Big Easy Covent Garden

Barbecue, Burgers, Fish, North American, Steak·
££££
·
Bronze Award
·

SquareMeal Review of Big Easy Covent Garden

Bronze Award

A spin-off from the original King’s Road rocker, Big Easy Covent Garden also aims to celebrate New Orleans in all its sinful glory. Located in what was a Victorian power station, the new site struts its stuff as a good-timing crabshack and BBQ restaurant with lots of original features intact and a massive ‘wall of fire’ kitchen below stairs featuring two Argentinian parrilla grills, rotisseries, wood-burning ovens and suchlike. Over 500 bottles are on display in the formidable nine-metre bar, which dispenses draught negronis plus a raunchy line-up of ‘boozy juice’, pickle backs and ‘X-rated shakes’ to get you primed for some juicy stateside hits. Pit-smoked chicken wings and spicy voodoo prawns with blue cheese dip make way for Nova Scotia lobsters, rare-breed British steaks and finger-licking St Louis-style ribs – all served up by chatty staff. There's also live music every night at this fun feast.

Good to know

Average Price
££££ - £30 - £49
Cuisines
Barbecue, Burgers, Fish, North American, Steak
Ambience
Dark and moody, Fun, Lively, Quirky, Romantic, Themed
Food Occasions
All day dining, Bottomless brunch, Dinner, Lunch
Alfresco And Views
Outside seating
Special Features
Live music or dancing
Perfect for
Birthdays, Celebrations, Child friendly, Dates, Group dining [8+], Special occasions
Food Hygiene Rating

About

The Big Easy now has outposts all over London. The Covent Garden site is one of the liveliest, boasting a nine-metre bar, live music and a happy hour menu to boot. The space is industrial, featuring exposed brick and steel pillars, as well as nautical, with lobster traps, nets and rope dangling from the ceiling.

Regulars know the deal here: barbecue and seafood galore. As such, diners can kick things off with anything the likes of calamari, jumbo shrimp, chicken tenders or BBQ rib tips. There are veggie appetisers too, including loaded potato skins topped with aged cheddar, spring onion and sour cream, or stuffed jalapenos with fresh tomato salsa. From there, the menu is largely split into seafood and BBQ. Meatier options from the grill include an 18-hour Texas smoked brisket, glazed pork ribs, a half pit-smoked chicken or Carolina pulled pork.

From the sea, there are exciting entries like whole lobster, giant shrimp and a bake of lobster, mussels, clams and new potatoes with either hot ‘n’ spicy sauce or garlic and white wine cream. If, however, you can’t choose between the two, you can opt for a surf and turf, such as steak and lobster.

To wash down this veritable feast, there are all the classic cocktails one might expect, including daiquiris, mai tais, mojitos, margaritas and pina coladas. For the full experience, we recommend trying one of the house concoctions like the Big Easy rum punch, Mexican hurricane or back porch coffee. Boozy shakes are also available for those who like their drinks a little creamier, as well as the must-try pickle Jack (bourbon and pickle brine). There are tons of specials, sharing menus and party menus too so be sure to check below to see what’s on. Children’s menus are also on hand to ensure all ages get to enjoy this tasty offering.

Menu Highlights

Main Courses
WEEKDAY One COURSE Express Lunch MENU £10 includes PREMIUM BEVERAGE CHOICE* - £10.00

