Cardiff, United Kingdom
• Owner and pitmaster Matthew O’Brien has been cooking barbecue for around 18 years, drawing on global influences, grounded in American low and slow techniques
• Operates one of the most visually unique pit yards in the UK, decorated with an Americana inspired mix of vintage signs, garage memorabilia, roadside junkyard charm, retro chaos and tons of personality
• Serves American style dishes such as brined and smoked turkey, slow smoked beef short ribs, pulled pork, Korean style pork ribs, pork belly burnt ends, smoked mac and pit beans
• Started with backyard pop ups from his house before transforming his pit yard and garage into a twice a month sit down experience every second Sunday
Note: The authors of this list acknowledge that Matty’s BBQ Chop Shop blurs the line between a pop up and a fixed restaurant. Our working definition of a fixed restaurant is being open to the public at least once a week, and we have made an exception here due to the consistent schedule and the quality of the experience.