There is so much barbecue sauce in London. All you’ll discover when you cut one of us open is the glossy brioche bun stuffing and pulled pork. Perhaps. However, it takes a lot to stand out and receive positive reviews in such a crowded industry. Let’s welcome David Carter, the owner of Smokestak and head chef.
Former front-of-house manager for Gordon Ramsay at Fitzrovia’s Roka and Claridge’s, he turned his back on fine dining and made a pilgrimage to Houston, Texas, in 2013. He returned with a massive meat smoker that he used to entertain both London street food market hoards and hangover festival crowds for the next few years.
His famous pickled red chilli bun and beef brisket have become legendary dishes for street foodies. Since Smokestak’s first physical location in Shoreditch debuted a year ago, Carter has garnered positive reviews from food critics. In her raving review, Grace Dent gave the eatery a maximum of five stars for the “impossibly good brisket.”
Whereabouts
Located across the street from Shoreditch High Street station, the restaurant is somewhat unassuming from the exterior, including large metal doors, Dickensian windows, and basic, substantial wooden furnishings. However, the delightful scent of wood smoke tantalises your senses from a distance of many doors away, providing you with a sense of genuineness even before you enter.
Ambience
The restaurant was comfortable, laid-back, and rustic with the dual aspect windows steaming up all around us. It’s like a womb where you can fill your face till you can’t stand to unbutton your jeans in front of others without feeling guilty. The décor, with its large wooden tables and manly tones of brown, copper, and natural wood, echoes the straightforward rustic cooking methods.
Food
Smokestak’s menu isn’t meant for solo consumption; instead, it’s meant to be shared with what we would refer to as “medium plates.” As a result, the cuisine has a more sophisticated vibe, and the chefs’ range of flavours, textures, and techniques is evident.
We started with the Pigtails, which were served in a little pot heaped with food and had a flavour akin to a delicious combination of pig scratching and chicken wing. Carter’s signature dish, an unbelievably delicious brisket served in a light and sweet bun with pickled red chilli, was a hit. It was gorgeous, meltingly soft with a spicy treacle-lacquered crust. We quickly regretted ordering the little version, but before we could be too angry about its hasty demise, the equally delicious Thick Cut Pork Rib with Pickled Cucumber appeared. The sticky, sweet meat fell off the bone faster than we could cut it. The full coal-roasted eggplant, with its velvety, smokey flesh covered in a layer of red miso, toasted cashews, and spring onions, was equally appetising as any meat dish.
One of the many things that distinguished Smokestack from the plethora of other BBQ restaurants was the conspicuous absence of fries from the sides menu. When you have a jacket potato with its skin thick and crispy and heaped with Cheesy Smoked Rarebit Mash, who needs chips? We’ve never eaten a “salad” as extravagant as the Grilled Baby Gem with Walnut Gremolata and Crispy Bacon, which was dripping with cheese. This salad type is one that you definitely want to get friends with.
Liquor
Each beverage on the short, sugary, and strong drinks menu had been carefully chosen. A crisp grapefruit and mint spritz made with gin, grapefruit, agave, mint, and fizz went well with the substantial meal. The Bourbon, spiced plum lemon, and egg white Plum Sour was our fave. It was delivered in a frosted glass with a delightful foam on top.
Need to Try
For the holiday season, the restaurant has just expanded its menu to include a whole beef brisket. Smoked for twelve to fifteen hours over English wood that has been kiln-dried, the entire brisket costs £150 and feeds ten to twenty people with pickled cucumbers, chillies, and mustard BBQ. Smokestak’s most popular regular meal, which is typically available on the menu as an individual cut or brisket bun, is being served in its whole for the first time. For the same £150, the entire brisket will also be available for takeaway, providing a special dinner party choice for anyone organising a joyous occasion.
Why Leave?
Who wouldn’t want to be covered in barbecue sauce, after all? Smokestak has launched two seasonal menus, the feasting and sharing, which are available starting on November 27th in addition to the full beef brisket. At £35 and £45 per person, respectively, these will adopt a sharing-style approach rather than following a standard set menu structure. A cosier, family-friendly dining experience is created for the winter months by serving dishes like “Thick-cut pork ribs with pickled cucumber” and “30-day aged beef rib” alongside “Charred greens with tahini, pomegranate, and dry-roasted nuts” and “Jacket potato with smoked rarebit.” To get diners in the mood for the holiday, welcome drinks will include ‘Warm spiced Malbec, clove, star anise’ and ‘Red beetroot Negroni, orange peel + bitters’. Regular sharing and feasting menus, priced at £30 for groups of eight or more, are also offered all year round.
