Side Dishes at Hotbox

Side Dishes

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Our serving staff are regularly asked by customers to recommend the best side dish for their meal, so here are a few hints and tips of how to get the best out of your sides:

Why a perfect side dish is so important?

Side dishes are awesome. Most people don't appreciate them. Choosing the right side dish makes all the difference and balance your lunch or dinner.

Delicious sides can change the game on your daily menu.

Sweet Popato Side Dish at Hotbox

We choose the best sides to make the bbq experience the best of it.

There are certain side dishes that are practically mandatory at a barbecue: corn, greens, smokey sweet potatoes to name a few. These classics pair perfectly with ribs or a big or a meaty burger. But if you want to take your bbq side dishes a bit further, we have options for you too. Try our orange and fennel salad for a fresh touch, spicy twist on our Pickled slaw or the Grilled sweet potato to get smoky flavor.

Here some history about our best side dishes:


Chicken as side dish

"The coleslaw"

Shredded cabbage can be traced back as far as the ancient Romans, who enjoyed the cruciferous vegetable with melted butter, vinegar, and oil.

The Dutch introduced to America ”koosla.” “Kool” was the Dutch word for cabbage, and “sla” salad. Overtime, koosla was Americanized into coleslaw. Coleslaw first appeared in print in 1785!

The reason why coleslaw has developed a mediocre reputation at best is likely because this is one of those dishes that you must have prepared correctly. And, it needs to be eaten fresh.

Furthermore, coleslaw is ideally chilled overnight, allowing the dressing to infiltrate the vegetables.

Our slow smoked meats go perfectly with our pickled slaw  its perfect to cut the reach meats perfectly.

Pantalla side dish at Hotbox

"The Mac & Cheese"

Three simple words for a dish with such a complex history, that it has become a classic if not the quintessential American food to grace dinner tables since the Colonial era. But where did it come from? Who “invented” it? And last but not least, how did it become one of the most beloved comfort foods of all time?


The American macaroni and cheese has two main lines of ancestry claimed. In the first, it is thought that macaroni and cheese was a casserole that had its beginnings at a New England church supper. In southeastern Connecticut it was known long ago as macaroni pudding. In the second, and more famous story, and more than likely the original story, it is said that the classic American macaroni and cheese returned with Thomas Jefferson to Virginia after his sojourn in Italy. Jefferson had brought back a pasta machine from Italy. His daughter Mary Randolph became the hostess of his house after Jefferson's wife died and she is credited with inventing the dish using macaroni and Parmesan cheese. Later, the Parmesan was replaced with cheddar cheese. Anyway, that's one story. It is more likely that Jefferson encountered the dish in Italy and brought back the recipe.

Jalapeño slaw at Hotbox

Our touch? smokey flavours!

Grilled meats such as Jalapeño Chicken and Tomahawk Pork Chop are complemented by starchy sides such as our decadent smoked Mac & Cheese!

We love sides!

Classic Cocktails With A Twist!

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The food menu may get your taste buds dancing, but the drinks menu is a whole other story. Ranging from twists on classics to a couple specialty cocktails, the bar team at Hotbox London has curated inspired tipples perfectly matched to any one of our mains from the fall-off-the-bone smoked meats to the vegetarian options.

The Smokey Gonzales, a twist on a mezcal margarita, offers a depth of smoke from the mezcal boosted by the Ancho Reyes chilli liqueur. Add a spicy salt rim, you’ve got the perfect duo between our Smokey and pork ribs.

Moving on from tequila, everyone loves a bit of whiskey when they want some good BBQ. Our Delicious Sour is a fantastic twist on a whiskey sour that sees Jameson and peach liqueur expertly paired. Add a bit of lemon and egg white, you’ve never seen anything like this before!

