When Thomas Brooke founded Red Dog Saloon in 2011, it began with a simple idea: serve honest, soulful American barbecue done right. More than a decade later, that idea has evolved into seven thriving restaurants across the UK — each fuelled by patience, craft, and a love for great food shared among friends. Brooke’s approach blends entrepreneurial grit with a perfectionist’s eye for flavour, from slow-smoked brisket to the ultimate Full English. We caught up with Thomas Brooke to talk about growth, grit, and what it really takes to build a restaurant legacy in modern London.
You founded Red Dog Saloon over a decade ago, and now there are seven restaurants across the UK. Looking back, what’s been the biggest lesson from growing an independent brand into a national name?
Over the years there have been many lessons learned. Rather than one big lesson it’s the small improvements being made every single day over a long period of time that end up turning into something substantial. Perhaps the biggest lesson I have learnt is giving people the room and the space to make their own decisions and find their own paths because quite often they will have the answers better than you do.
Your original inspiration came from an American cheeseburger — simple but revolutionary at the time. How has your vision for Red Dog Saloon evolved since that first idea?
The menu has always been a collection of old American recipes. From the humble cheeseburger to low and slow cooked American barbecue. My vision and passion over the years has changed very little and I’ve never sought to invent something new, but rather to innovate and to make improvements on already great dishes. In that regard over the last 15 years we have worked every single day on really the same collection of recipes, but even after 15 years there are always improvements that we can make to take the product further.
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The restaurant scene in London has changed massively since 2011. How have you managed to stay relevant and keep that Red Dog energy alive amid shifting trends?
The restaurant scene in London is incredibly competitive. In my years owning Red Dog it has become even more competitive than it was when I started. The reality of the industry is however that it is very difficult to survive and most people do come and go over the years. How we’ve managed to survive and even thrive in this industry I believe is by stripping away a lot of the distractions that the industry can throw at you and to focus at our core which ultimately boils down to our product. My father sold the finest quality cashmere’s when I was younger and he always told me that there’s always a market for the best. So our goal is incredibly simple. We try every single day to provide the very best American food. If we can achieve this then there is always a market and people will always come to visit us. What one must never become is complacent because we believe complacency is death.
You’ve often described Red Dog Saloon as “authentic but fun.” What does that balance look like in today’s dining world — especially with guests expecting both great food and a great vibe?
People go out to restaurants for all different reasons. And there is nearly a restaurant for everyone’s taste that you could possibly ever imagine. I believe the most important thing about going to a restaurant is firstly the quality of the cooking and I feel that quite often this gets lost in many different hospitality venues. But the reality is that going out to eat is not just about going out to eat, it’s about the most precious and quality moments that you can spend with your friends and family. It’s easy to get lost in the seriousness of the industry. The strains and pressures of working in hospitality are huge and there is never a day when you feel like you’ve ever made it. This can lead to an environment of tension and anxiousness but what we must remember as professionals is that when people come to the restaurant they have their own stresses and anxieties and they come to the restaurant to enjoy themselves and have a good time and to socialise and to make memories, so although we strive to be the best, we also want to make it an incredibly fun and satisfying environment and that isn’t just for the customers but for the people working with Red Dog as well. I believe growth and motivation are the keys to happiness and I believe it starts with our employees and creating an environment that’s pleasant for the,/ Once we’ve created a positive, fun, professional, hard-working, and ambitious environment the customer is walking in and they feel that same energy and that translates into good times for everyone.
Going out to spend time with friends and family is really the most precious thing we have in this world and we want you to feel that as soon as you step into our venues
American barbecue is all about slow cooking and patience. Do you see a creative parallel between that craft and the way you’ve built the Red Dog brand over time?
