Daily Mail
Declaring that “decent barbecue is still a rare thing in London”, Tom Parker Bowles headed to a spot that opened earlier this year just off the Chiswick High Road that he had read good things about.
The Cookshack smoker – “a vast and serious piece of kit” – was suitably impressive, while baby back ribs had an “excellent pert texture, and a fine bark (or crust)”. “But the smoke flavour is barely discernible. They need more oomph.”
Pulled pork was up to scratch, but brisket was another disappointment. “Again, there’s little trace of the smoker and it verges on the bland. Still, there’s potential here. They just need to dial up that smoke.”
Tom Parker Bowles - 2025-07-27Evening Standard
David Ellis whooped, hollered and kicked up his heels at a ‘country bar and kitchen’ in west London that is “better considered a kind of theme park ride”, offering line-dancing accompanied by Southern-style “party food”, huge glasses of cheapish wine and their own-branded beer that is “authentically American; ie, its only flavour is ‘cold’”.
That said, the cooking was “far better than required”, and consisted of alarming quantities of pulled meat, tater tots, crisp battered Nashville chicken tenders and “particularly good fries” – all served in “authentically American” portions “ie, bloody massive”.
“Lil’ Nashville is a hoot, but perhaps also a refuge,” David reckoned. “: among the good-time hunters and country fans numbered life’s natural misfits, those who might have turned to line dancing after being turned away from something else. “Everyone was having a night of it: no posturing, pretence, sneers or side eyes. This lil’ bar welcomes with an offer of fun that no one need feel self-conscious about. It is not cool, but it is for everyone. London needs more of that.”
David Ellis - 2025-08-03
