International Smoke has been on my radar since before they opened and all the buzz was coming through about how amazing it was going to be. It didn’t hurt that it was taking over the space that RN74 was at (as I wasn’t that impressed with the food there). It also had so much buzz that apparently it was impossible to get a booking there for months after opening. They claim to have walk in tables, but I’m not going to wait, so I knew that I’d just have to get lucky with a booking sometime. Imagine my surprise when I managed to get a booking for 7:00 pm on a Sunday just the day prior. We were going to a day wine tasting/drinking event, so I knew that I was going to be in no shape to want to do any cooking that night. So after a day of trying lots of wines from winemakers throughout California, we headed over to International Smoke to see if they lived up to the hype.
The venue itself is huge. I don’t know if RN74 was quite as big, but there are two giant dining areas. We were seated in the one that was more open near the sports bar area, which made it a bit strange as I didn’t really expect to be seeing tons of sports games playing on tvs. Thankfully they were all on silent, so dinner could still be enjoyed in peace. We looked at the menu and decided to try the five course tasting menu as then we could try a selection of things. We did get them to substitute out the burrata and tomato salad (because one of us isn’t a fan of either of them) for the melon and crab salad. We also decided to get the supplemental sixth course of chargrilled seafood.
The first course was a basically a Thai dungeness crab curry served with cornbread. The coconut curry was very mild, but it did go well with the white crab meat. While the dish was nice, it definitely didn’t have the wow factor of our favorite Thai place in town. I thought the cornbread was delicious though and was even better than I do at home, but I was told that that was not the case from someone who maybe is a bit less biased. After this course, I was getting slightly concerned that the hype was just that, as so far it just wasn’t that exciting.
Up next was a melon and crab salad that we substituted on the menu. This turned out to be a fantastic dish. The melon was very ripe and flavorful, and the dressing paired well both with it and the crab. It definitely got me a lot more excited about the rest of the meal, and I was hoping that everything was on an upswing. Next up was the grilled shellfish, and we were presented with a clam, an oyster, a prawn and a crab leg. The clam and oyster were very similar as they were stuffed with a very lemony (almost overpoweringly so) breadcrumb. The crab was nice, but wasn’t as nice as in the previous two courses. The prawn, however, was out of this world. It was slightly overcooked, but the chargrilled flavor really was a flavor explosion in my mouth, and they were definitely the winners on the plate. We were glad that we got to try a selection of grilled seafood, because while we like prawns, it probably wouldn’t have been something we would have ordered from an a la carte menu, probably gravitating more toward the clams or oysters which turned out not to be our favorites.
Up next was the trio of ribs. I heard the ribs were really magical, but the proof is always in the eating, so it was one of the courses I was looking forward to the most. We each got to try one of the American BBQ, Al Pastor, and Sesame-Gochujang ribs plus a papaya slaw served with it. The slaw was absolutely fantastic with a bit of sweetness, some acidity and a bit of heat to really cleanse the palate. The ribs were also really well cooked and I would be extremely happy to have any of them again, but I think the Al Pastor were my favorite. Honestly, the ribs were all fantastic, but sadly there was no finger bowl or wet-naps provided so a trip the bathroom was required afterwards to clean up the hands.
Up next was grilled wagyu beef with crispy potatoes and an Italian salsa verde. The beef was really tender and delicious, but I’m not sure if it was only nice because it was a great cut of beef that was cooked to the right temperature. I have had delicious steaks in other places, so I’m not sure that I couldn’t get something equally as good someplace else. Especially since the potatoes were slightly undercooked. It did kind of deter a bit from the dish overall, but I do think it was some delicious meat.
And finally, dessert: A key lime pie parfait and summer berry shaved ice. The shaved ice was a great palate cleanser as it was very light and refreshing with an intense berry flavor. Honestly, I would have been happy if it was the only dessert. The key lime parfait was not anything special really. I have made key lime pie, and I don’t think this was really any better. Plus there was no crust in the parfait, so it was kind of a disappointment as that is always a nice counterpoint to the creamy filling. It also had cinnamon toast crunch on top which just seemed weird. Crumbled pastry would have really been a better topping.
Overall, we got to try a good amount of food, so it gave me a pretty good impression what they had to offer. The food at International Smoke definitely was an improvement over the previous restaurant in the establishment, so Michael Mina made the right decision in closing it down and moving in Ayesha Curry’s food that is a bit more modern and interesting. It wasn’t a super win for me though as there were a few cooking issues and some of the dishes did feel a bit pedestrian and could use a bit more inspiration, like the red curry and the key lime parfait. It’s definitely a place I would come back to again now that I have an idea of the sort of things they excel at, so perhaps the next time someone is visiting, I’ll be able to secure a booking so we can have an enjoyable and fun evening.
Score: 4/5
Recommendations: Ribs and/or chargrilled prawns
International Smoke
301 Mission Street
San Francisco, CA 94105
