USA portions and flavours are on offer at new City smokehouse, One Sixty.
After epic success with its original restaurant in West Hampstead (I’ve never been but have heard great things), the team behind One Sixty have opened a sister site roughly equidistant to Liverpool Street and Aldgate Tube stations. Meathead carnivores and folks in the area who like a strong drink: start salivating now if you haven’t already dabbled in the meaty excesses on offer.
I really enjoyed my dinner at One Sixty – City. Hot wings with blue cheese sauce (£7 or £9.50 depending on order size) met my approval and are easy to recommend as a starter or bar snack. Ultra tender mega-slab of eight-hour smoked pork ribs (served with chips and/or slaw, £10 for a half rack or £16 for a full rack) satisfied as well. And ox cheek (also smoked for eight hours, served with mash £17) was an equally juicy, melt-in-your-mouth main.
Drinks wise, the bar leans heavy on the craft beer, but there’s more than decent wine and great cocktails too. I sampled a range of drinks over my meal; the Mezcal and Chill Old Fashioned (£9.50) was the undeniable fave. Smoky and with a kick, it was a pleasure to drink and might have been the highlight of my visit – it would be my top choice upon any repeat visit, and I’d stick with it if having more than one drink.
At the time of my visit, there were no dessert items on the menu. I took it as a good excuse to have another drink. I was told sweets are on the way soon though.
Service was exceedingly gracious and quick. In full disclosure, I should mention that the staff knew I was there to review the place and that might have affected how I was approached. That said, server Beatrice knew her stuff and never faltered when I relied on her for advice for food and drinks (that mezcal Of Fashioned was Beatrice’s suggestion).
Music was loud and rockin’ (I liked the Tom Petty playing when I first entered, but found it hard to have a meaningful conversation with my dinner guest). Then again, it’s not the sort of place I’d think to visit for thoughtful convo anyway.
If you work in the area, this would be an ideal place (well, as long as you’re not too ardently vegetarian) for full-on lunches and after work shenanigans.
One Sixty – City is located at 9 Stoney Lane, E1 7BH. Find out more at one-sixty.co.uk.
