SMOKESTAK Review

Really great restaurant. The menu is, of course, meat heavy however there are lots of great veggie options. The jacket potato is unreal. Seriously, order it. I will definitely be back! Want to work my way through the menu.

I brought my parents here when they were in town. Great food but we had a poor experience with service. Although we booked ahead, the table before us was running late and so we were asked to wait outside without an apology or offer of a complimentary drink for the inconvenience. We decided to order a bottle of wine whilst we waited. This didn t come till we were sat at our table 20 mins later (after asking twice about the wine). Our sides also didn t come till we finished our mains. As always, the food was great but our experience was somewhat tarnished.

Different take on classic BBQ, multiple smaller portions rather than huge mounds of MEAT. Sticky toffee pudding is fabulous.

From the smell that welcomes you as soon as you enter and the vibes from this place makes you salivate with anticipation. The starters of pork tail, lamb ribs and ox cheeks were simply divine, soft and crunchy in all the right places. The salt baked beetroot was scrumptious. The pork belly and the brisket was good, though a little small in portion. With the veg to balance the fattiness the meal was a truly satisfying one. 10/10 would recommend. Make sure to book, cos they get busy really quickly!

We had an excellent time at this restaurant. We liked the excellent vibes and the food. The staff were super personal. I am glad we ultimately managed to try this restaurant.

Went on a Wednesday evening. Fairly busy but managed to get seated within twenty minutes downstairs - great meat choices, also nice fish (sea bass photographed below and recommended) as well as tasty veggie sides. Restaurant certainly not for meat eaters only. Good local house lagers too. Decent value at 30/head for selection of starters, 2 mains and 4 beers. Would recommend for any type of event, upstairs definitely better vibes but probably requires booking (or longer wait). Downstairs also pleasant with a bar but maybe feels little detached from main upstairs part. Worth checking out? Yes 4/5.

Great for meat lovers! Their speciality is the brisket. I used to love their pork ribs as well but I think that now they have lowered the quality in general and it's fatter with more sauces and butter, but still a great option and very tasty. Hope they'll go back to their original quality which was 5 star!

This is a great place. Excellent food and service to boot. We had pigtails, crispy ox cheeks, fenel sausage, brisket bun, ribs and slaw. All great and more than enough for 2 people. They now serve beer on drought in pint size rather than 3/4 pint which was my pet hate before. Highly recommended

The best BBQ I've ever had. Icate here on a trip from the U.S and was just so pleasantly surprised to have just walked past this place. A REAL gem in London, a must have.

Undoubtedly one of my favourite restaurants in London. I really like the atmosphere and the interior design is impeccable - big thumb up to the team who devised it. Food wise, the menu is made of a handful of dishes, so don t expect a long list of many options. Personally, I love their brisket and aubergine - my two favourites by far. A great success among my friends visiting from abroad, too. Recommended!

Gastronomy excellence. Top staff and flawless service. 10/10

This restaurant has first-rate service as well as yummy food. The best spot in the city. The food and drinks came out fast and the prices were fair. I recommend this place.

A very good place for the fans of BBQ dishes. Smoked ribs, grille steaks etc. When the weather is nice, you can sit outside.

Great food, staff are super friendly. This places has relaxed vibes. Different style of BBQ cooking and the meat game is strong here.
Ideal for sharing style dinner. Excellent menu selection and there are quite a few pesc and veggie options. Not an ideal choice if your trying to impress a vegan friend, so maybe leave them and home for this one.

Probably my favourite place to eat in London!!!!! Fact! The food is so good and light and meaty and indulgent. The short rib. The sliders. The pork belly. The beef cheeks. The potatoes. Even the charred lettuce. OH THE BRISKET

OMG this food is Devine and the waiter George is amazing the briscuit is extraordinary and over all I rate the restaurant 5 stars

Such a great meal at this restaurant, I had been recommended by friends to visit and was not disappointed. The food here is absolutely delicious, Loved the brisket sandwich and the aubergine. A great place in shoreditch if you are looking for something that is less-typical London food!

Not sure if I've done a review of this before. But this venue for gout-inducing meatiness is always a winner...

Beef brisket, roast pork and balanced off with the roasted greens.

Consistently good and great at atmosphere!

