RESTAURANT REVIEW: Smokehouse, Chiswick

Oops, forgot to get a picture of myself (I'm sure there's more photos of Steve on here recently)

I don't really visit west London that often, I always gravitate north or east but with Smokehouse opening in Chiswick I knew I had to make it over and take advantage of the soft launch. I love the Islington branch, Steve and I used to visit when he lived on Upper Street and we were always impressed by the original menu and incredibly tasty meat.

First impressions were great, I love the country pub vibe, there's lots of wooden furniture with a refined but not fussy element. The dinning room is spacious with animal skin throws over the benches and antler skulls on the walls. I actually prefer the set up in Chiswick as it is more spacious than Islington. We were sat in what I think is the best table in the house, a round little 4 seater by the window, overlooking the entire dining room, the perfect spot to people watching and check out the food emerging from the kitchen. We were told the paved garden would soon have furniture, offering a stunning outdoor setting underneath the veranda, the perfect summer lunch setting.

We began our meal with a Bloody Caesar each to cure our hangover heads. I've never had a Bloody Mary, the tomato juice has always put me off but on this occasion I was feeling adventurous so just went for it. It was lovely, very peppery with a good kick from the Tabasco.

Goat tacos, how could I resists? These were lovely with a tender meat and tangy chipotle mayo.

The deep fried brisket roll was just wonderful, very crispy on the outside and extremely meaty inside. I believe the brisket is smoked on the premises, fantastic.

It was Sunday so of course we went for roasts, lamb for Steve and rare beef for me. Both were divine with a delicious portion of vegetables.

I found myself a little stumped by the dessert menu but that's due to my fussiness more than anything else. Steve has the rum and raison rice pudding which doesn't appeal to me in the slightest, but he loved it. I had the Double D tart which is rice crispy based pie topped with peanut butter and chocolate ganache. Considering I don't like peanut butter this is a very nice dessert,  the pistachio ice cream is pretty decent as well.

The Smokehouse is a fantastic place to grab Sunday lunch and I know I'll be back again. The quality of the food is superb and the atmosphere is rustic and homely. This is am excellent addition to the Chiswick food scene and if you're a local you're in extremely good hands.

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