Cancel

    Open app

    Search

    Porky's BBQ Bankside

    3.6 (26 reviews)
    ModerateBarbeque, Burgers, American
    Closed 12:00 pm - 3:00 PM, 6:00 PM - 10:00 PM

    Porky's BBQ Bankside Photos

    PORKY'S BBQ BANKSIDE ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Quiet
    Casual
    Good for groups
    Good for kids

    Recommended Reviews - Porky's BBQ Bankside

    Your trust is our priority, so businesses can't pay to alter or remove their reviews. Learn more about reviews.
    Yelp app icon
    Browse more easily on the app
    Review Feed Illustration

    Reviews With Photos

    Giant ribs!
    Lynn C.

    This BBQ joint just can't wait to show everyone how AMERICAN it is. To be honest, i don't care if a bbq joint anywhere in this world looks amazingly american, as long as the bbq is good. Luckily, the food was quite good, and the price very very reasonable. My boyfriend's pulled pork was great although it could have used a bit of bbq sauce. My ribs were amazing and ginormously portioned and oh so delicious - I barely ate half of it. As a group of five, we also ordered a lot of starters and sides. Chili, hushpuppies, crabcake, coleslaw, creamed spinach, sweet potato fries - all equally yum. My favourite part? the drinks! My porky's iced tea was insane! Earl Grey with ginger beer and cognac. It was amazing!!!! I could eat here weekly!

    Half baby back ribs & half pulled pork platter with cheesy jalapeño corn bread & sweet potato fries
    Karishma P.

    I'm a huge aficionado of Porkys at Shoreditch box park, but haven't been there for awhile. Yesterday we had tickets to the Globe & when looking for a place for dinner nearby, I was so excited to see a Porky's. It's obviously a much larger space than at the box park, with bar stool height tables & beer pong tables out front and regular restaurant style seating at the back. Sadly the food was a disappointment after the Shoreditch experience. We ordered an alcoholic ice tea and a texmex smash which were average. At least the texmex smash had a bite of chilli initially. The ice tea was very middling. Knowing the generous portions that Porky's serves up. We ordered the half baby back ribs & half pulled pork platter with a side of cheesy jalapeño bread & sweet potato fries (because I LOVE them at the other place) Somehow the depth of flavour just wasn't there. The meat was well cooked, but the complex Memphis BBQ flavours were missing. The coleslaw as a previous reviewer mentioned had a very fishy taste to it & the pickles were sour enough to make my mouth pucker (I have extreme high tolerance for spicy & sour foods) The sauce bottles on the table were all sticky and it was fortunate that there were wet wipes in the cutlery basket on the table. It's rare to find sticky condiment bottles at the start of a service. I'd rate the food 2.5, but since yelp does not have 0.5 markings, I've rated them 3. The staff was friendly and efficient, but constantly missing from the restaurant area at the back. The restaurant was pretty full too at 6pm (post office + pre-theatre crowd), so the mystery of the missing service staff was perplexing. It took time to place our orders and to request our bill & we finally walked up to the till to pay it, when we couldn't see anyone around. However once the food and drinks were ordered, they arrived at our table quite quickly. Next time I'm headed to the globe, I'll avoid Porky's and head to the Turkish place next door.

    Som D.

    Porky's makes for a fun Friday night, just minutes away from the Borough High Street, and opposite the New Globe Walk entrance of the Globe theatre. High chair seating is aplenty in case the core restaurant area is not available. Last evening, that was not the case and we got a table for four. The waiters were friendly, funny even. The cocktails that we ordered were spicy! Very spicy! One of my co diners had to appease the spice with a portion of Mac and cheese. Delicious cocktails, but too much ice; very American. Gotta change that, Porky's! Pork croquettes and BBQ wings for starters. Above average. Large ribs portion. Easily feeds two. You must have one hell of an appetite, or not have eaten all day. Goes well with the sweet potato fries. The potato fries are good, but not exquisite. The mac and cheese portion goes well, and is a decent sized portion. Overall, the food is not bad, portions are sizeable and the place is fun.

    Sam B.

