Crystal River Smokehouse & Grill

This place has fantastic barbecue. We had the brisket hoagie which was to die for. We loved it so much. we took home a few pounds for later. The staff is wonderful. We will definitely be dining there again!

Yum! First Time Here, Don’t Normally Get up this End of Town. Excellent Brisket Sub & Smoked Sausage, Corn & Bacon Soup Excellent 😊 Will Be Back!

A hidden treasure north of Crystal River. Food is excellent and it is provided with pleasant service.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Baked Potato, Mac & Cheese, Brisket, Green Beans, Pulled Pork Sandwich, Smoked Prime Rib, Pulled Pork

Wonderful.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

This was our first visit to Crystal River Smokehouse & Grill and our experience exceeded expectations. Pulled pork and brisket were moist and mouthwatering. The coleslaw, mac & cheese, seasoned fries, and greens were some of the best I've ever eaten. Even the Texas toast was slathered with an herb butter and grilled just right. We will be back!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Stopped here by chance, pleasantly surprised by the food quality and service, highly recommend.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

We really wanted to love Crystal River Smokehouse and Grill. The interior has a cozy, lodge-like vibe, but it’s contrasted by folding white tables that detract from the ambiance. This was our first time eating here. We ordered the Smoked Turkey Dip, which was surprisingly good and earned an 8 out of 10, but unfortunately, that was the only highlight of our meal.

I ordered the Smokehouse Burger, medium rare, with a side of mac and cheese. My burger came out cold and well done, and the mac and cheese was, quite frankly, inedible—it tasted like boiled cardboard with barely a hint of cheese. My wife had the Smokehouse Hoagie, which had a bit more flavor than my burger (a very low bar to clear) but left a stale aftertaste. To make matters worse, she was supposed to get fries but ended up with the same terrible mac and cheese. We couldn’t help but wonder if the fries might have been a better option.

Everything we tried had an overall “old” taste, which didn’t come as a surprise given that we arrived at 6 PM on a Saturday and the place was almost empty. We enjoy supporting local businesses and came in with high hopes, but we left very disappointed.

The service, however, was good and not part of our bad experience. I’ve also noticed that the owner often responds defensively to negative reviews. I hope you take this as constructive criticism to help improve the dining experience and draw more customers with better food and service.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 1

Service: 4

Recommended dishes: Turkey Dip

The silly review that one guy made about the "Mac and cheese not being smoked enough" drew me here. The mac is definitely smoked, it's like you're sitting on the smokey mountains puffing a camel and listening to "The Highway Man" by "The Highway Men" level of smoke. The portions are great, the food is high quality, the prices are reasonable and the people are nice.

This is honestly probably some of the worst BBQ I’ve ever had. I’m sitting here reading these other reviews and wondering if this was just an off day or did they get their friends to write a bunch of reviews?

We ordered the jalapeño poppers, the smoked wings, and a 3 meat sampler.

The jalapeño poppers were ok. But they weren’t as described on the menu. There was no pork loin wrapped around them. Just a half a slice of bacon. Let’s be honest here. Anyone can slap some cream cheese in a jalapeño and wrap a little bacon around it and it’s gonna be tasty with very little effort.

The wings were definitely the worst smoked wings I’ve ever had. They were cooked well. But they had negative flavor. The absence of flavor in these wings was a mind grenade. I did not know that you could actually make chicken this bland and flavorless.

The brisket was a joke. I’m not convinced it wasn’t sliced pork to be completely honest. I’ve never in my life been served brisket sliced on a meat slicer as thin as deli meat. I kid you not the bacon on the popper was thicker than the brisket was. It tasted kind of like roast beef from the deli at Publix.

The ribs were ok at best. Under cooked for sure. The meat was still super chewy and would not pull away from the bone. But they had a decent flavor at least.

The “smoked” Mac and cheese definitely isn’t smoked and if it is then it’s for about 5 minutes in a 50 gallon pan because that tastes like it’s straight of the the pot. I’ve made smoked Mac and cheese 50 times if I’ve made it once. Been doing it for years. And when you actually smoke it you can taste a huge difference in it.

The smoked chicken breast came as no surprise. It was just as dry as I thought it would be. If you wanna have any shot at a decent smoked breast then you don’t take it off the bone and leave the wing attached to it. Or just stop smoking breast and smoke a dam leg quarter or do half or whole chicken so you can have a chance of retaining some dang moisture.

And last but not least, they forgot my baked beans. Needless to say, I will most definitely never be trying this place out again.

Food: 1

Went in for takeout. Was quick enough. Good food.

Atmosphere: 2

Food: 4

Service: 4

Recommended dishes: Southern Green Beans, Turkey, Fries, Pulled Pork

We have ate there before and I can tell you it's really good. The ribs are some of the best I have ever had and the baked are great. We recommend this restaurant to anyone who likes good bar b que.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 5

Service: 5

We ordered a platter with brisket, ribs, and smoked chicken. The ribs were ok with the original sauce. The chicken was tough. But it wasn’t as tough as the brisket. The incredible toughness of the brisket reminded me of microwaved steak. It seems like the cook stubbed their toe on the black pepper. It was all over the brisket and fries. The greens were ok. The fries were ok. The mac and cheese was oddly smokey. We picked up food on a Wednesday night. So our dinner was probably as old as it tasted. We are checking this place off the list. $38 for one platter and an extra side of subpar BBQ seems to be a nature coast thing.

Great place great people great food

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Brisket, Smoked Prime Rib

Good portions and taste for the collard greens and macaroni with cheese, the 1/2 lb pork was tasty but seemed light. Would definitely order again, convenient drive-thru window for pick up

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 4

Service: 4

Just ate there 8/23! Delicious food, great service, reasonably priced. I highly recommend!