Smoking Goat

Step into the shabby-​chic, Smoking Goat to find amazingly good Thai barbecue in a happening hut-​like setting.
There is a lot to love here even though it was seafood heavy. Lime, chili, tangy dark sauces and punchy dressings coat the wood fire roasted fish and meats. The menu is tiny and the food is meant to be shared, as you can easily tell by the portion sizes and the platters they come on.
The oysters (the third time I have tried oysters) were very nice, though the sauce which came on them had an overpowering kick. However, oysters usually taste like salty slugs to me so this was a huge improvement. The coal roasted scallops were very good (my first time trying them and I didn’t gag) as was the general consensus among the seafood lovers. The sauce in which the mackeral was drenched was very nice, with a five spice kick and a complex tangy flavor. The fish was soft, tender, and light rather than having the usual powerful smell. The roast pork belly cubes and watermelon combo were outstanding as only a genius chef could make it so crispy, juicy, and crunchy. And then we get to the smoked goat… amazing. Like a tender lamb brisket, the flavors were perfect and it went so nicely with the red chili dipping sauce. The chicken pieces were coated in a crisp, greasy batter and were delicious as well.
The service here was quite slow here, particularly for the cocktails. Cocktails were quite average, I’m afraid, and I can vouch for that as I tried almost all of them. Except for the Tamarind Whiskey Sour, the just weren’t very strong or well blended. The major issue was the fact that we were promised a private room in the back upon booking but then were made to sit by the table near the door of what was a very busy and cramped restaurant.

Nice atmosphere, very small and dimly lit. Despite being busy we were seated very quickly at the bar.
We asked whether or not we had ordered enough food and were advised honestly that we had, but could easily order more should we need it.
Food didn’t take long and was tasty! Would go again.

Was ok but nothing to rave about. Service was a bit slow but they tried and the food didn’t hit the mark you would expect, especially for the price. The chicken wings were basically a bucket of grease and fat. The main disappoinment was the pork main to share for the group, really fatty. You would expect it to be more tender, or cooked in a certain way that the fat was soft but it was not tender at all. Portion sizes were really small for the set meal menu.

We ended up in the back room which is a cool place. It looks like it might have been the kitchen of an old house with it’s big fireplace and brick walls. The seating was a bit tight for the large group (9 of us) and the music was a tad loud (I’m a bit of an oldie in that way), but the service was absolutely amazing.
We ordered a mix of different foods to share and had beers/​wine/​etc. The food was brilliant, even though not the best I’ve ever had. I would definitely come back.
The bar gets packed in the evenings, and it seems to be full of diners quite often (when I walk on by). Definitely a place to make reservations!

I just realized my big mistake this week was only going to four star restaurants. Smoking Goat only has 3.5 and it was my best meal in London. If you know Pok Pok in Brooklyn, this place is similar both in atmosphere and deliciousness. I had a Thai basil cocktail, som tum with sticky rice, and fish sauce wings and I wouldn’t change a thing. The wings were perfectly fried, with just the right crisp and super tender, tasty meat underneath. Som tum had my mouth on fire (in a good way, which is probably why you don’t have to request the sticky rice). I will definitely return to try the chili wings! Oh yeah, and the service was friendly and prompt.

Noisy, modern, happening. Good cocktails and a really interesting twist on Thai food. Fresh flavors, lots of spice, interesting dishes. Hostess was excellent and even at its peak (8pm on a Friday), it was only a 30 minute wait. And it didn’t break the bank. The pork special which was for 2 people could have been for 4.
One drawback – no dessert.

