Smokey's BBQ (Joo Chiat)

Back loin ribs seasoned with secret dry rub and mopped with homemade bbq sauce then smoked in-house with a blend of mesquite and hickory wood chips imported from the US.

This restaurant with old-school bar vibes serves really good hickory-smoked pork ribs with sweet-smoky BBQ sauce. The ribs were tender and fall off the bone. My order came with two sides and I chose fries and (real) onion rings to go along with my ribs $33 ½ Slab + $3 Onion Rings

The only kind of American BBQ that I’ve ever managed to sample in Singapore are racks of succulent ribs, but then I discovered @smokeysbbq.sg in Joo Chiat, with their US Prime Beef Brisket ($33 before additional service charge & GST). Thirty three bucks is a hefty price, but it’s a hefty serving too. Hidden underneath the two behemoth brisket slices are another two smaller slices, for a total of four(!) sizeable slices of brisket. Of course, it wouldn’t be an American serving without sides, so you get your choice of two.⠀
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The brisket is marinated in Smokey’s secret dry rub, and then smoked & slow roasted for a whole lotta hours. Contrary to what Instagram or youtube might show you, a waterfall of beefy juices didn’t come gushing out of the beef when I sliced into it. However, it’s still acceptably moist and tender, and there’s a LOT of fat within. Cutting into these thick briskets are light work for even a butter knife, and the beef doesn’t require that much chewing. The spices & seasoning have fully permeated the brisket, resulting in a savoury and peppery flavour profile in addition to the smokiness.⠀
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The flavourful brisket was excellent on its own, but I ain’t gonna say no to some barbecue sauce. Sweet & salty, the sauce enhances all the delicious qualities of the brisket and turns it up to eleven. The sides were just along for the ride, being neither memorable nor terrible. The crunchy coleslaw was a nice interlude between beefy onslaughts, but I felt it could’ve been zestier for better effect. The crisp sweet potato fries were fresh out the fryer and were rather decent, but I didn’t realise that they cost an extra three dollars. Oh well.⠀
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If you’re looking for some barbecue that screams MURICA, you’d best make your way briskly to Smokey’s for brisket.

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