If you’re looking to pig out for a treat, this is the perfect place for you
THE Brass Pig has made national and local headlines a number of times since it first opened – and it’s no wonder.
They have had some truly amazing inventions. Who can forget the legendary Sunday Beast – a Sunday roast dinner crossed with a burger?
The Sunday Beast comprised a half pound rump steak burger topped with onion rings, horseradish and a gravy-filled Yorkshire pudding, all between a brioche roll.
The restaurant, handily located on Bath Street in Southport town centre, just off Nevill Street, was also featured in the national press thanks to the mighty Feast On A Beast.
And mighty it was – dripping with 1,200 calories, this was a cross between a full Christmas dinner featured a 9oz rump steak, 7oz of turkey, a sprout wrapped in bacon, a pig in blanket, and its own home-made stuffing, cranberry sauce and a small jug of gravy, for £12.
Or you could upgrade to a Sunday Feast On A Beast – with a beer-battered onion ring and a gravy-filled Yorkshire pudding, to give it that Christmas dinner/Sunday lunch feel, at £14.
The idea just sounded so wrong – but when I tried it out a couple of years ago, it tasted amazing.
The place is also famous for its lethal hot wings challenges. Much as I love chilli, this one really is only for those with a fierce competitive nature (and an iron stomach).
I called in at to the Brass Pig with my brother, Fraser, to a enjoy a meal out before heading to Southport Little Theatre to see Daliso Chaponda as part of the 2019 Southport Comedy Festival.
We found it busy – you can call in, but it’s a good idea to book during weekends.
It’s a great place to go during a day out or before a night out in Southport, just a few steps away from the likes of Southport Little Theatre, Southport Theatre, Vue Cinema, The Atkinson, and our town’s many shops and bars.
Owner Eddy Weights has run the venue for the past five years, developing the menu as he has gone on.
The Brass Pig is among a number of superb independent food businesses whose diversity gives Southport a tremendous character.
It was truly trail-blazing when it first opened, as the only place preparing and cooking pulled pork and brisket which has since become really popular. They also make their our own sauces and mayonnaise too.
They have their own smoker onsite, which means much of the meat is prepared over 24 hours before it even hits the grill.
You won’t find any frozen, pre-prepared pre-packaged rubbish here. And it shows. The burgers are simply outstanding. So much flavour.
When The Brass Pig first opened, in 2014, there were only eight items on the menu, with no starters or desserts.
Now they boast a seven-page menu and two full pages of burgers including veggie burgers – as vegetarians deserve great burgers too.
It means choosing what to eat is extremely difficult!
In the end I went for The Pig Mac (£10) – a 1/2 pound rump steak burger, lettuce, cheese, and their special hog sauce in a brioche roll.
I’m not sure where they got the idea for this burger’s name from... but I have no doubt that any contest with the original would be more one-sided than a football European Championship qualifying game between England and Bulgaria.
This was probably the tastiest burger I’ve ever eaten. Juicy, tasty, so much flavour.
My brother tried a DDD hot dog – (£10) – two sausages, cheese, onions, mustard, ketchup and brass pig barbecue sauce. This wasn’t a hot dog as you know it – and again so much flavour.
The Brass Pig won Sandwich of The Year at the Southport Ambassador Awards, and it must have been an easy choice for the judges to make.
We also enjoyed some tremendous sides. They included Dirty Fries (£7), one pound of crispy fries with pulled pork, cheese and cheese sauce. It was very enjoyable, but definitely one to share – there was enough in there to feed a small village.
Barbecue beans were a very tasty addition too.
There is a huge choice of burgers on the menu, from the iconic The Beast (rump steak burger with salad, mayo, bacon and cheese) to the Chilli Beast, the BBQ Chicken Burger, and the Gourmet Beast (rump steak burger with sweet red onion jam, melting brie, mayo and salad).
There is also a choice of applewood smoked beef brisket or pulled pork burgers, which are highly recommended, as well as a number of varieties of hot dogs.
It’s a fun place to be, a great room to hang out with friends. There is a comic book theme to the restaurant, with Marvel wallpaper and life-size cardboard cut-outs.
There is also a wide selection of cocktails, beers, milkshakes and other drinks.
The owners are keen to expand into other areas such as Lytham, Ormskirk or Waterloo, if they can get the right investment.
So who knows – this Marvel-ous meat palace may be bringing its eyecatching creations around the North West very soon.