide for myself whether a trip to an ice-cream parlour in the middle of March just before a big meal is a good idea.  In my defence, Chin-Chin Labs in Camden shut their doors at 7pm, so I really had no choice.

Chin-Chin Labs is "Europe's First Liquid Nitrogen Ice-Cream Parlour" and you can find it opposite Honest Burgers near Camden Lock, from 12pm-7pm every day.

The décor is part kitchen, part laboratory, complete with test tubes filled with vanilla pods & conical beakers stuffed full of pistachio & cardamom powder, heather honeycomb & other toppings. 

Quirky flavours include Blueberry Marshmallow and Ping Guava & Pepper Crack but the menu changes regularly

Cutting it fine with closing time, I ordered a Pondicherry Vanilla with fellow "grown-up" Taro, and watched as one of the "scientists" poured liquid nitrogen into a food mixer.  It's a visual treat and children must go absolutely crazy in there.  I was snapping away like a maniac.

Moments later, a wonderfully un-sculpted lump of ice cream was plonked into a tub, and we added our choice of sauce / topping - truffle crumble on this occasion.  It was stunning - smooth, creamy, super cold and full of flavour, and good value at £3.95 a pot considering all the theatrics.  Now they just need to start opening later - rumour has it they might be doing a couple of late nights soon.

N.B. There is also Monmouth Coffee, Jing Tea, Egg Nog & Valrhona Hot Chocolate, and you can take away 1/2kg tubs of ice cream for £12.95.

After that palate cleanser / aperitif, Taro and I strolled round the corner to Q Grill, London's latest BBQ Smokehouse, where we joined by David.  

The exterior look is as minimal as it gets (unless it just hadn't been finished yet), but the interior décor is very eye catching with kitchen tools, diagrams of cows and a crafty specials board adorning the walls.  It's a big site, with an attractive long bar and a large private dining area at the back taking up some of the space.

The bar at Q Grill

Lee Bull, Executive Chef at Q Grill

Private dining room at Q Grill

We had possibly the best seats in the house (ask for Table 5), right next to Q Grill's open kitchen, where we got to watch & listen to Executive Chef Lee Bull keeping his team in good shape.  They handled things very well considering the number of covers and it being a soft launch still.  Lee has plenty of experience having worked at The Ivy, Le Caprice, Scott's, Daphne's and The Fish & Chip Shop, Q Grill's sister restaurant in Islington (run by restaurateur, Des McDonald).  Apparently, more branches of both restaurants are planned.

Ordering was tough with so many fantastic options, so we just went ahead and reeled off our long list of demands, painfully leaving out the likes of Soft Shell Crab w/ Pickled Kohlrabi & Butter Bun & Charred Octopus w/ Kimchi, Blood Orange & Capers.  Maybe if I hadn't had that ice cream...

We then sat back with a couple of beers (mostly Camden & interesting bottles such as Quaffing Gravy Pale Ale) and watched as enormous pieces of meat including the 1kg Tomahawk Steak you can see below were chucked on the grill, and raw dishes were prepared further down the counter.  I notice they have added some sharing boards to the menu which might make ordering a little easier.  The Fish Board (Seabass Plantain, Tuna Crudo, Q Hot Smoked Salmon, Moonshine Shrimps) is £18 and the Meat Board (Josper Ribs, Flar Iron Steak, Grilled Pig Collar, Pit Roast Chicken) comes in at £27.50.

Tomahawk Steak

Tomahawk Steak - thanks to the chefs for giving me a shout for a photo op!

Cornish Hen Wings presented in a QGrill bag

Kielbasa Hotdog and the Q Burger

Steak Tartare at the counter

From the Counter menu we enjoyed Butternut Squash "Hummus" with Charred Flat Bread & Seabass Ceviche with Spicy Plantain.  The Cornish Hen Wings arrive in a Q Bag, much like the cornbread at Barnyard & onion rings at The Joint.  

Our mains included delicious Squid "a la plancha" w/ Smoked Bacon and Pigs Collar w/ Squash & Pecans but the standout was definitely the Beef Short Rib w/ Cima de Rapa & Charred Squash which had been through various stages of preparation adding up to around 30 hours - it showed.  We also chucked in some Scrumpy-fried Onion Rings & Seasoned Fries which went down very nicely with their House BBQ sauce.

