Grant Hawthorne’s African Volcano Residency at Great Guns Social

I’ve been a huge fan of Grant Hawthorne and wife Julie’s African Volcano peri peri brand since they launched it, and absolutely loved the burgers, pulled pork, prawns, bacon, smoked salmon, and other treats Grant cooks and sells to hungry punters at Maltby Street Market.

But in general, I’m more of a sit-down-and-eat kind of girl, so I don’t venture down to Maltby Street as often as Grant’s food merits.

The good news is, Grant is currently resident chef at Great Guns Social, a pub-like space that invites guest chefs in to run the kitchen for a few weeks at a time. GGS is on Southwark Bridge Road, a few minutes walk south west of Borough Market.

Grant’s residency runs till August 25th [extended to September 8th], so if you’re keen to go, make your reservation right now so you don’t miss it.

Grant Hawthorne African Volcan at Great Guns Social Grant Hawthorne African Volcan at Great Guns Social

The menu offers seven small plates or starters, six mains, a handful of sides and four desserts.

Grant Hawthorne African Volcan at Great Guns Social Grant Hawthorne African Volcan at Great Guns Social

Portions are generous, and I’d recommend leaving space for dessert!

Grant Hawthorne African Volcan at Great Guns Social

Pan fried chicken livers (£8) on toast are phenomenal. Super soft, with a real heat to the thick, savoury sauce, I absolutely love these.

Grant Hawthorne African Volcan at Great Guns Social

Smoked wild sea trout (£13) is silky, soft and with a beautifully balanced smokiness. Grant’s African volcano smoked salmon (£9) is also on the menu, which we’ve had before and loved, so it’s a hard choice!

Grant Hawthorne African Volcan at Great Guns Social

I’d not tried Rissois (£9) before, described as Mozambique style crab croquettes fried in peanut oil, and served with some fiery dipping sauce, these are crunchy morsels with mild white crab meat inside, a lovely starter or bar snack if you’re in for a drink.

Grant Hawthorne African Volcan at Great Guns Social

Although there are other temptations, it’s impossible for us not to order the much-loved Beef burger with 18 hour slow roast pulled pork and Emmental cheese (£14). The pork is cooked with African Volcano, of course, and the entire burger is a juicy delight. If you’ve not had this before at Maltby Street Market, you should definitely order this (or the African volcano streaky bacon version) when you visit.

Grant Hawthorne African Volcan at Great Guns Social

I’m a sucker for fried chicken so was unable to resist the Southern Fried chicken, red onion, spiced mayo (£11) burger, stuffed to the gunnels with beautifully seasoned chicken, each piece crisp on the outside and soft and tender inside. I don’t know how Grant gets so much crunchy coating onto the chicken, but it makes me happy that he does!

Grant Hawthorne African Volcan at Great Guns Social Grant Hawthorne African Volcan at Great Guns Social

We’ve eaten Grant’s savoury cooking many times but this is the first time I taste his desserts. I would have said we don’t have room to squeeze them in but as soon as we taste them, we know that both plates would be licked clean!

The Portuguese coffee flavoured custard flan (£6) is so silky and smooth it melts away like magic in the mouth, the soft coffee flavour perfectly judged.

Grant Hawthorne African Volcan at Great Guns Social Grant Hawthorne African Volcan at Great Guns Social

The Cape Malva with chocolate (£7) is a thing of beauty. OK, not aesthetically perhaps, but wow, the addition of bitter dark chocolate to the classically super sweet malva pudding is a resounding success. This is sticky, moist, indulgent, and may just induce a sugar coma once you’re done, but it’s definitely worth it!

I don’t often cover popups on Kavey Eats as there’s a short timeframe for readers to experience them while they’re still running, but in this case, three weeks gives you plenty of time to book in, and experience this deliciousness for yourself. Enjoy!

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10 Comments to "Grant Hawthorne’s African Volcano Residency at Great Guns Social"

  1. Mamta Gupta

    Looks really nice, though the burger probably too rich for this heat! I love the look of the Smoked wild sea trout. I also like the look of the Portuguese coffee flavoured custard flan

    Reply
    kaveyeats

    You would love the sea trout mum and yeah that flan was gorgeous, lightly flavoured, silky and creamy. So good!

    Reply
  2. kaveyeats

    They were an unexpected delight (unexpected only because previously I’d only had Grant’s savoury food, so it was the first time trying his desserts).

    Reply
  3. John & Rosemarie Stover

    I think we’ve eaten every different thing that Grant has made and never been disappointed. For the first few years it was at Maltby but last month we made the trip from the US just so we wouldn’t miss out on the Great Guns experience. African Volcano is a staple in our cooking at home.

    Reply
    kaveyeats

    Ooh wonderful! He told me some friends and regular customers had visited from the USA, I was so impressed but completely understanding! The man is a food genius!

    Reply

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