Ayesha Curry On What’s New At Her Grill-Centric Restaurant, International Smoke

From renowned Chefs Michael Mina and Ayesha Curry, San Francisco’s International Smoke is a restaurant that showcases wood fired steaks, seafood, and ribs with global flair. Since debuting in 2016 as a pop-up in MINA Test Kitchen, the restaurant now has permanent locations in San Francisco, San Diego, and Las Vegas. Despite having to shutter its doors during the peak of the pandemic, International Smoke has been resilient and has successfully completed a year back in business.

Most recently the popular restaurant launched a new, family-style tasting menu, Fuego, which incorporates flavors from across the globe. Highlights include Ayesha’s fresh baked cornbread with Thai red curry butter; ‘Peking’ smoked pork belly bao buns; American bbq ribs; woo-fire roasted salmon with a Korean chili glaze; ‘Sinaloan’ style Mary’s chicken; and a 40 oz. grilled filet mignon.

On the restaurant’s standard menu are standouts like the 36 oz. bone-in tomahawk ribeye; smoked St. Louis cut pork ribs with your choice of three sauces including American bbq, Korean sesame-gochujang or Mexican chipotle; a gran shellfish platter with oysters, shrimp and king crab; and lobster mac and cheese.

We chatted with Ayesha Curry, renowned restauranteur and chef, 2x New York Times best-selling author, and television host and producer on what’s new at International Smoke. Here’s what she had to say.

Since the pandemic International Smoke has been reopened for about a year — how has this year been? Has the restaurant bounced back yet and what are you doing to ensure it continues this upward trajectory?

It has been absolutely heartbreaking the way the pandemic has decimated the restaurant industry. While it’s been a struggle, I’m so proud of our team. They have been so resilient through it all, and we’re grateful that people are embracing us once again. We’re definitely bouncing back and getting to do what we love – feed people and help them make memories. We’re happy to be a source of joy for people after a few really tough years.

What’s the inspiration behind the menu at International Smoke?

There is a common thread with cultures around the globe gathering at the table to share a meal and that meal usually has some sort of grilled, barbecued, smoked component. That’s why our International Smoke concept focuses on fire as the heart of cooking. Our menu highlights not only my background and Chef Mina’s background, but cultures from all over the world. We wanted to create a space and menu that lets patrons travel the globe without ever having to use their passport.

Talk about the new Spring Menu. What are the highlights? What are must trys?

On the spring menu, we really put an emphasis on vegetables. Cooking with fire and smoke doesn’t have to be just meat and seafood. You can incorporate those techniques and flavors into vegetable preparations, creating hearty and delicious dishes for vegetarians as well. While we’ve always had a number of vegetarian and vegan dishes available at International Smoke, we now show what can be vegan or gluten free directly on the menu, offering a dining experience that has something for everyone.

We’re definitely experimenting with fire and flame and how it impacts the flavor of vegetables too. One of my favorites is our spring succotash, which is one of our new side dishes. It’s truly enough to stand on its own. We make it with guanciale and saba, and it can also be vegan!

Talk about the cocktail program.

Our kitchen is not the only part of the restaurant that gets to play with smoke! The bar team has just as much fun, and with every great meal is a great beverage. One of our highlights is that we brulee grapefruit or peppers as a garnish, and drop a smoke bubble on top of our Reserve Manhattan.

We have also used a smoke box to introduce some of our beverages tableside, which is definitely a favorite for guests. We also have a playful selection of cocktails and our bartenders, especially our lead bartender, Jorge, take pride in being able to create a cocktail specified to each customer’s preference.

Going forward, what’s in the works and what do guests have to look forward to?

We have actually been making a return to tableside service, which is something we were known for before the pandemic. For example and definitely a popular choice, our tomahawk ribeye is cut tableside and we’re putting the finishing touches on a presentation that includes a Dutch oven on a bed of smoldering hay. Something that is very different and is going to be an attention grabber for sure. Also, with summer here, we can’t wait to showcase new dishes with popular ingredients like heirloom tomatoes and corn, as well as new and refreshing summer recipes.

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