Blacklock - The Shed - The London Pignic

It's my birthday today (hooray!), so I think I can get away with a writing-light, photo-heavy post, don't you? I had two stonking meals in London last week that will still be in my mind in a year's time.

I'll start with Soho's buzziest new joint, but you can skip ahead for some farm-to-table dining at The Shed by clicking here.

And if you are just here to read about an upcoming popup involving TINY PIGS then click here.

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Wednesday 4th March - First up though is Blacklock on Great Windmill Street, your one-stop shop for chops, cheesecake and cocktails on Great Windmill Street.  Despite only opening a couple of weeks ago, the queues are already forming up the stairs and down the street for this buzzy basement brothel hangout from Hawksmoor alumni.  

They aren't taking reservations at the moment, but this should be changing fairly soon.  The wait in the bar flies by when there is wine on tap and £5 cocktails, including a cracking Aperol Negroni and "Grandma's Spiked Lemonade".  You can even get yourself a £45 bottled cocktail for the table if you know you are in for the long haul.  A short but interesting beer list struggles to compete on prices.

You can order bits and bobs from the concise menu, but there's only really one option. ALL IN.

Pre-chop bites followed by Beef, Pork & Lamb chops piled on charcoal-grilled flat bread to share with a choice of side for £20 per person.  No brainer.

When a large group goes for this, the chop pile is truly a sight to behold.  The only slight issue is that you will find it difficult to choose one from a mouth-watering selection of sides:

- 10 hour ash roasted sweet potato

- Barbequed baby gems

- Charred courgettes, chicory and stilton

- Heritage carrots and meat radish

- Kale and parmesan

Anyway, I'm getting ahead of myself.  We started with the Cheese & Pickle and Filthy Ham pre-chop bites which shouldn't be overlooked.  These seemingly measly starters are in fact little mouthfuls of joy, packed with flavour.

Filthy Ham

Cheese & Pickle

They are soon a distant memory when the plate of chops piled on top of deliciously soggy flatbread arrives, surrounded by sides.  We opt in the end for the charred courgettes, chicory and stilton and 10 hour ash roasted sweet potato - both outrageoulsy good.  The glorious chops, cooked over charcoal, do not disappoint.  My partner in crime for the evening is usually defeated by her over-ordering and leaves the rest to me, but this was sadly not the case at Blacklock as she happily hoovered up her half of the table, save for a sliver of bread which I gratefully demolished.  

All The Chops.

All The Chops.

Charred Courgettes, Chicory & Stilton

10 Hour Ash Roasted Sweet Potato

All In.

No more chops

And to finish, if you have any space, the witty staff bring round a tub of their baked New York cheesecake with a hint of white chocolate, with a "say when" approach to portion sizes.  A teacup of rhubarb coulis is thrown in for good measure.  At £4 for a monstrous portion, you won't leave feeling short changed.

How much do you want?

White Chocolate & Vanilla Baked Cheesecake with Rhubarb Coulis

As long as you know what you are in for, Blacklock is an absolute triumph.  It could easily be a stressful experience, but the staff handle everything in style and keep everyone happy with a good dose of humour.  Go hungry and thirsty with a group of friends, and don't be in a rush.

If you like the like the look of Blacklock, you might also enjoy Soho's Smoking Goat

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Saturday 7th March - I wrote about The Shed a loooooong time ago, but I thought I'd just post a few photos from a wonderful lunch there last week.  Any thoughts that The Shed might suffer as a result of opening their second restaurant Rabbit (also wonderful) were quickly dispelled as the outstanding small plates started to build up.

As you may know, both restaurants are run by two Gladwin brothers, one of whom was in the kitchen on our visit.  The majority of the food and wine is sourced from their Nutbourne farm (where a third brother earns a living), and the drinks menu shows off the best of British with the likes of Chase, Sipsmith, Sacred and Compass Box heavily featured.  The bar is worth visiting just for the booze.

It's an eye-catching little space, full of rustic charm, with mirrors at either end that cleverly extend the room. They still insist on a variety of uncomfortable chairs which could do with a rethink, but the food provides ample distraction, as does the occasional live music.  The staff do a very fine job, displaying solid knowledge of the menu, and being generally cheerful throughout a busy lunch period in a confined space.

