Bigg Smoak Bbq Smokehouse & Grill — Restaurant in Steinbach

So. This place used to be amazing. I used to go all the time when it was in Grunthal. Two weeks ago was my first time back since they moved to Steinbach. Food was disappointing. I love brisket but this time it was quite dry and tough, as though all the fat and collagen had been cooked away so its very far off from having that "melt in your mouth" feel that all brisket is supposed to have. But I thought, okay, even some of the best places have an off day. Might as well give it another go. So I went back yesterday with a friend and I ordered the Pitmaster and the meats were actually worse this time. Much, much worse. I am not exaggerating when I say it was the toughest, driest brisket I've ever had in my life. The pulled pork was so overdone that it had the same mouth feel as canned tuna. Had to douse it in bbq sauce to even make it edible, still I couldn't do more than a few bites. The ribs weren't as bad as the brisket and pulled pork, but again it was weirdly dry and tough. The mac and cheese was mushy and tasted like Velveeta. There were a lot of leftovers, that I brought home, to feed to my dog.

Servers were actually quick and friendly but the whole restaurant has the vibe that you're eating in somebody's barn. It would be nice if there was something they could do about all the house flies but I guess I can't fault them for that. But I do fault them for giving me the worst BBQ experience I've ever had. Famous Dave's in Winnipeg isn't great but it's above and beyond Bigg Smoak. So just take the trip to Winnipeg if you want something that even resembles good BBQ, Bigg Smoak just isn't the place. Not anymore.

Edit: thanks for your reply. Why would I bother your waiting staff over something that they have nothing to do with? The quality of your food is on the owners and the people who make it. Not the friendly people who serve it. I'm glad you take negative reviews seriously. As the purpose of these reviews is to inform others of individual experiences. And my individual experience yesterday was basically a complete waste of money and you guys should really consider prioritizing the consistency of your food's quality. Maybe you guys have days where it's good, but that simply was not the case the last two times I visited your establishment. I'm sorry if that hurts your feelings but please do better.

Another edit: super professional response 👏 👌 👍 and yes the weird metal walls makes it look like a barn. And just a word of advice, you have zero chance of winning any customers back who give poor reviews by responding the way you are. I as a paying customer have a right to be upset over food that I'm going to your business to pay for. And yes I'd rather leave a review. And I'm glad I did, if this is the way you respond to criticism. Based on some other responses you've given on poor reviews, it seems as though you like to take the "well if you don't like it just don't come" route which is valid but very, very silly to do if you're trying to run a restaurant while knowingly dealing with issues in consistency. You told me I'm not wrong and then you basically told me to eff off. Real nice lol I'm glad you did though, because at least now I don't feel bad at all for deciding I'm never going...

Pro tip: ribs aren't usually available until pm. If you want them, call ahead and check. Better yet call the day before

Gluten free: all meat is gluten free but you need to let them know (call an hour in advance preferably) so they don't put any sauce with gluten. Fries are gluten free and wings can be made gluten free.

Vegan: you can ask for it (call an hour in advance preferably). They will run to a store to make sure they can prepare something for you. Example given was Ratatouille. They are very open to listening to what their clients want.

Every weekend they have a different special that is off the menu. Some have included, prime rib and lobster, beef ribs, pitmaster with all 5 meats instead of 3, etc.

My first visit I ordered the pitmaster. $23.65 It comes with three meats, two sides and house main cornbread. I made the enforcement mistake of going at lunch and found that they did not have ribs or chicken at the time. we had the beef brisket, pulled pork, Texas style beef link.

The second visit we got everything.

I personally enjoyed all the sides. The coleslaw is less vinegary and more creamy. The potato salad even creamier than that as it felt almost like a mashed potato that was loaded. The beans for nicely flavored with chunks of peaches and a little bit of bell pepper. I like the peaches though I didn't feel like the bell pepper added that much to it. It didn't detract.

The ribs were fall off the bone. Flavored well. The burnt end and the pulled pork were better the second time I went. First time it was ok, second time it was phenomenal. My friend from Kansas City Missouri thought the brisket was great, though my own personal preference thought it was ok. I tend to trust my friend opinion more on bbq though as he grew up with it. Maybe my taste buds aren't fine tuned enough. The chicken was my preferred over the other bbq places so far.

I really enjoyed the mustard. I ended up adding it to everything.

Their pitmaster Rob is all about bbq, helping organize local Manitoba competitions. When we did meet him he was very hospitable and friendly. This place seems to be about making friends.

Would definitely recommend this place is you are traveling...

We had looked forward to trying Bigg Smoak based on the overall good reviews but our experience was terrible. Once we were seated, our server took our drink order relatively quickly but it all fell apart after that. My wife decided to order a dessert first. Our server left and then we didn’t see her or anyone else for at least 30 minutes. I had to flag down another server to ask about ordering. She left to get our server, but instead we got the host who seemed diligent if slow about writing down our order. I also asked if he could check on the dessert order. More time passed seen without food nor a server return to our table. I again flagged someone to ask for a manager. By this point I had noticed several tables that were seated after us already nearing completion of their meal. When the manager didn’t respond I went to the front to ask for them. When I tried to explain our issue with the very poor service she rudely interrupted me and said something about reviewing the security tape to see when we’d been seated, that was a first. She also said something about the dessert order being confusing so nothing was done with it. I said that I hoped she would make things right and I got a curt what do you want. I said a discount would be a good start. After returning to our table, the dessert and food was finally brought out, but parts of the order were wrong. Our new server at that point, Gabbie, was very courteous and the only one that apologized for the poor service. Eventually the manager came but only to ask how the bill was being split . When I tried to say something she talked over me to ask how the bill was being split. She walked away and eventually came back to say that she’s applied a 25% discount on food but couldn’t discount drinks. Out of a bill of about $120 that amounted to maybe $20 so at best we received an overall discount of 10%. At no point did the manager acknowledge or apologize for the service, clearly it was inconvenient for to have to address us. The food itself was okay, but by the time it came we were so frustrated that it was hard to be impartial about it. We will definitely...