Really good BBQ, very smokey dining room, small portions for what you pay, but very very nice. Maybe get a few mains between two and definitely try the desserts. Salted caramel ice cream is just a perfect finisher.

The pastrami was out of this world! Juicy, full of flavor, and great on its own (no sauces/condiments are needed imo). However, the brisket was little bit disappointing as it was not very tender and has little smoked flavor. All in all, it was a good experience; nice rustic decor, friendly/attentive staff and good food. The price might be on the high-side albeit understandable given the niche and the operation overhead of BBQ/smoking.

Cannot wait to go back!!
We went with a group of 10 friends to celebrate my boyfriend s birthday.
The rustic look of the place definitely contributed to the vibe, it was so much so that when we arrived the place looks so rustic we thought is was abandoned and it took us a few to understand where the entry door is
We did manage to find it eventually and thing got better and better.
I had their house ale which went very well with the food.
And since we were a lot o people each group of four ordered a bunch of dishes and sheared.
We had the brisket bun (WOW), crispy ox cheek (WaaaOW!), coal roared aubergine (very good), beef brisket (very good), spinach, charred greens, whole lemon sole and of course- sticky toffee pudding (absolutely delicious)

Most of the food was amazing, some was nice. Very much looking forward to going back there!

Everything was delicious. It was a cut above regular barbecue. There were inventive twists on all the dishes.

In general it's a great place with a nice vibe and a very nice smokey bbq.. Food was just amazing, incredibly tasty and we have eaten so much and all was delicious. We will definitely visit again. It is not very cheap though but in still a very nice experience and I would recommend this place.

Very trendy place. The small black sign was difficult to see from the outside and the doors were closed when we went, so it definitely could have looked more inviting!

We had excellent service from the staff at the bar though, and the food was absolutely incredible.

Everything was brilliant. The service impeccable. The food outstanding. You have to try the Bone Marrow with flatbreads, one of the best things I've had in London

Booked a table, got a seat at the bar. So didn't end up staying, maybe next time will be better. Food smelt good though!

Shoreditch meat heaven!
Seasonal menu, but when we went the mushrooms on toast and the pork belly was just out of this world!
Industrial design but matches the menu - staff was very friendly.
Better to make a reservation as otherwise you might not get a seat.

Best toffee pudding ever. Barbeque meats were also really good. Very friendly staff and the restaurant had a cool vibe.

Visited for a birthday dinner. As a large group (11) we could not order individually from the menu, instead we had to eat their "family style" sharing menu. As tasty as the food was, some people are a bit squeamish about eating things like More

Staff were amazing. Very friendly and helpful. Food was unbelievable. So tasty.

This restaurant is doubtless one of the most pleasant restaurants in the region. Whenever I come there I am profoundly pleased. They maintain their very high standard service and the topmost level of meals they serve. You are always happy with this place. Warmly recommended.

Great looking place to give that Street feel. Food tastes great as well. However, portion sizes are a bit on the small side for what you pay and it may be a bit off putting for some in the lower level of the restaurant as the bar/eating/waiting area are right next to the rest rooms. No awful smells can't through but might be a different story for another person on a different day.

Oh my good god. That is how heaven tastes if it's been slowly roasted over the lumpwood coals of hell. So delicious.

Booked a table here for the Eat Out to Help Out offer - the food was fantastic. The beef brisket was the clear favourite!

Very reasonably priced menu with great choice if you like smoked, barbecued food.
The crispy ox cheek starter is great and the beef rib is worth trying.
Definitely recommended!

Great tasting smoked meats in an industrial (and smokey) surroundings with bags of character but nothing fancy either. Highly recommended as long as you aren't expecting plush surroundings.

Good food, a bit pricey but worth it. Poor distancing and staff don't wear masks which seems crazy as another lockdown will only hurt the restaurant business

The beef brisket burger and aubergine are fantastic. All the dishes are very good, but I could have a whole meal consisting of multiple serving of the burger and aubergine.

I took my boyfriend here for his birthday lunch and everything was absolutely stunning! The service was fantastic and the food was unreal!! We had sardines and crispy ox cheek to start, then beef brisket, ribs, jacket potato and char-grilled greens for our main... Every single part was delicious and I would definitely recommend! We got sticky toffee pudding for dessert which was lovely and after realising it was my boyfriends birthday his came out with a lit candle in it - lovely touch! I'm going to dream about that brisket. We will go back!

