Are critics out of touch with what the public like to eat? Post your views below

Owners of the recently opened Chicago Rib Shack in Knightsbridge have hit back at food critics, saying they are out of touch with what the wider public want to eat.

In its opening weeks the restaurant attracted a "slating" from high-profile food reviewers.

"This is, to put it simply, just so you don’t forget, terribly bad food. And it’s terribly bad food from the bad past," wrote The Sunday Times' AA Gill.

Sticky Pork Ribs

Quince jelly is available in most delicatessens and makes a great baste for pork ribs

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"As a restaurant, the food doesn't cut the mustard," says Will Fulford-Jones of Time Out and Metro's Marina O'Loughlin declared, the "food is almost uniformly ghastly".

It seems the underlying argument is that food and palates have evolved over the past 10 years. People now seek a sophisticated, cleaner, more wholesome dining experience as opposed to the caveman-like proportions of sizzling beef and pork, dripping in sticky barbecue sauce and deep-fried accompaniaments served up at the shack.

And yet, three months after opening, the 200-plus seat restaurant continues to pack its tables, night after night.

Jon Yantin, director and co-owner of the shack, said there was a place for American-style restaurants in London and turning over up to 1000 covers a day was testament to that.

"We weren't surprised by the reviews because of the style of the food we serve, but what did surprise us is how vicious they were. We're not a fine-dining restaurant and we never portayed ourselves to be one. You have to put it into context.

"You come here for the ambience, the atmosphere, the service, the vibe. The food is only one reason to visit. It's more about having a fun night out than purely a dining experience."

Yantin said London was a restaurant haven, but critics were out of touch with the wider public and what they really wanted to eat.

"It's all about fine dining these days. We are bombarded with messages that we should be eating healthily on something that resembles a small piece of uncooked fish.

"We are not this kind of restaurant. We're about big portions of fried food. We're not saying eat it every night, but why not have some fun once in a while."

Even before it opened there were big expectations for the restaurant, primarily because it is a reinvention of the original and extremely successful Chicago Rib Shack established in 1982 by Bob Payton. The restaurant closed when its lease expired in December 1999. The nostalgic element from those who remembered the shack of old was always going to put pressure on the new arrival. But if anyone was going to revive the restuarant, Yantin and his business partner Adrian Hartley, as former employees of the original shack, were probably the best-placed to do so.

Yantin believed it gave them a greater insight into what the original restaurant set out to achieve.

"Having worked at the original we were aware of the ethos, where it came from, what it wanted to achieve," he said, that is to be the best barbecue family dining restaurant in London.

"We knew we couldn't recreate exactly what had been before. What we've given is a new menu that has the backbone of the original using specialised meats and evolved it by injecting elements of its St Louis origins and elements of local provenance."

The shack goes through four-to-five tonnes of meat a week and all of it is organic, sourced from English suppliers. The beef hails from Laverstock Park in Overton, Hampshire, while the pork is sourced from Eastbrook farm in Wiltshire. The meat spices are all natural, with no preservatives or additives and Yantin said all the food is hand-made and prepared.

Although going organic wasn't a conscious decision, Yantin said utilising ethical farming methods was more relevant and met the restaurant's needs better than alternative options.

"This is where our marketing may have been misconstrued," he said. "Because our meat is organic, people immediately assume its healthy. This is not the case."

"In the end, we did our best. I'm not sure what the critics expected. We did have some teething problems in the service area but they have be recitfied now."

Whatever the critics expected, it seems the rib shack's customers don't all share the same view, as shown by these patrons' comments.

"Have eaten there it is great. Will definitely revisit lots!" said one. "I had such a great night at the 'shack'. Great vibe, great service, perfect portions and there is something for everyone! It is what it is ... a rib shack," declared another, and finally "welcome back old friend, you've been sorely missed".

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