So, Grillstock have finally arrived in London, and…as things should be – I was there to welcome them and eat beef brisket directly from the kitchen. All whilst a friendly South African man called Rich eggs me on. Don’t worry, Rich is the manager and it turns out knew a shitload of stuff about French wine.
But, what is it Grillstock, you ask? Good question. Originally the brainchild of Jon Finch and Ben Merrington, it was (and still is) a music festival with a craft ale and MEAT focus. As far as I can tell, after noticing the success of the festival – they decided to test it restaurant form and saw similarly happy results. Which makes sense if the other restaurants are anything like the Walthamstow one…..
So yeah, I’ve not been to any of the other restaurants (and they can be found as far afield as Bristol and Manchester), but this was possibly THE most friendly place I have ever dined at. The staff were infallibly chill (including a guy from Memphis Tennessee – I think those guys know about grilling stuff). The meat was hedonistic and the cider was legit (namely a cloudy American cider called Lazy Jack’s – it is now my favourite cider and kinda reminded me of the taste of apple pie)
How about the food? Me and Tasting Britain’s glorious cofounder Bryony went for the ‘Grand Champion’ – which is I think, up to this point in my life, THE most meat I have eaten in one restaurant sitting (plus highly unnecessary stuff like macaroni cheese and what I can only describe as an ‘aggressive’ amount of chips/fries). I think it was also the only time that neither of us could finish it. Grillstock 1, Tasting Britain 0, Jack’s Triglycerides -3. We will try harder next time.