London BBQ Food Tour: Day 3

The third and final day of our London BBQ Food Tour was, for me, the best day. Our meat headaches were gone, we had reached a routine of eating at 6+ restaurants per day (!) and we were ready for whatever London had to show us.

Bodean's in Soho was our first stop and it was a good start. This was tasty BBQ food - lots of big flavour and sticky sauces. We were early - the first table of the day - but by 12.15pm, the place was packed with hungry Londoners enjoying lunch with their colleagues. It was a BBQ breakfast for us! We sampled it all with pleasure before moving on to our next destination.

And this was a day where the food only got better. Roka on Charlotte Street was up next. The minute we walked in the door we knew this place was going to be special. In the centre of the restaurant was an open kitchen with chefs hard at work. Diners were seated at linen-covered tables around the kitchen and surrounded on two sides by floor-to-ceiling windows. Even with a team of waiters buzzing around, this place felt serene - it's only purpose to serve great food and for you to enjoy it to it's full potential.

After ordering for the table, our own chefs were looking particularly excited - a sign that this was looking promising! After a short wait the food started to arrive - one beautiful plate after another. Each served by a knowledgeable waiter like an individual piece of art, to be admired and appreciated before eating, all of us only happy to oblige.

With all the beautiful natural light streaming in from the windows, it was hard to take a bad photo in Roka. And all of their food tasted just as good as it looks.

A few of us at the table enjoyed these refreshing drinks with our meal - a non-alcoholic cocktail called the Little Green Man.

This black cod marinated in yuzu miso was extraordinary. It was absolutely divine and a real show-stopper. We all really enjoyed it. The fish had a beautiful flavour and just melted in your mouth.

We ordered almost every item on the robata meat menu so we could try them all. Above - chicken skewers with spring onion and sesame seeds.

Smoked duck breast with barley miso and kumquats.

Cedar roast baby chicken with chilli and lemon.

Lamb cutlets with Korean spices, and below, baby back ribs with sansho and cashew nuts.

It is fair to say we all totally enjoyed ourselves at Roka and ate far more than we should have. After all, we had another venue to try out, followed by an evening at Dalston Yard's Street Feast!

So on we went. The Joint in Marylebone was our next destination. In total contrast to Roka, this was a small place with a hipster vibe, communal tables and benches and exposed brick walls.

And hands down, the BEST chicken wings I have ever had. Served in parchment paper and tied up with string, they really were a gift you had to unwrap first!

Their little sliders were good too and perfect for sharing. But this place is worth a visit just for the wings.

That evening, after a short break from all the eating, we made our way to Dalston Yard for Street Feast. As the light began to fade, we made our way around, sharing tacos, dumplings, fried chicken, smoked meats and creative naans...

Breddo's spicy tacos packed a punch but were a party in your mouth!

Just watching the blackened chicken thigh corn dumplings being assembled at Gordita's was enjoyable. Getting to taste them too was wonderful! Each was a little work of art.

Street Feast is held in a run-down old industrial lot - steel beams, graffitied brick work and roaring oil barrel fires make this place a wonderland of sights, sounds and of course, tastes. The atmosphere is laid back, Friday night fun with the crowd-watching entertainment almost as good as the food.

The food vendors at Street Feast are serious about their food and are taking "street food" to a whole new level. Forget the humble hot dog - it's lobster rolls and 16 hour slow-cooked meats that are the order of the day. If you are just as passionate about food, you'll really enjoy this place. The only words I can find to tell you just how good it was are to tell you it blew my mind. It really did.

So there you have it - three days in London, eating the best BBQ food we could find, all in the name of research... It was certainly a once-in-a-lifetime experience for me, an opportunity I'm very grateful to have had through my job. I really, truly enjoyed myself and all of the food!

I hope you have enjoyed my photos, and that you might try some of these places next time you're in central London? If you'd like any more information about any of the venues we visited, please just let me know.