The Lot - Smokehouse & Beer Garden — Restaurant in Newcastle-Maitland

My wife and I visited here Sunday 19/2/2023. We cant complain about the tenderness of the pulled pork or the brisket burgers. But thats about the only good thing. Staff where friendly especially the young fellow. The buns where dry and had no flavour. I ordered a Pulled Pork burger with chipotle sauce, and slaw. Very little sauce, the meat was tepid. My wife the brisket burger, had a hunk of fat in the middle of it she ordered hers with apple slaw hardly any bun dry stale and tasteless. The fires where a good fresh and hot. The offerings for a "TEXAS" BBQ restaurant where limited and expensive. There is nothing to see or aromas to savour. The tables are all soiled. The garbage bins are to close to the tables. The large industrial bins are unsightly. The place looks like its never been presented. There are random chairs against the lh wall for some reason. The music is not Australian Country maybe a choice but some local music would be good. Some lone star beer for sale be an excellent idea, along with some rubs, charcoal and hardwood for the genuine smoker to buy whilst visiting. Having spent a great deal of time in texas, ok, la, ms, alabama, new mexico, tn, az etc. I can say that the BBQ in America is a lot better than what is on offer here. Its a shame because we where looking forward to a good feed of ribs and brisket like they do at Blacks in Lockhart TX, or even Augies in San Antonio. Kruez Market in Lockhart actually do sausage so if they run out of Ribs or Brisket which they do, You can still get a feed with a pickle and a beer. At all these places you can see them slice, dice, cook and prepare your meal. Even Charlies BBQ in Sailes LA being a road side shack does chicken, ribs, burgers, steaks, brisket and sometimes catfish. His smoker/BBQ is outdoors and its an old gas station bit ropey but nonetheless has all the trappings and offerings.

I'm sure the Smokin Hot and Saucy does some amazing food but they need to tidy the place up, get some more menu items on the board and open more regularly, REVIEW THEIR PRICES $160 FOR A BEEF PLATE UP THERE A BIT FOR THE LOCATION. AND THE BURGERS NEED TO BE HOT AND FRESH. THEY SHOULD ALSO DO SOME PLATE RIBS, CHICKEN ETC. CHECK OUT THE SNEAKY BARON IN MAROOCHYDORE ALOS THEY DO SOME AMAZING BBQ. THE PHOTOS I HAVE POSTED ARE PLACES I HAVE VISITED IN THE USA FOR THE OWNERS TO MAYBE LOOK AT THEIR...

We attended The Lot Smokehouse for the Father’s Day buffet lunch. Despite booking in advance, my husband, daughter and I were seated at a small table and told we would be sharing with another couple. This was not what we expected for a family booking on a special occasion, and it left us feeling uncomfortable and without the privacy or space we anticipated. Because of this, we left after only 45 minutes, even though we had paid $140.

Afterwards, I contacted the business privately to provide feedback before posting a review. Unfortunately, instead of acknowledging that the seating arrangement and lack of transparency created an uncomfortable experience, the responses placed the responsibility back on me for not speaking up on the day. Which was followed with “we have had events before and have never had an issue”, this made it sound like my discomfort wasn’t valid because no one else has complained (or bothered). As a customer, I don’t believe it should be on me entirely to resolve an issue like this during a family event. Transparency at the booking stage would have avoided the situation entirely.

I appreciate that the business said they will “take the feedback onboard,” but I felt my concerns were minimised. Sharing a small, intimate table with strangers was never mentioned when booking and it’s not something I would have knowingly agreed to.

Hopefully this review helps other families set their expectations when booking special events here.

*picture is similar to the table we had to share...

We're from the Central Coast & so we love randomly ending up in Newy & today was one of them days. Washed out sports grounds meant canned Saturday sports & 3 bored kids. BBQ smoked meat won the vote on where to eat so we found The Lot on Google. We loved & appreciated the whole set out; very casual, vintage & rustic look, big umbrellas & tables, music, smell of smoked meat and right on the main road (hidden well that we missed it twice 🙄), plenty of nearby parking, staff were very friendly & so we were absolutely sold. We settled with the big 'Meat plate' with a couple of brisket burgers & a couple of beers for hubby. While we waited for our meals, staff brought over a couple of colouring books and tin of pencils to keep kids occupied & out of the rain (which we extremely appreciated). Food was incredible. Kids devoured their burgers and everything on the 'Meat Plate' did not disappoint. Meat was tender, flavours were amazing, fries well seasoned & portions were huge. We love how simple the trays our meals were served on & the ample amount of cutlery & serviettes provided on the table. The choices of sauces were delicious. We left very happy, satisfied with full bellies and with our leftovers in takeaway packs provided by staff. Brisket burgers sounds like a fine Sunday lunch choice ✊🏾 Do we recommend? Absolutely!!! The atmosphere & staff were so amazing we almost didn't care how delicious our meal was. Thank you to the staff. You made it one very memorable experience 🙌🏾 We will definitely...