    Located in London's Bankside (by Shakespeare's globe), Porky's BBQ is located just off the main river walk and therefore a bit easy to miss if you were not intentionally looking for it. The restaurant is dressed in a typical American grill house fashion and gave me sweet memories of Orlando, Florida, we visited on a Saturday afternoon when the restaurant was moderately busy but were quickly greeted and shown to our seats. Drinks: Not feeling in the mood for alcohol, I chose a thick indulgent vanilla milkshake. I love 'proper' milkshake and this one did not disappoint, however, if you are in the mood for a stronger drink, Porky's have an extensive refreshing cocktail menu and my partner went for a cold pint to accompany his meal. Food: Porky's BBQ menu is exactly as you would expect, good American food. Alongside a variety of burgers they also serve ribs, half chickens, hot dogs and of course the food of the moment - pulled pork. Aside from your, every day sides the restaurant also offers chilli jalapeno cornbread, green chilli slaw and bbq beans for all us spice lovers out there. So how do Porky's cater to vegetarians? There is a total of three main options; Mac'n'cheese - always a winner, house salad or a Memphis bean burger, of course alongside this there are many meat-free side options which you could put together to make the main course. In the end, I went for a full flavoured Memphis bean burger with crispy sweet potato fries. My boyfriend, as usual, went for as much meat as he could get with the Porky's burger - beef pattie topped with streaky bacon and jack cheese, which I was assured was succulent and tender. We also shared some damn good onion rings between the two of us as well. Porky's BBQ offers a greasy (in a good way) meal perfect for a day where you really do not want to be healthy and is along the lines of a fancier alternative to the Five Guys chain. porky bbq As I previously mentioned with the extensive cocktail list, Porky's also has a well-stocked bar and bar area complete with beer pong tables, that can be booked for tournaments, I was not aware of how many rules there in beer pong?! One negative I would say about the particular restaurant we visited was the lack of atmosphere and background music, I feel some American rock and roll would perfectly compliment the music memorabilia displayed over the walls. I feel at £40 for a meal for two with alcohol is a far price for central London and would recommend checking it out, as long as you are not on a diet!

    The local craft lager
    Mark D.

    Day 2 for London and another venue near the Globe theater. Porky's has a nice atmosphere evoking the USA with wall posters of blues artists and music from Hank Sr., Willie, and Mellencamp being piped in (loudly). The wait staff was courteous. At the beer pong table I conversed with 2 friendly young businessmen explaining how on Fridays they begin their weekend at 12:30 getting hammered. I partook of a local lager (Camden Hells) which was pretty good. Pulled pork croquettes were a nice variation on the ham Cuban croquettes I'm used to. The pulled pork sandwich wasn't that great compared to the US. They put the cole slaw IN the sandwich not on the side, leaving it with a taste I can only describe as faintly fishy. There was no barbecue sauce at the table to alleviate this. Maybe the ribs are better but I didn't have time to try them. The atmosphere and staff bring Porky's up to barely a 3 star.

    Not bad for a BBQ joint but nowhere near the best I have had. I ordered the baby back ribs which were tasty but dry and over-cooked. The BBQ beans were fantastic and I highly recommend them. The sweet potato fries were pretty much what you'd expect. The blue margarita was not bad but the tartness overwhelmed the tequila. My only real complaint was that my server took about 10-15 minutes to bring back my bill in the end and it wasn't terribly busy at the time. Overall I'd say it is decent enough if you are hungry for American style BBQ in London. But if you are from any place where slow roasted BBQ is easy to come across (I'm from Toronto which has AMAZING places) you may not be fully satisfied.

    Porky's Pork Burger and Frontier Beer
    Hon L.

