Inthuthu

As a part of the Barbecue Club of WA we have «Meat Ups» from time to time at bars and restaurants. So with there not being all that many true American Style Barbecue joints in general in Perth, let alone any that I’ve been to worth mentioning, we were a bit apprehensive in booking a venue that calls itself a smokehouse.
Sixteen of us turned up on the night and we all met out the front and funnily traded flavouring woods for our BBQ smokers in the car park. It was exciting to see that there was a Yoder Wichita smoker sitting in the front window and with an exhaust flue to extract the smoke which was even better to see because at some restaurants in the USA, the smoker and wood pile is just a mere show piece and they have a gas or electric smoker out the back as the work horse.
It’s important to note that there is a massive difference with the flavour but also with the sheer work and love that goes into an all wood cook and nine times out of ten you can taste that love. This is something that most of the restaurants lack here in Perth unfortunately and as mentioned, I have yet to have eaten at one that has met the expectations of a smokehouse for me.
In saying that I really enjoyed the food at Inthuthu. They don’t really embrace the low and slow style of American Barbecue but neither do they advertise as such. It’s like a fusion between that and their former incarnation as Hippo Creek.
Overall the food was very good for me but some of the other attendees weren’t as impressed as me but that’s food and taste for you. There is no argument when it comes to taste, as people like what they like and that’s that.
Between us we ate a lot of food and also consumed our fair share of beverages. I had my first taste of South African beers and quite enjoyed them and found they went well with what we were eating.
The service was great from beginning to end and nothing was too much trouble. Even with us being BBQ nerds and being a pain in the ass about wanting to speak with the chef about BBQ or Barbecue (believe it or not, there is a difference) techniques, to which the chef obliged and all staff including the chef was a good sport about it.
My only gripe with the food was the ribs, which I could tell had not touched the Yoder which was disappointing or if it did, they’d used the hot shot charcoal and no flavouring wood to impart that smokey flavour. I’m not sure how they were cooked but for the most part in Perth, ribs are boiled and then grilled but it’s understandable in the difficulty to cook ribs on a restaurant production scale the way they do in the U.S.A without having a monstrous BBQ unit out the back to the the handy work.
I’d definitely recommend Inthuthu to folks. I had an awesome night and reckon if you go in with an open mind and without expectations, that most will be impressed with the food turned out. In saying that there are a few things that they could tweak there to take Inthuthu from good to great.