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Burger Review: Smoke House


The Best Burger in Kuwait Challenge
Smoke House is a place I heard about recently from a friend. They opened up just two months ago in Mahboula and I posted about them a few days ago. Everyone who visited the place had good things to say about it so I got there with high expectations only to feel let down once I saw the place.

Smoke House is a very tiny restaurant with a very lame looking exterior and a pretty uninspiring interior. There is no love at first sight here more like what the frak brought me to this place! I passed by with a friend of mine and when we arrived 2 out of the 4 tables were occupied. We sat down and were greeted by a very friendly waitress and were given the menus to look over. I quickly decided to go with a chili cheese fries for starters, a Smoke House Burger (medium well) with cheese for my main dish and a side order of mashed potatoes with gravy. My friend ordered the lamb chops with a side order of coleslaw and sweet corn and butter. For drinks I decided to order root beer since I noticed one of the other diners was drinking root beer out of an A&W root beer jug so I decided I would have one also.

My burger arrived awhile later and I was totally shocked. It had to be the best burger presentation I had ever seen and I don’t mean just in Kuwait. The plate had a very gourmet like presentation to it and the burger looked very appetizing, I quickly took my shots before I bit into the burger. The burger didn’t come with any lettuce or tomatoes just a bit of thinly sliced onions and cheese. I think I’ve mentioned this before but I don’t think lettuce or tomatoes belong in a good burger, it takes away from the flavor which in this case was great. The patty was thick (not too thick) and very juicy. The bun was soft, looked wonderful and although was surrounded by some juice when it arrived it wasn’t soggy. The only negative thing about my burger was the fact the cheese wasn’t melted properly.

I went to Smoke House expecting a good burger but I didn’t expect this. I’ve decided to give this burger a 4.5 out of 5 making it the highest rated burger in my burger challenge so far. The root beer I ordered by the way tasted like crap. Turns out they weren’t using A&W root beer just their mugs but the waitress was nice enough to swap it with a regular coke and I wasn’t charged for the root beer. Other than that issue the sweet corn and butter was great, the coleslaw was very good, my friend’s lamb chops were supposedly also delicious and the quantity was huge. For dessert I had an apple pie and I ended up really liking that too. They really need a nicer and much larger place but according to the waitress if they do good for 6 months then they will be opening up a bigger place which makes good sense. The prices are also very affordable if anything maybe a bit under priced and I liked the way they dealt with my complaint, very professional. I’m actually going back there tomorrow with another friend and I am going to try and convince myself to have something other than the burger, maybe their Philly cheese steak. Good stuff.

Smokehouse is located in Mahboula
The cost of the Smokehouse Cheeseburger is KD1.950


Update: It seems they’ve changed their burger! Not sure why anyone would do this but their new burger doesn’t taste the same as the one in the review.

101 replies on “Burger Review: Smoke House”

Mark why don’t you include the rating stars next to the names of those restaurants in the reviewed-restaurants list. Easier to know how many stars you gave them.

I just got back form the Smokehouse and I can hardly type. I am so stuffed with the best food I have ever eaten in Kuwait! Like Mark I was not impressed with the building or the dirt road taking you there, but the food more than made up for it! The presentations were gourmet class, and the prices were on the low sided compared to other American restaurants in Kuwait, but I’m not complaining. I think I have found my new hang out.

hmmmm i am thinking of what i am going to have tomorrow. if its going to be the philly cheese steak or maybe the pulled smoked chicken or maybe the burger again…

Mark try the Smoked Rib Eye sandwich. You will not be disappointed. But, I warn you.. Be hungry ’cause it is huge! The baked beans are the best I have ever tasted too and I’m a baked bean expert!

Mark,
Went there a few days ago with friends. Like you said, the location is a bit of a let down but, man, the food was good!! A friend of mine had the Beef Short Ribs which were the special of the day and I have to say I was impressed. It "only" comes with 2 but bring your appetite! They have a great smoked flavor…not too smoked. And having lived in the South (US) I’ve had my share of BBQ. They didn’t have the cornbread yet, but I’m sure I’ll be back soon. I think the only problem is that I live too close to the place!…and they deliver! There goes that beach body I’ve been striving for…;-)

Tried the burger and I really don’t know how you arrived at this. I guess people will judge better when it gets busy.

