Food review: Smoke Stop BBQ, Shrewsbury

The sweet, sticky smell of meaty smoke drifted across the car park as my friend and I parked our wagon outside Smoke Stop BBQ.

We were in for a treat. The venue opened two years ago and has proved an out-and-out hit.

And that's no coincidence.

Smoke Stop is what happens when a restaurant owner alights on a good concept and executes it with nerveless skill. It's what happens when a team of workers sing from the same song sheet. It's what happens when food, service and ambience combine to give diners a memorable occasion. It's what happens, simply, when everything goes right.

Smoke Stop is located in Nowheresville – and there's something kinda fitting about that. Like all the best American diners, it's on the road from Some Where to Some Where Else. It's a resting place between destinations, a location where people who are just passing through can rest up and enjoy abundant hospitality.

Boozy shakes, Bourbons and cocktails are par for the course; dishes are amusingly named – from We're Not Jokin' Our Chicken Is Smokin' #2 to The Dre Beet Burger – staff appear to enjoy their work and the interior is as close as you'll come to an authentic American diner this side of the Mississippi. Hell, even the prices are half decent. When it comes to American grills and burgers, there's no better place in Shropshire in my opinion.

The interior is a blast. Stripped pine tables and absurd baseball caps, neon red signs and American ephemera, toothpicks and cow horns – every box has been ticked. The soundtrack is super smooth too and the staff uniforms set them out as Ordinary Joes – and Jos – who are just happy to be earning a dime.

Food is served on metal trays, ketchups are left on the table and milkshakes are served with lashings of whipped cream. Frankly, it's insane.

This finger lickin' food critic has lost a healthy three stone during the past year. Bye bye extra portions; hello 30-inch jeans. But Fat Boy Slim would soon re-emerge if there were more visits to Smokestop. Calories are a mere inconvenience at Smokestop. The food is piled high, the fats are all about flavour and there's no sense of guilt for diners. 'Fancy another burger with your burger?' seems to be the mantra.

'Whack it on, buddy, and give me extra cheese'.

My friend started with Smoke Stop Nachos, served with Monterey Jack cheese, guacamole, spiced salsa, jalapeños and a dollop of soured cream. Except dollop isn't the word. It was a hefty scoop, a philanthropic serving, a bounteous allowance. He wolfed them down like a hungry hungry hippo who'd been fasting for 14 days. My mac'n'cheese balls were decent enough too. Three crispy, golden balls of cheesy delight were served with a sweet and peppery jalapeño salsa. The revs could have been turned up on the cheese – it tasted of Asda mild rather than Snowdonia Black Bomber – but it made for decent eating.

I'd intended to max out on a Texas Taster Platter, an absurdly profuse collection of six mains served with three sides. Ha. Like old skinny jeans could even begin to manage that. As the waitress hovered to take our order, my brain sent a message to my mouth: "Burger with fries, please." This man wasn't made for food challenges, sadly.

I opted for The Famous Notorious P.I.G. a beef quarter pounder topped with twice smoked BBQ pulled pork and a side of fries and slaw.

The fries were brilliant; crisp like a fried-to-death potato, golden like a wedding ring and seasoned like a French fry in a salt mine. They were a treat. The burger was brilliant too: meaty, moist, seasoned deliciously and cooked so that hot, juicy fat lubricated each mouthful. The pulled pork was exceptional and served so generously that I removed the top of my brioche bun and enjoyed a pulled pork sandwich before tucking into the burger.

My friend – the world's fittest plasterer – made light work of his Smokin' Joe King; which featured two quarter pounders topped with battered onion rings and jalapeños. "This is good," he said, as a hush descended. We ate with the seriousness of librarians, savouring our LaLaLaLaLaAmericaBurgerExperience. Bosh. Gone.

We thought about dessert for about half a second. We thought about dessert for as long as it takes to decide that feeding monkey nuts to a crocodile is a bad idea. We thought about dessert for the same amount of time that visitors to Chester Zoo decide not to abduct an elephant by secreting it in the boot of their Mercedes AMG GT. If we'd ordered anything else we'd have blown up like Violet Beauregarde in the original Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. And that's not a good look.

Smoke Stop is ridiculous. It's extreme. It's all of your burger dreams come true. It is, in short, brilliant.

Food reviewers are asked a simple question over and over and over again by friends, social media geeks and others in search of a decent restaurant recommendation. It's this. "Where do you really like?"

And during the past two years, I've sent countless people to Smoke Stop. There's no frills and no smoke and mirrors, no pretence and no airs and graces. It's all about straight up meat – okay, there's a veggie section too, for those averse to beef, pork and chicken – and it does a brilliant job.

Burgers have enjoyed a renaissance in recent years. And as a nation, we've got fussier. We're no longer content with McBurgerKing. Cheap bread, flavourless patties and wan salad no longer cuts it. As consumers, we demand more bang for our buck, more burger for our wonga.

There are a number of exceptional burger joints catering to those with higher levels of aspiration. Outlets offer light, sweet brioche, knock out pickles, brilliantly cooked chips and patties that ooze decadent flavour.

Patty & Bun, Almost Famous Burgers, Honest Burgers and Five Guys have raised standards to a new level. Smoke Stop might not be as well known as any of those, but it's deserving of similar recognition.

It's taken the baton first carried by the Handmade Burger Co and run with it. It has its own funky flavour combinations – bacon and marshmallow, anyone, or how about goat's cheese and peanut butter jelly? – and customers flock to it.