ANDREW and JODIE JOHNSTON walk the streets of London, sniffing the air for BBQ clues, throwing in a three-generation meal and a detour to Rome

Acme Fire Cult

Off the hustle and bustle of Dalston high street in east London, vegetables are being honoured and celebrated over fire. Acme Fire Cult would make a caveman consider a meat-free dinner.

The live-fire restaurant from Andrew Clarke and Daniel Watkins is a collaboration with Steve Ryan of 40FT Brewery in Dalston and where vegetables come in from the side and take the lead. The brewery – made up of recycled shipping containers in a disused car park – plays a key role too, with beer brewing byproducts, such as yeast and spent grain, used to make ferments and hot sauces, such as Acme’s ‘marmite’ from leftover beer yeast and Ancho hot sauce from beer-soaked chillis. This is food and drink pairing in its most literal form.

We brought Andrew’s mum, Jackie Johnston, a vegetarian, to her first BBQ restaurant and between us we could have chosen the whole menu. There is no doubt how the food is cooked from the moment you enter: Charlie Oven smokers and a large, custom-made grill greet you; not to mention a vast extractor fan all the way to the top of the building.

We started with some Dusty Knuckle sourdough from next door. Next it was the coal-roasted leeks with a pistachio romesco – smoky, charred flavours supplemented by a rich and creamy sauce – followed by char siu beetroot, ricotta-fermented garlic and honey and red lily peppers. Smoked cotechino, along with yellow beans and sambal, proved such a family favourite, we had to fight our four-year-old daughter, Harley, for the food.

The slow-cooked aubergine steak, cooked in a sourdough mole and hazelnut dukkah, was a delight and, to keep up our intake of meat, sourced from regenerative farms, Tamworth pork chop with mojo rojo. The fish we plumped for was Cornish cod with mushrooms and white beans – testimony to the eclectic genius of this establishment and we were even treated backstage to view the fermenting laboratory, where the alchemy happens. You can see why Acme – the point at which something is at its best – has Cult status.

Marzapane

To the Ryder Cup in Rome, where Beef covered an epic victory by Europe over the USA, with his media cap on and for his Beef’s Golf Club podcast. This Italian restaurant has been on our wishlist since we heard about the restaurant’s collaboration with Tomos Parry of Brat in London.

We dined at the chef’s table, settling in for a 10-course meal. Up close and personal, you could see and hear the passion of the Marzapane chefs in every dish, even if we didn’t speak Italian. First up was a yellow tomato gazpacho, with cheese that is hung over the fire then shaved off as it melts on to the bread. Think a raclette, Italian style, with smoke from the fire.

The pappardelle with saffron came with butter chicken liver, veal sauce and lime zest – so clean and with the zest cutting through the richness of the liver. The red prawns with pomodoro were a delight – tomato elevated to the next level. We also had the green beans with tarragon, with caviar providing a salty burst to augment the dish.

Caramelised cabbage, goat’s cheese and mushroom, and summer truffle all created palate explosions. We were so busy watching the chefs and devouring the menu, we realised we hadn’t actually spoken to each other. When that’s the case with us, you know the food is sublime!

There was more, much more. Baby squid with eggplant and a pig’s head terrine, squid ink and basil. How it all worked we had no idea, but the result was sensational, with the flavours staying on the palette and you simply did not want them to leave.

Slow-cooked aubergine hit the spot and then the cod with clams, roasted peppers and diavolo sauce, gently cooked with a wonderfully subtle smoky flavour, but not overpowering the dish. We were still not talking, for the slightly smoked beef tartare was calling, with blue cheese and fried cavalo nero, before moving on to fire-kissed lamb dishes. Marzapane is owned by Mario Sansome, with Antonio Altamura head chef. Grazie mille.

Burnt

Under the arches with the train tracks of Leyton Midland Road London Overground station above, to a Halal meat BBQ smokehouse, run by Sufia Khan and her partner, Abidur Tarafder, who used to work for National Rail, and the chef, the wonderfully named Tiberius Tudor.

You cannot book ahead, which explains the queues when we arrived, so we suggest you head there for 5pm when it opens. Burnt takes its inspiration from the BBQ culture and cooking of Texas, and iconic joints such as Franklin and Snow’s.

In the United States you learn to queue for the best barbecue and here orders are shouted over a tannoy when ready for collection. You build your own meat platters by weight, country music playing – a little bit of the Lone Star State has landed in Leyton, east London, and the pair have nailed it.

Alcohol is Bring Your Own and there is a brewery a few doors down, but this was all about the food and the sense of diversity and community, further proof of BBQ’s ability to bring people together. As well as the big grill and cages, sausages and other meats hanging invitingly over the fire, Burnt has two smokers for its 12-hour Halal brisket and lamb shoulders, with chicken thighs, sausages and birch-roasted lamb also on the menu. The smash burgers are required eating, as is the Ribwich – pulled beef rib sandwich in a brioche. Lay on the homemade sauces too.

Kiln Soho

If music be the food of fire, play on. It was the music from a record player that we first noticed and then the crowd. We loved the vibe already, even if there were no tables available in this walk-in London restaurant. No problem, leave your number and find a nearby bar to grab a drink – not too many though, for this is a meal you don’t want to spoil.

Definitely ask the waiters about the menu, for food guidance is required, as well as wines to match. Kiln was a riot of great little plates – a mix of grilled meat, seafood and vegetables. The moo pad fried pork was delicious with lemon grass and Thai basil for that Asian hit, while the ox heart was minced and spicy, paired with a dark rum with tamarind and citrus.

The menu was alive with options, be it slow-grilled chicken and soy, a jungle curry with smoked kippers, or grilled bavette with smoked chilli glaze.

Kiln’s cooking is influenced by the regions where Thailand borders Myanmar, Laos and Yunnan, while sourcing the best of British produce to augment their dishes. With its open fire kitchen, clay pots simmering, this is a delightful Thai experience in Soho, London.

From the Ashes

Born out of the pandemic and rising like a phoenix, From the Ashes worships the fire, with customers drawn to the BBQ brilliance and innovation of owners Martin Anderson and Curtis Bell, who first met at Temper restaurant in 2019, before redundancies hit as hospitality was closed down.

Originally a delivery concept at their Hatch in Hackney Wick serving nose-to-tail BBQ, it pivoted to collection only and became a popular lockdown spot for outdoor dining.

Smoke, fat, flavour is its holy trinity, now operating at The Five Points Brewing Co in Hackney, east London. Martin Anderson is from Argentina, which naturally informs and inspires his fire cooking, not to mention the Asado grill, along with the smoker, with meats supplied by British farmers who backed From the Ashes from the start.

When we visit there’s half a cow, half a pig and a whole lamb to barbecue, with the butchery happening out the back. First on our menu – and its signature dish – was the insanely good smoked pork shoulder doughnut. Yes, you read that right, for this is a sweet, sugar-dusted doughnut filled with slow-cooked pork, nduja, crackling and a chilli jam. Box of 12 to go please.

Next was the smoked mushroom tacos with salsa verde, accompanied by za’atar flatbread, followed by a BBQ platter of homemade beef sausage with Martin’s special chimichurri sauce, beefy smoked short ribs on the bone, pork belly and vegetables, with leeks the greatest veg over fire. Wash it all down with a beer from the brewery.

We got a sneak preview of the Christmas menu. Put us down for the ‘giant pig in blanket’.