The Smoak brand has been about for a long time now and I was pleased to see them finally get their…read moreown home. They have come along way from their start of having some space at Variety bar to being part of the bigger Tribeca group and now opening a location in the centre of the city at Royal Exchange Square. First impressions were not great, it was much smaller than we thought and the table our group was sat at was very cramped in and really close to another groups table. The staff were friendly enough though and we went on with picking our mains and sides. I had a burger and shared poutine & Mac n cheese. The food was slightly disappointing to be honest. The portions on everything were very small in size and I don't feel like we got value for money at all. The poutine was under cooked and the sauce was to runny for my taste. The Mac was ok, but it was very very plain. The burger was average, but gone in two bites. (OK Maybe three) All in the food was pretty meehhhh and a bit disappointing. I would not be in a hurry to go back. I can only give a low rating I am afraid.

As someone else has noted, it appears that BBQ style foods are the new 'burgers', the latest food…read morecraze to sweep through Glasgow. As a meat eater I approve of this notion (until we have too many of them by which point the next craze will be upon us anyway). And so to Smoak, once of Pivo Pivo, now with it's own location on Royal Exchange Square. It's a small space, and we were sitting in the back where room is a little on the tight side. We had pre-ordered to avoid the lunchtime rush and so I already knew that I would be having the Dirty Harry. After being shown to our table, drinks were ordered and delivered and the food arrived promptly after that. I hadn't ordered any chips or sides with mine (in a vague effort to be healthy) so when it was placed in front of me it did look a little on the small side as it was on a plate clearly made to hold some fries (which most of my colleagues had). An odd thing to note, perhaps, but presentation is everything right? Well of course it's not. Taste is everything! The Dirty Harry - a venison hot dog, topped with BBQ pulled pork, cheese and fried onions, all served in a brioche style hot dog bun - looked pretty average when it arrived and did little to prove me wrong. The fried onions scattered on the top were more charred and crispy than fried and so small all the flavour was gone, so that was a bit of a disappointment. The first bite of the hot dog proved promising, the flavour of the venison hot dog was there, the cheese wasn't overpowering, and the little kick of sweetness from the pulled pork helped, although I'm not sure the brioche bun was the best idea, making the entire thing a little on the sweet side. However by the last few bites I was pretty underwhelmed and left with just a bun that was pretty dry, and a some of the venison hot dog, I ended up adding some ketchup just to make it easier to eat. Price wise paying just short of £10 for a pretty average hotdog and a ginger beer didn't feel like value for money. My whelmed remains undered and I don't see me hurrying back to Smoak any time soon. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't all that special

Great place to go for Baby Back pork ribs and chips. Ribs are really delicious, and chips are…read moremelting in the mouth. If I lived in Edinburgh, I would probably pay a frequent visit to Reekie's. They offer a good variety of meats from pulled pork to steaks and different sauces. I went for half rack of ribs grilled with Irn Bru Bbq sauce and their special hand cut rooster potatoes with meat dust. The place has a self service, therefore be ready to order at the counter and choose your seat. The staff is friendly and will advise you the best beer to your taste - I was pleased with the recommendation of Post Modern Classic Punk IPA from Brewdog. It's interesting to note the smokehouse is student and kid friendly, offering a student discount on Tuesdays and boasts a cool corner for the kids where they can color a pig or a bull to their taste and stick it on the wall.

Mmmm mmm mmm. This place was worth a rainy walk, the food certainly delivered and filled our hungry…read moretummies. As soon as you walk in the place smells delicious! I had the beef brisket sandwich and fries with their own special seasoning. They have a tasty array of homemade sauces and relishes to choose from to accompany your slow cooked meaty goodness. Was also impressed by the selection of locally produced drinks, they even stocked Roots sodas which I love! Only minor downside is that this place doesn't have the most reliable openings (perhaps once their slow cooked goodness is finished they close up?) so it took a couple of attempts to visit. Would love to come back and next time I'll save room for cake! Note: I had my camera, ready to snap the deliciousness... before I knew it I had delved in and started - oops!

