Went there a few weeks ago with the whole family. Food was really good. The party ordered wings, burnt ends, turkey, ribs, green beans, potato salad, Mac and cheese, and tater tots. They were out of pork steaks, but anyway the food was really good and fresh! Went back today for a carry out because I wanted more wings and tater tots, as well as a pork steak, green beans and potato salad, however, they were NOTHING LIKE BEFORE! The wings were definitely NOT FRESH! They were dried out and tough and the tots warm at best and were soggy (wrapped in foil then in a styrofoam container). Not sure why a resturant that has really good food would risk their reputation serving sub par food and risk losing customers. I literally drove 35 minutes to pick up my order (yes, i ordered on the way) and paid $45...very disappointed and most likely won't be going back...
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 1
Service: 1
Conner DeKnikker
Employees and atmosphere are very nice. Food arrived quickly. The recommendations for the beans and potato casserole were both solid, but I'm sure we both care most about the barbecue.
The brisket is pale, gray, and limp. It's thin cut lean brisket showing no signs of smoke, no bark, and very little flavor. It's a step up from sliced roast beef lunch meat. Barely. 3/10
The sausage was flavorful but dry. I expected a stiffer casing and a moist interior but it all had roughly the same strange texture. 5/10
The ribs were the best of the three meats, but they're still diminutive and slightly greasy. The meat vs fat ratio is off. The rub is good but there's just not enough rib meat. 7/10.
This place came highly reviewed on Reddit as the best in St Louis. This place has supposedly won world championships for BBQ. Their employees said the ribs, brisket, and sausage are some of their most popular items.
As someone passing through in can't help but be disappointed. I don't have local recommendations, but look up Country Tavern in Kilgore TX for examples of brisket, ribs, and BBQ. Shout out to Stanley's BBQ in Tyler, or even chains like Hard 8 in the DFW metroplex. There's no comparison. It's not even close. I'll keep searching for decent BBQ north of Oklahoma. Maybe I'll never find it.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 2
Service: 4
Michelle Bell
Best BBQ in the area. Literally everything is amazing. The meat, coleslaw, Mac and cheese, seasoned tots, the spicy pineapple sauce. Love it all!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: BBQ Sauce, Tater Tots
Casie Childers
Food is always delicious!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
JoAnn Stock
The food here is beyond belief! It is always good.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Dawn
Passing through the area, I thought I'd get some regional barbecue. Heavy Smoke had a decent rating, so I tried it out. I was pretty disappointed. I ordered the one meat plate with burnt ends, mac and cheese, and seasoned tater tots. I specifically ordered the tater tots hoping to have something to munch on on my drive home before having the rest of the meal once I made it home.
Everything came out really fast which wasn't the best impression to start with. Before I could get to my car and open the container of tater tots, they were lukewarm and hard. I ate a few because I was hungry, but threw the rest away as soon as I got home.
The Mac and cheese was tasty but the best part of the meal was the smokey apple barbecue sauce. It is absolutely delicious.
The meat I ordered was definitely NOT burnt ends from ribs. Whatever the meat was that they sold as burnt ends was clearly cooked in some way other than on a grilled over an open flame and drenched in barbecue sauce. I'm not used to my barbeque being drenched in sauce...if grilled with any sauce at all...so that really turned me off as well.
Overall the meal wasn't terrible, but I feel disappointed that I didn't have a good barbecue experience in the St. Louis area.
Food: 3
Service: 5
Michael Murphy
Good food, well over 100 awards and trophies present Large portions Clean eating area and bathrooms Friendly staff Didn't have a long wait for food to come to table Several sauces and seasoning for sale
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Sonny Ng
My wife and I shared the two meats platter, which was plenty, including two sides. She got the pulled chicken and I got the burnt end. The burnt end was so good. I had the brisket last time and the Cuban the time before that. Haven't had any disappointment yet. I'm not a fan of pulled pork nor pulled chicken, but my wife said the pulled chicken was excellent. The burnt ends were so tender that I didn't need a knife to cut it. They had 3 different kinds of BBQ sauce, Sweet, Spicy Pineapple and Spicy Blueberry. Plus White Horseradish. Spicy Pineapple was my favorite. Food came out fast. Ordered at the counter and it's self serve. The sides we got were baked potato casserole and green beans. The casserole was sooooo good. Highly recommended.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Bob U
Best barbeque in the Midwest with no exception. They sell out of catering during holidays so get there when they open.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Lynnette Behrle
It is a real shame that the food is good but the service is terrible. Called on 12/23 to see if I could order brisket ahead of time for catering, it was too late which was totally fine, I expected it to be. The part I didn't expect was that when I was told they were open from 11-2 on Christmas Eve and would still have ALL meat options available on a 1st come and 1st serve basis that they were not being truthful. Husband was second in line when they opened, the 1st customer did not get brisket but yet they were out. The Manager said the catering orders used it all, now wait when I spoke to you yesterday no additional catering orders were being accepted so you knew beforehand how many you had. They said they had additional available for 1st come/1st serve. So you either took additional orders and lied to me about that or you lied about having it available 12/24. If you did not plan on having any and told me that, there would be no issue. The issue is you lied.
