Smokehouse in Bukit Timah Fire Station: Decker Barbecue opens new flagship
It turns out that former firehouses make for perfect smokehouses.
The irony was not lost on us when the popular local BBQ joint Decker Barbecue opened a new flagship inside the former Bukit Timah Fire Station itself.
This is actually quite a big move for the Texas BBQ-focused restaurant, which has operated exclusively out of its Robertson Quay home since opening in 2015.
More than a decade has gone by, and Decker Barbecue has finally decided to expand — and with a second outlet all the way in the west, too.
It seems westies are excited for it, since it was packed when we rolled up to the Bukit Timah Fire Station location on a Tuesday evening.
One thing that stood out to us was how Decker Barbecue retained the bones of the Bukit Timah Fire Station, which previously housed Spruce @ Firestation.
We appreciate the cool touches, such as co-opting the large red doors into floor-to-ceiling windows, giving diners a nice view of the main road.
The overall aesthetic bears a unique modern farmhouse-chic, with exposed bricks and rustic wooden furniture as the foundation — perfect for a Texan BBQ outfit, really.
There’s a picturesque al fresco area, festooned with fairy lights, too.
BBQ enthusiasts can also have a peep at the offset smoker that’s specially imported from Texas — it’s something you don’t get to see too often here!
Decker Barbecue’s Bukit Timah menu
Before you plan a trip down to Bukit Timah Fire Station for Decker Barbecue, do note that the different menus are available depending on your visiting time:
- Lunch (11am to 3pm)
- Weekend brunch (8am to 2pm, including public holidays)
- Dinner (6pm onwards for weekdays, but ready from 12pm onwards on weekends)
One reason is the preparation of the smoked meats: Decker Barbecue painstakingly smokes its meats starting from the wee hours of the morning, so they won’t be ready so early in the day.
The lunch offerings follow the lines of sandwiches and rice bowls that marry Texan BBQ with Southeast Asian flavours, such as rendang brisket rice bowl (S$20).
Of course, we’d recommend visiting for dinner if you enjoy indulgent smoked meat — that’s where you can build your own sharing platter (from S$40) to try as many types as you can!
The platters start from S$40 for two diners, with two meats and two sides, and go up to S$288 for six diners, with six meats, six sides, two starters, and three desserts!
Decker Barbecue gives guests a whopping eleven different types of meat, and twelve types of sides, to choose from, so you’re quite spoilt for choice.
The meats that stood out the most to us were the wagyu beef brisket (extra S$5) and the pulled pork.
In particular, we were delighted by how luscious the pulled pork was, with juices filling your mouth with every bite. It’s packed with flavour, as well as a rich and smoky homemade barbecue sauce giving it an edge over your run-of-the-mill pulled pork!
As far as beef brisket goes, Decker Barbecue does a wonderful job smoking it to achieve a succulent and tender texture.
However, if you are expecting massive smoky flavours, this isn’t that kind of brisket — Decker Barbecue opts to give it a lighter, cleaner smoke profile, so that more of the meat’s natural flavour shines through.
No worries, though — that just means you can sauce it up however you like it.
Did we mention that Decker Barbecue is also introducing a Haidilao-style self-service sauce station at its new outpost?
Just like the condiment bars we associate hotpot spots with, Decker’s offers up a few recommended recipes.
But we’d recommend just going wild: There aren’t many barbecue restaurants that let you mix up kecap manis, mustard, garlic, vinegar, and soy sauce, like we did.
And you know what? Kecap manis might work just as with every item on the platter!
Beyond the meat
Beyond the headlining smoked meats, what other dishes on Decker Barbecue’s menu are worth the calories?
First up are the kaffir lime hot honey wings (S$18), featuring fried chicken wings are slicked in an addictive kaffir lime hot honey.
It reminds us of what Wingstop offers, except with a sauce profile similar to tangy Thai sweet chilli .
Honestly, our favourite dish on our visit wasn’t actually a smoked meat item, which Decker Barbecue is known for, but rather the banana and sesame poppers (S$14).
It’s a fried pastry reminiscent of donuts or beignets, with an airy and crunchy crust, moist and fluffy insides and a light banana fragrance.
It sounds simple, but the real magic comes when you dip it into the exuberantly floral tahini honey dip, which has echoes of toasty and slightly savoury sesame notes, and creamy ice cream on the side!
If there was one dish that we weren’t too impressed by, it was the brisket rillette pizza pie (S$28).
This pizza pie is studded with nice little chunks of the housemade brisket rillette, but the pizza dough itself was rather lacklustre — at that price, it’s not hard to find better artisan options in our pizza-saturated dining scene.
Ultimately though, the food is solid and you should pop by at least once to see what’s up if you live in the west!
This was a hosted tasting.
For more ideas on what to eat, read our stories on the photogenic Tembusu, a new pet-friendly cafe in the Botanic Gardens and the viral noodle bar that just opened in the CBD!
Wed 11am - 11pm
Thu 11am - 11pm
Fri 11am - 11pm
Sat 8am - 11pm
Sun 8am - 10pm
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Evan started off writing about food on Instagram, before joining outlets such as Buro and Confirm Good to pursue his passion. His best work usually comes after his first whisky shot in the morning.
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