The BBQ
Smokies barbecues a variety of meats – chicken, beef, pork, sausages and also mutton. All of them are freshly made to order, therefore it would take around good 20 – 30 minutes of your time, which is quite understandable. If you're in a rush, we suggest that you call ahead, order in advance and then collect it.
Given that there were three of us, we decided to get the Mixed Grill (Rs. 1700), Beef Brisket (Rs. 750) and Boiled Vegetable Salad (Rs. 350) on the side.
Viewer discretion is advised as the pictures are not the best there is. It was nighttime (around 9 PM), and we took them while sitting down at the edge of the Galle Road.
Accompanied by two sauces, the Beef Brisket had three thick slices of beef, topped off with a handful of freshly cut tomato, onion and capsicum. Sporting a beautiful pink ring fading away towards the middle, it was pure smokey, juicy and sliced up beefy goodness. A bit stiff in texture, probably because it's local beef, these slices were generously rubbed with pepper and sauce, which helped to elevate its meaty flavours rather than overpowering it. The outer layer provided a satisfactory crisp to the bite, and the meat fell apart so easily.
Make good use of their spicy-as-hell homemade kochchi sauce for extra flavour.
*Pictured above – Mixed Grill (left) and Boiled Vegetable Salad (right)
A little firm on the outside, while the inside is all juicy and succulent, the chicken leg didn't have that smokey odour as we anticipated, but carried a good flavour, boosted by the charred bits stuck on the meat. There were a lot of beef, sausages and pork slices on the plate, while the egg had a heap of pepper sprinkled in – helping to draw everything to the spicy side of things.
The only downer was the pork. Though we got quite a bit of pork in here, most of them were oily pieces, but only a very little meat.
The Boiled Vegetable Salad was massive and lovely with lots and lots of well-boiled pieces of carrots, potato and raw capsicum soaked in a bit of mayo, and pepper. They've infused pepper in the fries too, which makes it even better.
Service & Ambience
Like I said before, Smokies is popular for their takeaway orders, but if you insist on dining in, they'll happily accommodate you by providing a folding chair and table set. It's an open kitchen, so everything is made in front of your eyes.
Conclusion
Going all the way to Moratuwa for some BBQ might sound like a lot of work, but we feel like our trip was worth it. This is a solid option if you live around or passing by. They do good barbecue, and for the given price, they give you quite a lot of it.