    Porky's BBQ is a very chilled, relaxed informal atmosphere for those who like to go in groups and is a perfect location for the Globe Theatre. Its a smaller brother of Bodeans but with much lesser choice especially on the prok ribs. It is great for watching sport and a pint of beer however I did have a slightly bad experience with the staff after we got seated, they didnt't recollect the prebooking I had with Open Table despite it being quiet at 6pm, and after ordering our food and drink (I ordered the Porky's Pork Burger with chips and a pint of the State lager - first in the drinks menu). The decor is very American Bar style with lots of references to historical photos of John Lee Hooker with random American flags and maps along the wall. So, the bad experience, me and my friend had chat for an hour and after realising the time had passed, the waitress didn't recollect the order we made and we had to refer to the manager to make the order on the computer clarifying that it should take 5 minutes to make the burgers. It took about 10 minutes and they apologised with a giving a free beer on the house but the damage was done when we had to slightly rush for the Shakespeare Globe. Onto the burger, it was short and sweet given the time to eat it, the pulled pork was really nice with the combination of the slices of bacon, not too greasy and not to dry, it was well made and it was very quick to serve out. The chips were good but nothing too special.

    Rib challenge

    See all

    Photo of Jason K.
    547
    1928
    1315

    9 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    5 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Greg O.
    106
    23
    32

    8 years ago

    Helpful 2
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Lynn C.
    123
    1117
    655

    12 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 2
    Oh no 0

    10 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    12 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    7 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    8 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    12 years ago

    Helpful 3
    Thanks 0
    Love this 3
    Oh no 0
    Photo of R G.
    2
    341
    8

    11 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    11 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    9 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Sam B.
    1
    11
    25

    10 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Rick M.
    23
    37
    13

    8 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    10 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    12 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    10 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    8 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Hon L.
    56
    27
    51

    11 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Alex M.
    9
    29
    19

    11 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    7 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    12 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    11 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    11 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    11 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of G S.
    0
    1
    0

    12 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    Review Highlights - Porky's BBQ Bankside

    As Americans vacationing in London, it seemed odd to visit a Memphis style bbq place in London, but there we were.

    Mentioned in 4 reviews

    Read more highlights

    Verify this business for free

    People searched for Barbeque 428 times last month within 15 miles of this business.

    Verify this business

    Hammer & Tongs - 3 Hour Slow Braai'd Lamb Ribs to share!

    Hammer & Tongs

    4.7(9 reviews)
    1.3 miBloomsbury

    The restaurant layout is simple: a huge braai at the back of the restaurant with tables and chairs…read moreset up at the front, a bar downstairs and a separate area in the basement that is dedicated for groups to about 22 people. I started off with a glass of wine from South Africa. Their wine list and cocktails have South African influence. Price was £7 - £9 for a glass of medium level wines. I was recommended the prawn skewers, cous cous salad and a lamb with apricot skewer. My personal favourite was the prawn skewers. The chefs have peeled the bodies beforehand but left it's head and tail shell intact. It was served with some rocket salad and two difference sauces (in a separate sauce plate) to complement the heat and spice from the prawns. I did not think the separate sauces were that important as I did enjoy the prawns and rockets together. I do like sucking prawn heads, and oh boy, it was juicy. The prawn was well cooked. Loved the combination of chilli in it. It was very tasty and spicy. I must say that £12 for 4 pieces of prawns might be a little steep for a lunch meal. The lamb skewer I had apparently was something new they are about to add their list of sosaties. It definitely smelled good as it was served. On the skewers were about 8 chunks of lamb meat, 6 pieces of apricot and 5 pieces of onions. Juices from the apricot burst into your mouth as you chewed on the fruit. The lamb was also juicy, well seasoned and succulent. It didn't have any bad smell to it, so I thought it was a dish well done. Cous cous salad was refreshing. It came with generous serving of rocket leaves, raisins, pine nuts, cheese and some slices of freshly baked crusty bread. The dessert was fantastic although I must admit I did not see the South African influence in it. I had the dark chocolate mousse served with blackberry compote, yogurt and pumpkin seeds. I spoke to Mark, person in charge when I visited, about this and was told the dessert will be taken off the menu. So the restaurant is definitely taking some positive steps to serving better food and improving the menu. Overall happy with my food here

    We really enjoyed Hammer & Tongs. Tried all three appetizers (curried fish, biltong, bread); had…read morethe Baby Braai (chicken, pork belly, lamb, chips, couscous salad, and braaibroodje, all great except the pork belly which was just fair), and chased with the Malva pudding (sponge cake with apricot syrup and a scoop of ice cream, really good). Was good and would definitely come back again. Was dead on a Tuesday night: no problem getting a seat. Server was helpful and friendly. Only bad point: clothes now smell like a bonfire--but totally worth it!

