Joe's Southern Kitchen

Joe's Southern Kitchen and Bar opened in Covent Garden back in the summer, and has been tweeting mouth watering pictures of their food ever since!

Everytime I saw a picture of their food, I had to ignore it. Deep southern fried food is a no-go for me during the summer, as I am competing on the track and trying to stay in shape. 

This isn't the summer anymore, though. Whilst I am still training hard, I couldn't resist finally going for some southern fried chicken.

After-all, chicken is protein, so I am technically eating good!

Dad had been up in London for meetings all day, so we met up for some post-work drinks and made our way over to Covent Garden to grab dinner. 
Be prepared to wait a little bit for a table, as it is pretty busy most evenings. You can grab a spot at the bar, and try out some of the cocktails.

 

Coat from Topman, shirt from River Island.

A Long Island Iced Tea and a pot of peanuts later, our table was ready.
By this point, I am starving. The smell of the food was crazy good, and there was only so many peanuts you could eat to kill the hunger!

Seated, ready to eat, and another round of drinks later, our starters came out. 

I went for the Joe's chicken wings, full American style.

With an extra helping of BBQ sauce.

(Which, by the way, is absolutely amazing. I need a bottle of this in my kitchen cupboard!)

If you want finger licking good food then this hits the spot!

Whilst dad went for the corn and monterey jack rice balls.

All in all, a pretty good start.
There could have been a couple more rice balls, but it was almost as if good ol' Joe was saying 'Here is a teaser of whats to come.'

Boy, was he right. Out came the mains.

Goodbye training diet for one night, and hello Southern Fried Chicken, buttermilk marinated and then deep fried in their pressure fryer!

4 pieces of Joe's finest chicken, deep fried to perfection.
Chicken. Chicken. Chicken, Chicken.

Here's a closer look..

Looks tasty doesn't it!
No knives and forks were used in the eating of this chicken! It is all about the hands!

Four pieces were enough to fill you up after the starter, and throwing on some more BBQ sauce made it taste even better. Plus, because it was in a pressure fryer, it wasn't as greasy as some of those chicken shops on the high street!
Believe me, it was simply amazing. Crispy, juicy chicken, with a side of spicy potatoes.

Which set my mouth on fire! (Though I am a mango and lime Nandos kind of guy!)

Dad went for Joe's Dry Aged Burger...

Cheese, caramalised onions, bacon, pickle and a burger, all surrounded by a sea of skin-on fries.
Which disappeared before I could take anymore photos of it, but in the west country words of dad.. 'That were pretty good wern't it, rare just 'ow I like it.'
You can take the man out of the countryside, but not the countryside out of the man!

I couldn't stomach desert, I was too full from the starter and mains, so we grabbed the bill and made our way back out into the London night.

Joe's, it was awesome. I will be back and I will have desert!

If you want to go try out their food, then you can book a table here, have a quick look at the menu here, and find them on Twitter here.

If you don't book, don't worry. They hold back a number of tables every night for walk-ins! #Winning

Five Guys

If you need somewhere quick to go for a bit to eat tonight, then this could be the place for you!

I have been absolutely dying to get down to Five Guys in Covent Garden. There has been so much hype surrounding their arrival from America to set up shop in London, so the moment I touched down from Dubai it was at the top of my go-to list.

So, I grabbed Frankie from work, and we made our way to Seven Dials with empty stomachs.
Time for a burger, Five Guys style!

We placed our orders, and waited eagerly as we watched our burgers moved closer to our pick up point.

We both went for the Bacon Double Cheeseburger and Small Fries. 

I have read quite a few reviews about Five Guys, but the best (and also mentioned on their screens) is by my friend Rose who runs The Londoner...

'Heaven in a brown paper bag.'

Ready to see whats inside?

Hello bad boy.
In the words of every hungry person out there... Get in my belly!

Here's a quick tip though... Order a small fries! There are so many of them!

The burgers tasted uh-mazing! They are up there with the big gun burger-joints of London, but with an American twist. 

The best thing about Five Guys, apart from the burgers, are the drinks. There are over 150 to chose from!
Yes, you read that right. 1-5-0.
There is this huge machine which you walk up to, chose your type of drink from Fanta, to Sprite, to Coca Cola, and then chose the flavour.

I introduced myself to Strawberry Sprite, whilst Frankie went for Peach Fanta, both of which were spot on in taste, and perfect to wash down our dinner!
Falling into a burger coma, we swigged the last of our drinks and made our way back out into the London night. 
Those empty stomachs were full of American goodness! You have to go pay them a visit, and they can be found here in Covent Garden, and they have a store opening in Islington in November!

Or if you don't have time for a sit down, you can order ahead for take away here!