The popular Smoque BBQ restaurant has quietly opened in Woden and introduced breakfast at this new flagship. For the last few weeks, loyal followers have been teased with photos of various types of waffles on Facebook and eagerly anticipating the opening. That day is today with Smoque Woden’s Facebook post announcing a soft opening today and tomorrow (Saturday). What doubles the excitement is the 50% discount for the first 80 people within each sitting (breakfast, lunch, dinner).
Smoque is located on Bowes Street in Woden on the ground floor of the Abode Apartments. Look out for the wooden decking and signage.
The deck out the front will have outdoor tables, lights and will be dotted with cacti soon. Perfect for the warmer months.
Walking inside, staff in casual checked shirts greet you from the front counter. Orders are taken and paid for at the counter and a table number provided.
The decor inside is part retro cool and part casual with Elvis and a buffalo highlighted on the feature wall and horizontal wooden slats used as another wall feature to break up the white walls. Various cardboard and acrylic animal heads are displayed along the top. There’s a long leather seat running down the length of the feature wall, with plenty of other wooden tables and chairs available. Plenty of light bulbs hanging down throughout the seating area to provide an element of cosiness.
Tables are set with paper towel rolls, a huge bottle of maple syrup, salt and the menu.
Specialising in Southern American BBQ goods, menu options match those at the Civic store with the popular buffalo wings, combo platters, burgers, and more. The newly introduced breakfast menu is what I was interested in. Luckily I work in Woden, so I could test it out! These American style waffles include dishes like Southern fried chicken on a waffle with honey butter (The Southern Bell), and bacon, banana and maple syrup on a waffle (The Fat Elvis).
Being a huge lover of waffles, I like the fact that the breakfast menu is mainly split into ‘Signature Waffles’ and ‘Not waffles’.
I ordered a soy mocha ($4) and really enjoyed it. Coffee is single origin from Honduras. Reading a snippet about the coffee on the menu, the coffee has ‘sweet caramel and chocolate flavours’, maybe that’s why I like it so much!
I got to holiday in the USA last year and had tried fried chicken and waffles – a somewhat strange combination. The ‘Benny Hill’ is a combination of Southern fried chicken and eggs benedict on a waffle so I decided to take that next step. The waffle is average sized and made fresh in the kitchen. Topped with two poached eggs, hollandaise sauce, maple syrup and two large strips of fried chicken, I really struggled to finish this. The fried chicken tasted sensational – crispy fried goodness on the outside and seasoned with a bit of salt, while staying soft and succulent inside. The eggs were perfectly poached and oozed out onto the entire waffle. A mix of sweet and savoury for breakast with the maple syrup adding a sugary hit. I still find it an odd combination but I’m glad I’ve tried it. I only managed to eat just over half – it was so filling!
Edited 25/10/2014: Went back on Saturday for more waffles! The Death by Chocolate ($14.90) was my choice. The waffle was so light and fluffy. Drizzled with plenty of chocolate sauce and topped with (I believe Mr Frugii) ice cream, whipped cream and maple syrup. I went for an early morning bike ride before breakfast, knowing this was what I would order. Seriously sinful and delicious. Love the ice cream!
My friend ordered The Fat Elvis ($14.90) consisting of peanut butter butter (not a typo), bananas, bacon and maple syrup on a waffle. He enjoyed this but found the peanut butter butter too rich and left some of this on the side.
Surprise surprise, I headed back with work colleagues for lunch. This time I noticed the cute cacti dotted throughout the restaurant are all knitted. Quirky.
I ordered the ‘Mammas’ buttermilk fried chicken po boy ($13.90) which was basically large pieces of fried chicken, with lettuce and tomato, sandwiched between a brioche bun. Hard to eat like a regular burger so I ended up using a knife and fork to dissemble it. The pickle sitting next to the burger provides a small healthy consolation for what you’re about to devour. There was a bit of a wait for this dish to come out while my other colleagues had already started eating their meals. But for the first day of trading, it wasn’t unexpected.
I couldn’t resist trying the small portion of tater tots as a side ($3.90) topped with sour cream and bacon. Simple crunchy potato gems that hit the spot.
A work colleague resisted temptation and ordered the healthy L.A. Green salad ($12.90) filled with broccoli, spinach, sprouts, snow peas and asparagus. She enjoyed the lemon vinaigrette drizzled on top.
Two other colleagues shared the BBQ Trifecta combo platter ($39) consisting of pulled pork, pork ribs, brisket, corn bread and pickles. A side of Mexican street corn ($3.90) and three cheese mac n cheese ($3.90) were also ordered.
Three cheese mac n cheese
The restaurant is kid friendly and I noticed plenty of prams and babies during the lunch time sitting. Noise levels are high and the restaurant wasn’t even packed full. I really want to head back and try more breakfast waffles! Maybe I’ll stick with the typical sweeter waffles.
Things to note:
They’re still working on a liquor license but they will be serving alcohol soon
Cronuts are on the menu!
Most items on the regular menu are gluten free and paleo friendly (not sure about the waffles)
10% surcharge on Sundays
Free wi-fi
Officially opens on Tuesday 28 October!
Opening hours at this stage will likely be 7am to 10 pm, seven days a week.
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