Last weekend, I was in London for
my workie friend, Poppy’s 30th birthday celebrations – you may have
seen some of the photos on Instagram. We had a table at Hotbox booked well in
advance, which was a total surprise – as it’s one of the restaurants on my
list! Unfortunately we were unable to get a table for brunch, which means I
have to return, and instead, we had a reservation for 6pm. It was just as good
as I was expecting.
It wasn’t too busy as we arrived,
but everything was so minimalist and chilled. The seating were stools, which
were actually very comfortable, and the tables, large benches – perfect for
large groups – but added to the casual vibe of the restaurant. The decor was
very plain, with lots of dark woods. The service was good throughout – the menus
arrived instantly and it wasn’t long before we were ordering the first round of
cocktails.
Poppy and I had known in advance that
we’d order the Basil Brush (Beefeater
Gin, Mango Liqueur, Basil, Passionfruit) which was refreshingly fruity and
surprisingly went well with barbecue.
Everyone was ordering starters and
while I wouldn’t normally, I suggested Poppy and I share a couple. We chose the
crispy smoked wings with sauce glaze, pickled chilli, sriracha buffalo sauce
and truffle blue cheese. Yep, as you can imagine, they were incredibly spicy.
As someone who doesn’t particularly enjoy hot or spicy food, they were a little
unbearable. I wouldn’t usually opt for such ‘messy’ food, but at somewhere like
Hotbox, it has to be done. Thankfully the blue cheese and celery sticks cooled
the heat down. And the other starter helped too. We decided on the grilled
jumbo prawn, which was beautiful. The meat was so juicy and it had this
beautiful smoky taste. It certainly accommodated to my taste buds better.
For our main courses, again, Poppy
and I knew as soon as the table was booked that we’d order the Hotbox Piggy
Burger. It was massive and genuinely gave us the meat sweats. A large beef
patty, topped with pulled pork, American cheese and caramelised onions. I couldn’t
manage it all – but we still shared a couple of sides. The skin-on rosemary
& garlic fries were wonderfully crisp and seasoned well. Burger and fries
is such a winning combo. We also chose the jalapeno slaw, which was so fresh,
vibrant and crunchy. It was dressed in lemon juice, as opposed to anything
creamy like mayo, so was incredibly light. I could’ve eaten a portion of that
alone!
Lucy had the short rib, which was
on the bone and looked so impressive. There was plenty of meat to be devoured,
although she said it was quite fatty. Jemma chose the pork short ribs, which
looked equally as large. She definitely made the best decision and I got food
envy as soon as the dish arrived to the table. I even managed to try some – the
meat was so tender and had a lovely sticky barbecue glaze. Next time, I’d
definitely order those!
We skipped desserts and had
after-dinner cocktails instead. The photos suggest we all opted for espresso
martinis, although I honestly don’t remember! After we got the bill, we went
downstairs to the bar & lounge area, which was equally as relaxed. There
were some really gorgeous chaise longue style chairs. Unfortunately, the
atmosphere wasn’t the best – I think we stayed for a couple of hours and the
whole time, we were the only ones drinking. It was a really nice end to such
a lovely day, though. There’s no doubt that I’d return to Hotbox, although
bottomless brunch is certainly a must before dinner again!
Love, Lucy xx
This sounds good! Not sure I'd manage to make it through that burger either though! X
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