About Us

The Big Smoke was born from a simple obsession: fire, smoke, and good meat.

It started with two friends — Jack “Smokey” Turner, a butcher from Yorkshire, and Elena Rossi, a grill master who grew up around Argentine asados in her grandmother’s kitchen in Brixton. They met at a street food market in Hackney, where Jack was selling smoked sausages and Elena was flipping steaks on a cast-iron grill. One bite, one nod, and a handshake later, The Big Smoke was just an idea on a napkin.

Three years later, that napkin became a restaurant.

We took over an old Victorian warehouse in Shoreditch — all exposed brick, steel beams, and a crackling fireplace that never goes out. The walls are stained with decades of London fog, but inside, it smells like oak smoke, seared fat, and something that makes you instantly hungry.

The name? It’s a love letter to London’s oldest nickname — The Big Smoke. In the 19th century, coal fires turned the city into a cloud of smog. Today, we’ve swapped coal for oak, applewood, and cherry. The smoke is still here. This time, it comes from our grill.

We believe that fire is not just a cooking method — it’s a ritual. Our meat is dry-aged on-site for up to 45 days. Our wood is sourced from sustainable British forests. Our craft beers come from a microbrewery two miles away. And our ovens never sleep.

Consequat facilisi ultricies integer eu nibh pellentesque. Morbi ac sit ultrices quis dignissim lectus. Pellentesque nisl, ac, bibendum arcu vestibulum aliquam.