Lovely smoked Southern style BBQ food if a bit overpriced

Amazing...the staff were friendly and knowledgeable. We went with friends and had a incredible night... everything on the menu looked and tasted amazing. This place really lives up to its reputation.

Relax but busy BBQ place with amazing ribs and jacket potatoes. Their seabream is like a Ceviche so try it! Crispy ox cheeks were delicious as well as the aubergine. Good groups as well as for couples. Service is fast but only when your order comes, waiters seem more interested to chat between them. Other than that is a good.

A meal to remember. Climbed right there to my top 10 restaurants in London. The brisket melts in your mouth, the jacked potato is unlike anything you ve even eaten before and the mushrooms cooked in beef drip are, in a word, celestial. On top of that, the service was amazing and the decor is incredible.

Great food and it s always been one of my favourite restaurants in London. But quite disappointed with the poor distancing and none of the staff s wearing mask and talking to customers really closely. Hope they can be a little bit more cautious about the environment.

Go for the beef rib ( ), stay for the trout wonton. That was delicious. I love this place. Team in the kitchen seriously legit. But only four stars because lukewarm brisket at 8pm on a Friday night totally inexcusable. Were you not expecting that order? Hot beef, mates.

Amazing. This place was recommended to us and now I recommend it. Make sure you come with an appetite. Amazing meat, really like the beef rib and the jacket potato is huge, cheesey and good to share if you plan to eat alot of meat. Food comes when ready.

5+ for the food...Great location..I ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT

What a great discovery! The staff was so so so nice and since we were there for the 1st time (and definitely not the last!)they took the time to explain the menu. Everything was so incredibly good! The beef ribs were to die for and the brisket bun was also a favourite. A bit of wait though...
But such a niche atmosphere

Loved the brisket bun very good service a tad overpriced but would definitely go again

Really good price, the food was very tasty and would certainly come again

Melt in the mouth pork belly. Other dishes' flavours were intense. Couldn't choose which dish I liked the most. My partner and I definitely fought over the bone marrow flat breads.

Smokestak is absolutely one of my favourite places to eat in London, and I m a vegetarian! The aubergine thing they do is outright unholy in its glorious magnificence, as are the salt baked beetroots and charred greens. And the rarebit potato? Good lord.

This isn t pretentious complicated food, it s modern, simple combinations of fabulous ingredients that just work, with all the smokey, charred love you d expect from a BBQ. My meat-eating friends and partner all love it too, so I guess the carnivorous options are worth a punt as well, especially with this being a primarily meat-oriented spot!

Oh and the puddings? Sublime.

The staff are always friendly and attentive and the prices are surprisingly affordable for a trendy place like this.

The beef brisket was amazing. Very good salads. Good sticky toffee pudding. Staff was nice. We sat at a table outside, it's right by the street, but there wasn't much traffic, so it was ok. Nice staff.

Wow! Just left this place and I already want to go back! The food was amazing and the service was also excellent. The only downside to our experience was the lack of social distancing between the tables.

We arrived for Tuesday lunch expecting it to be relatively quiet, but all the tables were full as we were leaving. The have put in place the QR track and trace code and also have their menu online (accessed through another QR code which links to their website). All staff are also wearing face masks and guests are told to do so as they walk to their seats. But the tables are packed way too close together to follow social distancing rules which is a shame. There was another table directly behind me, but we were faced away from each other I guess...

I haven't eaten so good in a Long time! Thanks! :-)

Excellent place for a group night out. The atmosphere is great, laid-back and the food is exquisite. Rather affordable it will leave you full but asking for more.

You can smell the sweet bbq smoke from the high street. The brisket buns are a must here... top tip: if you like variety, order a small one (they re filling) so you have room for small plates and sticky toffee pudding.