Our Gentle Bear, created by Hotbox’s Daniel, was a competition winner against Marco Pierre White Bar! The rules: create a stylish, sweet cocktail packed with booze and a complex garnish. The garnish itself may have been brought down a notch to match Hotbox’s well-known, simplistic style, but the drink itself still matches all other criteria. With the rarely seen pairing of cachaça and Amaretto, the sweetness of the cocktail is balanced with a hint of cinnamon. Thanks to lime, all flavours are elevated enough to gain a win and massive success across both bars!

For those with a sweet tooth, we at Hotbox London have just the drink for you – Passion Smash. Made with fresh passionfruit, East London Liquor Company vodka, brown sugar, and lime, this libation is a little sweet, a little sour, and a whole lot of refreshing!

If those cocktail descriptions weren’t enough to get your mouth watering, maybe the Sneaky Fidget will do the trick. Amaro Montenegro, East London Liquor Company Demerara Rum and orgeat gives this modest-looking drink a number of layers. Add a bit of lime into the mix, you have the perfectly balanced and absolutely delicious Fidget.

There are plenty of classic cocktails to go around with a selection of 20 available in the Hotbox bar, but those signatures won’t last forever! With the change of the season, comes a change in the cocktail menu, and a rotation is currently under development! These drinks, as exciting as they are, won’t be around much longer! Keep an eye out for a brand-new cocktail menu coming to Hotbox Bar! What can you expect? More tequila and more whiskey paired with equal amounts of passion and finesse. And, as always, perfectly concocted to compliment and elevate those beef short rib tacos you love so much.

Also don't forget to check our  great selection of Draft and Bottled Beers– we serve over 15 different types of craft beer. Like Pilsner, Gamma Ray, Beavertown, Crate Pravha,  an amazing Chieftain and a very cool Kona  Big Wave, what´s not to love beer worshipers?

There’s a carefully selected wine list, from Pinot Grigio to a Puolly Fume on whites and Pinot Noir and Malbec to make your dinner unforgettable!

How did Eggs Benedict get its name?

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​Eggs Benedict is a classic menu item, but why? Are where did it get its name? Who was benedict?

Legend has it that a hungover Wall Street broker brought Eggs Benedict into the world.  In 1894, in the Waldorf Hotel in New York,  Lemuel Benedict ordered two poached eggs on top of buttered toast, crispy bacon and two poached eggs… plus the hollandaise sauce, of course. Oscar Tschirky, Head Chef at the time loved it! So, Eggs Benedict were added to the breakfast and lunch menu, but with a small few changes – Candian bacon and toasted English muffin replaced crispy bacon and toast.

So let’s take a closer look at the different parts that make up this breakfast legend!

Poached Eggs: The best eggs?

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, right? Yep, science tells us that we should never skip breakfast!  If you are going to eat breakfast, you might as well do it in style with a delicious poached egg.

Whether plopped on top of your avo toast or paired with a smoked pork belly, a water-cooked egg is a delicious (and healthy, obvs) way to add some vegetarian-friendly protein to your brekkie. But it’s also one of the more intimidating stovetop techniques. Get your hand on it and try to make it at home!

Poached, Eggs Bacon and muffin

Our recipe

Here some tips:

1. Get the water temperature right

2. Add some acid (maybe vinegar?)

3. Crack the egg

4. Test it (You can test it by wiggling to see if it’s set to your liking, and whatever you do, please don’t cook the yolk!)

5. Scoop it out ... and enjoy of this delicious God creation called Poached eggs!

Eggs Benedict

Hollandaise Sauce - How to get is just right

Hollandaise is, we think, the single greatest thing that some poached eggs can aspire to go out with!

There is a lot going on about the difficulty of creating the perfect Hollandaise sauce, once you understand the science of it; it will be life changing! Breakfast and Brunch to another level!

The trick, according to food science god Harold McGee, is "heat the egg yolks enough to obtain the desired thickness, but not so much that the yolk proteins coagulate into little solid curds and the sauce separates".

Our trick? An spicy touch of Spike Paprika Sauce !

 Shhhhhhhhh, dont tell everybody!