It’s very fun and very meaty; check out BBQ legends ‘From The Ashes’ at the Ram Inn

From The Ashes are BBQ specialists. They focus on nose-to-tail eating using British produce and with that ethos they make a really fun menu. They’re inventive with flavours and certainly don’t take themselves seriously, but don’t be mistaken; that doesn’t mean that they don’t put out really great food. The food they make is really, really impressive. They’ve recently taken over the kitchen at the Ram Inn in Wandsworth and we followed our noses to the scent of BBQing meat.

So here was the order. We started off with the beef fat popcorn, sprinkled with tajin for a limey-chilli Mexican kick, this was the perfect nibble to set the (distinctly meaty) tone for the rest of the meal. If you are just at The Ram for a cold pint then these are an absolute must eat.

We tried two of their small plates. The first was a beer battered pickle. We were a little unsure on this one (can a pickle ever be that good?) but having heard it was a firm favourite of both the chefs and patrons alike, we had to give it a go. And aren’t we glad we did. A whole, unadulterated pickle, crispy in fish and chip style beer batter and a blob of classic American mustard to cut through it all. A texture and flavour party. We get the hype. Then we tried the duo of adobo pork tacos; laden with pickled onions, chilli and with that addictive adobo flavouring throughout, it was hard to resist swatting away the hand of our dining companion as they went to pick up their share of the dish. They’re small enough that it makes sense to save the arguments and just order a plate each.

We really didn’t hold back on the larger plates. The flank steak was (unsurprisingly) cooked to perfection and came atop a pool of gaucho butter which made the plate very luxurious. The glazed and smoked short-ribs were worth the mess; there was something magic in their Guinness and treacle marinade that made us not think about the dry cleaning bill we’ll surely have to fork out for from all that sauce dripping onto our shirts. Of course, we couldn’t come to The Ram and not get the famous Del Potro. This dish was madness. Smoked and braised short rib in a spicy chipotle BBQ sauce, with smoked cheese, crispy onions and a ‘garlic crack powder coating’…. all in a doughnut bun. Just believe us when we say that this really, really works and you’d be a complete fool to not try it. To go with this all we had the roast potatoes which came with an elevated aioli dip- a roasted garlic mayo that was every bit as addictive as the potatoes themselves. And, of course, because this is FTA, the potatoes were roasted in beef fat too. Gorgeous.

From The Ashes are hitting the meaty mark spot on. Ok, so maybe this isn’t the spot for your vegetarian friends (although we are sure they could eat pickle after pickle and be very content) but for everyone else? Follow the smell of the BBQ.