Smokestack

Amazing cocktails and a fantastic, well-​priced bourbon selection (much more reasonable than Hard Water). Gorgeous, inviting, comfortable atmosphere — reminded me of New Orleans. If you like fatty meats (ala brisket) then you’ll love the food. If you don’t, you should probably eat elsewhere. Mac&Cheese was disappointing — not very flavorful. Don’t think it’s worth a trek across town, but if you’re nearby and want a fantastic bourbon drink then you should definitely go.

I’m not sure why there rating is so low here cause the food here is amazing! I’m from KC so I have a little bit of knowledge about BBQ. First I got in line and my bf got the drinks. There’s a big black chalkboard with the days menu, looks like as things run out it gets crossed off the list. My bf really wanted brisket so lucky us, it coincidentally got added as I was in line.
We got the pork and brisket with Mac n cheese baked potatoes and a pickle. You move on down the line and pay and get your platter of food. Silverware and water are to your right. As I paid my bf got our drinks and found a fable (be prepared to make new friends as the tables are just big picnic tables). When I got our food I was a bit sad to find that 1 pound of food really wasn’t that much. :(but after taking a bite the sadness turned into delight. Everything was good! The brisket was nice and tender and juicy and fatty (which is the best part). And that pickle, home made, was excellent.
My old fashioned was amazing too. And served with a big piece of cubed ice. I hate it when places don’t do that!
Also love that this place is down the road. It is a bit on the steep side so I’ll only be here maybe once a month instead of every week.

Horrible experience today Friday ⁶⁄₃ around 3 pm. My daughter and I went in there, she is a vegetarian and I was going to have just two side dishes and a beer. She is 10 I might add and she wanted Pizza, so we went down the street Long Bridge pizza which is Brooklyn style pizza and she ordered a small Pizza to go. So she carried the pizza (small box unopened) inside the SmokeStack. She sat down and I ordered two side dishes and a beer and I go to wash my hands (I was not about to eat the Pizza). I come back and she is eating a slice of her pizza quietly and some bearded dude walks up to me and says ” we don’t allow other restaurant’s food here”. Meanwhile I have my tray with my food right there about to eat and my daughter is done with the slice. Unbelievable right? It gets better. I was shocked and I told the guy «fine reimbursed my food and I will get out of here». He walks around and then goes and starts to reimburse my food (MINUS the TIP that I had put on the receipt for the girl who helped me). I look at the receipt and I am like, I paid two dollars for tip. He gives me some nonsense thing saying the tip has not gone through. I come home and call my DEBIT at Chase and they reimbursed my food minus the tip. Horrible business. I was never impressed with their food anyway. I stand by every negative review this place has ever had regarding their food which is why I only order side dishes when I go there. Their food has so much fat attached to it and so over priced and I continued to go there for their side dishes and beer. I will never set foot in that place and nor will any of my colleagues from the Hospital. They were shocked. Here I am working a 24 hour shift as a doctor and all i want to do is enjoy a drink and a side dish or two and my 10 year old is quietly eating a pizza without even opening the box and I have this experience. I think Karma will take care of this place.

I came here to try the Brisket so I bought a pound to go. $ 30 per lb! That’s pretty high but I figured I still try it. When I got home I found that half of it was fat. The portion that was edible was good and tasted like good quality meat but I won’t be back. Way over priced.

This place is nothing short of great. Today the Unilocal review sucks, perfect example of growing pains and snobby reviewers. Just give them time, they’ll prove themselves. Already have in my view.

Both times I have been here they have been out of the brisket, and they ran out of food while I was there. It is VERY VERY overpriced. The ambiance is good, and the single rib that I got for a high price, was ok. Not fabulous. But, ok.

Meat was not trimmed at all 1 rib was $ 10 and 90% fat and it was burned… the chicken looked like it was barely cooked but ended up ok. Greens were ok, mac and chesse was good. At least the staff was sweet and offered another item after we pointed out the fatty meat.

Good but not great.
The price was definitely on the higher end, like they were located on Market St. and not in Dogpatch. The ambiance though is stellar and there is plenty of space within to lounge about and get drinks or order food. The meat is great quality albeit definitely on the fatter side with my brisket beef having large chunks of inedible fat/​lard that was unappealing.
For the price I would not come back. The beer selection though is large, and there is carbonated water on tap which is a nice feature but again they give you a measly amount that would starve even a Victorian secret model.

