It is a fair point that most British people have no need of a barbecue cookbook – we don’t need recipes to tell us how to burn meat outside. Big supermarkets are happy to provide ready prepped dishes which you can incinerate to your heart’s content.

American’s have a very different view – what we call barbecue, they call grilling. Barbecue is something else: the slow cooking of meat, in a lower temperature, normally with smoke. It’s a cuisine that’s making a splash in London, with both John Salt and Pitt Cue Co providing heavenly introductions to it. When the latter announced they were doing a cookbook I had to give it a look.

The book is beautiful – full of mouth watering pictures and tempting recipes. Recipes are split into broad categories – meat, drinks, sides and the like. There are helpful introductions to each chapter and section – talking through the techniques and giving advice on ingredient selection.

The recipes themselves are not for the faint of heart – you’ll be making spice mixes from scratch and several seemingly simple recipes rely on combing other, more complicated ones. For example – the barbecue sauce requires 24 ingredients. Almost all the meat recipes rely on smoking – slow cooking the food in a barbecue at a much lower temperature than direct grilling. While this is a fabulous technique, it does mean that it takes a long time – up to 18 hours.

Given the level of effort involved I wanted to do this properly – get good ingredients and follow the recipes to the letter. When my sister asked me to cater her house-warming I was happy to oblige!

I trialled a number of recipes – making the smoked beef ribs, chipotle and maple chicken, chipotle ketchup, barbecue sauce and vinegar slaw. The ingredients are easy to get hold of, but I recommend visiting an asian grocer/supermarket for the spices – it’ll be far cheaper than Sainsburys given the quantities involved!

Smoked Beef Ribs
I was really keen to make these – I love beef ribs and when cooked properly they’re the perfect blend of beefy taste and melting texture. The spice rub was relatively straightforward and I smoked them for the appointed time. I had a bit of trouble keeping the temperature steady – but the ribs are very forgiving. I cooked them the day before and just warmed them through on the day, while it definitely worked they were far nicer fresh off the grill.

Chipotle and Maple Chicken
This is quite an involved process with brining, marinading, smoking and grilling. I have to admit I skipped the smoke, warming the chicken through in the oven, but it was nonetheless delicious. The brining makes the chicken very moist and I loved the sweet spicy sauce.

Chipotle Ketchup
I had some issues with this recipe – they specify 250g of chipotle peppers which is an insane amount. They either mean fresh chillies (which aren’t chipotle) or some kind of chilli paste. I ‘ad-libbed’ and went with bell peppers and a handful of chipotle. The result was delicious – it’s rich, smokey and with a serious kick.

Barbecue Sauce
This uses the chipotle ketchup as a base and builds on it. The result is sweet, sticky and rather lovely. I like it’s complexity and completeness. No one flavour stands out above the others they all mingle into a smokey whole.

Vinegar Slaw
I followed the instructions pretty exactly and the quantities seemed massively out. Instead of feeding six people it could have fed twelve! Thankfully it was really tasty and went well with the pulled pork I made (using Felicity Cloake’s recipe). It’s tangy, sharp and adds some lightness to the meat feast.

I’ve barely scratched the surface of the cookbook – I really need my own smoker to be able to fully appreciate them. While it might be out of reach for a lot of cooks – there are certainly recipes which can be adapted and brought to delicious completion by any keen chef. If you fancy a challenge – fire up the barbecue and get cooking, your efforts will be rewarded!

Pitt Cue Co. Cookbook is published by Mitchell Beazley and available in all good book stores now. RRP £20

I get restaurant recommendations all the time, but when two people raved about Brindisa on the same day I decided it must be worth a visit. It took me a little while to sort out but I’m glad I did.

Most people’s experience of tapas will be somewhere like La Tasca. There’s nothing wrong with the reasonably priced chain, but if your meal is going to feature little ingredient centric dishes then the quality really needs to shine. Brindisa have a speciality shop in Borough Market as well as several restaurant outlets around London. They offer a range of dishes with carefully sourced produce and clever combinations. Their Soho branch is intimate with lots of little tables scattered around the maze-like layout. Service was friendly and, on a Sunday evening, we didn’t have to wait.