We happily ate all of this:

- the shed malt star sourdough bread 2.0

- white bean hummus, cinnamon dukkah, heritage carrots 7.5

- stout smoked mackerel, pumpkin, kale, cranberry, linseeds 7.5

- rainbow beetroot salad, nutbourne feta, sunflower seeds, star anise 8.0

- salsify, pear, walnut, endive, chanterelles 8.0

- carrot, potato noodles, sesame seeds, coriander 7.5

- venison cigars, shed mustard, tarragon 8.0

- spiced salt beef, barley, preserved lemon, shallot, lovage 9.50

- pan fried goat’s cheese, hazelnut, honey, thyme 6.5

- spring greens, field mushrooms, shallots, linseeds, sherry 7.0

- nutbourne venison, smoked potato, artichoke, three cornered garlic 11.0

- cheese plate - tornegus, montgomery, mayfield swiss, finn 4.50

- the shed magnum vienetta parfait 6.0

- honeycomb crunchy, chocolate, mascarpone, tarragon sugar 6.0

The Shed Malt Star Sourdough Bread

White Bean Hummus, Cinnamon Dukkah, Heritage Carrots

Rainbow Beetroot Salad, Nutbourne Feta, Sunflower Seeds, Star Anise

Pan Fried Goat's Cheese, Hazelnut, Honey, Thyme

Carrot, Potato Noodles, Sesame Seeds, Coriander

Spring Greens, Field Mushrooms, Shallots, Linseeds, Sherry

Spiced Salt Beef, Barley, Preserved Lemon, Shallots, Lovage

Venison Cigars, Shed Mustard, Tarragon

Nutbourne Venison, Smoked Potato, Artichoke, Three Cornered Garlic

Honeycomb Crunchy, Chocolate, Mascarpone, Tarragon Sugar

Oustanding from start to finish - The Shed is another one to go for in a group to make the most of sharing a variety of small plates.

If you like the look of The Shed, you might also enjoy reading about Rabbit, their new restaurant.

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I don't often do previews, but when TINY PIGS are involved, one must make an exception:

Yelp, Petpiggies and The Proud Archivist presents The London Pop-Up Pignic! 

When: May 21 - 22, Thursday and Friday, 6 to 10pm 

            May 23 - 25, Saturday, Sunday and Bank Holiday Monday, 2 to 6pm

Where: The Proud Archivist, 2-10 Hertford Road, London N1 5SH.  

What: This will not just be a sit-down experience but a multi-room, piggy educational evening. Yelp will be working with both animal charities and animal welfare groups to educate about Micro Pigs and Micro Pig Ownership. They want to make it clear that a potential journey towards pet pig ownership must start with realistic size expectations. This is where Yelp, Petpiggies and The Proud Archivist will work to educate the public with The Pignic in the hope that fewer pigs will end up being abandoned. 

Price: £30 per ticket, which will include the full evening, including food, a piggy themed cocktail, pig themed education and activities, and, above all, time with the most adorable litter of pigs you've ever seen. Money from every ticket will also go to their charity partner, Farms not Factories.

Learn more about the #LondonPignic here.  

Just a tiny pig.

Joe's Southern - Soho Diner - The Shed

July round up number two (read number one here) - some of these were over a month ago, so this will be a good test of my Suzuki powered memory skills.  Apologies if it was sent out early and unfinished, I pressed the publish button by mistake!

Tuesday 2nd July - I booked myself plus Lucy and Coral, who haven't appeared on the List for a very long time, in to Joe's Southern Kitchen and Bar on King Street in Covent Garden.  Everything was 50% off (drinks included) for the two day soft launch period, but I was sadly feeling a bit under the weather so didn't manage to capitalise on their generosity.  It used to be Navajo Joe's, which I never made it to, so I can't comment on how much it has changed its appearance.  The menu is filled with enticing dishes, but the main show is Beer Can Chicken (pictured below).  As you can see, the chicken is actually cooked with a beer can inside it - it is, for obvious reasons often called Beer Butt Chicken!

Ours sadly arrived already carved so we didn't get to see it in all its glory - sneak round to the carving stations to have a look, or alternatively have a go at making it yourself!  It could be even more fun if they let you choose what beer you want inside, as they have a great selection.  We chose a few sides to go with it, the pick of which was the mac and cheese with spinach (pictured below).