19^th century South meets 21^st century yuppiedom.

We were there on a Tuesday and around 2pm it was still pretty busy. Loved the beer selection and ambiance.

~$ 40 for 2 people. coming from atlanta though, i think i’ve got high expectations. venue here is sweet and vintage feeling, high ceilings.
— smoked chicken $ 5: would’ve preferred breast meat, but the chicken was tender and fell off the bones. wasn’t anything out of the ordinary
— smoked mac and cheese: loved the breadcrumb crunchy topping, but in a bit too creamy for me
— rolls: typical white sweet bread rolls, goes well with the chicken
— arugula salad $ 7: good with the mustard sauce, liked the almonds for texture
3 sauces: vinegar, bbq and mustard. bbq sauce was very acidic and liquid. would’ve liked to see some other options like smoke, sweet, thick, etc.
TLDR: cool spot, decent bbq

What a disappointment.
The food:
I ordered a quarter pound of brisket. Approximately half of that was little burnt inedible end bits. The edible parts were tasty, but nothing to write home about.
My boyfriend asked for the chopped pork and was informed they were out of it, but they suggested a pork loin special. They did not mention that it was $ 10 more than the chopped pork. It was incredibly dry and generally not very tasty. Also, the water spigots are not labeled and I ended up with sparking water. And, our table didn’t have the sauces– we had to go hunt them down. The Mac and cheese was the only notably tasty thing.
The service:
We stood in line for about 40 minutes to get the subpar food. The woman taking orders also took care of sides, and I was disturbed that neither she nor the guy taking care of the meat wore gloves before handling the food.
The atmosphere:
Crowded in like sardines, so loud you can’t hear the person next to you.

Smokestack is in the Dogpatch area, so there isn’t a lot of foot traffic. Kind of expensive for what it is.
The space is pretty cool and their bar looks amazing. They even have a meat smoking area in the back. I think they also make beer there?
I had the wagyu ribs and some smoked duck. Even though a pound sounds like a little, it turns out that it’s less than you think. Maybe it’s because the bones weight a lot, but you end up paying a lot for not a lot of food.
Nonetheless, the wagyu ribs were delicious. The flavor was very complex and you could tell that they seasoned the meat really well. I didn’t even care and I just used my hands to try to get the meat off the bone. There wasn’t a lot of meat though.
I was given the back half of the smoked duck, which had less meat. They gave us the thigh piece to compensate, but again, there was not that much meat.
The prices are pretty steep, but the flavors are good.

This place is fairly pricey and not really worth the money. We spent nearly 30 $ per person and were both still hungry after the meal and got burgers somewhere else. Although If you are coming for the setting and ambiance then it could be worth a visit. It has a cozy warehouse feeling to it, with dim lighting and rustic touches from the wood tables to the light fixtures. The communal table makes it a great spot for large groups.
The sides were the best part of the meal! The mac and cheese was delicious and cheesy and the baked beans were sweet but very savory too. The meat on the other hand was disappointing. The brisket was probably my favorite and broke apart very smoothly with a touch of your knife. The beef ribs were very dry and lacked the flavor I was looking for. I had to add a bunch of their sauce. The chopped pork was also just mediocre. The three sauces were quite tasty and unique though since one of them included a spicy kimchi sauce for your BBQ but the mustard sauce was my favorite with a bit of tanginess.
Despite the food, I highly recommend the beers! They have a plethora of options for any beer lover here ranging from fruity ciders to double IPAs.

