If you want over priced wings and sides then this is your place. Cheap and easy sports bar no more. Staff were ignorant and the place was empty such a shame.
Matt B.
In town for a class and was told about this place. It was great, food came out quick. Felt sorry for the staff the A/C was out. Huge portions and very tasty. Lots of choices for sauces from garlic to inferno.
Scott B
Placed an order for pickup 25 mins in advanced and they didn’t start making it until after I payed. Burger was OK, very expensive and tasted like something from del taco. The wings were very expensive and they were served in about 8 oz of grease. The wings also had hair in it. Restaurant smelled like sewer. Cooks were inactive when I arrived and I saw them start prepping and touching food bare hand w/o washing. Gross
Azul Tejani
Wings are the best I’ve had so far in SF. Took 1 star off as prices at this place are insane. I know inflation has gone up but this restaurant is on a whole new level. I would prob come more often if there wings were priced a little more competitively.$2.35 a chicken wing is pretty crazy.
Brian B.
This place sucks. Never again. Should've read the reviews. Always trying to patronize DT SJ establishments, but this one needs to go. Paid 16.25 for the Philly Cheese Steak. Literally not as big as my hand. 6 by 2.5 inches and the entire thing weighed 8 oz on the dot. A half pound hogie you can hold in one hand with less than 3 oz of meat for 16$. What a joke. Good on them for keeping costs low, but this sandwich was a major let down. Tasted fine, but the portion was for a 9 year old and the price of a premium grown up sandwich. Fries are also garbage. Taste like a bowling alley but without the charm. Ranch is good, but you shouldn't need ranch for quality sandos. Lol.
kylie s.
Inferno Wings, this claim to be the most spicyy but very disappointed not spicyy at all, not worth the moneyy, wingstop or bww is better!!
Mathew L.
my son came in on the train and we decided to take light rail downtown just for smoke eaters. We used to love getting the chicken tenders. It was 95° out and we were looking forward to kicking back enjoying some hot wings. My son got five wings and I got my usual three tenders with traditional hot sauce. We each got sodas and split a basket of fries. Unbelievably this came to over $40. The young lady behind the counter was nice and friendly, but for that price they should of had the AC running. Oh and about a third of the basket of fries were all short stubby pieces. The chicken tasted great like always, but it's no longer worth the cost.
Jason Dufault
Overall disappointing experience. Visiting from out of town, always down for a good wing place so tried it.You can tell the Downtown San Jose area has been hit hard by Covid the past 2 years as many places are still closed, even boarded up… a LOT.You’d think the ones doing business would be taking the necessary steps to earn back business.It was a Friday evening but not busy at all. Sat at a table for like 5 minutes with staff standing around and no one acknowledging anyone. Proceeded to the counter to order.Prices were SUPER HIGH for everything, but gave it a try. Got 5 Lemon Pepper wings, paid for a side of fries and also got some motz sticks. None of it was anything to write home about. Wings came sitting in a basket that had a bunch of greece in the bottom. Lemon Pepper are dry rub, shouldn’t be that much greece coming to me. Fries mediocre at best. Motz sticks were bad as was the marinara sauce. You can tell they were cheap frozen sticks.Never had anyone check in or see how things were going once I had my food brought to me. Basically sat there for about 30 minutes being ignored while eating mediocre, overpriced food. Sucks because there is definitely opportunity.
Tom J.
I went to order some food I called in my order 1st then when I get there my food was not ready so I left had to get back to work so let me try them again they just take your money the service is not that good am I feel like she gave me uncooked chicken wings so I just gave my money away 28 plus tip I don't know what for I guess I pack an lunch from now on how can any one screw up chicken wings .... Would not recommend them at all .....
Jay D.
