The Best BBQ Restaurants To Enjoy In London
For those wanting to avoid the ordeal of actually hosting a barbecue only to be scuppered by the unpredictable British weather, and who simply do not want to be standing in a freezing garden with an umbrella over their head when it inevitably rains – we’ve solved all your problems. London is home to some of the best BBQ joints in town. From Korean to classic British fare, these are the best BBQ restaurants in London with fiery, smoky, and coal-enhanced menus.
Cue Point
Few restaurants have done more to reinvent British barbecue than Cue Point. The Afghan-Texan concept, founded by Mursal Saiq and Joshua Moroney, combines traditional American smoking techniques with Afghan flavours, producing some of the most distinctive barbecue in the city. Brisket, beef ribs and smoked lamb sit alongside dishes like borani kadoo, a smoked and braised pumpkin that has become something of a signature. It’s proof that London’s barbecue scene is at its most exciting when there is no rules involved.
where: 41 Bramley Rd, London W10 6SZ
when: www.cue-point.co.uk
In general, this is just one of my favourite restaurants, pubs, spots in London… fabulous garden, fabulous team, fabulous food. The Afghan Texan Sunday roast is not one to miss.
Mallory, Junior Food & Drink Editor
Cinder
Not every barbecue restaurant needs a smoker the size of a small car. At Cinder, chef Jake Finn takes a more restrained approach, building the menu around Mediterranean-inspired cooking over fire. Fish, vegetables and meat all spend time over the flames, resulting in food that’s lighter than traditional barbecue but no less satisfying. It’s one of the few restaurants on this list where a perfectly grilled piece of fish might steal the show from the meat.
where: St jons wood & belsize park
when: www.cinderrestaurant.co.uk
Whole Beast
Whole Beast approaches barbecue with a nose-to-tail philosophy and a healthy obsession with live-fire cooking. After years of pop-ups and residencies, founders Alicja and Sam Bryant have established a permanent Brixton home where sustainable charcoal, carefully sourced animals and serious cooking all come together. The result is generous food that feels both rooted in barbecue traditions and entirely its own thing.
where: 336 Coldharbour Ln, London SW9 8QH
when: www.wholebeast.co.uk
Maureen’s Brixton Kitchen
No London barbecue guide would be complete without acknowledging the influence of Caribbean cooking on the city’s relationship with fire and smoke. Brixton institution Maureen’s is best known for its home-style Caribbean food, where jerk meats and deeply flavoured dishes have built a fiercely loyal following over the years. While it sits slightly outside the modern live-fire restaurant movement, it’s exactly the sort of place that reminds diners barbecue existed long before it became fashionable.
where: 52 Railton Rd, London SE24 0LF
when: www.instagram.com
Acme Fire Cult
Acme Fire Cult might be one of the most exciting barbecue restaurants in London precisely because it doesn’t behave like one. While there is meat on the menu, vegetables are very often the stars of the show, transformed through smoke, fire and careful seasoning into dishes that routinely steal attention from their carnivorous counterparts.
For anyone who thinks barbecue begins and ends with brisket, Acme Fire Cult offers a compelling argument to the contrary.
where: The Boatyard, Abbot St, London E8 3DP
when: acmefirecult.com
Temper
No discussion of London’s barbecue scene is complete without Temper. The restaurant helped popularise open-fire dining in the capital, with enormous fire pits and hanging cuts of meat forming the centrepiece of the dining room.
The tacos remain legendary, but the smoked meats and barbecue dishes are equally deserving of attention. Few restaurants capture the drama of cooking with fire quite like this.
Where: Soho and City
Website: www.temperrestaurant.com
Berber and Q
If London’s barbecue obsession had a spiritual home, it might well be Berber & Q. The Haggerston restaurant helped introduce a generation of Londoners to the joys of Middle Eastern live-fire cooking, pairing smoky meats with vibrant salads, flatbreads and some of the city’s most memorable cauliflower.
The restaurant takes inspiration from the cooking traditions of North Africa and the Eastern Mediterranean, where fire isn’t simply a cooking method but a central part of the meal itself. The result is food that’s rich, comforting and impossible to order conservatively.