    Photos
    Hammer & Tongs - Traditional South African cooking methods at Hammer & Tongs. This is a Potjie and inside is Yellowtail, Squid, Mussels, Rice, Tomato & wine

    Traditional South African cooking methods at Hammer & Tongs. This is a Potjie and inside is Yellowtail, Squid, Mussels, Rice, Tomato & wine

    Hammer & Tongs - The Big Braai

    The Big Braai

    Hammer & Tongs

    See all

    The Old Queens Head - Hot pineapple colada

    The Old Queens Head

    3.8(87 reviews)
    2.1 miIslington, Angel
    ££

    We went on a search for an amazing Sunday Roast and ventured a bit out of central London to The Old…read moreQueen's Head. Here we found an absolutely magical pub full of history, unexpected (and maybe kinky?) surprises, beautiful staff, and fabulous food. If the mirror ball doesn't just make you happy when you enter the second floor dining room, then you are just hopelessly unhappy. Then entire restaurant (and I explored all three floors because I'm nosy) was just beautifully decorated. We made reservations and arrived around 12:30pm (pre-matinee meal), and while not busy at arrival, the pub quickly filled with an assortment of locals that I could not have case better if I tried. I desperately wish I was a local and this was my neighborhood pub! Food and drinks: the roast was everything I hoped it would be! As a southerner (US), I grew up with Sunday roasts, though slightly different. All I can say is that the roast beef was the closest I have ever tasted to my grandmothers - the beef was so tender and the gravy almost made me lick the plate. The sticky toffee pudding was irresistible and I am embarrassed to say I made sounds of pleasure that are not usually heard at the dinner table (at least... a public table). The staff was as equally yummy as the food - I hate to objectify people, but the staff gear were the best looking and most-smiling staff we encountered in London! I left with a major crush on the hostess and the bartender! I can't imagine what this place turns into in a Friday or Saturday night, but I will be finding out during my next visit to London!

    Sunday roast at the Old Queens Head. Food was superb. Cocktails perfect and service was attentive…read moreand friendly. If you're not into stairs ask to be seated downstairs

    Photos
    The Old Queens Head
    The Old Queens Head
    The Old Queens Head - Upstairs bar

    See all

    Upstairs bar

    Byron

    Byron

    3.9(92 reviews)
    1.9 miIslington, Angel
    ££

    Sup my fellow English Yelpers! Thanks to your input I was able to find a proper burger my first…read morenight in town. Byron did not disappoint. It's an American style burger joint with good food and nice decor. Service is great - got there on a Sunday evening and it wasn't crowded. Sat down and ordered a Byron ale - of course... The Mac n Cheese balls are delish!! Crispy, meatball sized and cheesy with bacon, a bit of hot sauce and the Byron cheese - all together it made a great starter. I ordered the Reuben and it was great! Cooked as ordered and everything just worked. Overall great visit!! Cheers mate!

    I know, I know...Byron's burgers are the hype in London right now and I am very aware that I'm…read moreprobably one of the few who actually didn't enjoy their dining-experince here. This Angel-Byron is really trying very hard to be cool; in my opinion, they've gone over-board with the currently all-so trendy "unfinished look": the walls are stripped barren, the cables are exposed and sitting on the upstairs gallery, you feel like you're in an attic or so. Granted, I like the unfnished look...but please keep it in moderation! As for the food, my burger was really just alright; nothing special. And the skin-on chunky fries were bland and lacked some salt (sure, I could add that, but they were so deep-fried that the salt didn't stick to them properly). I was also a little annoyed by the selection of wines. You could choose between: good, better, great and best. I mean, it is already nice that they want to help me with my decision-making, but I find it all to trivial, that the good one is the cheapest and the best one is the most expensive! All in all, my expectations were not met and I have no desire to try out any other Byron locations in the near future.

    Photos
    Byron
    Byron
    Byron

    See all

    Porky's BBQ Bankside - bbq - Updated July 2026

    Loading...
    Loading...
    Loading...