WHAT: A South American ‘shotgun’ restaurant in the middle of Soho, for fried chicken, cornbread and all the fixins’.
Family-style food is our favourite – piled high on large sharing bowls and arranged Tetris-like on our tiny little table, this is some of the best we’ve tried.
Shotgun is a small, intimate space on Kingly Street (with about 50 covers and subtle lighting, you’d barely know it was there), beautifully lit and peppered with cosy booths. Immediately charming, it felt like being let into a delicious secret as we stepped off the street full of workers and into the warmth. Fans of The Lockhart’s soul food were deeply saddened to see it close, but rest assured the best dishes have found a place here at their sister restaurant.
STAND-OUT DISH: The famed cornbread, a golden brick of deliciousness served hot from the oven, in a skillet of bubbling honey butter.
We began with devilled eggs and a delicate swirl of crab, then spread Pimento cheese on a plate of Ritz crackers. The main event is two pieces of deep fried chicken per person, just enough and not too much. Alongside was creamed corn (highly addictive, but we’d be scared to ask the calorie content), slaw, a green salad and ‘dirty rice’, cooked with small pieces of chicken liver.
Mixing contemporary flair with deep-rooted tradition, the mac ‘n’ cheese was exceptional – served in pasta shells that conveniently scooped up every last drop of the indulgent Guajillo & cheddar sauce.
Dessert is soft serve ice cream, a chocolate brownie with cajeta and vanilla ice cream or a creamy banana pudding, ladled onto your plate from a huge glass bowl. We shared the banana pud, unable to resist as we saw it sail past to other tables – but a few bites saw us admitting defeat very quickly.
WHERE: Kingly Street, between Soho’s Kingly Court and Liberty – a few minutes’ walk from Oxford Circus tube station.
HOW MUCH: Here’s the best bit – it’s only £20 per person for this family-style feast, so large you’ll struggle for elbow space on the table. It’s worth noting that happy hour runs every Monday to Thursday 3-7pm, where you can get 241 on house cocktails. A few of those and some banging bar snacks (we’re eyeing up the pretzel pork bun and bacon jam for our next visit) and you’re ready for anything (‘anything’ being an Uber home and your bed – damn, you’re going to be full).
ADDRESS: 26 Kingly Street, Carnaby, Soho, London, W1B 5QD
WEBSITE: Shotgunbbq.comSign-Up To FashionBite’s Weekly News
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