Django's Smokehouse — Restaurant in South Oxfordshire

Came here for a post-work evening out with some colleagues.

I booked in advance for a Thursday evening at 5:30pm and upon arrival was seating in their upstairs bar which had a bit of a dark and edgy vibe with slightly louder dancey type music which was a tad off-putting especially as we wanted to talk and catch-up. however this turned out to not be much of an issue but still a minior annoyance!

Thankfully this was made up by them having a cocktail happy hour so I of course ordered myself two Whiskey Sours. Foodwise we kept it simple and ordered three BBQ platters for the 7 of of us which turne out to be more than enough. The waiting staff asigned to us were attentive and quick to take orders. The food arrived surprisingly quickly. And thankfully with the cutlery we were provided with wet wipes as it was a messy one! There were plenty of chips with the meat which were seasoned and crisped to perfection. The meats themsevles were delicous and cooked just right being lovely and softed without being mushy whilst also having the perfect flavour. This paired excellently with the side pickles and coleslaw which there was shockingly little of. If I was to provide some critisicm on the platter it would be that the coleslaw, beans and pickles (while delicious) there just wasn't enough and, there was no chicken! A few wings would've made the platter perfect.

So with the everything in mind, this place just about misses out on a 5. The ambience and decor could've been much better, the platter we had needed some improvement, however, the service could not have been faulted and the food arrived extremely quick. But perhaps that was down to the place being quiet when we were there? So not the best stress test on the service!

Anyways, as it's the only smoekhouse around, I definitely would not deter people from going heqre as utimiately we had a good night and a good meal here so give it a visit if you're in the neighbourhood and want some...

The restaurant is absolutely stunning, really comfortable seating, 3 of us had the halloumi fries with sweet chilli dip, I had the chicken tenders, asked if the Djangos barbecue sauce was spicy was advised no, made it clear I'm not good with spicy. Halloumi fries were really nice chicken tenders were lovely but sauce was spicy! 3 of us had the ribs 1 had the short rib beef, neither my mum or I could eat them nearly blew my head off. Luckily we ordered a couple of macaroni cheeses as sides 1 with truffle and mushrooms. The were lush especially the Truffle and mushrooms one. Let the waitress know they were too spicy, advised there was nothing she could do that's how they come, my sister and niece dont mind a bit of heat but they thought it was a bit too much for them. They also found the meat to be a bit dry and chewy, said the ribs at Harvester are 10 times better, meat falls off the bone there. Was offered free desserts so mum had a chocolate brownie with vanilla ice cream, I had 2 scoops of ice cream 1 honeycomb and 1 chocolate, the honeycomb was soooo nice but the chocolate had the weirdest texture I can only describe it as chocolate wet sand. The service was second to none, staff are friendly. Bit concerning that they dont know if something is spicy or not! I'm gutted surely it's all about the meat in this type of restaurant and surely it should cater for everyone, not everyone likes spicy. At a Smokehouse the meat is the main event. It just limits the menu for people like me. And misses the whole point of the restaurant. Their meat should be second to none, harvesters ribs shouldn't be better than a Smokehouse!! Beyond disappointed as it is such a fabulous restaurant, the renovation is...

Imagine it’s your first day on planet Earth and you've never had a real burger. You go to McDonald's, maybe you think it tastes okay? Real BBQ is all about the low and slow. It takes time to smoke meat to perfection. This requires time for the smoke flavour to develop and the collagens to break down to give that juicy, melt-in-the-mouth texture and flavour that only good BBQ has. Unfortunately, this place does not offer this. It's fundamentally lacking in smoke, and the meat has been cooked fast & hot, so it's essentially roasted meat pretending to be BBQ then covered in sugar. Management, please take notice. Once you get the meats right, it's all about the sauce. Your sauce size and flavours are a joke. Also, FYI, Garlic aioli must actually contain garlic and taste of garlic. So, if you think McDonald's is the finest cuisine that mankind has to offer, then you're going to love this place.

As a reply to the owner’s comments: Unless you fundamentally rethink the restaurant’s cooking style, then I will not be returning. Zero bark development on the meat, limited smoke penetration with limited smoke taste. Extremely poor range and tasting sauces. Next, fix the sides. BBQ is also massivly the sides. Southern Style coleslaw, pickles, mac and cheese, potato salad and beans, they all need to taste as good as the mains. Unfortunately, your side menu is mostly about deep-frying cheap ingredients to fill plates. One last point, pulled pork should be succulent, moist, and indulgent, it should make you smile and want to shake the chefs hand.

So don't get pissy because someone with a half-decent pallet that knows BBQ points out how disappointing your restaurant actually is, so up your game and fix...