Having heard the hype we thought we’d give this place a go thinking we would have to queue up a while. When we arrived we surprisingly got a seat straight away at the bar, which was no issue for us.
The menu is designed we lots of dishes to share. All incredible in their on ways but the papaya salad was by far the best, very refreshing and helped break up the dishes.
The reason I have given for 4 stars rather than 5 is how cramped it is. The hustle and bustle gives it a great vibe but you get a lot of people walking into you trying to squeeze past. Also, if you get carried away like we did, as the dishes can be smallish to share, your bill soon adds up very quickly. However, I would still highly recommend. (Visit 03/​07/​2015 Dinner)

There is a lot to like about the Smoking Goat. The décor is Shoreditch shabby chic with low lighting and candles. It’s casual and laid back and the service is friendly. Four of us pigged out and had a bottle of wine for less than £100. It’s great value.
The food was well presented. Our curry was delicious.
However, I felt the flavours were not well balanced for a lot of dishes. Our scallops were completely overwhelmed by the strong flavours of the sauce. Raw red mullet was actually ceviche and tasted very strongly of lime and chilies and not much else. The chicken wings were perfectly cooked and falling off the bone but coated with a very thick layer of batter which made them slightly too heavy. Green papaya salad was not delicate but overpowered by the sauce and chills.
The pork belly came as a slab on a plate. It was very tender and paired well with the sauce but I would have preferred it to come pre-​sliced as the knives provided were not sharp enough to cut the pork into nice, thin slices (problematic especially if you are trying to share this).
A few small tweaks would make a massive difference to the food.

The service was friendly and spot on. Great ambience too.

The food at Smoking Goat was better than I would have expected, I was fearing it was nothing but another Thai restaurant with a trendy concept and a heavily westernised twist to its cooking. But actually, it managed to retain the root and essence of Thai cuisine with some very powerful and rich flavours that delighted my taste buds with a great selection of ales which worked so well with the dishes. If getting a table isn’t such an issue, I can see myself going back often.

Heard a lot of hype from bloggers social media and posts about this place so thought I’d pop in there one Saturday evening in passing. They say it’s a Thai joint but by the inside it doesn’t really give off any Thai vibes. Defo more a small hipster Soho place. Bit cramped and dark inside and when ordering the duck legs and lamb ribs I realised the sauce with both was extremely salty– almost inedible because of this. But me being British I didn’t complain. I choose not to use the sauce because of this. The meat was OK but definitely not one I will be recommending to friends.

Really good and innovative food. Every dish was unique, many were perfectly spicy, and all had exceptional flavour. They were out of the crab but had some delicious scallops. The ribs and duck were both entrée sized and accompanied with a yummy sauce which perfectly complimented the flavour of the meat. The grapefruit salad was fresh and really spicy, it was unlike anything I have had before.

Was there at lunch with the fam. Service was sllllllllllllllow. The staff looked and acted like they’d been on a heavy bender the night before and going through the motions of serving the food. After waiting 30 minutes for the food which we asked for no chillies in the salad, because of the two youngsters, the barman brought the food and apologized that the salad was taking longer and that there would be no chillies. Ten minutes later he turns up with the salad WITH chillies! We gave up and checked out.
Food is decent and good value. Chairs uncomfortable and cramped space. Service, at least in the day time, was shameful. Nice idea, but very poor execution lets this go from at least a 4 to a sad 2.

A lot about this place reminded me of Spuntino, from the décor to the music and the young staff but I was hoping for a much tastier dining experience, especially as Smoking Goat describes itself as «Wood Ember Barbecue with Thai flavours», which I’m sure you’ll agree sounds like a perfect combination.
Prepare to get cosy with your fellow diners as they’ve managed to cram an impressive amount of diners in to the space with most seats being at the bar. Don’t miss the blowfish skeletons hanging overhead or the subtle but delicious Pandan infused water and listen out for old blues tracks playing on vinyl in the background — nice touch.
The large Fish Sauce Wings (£6) were really interesting. Tender chicken with a super crispy coating, covered in an intense, pungent (but tasty) glaze, these are a must-​try but be warned — your clothes will need a wash immediately to get the smell out!
Our mains were the gorgeously fatty and juicy Smoked Lamb Ribs (£15) marinated with fermented shrimp and palm sugar and the Slow Roast Duck Legs (£15) marinated with galangal, lemongrass and kaffir lime and basted with ketjap manis. Both were delicious and like all main courses here are served with Som Tam (green papaya salad), sticky rice and punchy dipping sauces.

