Opening up at Rose Street's Fierce Bar just before Christmas, Smoke and Soul are already sending shockwaves through the capital's food scene.
Bringing their award-winning BBQ comfort food from Aberdeen to Edinburgh, they've already gained plenty of admirers - from 119 reviews on Facebook, they've earned a full five star rating.
Foodies have been full of praise for the likes of their 'incredible' BBQ pulled pork soul sandwich, smoke and soul burger and sriracha pork, with one diner even commenting: "Just had the sriracha pork tonight in Edinburgh. Good God it was good. Gigantic and delicious and super juicy and just super super tasty. And good with a Fierce Tropical Sour. I'd give it six stars if I could."
Last year, they landed a Restaurant of the Year prize for their Aberdeen site, while also scooping a Best BBQ Business award.
And so with everyone raving about this relatively new Rose Street food spot, we caught up with kitchen manager Rachael to hear more about it.
She said: "We smoke our own meats, pulled pork, chicken and brisket. They are to die for! The highest quality of meats that we use are sourced from Scottish craft butcher, H&S Milne & Sons. We also use local bakery Le Petit Francis for our brioche burger buns, for our amazing smash burgers.
"We make everything from scratch, and we aren’t shy with the portion sizes. They are very generous!
"We opened the Edinburgh kitchen November 2021 within Fierce Bar, who also offer a fantastic range of craft beers.
"Corey and Lindsay started Smoke and Soul in October 2017, doing pop up events with local breweries in Aberdeen and were offered a kitchen within 6 Degrees North. They quit their day jobs in oil and gas and jumped in head first running the kitchen themselves with no experience in hospitality. Soon they started to hire staff and they have started to grow from there!
"Fierce approached owners Corey and Lindsay after doing pop up events with them in Aberdeen and just loved their food so asked them if they would take on their kitchen in Edinburgh.
"Corey and Lindsay are amazing and so hands on. Not only are they great to work for, they are genuinely lovely people. As a whole we are all very proud of our menu."
Along with the success of Fierce Bar residency so far, Smoke and Soul have become a hugely popular delivery option, with families also finding it a good way to keep hungry kids happy.
Rachael added: "On our menu we also have the likes of dirty fries, nachos, smash burgers, sandwiches, homemade mac and cheese and chilli as well veggie and vegan options. We also have a kids menu for any families who wish to visit us! Everyone is welcome!
"Not only do we serve customers in house, we are available on Deliveroo and the new to Edinburgh, Foodstuff delivery platform that promotes independent businesses."
Meanwhile, this month, Smoke and Soul diners can support those affected the ongoing crisis in Ukraine, simply by ordering deliveries.
Rachael explained: "We are currently trying to do our bit to support Ukraine. For the whole of March all the profits from every poutine sold will be donated to help those who are suffering just now."
And asked why people should give Smoke and Soul a go if they haven't had a chance yet, Rachael said: "The whole team are extremely passionate about what we do and what the company stands for and I could speak for the whole team, Edinburgh and Aberdeen and say that Lindsay and Corey are two of the nicest people you could ever meet."
Current opening times at Smoke and Soul at Fierce Bar are Wednesday-Thursday 4.30pm-8.30pm and Saturday-Sunday 12pm-8.30pm although they are currently trialling opening until 10pm Friday and Saturday.
To see more of their delicious eats and for all their updates, you can visit Smoke and Soul on Instagram here.
