Located half-way down Broughton Street sits Smoke Stack, where the Silver Fox and I recently stopped by for dinner. They’ve called this busy spot home for 15 years, and the décor theme of ambre and burnt ochre give the restaurant a warm feel. We bagged a window table to enjoy the last of the day’s light, and some people-watching.
Along with a few ‘Tex-Mex’ dishes on the massive menu were the chicken liver and bacon pâté (£4.95) and the calamari (£5.95), both of which came recommended by our cheery waitress. The calamaris were perfect. A crisp outer with tasty Cajun-style spice seasoning, these thinly-cut little rounds were divine. The homemade pâté was smooth and rich, and the sizeable portion with two hunks of toast meant there was plenty to share.
This being a steakhouse, there’s the full selection from rump through to fillet, all of which are sourced from Gilmour’s butchers in Tranent, and expertly trimmed in the restaurant’s kitchen. I got first dibs and chose the rib-eye (£16.95 with chips). I like this plump cut and enthusiastically chomped through this juicy number which was cooked ‘a point’ medium-rare. A little under-seasoned though, and the Drambuie and mushroom sauce I’d ordered (£1.50) to accompany didn’t help, given it was rather sweet. The side of chips were of the ‘uniform in size’ variety, and fairly average.
Graeme also fared well with his beaut of a salmon fillet (£11.95 with side). With more of that ace Cajun seasoning, it was blackened and flavourful from the grill and still soft inside. (Inner thought: Is it BBQ time of year yet?) He had a big bowl of mashed tatties that were…fairly average.
We finished by sharing a sticky toffee pudding (£4.50) which came with Lucas’ vanilla ice cream. It was an unfamiliar version of this ubiquitous dessert, given that it was actually a giant slice of raisin cake (what, no dates?), marooned in a sea of toffee sauce. The sponge was light, actually really good. However, thanks to an over-zealous and unnecessary drizzling of sharp raspberry coulis, instead of buttery caramel, the toffee sauce ended up tasting sour.
With just a few wee tweaks, instead of merely sizzling, Smoke Stack could really be smokin’ hot.
Leave a Reply