I came to know about Smokehouse Sandwich Co. after seeing their Social Shopper Deal to promote their newly opened location in Downtown Vancouver. Their first location in Richmond opened in 2014 and has received positive reviews on Yelp and Zomato. Smokehouse Sandwich Co. specializes in artisan smoked meat sandwiches using locally sourced ingredients (similar to Chachi’s in Metrotown). I decided to give their new location a try through the Social Shopper $12 deal which included two sandwiches with choice of two sides or drinks.
Cathedral Place
Smokehouse Sandwich Co. is located right in the heart of Downtown Vancouver at 925 West Georgia inside the Shaw Tower at Cathedral Place. It’s an architectural landmark with mostly offices and limited retailers on the ground level. They seem to cater mostly to the office crowd as they are only open 7 am to 3 pm and are not open on Saturdays and Sundays. The building does have a nice garden terrace where you can go outside and enjoy your food.
Smokehouse Sandwich Menu
There are five sandwich choices which each have a name like a person: Samson (beef brisket), Billie (pork belly), Sarah (Tamarind chicken), Wilbur (Pulled pork) and Luigi (mushroom, red bell pepper). They come in regular ($9.99) or double meat ($13.99). Choice of sides. Choice of sides include chips, soups, salad and more. For beverages, they have homemade drinks (hot or cold), Kombucha, coffee, and tea. The menu is available online.
The most unique offering from Smokehouse Sandwich is their charcoal bun option. I’ve had charcoal in ramen before but never in a bun. Smokehouse Sandwich noted on their Facebook page that the charcoal bun was made with imported, activated charcoal and features oxygen-rich nutrients and healthy benefits.
What We Tried
With the Social Shopper deal, my husband and I had:
- Billie sandwich
- Wilbur sandwich
- Chips
- Honey Ginger Lemon
I had actually visited once prior except they had run out of the charcoal bun! The owner (I presume) advised me to phone ahead to reserve the charcoal bun prior to my visit. Thus, I made phoned in to reserve the charcoal buns before my visit again. This time around, however, they ran out of their most popular burger, the Samson. We just went with the Billie and Wilbur instead.
The Billie sandwich has salt cured pork belly with aioli, salsa and lettuce. I thought that the pork belly was very nicely tender and the lettuce had a nice crunch. A generally tasty sandwich.
The Wilbur has a bit more of a sweet and smoky flavour and is made with cumin-spiced pulled pork, aioli and coleslaw. I thought that the coleslaw was decently well-seasoned. I liked that the cumin was understated.
The sandwiches look like burgers since they come in a round bun. However, they add enough meat enough for it to be like a patty. The bamboo charcoal does not offer any added taste to the sandwich. I think the selling point is just the “added health benefits.”
I thought the ginger in the honey ginger lemon was too strong.
The crisp yellow potatoes fried in olive oil was too heavy for my liking. They come unseasoned so you can flavour them with dips. I would not have these chips again.
Overall Impression of Smokehouse Sandwich
I thought that the sandwiches were generally tasty but I didn’t enjoy the chips and the drink. The charcoal bun was fun to try though the meal was nothing really to write home about. Rating: 3/5