It is 5.56pm. Already a modest queue is forming outside the front door of Pitt Cue Co, twisting out and round a street corner. Inside, the restaurant's co-owner, the hyperactive, skull-capped Jamie Berger, hastily chalks up the specials for the hungry crowd of office workers and students. At 6pm our names are noted and we file into a tiny bar area smelling of barbecue.
Last summer, Pitt Cue Co was the talking point of the South Bank. For three months, its hot Southern US-style BBQ food was dished out from a trailer under Hungerford Bridge. Then, four weeks ago, this trailer became a Soho restaurant - one so tiny that only 30 people can sit in it at a time, the rest confined to a cold queue. Justification for this is found on the website: "We are not trying to be cool but sadly there are only 30 seats and we just can't think of a better and fairer system than first come, first served."
It is now the foodie talking point on Twitter, and for good reason: once in, it's a glutton's paradise. I knock back their classic Picklebacks - a shot of bourbon chased by half a shot of pickle juice - and we both tried the Soho Sour, a smooth sweetened blend of amaretto, bourbon and lemon juice with an ironic glacé cherry on top.
Downstairs, plain walls and low lighting disguise cramped space, but all this is worth it for the meat feast cooked up by chef Tom Adams. Napkins and cutlery sit in tin cans on the table, and while there are no starters, there are "extras" (£2-£4). Crispy shiitake mushrooms are wonderful (pickled and fried, with juices flowing out) and pork scratchings in a glass have a proper crunchy coating and the sort of fat you can taste but don't have to chew on.
In its first week, I tried the superb trademark Pitt Cue Co pulled pork, which was presented as a pile of hot, smoky, tender meat. St Louis Ribs wouldn't have worked on a date, being vast and messy, but are excellent alongside "burnt and mash" - the burnt brisket ends, refried and added to soft, mashed potato.
This time, everything is served in tin trays with charred sourdough bread to soak up the sauce, and the special is ox cheek, a man-sized portion of slow-cooked marinated meat that my friend describes as "excellent but as a treat".
The same goes for beef brisket, which comes in giant, succulent slabs, almost too big to finish.
There is accompanying pickled veg (finely sliced vinegar-infused hock, beet and pickle) and "braised sprout tops" which taste fresh and work well doused in their sauce of garlic, butter and ham hock stock.
Finally, we throw ourselves into sticky toffee pudding baked in bourbon and served with soggy sultanas and salted caramel ice cream. It is hot and boozy like Christmas pudding: phenomenal.
Don't come for a light supper. This is a full-on, indulgent dinner, so leave work early and start queuing.
Pitt Cue Co, 1 Newburgh Street, W1