I normally order something like a Rioja with tapas, but at a friend’s urging I branched out to a Verdejo. It’s a delicious fruity white grape that could stand up to the meat dishes and worked beautifully with the fish. On a hot summers evening it was delightfully refreshing.

We got through a pretty broad range of dishes – the charcuterie was nice, the salads provided a lovely fresh element but could have done with more of their headline ingredients.

The real stand outs were the pork belly and the scallops. The pork was beautifully crisp and very neatly presented, I like the beetroot which adds a sweet element, though a touch of acidity would have been nice. The scallops were perfectly cooked, sweet, still slightly raw in the middle and full of delicate salty flavour. The pancetta adds a great textural contrast and the cauliflower puree works well. The lamb cutlets were really nice – they’d cooked them hot enough to give a smokey note without taking it past medium-rare.

For dessert I went with the Spanish chocolate cake with lemon-thyme ice-cream. The cake was perfectly nice (if a little small) and the ice cream was pretty good, but the bit I enjoyed the most was the excellent Valdespino PX Sherry they recommended with it. What’s not to like about alcoholic, liquid Christmas pudding?! I’m getting a bottle as soon as possible.

Brindisa offers something a little more authentic and interesting than La Tasca, they have a great range of dishes which are designed to be shared. Grab a few friends (even a few vegetarians if you have to) and start working your way through the menu.

I like America. I like American food. There’s something faintly naughty about pouring maple syrup on a pile of bacon and pancakes, about tucking into a milkshake the size of your head. I’ll admit it has its faults – their attempts at beer are often laughable and they are a little too fond of the deep-fryer – but none of this dulled my enthusiasm when I heard two of New York’s finest were opening their first European outlets in London this week.

Shake Shack

Danny Meyer is a genius. In one of the toughest, most cynical cities in the world he’s created a wildly successful restaurant group based on hospitality. I visited two of his restaurants in New York without even realising the connection but was immediately struck by the genuinely warm welcome, the fantastic service and the knock out food.

Shake Shack is fast food – imagine McDonalds but with soul. They pick great ingredients, freshly prepare them with staff who are paid a good wage and love their jobs and served with a quirky personality. It’s a great experience – there’s a reason I took a day off work and queued for an hour (along with a horde of other fanatics) to sample their wares!

For the Covent Garden store they’ve maintained most their US menu, but with some clever modifications – they offer a cumberland sausage in their hotdogs and they use paul.a.young chocolate and St John’s bakery products in their desserts.

So how does it taste? Spectacular. The burgers are great – a soft bun that still holds together, tasty beef and a really fresh flavour from the toppings. There’s spice, there’s texture, it’s damn near a perfect burger. The chips are good too – I wasn’t a fan in the states, but these seem crisper and the optional cheese sauce is noticeably better.

The hotdogs are delicious, I adore the cumberland sausage – I’ve never been a fan of the American style beef dogs, they always seem very processed. In their defence – the Shack-ago dog is the best american style i’ve tasted but you can’t beat british pork.

The milkshakes and ‘concretes’ are the star of the show – delicious frozen custard crammed full of great toppings. I tried both the Union Shake (chocolate with brownie) and Drury Lane Jam (vanilla, biscuit and jam) and couldn’t decide pick my favourite.

Five Guys

This is another place i’ve already sampled the other side of the pond. It opened – some might say cynically – the day before Shake Shack. It’s a big unit near Leicester Square station with more seating down stairs. They’re known for their toppings, all of which are available free. Like Shake Shack they pride themselves on using fresh ingredients and employing staff who care.

Annoyingly they’d run out of hot dogs when I visited so I was limited to the burger – I asked for it ‘all the way’ which gets you most of the toppings. The burger is okay – compared to the ‘shack I found it quite… greasy? The bun is nothing special and the fillings lack the freshness of their rivals.

My biggest complaint is with the chips – they’ve been single cooked and badly. They’ve left the skins on, which is fine, but to prevent them burning they’ve had to cook it so gently that it ruins the texture.

One thing I do like is the drinks machine – it’s a Coca-Cola vending machine that can do 100+ flavours – fancy raspberry diet coke? It can do that. Frankly it’s worth a trip just to try out!