My husband and I had lunch. The food was amazing! There was 1 item that was not up to par. We let the employee know. They went ABOVE and beyond to rectify the issue. Then they went and talked to the kitchen staff to make them aware. We have been here several times and this is they only time we had an issue. We were extremely happy with the kind and generous response!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Joann Bay
If you have never used Heavy Smoke’s Catering Service I highly recommend them. We used them for our company Christmas party and everyone just raved about how good their food was compared to other Bbq places we used in the past. All voted our next luncheon or party we are going back for more fantastic food. Pulled pork, Turkey, Jalapeño smoked sausage, baked potato casserole, smoked beans and coleslaw were the bomb!!
Verdella Thomas
The food is amazing!! The egg rolls, burnt ends,and ribs are almost the best in St. Louis
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Michelle Sims
Heavy Smoke is the location I frequent when wanting BBQ (locally)! The menu features traditional BBQ options that do not disappoint. I do like the wide variety of sauces from which to choose in the dining room (by the way they serve Coke products and have some good tea). The full size nachos are HUGE and can easily be shared (you can choose to get brisket as your meat choice for a small upcharge, and totally worth it!).
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Jerrie Murphy
Very first time coming to visit this place after all the positive reviews we drove 45 mins to try it. I was very surprised how spicy the pulled pork sandwich was. $34 dollars and we couldn’t eat it. So I went to the counter explaining about our 2 sandwiches and could we order plain chicken wings and I was shocked she would not exchange at least one of the meals for the cheaper entrée? Very disappointed she wanted me to pay another $17 when I said no that’s ok that would end up to be $50 for chicken wings? Worker just said sorry and I walked away. Wow very very disappointed in the lack of customer care.
Went there a few weeks ago with the whole family. Food was really good. The party ordered wings, burnt ends, turkey, ribs, green beans, potato salad, Mac and cheese, and tater tots. They were out of pork steaks, but anyway the food was really good and fresh! Went back today for a carry out because I wanted more wings and tater tots, as well as a pork steak, green beans and potato salad, however, they were NOTHING LIKE BEFORE! The wings were definitely NOT FRESH! They were dried out and tough and the tots warm at best and were soggy (wrapped in foil then in a styrofoam container). Not sure why a resturant that has really good food would risk their reputation serving sub par food and risk losing customers. I literally drove 35 minutes to pick up my order (yes, i ordered on the way) and paid $45...very disappointed and most likely won't be going back...
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 1
Service: 1
Employees and atmosphere are very nice. Food arrived quickly. The recommendations for the beans and potato casserole were both solid, but I'm sure we both care most about the barbecue.
The brisket is pale, gray, and limp. It's thin cut lean brisket showing no signs of smoke, no bark, and very little flavor. It's a step up from sliced roast beef lunch meat. Barely. 3/10
The sausage was flavorful but dry. I expected a stiffer casing and a moist interior but it all had roughly the same strange texture. 5/10
The ribs were the best of the three meats, but they're still diminutive and slightly greasy. The meat vs fat ratio is off. The rub is good but there's just not enough rib meat. 7/10.
This place came highly reviewed on Reddit as the best in St Louis. This place has supposedly won world championships for BBQ. Their employees said the ribs, brisket, and sausage are some of their most popular items.
As someone passing through in can't help but be disappointed. I don't have local recommendations, but look up Country Tavern in Kilgore TX for examples of brisket, ribs, and BBQ. Shout out to Stanley's BBQ in Tyler, or even chains like Hard 8 in the DFW metroplex. There's no comparison. It's not even close. I'll keep searching for decent BBQ north of Oklahoma. Maybe I'll never find it.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 2
Service: 4
Best BBQ in the area. Literally everything is amazing. The meat, coleslaw, Mac and cheese, seasoned tots, the spicy pineapple sauce. Love it all!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: BBQ Sauce, Tater Tots
Food is always delicious!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
The food here is beyond belief! It is always good.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Passing through the area, I thought I'd get some regional barbecue. Heavy Smoke had a decent rating, so I tried it out. I was pretty disappointed. I ordered the one meat plate with burnt ends, mac and cheese, and seasoned tater tots. I specifically ordered the tater tots hoping to have something to munch on on my drive home before having the rest of the meal once I made it home.
