Six of One 1/9/2023
Charcoal Champ and five other recommendations
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Six of One is a column dedicated to London restaurant recommendations. In each newsletter, we send out a tip from six writers for six different restaurants, bakeries, cafes or takeaways that deserve to be better known.
You can find previous Six of Ones below:
Polentina and five other recommendations
Inihaw plus five
Kulcha Express plus five
Triple One Café plus five
Samak Seafood plus five
Lakehouse Hungarian Restaurant plus five
Salteñas Martin plus five
Best Foods Supermarket plus five
Thenga Cafe plus fiveToday’s recommendations are from Montague Ashley-Craig, Toyo Odetunde, Rohan Jones, Jill Russo, Jonathan Nunn, and Samir Jeraj
1. Charcoal Champ
Put simply, Charcoal Champ – an excellent value, Coal Drops Yard-adjacent, Northeastern Chinese style BBQ – absolutely slaps.
My first visit was serendipitous. I was running late for a friend’s book launch and ditching a Zipcar nearby. The strip that Charcoal Champ sits on, up York Way near King’s Cross, is otherwise unassuming, but the fug of spiced meats grilling over charcoal wafted along the street and my interest was piqued by the queue of Chinese international students dripping in designer streetwear from nearby Central Saint Martins lined up under the cryptic ‘Chinese BBQ Restaurant’ awning. (Pro tip: as it’s walk-ins only, a table is much easier to nab during university holidays.)
BBQ and beer is the agenda here and thin metal skewers of heavily cumin- and chilli-spiced portions of charcoal grilled meat, vegetables and seafood arrive in quick succession from the open kitchen, which consists of a long row of hibachi grills. Skewers are cheap (50p-£2.50) and the menu format encourages mixing and matching – this is a choose-your-own adventure with no bad endings. Cold dishes and sides, particularly the often-sold-out malatang, and fragrant scallops with chopped garlic and glass noodles, are also excellent. The soy-fried and cabbage-fried rice dishes are essential orders.
A set for one (£20) and a set for two (£50) contain all the heavy hitters and you could use these as a starting point to add to or create your own iterations. As with most things in life, if you arrive with a down-for-whatever mindset, you’ll have the best time. Montague Ashley-Craig
142 York Way, N1 0AX
2. Chim’s
