Smoke Stack

What happens when Edinburgh’s most deadpan bartender meets my most under-​the-​influence colleague on a Thursday evening?! It takes him half an hour to order a drink, that’s what. They may as well have been talking different languages. Well my colleague might have been; the bartender was mostly impassive.
This is more of a food place, but we spotted a cocktail menu in the window so dashed in for a drink and some shelter from the monsoon outside. I ordered an Old Fashioned and thought it was a nice touch that he asked me my choice of whisky (out of two, but it was appreciated!). I settled down at one of the high tables by the bar counter with another colleague who was keen for a bit of a deep & meaningful, and we pretty much forgot about the other two guys we were with for the next 20 minutes as we were deep in conversation. Eventually we realised 1) our drinks still hadn’t arrived, and 2) the other two still hadn’t managed to order. Confusion all round.
I eventually got my drink which was unfortuantely quite watery, and I’m not sure what my colleague got but it didn’t taste like any Manhattan I’d ever tried. I think the other two eventually settled on beers. So it ended up being a good chat spot for me, but not the most successful drinks stop, hence the low rating for now. I should probably come back for food though and give it another shot. I would also urge you to mind the step up to the street right outside — as one of my colleagues learned the painful way in his eagerness to bundle into our taxi afterwards…

Came here for lunch on Sunday and I was fairly impressed! First thing you think about with a name like smoke stack is steaks and an almost southern USA BBQ style food. Check with the steaks, not so much in the way of BBQ smokiness! I would have loved to have gone for one of their steaks but I felt for a Sunday casual lunch they were a bit over priced (in fact over priced any time of the day or week!). I decided to go for their rump steak salad with a soy and ginger dressing ordered medium-​rare. The presentation was top notch and the steak was cooked to perfection! I really enjoyed the quality of the meat and the salad but I felt that there was far too much dressing which kind of over powered it and left everything drenched. It was definitely tasty but if I was ordering again I would ask them to go easy on the dressing. There is also a great selection of drinks, smooties and milkshakes. I went for the green machine smoothie which contained broccoli, spinach, celery and apple which I thoroughly enjoyed!

Cracking wee venue, a couple of beers on tap and good honest pub food. We had a table of 20 adults and kids and they gave us the backroom so we could sprawl out and make as much noise as we wanted. Recommended

Our waitress was quite rude. I asked for some butter and syrup for my waffle and she said «that’s weird» which made me kind of upset. The food was ok… I ordered waffles and they came out cold. The Bloody Mary wasn’t good, order something else. The sausage, egg and cheese bap was good though.

A wee Wednesday night dinner with a friend after a visit to the very expensive German Christmas Market. We saw the food the people were having next to us and decided to have fish and chips. The fish was huge, so large I could only manage half which is annoying because I hate to waste food, particularly food that comes from another living entity. The fish was fresh in a lovely crisp batter, well drained and piping hot. Best fish I’ve had in a while. The chips were chunky style, but crispy, accompanied with a sweet pea purée and tartare sauce. Really enjoyable although I note other reviewers have had lukewarm experiences. I had a glass of rose wine with my meal that I didn’t enjoy so much. The seating upstairs is a little impersonal as you’re sitting very close to the next table.

I can only agreewith a previous reviewer. Stay away from the ribs, i gave them a chance because «how bad can they be (when you are european)», well i will not have them again!!! but the steaks and burgers are still worth a visit and i keep going back

Full disclosure, I am from the Southern part of the United States. Fortunately I have been to plenty of restaurants named «Smoke Stack» in my life. The expectation I have is that the food would have some beautiful smokey flavour. Unfortunately this place does not meet that expectation. The location and atmosphere are great, which is the only thing saving this place from a 1 star. The price is high for what you’re getting. I got the ribs, which had never come close to a grill or smoker. They seems to have been boiled in too much sauce, and reminded me of the McRib. My wife got the prawn and avocado salad. Prawns were completely unseasoned and the avocado was a wee bit past it’s prime. The highlight was the elderflower martini.
One last thing I would like to add… FOR THE LOVE OF GOD TAKE THE BLOODY MARY OFF THE MENU. That was a joke in poor taste to the wonderful drink that has saved me from many a hangovers. I believe it has cranberry juice in it. Disgusting.

