CrowdSavings

It’s difficult to know what to say about Smoke Barbeque & Grill because so vast has its popularity become since opening, that the television, radio and print media have already devoted thousands of plaudits to this most successful of South Tampa restaurants.

Ostensibly a good-old smokehouse and BBQ joint, Smoke is oh so much more; infusing elements of Hawaiian, Argentinean and German cuisine to the more traditional Creole, Texan and Carolinian BBQ methods. Smoke themselves refer to their diverse menu as ‘New World Barbeque’, with dishes ranging from the signature favorite Montreal Smoked Corned Beef which is a cured corn beef brisket, brown sugar glazed and wood smoked, to the excellent Huli Huli Hawaiian Rotisserie Chicken which is also smoked to perfection before being finished on the grill with hoisin and plum pepper glaze.

The ribs and wings are the 100% genuine BBQ article – not to mention being huge! – and are all lovingly wood smoked, but for the pinnacle of BBQ authenticity Smoke hold a monthly Whole Pig Roast, during which (as the name implies) a whole suckling pig is carefully smoked to absolute, melt-in-the-mouth perfection. All the sides are freshly made to order, with nothing sitting pre-mixed in a chiller or upon a hotplate.

To wash all this down Smoke have distinctive microbrewery beers on tap, domestic and import longnecks, a good selection of fine wines, and a signature sangria that wouldn’t be out of place in the heart of Spain.

The atmosphere is – as you’d expect at a BBQ joint – friendly and laid back. Bob Dylan floats through the audio system, the game is on the TV in the bar area, and the patio has a relaxed outdoor-Florida atmosphere.

Winner of Florida Trend Magazine’s Golden Spoon Award as one of the 100 Best New Restaurants in Florida, and the Best of the Bay Award from St Petersburg Times, Smoke is also the recipient of regular praise and kudos from Creative Loafing, TBT, The Tampa Tribune and a host of bay area radio and TV shows.