Get a license to grill at Mookrata on Shaftesbury Avenue.
You might already be familiar with Shuang Shuang, the fun make-your-own-hotpot restaurant near Piccadilly Circus. Delicious ingredients glide through the venue on an exciting sushi-style conveyor, ready to be plucked from their pots and submerged in a steaming broth at your table.
Now, for those of us who prefer sizzles over bubbles, comes a new, equally-interactive addition. The Mookrata concept, which is popular in Thailand, provides diners with their own personal BBQ to sear their own food to perfection, while an outer ring simmers a delicious broth into which you can you can add noodles and veg.
It starts off like this:
Yep, that’s three trays of lovely raw meat and a bucket full of noodles and veg.
Add it to the grill like so:
Until you get a good smoky sizzle on the go:
And it starts looking more like this:
At which point you’re ready to grab some food and put it in your bowl and EAT!
(There is no photo of this, for we were busy stuffing our faces.)
While enjoying your first bowl, be sure to whack some new stuff on the grill to cook while you chow. Repeat as needed, until you’re in a fully-fledged meat coma.
Anyway, the results are simple and tasty – it’s available with either pork or beef platters – and the DIY nature of the experience makes it all rather satisfying, too. (Tip: turn the BBQ temperature right up for a nice bit of char, else your meat might just cook very slowly while stubbornly gluing itself to the grill surface.) As barbecue goes, Mookrata certainly beats crouching around a tin-foil tray in London Fields in the drizzle.
Location: Upstairs at Shuang Shuang, 64 Shaftesbury Ave, London W1D 6LU
Opening hours: Seven days a week, midday – 11pm.
Price: it’s £30 for a platter for two, not including drinks and service.
More information: head to their website.
Keep exploring:
? The outrageously pink café that’s Instagram heaven
? The mysterious Roman temple that’s free to visit
? The 24 hour caff that doesn’t even have a front door
? The pasty paradise that dishes out ultra-luxury eclairs