The Smoke Pit - Northampton

Whether cow, pig, or chicken, nothing escapes The Smoke Pit, and you’re not likely to want to leave either once you get a taste of what some say just might be Northampton’s best barbecue restaurant and smokehouse. Operating out of what may appear to be modest premises along The Ridings in the town centre, The Smoke Pit is genuinely an industrial-strength outfit, turning out aged steaks, smoked meats and fantastic craft beers like no one’s business.

Starters at The Smoke Pit include crispy fried whitebait with tartare, smoked chilli chicken wings, sauteed chorizo and Moroccan-style spiced and grilled halloumi, drawing the dots between rustic seafood, the Southern USA, Spanish and North African cuisines, brought all under one roof at The Smoke Pit’s location down The Ridings in Northampton’s town centre. No steakhouse or grillhouse would be complete without fat burgers, with the 6oz, 45 day-aged Angus burger with Emmental cheese, streaky bacon and, curiously, tobacco onions topping the list.

However it’s the smoker and charcoal grill that takes centre stage at The Smoke Pit, with pulled pork, brisket, spatchcock jerk chicken and racks of ribs taking their sweet and smoky time before making it to table. Dry-aged and unadorned ribeye, fillet, hanger and rump steaks are also a centrepiece at this popular American restaurant in the town centre. That said, a simple round of sharing platters are sure to get Northampton’s cowgirls and cowboys together, with the generous Smoke Pit house platter dominating the selection.