Jane Phillips, owner of The Saxon King in Petersfield Avenue, has only been serving food from her Buddy 48 Smoker for a couple of months but previously told the Recorder that the start to life for “Romford’s first smokehouse” had been a “dream”.
On Wednesday, October 15, I headed down there to try the food for myself.
The pub itself is fairly hidden away down a small road lined with flats and houses.
The Saxon King(Image: Jane Phillips)
As I entered The Saxon King I was immediately struck by that classic local boozer atmosphere – loud but friendly.
There were men playing pool in paint-splattered clothes clearly having come directly from work and a few couples dotted around the bar having a more quiet drink.
Jane greeted me with warmth and showed me outside into the freshly refurbished garden where big black containers hold the smoker machine and its chef.
Here she handed me a menu but recommended I try a little bit of everything they have to offer – well, nearly everything.
As I waited for my food to be prepared, I spoke to Jane about the early response of the community to the smoked food which she described as “amazing”.
She told me the pork belly bites and ribs seemed to be fan-favourites in particular.
My food was then served across two boards and a plate containing a pot of every sauce I could dream of.
Initially I was overwhelmed at the sheer volume of food but it all looked and smelled very appealing so I dug in straight away.
Just as Jane had mentioned, the pork belly bites and ribs were the standouts for me.
The pork belly was juicy and tender and had a wonderful coating of maple BBQ sauce.
The ribs were also very tender and required no real effort to strip the meat from the bones.
The brisket was good – it could have done with a little more moisture although I was sat outside and it took me a while to get through to each component in front of me which may explain why.
Both burgers were great quality – the chicken burger had a crispy outer coating but remained moist in the middle and the beef burger was served medium with a tangy burger sauce.
The chicken tenders were the perfect vessel for me to test the vast array of sauces I had been handed.
My personal favourites were the garlic mayo, piri piri and maple BBQ.
The pulled chicken taco was also very tasty, as were the loaded chips (which proved to be another great option to dunk in the sauces).
Ultimately, the volume of food defeated me but I brought home a goody bag stuffed with leftovers to dig into later that evening.
What most surprised me about my visit to The Saxon King was the fact that such an unsuspecting Harold Hill pub was serving great quality, American-inspired smoked food.
It’s not only a friendly local boozer, great for a catch-up pint with friends, but also a hidden gem that I’m sure the foodies of Havering will discover and thoroughly enjoy if they haven’t done so already.