Where: 338 Acton Mews, Haggerston, E8 4EA
Website: www.berberandq.com
Parillan
There are barbecue restaurants where the chefs do all the work, and then there’s Parrillan, where you’re handed the tongs and trusted not to ruin dinner.
Set on the upper level of Coal Drops Yard, the Spanish live-fire restaurant from the team behind Barrafina centres around tabletop parrillas filled with white-hot charcoal. Guests order beautifully sourced meats, seafood and vegetables before cooking them themselves, turning dinner into something far more interactive than the average barbecue experience. The temptation is to go straight for the grill, but the para picar selection, croquetas, pan con tomate and excellent Spanish wine list deserve just as much attention.
The setting is a large part of the appeal. Overlooking Regent’s Canal from a covered terrace lined with Mediterranean planting, it manages to feel transportive even in the middle of King’s Cross. It might not be traditional low-and-slow barbecue, but few restaurants capture the social side of cooking over fire quite so well.
Where: Coal Drops Yard, Stable St, London N1C 4AB
Website: www.parrillan.co.uk
Olle Korean Barbecue
There is perhaps no barbecue more interactive than Korean barbecue, and few places do it better than Olle. Here, diners cook premium cuts of meat directly at the table, transforming dinner into something part meal, part activity.
The restaurant’s marinated short ribs and pork belly are particular highlights, while the endless stream of banchan ensures there’s always something to nibble on between rounds of grilling. Come hungry and wear something you don’t mind smelling faintly of charcoal afterwards.
Where: 88 Shaftesbury Avenue, W1D 6NH
Website: www.ollelondon.com
Brix
Part warehouse restaurant, part live music venue, part smokehouse, BRIX brings Texas-inspired barbecue to east London. The Shoreditch favourite specialises in low-and-slow cooking, producing brisket, ribs and smoked meats that arrive with all the swagger you’d hope for.
The atmosphere is every bit as important as the food. Loud, lively and indulgent, it’s the sort of place where one plate of barbecue inevitably becomes three.
where: 16 Great Guildford St, London SE1 0HS
website: brixlondon.com
Sucre
Not all barbecue needs to arrive covered in sauce. At Sucre, open-fire cooking takes a more elegant form. The restaurant’s enormous custom-built parrilla grill sits at the heart of the dining room, producing Argentinian-inspired dishes that showcase the beauty of fire without relying on excess.
Perfectly cooked steaks, grilled seafood and flame-kissed vegetables all feature heavily, making it one of London’s most sophisticated barbecue experiences.
WHERE: 47b Great Marlborough St, London W1F 7JP
WEBSITE: sucrerestaurant.com
Smokestak
SmokeStak has become something of a pilgrimage site for London’s barbecue devotees. What began as a street food concept has evolved into one of the city’s most respected smokehouses, drawing queues for its oak-smoked brisket, beef ribs and sticky pork belly.
The Shoreditch restaurant balances technical precision with the sort of comforting excess that great barbecue demands. If it’s a first visit, ordering the brisket is non-negotiable.
Where: 35 Sclater Street, E1 6LB
Website: www.smokestak.co.uk
Goldies
One of London’s newer fire-led restaurants, Goldies has quickly built a following around its commitment to cooking over flame. Vegetables receive as much attention as meat here, proving that barbecue doesn’t need to revolve solely around brisket and ribs.
The menu changes regularly, but smoke, char and fire remain the common thread running throughout.
where: G10, G11, Kingly Ct, Carnaby, London W1B 5PW
website: www.goldieslondon.com
Big Easy
Sometimes subtlety isn’t required. Big Easy has spent years serving towering platters of ribs, lobster, brisket and barbecue classics to hungry Londoners, and remains one of the capital’s most dependable destinations for unapologetically American-style barbecue.
It’s loud, generous and gloriously over the top — exactly as barbecue should be.
Where: various locations
Website: www.bigeasy.co.uk
From The Ashes BBQ
Built entirely around live-fire cooking, From The Ashes celebrates the primal appeal of food cooked over flame. The menu shifts with the seasons, but smoke and char are present throughout, whether applied to meat, seafood or vegetables.
It’s a restaurant that demonstrates just how versatile barbecue can be when placed in the hands of thoughtful cooks.
Where: 61 Mare St, London E8 4RG
Website: www.fromtheashesbbq.co.uk
