Hotbox (Spitalfields)

• After smoking its way around the capital with residencies at Street Feast&rsquo
• Finish off with Deep Fried Oreos or Molten Chilli Chocolate
• As quickly as possible we gave that feeling our best shot and miserably failed
• The quantity was on a scale no man (or women) should possibly be able to eat
• Lemon and peach was easily the favourite
• Apricot and soda was less to our tastes
• The wine list was rather delectable too
• Well chosen a little on the pricey side but the Bodega Norton Malbec was a dream and goes well with just about anything here
• Food shortly arrived and it was on epic proportions
• We treated it as such was these chipotle beef rib tacos
• I'd dare to wonder how long they cook the beef for because the bark on it was as thick and smoky as I could ever have hoped
• My photo does its size no justice but it was the size of my arm
• Get anywhere near it with cutlery and the meat falls to shreds
• The marinade was a little sweet
• Full of smoky flavour and with a spicy BBQ pouring sauce to drizzle over
• If you come to Hot Box this is the dish you order
• A side of grilled elote (corn on the cob) was perfectly fine but didn't excite
• The mac 'n' cheese was way under seasoned but almost there
• The star here was that beautiful slab of meat
• At this point we were already completely full
• The sausage wasn't bad too and neither were those pork ribs nestled underneath this mountain of meat
• More sides but this time we got the best of the bunch
• Very flavoursome was the ham hock pinto beans
• Pickled slaw which was of the Asian style was one of the best slaws we've had in some time
• Especially as they were out of deep fried Oreos (I know)
• All that was left to choose from were ice cream and a molten chocolate cake
• Still I went with it and I was so glad I did
• The molten cake was firm on the outside and liquid chocolate centre on the inside all laced with chilli
• The banana ice cream was also one of the best example I've had in some time too
• Ice cream and sorbets here are really something
• The banana was just the start and a chocolate version was equally as good
• Sorbets such as this cherry variant was perfect Hot Box are putting Italians to shame
• Hot Box truly was an excellent find in this part of town and with all the competition in the Spitalfields area
• We were assured by our waiter that the Hotbox Smoked Selection was big enough to share between two
• M so glad we did as this was exceptional
• T be able to choose what to have next time if not the selection again as it was all so good
• T really like was the sausage which was a little coarse for me
• The slice of beef rib was perfectly tender
• Both were meltingly soft with a robust flavour
• The pulled pork (collar I believe) was some of the finest I&rsquo
• T like a bit of heat with your &lsquo
• It was never overpowering but it was certainly there in almost everything
• The plate came with some extra jalapenos and onions as garnish
• The black beans were a little too firm for me
• When we finished our main we were so disappointed
• I had to try the deep fried oreos whereas Stephen went with a less adventurous sticky toffee pudding
• I could probably do with a little less of the dough they are encased in
• We chatted to one of the staff and he said they were considering swapping out the chocolate ice cream for a lighter flavour
• Or even the butterscotch ice cream that Stephen had with his pudding would work really well
• S sticky toffee was a brick of a pudding (in size
• Not texture) and came with toffee sauce and the aforementioned butterscotch ice cream
• Gets pretty loud (it certainly was on the launch night)
• We were met with an air of calm and music playing at a reasonable volume (an old Prince track to make Ade happy)
• By the time we left to go home it was much more lively
• Deep South cooking is showing no sign of going anywhere
• A dark and smallish venue with the obligatory hot red neon sign
• Low strip lighting and black walls with contrasting red pillars
• T interfere too much with the cooking
• Then the customers here are not the kind you&rsquo
• It was pretty hard to concentrate on what Ade was saying when other people were having more interesting conversations around us (sorry Ade)
• Instead we were given a very smiley guy who was on his second shift
• Made ordering easy and enabled us to try every cocktail (there are just four)
• The stand our drinks by far were the zesty and fresh Rum &
• We went for what was probably the obvious choice &ndash
• Our fears were unfounded as this was deceptively filling food
• Thankfully though as they were probably the best we&rsquo
• T decide if this was due to the satisfying crunch or the odd smoky smell and taste of pulled Christmas crackers that wafted out of the bowl
• Smoking crackers is one of my most favourite smells
• The selection of meat on the board was great &ndash
• A thick crumb crust added texture whilst the cheese sauce was thick and creamy
• It was nice with a treacley crust
• T cut it compared with the immense joy the Oreos bought us
• A nice space with an impressive looking cocktail list but we had to get back home to catch up on emails/watch Celeb Big Brother
• The FOH lady told us on the way out they do a drink with pork fat in &ndash
• Me and my girlfriend shared the poached eggs with pork belly
• The chicken and Waffle with maple syrup and the truffle toast with asparagus
• All three were very good with refills of coffee a nice touch for a Sunday brunch as well
• The music switches from rap to reggae pretty seamlessly and the restaurant seems to be full of twenty something year old regulars that are out to have a good time
• Not too strong with a subtle hint of apricot working fantastically well with the gin and lemonade
• Those who know Hotbox have come to expect a selection of BBQ treats with each visit
• Items such as USDA smoked beef ribs and juicy pulled pork are just the tip of the iceberg
• Then Hotbox is for you with every dish feeling like it was 1.5 meals
• Pick of the two was the smoked meat hash which I would gladly have on every visit if not for one thing
• Those glorious 8 hour smoked ribs which is what got me hooked onto Hotbox in the first place
• Juicy meat glazed with a beautiful sticky BBQ sauce
