People are talking about Neil Rankin’s Temper.
Maybe because he beats eggs, whips cream, and tenderizes meat… and does those things really well.
Perhaps the finest BBQ chef Scotland has produced in a generation, Rankin’s helmed the kitchens at Pitt Cue, John Salt, and his own Smokehouse, and here, he started roasting entire animals over coal, South American style. He’s now stepped back to focus on his own vegan diner, Simplicity Burger, but Temper Soho remains one of the best places to get flame-scorched meat in the capital.
It’s the first in what is now a trio of Temper restaurants (the others being in the City and Covent Garden), and you’ll find it stretching over two floors, with the upper deck on street level consisting of a light, airy bar area where sourdough tacos are hand-made during the day in full view of the passersby. Below that is the darker, moodier restaurant, with black brick flooring and a green marble bar encircling the open kitchen where the magic happens…
…and by ‘magic’ we specifically mean ‘roasting of whole animals (incl. a variety of breeds, like Beer Fed Dexter, Longhorn, Saddleback, Old Spot, etc.) with beef fat going to make the tortillas, bones used for broth, and meat made into the various menu dishes’. Dishes like:
STARTERS
You’ll find temper salami and pickles; aged beef nachos, and an array of tacos filled with everything from aged cheeseburger to smoked goat.
MAINS
You can get hefty-as-you-like cuts of smoked and grilled meats slapped onto tortillas and buttered parathas, like house made beef sausage; aged beef skewers and kimchi; and fish fresh off the boats (and a nod to any vegans who might have wound up here, with ‘smacked cucumber’). Sundays at Temper Soho mean huge roast feasts, with suckling pig and roast porchetta with fennel & apple – all washed down with Bloody Maries and Irn Bru spritzes.
DESSERTS
Obviously the sweet stuff doesn’t escape the pull of the grill, so you can expect Kouingn-aman (a Breton cake with flaky, crusty puff-style pastry) covered in butterscotch, and fire-baked cookies pulled straight from the BBQ with fior di latte ice cream – or, if you need a cool-down, gin and tonic sorbet.
You can’t beat that.
NOTE: Temper Soho is open daily from noon till late. You can find out more, and book, on their website HERE.
Temper Soho | 25 Broadwick Street, W1F 0DF
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