My second dessert of the night was a warm & gooey Bulleit bourbon & pecan tart that almost stole the show, although the bourbon wasn't that prominent and £7.75 seems pretty steep when compared to the £4 puddings at Ollie Dabbous' Barnyard.

If you don't get Table 5, sitting at the bar is another great option, and you will want to have a couple of their cocktails whilst you are in front of the bartenders.  My boozy Rum DMc stood out, but the Resurrection & a nicely presented Seasonal Julep also held their own, and are well priced at £8.50.

It was a fantastic meal full of raw dishes, smoked meats & bold flavours, and there's so much on the menu I want to return for.  A slight lowering of prices wouldn't go amiss as you can easily reach a pretty impressive total, but they are at a similar level to Smokehouse in Islington, another List favourite, and Q Grill runs a £10 quick lunch menu Mon-Fri 12pm-3pm.

Rum DMc, Seasonal Julep & Resurrection - QGrill Cocktails

Whilst we were out and about, David and I decided to grab one more drink at a local pub.  Rather than go for the obvious Camden Town Brewery or Brewdog Camden, we settled on Tapping the Admiral, a brilliant little boozer (with a Thai kitchen) that won CAMRA North London Pub of the Year in 2013.

After Nelson's death in the battle of Trafalgar in 1805, his body was placed in a barrel of brandy to preserve it on the long journey home. Legend has it that the crew drilled a hole in the top of the barrel and would use macaroni straws to draw off a little brandy to drink to the naval hero, Admiral Horatio Nelson, hence the term used to describe a sneaky drink: Tapping the Admiral.

Camden disappeared as we stepped inside and were greeted the sound of folk musicians who were just playing to themselves on a table in one corner.  Then we spotted Nelson, the aptly named house cat who has a rather cosy looking bed & sofa by the open fire.  Meanwhile some regulars were playing a simple but addictive bar game called Shut the Box whilst another was learning his lines for a play - were we still in London?  We soaked up the atmosphere with some pints of Portobello Star & Dark Star Hophead from their excellent selection of cask ales, before heading back out to the rainy streets of London.  I'll be back.

Shut the Box at Tapping the Admiral

69 Colebrooke Row - Slim Jim's Liquor Store - Smokehouse

Saturday 5th October - After holding off on Islington for the first 6 months, Team List has been all over it recently (read about the last Upper Street crawl here).  69 Colebrooke Row ("The Bar with No Name") was one of the first places to be added to my original list, and I finally made it there with Lauren at the start of October.

Tony Corigliano is the master mixologist behind 69 Colebrooke Row, and he is one of the most respected members of the cocktail world.  He often works closely with chef Bruno Loubet - Zetter Townhouse and Grain Store are their two London collaborations.   Here though, it is all about the drinks and the atmosphere.  Despite what you may have read, it is not hard to find at all, and doesn't look like a run down apartment from the outside!  It is, however, a very small space, so booking ahead is highly recommended.  Despite it only being 6.30, the bar was packed and people seemed to have been there for a while.  We were squeezed in next to the door, which brought a welcome breeze every few minutes.  

The menu is relatively short with 12 house cocktails listed, but I'm sure one of the lab-coated bartenders would be happy to go off piste.  Two drinks that stand out instantly are the Prairie Oyster (see below) and Terroir.  The latter is described as "distilled clay, flint and lichen, served straight from the bottle" - how could I resist?  Our friendly waiter brought over a sample and talked us through the thought process behind it. The word terroir normally relates to wine, specifically the land / soil that the grapes are grown in, which has a big impact on the wine's flavour profile.  Tony has essentially distilled terroir and bottled it, with a little sugar to take the edge off!  It is very drinkable, but actually a little too sweet for me - don't leave without giving it a try though.

The Prairie Oyster is Tony's take on the classic raw egg and tabasco based shot of the same name, which is often used as a hangover cure.  Tony's version replaces the raw egg with a "tomato yolk" and plays up the oyster link with an appropriately shaped dish and an oyster leaf on top.  It ends up as a bizarre, almost edible Bloody Mary which can be yours for £5.50.

Prairie Oyster

We moved on to a Death in Venice (Campari with grapefruit bitters, Prosecco and an orange twist) and an Avignon (Merlet Cognac, Camomile Syrup and Frankincense).  The Avignon was the more interesting of the two, with the frankincense having a real effect - "It smells like Dorset at Christmas", says Lauren.  The drinks are of the highest quality, though I think I need to know a bit more about the art of mixology to really appreciate everything that is going on.  I should probably sign up to one of their masterclasses which happen fairly regularly - check the website for details.

