Review: Joe's Bar & Kitchen
Last year, a gazillion burger joints sprang up in the capital. Today it seems our obsession with American cuisine is moving south: if burgers are conventional Yankee cuisine, we’re now set to sup with the Confederates.
Joe’s Southern Bar & Kitchen is the latest venue to hop on the bandwagon. Formerly Navajo Joe’s, it has gone from serving burritos and fajitas to dishing up pulled pork, fried chicken and other meals associated with Big Mommas of the Deep South. It’s situated just off the cobbles of Covent Garden (rather than the airy streets of Carolina) and we went along to see if its home fare cooking hit the mark.
Inside is boisterous and trendily dingy, with a biggest selection of tequila I have ever seen in one bar. The atmosphere is definitely party rather than intimate meal-à-deux, and there were lots of larger tables on the evening that we visited. People are here to have a good time.
And that’s probably a good thing, as it’s certainly a place to come armed with a relaxed attitude towards your health. Pretty much everything on the menu is fried, deep fried, or slathered in some sort of butter – a state of affairs which is both delicious and authentic. Starter wise, the soft shell crab impressed, although the accompanying ‘tempura vegetables’ was a bit of an optimistic description for the thick, heavy (but tasty) batter. The beef brisket was spicy and rich, and served with its own little bottle of sour cream. As any good Southerner knows, condiments are important.
My friend opted for the buttermilk fried chicken for his main. Apparently marinated for 24 hours, the result is especially tender meat, coated in crisp, seasoned batter. My friend’s commented that it was ‘basically posh KFC’, which sums it up nicely. My blackened catfish was one of the lighter options, yet still fried and wonderfully succulent, the accompanying buttery collard greens a decadent nod to a vegetable.
We eschewed wine and beer to try some of Joe’s cocktails, interestingly divided into those for ‘Coqs’ and those for ‘Coquettes’. That is not necessarily for men and women as you might think, rather those for the ‘discerning drinker’ and others who like their drink ‘more approachable’. Enraptured by the liveliness of the joint, we decided to flirt with both. The Poker Cocktail from the former section tasted a little bit too much like lemon lighter fluid for my taste (although my (male) friend loved it) but the Southside was a tart and pretty gin-based drink. The bar staff are more than willing to take off-menu orders, which is a real selling point (I find drinks are always best when enthusiastically made). At around £7 a pop, they’re very reasonable too.
Two courses in at Joe’s and you basically feel like it’s Thanksgiving, so pudding is a given. The Pecan Pie was syrupy and rich, but it’s the Key Lime crumble which really excites. This little creamy, tangy, crunchy dessert cup had us eating well beyond the point of comfort.
The bar area got steadily busier and the tables thinned out – which suggests that Joe’s is already becoming something of a destination drinking joint. It’s worth striding (or rolling) over after you’ve eaten to try at least one of the myriad tequilas. After all, if our fascination with North American cuisine continues to move South, we’ll be in Mexico next…
www.joessouthernkitchen.co.uk
Joe’s Southern Bar & Kitchen is the latest venue to hop on the bandwagon. Formerly Navajo Joe’s, it has gone from serving burritos and fajitas to dishing up pulled pork, fried chicken and other meals associated with Big Mommas of the Deep South. It’s situated just off the cobbles of Covent Garden (rather than the airy streets of Carolina) and we went along to see if its home fare cooking hit the mark.
Inside is boisterous and trendily dingy, with a biggest selection of tequila I have ever seen in one bar. The atmosphere is definitely party rather than intimate meal-à-deux, and there were lots of larger tables on the evening that we visited. People are here to have a good time.
And that’s probably a good thing, as it’s certainly a place to come armed with a relaxed attitude towards your health. Pretty much everything on the menu is fried, deep fried, or slathered in some sort of butter – a state of affairs which is both delicious and authentic. Starter wise, the soft shell crab impressed, although the accompanying ‘tempura vegetables’ was a bit of an optimistic description for the thick, heavy (but tasty) batter. The beef brisket was spicy and rich, and served with its own little bottle of sour cream. As any good Southerner knows, condiments are important.
My friend opted for the buttermilk fried chicken for his main. Apparently marinated for 24 hours, the result is especially tender meat, coated in crisp, seasoned batter. My friend’s commented that it was ‘basically posh KFC’, which sums it up nicely. My blackened catfish was one of the lighter options, yet still fried and wonderfully succulent, the accompanying buttery collard greens a decadent nod to a vegetable.
We eschewed wine and beer to try some of Joe’s cocktails, interestingly divided into those for ‘Coqs’ and those for ‘Coquettes’. That is not necessarily for men and women as you might think, rather those for the ‘discerning drinker’ and others who like their drink ‘more approachable’. Enraptured by the liveliness of the joint, we decided to flirt with both. The Poker Cocktail from the former section tasted a little bit too much like lemon lighter fluid for my taste (although my (male) friend loved it) but the Southside was a tart and pretty gin-based drink. The bar staff are more than willing to take off-menu orders, which is a real selling point (I find drinks are always best when enthusiastically made). At around £7 a pop, they’re very reasonable too.
Two courses in at Joe’s and you basically feel like it’s Thanksgiving, so pudding is a given. The Pecan Pie was syrupy and rich, but it’s the Key Lime crumble which really excites. This little creamy, tangy, crunchy dessert cup had us eating well beyond the point of comfort.
The bar area got steadily busier and the tables thinned out – which suggests that Joe’s is already becoming something of a destination drinking joint. It’s worth striding (or rolling) over after you’ve eaten to try at least one of the myriad tequilas. After all, if our fascination with North American cuisine continues to move South, we’ll be in Mexico next…
www.joessouthernkitchen.co.uk