Everything came out really fast which wasn't the best impression to start with. Before I could get to my car and open the container of tater tots, they were lukewarm and hard. I ate a few because I was hungry, but threw the rest away as soon as I got home.
The Mac and cheese was tasty but the best part of the meal was the smokey apple barbecue sauce. It is absolutely delicious.
The meat I ordered was definitely NOT burnt ends from ribs. Whatever the meat was that they sold as burnt ends was clearly cooked in some way other than on a grilled over an open flame and drenched in barbecue sauce. I'm not used to my barbeque being drenched in sauce...if grilled with any sauce at all...so that really turned me off as well.
Overall the meal wasn't terrible, but I feel disappointed that I didn't have a good barbecue experience in the St. Louis area.
Food: 3
Service: 5
Good food, well over 100 awards and trophies present
Large portions
Clean eating area and bathrooms
Friendly staff
Didn't have a long wait for food to come to table
Several sauces and seasoning for sale
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
My wife and I shared the two meats platter, which was plenty, including two sides. She got the pulled chicken and I got the burnt end. The burnt end was so good. I had the brisket last time and the Cuban the time before that. Haven't had any disappointment yet. I'm not a fan of pulled pork nor pulled chicken, but my wife said the pulled chicken was excellent. The burnt ends were so tender that I didn't need a knife to cut it. They had 3 different kinds of BBQ sauce, Sweet, Spicy Pineapple and Spicy Blueberry. Plus White Horseradish. Spicy Pineapple was my favorite. Food came out fast. Ordered at the counter and it's self serve. The sides we got were baked potato casserole and green beans. The casserole was sooooo good. Highly recommended.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Best barbeque in the Midwest with no exception. They sell out of catering during holidays so get there when they open.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
It is a real shame that the food is good but the service is terrible. Called on 12/23 to see if I could order brisket ahead of time for catering, it was too late which was totally fine, I expected it to be. The part I didn't expect was that when I was told they were open from 11-2 on Christmas Eve and would still have ALL meat options available on a 1st come and 1st serve basis that they were not being truthful. Husband was second in line when they opened, the 1st customer did not get brisket but yet they were out. The Manager said the catering orders used it all, now wait when I spoke to you yesterday no additional catering orders were being accepted so you knew beforehand how many you had. They said they had additional available for 1st come/1st serve. So you either took additional orders and lied to me about that or you lied about having it available 12/24. If you did not plan on having any and told me that, there would be no issue. The issue is you lied.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 4
Service: 1
Restaurantji Recommends
My husband and I had lunch. The food was amazing! There was 1 item that was not up to par. We let the employee know. They went ABOVE and beyond to rectify the issue. Then they went and talked to the kitchen staff to make them aware. We have been here several times and this is they only time we had an issue. We were extremely happy with the kind and generous response!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
If you have never used Heavy Smoke’s Catering Service I highly recommend them. We used them for our company Christmas party and everyone just raved about how good their food was compared to other Bbq places we used in the past. All voted our next luncheon or party we are going back for more fantastic food. Pulled pork, Turkey, Jalapeño smoked sausage, baked potato casserole, smoked beans and coleslaw were the bomb!!
The food is amazing!! The egg rolls, burnt ends,and ribs are almost the best in St. Louis
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Heavy Smoke is the location I frequent when wanting BBQ (locally)! The menu features traditional BBQ options that do not disappoint. I do like the wide variety of sauces from which to choose in the dining room (by the way they serve Coke products and have some good tea). The full size nachos are HUGE and can easily be shared (you can choose to get brisket as your meat choice for a small upcharge, and totally worth it!).
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Very first time coming to visit this place after all the positive reviews we drove 45 mins to try it. I was very surprised how spicy the pulled pork sandwich was. $34 dollars and we couldn’t eat it. So I went to the counter explaining about our 2 sandwiches and could we order plain chicken wings and I was shocked she would not exchange at least one of the meals for the cheaper entrée? Very disappointed she wanted me to pay another $17 when I said no that’s ok that would end up to be $50 for chicken wings? Worker just said sorry and I walked away. Wow very very disappointed in the lack of customer care.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 1
Service: 2
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