International Smoke

International Smoke Restaurant Review:

About Michael Mina: It is very interesting to follow chef Michael Mina. His restaurants are always good, whether they are casual, upscale or fine dining, whatever the concept --- his group currently manages some thirty restaurants all over America. We can only guess he is a hard worker and teams up with the right people. After all, Mina was GAYOT’s Restaurateur of the Year in 2011.

strong>About the restaurant: International Smoke is a collaboration between Mina and Ayesha Curry, celebrity cook, cookbook author and wife of basketball star Steph Curry of Oakland's Golden State Warriors. From their many journeys around the globe, both have brought back to the kitchen spices, flavors and products. They have transformed them into intriguing dishes using grilling and smoking cooking techniques. We don’t recommend walking in with no reservation, as the 80-seat space and the bar, seating 20, fill up daily.

Likes: The diversity of the dishes.
strong>Dislikes: None.


Watch our lunch at International Smoke with our exclusive video.

About the food & drinks: Travel the world with the menu. Start with the Kalua “Instant Bacon” which are steamed buns filled with braised pork belly in a teriyaki sauce, pineapple salsa and spiced macadamias topped with yuzu mayo; continue with the avocado and quinoa salad with black beans and jícama (Mexican yam bean) in a lime dressing. The charcoal grill shellfish platter is very tasty as each item (oysters, clams, shrimp, lobster and crab) is covered with miso butter, and at the time of serving a lemongrass and ginger broth is poured on the warm rocks. The smoked pork ribs come in three flavors, and to help you jump from one to another watermelon is brought to the table as a palate cleanser. The green papaya slaw with Thai chilies and peanuts seasoned with fish sauce or the curry cornbread topped with a Thai red curry butter are good side dishes. The Vietnamese glass noodles with grilled shrimps, sausage and clams is a definite must-have. We also liked the garlic fried rice with mushrooms and scallion enhanced with soy. We are not convinced by the two desserts we had (banana tarte Tatin and coconut pudding mixed with passion fruit tapioca with sparkles of berry shave ice). They were not as flavorful and interesting as the savory part. Beverages include seasonal cocktails, wine and international and local beers, as well as a tangy menu of picklebacks and nonalcoholic options such as sweet tea.