Came here for dinner with my husband on Friday and it was fantastic. We both had the fillet steak, blue and it was cooked to perfection — one of the best I’ve ever had.
The nachos and cocktails are fabulous too

I had walked by Smoke Stack on Broughton Street many times, and I had been wanting to try it for a while now. When a Groupon voucher came up for two breakfasts, two orange juices and two coffees/​teas for £10, I jumped at this great deal.
A friend and I showed up on Sunday, really excited to try Smoke Stack. The orange juices came out, and I was really disappointed that they were the horrid British orange juice from concentrate that pops up way too often to make sense. I just don’t know how people drink the stuff and why they tolerate it! I had expected some nice freshly squeezed orange juice but was sorely disappointed. At least my cappuccino was fairly good and compensated it.
With five different types on the Smoke Stack menu and with waffles dominating all of the breakfast options, I thought I was in good hands since that was what they seemed to do best. My friend and I each had the waffles with bacon and maple syrup. The waffles weren’t terribly hot and were served with the maple syrup already poured over everything — an obvious mistake since it drenches the waffles and makes them soggy, and also doesn’t let us customise how much syrup we want, or the quality of the pouring. I’m sounding like a snob here, but it seems really easy and logical for me to serve the syrup in a nice little pitcher so that customers can decide if they want syrup just in the middle (like I received) or evenly distributed in each waffle dent. Anyway, the waffle was ok but nothing special, especially when soggy with the maple syrup.
I was just really excited about trying Smoke Stack, and really disappointed that they hadn’t done better. At least I was on the deal since it certainly wouldn’t be worth spending £20 on brunch here. Also, I was a bit annoyed that the servers weren’t friendly at all, and they also hid us away downstairs even though I had made my booking weeks ago and had assumed we would have had a nicer table upstairs. Oh well.

53 – 55 Broughton Street, EH1 3RJ. Cannot speak for the food myself, but we almost stopped for brunch here and looked foodie worthy.
Emily Rose Reeder

Food was great and the people were really nice. I got a local beer and a 5 oz burger, the flavors were really spot on. We highly recommend this place for anyone looking to have a great meal in a relaxing environment.

I met a friend here for dinner, and it was warm and inviting on a rainy day. I wanted steak, and had seen this place in passing, and finally got around to having dinner here. I ordered steak fajitas, because it sounded amazing, though it was 15. So what, if it’s good. The problem is that it was only ok. My friend’s ribs were too fatty and he only ate some of them. His burger was small, and matched with tasteless pinkish tomatoes. He said he would never go back, and so while we enjoyed the ambiance, and the company, there is little point of spending what we spent for a meal that was less than grand.
The staff were amazing, cute and sweet, and checked in on us a few times. If the food were only as good.

Had my first visit here last night and wasn’t disappointed. Friendly staff, a lovely ambiance and fantasticly hip surroundings. Service was incredibly speedy, with short waits in between courses which was impressive considering how busy the place was. The speed absolutely did not compromise the quality though.
We ordered chilli con carne nachos to share and both went with the 5oz beef burger. The meat in both courses was superb, incredibly succulent and fresh. Likewise the side dishes were all obviously handmade and the ingredients freshly sourced, which makes a nice change from the frozen veg you find in a lot of Edinburgh’s more casual hotspots.
My partner had the banoffee pie, which he enjoyed but felt was a little overly deconstructed — it was whipped cream, atop whole banana pieces, atop a layer of toffee, atop biscuit. Although delicious, it was a little overwrought.
All in all a fantastic dinner with speedy service at a decent price point and in trendy surroundings. Would definitely recommend!

A solid place for a casual bite with a twinge of hipness. Several cuts of steak, bunch of different toppings for burgers, fries, baked potatoes and a few beers and wines. No complaints here! But its nothing to go on about.

We had a great meal here. Friendly staff.
My wife and I had Rib Eye with a delicious blue cheese sauce… Yum.
My steak was cooked just as i asked, and was tender.
My son had the fillet with seafood which he really enjoyed, it was really big, and the steak came on top of a huge pile of muscles and prawns. (Which we had to help him finish! :)
The chips were also great — they were home style, cut and cooked with the skin on, i loved it.

It has more of a diner come canteen feel to this place which in all honesty I didn’t mind as I was ravenous and in the need for a tasty plate of nosh.
The place was quite busy but the service on point. Although the waitress didn’t seem to know the menu too well and had trouble understanding what Stolichnaya was.
As a buggy-​barer we typically have to call in advance and ask whether firstly they allow wee bairns in and then whether they can accommodate us. Top marks on this front.
Now for the food. It’s good. Not blow you out of this world awesome nor is it worthy of a stinking review. It’s nice. A little more of a shake on the season pot wouldn’t have a gone a miss but all-​in-​all I was hungry, it filled a hole and there wasn’t anything massively to complain about.
A good place to drop in if you’re hungry and need a relatively quick fix I would say.

