Joe’s Southern Kitchen and Bar

Had a great brunch at southern joes. Almost too much to eat. Service was on the slow side but I cannot find any fault with the food or venue. Will defiantly be returning for the ribs which looked fantastic.

Really great place to grab some awesome food!
We stopped by before a gig, and ended up skipping the support acts to have desert and chill!
We had cheese & bacon burgers, with chilli beef fries and collard greens. All of which I would order time and time again.
The iced crunchie was fab way to finish up our meal.

Still mourning the loss of Kentish Canteen, I feel almost adulterous venturing into Joe’s. But it’s close to home and does brunch, wings and 2for1 cocktails, so whatcha gonna do?
This week I was hungry as hell, and we all know about my wing fetish, so I ordered 6x buffalo chicken wings and the Nashville hot fried chicken thigh burger with pickled cucumbers and blue cheese sauce. And a Bloody Mary :)
The burger was amazing. SO good. I absolutely wolfed it down. The buffalo coating was perfectly piquant, the chicken was crispy without being greasy, and the blue cheese and pickles set off all the happy flavour feelings in my mouth. I was happy happy happy.
The buffalo wings were also delicious, but, a warning, they were spicy as hell. And I mean actual hell. I have a good tolerance for spicy food, but these blew my face off. I actually ended up only eating 5. So in that respect, a disappointment, and I wouldn’t order them again.
My friend had the full Southern Breakfast, which looked amazing, and she was very happy. I’ve been here before for my traditional Eggs Royale and it was great, so they do a reliable brunch.
Not much on here for vegetarians though, be warned.
The interior has a fun, Southern American vibe which is ever so slightly cheesy, but it’s comfy and relaxed. The staff seem friendly and the drinks are great. I’ve yet to venture into the downstairs bar, but I’m sure I’ll be back soon ;)
UPDATE
I’ve been back to Joes a couple more times now, and although the quality of food remains at a very high standard, unfortunately the service has really gone downhill. Expect to be ignored a LOT. It really isn’t difficult to acknowledge customers when they enter your restaurant, not just walk around them as if they were invisible. And please, PLEASE, don’t clear plates when people are still eating. It’s so rude! I’m afraid grumpy, lacklustre and impolite staff have cost this review a star.

I’m here to warn you. You think you can handle half a chicken. You can’t.
These are the plumpiest chickens, with each quarter portion a generous size and definitely enough for a meal, along with a side. However, I didn’t know that. Or maybe, in my heart, I did know it but I wanted to try both the Southern Fried and the Nashville Hot and figured that since you could get a half chicken, getting two quarters was definitely fine. My clue should have been when I finished ordering and the waiter thought I’d ordered for my boyfriend as well.
But — so delicious. These guys have nailed chicken. I think I particularly enjoyed the Nashville Hot but that’s not to say that the more standard fried option isn’t that juicy/​crispy combo so prized among the genre. They go really well with the mash and gravy, and I was happy enough with the chips (shared these with my boyfriend… I wasn’t doubling up on everything).
I only had sparkling water but my boyfriend’s oreo milkshake was great (ok, I had like a sip).
Value-​wise, should you choose to have a quarter chicken and a side, it comes to £10 (£11 if you go Nashville Hot) — given that this is an entirely reasonable amount of food, and it’s super tasty, I think it’s great value.
Atmosphere-​wise, this place has a good buzz. I do feel something’s missing from the décor though. Hard to put my finger on it but it’s a little bland, a little underdone — it didn’t really have much character.
It’s in a great area though — this bit of Kentish Town is getting more and more fantastic restaurants — but even given that, Joe’s is a top choice.
Oh, and in case anybody’s interested, they will give you a doggy bag if you need one.

