Don't believe the hype.
You'd be forgiven for thinking that London restaurant-land is a currently a barren desert with all roads out leading to a slew of pop up joints or casual short order cafes. Each one as breathily lauded as the other within the foodie community, welcomed into the world and birthed online with a salivatory crescendo of blurry photography and a level of preemptive sweaty palmed anticipation not seen since Take That reformed. Mishkin's, Pitt Cue Co, and Burger and Lobster are going to be packed to the rafters with the great and the gluttonous for some time to come. If you listen to the foodie community on Twitter, read reviews in newspapers or follow other food blogs, it's not hard to be swept up in the gustatory anticipation. If I'd spent a couple of million launching a new fine dining spot recently (hello Dabbous), right now I'd be kicking my PR team up and down the stairs.
Have I been to them? Of course. And as much as I protest circumstance, you're right to accuse me of being dragged along in part by the the desperately positive tide.
New York meets the East End by way of Finchley style all day Jew'ish' diner. Those who have been to other restaurants by creator Russell Norman will know the drill; small space squeezes maximum capacity with handsome bar seating, trendy and friendly staff sucked from design school by way of Diamond Jacks and a cocktail cum small sharing menu focused on comfortable classics. The only anomaly is that Mishkin's has a booking policy (finally, Norman, finally!).
The space is beautiful. Russell Norman truly is the Conran of the cozy cafe, though you need to be VERY good friends if you're getting more than two people round the postage stamp tables.
My guests went for salt beef mac 'n' cheese, a pleasant enough concept, unfortunately overdosed with English mustard and on the runny side, missing the nutty unctuousness of the thick fontina-based sauce in sister restaurant Spuntino.
I followed the crowds, who have been raving about the Reuben, toasted rye with layers of good pastrami, melted swiss cheese and sauerkraut. You know what though? It's just a sandwich. A messily enjoyable one with a little too much gunk for me and fundamentally - Just. A. Sandwich. After numerous reviews, outpourings on Twitter and a double page spread in the Metro, just on the sodding sandwich, it's hard to see how anywhere could live up to that level of hype.
I went again, for post-meeting cocktails (all gin-based and very acceptable) and bar snacks of battered Brussels sprout and battered cod cheeks. Both quirky and totally fine, though neither demanded return visits in the way of Spuntino's deep fried olives. You're not going to feel hard done by when you get the bill, the staff are superb (with the possible exception of that mustard handler in the kitchen) and if you had it on your doorstep you'd be crazy not to be there regularly. It's not the second coming though...
Purveyors of allegedly the finest BBQ in London (not a great boast given the competition), Pitt Cue Co has built up similar levels of rabid support. Following a period slumming it Meatwagon style in a silver trailer on the Southbank, they've moved into a (slightly) more permanent space in the middle of Soho. Even at 6.30 on a Monday evening the queue is out of the door and round the corner for one of the 30 spaces in the tiny two-floor space. Luckily I'd sent Miss Jones on ahead to bag a spot on the waitlist.
The menu is perfunctory. Two meats, two ribs and a daily special with a few sides on one page, wines, cocktails and beers on the other page. Hipster credentials are established with the imported Pabst Blue Ribbon; PBR is gassily ubiquitous in Lower East Side and Williamsburg skinny-jeaned hangouts, and so very appropriate here given the early adopter clientele. The cocktail getting the airtime is the Pickleback, a shot of bourbon and pickle juice - better than it sounds and enough to give any junior advertising executive a few hairs on their chest...
Onto the meat. They really do know what they're doing here. Short rib of rich, aged, buttery Dexter and a half portion of exemplary moist pulled pork came with pickles and garlicky greens. Miss Jones took in the heavily sauced St Louis pork ribs and a large portion of beef brisket, slow cooked and sliced in thin slivers. Certainly the best BBQ I've had in London; though with the competition consisting of Sir Jamie's pricey and off the mark Barbecoa, the execrable Sticky Fingers and mid market hangover cure Bodeans, they didn't have to do much.
Certainly a deeply satisfying meal, we waddled out 90 minutes later, unrushed by the splendid staff. Stifling a meaty belch as we walked past the crowds waiting for their turn I couldn't help but think that, with the experience they were going to have, over an hour stood in the cold might be bearable again.
Swindled, overcharged or shortchanged? Not at all. Misleading, possibly. Excessive publicity, certainly. Either way, don't (always) believe the hype.
Great post, I was not too keen on Mishkin's myself, I though it was nice enough but certainly not amazing. Like you, I also much prefer Spuntino.
ReplyDeleteRich, how could you take a picture of, but not mention, the bananas Foster at Mishkin's? It's my latest culinary crack (cf: the deep-fried olives). As for queuing for over an hour, I don't care if it's the best food in London full stop never mind just the best barabecue - I ain't waiting that long, ever.
ReplyDelete@ Ute - thanks, I didn't think it was bad at all, more that people have built it up to something monumental, before giving it chance to settle in which is a shame.
ReplyDelete@ Hugh - guilty as charged, the Bananas Foster was good, very good... I just couldn't work out how to add the mention of it. I feel exactly the same with regards to the wait. We went on a Monday, at 6.30 and it was still a 30 minute wait. Thankfully they took pity on Miss Jones and managed to fit her into the bar.
Two wafer-thin slices of meat – and you're calling this a Reuben.
ReplyDeleteIt's more sauerkraut than meat. And it's more bread than anything else.
If I wanted a loaf of bread, I would have gone to a bakery.
Are you joking?
Marks and Spencer makes pre-packed Ham sandwiches with more meat than this thing!
I've never seen such a stingy sandwich, let alone a Reuben.
A place like this would be laughed out of existence in New York, New Jersey – or any state in America for that matter.
What a let down... I will never return again.
@ Joey - Methinks a tad harsh on the Reuben. It's not great, but I don't think they're in danger of being refused entry to the States on the back of it... I'd rather Mishkins, Opera Tavern and the other decent eateries springing up round there than the crap Covent Garden has been known for over recent years...
ReplyDelete