Back To Where It All Began | Big Easy, Kings Road, Chelsea, London

It was way back in May 2012 – a whopping 6.5 years ago, that Saff and I first visited the original, and in our opinion the best, Big Easy on the King’s Road. Yes, we’ve been to their other sites both at Covent Garden and Canary Wharf numerous times but after a recent refit it was time to give this Chelsea institution another go.

So what had changed? On the face of it, not very much, well not what I could remember. Gone are the red and white wipe-clean table cloths, as have the vintage US vintage style tin-plate ads. The signage outside has been given a trendy polished metal upgrade – gone is the bold red and white lettering. Overall the look is a tad cleaner, modern – more London eatery and less Stateside diner. To be honest, we preferred the lived-in, old American feel of how it was but that’s just us. We understand why it would need an update and to be kept in line with the other restaurants in the group.

We waved away the wine menu, as regular readers know, Saff and I are all about the cocktails when eating out somewhere like this. And, again from memory, it feels that Big Easy have made improvements. Sure, they still have the frozen margaritas, daiquiris and piña coladas from the Slushy Bar (£5.90 glass or £29 for a jug). These Big Easy staples are ‘boozy, fun and frozen, first made famous on King’s Road in the 90s’, or so the menu says.

An Amaretto sour from the improved cocktail list

Now these cocktails are never going to compete with those served up at the likes of Bar Three, The Gibson or even Devil’s Darling but the couple that we tried held their own. You can’t go wrong with an Old Fashioned (£9.50) and Saff’s Passion Fruit Martini was more than drinkable.

The main reason we agreed to revisit (well, my main reason) was to see if their Voodoo Chicken Wings (£8.90) were still as fabulous. It was at Big Easy that my love affair with proper hot and vinegary buffalo sauce began. For a very long time it was my benchmark and any other spicy wings were compared to these. They didn’t disappoint, sure other restaurants have their own twist on buffalo chicken recipes – MeatLIQUOR’s Monkey Fingers being a firm favourite – but Big Easy’s voodoo wings, with its blue cheese dipping sauce will always hold a special place in my heart.

Saff went for a relatively new, new to us anyway, Pick ‘n‘ Lick Jumbo Shrimp In The Shell (£10.80) served with either hot ‘n’ spicy or white wine sauce – of course she opted for hot ‘n’ spicy. True to form this dish included a lot of picking (off shell) and licking (of fingers), You wouldn’t want to waste a single drop of the sauce.

Ribs, Chicken AND Shrimp

From my main reason to my main course. I’ve tried almost everything from the ‘real BAR.B.Q’ section, that’s thanks to the excellent valued lunchtime Taste-O-Ramas that I’ve had. And as tempting as the Thursday Steak & Lobster special was, (Big Easy have different daily specials Monday through Thursday), the Surf & Turf combos caught my eye. Ribs, Chicken & Shrimp (£24.90) – half a slab of baby back ribs, Bar.B.Q chicken and three shell-on garlic butter jumbo grilled shrimp. A real belly buster, especially as it comes with Bar.B.Q beans and house slaw, although I did make room for some of Saff’s fantastic chips (more on those in a bit).

Saff asked our waitress, the awesome Alexandra, what was new on the menu since the restaurant’s revamp. One new dish instantly grabbed her attention – Bar.B.Q pulled pork sandwich (£11.90), hardly ground-breaking but it had been a while since she’d had a pulled pork bun. Hand pulled and piled high, topped with slaw, sweet pickles and Carolina sauce in a toasted burger bun. As good as this was, it was the ‘real chips’ that got her most excited. So crispy on the outside, so fluffy on the inside. This is how all chunky chips should taste, all I could think was just how perfect they would be wrapped in newspaper and doused in malt vinegar whilst sat on a deck chair on Brighton prom.

Desserts in American style restaurants are usually hit and miss, quantity over quality – it’s tricky to make a huge iron skillet of smores fondue and Graham crackers look delicate and refined. It was no exception for us. Saff’s Nice Slice Of Banana Cream Pie (£5.90) was a definite hit, I didn’t get a look in. Whilst my ‘dressed up scoops’ of Rum And Raisin Ice Cream (£6.90) with its tiny plastic pipette of El Dorado 12-year-old demerara rum was, unfortunately, a miss. Or rather my mistake, as there wasn’t as much rum as I expected for £6.90. Plus the Apple Brown Betty with bourbon custard that was delivered to the next table look so much interesting (at better value at £6.40). OK, OK I admit it, I had dessert envy.

Overall it was a really enjoyable and comforting evening, no stresses of unusual dishes or ingredients, just honest food in cosy surroundings. Sure the restaurant scene in London has changed considerably over the last few years, especially within the BBQ and cocktail sectors. But Big Easy is still holding its own and they do have the best value deals, plus those original voodoo chicken wings are still in my top three!

Find out more here
Big Easy Bar Bar-B-Q and Crabshack,
332-334 Kings Road, Chelsea, London, SW3 5UR
Telephone: 020 7352 4071
Email: enquiries@bigeasy.uk.com

Opening hours: Monday to Thursday 12pm – 11pm
Saturday 11am – 11.30pm
Sunday 11am – 10.30pm

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Nearest tube: South Kensington (16 mins walk)

We ate as guests of Big Easy, this does not affect our review in any way.
We always write with complete honesty.