Pretty much a meaty version of heaven! The meat is smoked for 12 hours and has that incredibly smokey taste permeating through each bite. I ve visited these guys several times (including when they use to have their pop up stand!) but last couple of times I ve found the meat a wee bit dry but still very delicious. This visit we ordered the crispy pigs tails (tastes like crackling in a sweet soy sauce. I enjoyed but found the sauce a bit thick and overpowering plus thebones and cartilage included in the bits which I found a bit off putting)
For mains I had the beef brisket bun. As mentioned found a bit dry but still yum. We also ordered the fries which were delicious - covered in a great seasoning, nice and crispy and accompanied by a garlic aioli.
The restaurant itself is very cool, with sparse industrial style metal finishings. Good vibe as the restaurant was pumping
Well worth a visit particularly if you are a meat lover!

Incredibly tender melt-in-your-mouth meat - the brisket is especially fantastic (as are the ox cheeks), but even the vegetarian dishes (such as the miso roasted aubergine) are seriously impressive, as are the desserts and cocktails. All set in a stylish industrial interior. This is a place to come back to again and again.

What a great place for all meat lovers out there. I have tried brisket, pork and beef ribs. Everything was amazing.

It's unusual to find a restaurant in London where the standard of service is so low and uncaring but lo-and-behold today Smokestack made that happen.
From the moment we joined our friends at the table the waiting staff were inattentive and uncommunicative. It took two of us to flag someone down to take our drinks order after waiting nearly 40 minutes for them, and several reminders after for them to bring the drinks - and I had to go to the bar to collect it - glass, ice, can.
And then the long wait for our order, which included starters and mains. Alas, that took nearly an hour but it wasn't the starters that came first but rather the mains and when we noted this the waitress she snapped a little and informed us that 'their systems were down today' and 'that she couldn't get onto the computer' to place orders. Miraculous moments later our starters arrived with no apology for the lateness or slowness of the service.
The food was okay. Better has been eaten at other places. Like Bodeans.
The service marred the entire experience and I shall not be returning any time in the near or possible future.
Additionally, we asked the table to have water brought to it at the start and at each time we asked for our drinks that too was forgotten and ignored. Our table filled up quite fast with plates, bottles and cans but nobody came to clean up. We felt that we were sitting in a rubbish tip.
Oddly enough, the speediest part of the service was receiving the bill.
How is it that so many restaurants can survive with pen and paper but Smokestack can't? How is that the systems were down to place orders but fine to take transactions?

Great atmosphere, very motivated waiters (but with imperfect memories for what you've actually ordered), lovely smells of cooking done in front of your eyes. Some really scrumptious dishes, but others not so good. Best to get advice on More

The brisket buns were great but the mushrooms on toast was a bit salty. the service was lacking and food was a bit too pricey.

GREAT place for meat in London. Good atmosphere and delicious food. The outside are is really lovely in the summer as well. Only bad thing and reason for not giving 5 stars are that the service charge does not go to the staff but the restaurant which I think is wrong. So make sure to check before tipping that it actually goes too the staff!

The food was incredible! Amazing atmosphere and cool crowd. Highly recommend the pork belly, jacket potato with rare bit and charred greens! A must visit restaurant in London

We booked a table at smokestak for a lunchtime treat. I left pretty unimpressed. The waiter wasn't outright unpleasant but certainly not friendly. Not a smile in sight and didn't make us feel welcome.
I don't think I'm being over sensitive, it's just that you expect a bit more than a long face when it's the first time you go out since lockdown.
Restaurants are more than just food, everybody in the team has a role to play in its success.

Well, at least the meat was really nice. The barbeque sauce was a bit heavy and could have be better in my opinion. Still nice though. But for the price, I'd expect A LOT BETTER.

Food is goooooood. The ox cheek and brisket buns in particular were excellent. As were the charred greens. And pork belly. It was all good! Service is friendly and speedy! Also, book way way in advance (I m talking weeks) for a table during the busy weekend/dinner period - or walk in at 6pm for an early dinner like I did. Can t wait to go back and try the rest of the menu!

Food I would give 3/5. To be honest, bodeans is almost as good and they get your order right. This place is a classic example of borrowed innovation masquerading as taste.

Service was 1/5. We were a group of four and had a really terrible experience with the service. The staff were totally disinterested from start to finish. It took 40 minutes to get our first round of drinks and one one of the drinks was forgotten. One of our party had to walk up to the bar to get it.

