Smoke Queen Barbecue

When we first sampled Smoke Queen Barbecue at Los Angeles’s food truck and kiosk roundup Smorgasburg, we were basically in love: The pandemic pushed an Orange County-based chef to mix Chinese and Malaysian flavors with Texas-style smoking/BBQ techniques, initially through online sales and pop-ups. The result was a collection of strongly flavored proteins that – like Buffalo, NY’s Indian-inspired Southern Junction – amply demonstrated barbecue’s Asian fusion potential, winning both local and national acclaim. Three years after Smoke Queen debuted, a brick-and-mortar location opened in 2024 just down the street from Phin Smith in Garden Grove, and more than a year later, there are still lines out the door for the unique menu, which includes BBQ classics (brisket, ribs, pork belly, chicken, sausage), several sandwiches with the same meats, and three rice bowls with Chinese or Thai inspirations.

Despite our positive experience at Smorgasburg, the first word that comes to mind when we think about our experience at Smoke Queen’s brick-and-mortar location is “regret,” and the second, entirely related word is “fatty” – two things we hadn’t expected before our visit, and won’t pin at all on the restaurant’s friendly (though not particularly fast-paced) counter staff.

Arriving less than 15 minutes after doors opened on a Sunday morning, we waited in a slow-moving line for an hour to place an order, and nearly half an hour more for our meal to be ready, much of that time under sunlight in hot summer temperatures. When our platter arrived, we discovered it was filled with some of the fattiest meats we’ve ever been served at a restaurant, and mostly so-so sides. While the protein flavors were solid, and sauces (homemade smoky/sweet/tangy barbecue, lightly spicy Korean kinda-gochujang, and basic sriracha) were available to fill in the blanks, Smoke Queen’s outrageous fat levels were enough to actively detract from the quality of more than half the items we ordered.

The highlights of our visit were a half-rack of pork ribs ($24), which were 80-85% sweet, smoky, and peppery meat once separated from their small bones, and a side of spicy cucumbers ($6), which while relatively small and basic better fit the Asian BBQ theme than either traditionally salty pickles or the free sweet pickled radish that came with our meats. A portion of pulled pork ($24/lb.) was thankfully also relatively low in obvious fat, and arrived with some of the house barbecue sauce on top. By contrast, tallow fries ($8) were a waste – bland Sysco-quality crinkle fries – and a sausage link ($8) was merely OK, both excessively fatty and forgettably flavored.