The Wee Cuz & I called in here on Friday for lunch, it has recently changed to Smokeys Bar & BBQ…read moreand we had heard good things about the food. We had a very warm welcome from one of the Co Managers Michelle Darmody. We ordered a Glass of wine Rose & soda for the wee yin & Red for me, I was offered a choice of three wines and chose the Cabernet Sauvignon, it was very nice just what I needed on a cold wet Friday and at £3.60 for a small glass. As we were both going out for Dinner later we chose the sharing platter, from the starter menu. We could choose three dishes from the starter menu. We chose small chilli bowl with nachos, pulled pork quesadilla and Buffalo Chicken Wings this was all for the great price of £12.00. The Chilli was made from the tenderest beef and had a great flavour and the nachos were very crispy and fresh, the quesadilla had very tender tasty pork with a lovely barbecue sauce and salad, although the chicken wings were delicious the only downfall was it was a sharing platter for two and there were three chicken wings, we did not fight over the third one but just shared it, the chicken wings had a lovely dipping sauce to accompany them and there was plenty of it. I would certainly go back for a full dinner but looking at the portions other diners were having I will be wearing my elasticated breeks

Friendly service, delicious food, relaxing atmosphere. The burger was great and the appetizers were…read moretasty. It was one o the few places open when we needed food on a holiday so we were super thankful. Would love to come back the next time we are in the area and sample other drinks. Price was also reasonable and loved how chill the place was.

Best place to find some good dark beer. Wide variety of meat/veg/vegan options available. Staff is…read morealways kind and the vibe is always fun!

We came here with high hopes based on the good reviews and on raving reviews from several…read moreYouTubers. While the service was very welcoming and friendly, unfortunately the food was very disappointing. We had the buffalo wings and the pulled pork sandwich. The wings were tiny! Only included the "flats" which had a minuscule amount of meat on them, but the sauce was very good. The pulled pork sandwich was a very odd pairing of flavors. It had bland, dry pork (with no bbq flavor whatsoever), lettuce, tomato, an onion ring and some coleslaw. I'm giving 3 stars for the friendly and attentive service. One star for the food.

I was gutted to see LUAC (Little Urban Achievers Club) go. I hadn't even got round to reviewing my…read moreYelp brunch club experience and it was gone. Brunch was delicious by the way. Well, if you really want to know I had French toast, bananas and maple syrup. Yum! Anyway, way off topic here. Aye, so The Crafty Pig. Hmmm??? Well it has a new menu and an interesting sounding one at that. We were initially only popping in for drinks but the smell of food grabbed us by the ghoolies, well if I had any that's were it would be grabbed. I had a cheeky wee Frulli Strawberry Beer to whet my whistle and opted to have the Macdog for my main. We also inquired to the bacon popcorn which they didn't have in. I thought it was going to be something awesome but it's just bacon flavouring on popcorn. The girl explained that the top list of sides were actually all bar snacks. I was a little disappointed. My Macdog arrived and I have to say that 'd' word again. Yup, I was disappointed. It was bun heavy, very dry with a funny tasting dog and the driest macaroni pasta (no sauce) topped with three triangles of plastic cheese. Now, I loooooove cheese but I cannot stand plastic cheese. Don't get me wrong, presentation looked good and I'm thankful for the chip portion but I really didn't enjoy it as much as I had hoped. I was super tempted to get the doughnut burger, which I may have to share by looking at Gordon M's photos. I'm not giving up on the place. I like it, to be honest not much has changed since the now past gone LUAC days. They did a cracking redecoration job so there isn't really anything that needs updated yet. So thankful for the ladies toilets being refurbished. I hated them in the Hubbards/The Wise Monkey days. It's definitely worth swinging by for, they have plenty of activities going on including their games room featuring a pool table. Keep an eye to their facebook page as their website seems to be currently down. So, whose up for the doughnut burger?

So there I was, minding my own business driving through the small village of Rigside on my way to a…read morejob and out of the corner of my eye I saw it! A sign with those three little letters we all love so much - BBQ. Unfortunately time was not on my side but alas, I got finished in time earlier than expected and headed straight here for lunch. I decided to keep it simple and go for the Texan burger - a 6oz burger with maple bacon, onion rings, pickles and cheese. As always, the offer of salad was dismissed in a Ron Swansonesque manner. I received a fresh cooked, plentiful burger packed with flavour in a timely manner and a bystander to some good old fashioned political debate from some locals while I waited. This little place has a big character and I'll be sure to pop in whenever I'm in the area.

