We went to celebrate St. Patrick's Day here, but the staff was so rude, especially the bouncers at the door, that we left after 15 minutes. We will not be going back!
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 3
Service: 1
Karen Wesley-Thornhill
Awesome food and
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Pulled Pork
Elisa F
Good meat in a great area of Fredericksburg inside an awesome old house? Check, check, check!I'm such a sucker for good BBQ, so when people recommended Billikens to me as the go-to for BBQ, it was one of the first restaurants I checked out since moving to Virginia.The moment you come around the block near this restaurant/house, you can SMELL how good it is. I really loved the atmosphere inside the house, but I know there's also a whole backyard/outdoor area that we didn't check out since it was still a little too cool outside for us.Menu is straightforward, and I loved the nice touch of the pig portraits on their sauces (even though I'm not a fan of AI art - it would be way cooler to see them support a local artist to do work for these!) to easily distinguish between the flavors. The flavors are all pretty good as well, though the Carolina was a bit more runny/liquidy than I thought it would be.We ordered the BBQ nachos and were not expecting this appetizer to be a WHOLE MEAL! Not only was it delicious, it was even better when you slather some of their BBQ sauce on top. I just could not get over how much food this was. Maybe a little much for two people if you also want to fit an entree in your stomach, but definitely a great shareable for 3+. We might have went too hard on the nachos, because we certainly couldn't finish our entrees!I ordered ribs with some mac n cheese and roasted corn and cornbread on the side. Cornbread was perfect. I find that not a lot BBQ places put enough sweetness in the cornbread or it ends up being too dry, but this was perfection. Nice and moist, just a hint of sweetness. It was a perfect compliment to the ribs. As a lactose intolerant person, I always like to *take a risk* on mac n cheese just to see if it's worth the pain later. This mac was pretty good, and even better if you slather some sauce in it. Not top tier and I'm not sure I'd pick that over another side next time, but good. The roasted corn fell flat. It just didn't even taste like corn. It did not seem worth picking as a side and I would recommend skipping over that one.The star of the show was the ribs, of course. Just meat falling right off the bone. Absolutely perfectly done, and the sauce on top highlighted the flavor. I couldn't even finish what I had since the nachos filled me up, but they tasted just as good the next day after being heated up.My husband ordered the brisket, ribs, and sausage. He thoroughly enjoyed the wings as well, and said the brisket was excellent, but we both agreed that the sausage was the best thing on his plate. I would buy that sausage in BULK, it was so good.I thought the food was very good overall, but I want to come back and try some more things on the menu, especially the sides. I think it's a great BBQ option for this area and for a good "Friday night dinner" or date night if you're okay with getting your hands a little saucy!
Terrific staff and the BBQ is delicious. Especially the brisket.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Beef Brisket, Burnt Ends, Brisket Platter, Mac & Cheese, Pulled Pork Sandwich, Smoked Brisket, Brisket Mac & Cheese
Florian Teinfalt
This is a great find, food was outstanding. I had the chimney stack and omg, amazing. Also had the cornbread casserole, very tasty. Anabelle was our server and took great care of us. Thank you!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Godscape Helps
Great experience and just plain laid back! Love it!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Gerry Elwood
Omg, this restaurant was awesome! I loved the old world feeling of this historic site but the food..... soooooo delicious! And great beers! Highly recommended.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Michelle
The place is in a super old building that is beautifully decorated inside. It has amazing artwork to look at while waiting for your food. The food was PHENOMENAL, I can't begin to describe how good the food was. The cornbread was to die for. The Mac and cheese, the meats, the apps.. all of it gets a 10/10. The service was great as well. I will come back again and again ♡
We had our son's 1st birthday party here today. The food was very very good and the ladies helping us with the event were fantastic. Couldn't be happier :)
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Chris Cafferky