The decor is very American diner and the music is a little loud for my liking. The staff are perfectly friendly but they lack the genuineness of the ‘shack.

Conclusion

To me it’s not even a contest. Five Guys isn’t a bad burger joint – its a marked improvement on McDonalds and offers something different to the GBKs and Byrons of the world – but Shake Shack is just in a different league. The whole experience is great, from the minute you see the menu to the minute you – dolefully – finish your last bite it’s just better. Go, try them for yourself, and see what I mean.

I’ll admit it. I’m a fan. I’ve been to Shake Shack in New York – I went twice in one day. I went to Blue Smoke and loved it before I even knew Danny Meyer was involved. I’ve read ‘Setting the Table’ and found it fascinating – how a small, service focussed restaurant manages to replicate itself on a much bigger scale.

There isn’t anything really like Shake Shack in London. It’s a fast food chain – Burger King with a cheeky smirk and a chef who knows what he’s doing. They serve Burgers, Hot Dogs, Milkshakes and ‘Concretes’ – frozen custard with different toppings mixed in.

When I heard they were opening in the UK I was really excited. I followed their teasing updates on twitter and as soon as the launch date was announced I booked it off work. Which is why, at 9am, I emerged into the bright sunlight outside Leicester Square tube and walked down to Covent Garden.

The doors were opening at 10am but a queue had already formed – the guy out front had been there since 5am. I took the fourth place and it quickly got much longer behind me. Members of the Shake Shack team came out to chat to us while we were waiting and gave us ‘Shack Shades’ and natty wristbands. When we got peckish they brought out some coffee and doughnut concretes – St Johns doughnut and Monmouth coffee – heaven. The queue was really friendly, most people were bloggers or at least very passionate about their food (you pretty much have to be to queue at 10am for a burger).

As the hour approached, the staff gathered inside for a pep-talk and several photographers gathered outside. With an Apple-style countdown the doors were flung open and in we went. I placed my order (one shack burger, one cumberland hot dog, a union shack and cheese fries) and picked up my pager. You then go round to the lovely covered market area and wait for it to buzz. I grabbed a table with the rest of the guys at the front of the queue and there were some nervous looks as we waited to see whose order would be ready first. When my buzzer went I nearly sprinted to the counter – I was going to be the first member of the public to be served by Shake Shack in Europe.

I took my tray back to the table amid many envious looks and tucked in. The food is incredible – the Smoke Shack combines a great bun with fragrant, crisp bacon, a juicy beef patty and wonderfully fresh toppings. There’s a great combination of textures and flavours – I particularly liked the slight chilli hit. The fries are crisp and light – markedly better than the ones I tried in the states. The hot dog is great – I love the cumberland sausage, it’s so much better than the american style frankfurter. The concrete was lovely – rich, chocolatey and with lots of toppings mixed in.

Shake Shack royalty were there in force. I got a photo with founder Danny Meyer, had a chat with Mark Rosati (their culinary director) and spoke to their CEO and CDO. It was really nice to see them taking the effort to speak to their customers.

Having enjoyed my first hit I went round for a second trip and picked up a particularly stylish t-shirt at the same time. I sampled their lemonade (delicious), the shack-ago dog (good, but I prefer the cumberland) and the Drury Lane Jam (vanilla, jam and biscuit concrete – heavenly).

There was a great atmosphere, everyone was very friendly and it was fab to see so many people genuinely passionate about food, service and hospitality. Shack Shack is never a ‘one off’, I expect they’ll open a second venue in London shortly, and I expect it’ll be a huge success. Go there, wear something with an elastic waistband, and eat the entire menu. It’s all good.

Single item restaurants are everywhere these days – I applaud the attention to detail and the passion that it requires. But if you’re betting your whole restaurant on one throw of the dice it has to be perfect. Le Relais du Venise just isn’t.

Based on the Parisian original, this outpost near Marylebone high street is a little piece of France. The waitresses are appropriately attired, the tables are tiny and jammed together and the décor is perfect – it could be Pied du Cochon behind the Louvre in Paris. The menu is very simple, just one choice – they serve an entrecote steak with the house sauce for £21. It comes with a simple salad as a starter and piles of French fries. The wine list is almost as short with three or four red and a token white. I opted for a medium priced Bordeaux and was pleasantly surprised.

