The Verdict
Smoking Goat looks like a Shoreditch beer-and-barbecue bar and charges like one — twelve quid a dish, no white tablecloth in sight. It is, quietly, one of the most serious Thai kitchens in London. Ben Chapman opened the first Smoking Goat on Denmark Street in 2014 with no restaurant background, moved it to 64 Shoreditch High Street when Crossrail took the original, and built a kitchen that cooks Isaan and northern Thai food with real fire and real fermentation. The prices haven't caught up with the cooking, which is the whole appeal.
The Kitchen
The fish-sauce chicken wings are the gateway: lacquered, funky, the kind of thing you reorder before the first plate is gone. The lardo fried rice — cooked in the fat of locally raised Tamworth pigs — is the dish that converts sceptics, and the glass noodles baked with crab and pork belly is the one regulars guard. Chapman cooks the pungent end of the Thai spectrum: fermented pork, dried-chilli heat, smoke off a wood grill, none of it sanded down for English palates. Dishes run from around £12, and a proper feed lands near £50 to £60 a head once the wings multiply and the drinks arrive. The address tells the story: 64 Shoreditch High Street, a hard-edged east London room that has been packed since the Soho original closed in 2016. It is not refined. It is exact, which is harder.
The Room
The room is loud, dark and built for appetite rather than romance: bare tables, a bar doing brisk trade, a soundtrack that climbs as the night does. Seating is tight and communal in spirit, and the noise sits firmly at the boisterous end. There is no dress code worth the name and trainers are the norm. Come early if you want to hear your table, late if you want the heat of the place. It is one of the most fun rooms in east London and one of the least suitable for a quiet word.
Best for a Team Dinner
Book Smoking Goat for a team dinner because the format does the work: everything is built to share, the wings and fried rice land fast, and the bill stays sane even when the table goes deep. Nobody has to perform, the volume covers the awkward silences, and Shoreditch keeps the night going afterwards. Order in rounds, keep the wings coming, and let the heat loosen everyone up. See more team dinner restaurants in London or the full London dining guide.
Not For
Not for a quiet first date or anyone heat-shy — this is the loud, funky, chilli-forward end of Thai cooking, and the room is louder still. Skip it too if you want a fixed bill; the small plates are cheap individually but the total climbs fast once the wings get ordered three times.
Frequently Asked
Is Smoking Goat worth it? Yes, and it punches well above its price. Ben Chapman's kitchen cooks some of the most serious Thai food in London — the fish-sauce wings, the lardo fried rice, the fermented pork — at roughly £12 a dish. A full meal lands near £50 to £60 a head, which for cooking this precise is a bargain. Go hungry and order widely.
How hard is it to book Smoking Goat? Easier than the hype suggests. The Shoreditch room takes online bookings and keeps space for walk-ins, so a weeknight is usually doable on short notice. Weekend evenings fill, so book a few days ahead or arrive early. Larger groups should reserve, because the sharing format rewards a full table.
What is the dress code at Smoking Goat? There isn't one. This is a loud, casual Shoreditch room where trainers and a T-shirt are entirely normal. Dress for a fun, slightly messy dinner rather than a smart one — the wings are sticky and the place makes no apology for it. Comfortable beats formal here every time.
How much does dinner at Smoking Goat cost? Dishes start around £12, and a satisfying meal runs about £50 to £60 a head with drinks. The small plates look cheap one by one, but they add up quickly once the fish-sauce wings get reordered, which they will. Budget for more than you think and you will still leave feeling you got value.
What should I order at Smoking Goat? Start with the fish-sauce chicken wings, then the lardo fried rice and the glass noodles baked with crab and pork belly. Add a fermented or grilled meat for the smoke, and drink cold beer or a sharp riesling against the chilli. Order more wings than seems reasonable; you will want them.