• That's not to discount the fried chicken Belgian waffle or buttermilk pancakes which were also ordered by the table which were also delicious
• The wait for Hotbox to open was agonising to say the least but it was well worth it
• A hearty and tasty meal from these guys is now no longer confined to the latest trendy popup they've decided to grace with their presence and thank the meat gods for that
• As a devout lover of BBQ I was more than a little excited to visit Hotbox
• The pork ribs were grizzly with a lot of cartilage
• Whilst the beef short rib lacked a depth of flavour and was a little dry
• What saved the meal was the deep fried Oreos
• We shared a great bottle of wine and the ambience is really fun
• The service was great and friendly though
• Dammit people are getting smarter
• Lucky us there were cancellations and we were given a table within 10 minutes
• Belgian waffles with fruit so yea A LOT of food
• Every single dish was made to perfection
• Beef tacos can be tricky to make but surprisingly they were cooked perfectly
• So many different textures they were a treat to eat
• Fried chicken and waffle with a side of mac and cheese mmmm match made in heaven and perfect comfort food for a Sunday brunch
• HotBox also has a cool space downstairs which is more of a bar so definitely go check it out during the week and apparently they do grilled meat too
• Hotbox on Commercial Street is your one stop shop for bottomless bloody Mary's (£
• ' which was apparently their best seller and after the initial shock of being served a Bloody Mary which (unless I had a spontaneous onset of colour blindness)
• It was clear to see why it was so popular
• A perfect balance of cucumber and spice made it refreshing but with just enough of a kick to eliminate the remnants of last night
• Drum roll please for the Belgian waffle with fried chicken
• The chicken was tender and the batter light and crispy
• The waffle was pillowy and soft and once the whole devilish partnership was drenched in maple syrup it was all we could do not to inhale the entire thing in one gigantic mouthful
• Since sharing is most definitely caring
• Then we went overboard with the mac n cheese but I'd like to see you try and resist this
• We were fit to burst and decided it was time for mint tea (and probably a nap)
• The most expensive piece of meat on the plate was the short ribs but it hardly justified the cost
• The meat was not as moist as I was expecting and lacked the succulent factor
• It had great seasoning but it was let down by the the texture
• The pulled pork was very juicy and tender with a hint of spiciness
• If things go well you can simply collapse downstairs and pep up your food coma with drinks at 46 &
• A bit blurry and laced with a desire to go back for more
• This was one of the best meals in London I&rsquo
• S tantrum but let me share with you what I can
• Having been forcefully told on the website that booking is for parties of 6+ only
• D be greeted with a smug disbelief that you naively thought you could rock up and be fed between the hours of 7.30 10pm without having queued since 6
• Almost knocked me off my tired little feet (Hotbox (Spitalfields) is in east London you see)
• D have already had to rule out the Dirty Swine sandwich with pulled pork collar and spicy hot link sausage
• A little bit of everything on one thick chopping board is a perfect choice for the indecisive among us
• David had the chipotle beef rib taco which got excellent reviews from across the table (it was snaffled up before I got my fork in)
• The other sides are pretty cracking too
• My carb loving stomach is torn in two
• Pancakes combo is something I'm particularly a fan of
• I studied the menu anyway whilst my brunch pals made their choices I was with some of my favourite foodie/blogger friends
• Who flirts with the idea of meat (or once had a confused dream about bacon)
• Thinking of cheating on your veg spiralizer with a hunk of steak
• Two of us arrived early and were immediately led to a sun soaked table in what was otherwise a fairly dark room with black washed walls and moody lighting
• We said we were still waiting for our table
• The Bloody Mary was the right blend of juice and spice and it was all pretty reasonably priced for a trendy London brunch
• Friendly staff and exceptional food there is not much more I'd ask for from a London restaurant
• Left and centre with various levels of quality
• My hunt for the best burger in London is always ongoing and my all time &lsquo
• I had a sudden burger crave when it was served at the table next door
• The burger combination itself is pretty standard (dry aged patty
• The execution is just on the money
• Hotbox (Spitalfields) is just so good so come hungry as you will want everything
• I got the taco's for main course which were so delicious and very filling
• At the weekend their doors are open to us herbivores in the form of their brunch menu
• So a group of 10 of us (because we are now struggling to find places than can handle the whole crew at once) decided to check out Hotbox&rsquo
• So the deal is that you order from the brunch menu and then can add a liquid brunch at £
• S and I am informed that they were really good
• After doing plenty of research i was sure it was going to be good but little did i know how wrong i was
• A group of very loud and roudy drunks were let in and seated directly behind us
• We tried to carry on and enjoy our meal but it was impossible
• You are supposed to be ensuring that your paying customers are having a great time
• It's really not a case that we are moaners or easily disturbed
• Sure sometimes people are loud and boisterous but this was just well beyond normal
• Our prawn starter needed seasoning and was a bit over
• The pulled pork was pretty horrible
• The the thing was just greasy and needed a vinegary sauce to counter the richness
• The restraunt itself is very small and uncomfortable
• Guests are seated on wooden benches which are highly uncomfortable at communal tables
• Every body is in everyone's lap
• It's been about a year and a half since I was last here but the last time was brunch
• We start with smoked bone marrow and follow it up with beef short rib

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