The story
Smokestak is a modern British restaurant with a barbecue focus at 35 Sclater Street in Shoreditch, London. It holds a 2026 Michelin Bib Gourmand for good-quality, good-value cooking.
Chef David Carter founded Smokestak in 2016 and co-founded the nearby Manteca with Chris Leach. The kitchen cooks in a smoker at low temperature for many hours, with the fire kept away from the meat. The grill is used only to finish some cuts. Long cooking renders the fat slowly, so non-prime cuts turn tender and unctuous. Vegetables are coal roasted or charred at the edges for flavour.
The whole beef brisket is the signature. It needs a pre-order of 24 hours, and it arrives sliced thickly on a tin plate or folded into a glossy bun with pickled red chilli. Native breed pulled pork comes with green chilli slaw, and a 30-day dry aged beef rib is also on the menu. Meat-free diners can choose coal roasted aubergine with red miso, feta and toasted cashew, or watermelon with heritage tomato, mint and feta.
The monster smoker sits in the open kitchen, and the room has blackened walls and weathered wooden furniture. The Good Food Guide, which lists Smokestak as Good for 2026, calls the room very cool and not especially comfortable. The drinks list includes a rum punch, a smoked plum negroni, a frozen margarita and a short selection of European wines with a natural bent. Groups of eight or more can order sharing or feasting menus served family style.
Recognition
Ambience
Details
History
Established in 2016 and found with some difficulty (signage is minimal) on a backstreet off Brick Lane, Smokestak is a project from chef David Carter, co-founder with Chris Leach of nearby Manteca. Its specialist subject is barbecue, as signposted by the monster smoker in the open kitchen, by the blackened walls, and by the weathered wooden furniture that almost looks like it’s had a few hours over the coals. It’s very cool, and not very comfortable. The signature pre-order brisket comes whole for the table (£175 at the time of writing), served in thick slices on a tin plate, or coiled inside a glossy bun with pickled red chillies – a reminder of the concept’s street-food origins. Hours of slow-cooking also work their magic on native-breed pork, pulled with green slaw in a bun. Two sharing menus cover all the classics. There are meat-free options too, such as watermelon salad with feta, cucumber and mint or coal-roasted aubergine with red miso and cashews, but you would hardly describe Smokestak as a place of pilgrimage for vegetarians. To drink, there's plenty of good stuff, including rum punch, blackcurrant Negronis, a few beers and a couple of dozen European wines of a natural bent.
good quality, good value cooking
Location
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