F.K.A.B.A.M.

London

The rollicking rollercoaster of flavours going on at Lee Tiernan’s tiny joint – formerly known as Black Axe Mangal – in North London is nothing short of a riot. From the moment he opened it with his wife Kate, the former head chef of St. John Bread and Wine made a huge impact with a wood-burning oven daubed in the characters of rock band KISS, devastatingly good lamb offal flatbreads, and the kind of raucous atmosphere that instantly become a unique and iconic London hotspot. Where else will you find a crumbed pork escalope, slathered with mushroom mapo ragù, silken tofu, ramen noodles and dusted with Mission spice? This particular menu item is a supercharged mash-up inspired by Danny Bowien’s NYC hotspot Mission Chinese, and Lee’s favourite local Italian restaurant

Pizzeria Bel-Sit in Woodford Green – a unique marriage of Essex and NYC. Then there’s confit lamb tongues, green beans, black bean sauce and crushed salted peanuts, on the same menu that features shrimp toast and flame grilled ox-heart with anchovy salad and dripping flatbread. High voltage cooking, sparking with vim and vigour. The menus read like a wild-eyed acid trip, flavours jiving against each other in gleeful combinations: hot smoked rabbit, tonnato, bitter leaves, bottarga and pickled jalapeños; flame grilled poussin, shrimp sambal, rice and lime dressing; raw beef royal, trout roe and dragon-skin crackers. Or how about bone marrow, oxtail, coconut and coriander crumb, shrimp & peanut sauce, pickles, piled onto some thick cut chips? It’s all about decadent excess, ramped-up flavour bombs, and a cheeky stylish swagger.

The pandemic brought on a name change for the cheeky joint, but the food is as good as ever.