We’re going there this weekend! Hopefully everyone opinon on here is to the “T”! At least I know the prices are “very” affordable from looking at there website. Had my wife not gotten a job, which I am thankful that she did, I would have opened a place that would have had a hard time keeping up with supply and demand! I wish Smokehouse all the best!

ron: I ended up having the rib eye sandwich today and it was huge.. too much meat for one man. I wouldn’t order it again though, would give it like a 3 out of 5.

I know the 7th Annual University Marathon doesn’t have anything to do with this but I laughed when I saw the article. I was thinking “Has hell frozen over”? How many Kuwaiti’s would actually finish a “MARATHON”? But then when I read the article, it was actually only 2.5km. Just call it a Fun Run like they do in the States. A marathon is a marathon!

Seeing as how many people now have GPS devices installed in their vehicles, companies should include the GPS coordinates in their location details.

Anyone try the sweet potato pie? I am going to tomorrow let you know how is turns out. Why is no places here serve breakfast early? Breakfast tacos are a sure bet.

Buying tortillas around here for breakfast tacos would break you! Have you seen how much they are in the Sultan Center for the burrito size tortillas? The smaller tortillas are a reasonable price for such a large quantity. IF YOU WANT A GREAT BREAKFAST GO TO EARLY BIRD IN FAHAHEEL! Not enough seats but the food is amazing! The best “American owned” eating place in Kuwait!

Mark, the guys there told me that they just renewed their license and the greedy sponsor was asking them to pay 10,000kd just for the name “Badar Al Badoor”. So they gave him the boot (which he deserved IMO)… and thought, location is the same, food is the same, cooks are the same so let’s just alter the name a bit and get a new sponsor. Which they did and now they are Bazar Al Bazoor – and that’s the ONLY change while everything else is the same 🙂

I Just came back from Mahbolla …

We spotted the rest. from the highway but reaching it was a challenge, after taking a few wrong turns (lost for about 20 min. on dark dirt roads) we got there and the place was packed

We ordered a classic burger and a chilli burger. It took about 20 min. to get the food

Unfortunately, both beef patties were burnt with black ends! The chilli sauce was tasteless and the fries were over salted and spices.
These burgers are defiantly not worth 4.5/5

I am sorry to say it was a real disappointed!

Tried it a few days ago. Well, food was superb. The only let down is the limited seating. Other than that, I really dug the chilli bowl & the Rib Eye slices.

Thanks Mark for posting it.

Realist: Just in case you missed this important point, this is a review of what I think of the burger and not you. So just because you didn’t like the burger and I did doesn’t mean its a scam, it just means you didn’t like the burger and I did.

pearls: no the bun wasn’t burnt and it was soft.

Meshal: The burger I reviewed here is the Smoke House Burger, you ordered the Chili Cheese Burger and the Classic Burger which is not the same.

Mark, Maybe if you put things in context it would give more credibility into the rating. Case in point let your readers know on what factors are you basing these ratings. This way at least it will let us know clearly YOUR point of view even if we disagree as reader. For example if we know you like hard crust buns we know you would be reducing the score of burgers with soft buns and so on. Hope this is constructive enough.

Realist: I already do that, but there isn’t anything I like that is out of the ordinary. My taste buds are pretty simple, i just dont like too much vegetables in my burger which I’ve made clear in a number of my reviews but thats the only thing.

For some reason I had a mental picture of the test.. Mark in a toasted soft bun, very little veggies, catsup, mustard and fries on the side….

Blah blah blah, go try the Taco’s! Man, this scale of 1 – 5 ain’t enough to rate these! I give it a 10 out of 5. =) Holy Moly does this guy know what he’s cookin! WOW True Southern Flava flave baby with a touch of Mex in a fex baby babe! Can I get some TACOOOOOOOOOOO PLEASEEEEEEE up in heee.

chickity check it before you wreck!

I’m out

@ David,

Can I get directions to the Early Bird in Fahaheel?? My wife has on been on my case all week on how she heard from her friends about how great the palce is and how much we need to go down there and try it out. Really appreciate it. And oh yeah landmarks to mark the way will be helpfull too.

