An American Smokehouse in London – Low, Slow & Juke:

In the unlikely setting of what used to be the Abbey Pub, somewhere in between Westminster and Victoria is Low, Slow & Juke, a Deep South Bar, decorated to look something like a colonial mansion from Gone with the Wind.

From the same family who run The Fire Station in Waterloo, Low, Slow & Juke focusses on slow cooked American smokehouse food, made in their own special oven. Just like The Fire Station, there’s an excellent selection of smoked cocktails – something that adds a bit of flavour and a lot of drama at the start of the evening. But, it’s in the smoked meats where they differentiate.

I popped along for a press evening and got to try a range of dishes from bacon popcorn through to whole smoked chicken.

And, one of the most calorific ideas I’ve come across – deep-fried mac and cheese balls, which turned out to be delicious.

My personal favourite was the whole smoked chicken which was tender and not in the least dry.

There was enough meat to balance the generous barbecue glaze and I could happily have eaten half by myself. The accompanying slaws were excellent too.

Ribs looked amazing but despite 16 hours or more in the special oven I still found them tough and rather lacking in any meat.

The sticky sweet barbecue sauce was overwhelming too. I’m not the greatest fan of ribs in the first place and probably wouldn’t have ordered them but we were trying pretty much everything on the menu, including sticky wings, which were just a tad too sweet for me, but perfectly well cooked.

We finished the meal with some moreish pieces of brownie – delicious

Much as I enjoyed parts of the meal, for me it was just too much Juke..but, others clearly love the vibe since the basement was packed on a mid-week evening. I suspect it might work well for a group planning a night out and needing to stoke up with some serious calories first – it’s not a place for a quiet date.

Cocktails though, get a big thumbs up, just like the ones at The Fire Station. And, if you are a big fan of Southern American food it’s worth a try.

Low Slow & Juke
1 Abbey Orchard St
Westminster
London SW1P 2LU