The Black Wolf Smokehouse — Restaurant in Orangeville

I go here, or should say used to go here at least once a week for take-out. As of tonight, I may never go here again.

The food I've had from here tastes good but I'm not sure if anything is actually smoked. The portion sizes have gotten bigger it seems over the past few years which is great but increasing the amount of good food on the plate isn't as good as making the food better. There's plenty of reviews stating the same thing: food was good. Take that as a hint to improve upon your flavour and presentation quality without increasing the cost or decreasing the quantity.

As for the service, the few times I've decided to eat-in have not been stellar to say the least. Service was very slow considering I was one of three people ordering food at the time (the pub is typically empty midday besides a few regulars at the bar). I ordered a beer and a mixed drink, both of which did not taste right, and I know for a fact the mixed drink was made incorrectly. When I asked for the drink to be remade there was no issue however I was charged for two drinks on the bill. I had one sip before asking to have it remade, I didn't drink half or more before asking. The second drink was also made incorrectly despite me explaining why it was incorrect and how to rectify that situation politely.

Tonight was the last straw. I called to order take-out as I usually do, and was told that due to the past week and weekend being "so rough" that they had decided not to continue to not do any take-out, stating they hadn't been doing take-out for the past week. I was then told that they also couldn't do take-out because "our food order hasn't arrived yet today". This was at 7:30pm on a Monday when there hasn't been any inclement weather or unsafe road conditions to prevent delivery, no closed roads in town surrounding the pub either (I live close by and know this for a fact).

One more thing. Closing the pub for events when service at all other times appears to be struggling is a poor business choice. Plenty of customers show up to either eat-in or take-out without realizing there's a private event being held at the pub meaning either you pay a cover to get in or you can't get in, and they will not do any take-out on those nights.

I have worked as a server, a cook and a kitchen manager, so I say this with the hopes that the pub management takes this to heart in the best way and make the changes needed to bring the Smokehouse back to life with high quality staff, food, drinks...

Make sure you come hungry. The food is delicious and the portions are huge. We started with the Cajun calamari which was delicious and seasoned perfectly. Perfect size for 3 of us. We ordered the pulled pork dinner, Smoked Brisket dinner and the full rack BBq Pork Ribs. Ribs came with a huge plate of fries and smaller portions of coleslaw and baked beans. We chose beet salad, fries, corn bread and coleslaw for the dinner sides (2 per dinner) and everyone shared. Everything was delicious and the portions are huge but the star was the ribs. A half rack here is a full rack in most restaurants. The corn bread with the cinnamon butter was amazing. The pulled pork leans sweet so if you prefer savoury get the brisket which had just the right smoke and no sweet. The coleslaw had a hint of mustard with right about of acid and tang that paired perfect with sweet pulled pork to cut sweetness. The beet salad was superb. Loved the pickled onions and crumbled goat cheese. Just the right amount the salad dressing. Salad was gently coated but not a wet mess. Our server was lovely and served us promptly and checked in on us and brought a plenitude of take-out containers as our buffet of dinner was far too much. Large selection of draft beer and the Guinness was expertly poured. I am told the Shirley Temple was the best one yet. While an hour away from home it’s worth the drive and we will be...

Wow...where should I start... we were looking for a place to have "a wings night" .... Decided to try out this pub...became "a wings nightmare". Strike one - hostess had to be asked 3 times not to put us close to the music stage, she was still determined to put us right across from stage. Strike two - chairs. Seat cushions springs are worn out...so you feel like you are sitting on a toilet seat. My husband literally could not sit on his and had to immediately climb out of his "seat/hole" and replace the chair. Not a good start. Menu - below average, but expensive for what you get. Nothing special...but we here only for wings, right? Strike three - wings! 8 small to medium sized wings, 2 celery and 2 carrot sticks...priced $12.99! My husband got 8 wings, thin spindly fries (definitely NOT a man sized) and a salad in a snack bowl (fork fits upright position only)....priced $17.99! We walked out hungry. Yes, and the wine was ok, but again, expensive for what you get $11 for 9 oz. of average wine. So here you go, please save your money and energy. Spent it at another restaurant in Orangeville (and we have plenty to choose from) that will offer you much better atmosphere and the food. You will be happy and full....but not at this pub. Will give One Star only because of the second bubbly serve that actually served us. You are the only one who is...