The salad is lacklustre. It’s some simple leaves, doused in a mustardy French dressing with a few walnuts. You don’t get the feeling that they’ve taken a lot of care with it. The bread was also a bit anonymous; it missed the texture and flavour of the authentic French stuff.

Next came the main event. Don’t be alarmed at the portion size, it’s served in two stages. You get half the steak to eat while they keep the remainder warm – once you’ve cleared your plate they bring out the rest and top up your chips. The steak was blue, as ordered, but the grill wasn’t hot enough to give it a decent char. The beef didn’t really stand out and the peppery sauce could have done with more kick. The chips were perfectly nice but are a little under-seasoned.

For dessert they allow you a little more freedom, it’s French classics from Tarte au Citron to Creme Brûlée I had a ‘Gâteau du Relais’ – a thick gooey slab of something like a ganache and a lighter, brownie style cake. Both were delicious.

The service was polite and friendly  – I almost missed the disdain you’d get from a proper Parisian restaurant. What lets them down is the food – if you only do one thing, it has to be incredible. The cooking and ingredients were just average – you’d get a similar quality steak somewhere like Café Rouge. When there’s challengers like Flatiron a few minutes’ walk away it becomes very difficult to justify a visit. As a concept, it’s fun but as an experience, it doesn’t really deliver.

If there are two defining trends of Soho restaurants in the last couple of years, they are razor sharp focus and a warehouse/canteen aesthetic. One restaurant that combines both of these elements is Flat Iron.

Their menu is almost exclusively limited to the eponymous steak – drawn from the shoulder of the cow and often called a ‘Butlers Steak’ – it’s a little tougher than rump or sirloin, but with a lot more flavour. Early on a Tuesday evening they were relatively busy but we were still seated quickly at a communal table. Apart from the meat, they also offer a few sides – we shared some lovely asparagus and very generic chips. They have a short wine list – all designed to go with the steak and available in carafes, but they don’t use wine glasses which feels a little odd. They do get extra points though, for presenting the menu with a bowl of popcorn and a jug of water – if there’s one thing I loved about American eateries it was the ubiquity of table water.

When a restaurant does something so simple it lives or dies on the quality. The steak was carefully cooked and nicely presented on a metal slab. For £10 it represents good value even if the side salad is a little lacklustre.

The burger was an unexpected delight – good beef, well minced and deep-fried. I came in a St. John’s bun with cooked onions and lashings of béarnaise sauce. Delicious!

They only offer one dessert – a salted caramel mousse which is served at the table straight from a cream whipper, a trick I’ll definitely be borrowing at some point! It’s not just about the presentation – the mousse is rich and catches the right balance between salty and sweet.

It doesn’t look like ‘single concept’ restaurants are going to die out anytime soon – they’re broadly good at what they do, but when the star of the show was an item that’s not normally available (the burger) they should seriously consider expanding their focus just a little.

There’s something strangely comforting about roast chicken. It evokes memories of family meals and lazy afternoons. It’s not just a british tradition either – the French know the value of a good rotisserie and so, it turns out, do the Lebanese.

Within spitting difference of Oxford Street there’s a bold newcomer to the Soho restaurant scene. Cookhouse Joe is run by the same people as Soho Joe and it follows a similar vein – great quality, simple dishes, fun atmosphere and excellent value.

The meal started with some lovely pickles while we looked over the menu before deciding to eat, well, everything. First up was a moutabal – smokey grilled aubergine paste with some lovely warm flatbreads. Sweet, smooth and very more-ish.

Fresh off the grill – some gorgeous halloumi came next. I’m not normally a fan, but this was really good with a lovely char. Closely followed by some sticky chicken wings and a delicious lamb kofta – I adored the tabbouleh: light, fresh and wonderfully delicate. Perfect.

