Bear's Smokehouse Barbecue — Restaurant in Asheville

Came in on a Sunday. My rating would be more like a 3.5. But I’ll give the 4 for the ambiance.

Ambiance 9.2/10 I think this place has it figured out. Attached to their own brewery, indoor and outdoor seating. Dog friendly and lots of natural light. It was a busy Sunday night and all the seating areas were still clean. I didn’t have any beer

Food 6.0/10 Passing through town and came in on a recommendation from some locals. I spent $29 I got the following. Brisket: Visually one of the best briskets you are going to see. It was cooked perfectly. Exterior had a lil bark. Interior was juicy. Flavor was above average. Limited spice rub. Just a simple brisket. I always look at meats on if I would order it again. 6.0/10

Wings: I was expecting just smoked wings but they deep fry the finish. Was ell cooked and presented well. I would order these again alone even if they aren’t fully smoked. Basic flavor profile but cooked really well 7.8/10

Collard Greens: I’m southern so I like my greens to have nodes of onion, garlic, vinegar. These had a good texture, and were cooked with their pork but all I could taste was pepper. The meat didn’t really add anything to the flavor profile. Didn’t finish them. 3/10

Corn Medley: visually appealing. Cooked well had an amazing texture but no flavor. If I had some melted butter could’ve saved it. I did finish it and for that I give it a 5/10

Potato Salad: It’s not for me. I know people who like a simple cold dish to pair with their bbq would like it. Won’t rate.

Service: 8.5/10 everyone was really nice and I like going in cafeteria style and seeing the meat guy cut your meat. Can also get a good look at the sides and the kitchen. Cashier was awesome. Didn’t mind tipping because it was a line when I arrived and they cut it down fast and were very friendly.

If you reading this review I would suggest you stop in and give it a try. If for nothing else than to enjoy the ambiance and...

This place definitely has some of the best Barbecue in NC. I mean, just about everything I had was top tier in terms of flavor, and I was very happy with the portions as well. I split the three meat combo with my girl and added a moink balls appetizer. Gotta say, best balls I've ever had 👀 (pause)

For the combo, we got pulled chicken, Texas sausage and brisket with a side of Mac and a side of bbq beans. I mean it when I say EVERY. SINGLE. DISH. WAS. 🔥🔥. The chicken was so tender and moist, not a dry piece in sight. Texas sausage had just the right amount of spice with the jalapeños inside and cooked to perfection giving you that bite you expect out of a good sausage. I'm slowly realizing I'm not the biggest fan of brisket in general but this spot had me rethinking that. Definitely some of the best I've had, I wasn't having to rip the meat apart, almost just melted in my mouth. The oink balls were delicious, crazy flavorful, bacon cooked perfectly, and just the right amount of meat 👀. For me personally tho, the beans were the standout. The flavors and spice they imbued those beans with was criminal. I mean, it felt like the flavor just wrapped itself around my tongue and sang little songs of comfort to my taste buds. Truly wild stuff, I know, but you'll understand when you try em. I was tempted to add the leftover bean sauce into my waterbottle to drink later but my girl talked me down...I think I was on to something but 🤷🏾‍♂️.

Only dish I was less impressed with was the Mac but I know how to bake my own so I'm a bit more picky when it comes to that. For what it was, it was still a good side, but I'd personally try something else next time. The outside eating area was dead (middle of the week during lunch time), but I'd love to come back on a weekend and see how live it gets packed to the gills. I'll...

This might be a 4 on a good day for this place - they have a big slice of property that looks like it could be built for fun but it was a quiet rainy Friday afternoon for us so we couldn’t see this place in it’s full element, and I can only judge it on the service and the food. The workers greeted us and were ready to help us as we looked over a unique menu. They have some crazy items here I wasn’t expecting to see so it took us a few minutes! We got the Bear Balls, Spicy cheese curds, and a loaded spud with Mac and Cheese and burnt ends. We also grabbed a gigantic cookie that I think is made by another company.

The bear balls were interesting. It was tasty and ridiculous - no regrets but I don’t think I quite got the flavors I was expecting. It’s a fried ball of something alright and then drowned in cheese and bacon.

Spicy cheese curds were freshly fried and hot. More of a cayenne heat, I didn’t taste any chili or pepper flavor, just had the throat heat. Wife killed em.

Spud seems pricey at $15 with a $2 up charge for burnt ends but it’s so much food it will destroy you! Ungodly pile of food that included a ton of Mac and cheese on top of a cooked russet, then additional shredded cheese and burnt ends on top. The big issue I had with this is I need the burnt ends to be the star - especially when being up charged for premium meat - and the flavor was good but they were cold. That’s just not cool, and so that had to lose a star for me.

Several different locals recommended the spot and it smelled good and we ate as much as we could and I couldn’t eat for the rest of the day so it’s definitely worth the money - I think it could be 4+ stars at the top of their game and a better environment than what we experienced in an empty place.

P.S. the cookie (photo) was...