Heading to The Pit on a Thursday night, in the rather empty streets behind the club formally known as Bed, left me wondering what could be possibly be in store for myself and my dining companion. After tentatively descending the steps to the underground bar and restaurant I was pleasantly surprised with the bustling atmosphere of drinkers and diners that greeted us. The Pit is definitely a deceptive name for a venue with such a spacious and inviting layout.
We seated ourselves in one of the many luxury leather booths and perused the cocktail menu to get us started. There is a large selection of classics cocktails, however it was the Pit specials that took our fancy. I chose the Fireside Jamaican, which was an incredible rum based cocktail served with a flaming passion fruit. My companion ordered The Jam, made up of vodka, blue curacao and real raspberry jam, all served up in a jam jar.
Once I turned my attention back to the food, I was extremely tempted by the steaks but thought I should try something more exciting for my first Pit experience. For starters we shared the mini ribs and BBQ pulled pork nachos, both were sizeable portions and for lunch one could even have a starter by itself. The main menu provided almost too much choice of great American dishes, from numerous burgers including the Pit Master, a beef burger with chicken breast and BBQ pulled pork. I eventually settled on ribs and lobster with a side of fries and mac n cheese and was far from disappointed. My friend chose the St Louis Slab, a rib dish basted with apple BBQ mop, a testament to the greatness of The Pit’s homemade BBQ sauce that we already sampled as part of our starters.
In terms of dessert, there was less choice. The Pit serves frozen custard pots with a choice of toppings including chocolate brownie, pecan pie and key lime pie. We chose the brownie frozen custard pot, which was tasty but really just a glorified ice cream. Alongside the amazing food, our waitress did a great job of explaining the menu and helping us pick out what to choose from the extensive cocktail list and the long list of optional sides such as BBQ beans and sweet potato fries.
The Pit is a great place to take a first date as it’s not too quiet and doesn’t have a formal dining area. You can also head to the den where the ping pong tables are located if you find yourself feeling awkward. Despite this, the prices of food and drink also make it a perfect place to have your parents take you next time they visit. Either way I’m counting down the days until I find another occasion to head to The Pit.
All November The Pit are running an offer where students can get 20% off Burgers and sandwiches from Monday – Friday 12-5pm with a valid NUS card.
Caitlin Williams