startersWEEKDAY Deluxe Lunch SPECIAL £15‘original’ HALF LOBSTER, Real Chips & PROSECCOServed with House Salad & Garlic ButterOUR LOBSTERS ARE THE FRESHEST AND BEST AVAILABLE DELIVERED HERE WITHIN 24 HOURS OF BEING HARVESTED FROMTHE ICY WATERS OFF NOVA SCOTIA. WE STEAM THEM WHOLE IN PLAIN VIEW IN OUR OPEN KITCHEN, SPLIT THE TAIL, CRACKTHE CLAWS AND A LITTLE GARLIC BUTTER, THAT’S IT... AS SIMPLE AS IT GETS*Beverages*HOUSE PROSECCOBig EASY BREWHOUSE Slushiebud lightorhOUSE SodasMAINSHome-Smoked Bar.B.Q Taste-O-RamaPulled Pork, Chicken, Texas Hot Links, Pork Rib, Bar.B.Q Beans, House Slaw and CornbreadAged cheddar Mac ‘n’ cheeseServed with House SaladLobster and Shrimp roll & ChipsFresh Cold Water Shrimp Lightly Tossed in Citrus Mayo, Piled into a Toasted Brioche RollSmokehouse Burger & ChipsGood Old Fashioned Prime Beef Patty Topped with Fried Onions, Lettuce, Tomatoes, Mayo & Homemade Bar.B.Q SauceShetland ISLES Mussels & ChipsFresh Mussels Baked in a choice of our Hot ‘n’ Spicy or Garlic White Wine Cream Sauce served withToasted Sour DoughPitmaster Bar.B.Q Sandwich & CHIPSSliced Brisket, Sliced Sausage, topped with Sweet Pickles, Onions and Homemade Bar.B.Q SauceSouthern Style ‘TEXAS RUB’ Minute steakServed with Real Chips and House SaladClassic Caeser SaladWith Bar.B.Q ChickenBAR.B.Q OR VOODOO CHICKEN WINGSCRISPY SALT & PEPPER CALAMARISTUFFED JALAPEÑO PEPPERS [V]SOUTHERN FRIED CHICKEN TENDERSOR ChooseDESSERTSBowl of Luxury ArtisanIce-CreamChoice of Flavours

WEEKDAY One COURSE Express Lunch MENU £10 includes PREMIUM BEVERAGE CHOICE* - £10.00

startersWEEKDAY Deluxe Lunch SPECIAL £15‘original’ HALF LOBSTER, Real Chips & PROSECCOServed with House Salad & Garlic ButterOUR LOBSTERS ARE THE FRESHEST AND BEST AVAILABLE DELIVERED HERE WITHIN 24 HOURS OF BEING HARVESTED FROMTHE ICY WATERS OFF NOVA SCOTIA. WE STEAM THEM WHOLE IN PLAIN VIEW IN OUR OPEN KITCHEN, SPLIT THE TAIL, CRACKTHE CLAWS AND A LITTLE GARLIC BUTTER, THAT’S IT... AS SIMPLE AS IT GETS*Beverages*HOUSE PROSECCOBig EASY BREWHOUSE Slushiebud lightorhOUSE SodasMAINSHome-Smoked Bar.B.Q Taste-O-RamaPulled Pork, Chicken, Texas Hot Links, Pork Rib, Bar.B.Q Beans, House Slaw and CornbreadAged cheddar Mac ‘n’ cheeseServed with House SaladLobster and Shrimp roll & ChipsFresh Cold Water Shrimp Lightly Tossed in Citrus Mayo, Piled into a Toasted Brioche RollSmokehouse Burger & ChipsGood Old Fashioned Prime Beef Patty Topped with Fried Onions, Lettuce, Tomatoes, Mayo & Homemade Bar.B.Q SauceShetland ISLES Mussels & ChipsFresh Mussels Baked in a choice of our Hot ‘n’ Spicy or Garlic White Wine Cream Sauce served withToasted Sour DoughPitmaster Bar.B.Q Sandwich & CHIPSSliced Brisket, Sliced Sausage, topped with Sweet Pickles, Onions and Homemade Bar.B.Q SauceSouthern Style ‘TEXAS RUB’ Minute steakServed with Real Chips and House SaladClassic Caeser SaladWith Bar.B.Q ChickenBAR.B.Q OR VOODOO CHICKEN WINGSCRISPY SALT & PEPPER CALAMARISTUFFED JALAPEÑO PEPPERS [V]SOUTHERN FRIED CHICKEN TENDERSOR ChooseDESSERTSBowl of Luxury ArtisanIce-CreamChoice of Flavours

