One of my main concerns when visiting a low and slow barbecue restaurant is whether the meat has actually seen the inside of a smoker or not.
After all, when it's done properly, barbecue is a notoriously labour-intensive cooking process, with restaurants having to start smoking their meat in the middle of the night so that it’s ready in time for lunchtime service.
There are no such worries about at any corners being cut at Hon’s BBQ in Hackney Wick because you walk right past their canal-side smoker to get into the restaurant. As you do so, there’s an alluring waft of smoke from the hulking cuts of paper-wrapped meat that sit finishing off their long cook.
Hon’s BBQ serves “Texas barbecue with an Asian twist”. Seeing as Texas BBQ and Chinese roast meats are two of my favourite things in the world, a restaurant serving a mash-up of the two was always going to be on my agenda. Hon’s is owned by Man Hon Luk, a former record shop owner who began hosting barbecue pop-ups in 2022 before opening his first permanent restaurant earlier this year in a minimalist high-ceiling space on the former site of Silo.
There's no doubting Hon’s meat focused credentials. Of the six main dishes available on their compact menu, five are for carnivores.
As we have a booze sesh planned later in the day, we stick to the alcohol-free drinks, a sparkling Yanwu cold tea (£5) and a bready Lucky Saint alcohol free lager (£6.50).
Dishes arrive as and when they're ready, which I’m never fully sold on as it can mean less than ideal meal sequencing. In our case, rice arrives halfway through the meal and vegetables at the end. Still, I appreciate that the various cuts of meat need to be brought out as and when they're pulled off the smoker for optimal freshness.
The first plate to arrive is Hon's take on duck pancakes (£16). Thin slices of blushing smoked duck have an excellent flavour and tenderness and are delicious served with their classic accompaniments - sweet hoisin, thin pancakes and finely sliced spring onion and cucumber. A minor quibble, but there's a lack of crispy skin, one of the features which usually makes this dish so compelling.
The first plate to arrive is Hon's take on duck pancakes (£16). Thin slices of blushing smoked duck have an excellent flavour and tenderness and are delicious served with their classic accompaniments - sweet hoisin, thin pancakes and finely sliced spring onion and cucumber. A minor quibble, but there's a lack of crispy skin, one of the features which usually makes this dish so compelling.
100g portions of smoked meat come thick and fast. Ox cheek (£15) is the star of the show with an excellent bark, smoke, beefiness and soft, gelatinous connective tissue. The pickled components, pink onions in this case, each play an important role in balancing the richness of each dish.
Lamb breast (£14) with a good thwack of pepper and cumin and an intense meatiness is very good too. It’s topped with a pile of crisp and cleansing cured cucumbers.
I'm least sold on the triple-cooked pork belly (£13) due to the excessive fat to meat ratio. But the flavour and tenderness of the meat is all there and a thick, sticky, sweet and savoury soy-based sauce and crunchy pickled daikon radishes are excellent.
Our final meat is a beauty of a smoky and tender short rib (£36) that's shushed up with a tingling hit of a Szechuan peppercorn, garlic and chill oil that isn't backward at coming forward. Arguably, however, the meat's fine flavour is slightly overshadowed by the potency of the oil.
Sides are both very good. Beef dripping scallion oil rice (£4) is every bit as naughty it sounds. The glistening grains scented with a compelling hit of meat and allium.
Finally, grilled typhoon shelter green beans (£8) are one of the most memorable dishes of the meal. They’re so good that I'm filing them under “dishes that I’m going to badly attempt home.” A pile of charred beans is bathed in a sweet, savoury and sharp dressing and topped with the crunch of fried breadcrumbs.
The only dessert on offer seems like the kind of thing served out of obligation. It’s perfectly pleasant but not at the same level as the rest of the meal. A slightly over set creamy coconut panna cotta is topped with a sharp and fragrant mango gel and a dusting of desiccated coconut. It’s all a bit soft and lacking textural contrast.
We had a lovely lunch at Hon’s and it’s clear there’s a lot of passion which goes into their smoked meats. My only lingering doubt is about the success of the fusion of Texan and Asian flavours - the majority of dishes are greater than the sum of their inspirations but I can't say this about everything.
The Details:
Address - Hon's BBQ, First floor, Unit 7, The White Building, Queen's Yard, Hackney Wick, London E9 5EN
Web - https://www.honsbbq.com/
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