by Ashley Berriman, October 2015
A Bloody Mary fans dream.
I just love me some brunch. And it feels like I’ve been waiting ages to try Hotbox’s Sunday ‘Liquid Brunch’.
Thankfully a fabulous friend of mine who knows where to find good BBQ food in London organised for us to go there for her birthday celebration, and it didn’t require a hard sell in for the group. For a one off fee of £25 you can let your hair down over brunch with unlimited Prosecco, Mimosas and a choice of five different Bloody Marys. Yes five!
I’ll start with the drinks….but believe me the food is just as good so we will get to that too.
We kicked off with the ‘Smoked’. A whiskey base, with the addition of smoked pork jus and smoked salt.
And then the ‘Spiced’. A classic base, with horseradish and a chilli salt and pepper rim.
And it we couldn’t resist trying the ‘Green’. Again with a classic base but this time mixed with chimichurri, jalapeno tabasco and a cucumber spear. Sounded exciting but in truth a tad too spicy for us.
And finally the ‘Red’. A gin base, spiced passata, extra glazed cherry tomatoes and a dash of port. Delicious.
We skipped the ‘Classic’ as let’s be honest it’s not too exciting after the above, and went back to our favourite the ‘Smoked’. Something about a BBQ joint adding Pork Jus to their drink just worked well, and the surrounding Bloody Mary fans around me all agreed.
Now for the food.
Lucky for me, as there was a group of about 20, I got to see a wide range of what Hotbox were offering.
I went for the ‘Truffle Egg Toast’, which came with truffle salt, asparagus and fontina, and a lusciously runny orange yoke. To top it all off, I added a side of bacon and guacamole. Oh yes.
Beside me was the ‘Chicken Belgian Waffle’ with perfectly crisp chicken thighs, truffle salt all topped off with a small jug of maple syrup.
Popular choices were also the ‘Eggs Benedict’, with poached eggs, smoked pork belly and hollandaise and the ‘Brunch Burger’, a dry aged patty, topped with smoked pork belly and a fried egg.
The winner of the day for me though, and which caused me the most food envy, was the ‘Huevos Rancheros’ with massa corn taco and guacamole. It looked divine.
With not a single sad face around the table, its safe to say, this one is firmly on the list for answering future BBQ cravings. And if you are going to go, go for the brunch. Previous to this I went on an evening but brunch is always better. There’s more Bloody Mary’s, eggs and guacamole. Enough said.
