Southern Crown Caribbean Smokehouse was born out of the pandemic, a venture launched by seasoned chefs Barrington Graham and Kyle McClure back in 2021. For a couple of years, the duo had been planning to start their own thing, and last year Lob Toronto – a restaurant they both ran – let them use its space for the launch. After two months, they left and continued to serve up quality food in popups all over both Toronto and the Orangeville area.
Now, the pair have a home base at 858 Eglinton Ave. East, serving up Southern and Caribbean comfort food in East York Food Hall, rubbing shoulders with Jamaican patty spot Phamilyeats, ice cream company Churnt Up, Conspiracy Pizza and more.
“Southern Crown is our passion. We try very, very hard and cook with honest love,” says Kyle McClure, one-half of the dynamic duo–two industry veterans with over 45 years of collective experience. Both Graham and McClure are classically trained chefs, with resumes boasting work in prominent restaurants all over the city, including The Millcroft Inn, Opus, The Rose Water, The Sutton Place, Cannoe and Oliver’s Café.
The duo does an even split of Caribbean (handled by Graham) and southern style BBQ (handled by McClure).
The Smoked Jerk Chicken and Smoked BBQ Cola Beef are the bestsellers, “but our Ox Tail and our Bourbon Brined Smoked Turkey are also bangers,” Kyle adds.
Patrons can also try a Southern Crown spin on a Canadian classic: poutine with jerk gravy and, for the more traditional smokehouse experience, can opt for more typical sides like rice and peas, mac and cheese or cornbread. “I would say our uniqueness is in our BBQ. In Toronto, Texas BBQ carries the flag as far as most offerings – and for good reason, it’s amazing,” says McClure. But the differentiator for Southern Crown is the Caribbean spin. Melding small all forms of BBQ with a mix of Caribbean flavours and southern Carolina-style sauces makes for a truly unique, bold and flavourful smokehouse experience.