We asked for water four times over the course of the meal and it never arrived.

Our main course arrived before our starters. When we raised this we were told by the waitress, quite snippilly, that the food arrives as it is cooked (given most of the menu is slow cooked over several hours this fails logic).

We had to push back and demand that we get our starters before our main course (call me a traditionalist) and the waitress grudgingly accepted.

To get a second round of drinks we had to actively wave down the staff to get their attention. Still no water.

After our starters, our main course arrived very quickly but all our sides were absent. Repeat paragraphs four and five to get an understanding of what we went through again.

At zero points were we asked was everything okay with our meal. Maybe this is a Shoreditch tradition?

I am a strong believer in tipping waiting staff for good service but this is the first time in years I have not tipped after a meal. Really shocking service, very poor attitude from the staff. If a member of management would like to contact me to discuss further I am happy to talk through everything that went wrong.

We were not diva diners. All of us had worked in restaurants before and we agreed how when we were staff we would not have gotten away with this level of service without a severe warning from a manager.

P.s. the toilets are really really dark. Maybe this is intentional. Also social distancing. Do better please.

Outstanding. A must for meat & food lovers. Fabulous staff, great music/atmosphere & couldn t recommend enough. Top place in the London scene.

Smokestak serves up some really tasty food. We particularly enjoyed the pastrami, pig tails, sea bream ceviche etc. pretty much most of it! It's popular and gets busy quickly.

Of you Love Smokers... Visit Smokestak. Brilliant!!!

+ remarkable interior design
+ very popular

- no vegan options (not even chips)
- could have more menu variety in general
- hard to book a table as it is very busy
- when you managed to get a table, you have limited time to actually sit down and enjoy the meal due to busy bookings

I dislike the place, the food was just soo salty no actual flavour

This place never fails to deliver. They have great dishes for reasonable prices, there no long wait even when the spot is packed.

Smokstak is the best BBQ I've had in London and the service is attentive. If the prices were a little lower then it would be 5*'s from me.

Definitely recommend a visit though.

Revisited a year later and the food was as good if not better. Putting the score up to five stars because the staff where super sound, beer was good, eat out to help out was on and the food was consistently great.

Adding more photos

Unforgettable!!! Pastrami, mushrooms toast beans, and so ones. wonderful English cooking

Excellent meat dishes. Arrives reasonably fast, prices are appropriate. From the non meat dishes, I would recommend the beetroot, also a bit bigger, so ideal if you are hungry. Red wine: go for the cheapest glass in the list. We did a bit of a wine tasting, and after the cheapest glass, it's only the Malbec bottle that is worth mentioning - all the stuff in the middle is to be skipped. ;-)

Best place ever.
Lovely staff. amazing chef and cooking team.
Cozy cool place.
AMAZING QUALITY. One of my favourite place ever!

We got kicked out of our table very quickly. They give you a two hour timer, and remind you of it every 30 minutes. It was a struggle convincing our waiter to serve us desserts and a extra glass of wine as he thought we couldn't finish on time. We did it with 10 minutes to spare as we were scared, and then they took 20 minutes to settle the bill. Food is good, but don't go, not worth the stress they put you through.

Straight away, you're getting punched in the face with smoke in the best way possible. Killer meats, very nice cocktails, value for money. 10/10 would eat again.

Lovely food!! There are only few places in London which sells food grilled on Charcoal. Love the smoky flavor and the aroma. The place smells of smokey food and grilled meat. Their grilled aubergine is amazing!!
if you love Pork and Beef, its amazing!! A must try if you are in London.

Must try if you into smoked beef. Vert soft and tender.

Variety of tender BBQd foods (not in any way dry unlike many British chains serving BBQ fare) and a host of clever vegetable side dishes. My carnivorous friends were raving about the kale for days! Extra points for Instagram-friendliness but food takes centre stage, as it should.

First time for me here.
Very unprofessional FOH staff. No sense of hospitality , forgetting orders, impolite , in general without the slightest care for the customer. Someone should give them a good training for the basics ( we first set the table with cutlery and then start bringing the food, we say welcome and good by to the guests...)

Hygiene not at it s best.

Now we're talking this is the kind of generous hearty food thats missing on most UK places - delivered nice and hot