Review: Salt Lick Smokehouse

While the name only brings up images of a small goat licking a salted patch of ground, Hamilton’s Salt Lick Smokehouse has a much more pleasant aesthetic and environment. Located in the thriving foodie community of James Street North, the relatively new barbeque joint has been open since this January.

I visisted the restaurant at lunch time on a Friday, and there was a line out the door waiting for a table. Unfortunately, eventhough tables were clearing fast, their turnaround was pretty slow with only one person visibly waiting tables.

Their menu was written on chalkboards around the room and featured a variety of barbeque sandwiches including chicken, pulled pork and brisket, with a variety of flavouring options and sides. The restaurant posts their daily offerings on their Instagram everyday, cycling through different meats and sides.

A friend and I collectively ordered the pulled pork and brisket sandwiches with a cucmber salad and coleslaw. Both of the sandwiches were great, with the meat cooked well, with a big smoky flavour and just the right amount of sauce. The coleslaw was good and very generous considering how big the sandwiches already were. The cucumber salad was straight up an entire cucumber cut up into a bowl.

Overall, eventhough the service was slow (and appeared pretty pissed off), the food was good and worth the trip downtown.