Hon's BBQ

East meets West BBQ 

Smoked Beef Short Ribs

Tucked into Queen’s Yard in Hackney Wick, East London, Hon's BBQ is the latest chapter in the journey of Man Hon Luk, the chef and owner better known previously as Uncle Hon. His route into barbecue is anything but conventional. The story begins in Austin, Texas, where Luk discovered the world of serious American barbecue and became fascinated by the craft of smoking meat low and slow. Hon’s takes the fundamentals of American barbecue, the long smoking times, the carefully controlled heat, the importance of the bark and the patience required to turn tough cuts into something wonderfully tender, and layers them with flavours drawn from Hon’s Hong Kong heritage and wider Chinese cooking. It is an unusual combination, but one that makes immediate culinary sense. Meat can be smoked for up to 12 hours before being finished with braising, roasting, confit or other techniques depending on the cut, while flavours such as Sichuan pepper, five spice, fermented ingredients, scallion and Chinese-style sweetness bring another dimension to the smoke.

Smoked Triple Cooked Pork Belly

Tomato Melon Salad

Duck Pancakes

Taiwanese-style pork belly, is a wonderfully rich and satisfying piece of meat, with the long cooking giving it that soft, almost yielding texture that makes fatty pork so pleasurable. The problem isn't the quality of the dish; it is the value proposition. At these prices, expectations naturally rise, and suddenly a piece of pork belly has to justify itself against the sort of beef that comes with a very different price tag and perception of luxury. That said, the flavours across the menu are consistently interesting and generally well judged. The Chinese influence never feels like a gimmick. Smoke remains the foundation, but around it come sweetness, spice, acidity and aromatics that stop the food from becoming one-dimensional. The beef cheek is a particularly strong example. Cooked until extraordinarily tender, it has that wonderful melt-in-the-mouth texture that makes you momentarily forget how humble the cut once was. The long cooking process has transformed it into something rich and deeply savoury, while the Asian seasoning gives it enough aromatic character to distinguish it from conventional Texas barbecue.

Xian Lamb Breast

Ox Cheek

Iberico Pork Ribs

The concept is clearly personal rather than manufactured: Texan technique filtered through a Chinese palate, presented in a modern East London setting. And that is ultimately what makes Hon’s BBQ interesting. There are plenty of places serving brisket, ribs and pork in London, but considerably fewer where a plate of smoked meat can move from Texas to Hong Kong in the space of a few bites. The idea is strong, distinctive and, at its best, genuinely exciting. Hon’s BBQ is undeniably good, but it is also undeniably expensive for what is ultimately barbecue sold by weight. The restaurant follows the traditional Texas approach of selling smoked meat by the gram, which is a fun way to order and encourages sharing, but it also makes the final bill surprisingly easy to inflate. There is something slightly uncomfortable about seeing the price per gram attached to relatively humble cuts such as pork belly and then realising that, gram for gram, you can be paying more for them than you might for some considerably more prestigious prime beef cuts at an upmarket steak restaurant. 

Food 3/5

What I paid: £90 per person with beer

Average cost without drinks and services: £70

First floor, Unit 7, The white building, Queen's Yard, London E9 5EN

https://www.honsbbq.com/