Easy Eats to Recommend: The Joint at The Refreshment Room

Mega meat treats cross the river and head east with Brixton Market bad boys, The Joint, taking over the kitchen at The Refreshment Room in Stratford.

The Refreshment Room (just across the street from the non-Westfield side of the Stratford Centre) opened back in December. It’s a roomy space, a good place for a drink, and – come warmer weather – a smart venue to keep in mind with its huge outdoor seating area. It’s a fine spot too if you’re a BBQ fan, with The Joint supplying a menu of meaty delights.

I savoured the recent opportunity to dive into a sampling of dishes on offer, washed down with a few pints of Camden Hells. 

It was all-good to be sure, but some bites were better than others.

In pork-ticular, I loved the 16-hour slow cooked pulled pork with candied apple bacon, slaw and salad on a homemade fig and vanilla bun (£8.50). To read of such a stacked high assemblage on paper, I’d have thought it might have resulted in a mess of too much yummy stuff thrown together for its own good. But it worked – really worked – and thusly impressed my palate.   

So did the brisket sandwich with smoked aioli, bacon relish and salad on a homemade potato bun (£9.50).

A lineup of sides (£2.70 to £4.50) proved the usual suspects: riblets, hot wings, cheesy fries, the all but obligatory deep fried mac ‘n cheese, and especially crispy and tasty onion rings to name a few.

Word is The Joint will continue cooking at The Refreshment Room for the next few months. These eats are easy to recommend, folks. Head over while ya can.

Keep an eye out for The Joint’s doings (in Stratford and elsewhere) at the the-joint.co.

The Refreshment Room is located at 27 Broadway, E15 4BQ. For more information, go to refreshmentroom-stratford.com.