Went to Smoke Stack to have a Sunday brunch with my husband. We had an itison voucher which offered waffles, coffee/​tea, and a Bloody Mary or other cocktail.
Booked table for 12 as the small print mentioned the licence law, which meant that our Bloody Marys could only be consumed after 12.30.
On arrival the place was almost empty. The orders were taken, but I was slightly surprised that there was no choice of coffees or teas — I would have maybe gone for a cappuccino but never mind. The drinks arrived with some milk on the side.
Then a while later, the waffles arrived. i had waffles with smoked salmon and scrambled eggs, and my husband chose bacon and maple syrup waffles.
They were ok, nothing special though.
Bloody Marys were brought to the table, and again — nothing special.
At this point I really realised what annoyed me about this place is we had to constantly ask for something:
— there was no sugar on the table
— asked for more maple syrup and they brought a small jug of what seemed like golden syrup
— asked for white pepper for the bloody mary: the waiter then asked if we want black or white?
and only then did he mention that they had celery salt which we took and it complimented the drink
All in all, ok place but I wouldn’t perhaps rush back.

Too bad — it could’ve been so nice.
Sunday morning brunch is sometimes a special hangover time and you want to be taken care off. Well in my view anyway. The promise of a fresh waffle with bacon and maple syrup with a Bloody Mary was music to my ears. Good thing that I didn’t actually had an hangover otherwise I would have been really annoyed during this visit.
The owner /​manager showed us to our table. Which was nice, close to the heater. He took our voucher for the brunch and asked if we wanted coffee or tea. — huh? I sometimes like simple, non fuss choices this wasn’t one of those moments though. I did find out from the drinks menu there were slightly more choices, but I got the idea that on the voucher it was either coffee OR tea.
When our coffee & tea arrived I noticed no sugar on the table — or any table — so it was something that should have been served with the order — so I got up to ask the waiter/​owner/​manager for some and promptly he did bring some. — It should really be served with the Coffee & Tea (since that wasn’t really that complicated of an order to start with)
We ordered our waffles; mine with bacon and maple (?) syrup and the wife scrambled egg and salmon. The waffles were of the very thin, round Tefal waffle-​maker variety. Shame, as I was expecting a nice thick square Belgium waffle. But yeah a waffle we did get. The bacon was OK and crisps, the syrup tasted golden NOT maple and very little was served.
*sigh* here we go again.
I had to ask waiter (non owner /​non manager) for extra maple syrup and some butter to moisten the waffle. — which was not offered nor were we asked if anything was to our satisfaction.
The Bloody Mary was big, nice. No celery stick, not nice. — and here I went again. this time asking for Worcester sauce and white pepper. — no white pepper on the premises — but celery salt was offered — thanks.
Too many times I had to ask for additional things that you’d expect to be on the table or served with an order. — that staff was not easily approachable. I did try from my seat, but to get things I really had to get of my seat and go to the bar/​serving/​kitchen area.
It was in all a bit of an disappointing visit.
it is difficult to complain about having to ask for something and if it was only one thing fine. but so many things that needed to be asked for was very annoying.

Had brunch here the other day… Average is an understatement… Yikes! Wasn’t our 1^st choice, given that Broughton St has SO many options (however, on a Sunday it always pays to book!)!
The place was empty… should have been 1^st warning. The waitress was pretty glum… 2^nd. My friend’s bacon roll had to be sent back because the bun was charred… 3^rd. Shall I go on? In all honesty, I don’t really feel like wasting much more time on this review. Won’t bother going back, and normally I give a place at least a few goes… not this time.
(And no, this review is nothing to do with side of bed I got up on!) ;-)

As a happy carnivore with a sweet tooth this place hit all the right spots.
The atmosphere was comfortably casual with staff that was courteous and attentive. They never tried to «upsell» any other courses or items, they only pointed out the daily specials.
The burger is hands down the best I’ve had on my holiday in Edinburgh. The seasonings brought out the flavor of the meat and the local cheddar provided a wonderful accent. And then I had dessert… a classic sundae stacked high with pudding, toffee sauce, ice cream, and a dash of whipped cream with wafers.
My only regret is not finding Smoke Stack sooner!