Some home-made falafels and tahini followed – well cooked and with a lovely spice. But it was all a build up to the main event. Superb roast chicken (free range from the west country you’ll be happy to hear). Plump, juicy and with a lovely skin it’s everything a roasted chicken should be. It comes with a choice of three sauces – lovely tomatoey chilli, garlic mayo or a cucumber/mint. The chips were fine but could do with more spice, but the coleslaw is great.

At this point I admit we were struggling – but i’m a complete sucker for anything with apple and I couldn’t turn down the chance for their home-made apple pie. It’s literally made by the owners mother and the dear woman knows what she’s doing. Rich, crumbly pastry generously filled with sweet caramelised apples and just a hint of cinnamon. Heaven.

The restaurant is new – they’ve only been open five weeks – but the service was excellent, the decor is your classic exposed brick warehouse and vintage wood (they get bonus points for using an old coffee tin as a wine cooler). They’re clearly passionate about their concept and it works – my only criticism would be the volume of flatbreads and the lack of a simple set menu – when the variety is so good having an easy ‘bring me lots’ option is the obvious choice.

The food was delicious and perfect for sharing. I applaud them for making nearly everything themselves – it’s food with real soul. Grab some mates, bag a table and munch on some top grub in a great location without breaking the bank.

Disclaimer: I was invited by Cookhouse Joe and comped the meal.

For many people barbecue conjures up images of their Dad incinerating a frozen chicken leg under an umbrella during a typically damp English summer. For Americans, barbecue is one of the most distinctive and well-loved elements of their food heritage. Styles vary wildly but at its heart it’s about good meat, slow cooking and delicious sauces. Bodeans was one of the first restaurants to bring a real taste of this to London and it had a hand in creating the current craze for pulled pork. But with the arrival of ‘serious’ barbecue places last year (Pitt Cue Co/John Salt) and their ‘gentrification’ (see Barbecoa) – is there still space for a cheaper, simpler alternative?

Bodeans have a number of outlets, most of which operate a walk-in only policy. Their Soho branch is spread over two floors, a deli/bar at ground level and a basement sit down restaurant. The décor is Americana and mimics a sports bar. TV screens show baseball and ice hockey while music is at a reasonable level – it’s a fun and relaxed environment.

The menu is a meat eaters paradise – this is not one for the rabbit food brigade. I’ve sampled a few of their dishes before (and even taken advantage of their ‘click and collect’ BBQ lunches) but this was the first time I’ve tackled the entire selection in one go. Their ‘Boss Hog Platter’ is great value and gives you short ribs, spare ribs, baby back ribs, chicken thighs, smoked sausages, burnt ends and pulled pork – with coleslaw and chips on the side. A selection of sauces (the hot chipotle is excellent) is on the table along with much needed kitchen towel.

Overall the food is good – it’s not up to the standard of John Salt or Pitt Cue Co, but it’s not trying to be. It’s simple, tasty cooking with generous portions. I’ve have liked more sauce to be applied in the kitchen, taken on its own the beef rib and the pulled pork were a tad dry, but you can fix that yourself very easily. They could also make more of the provence of their food – London is bursting at the seams with great suppliers. They offer a few desserts – ice cream and cheesecakes, but I’m a sucker for a decent milkshake.

They’re nicely thick and the ice-cream base is good quality – my only request would be to offer an alcoholic version!

If you’re looking for big piles of meat with delicious sauce and sides – you can’t go far wrong. It’s relaxed fun and a great way to spend an evening with your mates while trying to figure out how baseball works.

Restaurant rankings are a funny old game – it’s a bit like scoring artwork: terribly subjective and prone to fads, trends and conservatism. While in America systems like Zagat and their own ‘star’ system reign supreme and in the UK AA rosettes are a good indication – anywhere in the world Michelin and the ‘World’s 50 Best Restaurants’ are the gold standard.

Michelin has a reputation for being a little stuffy, a little conservative – it rewards the fine dining and reverence of tradition, though more recent additions – like the Hand and Flowers – are challenging this view. Anonymous inspectors visit restaurants several times over a period of months before meeting to agree a score.

The ‘World’s 50 Best’ or San Pellegrino rankings, is a little more relaxed – it rewards innovation and dining experience in the broadest sense. It’s voted for by a panel of some 900 respected food industry types and is updated yearly at a glamorous awards ceremony.