Last night, me and a couple friends were roaming around Dogpatch. We were looking for a great place to eat around 9pm. We came across this place by looking at their large glass windows in the front with lots of people enjoying their drinks/​food under this dim atmosphere. We decided to eat in!
We never looked back. This place is a gem in the area serving indoor made beers and fresh bbq and grilled meats. This place is like a country style rib-​shack with a fusion of SF style atmosphere. It’s like a rustic bar serving comfort food.
The place is huge with great bench seating and high tables. It’s almost like a community table type joint where people from all over just sit around and grub.
Everything here is served by weight. There are varieties of meats from ribs, brisket, duck, sausage, burnt ends, etc. There are also tons of sides which are delicious.
We ordered a large tray with different meats and sides to choose from. My favorite was their dry rub rib which was fantastic. The meat is tender, moist, and rubbed with spices that just compliment every bite. My favorite sauce is their popular mustard sauce which is sweet and tangy at the same time. It’s the thickest texture-​sauce out of the three (Kimchee bbq and Vinegar). I was literally drenching my meat with this.
I LOVE LOVE LOVE their collard greens. The greens are thick and sautéed to perfection. The potato salad is also delicious. It’s not salty and it’s full of flavor from the fresh vegetables mixed in.
Overall this place is legit. I love the atmosphere, food, quick service, and beers! A couple things I recommend are ordering their buttered rolls for the meats, a nice Spud Boy IPA, and dining here at night. It’s a must-​do!

Still wonderful. Now, they do have a pretty big menu which changes daily. but the consistent winner here is the Brandt Brisket. With the mustard sauce. (And the sausages and poultry options are often surprise winners.) Yes, there are other sauces and options but none of them really changed my life. Order well and be prepared to pay a premium.
Oh, and go over to the bar and get some Sara’s ruby mild. It’s probably the best beer on earth.

This review is solely for Taco Tuesday.
The tacos are pretty good, but they’re not your traditional Taco Tuesday tacos. If you keep that in mind, the tacos are delicious and worth trying out.
Sea salt chocolate cookie: Pretty good, although the chocolate is a little overwhelming.
Seating is struggle though.

The space is impressive and comfortable: rustic chic with long, heavy butcher block style tables with communal seating. The smell? Even more impressive! They’ve got something good cookin’ in the oven.
While I only tried the beef sticks here and their pickled veggies (eating light!) the cocktail menu reads like a dream. Over 50+ bottles of whiskey, whisky, bourbon, mezcal, gin, etc. I had to limit myself to ONE drink (do you know how difficult that is?) because we were hitting up Third Rail nearby.
The Locke & Montague didn’t disappoint. Occasionally, I love old man style drinks. The ones that come with big, hand cut ice cubes. This cocktail is boozy with deep herbal qualities and a big bitter bite in the end, thanks to the Barolo Chinato — exactly what I needed on a chilly, windy SF day.
The loading dock makes for a great event space if you’re looking for that casual feel. But the bar is where it’s at for me!

Limited menu in the evening (pastrami sandwich only available during lunch), and the place runs out many basic items such as the roasted chicken very early in the day. Sides are a bit pricey for hospital cafeteria/​deli-​like presentation and tastes ($ 6 for chickpea salad and $ 10! For mac and cheese side). Chickpea salad is terrible, basically tastes like chickpeas, raw onions, and cilantro tossed in vinegar and served in a paper boat. Mac and cheese is served barely lukewarm, and its mushy makes it taste as if it’s been sitting under the heat lamp all day. A quarter pound of pastrami, chickpea salad, and mac and cheese will run you $ 23.
Neat set up with the fancy bar on the left, equipped with wooden shelves and accompanying ladder leading to the spirits. To the right, a deli-​like counter with hand-​carved meats and side dishes served from fridge and hot cases. Self-​service make the line move quickly. Communal table seating and plastic trays make it very casual environment and a great place to unwind after a long day. Quick to clear tables, which is great since it can get busy in the evening.
Great beers on tap including IPAs and stouts… imperial pint-​size. Extensive whiskey selection. Wine (I had the chardonnay) was a little pricey at $ 12 a glass and just sort of meh.
Would return for a pint or choice whiskey but never the food, especially at such price points.

Third visit. Super noisy and packed this time.
Beef rib — ³⁄₅ — Not as good as before. More dry and not as flavorful. Sadly, still the best in SF.
Roast duck — ³⁄₅ — Moist, but not overly impressive.
Duck neck — ⁴⁄₅ — Very rich, crunchy skin. Meat less tough than expected. Duck neck itself isn’t that great but this was done well.
Beef jerky — ²⁄₅ — Not very good.
Brisket — ⁵⁄₅ — Could be better but still the best in SF.
Overall, disappointing beef rib. Might just stick with the brisket in the future. God I wish we had better bbq in this city because this is «as good as it gets.»