#Meateasy flipped its last patties on Saturday, bringing to a close its three month residence above the old Goldsmith’s Tavern.
The ‘chop-up’ burger bar served classic American fare ilike cheeseburgers, chilli dogs, and buffalo wings.On Friday, the penultimate night, demand was so high that a large crowd had spilled out on to the New Cross Road.
Kieran, 29, an Australian born web designer living in Dalston, was one of those queuing outside on the pavement. He said that he had visited before and that the wait time never deterred him.
“I don’t really mind waiting around a bit for this, to be honest. I’ve been a few times now and it’s pretty much always been this way, you just kind of get used to it. It’s all part of the charm I guess, and you know at the end of the day you’re going to get a really fantastic burger.
“It’s always worth it,” he added.
#Meateasy opened on January 12th after founder Yianni Papoutsis ‘s van, the Meatwagon, was stolen from outside his home in Peckham.
Papoutsis said that while he was sad about #Meateasy closing its doors, he felt it was time to move on and paid tribute to the efforts of his staff.
“Some things need to die to live on. They’ll be a good few tears spilt on that bar on Saturday night, I can tell you. The amount of energy my crew have put into it is simply not sustainable and I want to kill it on a high rather than let it die a slow death.”
He went on to say that he was somewhat surprised by the extent of #Meateasy’s popularity.
“I thought it would be like Marmite with 20% of people loving it and 80% of people hating it. Turns out it was the other way round but hey, there’s no accounting for taste!”
“I just wanted to put together the bar I’ve always wanted to drink in. It’s fun, it’s loud, it’s sleazy and it’s raucous. There’s not enough fun in London any more. Everything is so sterilised and bland.
“It was honest to what I envisaged it as: a dive bar.”
After catching up on some sleep, Papoutsis added that he would be back on the road shortly with a new Meatwagon. His plans for the summer are rumoured to include a trip to the Burning Man festival in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert.
Like its mobile predecessor, #Meateasy gained a cult following through word of mouth and social networking – the hash mark alludes to its Twitter fan base – and received rave reviews from customers, food bloggers, and restaurant critics including Time Out’s Guy Dimond.
Under the new management of Papoutsis ‘s friend Scott Collins – who helped secure the space for #Meateasy – the old Goldsmiths Tavern is due to re-open as the New Cross House over Easter.
EastLondonLines will be brining you updates on New Cross House as we get them.
By James Laird
