Holy Smoke Texas Style BBQ — Restaurant in Bishop

Walking into this restaurant was immediately uncomfortable. An older woman working there accidentally stepped on a dog, which started whimpering — instead of showing concern, she yelled at it, saying, “I SAID SORRY!” That same woman ended up taking my order.

When my friend (a white male) ordered before me, she was extremely friendly and polite, so I figured maybe she was just having a rough moment. But as soon as it was my turn (I’m Hispanic), her tone completely changed. She was short, impatient, and rude throughout the interaction.

I ordered a pulled pork sandwich, and she snapped, “Are you going to hurry up and order your side?” I politely apologized and asked for her recommendation between the pulled pork or chopped beef. She replied dismissively, “They’re both good — you still need to pick a side.” I chose mac and cheese, but at that point she seemed done engaging with me. She didn’t ask whether I wanted dine-in or takeout, nor did she offer any sauce options like she did for the customers before and after me. Instead, she automatically added ranch — who eats ranch with BBQ?

The couple behind me (also white) received warm, friendly service and full attention, which made the contrast even more obvious. The whole interaction felt uncomfortable and frankly, discriminatory.

Unfortunately, the food didn’t make up for the experience either. Everything was bland and served lukewarm, including the mac and cheese — which somehow managed to have zero flavor. It’s hard to ruin mac and cheese, but this place found a way.

Between the poor attitude, inconsistent treatment, and lackluster food, I wouldn’t recommend this restaurant to anyone. There are plenty of places that serve better BBQ and treat all customers...

My mother and I were passing through Bishop on the first leg of our trip back to Washington State. Neither one of use wanted to tempt fate with fast food. So we stopped at Holy Smoke.

You could smell the BBQ cooking out back and its scent was mouthwatering.The restuarant had a very rustic charm with out crossing the line into hokey. The lady at the counter was very friendly and down to earth. I think my mother could have spent all day talking with her.

Everyone employed there sound get a bonus for how clean the restrooms were. Also the sinks are beautiful and you have to see them yourself (I can't describe them).

We took our food over to the park due to the quarantine order. I got the tri tip sandwich with baked beans and cornbread. I'm not much of a beef eater but I didn't feel like having half a chicken. The meat was tender, flavorful, and honestly cooked to perfection. I didn't even add very much BBQ sauce (get the spicy sauce). Many places use bread that doesn't pair well with meat. Holy Smoke on the other hand couldn't have chosen better. The baked beans were just the right amount of sweet. Also worth noting is that there wasn't five pounds of bacon in the sweet beans. I can't find the words to state how much I hate bacon. The star of the meal was the cornbread! It was a hefty portion for the price. Sweet, kind of crumbly, and no chunks of whole corn. I could have just ordered of it and been in heaven.

My only complaint is the sweet tea could have been sweeter. I won't say what my mother's opinion was. She can find a problem with a perfect meal everytime. Thank you Holy Smoke Texas Style BBQ for helping start a very long trip on...

Poor service and sub-par "Texas" barbeque. We dined in and ordered a pound of brisket, pound of sausage, pint of mac and cheese, and small beans. We waited for close to thirty minutes while watching multiple tables get their food that came in after us get their food. Numbers were getting yelled out while not a peep being said about our number. I finally went up to the counter and it turns out our food was just sitting in the back getting cold Even though our ticket said dine-in our food was wrapped up to go.

As a native central Texan who has been in California for over 15 years and smokes their own brisket regularly because good brisket is hard to come by, this BBQ was below mediocre and associating it with Texas is a near tragedy.

Nary a smoke ring to be found.

All our brisket came from the point or as they say in Texas "moist" which is a nice way of saying fatty. It was untrimmed and i would say 1/3 of the meat by weight was fat.

The sausage was tasteless. Mac and cheese cold and bland.

Truly disappointed they are calling this Texas BBQ. definitely not Franklins, Blacks, Stubbs, County Line, Salt Lick, Kreuz, or Smittys quality.

Also, they have their POS system set up to make you go through the tip menu with the defaults at 15%, 20%, and 25%. As someone who worked in food service in my younger days i as always tip at counter service restaurants. I tipped 15% on the $85 order for a place where you order at the counter, get your own drinks, and apparently go find out where your food is after it sits in the back for over twenty minutes getting cold. Maybe i should rethink my habit of tipping in...