I've been going to Smoke Eaters since the Cluck U/University of Chicken days. I've done the Hell Fire challenge. My friends and I used to come weekly to the downtown location during my SJSU years. Lots of fond memories with them. I genuinely believe they had some of the best wings in the area. Forget crappy Wingstop and their dry midget wings, and forget Buffalo Wild Wings - these are bigger, crunchier, more tender, and the sauces are generally excellent. I fell in love with the Thai Zing, Atomic, and Inferno flavors. The beers are great, the tenders are huge, and the burgers were passable. So, why three stars? Because the value is incredibly poor. $12 for 5 measly wings? Insane. Smoke Eaters used to have weekly specials that had my friends and I coming back and spending money. I know it's not possible with today's pricing of materials, but Tuesdays and Thursdayss had dollar tenders and 50 cent wings. I know the prices went up, but they still had specials for some time. As soon as they dropped the specials and jacked up the prices, I stopped coming. I haven't been in years now. Pretty sad, but there's a lot better options out there that don't leave you feeling robbed AND still hungry. They really don't seem to care anymore, though. Prices are through the roof, and after my few experiences trying the Almaden location after it opened, quality is at all time low. I miss the old Smoke Eaters.
This place is ok. Im leaving 3 stars because the last 4 times I bought a cheeseburger here and they asked me if i wanted fries, i said no. However, they didn’t tell me the fries where already included which makes them free. I thought they where asking if i wanted to pay extra for fries.
Tony K.
The soft drinks tasted great! Burgers are made of low grade prefabricated, frozen Costco patties. Overpriced!
Auriana N.
Ordered from DoorDash so take that into consideration regarding the review. I tried the eggrolls and a 5-piece wing. They have plenty flavors to try from-I opted for one of the spicer wings. The flavor was sub-par and the spice level was non-existent. Cheesecake Egg rolls were so-so but I will say they are much more than an appetizer, it can definitely be a meal: sauces were pretty good so I think it's possible some flavors got lost in translation during delivery. I'd love to give the actual establishment a visit.
Sierra Clary
Food quality could be better for the price, but the staff are always nice and attentive. Family operated I think, but not too busy. Good for a quick bite.
Sam p.
I like the setup. Kind of a small-ish sports bar. Bright inside. Maybe too much so. Lots of TVs and a lot of beers on draft. The burgers were good. I didn't feel like it was kept that clean. The floors were notably sticky. I didn't think the tables were real clean. No food, but enough to not want to set my phone down on them. I felt comfortable eating here. I'd say it's more of a 3-1/2 stars.
If you want over priced wings and sides then this is your place. Cheap and easy sports bar no more. Staff were ignorant and the place was empty such a shame.
In town for a class and was told about this place. It was great, food came out quick. Felt sorry for the staff the A/C was out. Huge portions and very tasty. Lots of choices for sauces from garlic to inferno.
Placed an order for pickup 25 mins in advanced and they didn’t start making it until after I payed. Burger was OK, very expensive and tasted like something from del taco. The wings were very expensive and they were served in about 8 oz of grease. The wings also had hair in it. Restaurant smelled like sewer. Cooks were inactive when I arrived and I saw them start prepping and touching food bare hand w/o washing. Gross
Wings are the best I’ve had so far in SF. Took 1 star off as prices at this place are insane. I know inflation has gone up but this restaurant is on a whole new level. I would prob come more often if there wings were priced a little more competitively.$2.35 a chicken wing is pretty crazy.
This place sucks. Never again. Should've read the reviews. Always trying to patronize DT SJ establishments, but this one needs to go. Paid 16.25 for the Philly Cheese Steak. Literally not as big as my hand. 6 by 2.5 inches and the entire thing weighed 8 oz on the dot. A half pound hogie you can hold in one hand with less than 3 oz of meat for 16$. What a joke. Good on them for keeping costs low, but this sandwich was a major let down. Tasted fine, but the portion was for a 9 year old and the price of a premium grown up sandwich. Fries are also garbage. Taste like a bowling alley but without the charm. Ranch is good, but you shouldn't need ranch for quality sandos. Lol.
Inferno Wings, this claim to be the most spicyy but very disappointed not spicyy at all, not worth the moneyy, wingstop or bww is better!!
my son came in on the train and we decided to take light rail downtown just for smoke eaters. We used to love getting the chicken tenders. It was 95° out and we were looking forward to kicking back enjoying some hot wings. My son got five wings and I got my usual three tenders with traditional hot sauce. We each got sodas and split a basket of fries. Unbelievably this came to over $40. The young lady behind the counter was nice and friendly, but for that price they should of had the AC running. Oh and about a third of the basket of fries were all short stubby pieces. The chicken tasted great like always, but it's no longer worth the cost.
