A new smokehouse has debuted in Central, this time by the team behind The Cupping Room, La Viña and Doubleshot
If you’re getting a sense of deja-vu, you’re not alone. Soft opening today (25 August) is Smoke & Barrels (tagline: BBQ, Bourbon, Beignets), a brand new smokehouse launched by the same team behind coffee shops Doubleshot, The Cupping Room and new bakery La Viña. The restaurant, located in Central’s Graham Street—right next to La Viña—is a small venue focusing on grab-and-go sandwiches, in-house smoked meat platters, square pizzas and New Orlean-inspired alcoholic slushies.
Looking at the images of glistening beef brisket and hefty short-ribs, that sense of “I’ve seen that somewhere, I swear” may be down to the fact that earlier in August, we reported on another soon-to-open restaurant: Smoke & Barrel. By coincidence, the two restaurants are both located in Central and purport to focus on smokehouse favourites; Smoke & Barrel, however, will open in October and is a project by Chris Grare and Arron Rhodes of Kinship.
Related: Smoke & Barrel Will Bring American Smokehouse Barbecue To Central
Nothing like a bit of friendly rivalry then—witness Smoke & Barrels' cheeky social media posts featuring hashtags such as #dontwaittilloctober—but at least both restaurants will be united in their pursuit of championing authentic American smokehouse meats. The size of each venue will also be pretty different—Smoke & Barrels feels decisively more like a casual outlet with 10 seats and an open kitchen, whereas Grare and Rhodes’ Smoke & Barrel will take over the expansive space previously occupied by Bjorn Franzten’s The Flying Elk.
Apart from highlight items such as their signature hot brisket, beef pastrami and American Heritage turkey breast, Smoke & Barrels will also selling items such as chicken avocado and gouda sandwiches, sausage banh mi and smoked salmon and cream cheese croissants—perhaps an easy way to remember which S&B is which is to imagine that the ’s’ in Barrels stands for “sandwiches”. Or, as their social media suggests, #theonewiththeS.