@ Mak

We tried the smoke house burger and the lamb chops…. yummy, lip smacking . finger licking delicious 🙂

@ Mark

Managed to get through it 🙂 After the fact that you actually gave the smoke house a 4.5 rating compared to the whipping you gave all the rest of the gourmet guys, I went with an empty stomach and a huge appetite. Even helped the wife with her burger. Took a doggy bag of the bones for my dogs though and they loved it if they could talk they probably would ask where the hell the party was and how come they were’nt invited lol.

@ David

Any chance of getting them directions ???

Smokehouse on Facebook? Do I have to drive there to c the specials or are the specials posted electronically? Whats up with that killer grill parked out in front? U Guys cater? HELP A BROTHA OUT!

Security Adviser:
If you know where the government clinic in Fahaheel is, you pass it till you get to a GNC and make a left and drive down. It will be on your right hand side.

Tbonepickens:
If you have base access why not just bbq yourself? The grill out front is just for show!

David:

Thanks so much, I dont know exactly where the government clinic in Fahaheel is but I know some one who does. I’ll get him and his wife to come along for breakfast tommorow. 🙂

Hi David,

Looks like I hit a dead end on this one ,my friend says that there are 03 government clinics in the Fahaheel Area. Any other land marks you could point out?

Just for the sake of reference I live in Salmiya and will be heading down Route 30 and exit left on 212 towards Fahaheel any pointers from here would help

Thanks 🙂

To the Early Bird:

Take 30 to exit 212 towards the water. Turn right at the first traffic light. Follow this road and take the second proper right turn. After this take the first left turn, and go 20 meters and look for a parking lot on the right. The EB is at the back of the parking lot. Big sign, you can’t miss it. If you still get lost call them at 23925814.

THE PULLED CHICKEN IS AWSOME! We really enjoyed our first visit to your establishment. We had to try it for ourselves because we heard mixed reviews. So what we did we waited till you had a couple of months under your belt to fine tuned your cooking. The meat dishes we had were delicious. The service was good. You could add a couple of more authentic southern desserts like peach/cherry cobbler. The potato salad we had was lil too oniony. . And I didn’t understand why the aircon was on and the door open at the same time. It couldn’t be because it was hot in there unless the counter area was hot. But other than that everything was fine. Great job. The American part owner is getting screwed or eventually will be screwed! Come on now you are partnered with 4 other Kuwaiti’s.

Mark,
Loved Smoke House. Haven’t had the burger yet, but like everyone else, I have had the pulled chicken sandwich. OMG it’s awesome. I also love the Smokehouse Wings. Not fried, but smoked, and have an awesome flavor. No need for sauce.

One more thing about my Smokehouse experience. This is probably the first place here in Kuwait, which is a damn shame, that will ask you what you want to drink while you look over the menu. The other restaurants here wait till you are ready to order your food to ask you what you want to drink. I mean really it is a damn shame it took this long, out of all these American restaurant chains here in Kuwait, it took a small time joint to use American cutomer service the right way. Way to go Smokehouse!

Actually a ton of places do that. For example I had lunch at Pizza Express today and the first thing they did was ask me what I wanted to drink. Even Chilis does that…

You must get different servers than what we get because they usually don’t ask us for our drinks, we got to flag them down to get them to take our drink order so that at least we can wet our throats before we order our food. I’ve been here 6 years and the only other places we haven’t had to flag a waiter down so we can order ou drinks are the upper class restaurants.

By the way Mark and everyone else, it offical! CHEESE CAKE FACTORY is here. I had a meeting at our comapanies main office today and there office just happens to be by the airport so I went to go check it out since today was the first day to be serving them…… Sure enough there they were! The delicious cheese cakes were staring at me thru there glass display. Caribou Cafe got themselves a whole lot more business now! Smart people. The employee told me they will have the offical “Grand Serving” on April 6 I think.

I agree ….the burger was good.a 7-8/10.

the root beer however sucked !!!! reminded me of the something unpleasantly bad 😉

def a one time/two time visit.

warning: gals/ladies/women…..dont venture out there alone.a remote place.

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