THE BIG EASY, CHELSEA

I first went to the Big Easy 20 years ago - gosh that makes me feel old writing that - the restaurant was totally kicking then and I was very surprised to see that it is still super popular now. Pascal, Arabella & I booked for 6.30pm on Friday night and we were lucky to get a table - the place was heaving.

The Big Easy actually opened in 1991 and it is inspired by the crab shacks and barbecue restaurants of the American Gulf Coast. There is often live music and it serves hearty American food with different special deals every night, for example on a Tuesday you can have limitless shrimp and a margarita or beer and on a Wednesday it is limitless fajita night.

Service was super friendly from the moment we arrived and we ordered drinks while we perused the huge menu.

I LOVE a starter platter - I knew we didn't need it but I could not resist ordering the grand appetiser for two which consisted of loaded potato skins, chicken tenders, stuffed jalapeño peppers, voodoo chicken wings, calamari, tortilla chips, prawn crackers and lots of dipping sauces.

We all adored this - Pascal loved the potato skins, I was crazy about the stuffed jalapeño peppers and Arabella devoured the chicken tenders. To be honest we could have just had this…but we are piglets so obviously ordered more.

Arabella chose from the kids menu - mac and cheese with a side of fries and an apple juice - she couldn't have been happier!! She also was a big fan of her bib….as was I!

Not the healthiest of meals - but certainly tasty!

I ordered the Big Easy Voodoo Shrimp but there was a mix up and the waiter bought me the deep fried jumbo shrimp - it wasn't a problem though as he bought me some voodoo sauce on the side which actually suited me better as it has a real kick to it and so at least I could control the amount I put on my prawns. They were delicious - really big and juicy.

On the side I had an iceberg wedge with blue cheese sauce and bacon. This was amazing but a little too big and too cheesy even for me - (I don't think I have ever said that before)! Next time Pascal and I will share this instead of ordering our own.

Pascal went for a barbecue smoked baby back ribs which came with coleslaw and barbecue baked beans.

These were all really good - I never order ribs as they are so messy and you cannot eat them in a very ladylike manner - but I was very happy to sample Pascal's! He also ordered an iceberg wedge like mine and a mac and cheese which he said was the best one he had ever had - he liked it because it wasn't too creamy and the macaroni itself was big.

Unfortunately we ordered so much it was impossible to finish - I could only fit in a couple of mouthfuls of the mac and cheese which was a real shame as I agreed with Pascal that it was extremely good. There was obviously no room for pudding so we are definitely going to have to make a trip back here again very soon.

I had thought the Big Easy might be past it's sell by date but I was obviously wrong and it is still going strong. It is no surprise then that they have a new restaurant in Covent Garden and are soon to open another in Canary Wharf.

The Big Easy is a great place to stuff your face with typical American fare, it has a fun atmosphere, a variety of cocktails and service with a smile. Our meal was expensive but we totally over ordered - we would have been satisfied with just half of what we had - however the menu was too good to resist!

The Big Easy

332-334 King's Road
London
SW3 5UR
Tel: 020 7352 4071
Email: kingsroad@bigeasy.co.uk