Being an entrepreneur really is the most incredible job anyone could ever ask for. When you win the feeling is totally unmatched and when you lose that same feeling feels the same but in reverse. American barbecue is cooked slowly and knowledge is also earned slowly. There are times when you can make quick progress and there are times when it takes years to learn lessons. If I could have grown Red Dog faster, I would have. The reality of the hospitality industry is the brutality of its nature. The last 15 years have been a complete rollercoaster of emotions and challenges and lessons learnt and I stand here today as someone who feels very proud and perhaps even nostalgic. The truth is you could never truly smoke a perfect Brisket and I don’t think you can really ever truly master the art and science of entrepreneurship. Finding out and travelling the road really is the most privileged of experiences that one could hope to wish for.
Launching the new breakfast menu feels like an exciting move. How did you decide it was time for Red Dog to take on the Full English — and what makes your version stand out?
The decision to launch breakfast has been a very exciting one. I truly believe the best breakfast on planet Earth come from England, the United States, and perhaps Mexico. We spent 15 years working on the Red dog main menu and we continue to do so with a lot of passion but the nature of the industry recently has become tougher. And so with these new challenges we must create new experiences. Red dog has never just been about American barbecue, it has never just been about cheeseburgers. It’s never just been about wings. It’s been a celebration of American food and culture of which we are great great fans. So therefore the introduction of American style breakfast is very much in-line with what we’ve been doing over the last 15 years anyway. The full English breakfast is perhaps the single greatest breakfast dish of all time and what we’re doing with the full English breakfast is like I said earlier it’s not about inventing something new because really it’s a classic that stood the test of time and who am I to reinvent such a great dish. However, what we are doing is trying to make it perfect. Think of Heston Blumenthal in such a perfection which was just a series that I loved.
So where people in my opinion go wrong on the English breakfast is the missing items that for me are must-haves. Some type of potato aspect needs to be included, like a hash brown, and it has to have the black pudding. I like white pudding as well so we have included that too. And one of the things I always had with a full English breakfast growing up was fried toast, which seems difficult to find nowadays, which is why we’ve added it to the Red Dog Saloon one.
We’ve also got a bit creative and taken these classic breakfast items and including some you might not have heard of before, like a state Canadian, which is a little bit like a beef type sausage. We’ve taken these items and encourage our guests to build their own breakfast sandwiches, which is just a bit of fun. We are also including lots of classic American breakfast items such as omelettes, loaded hashbrowns, and pancakes. Where the American breakfast differs from the European one is that the European version tends to focus on bread, things like toast, pastries, or croissants, while the American breakfast leans more towards heartier elements like potatoes, pancakes, or muffins. I find that contrast really interesting, and I love the combination of eggs and potatoes, which you’ll see reflected across much of the menu.
Running multiple restaurants while maintaining quality is no small feat. How do you nurture consistency across your venues without losing that individual local character?
Talking about consistency and maintaining standards. This is perhaps the greatest challenge that you can find working in restaurants. I think the secret or the most effective way to do this is to build the right team. If you have the right people working with you and you have the same beliefs, passions, drive, and goals, then you have more ability to create multiple products in multiple locations to very high standards. The invention of modern technology has made communication on every level superior. 20 years ago the rest couldn’t imagine having the digital resources that they have today available to them in their pocket 24/7. Whilst there is nothing better than going to the restaurant yourself and talking and watching and meeting and seeing what’s going on with your own eyes and ears, modern technology has definitely helped play a part. Building a good team has taken me the best part of 15 years and I would say it really is my most treasured resource that I have available to me. We really do consider ourselves like a family, and if you can achieve a team with that at its core, really anything becomes achievable.
You’ve built a career around food, people, and energy. What still excites you most about hospitality, and where do you see Red Dog Saloon heading next?
The thing that excites me most about hospitality is how you have the world in the palm of your hand. The day to day is so creative and you can choose so many different directions all the while being surrounded by people who share the same passions. Food, people, creativity, growth; these are the best things in life and we are so lucky to have them every day in hospitality. As to the future of Red Dog I really don’t know. It’s as tough as it’s ever been and government after government makes it tougher. Very few politicians understand how hard life is for people. I want to say we’ll take over the world, I’d also like to say I’ll have a business left for my kids when they’re older. My guess however is it’ll probably be somewhere in between! But wherever the path is I am excited to walk it!