Test Driving Hon's BBQ, where Texas and East Asia meet for a restaurant like no other

Man Hon Luk, the Hon of Hon's BBQ

What can you tell us about Hon's BBQ?

It started as Uncle Hon's BBQ, a pop-up and residency run by Man Hon Luk (he ditched the Uncle Roger-esque descriptor for this opening). After spending time in Texas, learning barbecue skills from the best of the best, Hon returned to London to apply said skills in various pop-ups and residencies. He combined that Texas know-how with East Asian twists to create something genuinely new on the scene here. And now he's opened a permanent restaurant, with a little help from a crowdfunding campaign along the way. 

So where has he opened it?

He's taken over what was once low-waste restaurant Silo in Hackney Wick, which you'll find above Crate Brewery down by the canal (less than five minutes' walk from Hackney Wick overground). Just look for the stairs leading up from Crate:

Head up the stairs and you'll find Hon's. If you've ever been to Silo in the past, you'll know exactly where it is. 

Silo was a pretty great-looking restaurant so at this point, Hon hasn't made too many changes to the design inside. At this stage, it has the same look as Silo, albeit serving up a very different menu. 

Inside Hon's (we'd recommend sitting up at the counter). 

That said, there is one big difference that you might notice as you head up to the restaurant, as under the stairs you'll see this:

Now THAT'S a smoker.

Apparently, Hon himself arrives at 5am every day to start the smoking of the meats inside this huge contraption. Thankfully, he happens to live locally in Hackney Wick, but it still shows a hell of a commitment to making sure everything is done just right here. 

Where should we go for a drink first?

There's really no question here - just head downstairs to Crate and even if you don't fancy beer, the cocktails and wine are decent there. Grab yourself a space by the waterside on a good day, and you'll be doing very well for yourselves (that's what we did, both before and after our meal at Hon's). 

So what's on the menu?

As mentioned earlier, the bulk of the menu is dedicated to various meats smoked for a very long time, mixing together both Texas and East Asian influences. Hon has brought in Norine Chu as Head Chef, who has experience from Singburi and Tempo under her belt, so, in addition to all the smoking, there's a strong hand in the kitchen too. 

Generally, it's a small-plates affair (some bigger than others), so things really will turn up as they're ready unless you order as you go. And if you're worried about missing out on something, you can pre-order which smoked meats you want. Since the smoking takes so long, when something's finished, that's it for the night. Honestly, we'd say pre-order all the meats. We decided to forego the pork ribs and having seen them in the restaurant, we deeply regret that decision. 

Here's a look at what we ordered on the night:

Tomato Melon Salad (£11) - a great way to start the meal, and there's a surprisingly great kick from the spices in there too. 

Duck Pancakes (£16) - as with all the meats, a must-order, with beautifully tender duck on show here. 

Taiwanese Pork Belly (£13 per 100g) - we don't want to use the words "melt-in-the-mouth" here, but it is very relevant to these bite-sized wonders. 

Beef Short Ribs w/ Sichuan Peppercorn Sauce (300g, £36) - Unlike any short ribs that we've ever had, these are absolutely phenomenal, and are a perfect showcase of the smoking talent here. Glorious bark with great seasoning, while the short ribs themselves remained tender throughout. 

Lamb breast (£12 per 100g) - a pile of lamb breast that's been slow-cooked to great effect. 

Lap cheong Smoked Mac & Cheese (£12) - the must-have side, studded with lap cheong sausage pieces.

Mango Coconut Pudding (£6.50) - perfect for sharing and works well as a counterbalance for all the meat you'll have filled up on by this point. 

What about drinks?

At the moment, it's a short list with cocktail sodas in a can (£3.75) and a list of about seven wines (all European), priced either at £35 or £45 and, of course, some beer from Crate (as well as a few softs). We'd expect that list to evolve in the coming weeks. 

Overall thoughts

We were expecting great things from Hon's BBQ, having seen what he was capable of at previous residencies, and the restaurant has certainly delivered. They're easily delivering some of the very best barbecue in London and the East-Asian take mixed in with a bit of Texas works absolute wonders. We visited pretty early and while the food was all on-point, we can only see it getting better from here. So book a table, pre-order all the meats if you can and settle down for top BBQ action.