This venue also offers

Big Easy Covent Garden
Event Party Venue

Big Easy Covent Garden

Big Easy Covent Garden
Christmas Parties

Big Easy Covent Garden

Location

12 Maiden Lane, Covent garden, London, WC2E 7NA

020 4580 1173 020 4580 1173

Website

Opening Times

All day
Mon 12:00-22:00
Tue 12:00-22:00
Wed 12:00-22:00
Thu 12:00-22:00
Fri 12:00-22:30
Sat 12:00-22:30
Sun 11:00-21:30

Reviews

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4 Reviews 
Food/Drink
Service
Atmosphere
Value

Robin W

15 June 2017  
Good ol fashion Southern soul food and atmosphere - can't go wrong!

Aisha M

04 May 2017  
Great food as always. Service was perfect and always so friendly.

04 December 2014  
Food & Drink 4
Service 2.5
Atmosphere 4
Value 5
Big Birthday
For a special occasion this is a super restaurant. Live music, glittery decor, slush cocktails (the margaritas are a divine mix of tequila, lime tang and pepper). The food was epic in taste and portions. A group of 5 shared a Lobster Fest (this covers whole 1½lb lobster served with fries, house Salad & a free drink. Additionally to this we had a large Caesar salad, Lobster Bake which included half lobster, peel ‘n’ eat giant shrimp, mussels, crab claws & potatoes, and a choice of sauce. We opted for hot ‘n’ spicy. As well as this one whole Atlantic crab steamed with drawn butter. Our waiter advised us that this would not be enough for 5 people; however, having been out for lunch, we stuck to our guns and were suitably stuffed. Especially after we'd cracked every claw and pincer’d out every bit of edible shell fish. For dessert we shared again between 5 the boozey ice cream and waffles with apple and cinnamon. These were scrummy and a great end to our monster meal. Highlights were the candle in the pudding for Mr N's 30th Birthday treat, as well as the delicious cocktails and fab food. A low point has to the be service. Our waiter advised us once we'd been waiting to order for 20 minutes that we only had a 2 hour slot at our table. We know this is standard in London especially at a relatively new restaurant. So we suggested our starter of calamari be served with the meal. This was unconsciously ignored. After finishing the starter we waited 25 minutes before our main arrived. By which time we had already used almost half our time allowance. This added unnecessary stress to the meal. Additionally the waiters English seemed to be a barrier, as we requested a Caesar salad and were served a chicken Caesar salad at an additional cost of £4.00 which wasn't ordered. Equally our boozy ice cream dessert was replaced by plain ice cream pudding. Irritating when you're aware of a time pressure on the table. Big Easy CG a great restaurant, but one tip for future bookers, make sure your order has been correctly interpreted. MCP

Chris R

28 April 2014  
Food & Drink 3
Service 3
Atmosphere 4
Value 3.5
I was amazed by the size of this place! The walk from our table to the gents toilet felt like a journey to the centre of the earth and I wish I'd taken a water bottle (of which more later…). Once there, the toilet was tiny and a bit grotty, with staff needing to be told to refill toilet rolls. Not great. Serving staff were friendly and helpful, but a bit slow to attend to us, which I suppose is understandable in a venue this size. The food was OK, but not very sophisticated. Fair enough I suppose, you don't go somewhere like this for haute cuisine. The chef definitely knew where the salt was, which meant I needed that waterbottle again! I left thirsty and needed to drink litres of water afterwards just to slake my thirst. The drinks offering in the venue was fun, with good beers, a good bourbon selection and a reasonable but somewhat uninspiring wine list (who drinks wine in these places anyway?!). They did make me an outstanding Old Fashioned, at which point my enjoyment of the meal definitely increased. In summary, this place delivered exactly what you would expect, but isn't somewhere I would rush back to. There are smaller, more interesting US barbecue places on offer in our great capital which feel less gigantic and corporate, and possibly a bit more deserving of your hard-earned…
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020 4580 1173 020 4580 1173

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