This Joint Rocks
02:08
It's somewhat of a rarity to discover a new restaurant that ticks so many boxes so spectacularly well, whilst having so little with which to find fault. When one such place is found, nestled in that fabled unicorn zone of legend which combines superb quality ingredients, great value, originality, beautiful execution and first rate friendly service - whilst remaining down to earth and unpretentious - well that’s something to shout about!
The Joint is the brain-child of chef Warren Dean and baker Daniel Fiteni. Starting life as a food truck and then a pop-up in Brixton, The Joint now has a permanent residence in the rarefied enclaves of London's Marylebone at 19 New Cavendish Street, a short stroll from Marylebone High Street and Harley Street.
The whole vibe of the restaurant is a backyard BBQ - all be it an indoors one - with some of the finest ingredients, creatively and expertly cooked and assembled, imaginatively presented and a place where one would be happy to enjoy a meal with family and friends - equally an excellent easy going spot to fan the flames on a hot date. This is not a pretentious restaurant - it's clearly about having a relaxed and fun eating experience - something we immediately warmed to.
Before we get to the food and dining experience, a little background on Warren Dean. Originally from Johannesburg - where they know a thing or two about BBQ - Warren quit his native South Africa to experience working at a range of well known restaurants including The Ivy and Gordon Ramsay. He was executive chef at a successful restaurant Roche House - where he learned some invaluable experience, for one thing the somewhat strange anomaly that locally caught seafood can cost more than buying in London.
In addition to designing menus for Virgin Atlantic, Warren spent a year as the in-house private chef for the McLaren Formula 1 racing team - being thrown head first into the Rock 'n' Roll circus that is the world of top flight motor sport.
So, we have a chef and restaurateur with fine dining pedigree who has also branched out into an eclectic range of cooking environments. It says rather a lot that Warren and Dan have financed The Joint 100% themselves and independently. There are no Venture Capitalist or investor shots being called here, and this shows with the level of passion, care and quality being delivered.
Firmly established as one of the world's food capitals, London is certainly no stranger to food trends and scenes. We've been saturated with hamburgers and fried chicken. BBQ and smoke houses may have cropped-up across the city, but The Joint is a hands down winner because it delivers such well considered and executed dishes whilst remaining excellent value - that's why it deserves to be noticed regardless of the competition. So without further ado, what about the food and our highly enjoyable lunch? First and foremost the ingredients are sourced from some of the finest suppliers. Meat is from Marylebone's excellent Ginger Pig butchers. The sourdough and potato bread buns are supplied by Bad Boys' Bakery, a project inside Brixton Prison teaching new skills to offenders - and believe us when we say these are excellent home made buns which don't disintegrate - unlike many a brioche bun, and are ideally suited to The Joint's dishes.
Equally commendable, all the dishes we tried were perfectly seasoned - whereas so many meat-centric restaurants veer towards over salting, that wasn't an issue at The Joint.
The restaurant business is notoriously tough - not least because there is so much competition and it's so demanding. We think The Joint is going places and we reckon the brand is set for great things.
Our starters were served in amusing waxed paper parcels, tied with string and hand written labels. The presentation created the feeling of unwrapping a gift and far from being a mere gimmick, was a simple and enjoyable way of making us feel happy before we'd even seen or tasted the food. We started with some exceptionally good quality BBQ wings - just the right combination of sweetness and chilli in the home made BBQ sauce with succulent meat easily falling off the bone.
Along with the wings we had onion rings - extra large rings with a superb crispy coating - elevating the bar on an otherwise matter of fact simple dish to raise it up there among the best we've experienced.
Small but meaningful touches were evident throughout the meal and the restaurant. We asked for a jug of tap water, which was served in an elegant carafe with slices of cucumber. If there's one constant we noticed at The Joint it's that even something simple can be done better, and it's an ethos that shines through with pleasing details.
Fixtures and legs on the wooden dining furniture, benches and tables, had a clear nod towards scaffolding, with just the right narrow depth to add a stylish element.
Built into the tables are stainless steel drinks coolers - rather than cluttering floorspace with ice buckets - and we're told these metal containers built into the tables are also used to discard bones and remnants - it's an extremely simple but highly effective design feature.
The whole restaurant has the feel of a backyard that would be equally fitting in the southern States, south America or the Caribbean. Over sized fairy lights were strewn across the ceiling and a magnificent and colourful peacock graffiti piece - by one of Warren and Dan's friends - adorns an entire corner of the ground floor dining room.
We tried the beef brisket, a towering masterpiece including smoked aioli, bacon relish (we had it without the bacon) and salad in a potato bun.
It was simply delicious, with ultra tender beef melting in the mouth - the entire dish had been well considered and thought out - rather than some "let's just shove ingredients in a bun" mentality - this was a carefully created gem of a dish. Just the right balance of sweet and tangy, crispness and sauce with beef, relish and salad delivering flavour in spades, a really pleasing experience, without the typical burger issues of disintegrating and falling apart.
Worth noting at this point - the portions are large - this is one restaurant that doesn't skimp on portion size.
T tried the "Asian" - an exceptional sour dough bun - which again didn't disintegrate on us, with 16 hours slow cooked pulled pork, spring onion, ginger, chilli, slaw and salad. Aside from enjoying the dish immensely, T also loved the way it surprised by becoming unexpectedly hot with some extra chilli towards the end, yet not overpowering.
Equally commendable, all the dishes we tried were perfectly seasoned - whereas so many meat-centric restaurants veer towards over salting, that wasn't an issue at The Joint.
We enjoyed two sides of sweet corn, including one with BBQ butter and seasoned with garlic and cinnamon, another with lime zest and a hint of chilli.
The Joint has 12 staff and we're told the kitchen team are mostly Italian working under Head Chef Jacopol. The dishes created by Warren and Dan were perfectly executed.
Drinks and cocktails are not an after thought at The Joint - they are original, well made with excellent ingredients and not overpriced. We tried a Figgy Old Fashioned - a perfectly balanced and mixed Old Fashioned with the welcome addition of fig and vanilla.
We also enjoyed some non-alcoholic cocktails including an apple, mint and ginger drink similar to a virgin mojito; along with a delicious orange, fig and vanilla soda.
With mains costing £8.50 for the Asian and £9.50 for the Beef Brisket (including 20% VAT) we think The Joint represents remarkable value for such quality faire situated in the heart of Marylebone.
Warren has a thing for motorbikes and music - whilst there aren't any motorbikes in The Joint, we're pleased the background music was a super and eclectic mix that perfectly suited the restaurant.
Don't be misled because it's ostensibly “just” a burger or BBQ joint.
The Joint is now firmly on our list of restaurants to enjoy and recommend - it's that good.
The restaurant business is notoriously tough - not least because there is so much competition and it's so demanding. We think The Joint is going places and we reckon the brand is set for great things.
We'll leave the last words to Warren who clearly cares a great deal about what he's doing, whilst appreciating that "food can be fun, and it is fun...just enjoy it!"
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