Wilbur & Sabastian's Smokehouse & Bistro

All our smoked meats are marinated and lightly seasoned with our own spice-rub before being slowly smoked in Maple and Alder. 

When someone mentions Coquitlam, I think of Coquitlam Town Centre and never Port Coquitlam or Port Moody. I mean, when I go to Port Moody I just think of it as Coquitlam and as for Port Coquitlam, all I know is that you pass a small bridge which is a few minutes away from Coquitlam Centre. So, having to make an errand, I went all the way out to Port Coquitlam and realized hey, this is pretty far! Fortunately, Wilbur & Sabastian's Smokehouse is also located in Port Coquitlam which is a restaurant that I have been wanting to visit for about half a year. 

After visiting Memphis Blues, I made it a goal to try every barbecue joint in B.C which is fairly easy, since there are not too many. The restaurant is very clean and the seating arrangements are comfortable as well as comfortable (no cramped tables here)! However, there are not many tables which my be an issue during peak hours, for those who hate line ups. 

Walking in, we were greeted by a friendly waiter and he gave us the option of sitting anywhere.

GRILLED SMOKED CHORIZO, THREE LINKS OF SPICY CHORIZO, FINISHED WITH PERI PERI SAUCE, TOPPED WITH CHUNKY MANGO SALSA AND SERVED WITH CORNBREAD ($9.00).

As we were ordering, our choice was between the smoked farmer's sausage or the spicy smoked chorizo, and our waiter recommended ordering an appetizer version since we already ordered two entrees. The chorizo has a nice hint of spiciness along with a smokiness, and tastes crisp. As for the chunky mango salsa, there is a good amount of diced tomato as well as ripe mango. Actually, I was not expecting any salsa since I did not read the description on the menu, but it tastes quite good. 

DAILY SOUP, RUSSIAN BORSHT ($4.00).

The soup tastes very light as well as healthy, and has more of a beet flavour than tomato. If anything, I find the soup too… healthy, and tastes like something that a vegan would order rather than what one would expect at a barbecue house (which is of course a biased thought!). However, if the russian borscht was called "beet soup", it would be more than acceptable.

THREE BEEF BONES IN BOLD & SPICY CLASSIC, GRAINY MUSTARD AND MOLASSES WITH THE EARTHY KICK OF CRACKED BLACK PEPPER ($20.00). 

Every entree comes with a side of coleslaw, cornbread, beans and a choice of side. For my choice of side, I went for the daily soup which is the russian borsch because I did not really care for a side and BF told me to get the soup. Oddly, the soup comes with a dollop of sour cream which provides a creamier taste and was forgotten(?) on the first order. As for the sides, the coleslaw tastes fresh as well as crisp, and slightly tangy (although BF would have preferred a creamier version, I thought it was fine). Next, the cornbread has a quite sticky exterior and the inside resembles an undercooked cake and is very dense (despite being fully cooked). Up last, the smoky-molasses baked beans have a watery consistency and the beans taste hard as well as slightly undercooked.

Moving to the entree, the beef ribs taste juicy as well as tender, and extremely moist; the meat practically falls off the bones! I would not be surprised if the ribs are parboiled. However, W&B states that their meats are smoked in maple and alder. Asides from the juiciness, the ribs lack that nice rich smoky flavour and taste very plain which is unfortunate. As for the bold and classic sauce, it tastes very light and there is no hint of spiciness. If anything, a smokier sauce would be a nice option to have considering that the ribs do not taste smoky at all.

CHICKEN AND RIB COMBO, SKIN ON RUSSET CHIPS ($16.00).

The skin on the russet chips are definitely the highlight of the entree. Every chip is perfectly crisp and there is not one single soft or soggy piece! As for the entree, the baby back ribs taste tender but neither dry nor moist. In addition similar to the beef ribs, there is no smoked or charred barbecued flavour. However, the ribs have a very faint barely there hint of smokiness. 

As for the chicken thigh and leg, the portion is actually quite small and although free range, it is the size of a palm. Nevertheless, the meat tastes moist and again, lacks that smoky flavour one would expect from a smokehouse.

TOTAL: $54.60 + TIP $10.90 = $65.50.

Overall, we tipped 20% because the waiter was friendly as well as helpful and at the end of dinner, he was happy to pack up the bones for our dogs. The only complaint would be when he disappeared for a while (after we got the packed up bones), I waved down a lady who worked at the back of the house and she acknowledged me, twice. However, she did not grab our waiter for us or even say "be one minute". It kind of bugged me because we did not want to leave the money on the table and considering the empty restaurant, it would have been nice if she just took it off of us rather than having to wait the fifteen minutes that we did. Or, just simply acknowledge us instead of looking back… twice.

POSITIVES

- Friendly waiter

- Reasonable prices

- Way better than Montana's Cookhouse

NEGATIVES

- Meats do not taste smoky at all

- The lady was a bit rude

- Inconsistent with the soups?

- Beans and cornbread are not very good

LITTLE THINGS

- I prefer Burgers Etc more because the meats taste smokier as well as tastier

- W&B's is the kind of average that I would visit again if I was in the area because the waiter was friendly (only for the beef ribs and chips!). But, if the meats are not smoky on the revisit, I will probably not even bother anymore

Food: 2.5/5

Service: 3/5