Eat: The Blues Kitchen

Sometimes you choose a restaurant. And sometimes a restaurant chooses you, a bit like fate.
Last week, the boy had some good news so I wanted to take him out for a celebratory dinner and he decided that he wanted Drunken Monkey's so we headed off to Shoreditch. Only there had been a power cut so after the novelty of drinking cocktails by candlelight wore off, we headed off in search of food. I'd mentioned Red Dog Saloon has been on Men vs Food so we went there but there was a 45 minute wait time and I get rather hangry ( hungry/angry) so we needed food. Immediately.

The Blues Kitchen is the home of some great Texan BBQ, situated on Curtain Road in Shoreditch. Only having opened its doors 4 months ago it was previously Bar Music Hall, it is already buzzing and on a Saturday evening we rocked up, with no reservation, and tried to get a table in a packed restaurant. Someone had just cancelled. Like i said; fate.

With a buzzing bar in the middle of the cavernous building, it is an example of shabby chic dining, perfect for Shoreditch hipsters and city guys alike. Larger booths line the walls, with smaller wooden tables closer to the bar area which is where we were seated.

Now the food. Well. BBQ and Southern food are a fave of mine and they do it well!
Served on wooden serving slabs, they are absolutely HUGE. I went for the pan fried fillet of catfish marinated in Cajun spices served on a bed of rice with a butter and crayfish sauce. The creamy sauce complimented the melt in your mouth fillets even if there was too much rice for me to finish....that could have been because I was gorging on Mac 'n' Cheese, the crumbly and crispy top giving way to a gooey cheesy middle and perfect pieces of pasta.

The BBQ and Burger choices are extensive, but the boy went for burger of the month: The Captain America, two 7oz patties of ground brisket topped with cheese, onion rings and fried green tomatoes, served with two pots of fries and slaw. He also cheekily switched the bacon for a side of super soft cornbread!

We thought we had room for dessert...

Until the biggest piece of Banoffee Pie I've ever seen this side of the Atlantic rocked up at our table with two spoons. A slither of a biscuit base, smothered in masses of banana cream, sprinkled with chocolate flakes and a slice of banana and finally drizzled in a butterscotch sauce....this may be the best Banoffee pie, I've ever eaten. And we couldn't even finish it!

Almost though!

A bustling atmosphere, excellent food and blues and rock blaring, The Blues Kitchen is one restaurant you should definitely check out. I'm also hugely impressed by their cool social media presence across all platforms from Twitter, Instagram, Youtube and even Soundcloud with their own radio station and playlists.