The Pit Smoke House

"Rub me first then pull me later". The first sign you see as you walk towards the entrance of The Pit Smoke House in Culcheth leaves no doubt about their style of tongue-in-cheek humour, and carnivorous offerings.

My first impression is that for somewhere as small as Culcheth, this impressive looking barbecue joint seems a strange sight, more somewhere you'd see in Manchester, or even over in the States itself.

The entrance is through a ground veranda area, which can be opened up in the summer time, allowing people to drink cocktails on the seating area. As you walk into the building, you realise that someone got a really good deal on wood! The walls are clad with thick wooden planks, the floors too, and the furniture is chunky rustic wooden furniture. Even the bar is chunky wooden beams. Coupling it with the rustic hanging lights dotted around, it works very well for the aesthetic they're going for. I must admit though, although it's bright on one end, its incredibly dark on the other end. This gives me the impression that their main aim is a night-time crowd, and that the décor probably shows at its best after dark. But it's clean, modern, and spacious. All good things.

The feel of the place in terms of operation seems very similar to Manchester too, a host greets you and takes you to your table, asking if you've visited before, and mentioning the specials, before leaving you to the service team. Another thing that made me think that the daytime trade is yet to establish is that whilst we were there, there were only around 3 tables in use, but no less than 4 servers, the host at the door, a barman, and a couple of managers. Although this is good, meaning you get good and attentive service, it did also mean that they were often stood at the side of the bar, looking at the dining room and waiting for something they could do. This resulted in us being asked if we wanted any more drinks by several different servers one after the other. All very well meant, but a little disorganised.

The menu comes in a wooden clad casing, very stylish, and another menu explains the origins of the meat they use, and their cooking methods. I like this, this is the sort of thing people like to read about whilst waiting for their food. 

We decided to try one of the specials, the "Texas Toast" and an "Onion Bomb", which I've only ever really seen in the States, but usually known as a blooming onion or onion blossom. 

The starters took a little while to arrive, but there was good music, and one of the servers updated us to let us know that the starters wouldn't be too long. I really don't mind this, I'd rather wait a little longer knowing the food is being prepared fresh than coming out of a microwave or from under a waiting heatlamp. We also ordered some soft drinks. It was nice to see that root beer was available. A true American staple!

Both starters were excellent. The onion bomb was perfectly crisp and tender, and came with a delicious ranch dressing. The Texas toast was wonderfully thick and crunchy, with several types of melted cheese and garlic. Really morish!

For our main, although we were considering one of the tasty sounding burgers, or taking advantage of it being "rib thursday", we looked at each other with a grin, and ordered the adventurous sounding "Pit Master Platter", designed for two to share. Everything about it sounded great.

What turned up was a table-full of wooden boards, some with little iron pots containing sides, some as plates (I prefer real plates as a side plate to be honest, but hey it's a wooden theme, lets go with it), and one containing the main meaty stars, which was very cleverly placed on a stand, raising it above the sides, and allowing more space on the table. Very clever!

And yes, it was as good as it looks! The Texas sausage and pulled pork were beautifully tender and flavourful, and considering corn on the cob is usually just corn on the cob, this particular specimen was bursting with flavour, and you could taste the smoke. Really really good! We also had lovely crisp fries. We had the option of choosing sweet potato fries too, which is always nice to be offered when somewhere is boasting Southern States cuisine, as sweet potatoes are worshipped in those parts!

Eyeing up the dessert menu was a great idea, but we didn't get that far. The platter is amazing, and very filling, so much so that we had to ask for a doggy bag. It's only a little detail, but the fact that our doggy bag had each element of our meal in separate plastic tubs, and then placed into a paper take-out bag was a really nice touch. Not just all thrown in a soggy box, but taken care of so that you can continue to enjoy their food later.

When I popped to the toilets, I noticed there was another seating area in the back, which was lighter. Perhaps the dark area of the main dining room could do with some theatrical lighting to break it down a bit, because this rear area looked much better in the brightness. Another interesting point is that the toilets are the modern idea of individual contained toilets, in which is the toilet itself and the washing facilities. Always good to see. Not entirely sure why some were male and some female though, as the male toilets didn't contain a urinal or anything, so I assume they were all the same layout. But again, clean, good size, and another pervy joke on the wall as you come out. Fab.

As the staff took the doors off their hinges and buttered up the door frames for us to be able to roll out in our food coma, we both agreed that we definitely would return. The food and service was excellent, and we both know friends and family who would love it here.

The only thing to be aware of is that the venue doesn't have its own car park, which can be tricky if you're pulling up to it and don't realise that. However, there is parking at a couple of nearby shopping precincts (2 minutes walk). Or just order a taxi so you can load up on the flavoured mojitos. It's all good!

Two thumbs way up, Pit! We'll be back soon, don't you worry!

The Pit Smoke House
453 Warrington Road
Culcheth
Warrington
Cheshire
WA3 5SJ
(01925) 871 664
http://www.thepitsmokehouse.co.uk