Smokin Joe's BBQ — Restaurant in Pattaya City

I took a chance on Smokin' Joe's and it was disappointing. I've passed by the place several times, I've even gone in twice to order food only to change my mind. My initial misgivings were the prices were above what I would pay for everyday good barbecue in the US and my poor experiences in Pattaya with other restaurants that serve "American" food. I ordered the full rack of Tennessee St. Louis ribs for takeout. It came with two sides. I chose a side salad(it was good. The house dressing is a thick vinegrette) mashed potatoes (they were dry and had an ingredient that made the a little off-putting), and baked beans(they were too spicy for me). The ribs were supremely underwhelming. They were smoked too long and were dry and bland. As you can see from the picture the amount of meat on the ribs is scant. Im used to St. Louis ribs with a meaty surface on the flat outer surface. These appear to have been carved from a pig with anorexia. They were served with the sauce on the side. Although, this may have been due to the language barrier because I requested dressing on the side for my salad and it came with the dressing on it. These errors are commonplace. The meal cost $1025 baht or $28 USD at the time of this writing. This meal was not a bargain at any price. Unfortunately, I cannot recommend this...

This restaurant has probably the worst service I ever encountered. After ordering a breakfast set of about 300 baht, which is really expensive in Pattaya, where you can get really good breakfast sets for below 200 baht. As usual, you can choose different options, e.g. tea or coffee etc. However, since I was thirsty I asked to just give me a glass of water instead of the tea or coffee. They said I have to upgrade for 50 baht to get a glass of water. While I tried to explained to them that a coffee or tea is pretty much a glass of water plus something extra. Thus a glass of water would be even worth less. They still refused. Besides for a breakfast of 300 baht I would even expect to get a glass of water for free. In every street cuisine where you eat for 40 baht you get drinking water for free. Not to mention that I just stood up and walked out of that place.

Long story short, if you want bad service and get ripped off, go there. Otherwise, there are a thousand places better...

I wish I could give a better review.

I started out with an appetizer -- the Mozzarella sticks. They were huge (the size of a small banana, and were served with Ketchup instead of Marinara. They tasted like literally nothing; it was like j was eating the fried shell with some tasteless goup inside. Don't recommend ordering these.

I had Brisket for my entree with a side of mashed potatoes and corn on the cob. The potatoes were from Instant -- not fresh. The corn on the cob had been frozen and then microwaved -- you can tell when it's tough like that instead of boiling. The Brisket was dry and almost too soft. Very little fat and not much flavor at all. Served with a Carolina style BBQ sauce. I ate it, but definitely have had much better.

Overall quality of atmosphere, speed of service was all fine. They just need to work on getting their food to be authentic and memorable to get customers...