5/5 Chipsy smokehouse blows us away in London’s Pinner

With four mobile food trucks operating across the country and a dedicated meat-smoking facility, Chipsy recently launched its first bricks and mortar site in London’s Hatch End.

This spacious 50-cover restaurant, which they opened only last month in Uxbridge Road, is currently serving a soft-launch menu that’s more than meets the eye.

This fully Halal smokehouse isn’t just unique in serving smoked lamb neck, for instance, but has invented an unconventional burger dubbed the Sando that uses thick slices of French toast in place of buns.

Having started as an events catering company in 2017, they also operate food trucks at festivals, street food markets and pop-up kitchen residencies, including at places such as Lord’s cricket ground in London’s St John’s Wood.

Chipsy is a grill smokehouse that boasts an elaborate smoking unit in Milton Keynes

It’s obvious that these guys mean business, with their huge smoking unit in Milton Keynes regularly preparing expertly-smoked lamb, chicken and beef multiple times a week.

In addition, Chipsy, as the name may suggest, are also known for their loaded fries, Canadian-inspired poutine and even triple-cooked chips.

Dragon Fruit & Mango Shake, £6.50

Those who enjoy lusciously thick and creamy shakes will certainly enjoy this Dragon Fruit & Mango Shake, while those with a sweet tooth even more so.

Brisket Sando – Smoked brisket, pickled chilli, grilled cheese, caramelized red onions, sour pickle, house burger sauce, purple slaw, toasted brioche slice, £16.00

The team at Chipsy are not afraid to push the boat out, with a lengthy process of trial-and-error, we were told, culminating in the invention of these Sando’s.

This burger of sorts had thick slices of beautifully soft and fluffy grilled French toast housing tender slices of beef brisket and an amalgamation of a trio of cheeses that were also grilled to a crisp finish.

Right off the bat, we knew we were collectively biting into something seriously good.

Just the umaminess of the cheddar, mozzarella and parmesan cheeses combining with the smoky goodness of the meat, with touches of the sweet and sour courtesy of the pickles, caramelised onions, slaw and sauces, was satisfaction enough.

This is going to take an extraordinary burger to beat.

Lamb Neck (Plain, BBQ, Teriyaki, Mango & Hebanero) – House Slaw, Mixed Pickles, Chilli & Garlic dip, £15.00

Here’s the secret behind Chipsy “meticulously smoked meats:… each cut is infused with the essence of various woods, ranging from the robust notes of oak to the subtle sweetness of apple”.

And so whatever magic they’ve weaved really does work, because this was, quite honestly, the best smoked meat we’ve had since Pitmaster in Manchester, but made better by the sheer quality of the meat.

Having gone through the process of being sous vide, with the lamb being vacuum sealed in a plastic pouch, before being cooked for an extended period in a precisely regulated water bath, the meat turned out to be dreamily tender.

Marinated in a teriyaki glaze, this was an absolute bargain at £15 particularly when paired with their signature house slaw, palate-cleansing pickles, and an inhouse chilli and garlic dip.

Brisket (BBQ, Teriyaki, Mango & Hebanero) – House Slaw, Mixed Pickles, Chilli & Garlic dip, £16.00

After all the praise heaped upon its lamb neck counterpart, there’s not much more we can say about this exquisite Brisket, except that this was based in their popular mango and hebanero marination.

The only other real point of difference wasn’t just its texture, with this having more of a bite, but it also seemed to have a more smokier depth to it, which we really enjoyed.

Smash Burger – 28-day aged beef (3x), ice lettuce, cheese slice, sour pickle, house burger sauce, caramelized red onions, toasted seeded brioche bun, £13.00

Why would be recommend a smash burger that’s found virtually everywhere you look nowadays?

Well, for one, the special seasoning they use for some of their meats is also used as a rub for their patties before being grilled.

As such, the result is properly-seasoned beef – itself 28-day aged to deliver that extra depth of umaminess – which, when coupled with the condiments therein, helps to elevate this above virtually 95% of similar such burgers currently being smashed out without end.

In the end, however, all it really takes are those small but crucial details to help enhance something above the ordinary.

Triple-Fried Chips (full) – House special freshly cut Mediterranean potato – £5.00 (half), £8.00 (full)

Triple-fried chips! Triple-fried chips! Triple-fried chips! Simply extraordinary and dangerously addictive.

While being delicately crispy on the outside, these will be as close to melt in your mouth chips as you’re going to get.

Having privileged access to the kitchen, we had no doubt that Chipsy actually goes through the “meticulous 10-step process” they espouse, which involves “alternating between frying and cooling”, to deliver arguably some of the best chips we’ve ever had. We’d travel for just a portion of these alone!