Smokehaus Ferndale — Restaurant in Ferndale

Good but not great, still a ways to go if they are looking to stay a true BBQ restaurant.

Stopped in with a few friends over the weekend and ordered the brisket, pulled pork, pork belly, a few sides, and the cheese curds.

The good: Cheese curds were good, but not your conventional cheese curd. These were creamier/softer and less chew. The sauces were all good and clearly well thought out. The pulled pork was solid, the house sauce they douse it in after cooking had the perfect level of heat to it. Would happily get any dish with the pulled pork on it again. The candied bacon was done very well and had the perfect level of sweet/heat as well.

The bad: The pork belly seemed to be a poor cut and not cooked properly. Pork belly generally is very fatty but still includes a nice layer of meat, cooked low and slow so they literally melt and are chewed without any effort. These seemed to have almost no meat on them and were overwhelmingly white chewy fat, either not cooked long enough to render/break down or just not cooked to correct heat. Not much of a crust or coat on them either. The brisket was just flat out bad. Not juicy/tender and no bark at all. We cut into the first piece and it was almost like jerky. Waitress offered to replace it with some better pieces or another meat, we opted for a second chance on some juicer cuts, and they came out about the same. The waitress offered to just swap it for another meat at which point we agreed to another half lb of pulled pork. They were apologetic and the chef/manager came over to inquire about it, we provided honest feedback and he took it in stride. Brisket is hard to do well but if they intend to continue selling it as an option they REALLY need to work on temp/time and wood selection for the smoke, the current state of it is flat out unacceptable. The corn bread was relatively dry as well, but served with a generous helping of butter.

Overall it’s a cool establishment, happy to see someone take the place of MBrew. The staff was polite and honest and the pulled pork was a big saving grace. I have high hopes they will figure it out in time, it is a new restaurant after all. Would love to return after things have been refined a bit and hopefully give a better rating...

My partner and I were hopeful about this new local spot, but it didn’t quite hit the mark. While they apparently do have smokers, the results suggest the technique needs work. The brisket lacked a smoke ring and had a uniform crust that didn’t seem authentically smoked. The pulled pork was okay but missing that genuine smoke flavor you’d expect from traditional BBQ.

The side selection could use more variety…three of our four sides were cabbage-based. The kimchi was good and the mac and cheese was okay, but the braised cabbage was disappointingly soft and rubbery with an odd taste. The coleslaw didn’t taste fresh and had no hint of the advertised avocado. We’d love to see classics like regular or sweet potatoes added to the menu. The cornbread was unfortunately very dry and overly sweet, and even the pickles had a strange flavor.

It was not busy when we were there, which may have contributed to the atmosphere feeling a bit off…large, spread-out spaces made it feel less cozy, and there are many TVs throughout, which I get may appeal to some diners, but not what we are looking for in a dining experience. The loud early 2000s playlist was also pretty bad and made conversation challenging.

On the positive side, the service was very friendly and our food came out quickly.

Smokehaus Ferndale has potential, but needs refinement in both their barbecue technique and overall experience before we’d...

Wow! What a damn treat!!! We started with the backyard blaze cocktail… The smoked salt rim combined with the cocktail was phenomenal!! We started with the cheese curds and canopies and they didn’t disappoint. The sauce served with the cubed curds were a perfect pairing. Next we did the smoked brisket, cooked to perfection and the pork belly with candied bacon and Mac & Cheese. Brisket was cooked perfectly and I’ve never had a pork belly like this.. The crunchy skin with the tender pork belly was something I’ve never tried before and loved it! Mac & Cheese on point but I still am wanting more of that candied bacon!! Atmosphere was great, awesome bar on the upper level but enjoyed the garage bbq feel of the main dining room. They have a fun array of clothing and hats to choose from… “DAY DRINKER” I think it’s rare in the detroit area to find a good BBQ spot let alone in Ferndale. This easily puts slows to shame!! Will definitely be back when I need that BBQ craving! When you are looking for some good BBQ you should definitely check out the SMOKEHAUS...