Overall disappointing experience. Visiting from out of town, always down for a good wing place so tried it.You can tell the Downtown San Jose area has been hit hard by Covid the past 2 years as many places are still closed, even boarded up… a LOT.You’d think the ones doing business would be taking the necessary steps to earn back business.It was a Friday evening but not busy at all. Sat at a table for like 5 minutes with staff standing around and no one acknowledging anyone. Proceeded to the counter to order.Prices were SUPER HIGH for everything, but gave it a try. Got 5 Lemon Pepper wings, paid for a side of fries and also got some motz sticks. None of it was anything to write home about. Wings came sitting in a basket that had a bunch of greece in the bottom. Lemon Pepper are dry rub, shouldn’t be that much greece coming to me. Fries mediocre at best. Motz sticks were bad as was the marinara sauce. You can tell they were cheap frozen sticks.Never had anyone check in or see how things were going once I had my food brought to me. Basically sat there for about 30 minutes being ignored while eating mediocre, overpriced food. Sucks because there is definitely opportunity.
I went to order some food I called in my order 1st then when I get there my food was not ready so I left had to get back to work so let me try them again they just take your money the service is not that good am I feel like she gave me uncooked chicken wings so I just gave my money away 28 plus tip I don't know what for I guess I pack an lunch from now on how can any one screw up chicken wings .... Would not recommend them at all .....
I've been going to Smoke Eaters since the Cluck U/University of Chicken days. I've done the Hell Fire challenge. My friends and I used to come weekly to the downtown location during my SJSU years. Lots of fond memories with them. I genuinely believe they had some of the best wings in the area. Forget crappy Wingstop and their dry midget wings, and forget Buffalo Wild Wings - these are bigger, crunchier, more tender, and the sauces are generally excellent. I fell in love with the Thai Zing, Atomic, and Inferno flavors. The beers are great, the tenders are huge, and the burgers were passable. So, why three stars? Because the value is incredibly poor. $12 for 5 measly wings? Insane. Smoke Eaters used to have weekly specials that had my friends and I coming back and spending money. I know it's not possible with today's pricing of materials, but Tuesdays and Thursdayss had dollar tenders and 50 cent wings. I know the prices went up, but they still had specials for some time. As soon as they dropped the specials and jacked up the prices, I stopped coming. I haven't been in years now. Pretty sad, but there's a lot better options out there that don't leave you feeling robbed AND still hungry. They really don't seem to care anymore, though. Prices are through the roof, and after my few experiences trying the Almaden location after it opened, quality is at all time low. I miss the old Smoke Eaters.
Restaurantji Recommends
This place is ok. Im leaving 3 stars because the last 4 times I bought a cheeseburger here and they asked me if i wanted fries, i said no. However, they didn’t tell me the fries where already included which makes them free. I thought they where asking if i wanted to pay extra for fries.
The soft drinks tasted great! Burgers are made of low grade prefabricated, frozen Costco patties. Overpriced!
Ordered from DoorDash so take that into consideration regarding the review. I tried the eggrolls and a 5-piece wing. They have plenty flavors to try from-I opted for one of the spicer wings. The flavor was sub-par and the spice level was non-existent. Cheesecake Egg rolls were so-so but I will say they are much more than an appetizer, it can definitely be a meal: sauces were pretty good so I think it's possible some flavors got lost in translation during delivery. I'd love to give the actual establishment a visit.
Food quality could be better for the price, but the staff are always nice and attentive. Family operated I think, but not too busy. Good for a quick bite.
I like the setup. Kind of a small-ish sports bar. Bright inside. Maybe too much so. Lots of TVs and a lot of beers on draft. The burgers were good. I didn't feel like it was kept that clean. The floors were notably sticky. I didn't think the tables were real clean. No food, but enough to not want to set my phone down on them. I felt comfortable eating here. I'd say it's more of a 3-1/2 stars.