We enjoyed our stay but decided to move away from £9.50 drinks for a bit.  It's an obvious date spot, though I would save it for people that really know their cocktails.  Keep your eyes peeled for Tony's next bar which will apparently be called Air Mail, according to Barchick.

Tony Corigliano

Mary joined us as we moved on to our second stop of the evening, which is probably as far from 69 Colebrooke Row as you can get (in style, not distance).  Slim Jim's Liquor Store is a popular rock and roll dive bar, sandwiched between Upper Street's delightful cafés and restaurants.  You are transported to LA as soon as you step inside.  As one review on the website says, "It smells like grunge sounds!". One of the first things you will notice is the array of bras hanging from the ceiling - anyone that is willing to hand over their bra will receive a drink on the house apparently.  

The bar is incredibly well stocked, and it does apparently work as an off license too, though I'm not sure if this is actually true.  I would have thought that it would be more of a bourbon and beers type bar, but a lot of effort went in to Mary and Lauren's cocktails.  The bottled beers are more interesting than the draught options, and I went for a Sierra Nevada Kellerweis which I haven't seen in London before.

This is the place to rock up to towards the end of the evening, especially from Thursday-Saturday when it stays open til 3am, with no suits / ties / formal wear allowed.  There will either be a DJ playing classic tunes, or a free jukebox for all to enjoy.  We were very taken with Slim Jim's and plan to return en masse soon, after stopping off at Primark first for some bras of course.

After a few drinks, we were in need of food, so we wandered along Upper Street, past the fully booked John Salt, before veering off towards Essex Street to check out Neil Rankin's Islington pub/restaurant, Smokehouse.  Neil Rankin made a name for himself as a BBQ and butchery maestro with stints at Pitt Cue Co and John Salt, so there was a lot of expectation for Smokehouse.  I was too slow off the mark to make it to the soft opening over the summer, and watched on with increasing jealousy as it received rave reviews.  

We were fortunate to get a cosy table in the bar area that looked out into the stunning fairly lit garden - a magical place to drink which needs to extend it's licensing hours once they have made friends with all of their neighbours.  It felt like we had escaped the city, so we settled in for the rest of the evening.

We were looked after by two superb waiters who seemed to be competing to be the most entertaining. I could attempt to recount some of our bizarre conversations but they wouldn't come across as well on here.  We did particularly enjoy the enthusiasm that one of them showed when asked to go through the silly pudding menu which includes Vanilla Vanilla Vanilla, Krun Chee Nut and the mysterious Friday Pie. He convinced us to get the Friday Pie (I won't spoil the surprise, but it is delicious) and then brought an extra giant spoon to the table for himself!

Anyway, back to the meat.  I was torn between the Onglet, the Peppered Ox-Cheek and the Smoked Pork Rib-Eye.  The menu is one of those "I want to eat everything" lists, but we all somehow ended up with the Aberdeen Angus Onglet which comes with Charred Vegetables, Roast Potatoes, and a Smoked Bearnaise sauce, though the sides aren't listed.  It was easily one of the best meals I have eaten this year, and I've scoffed a fair amount in the last few months.

As well as having fantastic smoked meats to shout about, they have over 20 craft beers on tap and many more in the fridge.  I recognised one of the barmen as we had briefly met in the Earl of Essex on my last trip to Islington.  He was very generous with tasters, and passed me samples of Mikeller APA, Rogue Dead Guy Ale and Redhook Longhammer IPA amongst others.  It's not the cheapest way to try craft beer in London, but it is certainly one of the best combined beer and meat hangouts.  Smokehouse should be at the top of your to-do list.

Team List - Maggie turned up right at the end as usual for a sneaky point, whilst Mary gets 2 (bringing her into the Top 10) and Lauren gets 3 (edging towards 50 points).  I think many members of Team List would be suitable candidates for a new venture called Whitenighter. People who are visiting London can book a knowledgeable Whitenighter host who will plan an evening out, avoiding tourist traps and discovering some of London's hidden gems along the way.  They are also currently running a competition for visitors travelling to London, to win places on their London Safari night out - click HERE for more details.  If you are a Londoner who thinks you have what it takes to be a Whitenighter, you can apply on their website.  It's a fantastic idea and will hopefully give tourists a better experience of London's food and drink scene.