Only a few restaurants manage to make it onto both lists – delighting that diverse group is very difficult. I’ve been to Momofuku Ssam Bar, which was, at the time, number 37 on the list. That was a great experience – but nothing compared to this evening when I visited No. 7.

Dinner by Heston Blumental – Seventh Best Restaurant in the World, One Michelin Star

I’m a huge fan of Heston – I love his lack of traditional training, his attention to detail and his pursuit of scientific solutions to cooking problems. Dinner is his first major restaurant outside of the Fat Duck and is run by Ashley Palmer-Watts, who was instrumental to the Fat Duck gaining it’s third star and topping the San Pellegrino rankings. It does something very unique – celebrating Britain’s culinary heritage while using the latest techniques. Tradition and Cutting Edge in perfect harmony.

Situated in the opulent Mandarin Oriental hotel in Knightsbridge – the dining room is gorgeous. The kitchen has glass walls and is visible from almost anywhere in the room, which I really like! Light fittings made from antique jelly moulds provide a quirky aspect and hint that this isn’t your usual stuffy fine dining establishment.

Meat Fruit
This is one of their signature dishes – a medieval centrepiece disguising one food as another. The mandarin is in fact a delicious foie gras and chicken liver parfait, served with some excellent toasted brioche. The flavours blend beautifully – rich creamy foie gras, fragrant liver and just a gentle hint of alcohol cutting through the richness, all lifted by the sharp mandarin jelly-peel. I was delighted when the waiter spotted i’d almost demolished the brioche and still had half the parfait left – he promptly signalled the kitchen and a second slice appeared as if by magic. Excellent service.

Earl Grey Tea cured Salmon
I’m not a big fan of Earl Grey in it’s own right – I find the bergamot a little astringent, but this was delicious. The rich smooth salmon seemed to soak up the flavours of the tea, little bursts of relish and smoked roe added contrast and the sorrel was perfect – unusual and fresh.

Black Foot Pork Chop
I don’t normally order pork in restaurants – it’s easy to screw up and can be terribly bland. This has got to be the best pork i’ve ever eaten – cooked sous vide and just medium it was moist, rich and thoroughly piggy. It came with a delicious savoury glaze, a ham hock and sauce Robert. It’s sprinkled with some crispy lardo (a terribly trendy ingredient) but it did bring some lovely texture

Fillet of Aberdeen Angus

I’m wary of Angus, and especially of fillet. In my mind a steak should be a rib-eye and ideally from an English Longhorn. This was a truly marvellous piece of meat – cooked on a Josper grill with a great deal of care and attention. The beef jus was nicely reduced without being too sticky and some bone marrow on top was a lovely touch. It came with the famous ‘Triple cooked chips’ which were superb – well seasoned, very crisp but with a soft fluffy inside.

In terms of sides we went for ‘carrots and carroway’ and ‘braised lettuce and peas’. Both were excellent – cooked lettuce is fast turning into one my favourite accompaniments!

Tipsy Cake
For dessert I had to order their signature dish. It consists of a spit roasted pineapple slice, served with rich doughy cake in a sauternes and brandy cream sauce. The pineapple is a revelation – rich and sticky without the excessive sweetness you often get when it’s cooked. The cake was divine – pillowly and surprisingly light. The cream was delicious, nicely tieing together the cake and fruit.

Taffety Tart
The tart was a piece of very precise pastry work. Think of a millefeuille with a lovely complex flavour profile, first sweet, then vanilla and finally an aniseed hit.

Chocolate Ganache and Orange Blossom Biscuit
We were brought this little extra dessert with coffee – a morsel of lovely light chocolate ganache with fragrant, floral biscuit.

Conclusion
The overall experience was marvellous – they’re cooking food that you won’t see anywhere else, the service is excellent and the environment is lovely. The wine list is extensive, if a little steep but otherwise – for the quality and class – the meal represents very good value.

I love that they celebrate Britishness – both in tradition and ingredients, it’s presented in a sophisticated, modern manner, but with all the warmth and comfort of something much more traditional and closer to home. It fully deserves it’s accolades and if you love food – you owe it to yourself to visit.