Pitt Cue Co

[david goodfellow]

Everyone and his brother seems to be raving about this place. It all started last year when "the van" was parked under Hungerford bridge selling BBQ pulled pork to the masses.

There was about as much chance of me queueing up to eat there, as I have chance of a cuddle with Kelly Brook .

So in other words not a cat in hells chance.

Things are a bit brighter now. Their new 30 seat restaurant is open in Soho. Their no reservations policy still ensures a lengthy wait and last weekend I was very nearly tempted to join the back of the queue but then thought better of it.

Someone on here must have been.

Is it worth the wait?

Or is it hyped to the heavens?

[olicollett]

It's good - 30 seats is a bit miss-leading, apparently downstairs seats 24 but when I went there didn't seem to be that many down there. I queued up just before 6pm opening and I had to sit at the bar to eat!

It's rather frustrating having to queue but the food is worth a wait. The pickled shittake mushrooms are amazing. I didn't have any ribs but I did try the onglet on special which was good, along with the baked beans.

I was actually going to go back tonight to try the ribs but my plans have changed.

One thing - you might as well forget photos unless you've got a full frame sensor camera, it's very dark!

[Prawncrackers]

David, have you had real American style bbq before? If not then yes you have to go as by all accounts it's the real deal. I haven't been myself (planning to though) because I can cook this in my backyard whenever I like. From my point of view this is why there has been a certain amount of hype about this venture. The people who go there have never tried this sort of bbq before, I'm going to grossly stereotype them as young London foodies who can only dream of a backyard let alone one with a bbq smoker in it. This kind of bbq comes as a revelation to the uninitiated. No wonder they are evangelical in their praise.

[sunbeam]

It's bloggertastic. Ideal blogger food, no cutlery etc and no nasty waiters to make you feel small, no wonder the circle jerk has formed around it. The lack of light hasn't put 'em off, they just post even shittier photos than usual

I work around the corner and went in mid afternoon

Its okay, rather nice in fact. Not really a restaurant, more a pit stop than pitt cue, but good for a decent bite before the cinema etc and not too pricey either.

No doubt like Meatliquor, it will expand while the expanding's good and we will see more around town soon. The london food scene is being driven by bloggers' tastes and their 25-30 demographic love this kind of hand held food inordinately.

[Jon Tseng]

Look, like all the "in things" (claggy fontina truffle toast and iberica and "wheres the" foie gras burgers I'm looking at you...), its tasty but not as good as everyone raves about.

I had the pulled pork, pork ribs and beef ribs and its nice but the ribs were a bit tough and nowhere near as good was the ones I had at Barbecoa.

To put it into perspective it's worth comparing it to Bodeans, which started off in a very similar venue just round the corner. It's probably better than Bodeans is now but not as good as it was then. And to be honest pretty much repeating what someone did ten years ago but with more queues doesn't particularly float my boat.

J

[olicollett]

Easy on the 25-30 demographic folks, we're not all bad, honest!

One thing worth pointing out is that at places like Pitt Cue Co, Meatliquor etc. you can get a good feed for a very reasonable price for the area.

[Jon Tseng]

Easy on the 25-30 demographic folks, we're not all bad, honest!

One thing worth pointing out is that at places like Pitt Cue Co, Meatliquor etc. you can get a good feed for a very reasonable price for the area.

lol

I sort of agree. Yes its a very democratic process.

I do wonder though if its a bit too Easyjet to me. Easyjet you play lower prices (normally) and get treated like cattle. It's part of the trade off. But then again you could also say its the lowest common denominator... You treat people like sh*t because they're willing to pay less and be happy. Which often I guess the 25-30 demographic is happy to do. And if you don't like it you don't have to go. Fair for everyone.

I guess in some ways you can't argue about that. In other ways though I feel its a bit gratuitous. I thought the comments on the recent Torygraph review of Meatliquor were fair http://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/restaurants/9064568/Meat-Liquor-London-W1-restaurant-review.html - yes there's a queue. And yes people are willing to join it. So what's the problem? Well simply that there doesn't have to be a queue. As anyone who's gone to royal china on a Sunday knows its perfectly easy to take people's names, stick them on a list and give them an idea of how long the wait will be. The chaps are Meatliquor aren't stupid. They will know this, but they choose not to do it.

That's why when Pitt Cue say on their website "We are not trying to be cool but sadly there are only 30 seats and we just can't think of a fairer and better system than first come, first served", I think they are being disingenuous. They do not mention that there are better ways to do it apart from a stupid queue, but they have chosen not to.

And they do not mention that of course the stupid queue as well as being fair to everyone is the best option for the vendor as it means minimum use of staff time and maximum utilisation.

And look you can't blame someone for running a business like a business. Just like you can't blame Easyjet for treating their customers like cattle.

But don't you think a place you really love... Should be something more?

J

PS And the last time I went to Meatliquor I enjoyed the burger but I didn't leave a tip. Yes I'm sure the waitstaff are underpaid, but the bill said "PLEASE TIP IF YOU LIKED THE SERVICE". I don't think being processed is the same thing as being served.

Edited February 21, 2012 by Jon Tseng (log)

[sunbeam]

Some of those meatliquor girls have accents that suggest they did not grow up in poverty. Not saying they dont deserve a tip, but that they probably aren't on the breadline either!