Smokey's BBQ (Joo Chiat)

If you’re looking for an authentic American BBQ fare in Singapore, here’s one for you!

Nestled along Joo Chiat is @smokeysbbq.sg - a true blue American smokehouse owned by an American owner, with their smoke wood chips, cooking/smoking equipment and decor imported from the USA.

Staying true to their promise in delivering authentic American BBQ, only traditional methods are used to smoke and slow-roast the meats.

Here’s what we tried:
🥩𝐔𝐒 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐁𝐞𝐞𝐟 𝐁𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐤𝐞𝐭
Marinated in their secret dry rub, smoked and slow roasted for over 20 hours, then topped with homemade BBQ sauce. It’s no wonder these tender, juicy slices of beef brisket boast a deep and complex flavour.
🍔 𝐁𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐤 & 𝐁𝐥𝐮𝐞
200g of 100% USDA beef, flame broiled and topped with crumbled blue cheese and caramelized onions. Served on a sesame seed bun with lettuce, tomato, red onion, dill pickle, and fries. Perfectly cooked till medium doneness, the beef patty was juicy and tender. Surprisingly, the blue cheese flavor wasn’t overwhelming and together with the caramelized onions, it adds a nice sharp flavor.
🍗 𝐁𝐮𝐟𝐟𝐚𝐥𝐨 𝐖𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬
Jumbo chicken wings marinated, fried, and tossed in one of Smokey's homemade sauces. Served with homemade blue cheese or Cajun ranch dressing.
🧀𝐒𝐦𝐨𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐁𝐞𝐞𝐟 𝐂𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐢 𝐍𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐬
Fresh tortillas and salsa topped with cheddar, sour cream, pickled jalapeños, and homemade chili.

On top of the wide range of beers and wines available, @smokeysbbq.sg also offer cocktails such as 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐰𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐲 𝐃𝐚𝐢𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐫𝐢, 𝐒𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐚𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐒𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐎𝐥𝐝 𝐅𝐚𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐝 and 𝐓𝐞𝐱𝐚𝐬 𝐓𝐰𝐨-𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐩 𝐈𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐋𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐧 𝐓𝐞𝐚.

For spice lovers 🌶 who are up for a challenge, stay tune to @smokeysbbq.sg page as they are launching an epic challenge very soon🔥

If you’re looking for an authentic American BBQ fare in Singapore, here’s one for you!

Nestled along Joo Chiat is @smokeysbbq.sg - a true blue American smokehouse owned by an American owner, with their smoke wood chips, cooking/smoking equipment and decor imported from the USA.

Staying true to their promise in delivering authentic American BBQ, only traditional methods are used to smoke and slow-roast the meats.

Here’s what we tried:
🥩𝐔𝐒 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐁𝐞𝐞𝐟 𝐁𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐤𝐞𝐭
Marinated in their secret dry rub, smoked and slow roasted for over 20 hours, then topped with homemade BBQ sauce. It’s no wonder these tender, juicy slices of beef brisket boast a deep and complex flavour.
🍔 𝐁𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐤 & 𝐁𝐥𝐮𝐞
200g of 100% USDA beef, flame broiled and topped with crumbled blue cheese and caramelized onions. Served on a sesame seed bun with lettuce, tomato, red onion, dill pickle, and fries. Perfectly cooked till medium doneness, the beef patty was juicy and tender. Surprisingly, the blue cheese flavor wasn’t overwhelming and together with the caramelized onions, it adds a nice sharp flavor.
🍗 𝐁𝐮𝐟𝐟𝐚𝐥𝐨 𝐖𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬
Jumbo chicken wings marinated, fried, and tossed in one of Smokey's homemade sauces. Served with homemade blue cheese or Cajun ranch dressing.
🧀𝐒𝐦𝐨𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐁𝐞𝐞𝐟 𝐂𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐢 𝐍𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐬
Fresh tortillas and salsa topped with cheddar, sour cream, pickled jalapeños, and homemade chili.

On top of the wide range of beers and wines available, @smokeysbbq.sg also offer cocktails such as 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐰𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐲 𝐃𝐚𝐢𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐫𝐢, 𝐒𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐚𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐒𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐎𝐥𝐝 𝐅𝐚𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐝 and 𝐓𝐞𝐱𝐚𝐬 𝐓𝐰𝐨-𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐩 𝐈𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐋𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐧 𝐓𝐞𝐚.

For spice lovers 🌶 who are up for a challenge, stay tune to @smokeysbbq.sg page as they are launching an epic challenge very soon🔥

Before we came, I'd read plenty of mixed reviews about this place, mostly good, so expectations were high.
We ordered the 1/3 slab of St Louis ribs ($32++), 1/2 slab baby back ribs ($16++) and the beef brisket ($16++)
Positives:
1. Beef brisket was deliciously tender and smokey. Meat retained most juices, though some parts tended on the dry side.
2. Smokey, tangy sauce.
3. Generous portion sizes- though for the prices they charge, I'd expect that.

Negatives:
1. Both ribs were bone-dry. From a place specialising in American BBQ, this was a serious surprise. There are certain types of BBQ ribs that aren't meant to be fall-off-the-bone tender, but I'm pretty sure they're not meant to have the texture of jerky either. They had a nice smokiness to them, but the lack of any form of moisture completely detracted from the dining experience. We had to go through an additional serving of BBQ sauce to get us through half of the serving. Which brings me to my next negative...
2. The BBQ sauce is chargeable at $2 per serving. This in itself is already an exception to my knowledge. This really grated on me for 2 reasons: first, for the obvious fact that they charged us WITHOUT informing us beforehand. This is customer service etiquette 101- same as informing diners beforehand that tap water is chargeable. I thought it may have been written on the menu, but it wasnt- at least not on the latest edition online. Second reason which is painfully ironic- if the ribs weren't so ridiculously dry, we wouldn't have needed the additional sauce. Talk about adding salt to wounds.
3. Customer service was slow. I'm talking about: Being the only customers in the room, hand in the air for about 20 seconds to get their attention, kind of slow.

Summary:
- 👍🏻 For the beef brisket
- 👎dry ribs
-👎 Poor customer service

They offer a cash rebate that you can utilize for your next visit. Pity there won't be a repeat visit from me.

Pitifully tiny poppers that were mostly deep-fried breading encasing a small jalapeno with hardly any cream cheese stuffing. One would expect cheesy, oozy goodness with a popper, and these sadly did not deliver. The marinara sauce was, well, kind of weak sauce too, with an overpowering taste of dried herbs.

Taste: 2/5

Juicy wings marred by their slightly burnt and bitter exterior. I enjoyed these nonetheless, especially with the killer authentic spicy buffalo wing sauce and homemade creamy blue cheese dressing. By default the wings come tossed in the sauce, but you can request for it on the side.

Taste: 3.5/5

A moreish and meaty shredded beef chili, topped with a dollop of sour cream and jalapenos, nestled on a bed of melted cheddar-covered crisp nachos. Great beer food, but the portion could be bigger for the price I'm paying at a suburban restaurant.

Taste: 3.5/5