Smokey Bones Bowling Green — Restaurant in Bowling Green

My family and I went out to an early dinner for my brothers birthday and we had made a reservation for 10 at 4:00, when we got there I checked in and told the host that we had two more than anticipated but one of the servers came up and started messing with the tablet while he was trying to seat us causing confusion on his end. We sat and waited for our table to be ready and once we were sat our server came over and the service was a a while before he came over and took our drink orders, and we placed an order for 2 appetizers (the crowd pleaser and the loaded fries) our server didn't come back over even to get our order until our apps were out. Mind you our server had been sat two other times after we got there and they already had their entrees before he even took our order. Once we finally got our apps he walked away and didn't come back for another 10-15 minutes to actually take our order. We ate our appetizers and everything was pretty good food wise and we were super excited about dinner. When our server finally came back to take our order our apps were gone and the plates just sat on the table. The food came and I ordered the pick two with the brisket and grilled chicken with steamed broccoli and sweet potato fries, my wife ordered a burger with no pink and my parents ordered the meat for two. My order was cold as ice but the plate was so hot it couldn't be carried without a pot holder. My brisket was so dry as was the chicken. I called someone over to take care of my order and it was taken back, a manager came over and let me know he was making a fresh order right now, new food comes out with 5 minutes (how could my food be freshly made when it came out in 5 minutes, chicken itself takes at least 30 alone) my broccoli was STILL cold and the brisket was still dry. I ate a couple of the sweet potato fries as those seemed to have been the only thing made fresh.

My wife's burger was so overcooked that it was a hockey puck and could hardly be cut with a knife.

My parents ordered the bone-fire meant for 2-3 people and there was barely enough to feed my dad.

The manager came and talked to my dad and took care of the burger and the pick 2 but then tried to argue with my dad about "they did study's and that's more than enough food for two people" so he just paid for it and we left.

The only positives that we all have from here is the wings that come with the crowd pleaser and the company we brought along. We won't be dining with Smokey bones anymore no matter...

I had high hopes for this restaurant since it was recommended for me to try the brisket bbq they have. I brought along some others and they were eager to try the brisket as well after I told them this place was recommended if in the Bowling Green area. We were sat at a table by the door where everyone walks thru in and out and to be honest it was not a place I would put a 4 top table. People kept running into us and I felt they just squeezed us there but it wasn't that comfortable. The table and chair needed wiping down before we sat and the floor is sticky everywhere you walk so be mindful that you will stick as you walk to the restrooms. We ordered our food but the appetizer came late and so did a beverage from the bar we ordered until we reminded them about it. Two people in my party ordered the brisket dinner and they both complained it was a small slice of brisket and mostly fat which was sad. I ordered the Brisket Sundae and since my brisket came chopped up on top of layered mashed potatoes and layered corn it did not have any fat and was actually very delicious! (See picture of Brisket Sundae that was worth ordering again 😋) Our service was kinda a miss since we didn't get any silverware and when asked about it so we could eat our meal they mentioned they did not have any but would bring us some plastic to-go cutlery to use. We were spending $25 pp on brisket plates and you don't have any silverware? They apologized and said they were short on utensils and people were throwing them away. Well we sat their an hour almost before we got served our food so someone could have ran to Walmart and washed some up real quick in that time frame. Alas, we saw other people get napkins and real utensils later on but we just ate our food with plastic forks like we were at a family backyard BBQ instead of dining at a real restaurant establishment. We did ask to talk to the manager when we were leaving to let him know all the things that happened that was not all listed here. He was nice, but I don't think we will be back again due to the lack of service & silverware. If you get the Brisket Sundae, it was delicious and the mashed potatoes were very good! We almost ordered banana pudding for dessert, but we were not wanting to push our bad luck any further and left. Maybe come on a weekday and bring your own utensils if you want...

Visited Smokey Bones on Saturday @ 6pm…not overly busy but a good crowd watching SEC Basketball. They had one bartender (Kayla) taking care of the entire bar that was pretty full. She finally recognized I was new to the bar and asked me “you know what you wanted to drink” like I had a menu of their offerings. Got the menu and I ordered a Boulevard Tank 7…at $8.25 a pint a bit pricey for a draft but it is a really good beer. Decided to try the Pick Three Favorites so I could get a sampling of the various meats available…took Kayla 10 minutes to come back to me for my order. Was going to order Texas-Style Beef Brisket as one of the meats but Kayla told me they were out of Brisket. I was a bit shocked seeing as you can’t order till after 4pm and they sold out in two hours??? Based on her attitude…I am guessing this happens often. My Plan B was to try the Smoked Spiced Sausage, Sliced Smoked Chicken Breast, and Grilled Bourbon BBQ Chicken Breast with a Baked Potato and Creamy Coleslaw as the sides.

The smoked spiced sausage had an interesting flavor, but by itself was not impressive. Used some of their sweet BBQ sauce to dip and the flavor improved. The sliced smoked chicken breast was dry and flavorless. Had I been able to catch Kayla’s attention or if she stopped by to check on me I would have told her. Instead added some BBQ sauce which made it OK to eat. My guess is this sits in a warming tray and it gets dried out there…not a stellar part of the trio. The grilled bourbon BBQ chicken breast was good and the grill flavor with the BBQ sauce made this the best of the trio of meats. The baked potato side was nothing special and the coleslaw is mayonnaise based and good.

Overall the meal was just OK, the service at the bar, making a customer feel welcome, even checking on a customer was non-existent. This wasn’t only me…I noted it for a few of the patrons sitting near me. You could have 5-Star food here but the poor service and attitude would keep me from coming back. Also watched their take-out service…seems the same attitude is prevalent here too. Good service includes making folks feel welcome, not just throwing a plate in...