This is a tough one, but first a bit of context.
The restaurant is a stones throw from the Forum in Kentish Town and whenever there is a gig or event taking place there, this place gets super busy.
Now, you’d expect that was part of the master plan when they chose to open the restaurant here — taking advantage of the crowds to pack the joint to capacity most nights. It certainly works — last night was heaving but it came at a price…
Service: 2
Due to train delays my dad and I were slightly late for our 7pm reservation but once we got mobile signal we did the courteous thing and called up at 7.15pm to let them know we were still coming and would be there by 7.25pm at the latest. I was told that my table may have been released because it was so busy but that they’d do their best to accommodate us if we arrived by 7.30pm.
I thought it was a bit odd that they’d release a table when you’ve confirmed you’re fully intending to dine at the restaurant and would be there 25 minutes later than scheduled. How quickly do they expect people to eat their food!!!
It wasn’t a great start but fortunately our table was still available when we arrived so we were seated immediately.
Upon arrival we were also warned that food may take around 20 minutes longer than usual due to how busy it was.
Again, I thought this was odd. Surely if you put a restaurant next to a popular music venue you’d plan and expect to be at near capacity most nights — almost definitely when there is an event on? And you’d staff up accordingly, right? I’m sorry, but being full or busy shouldn’t affect service or timings in any way.
We could immediately sense the tension throughout the restaurant so swiftly ordered two Brooklyn Lagers. We had to ask five times for two bottled beers, which eventually arrived nearly 30 minutes later. At least we had water on the table in the meantime…
We kept our order pretty simple too:
— southern fried chicken boneless bites for a shared starter
— one burger special for a main
— one beef short rib, fries and mac and cheese for the other main
The starters came out in relatively good time — almost as soon as the beers arrived.
The mains took ages though — arriving well over an hour after we placed our order. In their defence, they did say food may take a bit longer than normal but it was utter chaos and I feel sorry for the two guys opposite us in the thoroughfare who systematically had food dropped on their coats and bags throughout the evening.
We could see the staff were at breaking point so rather than have frustration over the whole experience, I just felt sorry for them as they simply couldn’t cope through the disorganisation.
Ambiance: 2
Frantic — see above. So it was hard to appreciate the restaurant.
Food: 3.5
The southern fried boneless chicken bites were a bit dry and really needed a sauce to go with them. They don’t come with one as an option so we paired them with the zingy BBQ sauce which went well together.
For my main, I was told to expect a huge beef short rib. I suppose the bone was massive but the meat portion definitely wasn’t huge. Don’t get me wrong, it was more than enough for one normal person (especially when placed on a mountain of coleslaw) but I’m greedy and I could’ve easily managed another rib! The mac n cheese was okay and the creaminess accompanied the beef well. I was impressed by the size of the fries portions (which were also nice and crisp), but I couldn’t really taste the chicken salt too much.
Overall, I wasn’t blown away by the food but I would come back and would probably try the southern fried half bird next time.
Value: 3
From what we ordered, I’d say the price is fair even if the short rib could be better value for the £18 you have to fork out.
At the end of our meal, the manager generously offered 50% off the food bill and we also got a beer on the house as the second Brooklyn I ordered wasn’t chilled so they kindly offered a Heineken free of charge.
The sting. In spite of all the issues, the 12.5% service charge was automatically added to our bill, which I thought was a bit cheeky even if it is in small print.
Return Factor: 3
I would happily go back and if that happens, I will update my review based on that next experience.
Tip: if last night was anything to go by, try this place when there’s nothing going on at the Forum

Couldn’t resist a cheeky Coq of the week! The week that I visited this was Chicken Thigh in a Biscuit. In this case a biscuit is kinda like a scone. As an Englishman this is a slightly awkward to confess, but I really do not like scones. Luckily it really was only sort-​of a scone. It was a lot better and I really enjoyed the unorthodox chicken burger to which it contributed. The fries were really nice too.
Barbecue sauce is something else I really do not like. The missus says that this is indicative of the poor quality of Barbecue sauce in the UK, rather than of my tastes. And the Barbecue sauce here was delicious so she might just be on to something.
Huber beer, a Midwestern lager they serve, was above average for a lager but was quite sweet. Too sweet really for my tastes but worth a try.

The London restaurant scene feels like it’s now saturated with ‘authentic’ American eateries so James, Ross and I popped along just before the end of their soft launch for a Sunday feast to see if Joe’s Southern Kitchen is leading the way or just along for the ride.
The drinks menu, which includes a large Bourbon selection also contains a selection of 4 cocktails priced at only £5 including Margaritas and Mojitos (both of which were good) means you can get a bit sloshed without making much of a dent in your wallet.
I really liked the Devilled eggs with with chicken skin mayonnaise (£3.95), which were full of flavour and topped with salty, crunchy bacon crumbs.
Our sides of Mac n’ Cheese (£3.95) and Cheese Grits (£2.95) were a mixed bag. The Mac n’ Cheese was lovely and rich — I wish we’d ordered a proper portion but the grits were all filler, no killer.
The other disappointing dish at Joe’s Southern Kitchen was the Fried Chicken Waffle (£9.95). It’s presentation lacked finesse, with half a bag of undressed rocket hastily tipped over it and while the coating seemed to have more flavour the wings, it still lacked crunch and missed the spot for me.

As a frequent visitor to Nashville and the south US I was excited to try this place out. The food was good but not amazing.
The biscuit was spot on but the fried chicken was average (and there is no need for lettuce in a fried chicken biscuit sandwich). The pulled pork was average but the bun was soggy which is no good.
The collard greens were not real collard greens… there was no broth for a start and it was shredded way to much.
Mac and cheese was amazing.
The staff were super friendly and helpful!

Never before has 2500+ calories tasted so good!
I’ve been sat here overindulging for nearly 2 hours now. I’m starting to feel quite uncomfortably full, because the menu was so full of delicious sounding food we had to try it all!
My friend Dave and I went halves on:
½ a chicken
8 hour slow roast beef short ribs
Fried Chicken and waffle sandwich
Mac & Cheese
Pulled pork
Followed by desserts. They only sell 3, so we thought «let’s try all of them».
Peanut butter pie
Pecan pie
Iced Crunchie.
I’m seriously stuffed.
The food in here is great. Highlights were the chicken & waffle and the peanut butter pie!
Service was pretty good too, very attentive and friendly. They did their best to hide their surprise at just how much 2 men could eat.
Would I go back? Absolutely, just not too often!

