Restaurants citywide are celebrating America’s Independence Day with special menus brimming with BBQ, decadent desserts and fantastic cocktails. So celebrate the 4th of July like an American with The Resident’s pick of the best places to get your red, white and blue BBQ and booze fix!
Words: Ivy Bridges
1Balthazar Restaurant, Covent Garden
Don your best stars and stripes, because Balthazar insists you dress up to enjoy an All-American meal for free! If dressing up isn’t really you’re thing, you can still enjoy the meal for £20 a person. Start with a mouth-watering Balthazar burger and fries, or better yet the ‘Independence Day-Dog’, a hotdog layered with beef and crispy shallots. After the main, indulge in Hot Apple Pie and Vanilla icecream. The meal wouldn’t be complete without a Budweiser, 4th July Crush, Balthazar Bloody Mary or Obama Slammer cocktail.
4-6 Russell Street, Covent Garden WC2B 5HZ; balthazarlondon.com
Balthazar offers a delicious array of cocktails and treats for its 4th July Celebration including the ‘Independence Day-Dog’
2Hanger SW6, Fulham
The newly opened steak house and retro-style cocktail bar Hanger is jumping on the 4th of July bandwagon and offering brunch all weekend long. From the 2nd of July, find American classics like ‘steak n’ eggs’ revisited with hanger steak, fried duck egg, hash browns, hanger relish or try the ‘brunch bap’ with venison sausage, fried egg, sticky onions on a potato bap. Would brunch really be brunch if cocktails weren’t involved? The ‘hanger-over’ is the restaurant’s very own take on the Bloody Mary, or try the more outlandishly named ‘Crackbaby’, with a tasty fruity blend of vodka, orange, passion fruit and prosecco. Get ready because for the duration of the 4th of July weekend, Hanger sw6 will be offering bottomless bloody hangers and bellinis for £15 per person for the duration of a 2 hour sitting.
461 North End Road, Fulham SW6 1NZ; hangersteak.co.uk
Hanger Steakhouse is broadening its usual menu with an American brunch
3Jar Kitchen, Covent Garden
FIRE, the one night supper club, is celebrating all-things-American in Covent Garden. You can spend Monday evening enjoying a menu with an emphasis on BBQ flavours and smoking. Start the 5 course meal with Smoked Popcorn, followed by Hot Smoked and Cured Trout and Goat Ribs. For the main dish choose between Smoked Lamb Belly, Roast Cutlet, or Devilled Kidney Kebabs. Finish the meal off with taste bud tantalizing Burnt Tangerine Baked Cheesecake and an after dinner drink of Flaming Sambuca. The Independence Day menu is priced at £50 per person, including wine pairings from the restaurant’s sommelier.
176 Drury Lane, Covent Garden WC2B 5QF; jarkitchen.com
Jar Kitchen serves up delectable roast meats, perfect for 4th of July celebrations
4Christopher’s, Covent Garden
In honour of its 25th birthday and America’s most celebrated holiday, Christopher’s in Covent Garden is offering a BBQ-inspired menu from 4-8 July 2016. Choose from a two course meal for £38 or a three course meal for £45. Try the BBQ Pulled Pork-Tortilla with Apple Slaw to start. For mains, American classics are revamped, test out the Grilled Missouri-rubbed 6oz Prime USDA Rump Steak with 72-hour Slow-cooked Short Rib and Maple-whipped Sweet Potato. For dessert, stick with good ol’ fashioned Apple Pie or try the White Chocolate Buttermilk Pannacotta with Malted Banana Ice Cream and Caramalised Cherries. No matter what you’re craving, the rich menu would satisfy even the most discerning American.
18 Wellington Street, Covent Garden WC2E 7DD; christophersgrill.com
Christopher’s BBQ Pulled Pork Tortilla
5Texas Joe’s Slow Smoked Meats, Bermondsey
Straight from Texas, the new meat shop in Bermondsey is serving up straight southern charm with its Independence Day opening. The menu boasts that food isn’t Texas ‘flavoured’ or Texas ‘style’; it’s the real deal. There are no bells and whistles to Joe’s thick slabs of meat; taste the true slow-smoked flavour with just salt and pepper. Signature dishes include USDA beef brisket, beef prime rib and pork shoulder, as well as mutton shoulder and ribs. At lunchtime try the fresh tacos and thick-cut sandwiches with a side dish of bone marrow with chilli salt; oxtail chilli; or brisket nachos. For an after-dinner drink, head to the honky-tonk bar for jukebox tunes and a glass of whisky, tequila, or award-winning Balcone bourbon.
8-9 Snowsfields, Bermondsey SE1 3SU; texas-joes.com
Joe’s Slow Cooked Meats offer authentic Texas cooking
6Bubbledogs
The 4th of July simply cannot be celebrated without a brew in one hand and a hotdog in the the other. Bubbledogs is offering a unique hot dog that plays off another American classic; the peanut butter and jelly sandwich. The dog will be loaded with a hearty bacon jam and topped with spiced peanuts. On the side, choose from All-American tater tots, sweet potato fries, or coleslaw and you’ll also receive a signature glass of bubbly. You can snatch up this treat throughout July for £7 each.
70 Charlotte Street, Fitzrovia W1T 4QG; bubbledogs.co.uk
The PB&J dog is a British take on two American traditions