A godsend: good barbecue in Britain--the best we've found, and not just because they actually know…read morethe difference between "barbecue" and "grilled food". In case you're skeptical, they often have samples--after which, resistance is futile. I've now visited just twice and wish I could go more often. Not only does the barbecue smell alluring, look great, and taste wonderful, but Toby also said what any great pit-master should: "We're still experimenting." Oh, to be a test subject for all those experiments. Food (4.5): Excellent applewood-smoked pulled pork sandwiches (£4) made with local ingredients. Personally, I'd suggest skipping the (tasty) chili jam, which I think over-powers the smoke and pork. The ribs (a new experiment) were great--moist and tender with a good bark (no mean feat)--though I personally would've liked a little more of a smoke ring and a tad more of the delicious barbecue sauce. If Toby starts making oak- or mesquite-smoked brisket, I'll have to initiate a weekly pilgrimage to Edinburgh. People (5): Great people; great service. They know barbecue and will sell you a smoker (or maybe a pit). They're also happy to talk shop... though maybe not to divulge secret ingredients. Side note: I grew up in Texas and have a high bar for barbecue. If you're an aficionado, this probably won't be the best you've ever had, but it's very good and it's certainly the best we've had in Britain. Also, they seem to be aiming to master a range of barbecues. (Right now, it seems mostly NC-style.) It's absolutely worth a visit now, and I'd really love to see what they'll have after a couple more years of experimentation. P.S. I can't believe they keep it up through the Scottish winter. That's dedication.

The best pulled pork I've tasted so far.... since first tasting their pulled pork roll last year…read moreI've made the mistake of having it in various other restaurants and realised the thing Jones & Son do so well is the sauce that's added into the pork - it's just so damn tasty!!!! The combo of the "slaw" and chilli jam is just delicious. Go go go!

Absolutely delicious burger. Visiting from USA and stopped in one night during my visit. If I…read morelived here, I'd be back regularly. Great service, too!

Service was great and the added advice of where to hang about in Edinburgh extremely useful - for a…read morefirst timer like myself. Thank you for my first time Irnbrew!!

Had dinner here with my family and had a really great meal. I had the beef bulgogi in the sizzling…read morestone pot and really liked that. Others in our party had the Spicy Chicken Bulgogi, Vegetable Fried Rice, and Yachae Bokkeum Bibimbap and everyone was very happy with their choices. Servers were very friendly and efficient. Fairly inexpensive, as well. Definitely recommend if you are looking for Korean food.

Wonderful experience. We were walking to find a place for…read moresupper and could smell this wonderful aroma coming from down the lane. Took a chance and wandered in. We were immediately welcomed and got the last table. The staff was awesome and explained all the options and how to prepare the meal. Could not have asked for better more attentive service. We had the combo for 2 with different slices of meat (beef chicken and pork). Where you cook the food on a grill in front of you and make lettuce wraps with flavorful toppings. We added some Kim chi and tofu be bim bop to the order for a wonderful night. Definitely recommend.

Had an excellent full Scottish breakfast here (£9.50). It was hearty and kept me full for a day of…read moresightseeing and walking for miles around Edinburgh. It had it all: delicious bacon and sausage, a surprisingly good black pudding (I didn't like it the last time I had it, but this was spiced very well), Heinz beans, fried tomatoes and mushrooms, and huge slices of toast. We were there fairly early on a weekday, around 9 AM, and it was pretty empty but got busier by 10 AM.

I met a friend here for dinner, and it was warm and inviting on a rainy day. I wanted steak, and…read morehad seen this place in passing, and finally got around to having dinner here. I ordered steak fajitas, because it sounded amazing, though it was 15. So what, if it's good. The problem is that it was only ok. My friend's ribs were too fatty and he only ate some of them. His burger was small, and matched with tasteless pinkish tomatoes. He said he would never go back, and so while we enjoyed the ambiance, and the company, there is little point of spending what we spent for a meal that was less than grand. The staff were amazing, cute and sweet, and checked in on us a few times. If the food were only as good.