Woah I loved this place!
— It was easy to book a table — sweet!
— The staff were all lovely
— The food was amazing… I was even too full for desert!
— My cocktail was good too.
What more can you ask for?!
I have still never been to the American South, so I am not sure if their food tastes how it should… but it does taste amazing.
I tried the prison plate (mostly because I didn’t know what most of the components were and I like trying new things…)
— Grits sounds pretty gross but it was like a cheesy-​gloopy-​soupy yummy thing.
— The spicy beans were looovely
— The pulled pork was gorgeous (succulent with a nice smoky flavour)
— Collared greens (again, ordered because I’d never heard of it) was the butteriest cabbage I have ever eaten! I doubt it was healthy, despite being green… but they were addictive.
— Mac ‘n’ cheese was yummy too.
This place is walking distance from my flat, so I am sure I’ll be back!

I was a bit sad to hear Kentish Canteen closed to make way for this, but having tried Joe’s, I’m happy to have this place as one of my local go-​tos now. Compared to the location in Covent Garden, the Kentish Location is brighter, better laid out and overall a more enjoyable atmosphere.
The food. Wow, the fried chicken is good! My only reservation is that for £10 less up the road, you can get a whole chicken at Chicken Shop … but I guess you can’t compare fried and rotisserie chicken. Both are equally good, depending on what you’re up for. You must order the chicken gravy as it’s utterly delicious.
We had mac and cheese, fries and collared greens on the side, all of which were great. The mac and cheese isn’t very big but definitely packed with flavour. One must have is the peanut butter pie. I’ve been there twice for it now and it’s one of the best desserts I’ve had in ages (and I have a lot!).
The staff are nice, the ambience cool and the food tasty. What more can you ask for? It’s not a cheap night out if you get everything you lust after … but it certainly warrants a try :)

A very warm welcome to Kentish Town spots to enjoy a winderfully authentic southern experience. Food is delicious. Best wings in London with the tabasco honey sauce. A more interesting bourbon list would be ideal.

Guys, we ordered a feast, and I mean a literal feast, and there wasn’t a single thing on the table that wasn’t damn great. Amazing. Full of flavour. However you want to describe an epic feast of delicious proportions, but this was it.
Joe’s goes for the southern vibe, both in food and space. At least, this venue does. Their original spot nails the food but the overall vibe of the location and décor is still a little too touristy to be truly southern. And while this one doesn’t have the tin-​walls or wooden furniture that I associate with the southern bars from back home, it does a pretty good job. Aged neon Coca Cola signs, pictures of southern highways and BBQ joints projected on the walls, dishes in metal trays. It’s an experience.
But you come for the food. And my god, the food. Standouts from our meal were the amazing fried chicken (they have the Twitter handle @ FriedChickenLDN and that is not a name you take unless you can back it up, and back it up they do.) Crispy, tender, a great piece of fried chicken, and served on top of waffles with syrup and watermelon? Perfection. Also do not miss the biscuits and gravy, which we scooped up and would have licked the plate clean if we weren’t on best behaviour.
What else? God, it was all good. Jalapeño poppers which burned (no wussing out here). Mac and cheese which was thick on the cheese. A wedge salad, which was more cooked and roasted than I normally have seen a wedge salad (so flatter than a giant towering head of crispy lettuce), but still full of seasoning and sauce. Fried meatload! Who has ever heard of such a thing?
The whole thing. Southern eats for the win!
Haven’t even gotten into cocktails yet. We tried the London Loco, which was a pina collada with gin (unexpectedly excellent) and the Maple Pie, which did indeed taste like maple pie. Maybe a little too sweet for my taste but if you like sweet drinks, you’ll love it.
It’s even the little things. They make their own BBQ and hot sauce. That’s almost unheard of in London. And the service here, we were greeted by smiles and suggestions for things to eat and try the whole way through. They have southern hospitality down for sure.
While I’d probably give the other Joe’s a solid four stars, this one here, with it’s expanded menu and better vibe, gets the hardcore five.

Does prison food taste this good? Before you get the wrong idea about that question, I ordered a ‘Prison Plate’ at newly opened Joe’s in Kentish Town.
This was my first time trying grit and I really enjoyed it. Still don’t know what it is though.
The pulled pork was delicious — absolutely delicious. Very well spiced and seasoned. Very tender.
The coleslaw was very tasty also. As was the spicy southern beans. Great combination served up on a metal correctional serving tray.
Shout out to the cornbread — you were cute in your tiny skillet with your tiny spoon, you were cheesy and gooey and you were perfect.
Very happy to have Joe’s in the neighbourhood. Can’t wait to go again.