After Christmas and before New Years, my wife and I decided to try a Bar Be Que place we had heard good things about but had never been to. The restaurant was called Billiken's Smokehouse. Billiken's is located in downtown Fredericksburg, in a house called The Chimneys. The first thing we liked was the house we ate in had some history. The Chimneys is a mansion that dated to Revolutionary War times. We entered Billiken's Smokehouse and were shown to a table that was in the living room of the mansion. My wife had a Pomegranate Gin Fizz. I had a Stella Artois draft. My wife loved the cocktail she had. For dinner my wife had the Half Rack of Ribs Platter. She had cole slaw and collard greens. I had the Three Meat Platter. My three meats were brisket, pulled pork, and smoked sausage. I had this with baked beans and corn.First, the meats. They were all fabulous. The brisket was tender, the ribs were meat falling off of the bone. The pulled pork was very tasty, and especially the smoked sausage was to die for.As for the sides, the corn must have been grilled on the ear, then removed. It was excellent. The baked beans did not skimp on the bacon. My wife considers herself an aficionado of greens, and she called our server over to tell her how much she loved the greens. My wife's actual comment was "at last, greens that have vinegar." The only part of the dinner that was not up to that level would be the cole slaw. It just kind of sat there. It was not bad tasting, just a bit of a non-event compared to the other magnificent sides.The atmosphere was wonderful. The restaurant was definately a mansion of the period, but the food was served on metal trays more reminiscent of a beer garden. This is not meant as a criticism, it just didn't fit the environment.The service was excellent. We never had to wait for anything. Overall, Billiken's Smokehouse is one of the best restaurants we've been to since we moved to Fredericksburg 9 months ago, and we can't wait to take our friends there.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Smoked St Louis Ribs Platter, Pulled Pork, Brisket Platter, Smoked Brisket, Baked Beans
Eric Clark
Best Bbq
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Andrew Rodriguez
Loved the brisket tacos! The atmosphere is fantastic and the wait staff is very attentive. Can't wait to go back! Highly recommended.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Marie Webb
Old charming home full of character converted to a restaurant. Excellent service.Kid-friendliness: Kids menu available
Amazing bbq. Also had my favorite beer!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: The Chimney Stack
We went to celebrate St. Patrick's Day here, but the staff was so rude, especially the bouncers at the door, that we left after 15 minutes. We will not be going back!
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 3
Service: 1
Awesome food and
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Pulled Pork
Good meat in a great area of Fredericksburg inside an awesome old house? Check, check, check!I'm such a sucker for good BBQ, so when people recommended Billikens to me as the go-to for BBQ, it was one of the first restaurants I checked out since moving to Virginia.The moment you come around the block near this restaurant/house, you can SMELL how good it is. I really loved the atmosphere inside the house, but I know there's also a whole backyard/outdoor area that we didn't check out since it was still a little too cool outside for us.Menu is straightforward, and I loved the nice touch of the pig portraits on their sauces (even though I'm not a fan of AI art - it would be way cooler to see them support a local artist to do work for these!) to easily distinguish between the flavors. The flavors are all pretty good as well, though the Carolina was a bit more runny/liquidy than I thought it would be.We ordered the BBQ nachos and were not expecting this appetizer to be a WHOLE MEAL! Not only was it delicious, it was even better when you slather some of their BBQ sauce on top. I just could not get over how much food this was. Maybe a little much for two people if you also want to fit an entree in your stomach, but definitely a great shareable for 3+. We might have went too hard on the nachos, because we certainly couldn't finish our entrees!I ordered ribs with some mac n cheese and roasted corn and cornbread on the side. Cornbread was perfect. I find that not a lot BBQ places put enough sweetness in the cornbread or it ends up being too dry, but this was perfection. Nice and moist, just a hint of sweetness. It was a perfect compliment to the ribs. As a lactose intolerant person, I always like to *take a risk* on mac n cheese just to see if it's worth the pain later. This mac was pretty good, and even better if you slather some sauce in it. Not top tier and I'm not sure I'd pick that over another side next time, but good. The roasted corn fell flat. It just didn't even taste like corn. It did not seem worth picking as a side and I would recommend skipping over that one.The star of the show was the ribs, of course. Just meat falling right off the bone. Absolutely perfectly done, and the sauce on top highlighted the flavor. I couldn't even finish what I had since the nachos filled me up, but they tasted just as good the next day after being heated up.My husband ordered the brisket, ribs, and sausage. He thoroughly enjoyed the wings as well, and said the brisket was excellent, but we both agreed that the sausage was the best thing on his plate. I would buy that sausage in BULK, it was so good.I thought the food was very good overall, but I want to come back and try some more things on the menu, especially the sides. I think it's a great BBQ option for this area and for a good "Friday night dinner" or date night if you're okay with getting your hands a little saucy!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: BBQ Nachos