I actually test out this recently popular Thai BBQ Smoking Goat with my friend Pam and few other friends, she has listed very detailed points and tips.
But I think it is fair to give them 1 more star as I have tried the other two dishes that she can not eat, and with experience, I did wear machine washable clothes: D, so the cosy pub (but agree can be too hot sometimes and too smoky to «see «my friends or the food) with full of exciting BBQ smell only create more excitment to taste the food!
Favourite:
Chicken wings starter — the crispy skin with fish sauce is yummy, but I can eat very salty food and this dish can be too salty to put off some ppls, suggest to keep the flavors but make it just a little less salty.
The pork belly special is the best on the day, tender, juicy, full of BBQ flavors!
The seabass is the least salty dish for the day, so it is refreshing after 5 – 6 more heavy dishes
We couldn’t try our favourite chill crab and quails as they don’t sell it in Dec. So hope they are as good.
The waitors are all very helpful with good knowledge of their dishes!
The worst:
The £35 special Lamb hoggets with two big slice of fat are a dissapoitment. Even a strong guy find it hard to cut the meat with their not helpful butter knife! With most main dishes are round £16, this £35 does not make up the proportion it offers.
The scallop starters are below average, for some reason the spices do not match well with scallop.
Fair points:
All main courses come with green papaya salad and sticky rice. So I can not agree with Pam it is lack of veg dishes as the papaya salad has good proportion. Taste is just so so. However, these sides mix nuts, and the restaurant only remove nuts for 1 out of 3 papaya salad. so it is less choice for a nut allegic person, can introduce more nut free option sides for customers.
The licking finger incident in the kitchen For Aubergine salad comes when we are going to start our mains and salads. So it was funny. But we know there can be many things like this in most casual kitchens, so we just joke it off, have not put us off to taste the BBQ food.
It sells lots of beers which I don’t drink beers in general. So more mocktail or cocktails choices will surely enhance the bar selection.
Overall, I am Happy to go back again when I Miss BBQ, and it is much better than those high street Brazilian BBQ chain restaurants for sure!

After a short wait of 15 minutes we secured a table near the kitchen at this recently opened Thai BBQ no booking place. Smoking Goat has a small menu with a few daily specials serving more interesting dishes than the typical Thai restaurants. As crab is not in season we did not have a chance to sample the infamous chilli crab dish! Sadly quail was also not on the menu that day.
Positives
1) Five spice pork belly £15 — flavourful & tender
2) Chilli Jam Bass £20 — tasty but rather small
Negatives
1) Special of the day — saddle of hogget (old lamb) was overly fatty and chewy. Not the best value at £35 for 2 pieces of bland lamb consisting mainly of inedible fat
2) Duck leg — the meat lacked flavour but I did not eat the skin where most of the flavour was likely to have been
3) Limited non-​alcoholic drink options — the only drink on the menu was sold out at around 6pm on a Friday?!
4) Lack of non meat sides — only aubergine salad and pomelo salad were available. Would have preferred more salad/​veg options to accompany the meat. We only ordered the pomelo salad, I’m glad we didn’t order the aubergine salad as later I watched from my seat the chefs manually peeling the cooked aubergines one chef was constantly licking his fingers!
5) Lack of ventilation — the venue is tiny, cramped, uncomfortable and too hot. This was made worse being seated near the kitchen. My clothes ended up stinking heavily of smokey BBQ! Had I known this would happen I would have worn machine washable clothing.
Tips
1) Sit away from the kitchen to avoid smelling of cooking fumes/​food and diners brushing past en route to the WCs
2) There is a bookable feast room at the back with a £35 per head feasting menu (this was already reserved when we went)
3) not suitable for large groups unless you book the feast room, there is only 1 table that would accommodate 6 squashed/​small people in the main dining area.