The cocktail menu is extremely impressive and readable, and it took a lot of willpower to not order several of them, but I was sadly operating at about 10% as Lucy and Coral can confirm - my conversational skills were not on top form.  Redneck Popper with bourbon, maple syrup, chocolate cookie syrup, milk, cream and coco pops sounds pretty ridiculous, though Dark and Smokey (mezcal based) sounded more up my street.  There is a totally separate bar downstairs (which wasn't yet open) that you can access from the road that looks like a lot of fun.  I had a sneaky peek on my way to the toilets which have a soothing Southern audio book playing as you use the facilities!  I hope to return again soon operating at 100% so that I can truly appreciate everything that they have to offer, but I can already recommend it highly.

Southern Joe's basement bar - not yet open when I visited

Friday 5th July - The heatwave was just getting in to gear in time for the closing stages of Wimbledon, and I remember coming out of work and feeling that I had to go and watch Murray's semi final somewhere central with good atmosphere.  I dragged future KSO leader Jason along, with the promise that we would get some food first.  It was the opening weekend for Shake Shack and Five Guys Burgers so we decided to check out the queues for a laugh - they were ridiculous! Approaching 90 minutes for both of them, we obviously moved on to find something else.  I returned a week or two later to the American burger rivals, when the queues were back to  a normal size - more on that another time.  We instead settled on Soho Diner (part of Soho House Group) which was also officially opening that evening.  We waltzed straight in, and ordered a drink within seconds for an extremely friendly waiter who was on his best behaviour.

At first, we were glad to be out of the heat round the corner at the back of the restaurant, but the atmosphere wasn't quite the same as the front where the windows open out so you can do some Soho people watching.  Our Philly Cheese Steaks were very nice, though they were outdone by the enormous and delicious portion of chips with aioli.  The beer menu is strong, and cocktails are amusingly available on tap. To really get the diner vibe, I would lower the music a little, and turn the lights up a bit, but what do I know? I was hoping to find Agent Cooper from Twin Peaks sitting at the bar, eating cherry pie.  Anyway, there's still plenty to like here, even without Kyle MacLachlan.

OK, so that is Twin Peaks.

Saturday 13th July - I was lucky enough to be treated to lunch at The Shed in Notting Hill, especially as it is towards the pricey end for The List.  They have done a wonderful job making this place look rustic, and have made clever use of mirrors to make it seem bigger than it really is.  The Shed menu changes every day depending on what Oliver and Richard Gladwin have sourced from their brother amongst others in Nutbourne, Sussex.  Oliver then comes up with lots of exciting, small dishes which are best experienced with a tapas sharing approach.  Do order a fair amount as portions are quite small - that said, we were eventually defeated, though not before we devoured the popular lamb chips (pictured below) which are the only constant on the menu.  I won't go into detail about what else we ate as it probably won't be there again (or because it was nearly a month ago, and I have no menu to refresh my memory).

There are interesting drinks on offer - the "loosener" cocktail jug (different to Bloody Mary listed below) was very refreshing, and they have their own homemade craft lager available too.  The service was superb throughout, and they were very child friendly, even if the menu is not.  The bill does mount up, but the food is high quality, inventive stuff so it is worth it.  I would suggest that they get slightly comfier chairs though, if they can find some that match their decor!  Thanks to Leona for another lovely meal.

I still have a large July backlog after my trip to Cornwall, including a very late Feast writeup and the Team List verdict on Shake Shack and Five Guys, so expect a few quick posts this week.  Here's what else is happening, or launching soon:

Get your tickets to crazy zombie experience "2.8 Hours Later" here before it sells out.

New restaurants on the block - Flesh and Buns, Smokehouse, Pizza Pilgrims, Casse Croute, Chop Shop - keep checking Hot Dinners "Opening Soon" page for the best chance of 50% off soft launch deals.

Other fun: Camden Beach, Camden Lock Night Market, Street Feast in their new home, The Pit, Urban Sessions.

Finally, big thanks to Square Meal for naming me *Blog of the Week* and amusingly calling me a foodie, rather than an increasingly fat and poor musician with too much time on his hands.