Best brisket ever!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Sides, Pulled Pork, Brisket Platter, Baked Beans, Brisket Mac & Cheese, Sandwich
Terrific staff and the BBQ is delicious. Especially the brisket.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Beef Brisket, Burnt Ends, Brisket Platter, Mac & Cheese, Pulled Pork Sandwich, Smoked Brisket, Brisket Mac & Cheese
This is a great find, food was outstanding. I had the chimney stack and omg, amazing. Also had the cornbread casserole, very tasty. Anabelle was our server and took great care of us. Thank you!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Great experience and just plain laid back! Love it!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Omg, this restaurant was awesome! I loved the old world feeling of this historic site but the food..... soooooo delicious! And great beers! Highly recommended.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
The place is in a super old building that is beautifully decorated inside. It has amazing artwork to look at while waiting for your food. The food was PHENOMENAL, I can't begin to describe how good the food was. The cornbread was to die for. The Mac and cheese, the meats, the apps.. all of it gets a 10/10. The service was great as well. I will come back again and again ♡
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Sides, Pulled Pork, Burnt Ends, Mac & Cheese, Smoked Brisket, BBQ Taco Trio
Restaurantji Recommends
We had our son's 1st birthday party here today. The food was very very good and the ladies helping us with the event were fantastic. Couldn't be happier :)
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
After Christmas and before New Years, my wife and I decided to try a Bar Be Que place we had heard good things about but had never been to. The restaurant was called Billiken's Smokehouse. Billiken's is located in downtown Fredericksburg, in a house called The Chimneys. The first thing we liked was the house we ate in had some history. The Chimneys is a mansion that dated to Revolutionary War times. We entered Billiken's Smokehouse and were shown to a table that was in the living room of the mansion. My wife had a Pomegranate Gin Fizz. I had a Stella Artois draft. My wife loved the cocktail she had. For dinner my wife had the Half Rack of Ribs Platter. She had cole slaw and collard greens. I had the Three Meat Platter. My three meats were brisket, pulled pork, and smoked sausage. I had this with baked beans and corn.First, the meats. They were all fabulous. The brisket was tender, the ribs were meat falling off of the bone. The pulled pork was very tasty, and especially the smoked sausage was to die for.As for the sides, the corn must have been grilled on the ear, then removed. It was excellent. The baked beans did not skimp on the bacon. My wife considers herself an aficionado of greens, and she called our server over to tell her how much she loved the greens. My wife's actual comment was "at last, greens that have vinegar." The only part of the dinner that was not up to that level would be the cole slaw. It just kind of sat there. It was not bad tasting, just a bit of a non-event compared to the other magnificent sides.The atmosphere was wonderful. The restaurant was definately a mansion of the period, but the food was served on metal trays more reminiscent of a beer garden. This is not meant as a criticism, it just didn't fit the environment.The service was excellent. We never had to wait for anything. Overall, Billiken's Smokehouse is one of the best restaurants we've been to since we moved to Fredericksburg 9 months ago, and we can't wait to take our friends there.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Smoked St Louis Ribs Platter, Pulled Pork, Brisket Platter, Smoked Brisket, Baked Beans
Best Bbq
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Loved the brisket tacos! The atmosphere is fantastic and the wait staff is very attentive. Can't wait to go back! Highly recommended.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Old charming home full of character converted to a restaurant. Excellent service.Kid-friendliness: Kids menu available
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: BBQ Tacos, Pulled Pork, BBQ Nachos, Mac & Cheese