SmokeStacks Cafe — Restaurant in Raleigh

My second time in here was as good as my first. Once again we came for Sunday lunch/brunch. They open at 11 and we arrived at 1140 and it was a 30 wait for a table for 2. No problem. The weather was nice so we ordered drinks and waited outside for a table to open up. Once again, they make a great Old Fashioned here. More boozy than sweet, delicious. KT got a star fruit martini built with a house made purée that was also delicious. For food we ordered the roasted pepper Caesar salad, the pork ribs, and the crispy chicken sandwich. Through some magic every centimeter of romaine lettuce was lightly coated with dressing, as if they painted the dressing on each individual leaf of lettuce so the result was every bite, every nibble, had consistent flavor and was not dry soggy or over/under dressed. The ribs were once again amazing, just as good as the first time we had them. Finally the crispy chicken sandwich was decadent. I generally prefer boneless chicken thighs on fried chicken sandwich because they don’t dry out as easily and are easier to season through than breast meat but that wasn’t a problem. This thick chicken breast was well brined, juicy and seasoned to the center. Color and temperature were perfect. Skin was crispy and I don’t know what all was on this one, queso, house pickled jalapeños, probably a couple other things and served with a giant plate of house cut fries, double fried style well salted and sprinkled with parm… Mmmmmmm Raleigh Magazine just had their best restaurants issue, I’ve been to most of the restaurants on that list and SmokeStacks Cafe is on par with any of the restaurants on that list. Frankly it’s head and shoulders better than several of them.

My original review is below:

I tend to be generous with my reviews. I’m not likely to go to a restaurant that does not have 4 stars or higher so if a restaurant is good enough that I’m likely to go back to it, I’m going to give it a 4 or 5 star review if I review it. Once in awhile I go to a restaurant that is clearly better than my usual 5 star restaurant and I wish I could give an extra star. SmokeStacks Cafe is one of those places. This place is not much to look at from the outside or the inside if I’m being honest. It’s clean and kinda homey in an old building. Our server was nice but either too busy or just not super attentive but they got us everything we needed, eventually. That said, the food I had here my first time in was amazing. I loved every bite. More than that, I looked around the room at what other people were eating and I was jealous of everyone in the room. I want to eat the menu. I had the smoked old fashioned. It was generously boozy and tasty. Exactly how I’d make mine at home. The tomato and cucumber salad was delicious and a perfect summer salad as NC tomatoes are starting ripen. The baby cauliflower plate was boldly seasoned with a strong garlic flavor that somehow managed not to overwhelm the dish. Finally, the pork spareribs were sublime. With a texture/chew that is closer to Chinese spareribs than Southern style spareribs and salty/juicy/sweet. Currently my favorite ribs I’ve had in NC. I can’t wait to get back and try...

Holy smokes! This place is delicious. Tucked away in a neighborhood with no fanfare, you might walk right by smokestacks. Unless, however, you are prone to venture into unknown cafés. So glad we did! We arrived pretty early on a Saturday evening around 530 before things started to get busy. Immediately someone whom I believe is the owner set about turning on the game at our request and joking around. Other diners joined in, and it felt like we were amongst friends. We eased into our meal with a couple of great cocktails, and of course, a basket of pork skins. Skins were delicious… crispy and not overly greasy. Cooked perfectly. For apps we enjoyed collard wraps. Collardswas on the menu that day. Interestingly, the menu changes every single day. I was eyeing all the entrees around me before we settled on the shrimp and grits and short rib dishes. The short rib literally fell off the bone, no knife needed. The shrimp ( + a few scallops!)and grits did not disappoint either with the cheesiest and creamiest grits I’ve ever had. Entrees were well portioned and very satisfying. Flavor combinations were on point! My only regret is that I did not order the chocolate cake immediately. By the time we finished our main entrées, the restaurant had started to feel, and the cake was gone. Tip: if you see a great cake on the counter, go ahead and order! We satisfied our sweet tooth with delicious homemade cookies. We lingered a couple of hours, enjoying all of our dishes, cocktails, and a couple glasses of wine. As we neared dinner time, the place was definitely filling. I did notice that several families arrived with small kids, so be prepared for that if you are looking for a quiet, intimate place. This is a neighborhood café, and the clientele reflect that. I cannot wait to return to...

We came into this place never tried this place until today and the drinks were good but the wings we’re under cooked they still had blood leaking from the chicken and what made matters worse was that ribs were a bit tough to eat then they kept asking if things were okay constantly like once the nice woman left this other woman walked up asking the same question smh like I understand asking just one time and periodically through the duration of us being there but no not like this smh not to mention the nun was burnt and the lamb/beef breakfast burger I ate it but didn’t eat the hash browns because the potatoes they used/cooked wasn’t fully done had an odd taste to it but I think others might like that I guess 🤷‍♀️we should’ve looked at the reviews before coming here. But the lady that was in front with tights or something on I think she was great. But Literally right after we left 15 mins later she had to pull over due to me vomiting up the breakfast burger along with hash brown cheese topping that was on the casserole . I’ve never in my life ever experienced the pain I’m in right now hopefully they get better but we definitely won’t be back and what was even worse was when we were in there they remade the wings but when she dipped it in the ranch blood from the chicken was showing in the ranch which made her open it to check again. 🤦‍♀️hopefully y’all learn from the experience I’m not going to bother filing suit I’ll just have to get my stomach pumped and idk what made that women bring us half opened sloppy oatmeal pies...