What’s the vibe?

Toronto has certainly developed a taste for barbecue, with the Texas-style characterized by simple dry rubs recently taking hold (see Adamson Barbecue, J&J Bar-B-Que). The latest opening is Smoke Signals Bar-B-Q featuring Austin-trained pitmaster Nicholas Chen-Yin and co-owner Diego Bergia at the helm. But instead of limiting the operation to one specific style, Chen-Yin has picked the best of the Southern techniques for Smoke Signals’ menu, from Texan to saucy Carolinian and even Asian-inspired flavours. This Dundas West eatery’s atmosphere is casual and fun with picnic table-style seating, simple cutlery and stacks of paper towels at the ready. It’s a great date-night spot or gathering place for a large group that isn’t afraid to get messy and eat with their hands.

What to drink?

There’s a single cocktail on the menu – the 13th Floor Elevator – that’s meant to serve two. Filling a large mason jar with straws for sharing, the cocktail features a smoked black tea base as an excellent accompaniment for barbecued eats. Peach schnapps, yuzu and lemon add fruity flavours to balance it out. Craft cans from Ace Hill, Brickworks and Lost Craft are also available along with a house lager from Great Lakes Brewery and a handful of whiskies and bourbons.

What to eat?

The menu at Smoke Signals is definitely made for sharing. Their meats – beef brisket, pork ribs and pulled pork – are available in smaller half-pound servings as well as single links of sausages so that you can mix and match depending on your tastes and appetite. Pork ribs are dry rubbed with a spice mix featuring fennel, chili and garlic powder, sugar, salt and pepper before a five-hour smoking and a spritzing of fatty schmaltz to finish them off. Asian flavours in the PKPK wings, made with fish sauce, bird's eye chili and lemongrass, were an unexpected but appreciated deviance from the typical barbecue offerings.

View on Instagram

We’d recommend visiting Smoke Signals from Thursday to Saturday, when they bring in special cuts of meat that aren’t on the regular menu. During our visit, we tried the beef rib special, which was the highlight of our meal. With a simple rub of kosher salt and coarse black pepper, it’s the eight-hour smoking process over flavourful ash wood that really sets the rib apart. Smoke Signals does make their own house sauces, including an excellent mustard-based dipper, but you’ll have to ask your server for them as they encourage you to enjoy the meats on their own first.

Sides are definitely not an afterthought at this barbecue joint. Their house-pickled veg was well-balanced between sweet and tart while the Frito Pie is a southern take on nachos, made by layering smoked brisket, cheddar, crema, green onions and jalapeno peppers on Frito corn chips. Desserts rotate between house-made puddings and pies. The buttermilk lemon pie was on offer when we dined and it was a creamy and refreshing end to our meal.

Dinner and drinks for two: around $70

1242 Dundas Street West; 416 588 7408; smokesignalsbarbecue.ca