The Prime Smokehouse: Barbecue & Beyond

Just moved into Rocky Mount Mills (Home Instead…senior Home Care) and had to try this because they are down the hall and also everyone we meet in Rocky Mount said it was awesome food. Ok, I agree!!!! Great view. Great atmosphere. Great service. GREAT Philly Cheesecake sandwich!!!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Philly Cheese Brisket Sandwich

As you can see from the rating, the atmosphere and service exceeded the food rating. That is never a good sign for a BBQ restaurant and it was not at this establishment either. The restaurant- located below ground level in a mall of shops and restaurants - has the ambience of mid-level steak house. Rich dark wood, warm lighting and a backlit bar. My waiter was friendly and attentive though he seemed to be bored when not serving. The restaurant was more than half empty when I arrived during prime dinner time on a Wednesday. I ordered a combination plate. It was unimpressive. The St. Louis style ribs were good but the rest? The pulled pork was dry, tough and pasty, the collard greens bland and the potato salad like something from a grocery store deli counter. There were clues that this was not going to be a memorable BBQ meal. The extensive menu featured more non-BBQ dishes than BBQ. Even many of the BBQ dishes were new wave takes on traditional BBQ cuisine. In my opinion there is nothing ‘prime’ about this restaurant if your goal is authentic barbecue.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 2

Service: 4

WOW...must visit and enjoy the atmosphere, wonderful food, and our server. Caroline was first class service. You won't be disappointed. What are you waiting for?

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

1st time here. Food and service was delightful! I had shrimp and grits and sweet potato pie. The pie had just come out of the oven and was the best I'd ever eaten!! Teresa served me at the bar and service was great also. I will be back!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Shrimp & Grits

We arrived, with a party of 11, half past 6 and didn’t get seated until about an hour later. Appetizers didn’t arrive until half past 8, and meals didn’t arrive until about an hour later. We ended up leaving around 9:45 with to-go plates. The food was either cold or warm, like it’d been sitting for a while. The chicken was dry and bland, rather than tangy as advertised. The green beans were flavorless and the rice was decent. The sweet tea was the only thing I liked…but it was a little too sweet.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 1

Service: 3

This place is amazing! The owner and his wife make you feel like family.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 4

Beautiful place with great food, I highly recommend the bbq platter, and corn bread. Despite the salad not having any ranch dressing left and the. Unwillingness to put any ceaser on it because I didn't order a ceaser salad it was still really good.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 2

Always a great experience

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Smokehouse Wing, Barbeque Two Meat Combination Platter, Potatoes Au Gratin

AMAZING LOCATION, AMAZING FOOD, Great Service, and gotta love Ed!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

First time eating here and it was very good. The food was great. I had the catfish, and my husband had the beef barbecue. Oh my goodness, that barbecue was great and they portion of food is worth the price. The atmosphere was very soothing and relaxing. The service was great. The servers were very busy, but it was a great experience. We will return to try other dishes. I truly recommend this place.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Double Chocolate Cake, Potatoes Au Gratin, Catfish Dinner

I gave two stars for the location and service being great. I don’t think I’ve ever left a bad review but in hopes that this maybe helps the business continue to thrive I felt I should share. The venue is gorgeous. The atmosphere and service were top notch. Our server was so attentive and polite she made us feel very welcome. Where it went wrong was the food. We stopped on our roadtrip as we are smokehouse/ bbq/ soul food fans and generally like to stop at places that have high ratings and advertise real smoked bbq. Being as the name is prime smokehouse we felt confident ordering off of the menu from the smokehouse section. We had 3 different smokehouse items and unfortunately all 3 were so disappointing. All had little to no flavor. The texture of the pulled pork was very stringy and chewy and the ribs were mostly fat to the point that no one at our table could stomach then. The brisket was the only smokehouse item we got that was ok. And it was just ok. Very little flavor at all. No smoke flavor and just disappointing. The sides unfortunately were the same. No flavor. Lots of cheese but no seasoning we could taste. This is a beautiful establishment and hopefully it was just an off night from the kitchen. We enjoyed the ambiance just not the food. It was just all very bland. The cornbread however was great!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 1

Service: 5

Amazing food, our server was great kept our drinks full, The place was a little loud.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Barbeque Two Meat Combination Platter

Unfortunately, this was one of the most disappointing dining experiences I’ve had in a long time. Despite making a reservation over a week in advance for 7:00 PM, we were not seated until 8:11 PM. What made matters worse was the complete lack of communication and accountability from the staff—we were repeatedly ignored and had to resort to calling the restaurant from outside just to speak with someone inside.

While the decor was pleasant, that was the only redeeming quality. The service was shockingly poor, and there was a clear lack of care coming from both the kitchen and the owner. My meals arrived cold and contained bone shards, making them nearly impossible to eat. I was genuinely stunned by the lack of professionalism and basic hospitality.

No matter how nice the food might look in pictures, it doesn’t make up for the way customers are treated here. Based on this experience, I cannot in good faith recommend this establishment.

Atmosphere: 2

Food: 1

Service: 1

Our experience at Prime Smokehouse was an absolute disaster, and completely ruined a milestone 60th birthday celebration. Despite a reservation made two weeks in advance for a party of 15 at 7:00 PM, we were not seated until a shocking 8:11 PM. This egregious delay set the tone for a night of disappointment.

The wait for our meals was equally appalling. We didn’t receive our food until well after 9:00 PM. By the time it arrived, it was clear the dishes had been sitting for an extended period: my friend's meal was incorrect and lukewarm. To add insult to injury, the cornbread, a supposed appetizer, arrived after our main courses were served. Drink refills were nonexistent, with waits of 15-20 minutes after we finished eating.

We didn't leave the restaurant until 10:00 PM, as the staff was actively packing up. This is unacceptable for a scheduled 7:00 PM reservation. The entire evening was a waste of time, forcing us to cancel subsequent plans we had made for this special occasion.

Beyond the abysmal service and subpar food, the lack of basic courtesy was astounding. There was no acknowledgment of the birthday, no happy wishes, no complimentary cake, and, most importantly, no apology for the extensive delays and overall poor experience. We weren’t looking for free food, but a simple apology for the significant inconvenience and ruined celebration would have been the bare minimum.

This was a truly horrible experience, and I strongly advise anyone considering Prime for a special occasion to look elsewhere. The complete disregard for our time and celebration was unacceptable.

We ordered take out online and it took over and hour and a half to get. Way past the estimated ready time. When we went to pick it up the service was not it. Seems like they are short staffed.