Shuford's Smokehouse — Restaurant in Chattanooga

We compete in BBQ contests and run a part time BBQ concession trailer so we love to try BBQ wherever we go. We came here because of the good reviews. Although folks were friendly here, everything else fell a little short of our expectations. The shredded pork was dry and was not freshly cooked (we are pretty sure we had 'Saturday' pork on Wednesday), with a bit of bitter smoke taste. The half chicken was bland and dry and even though he was hungry, my husband couldn't finish it. The sauce was heavy on molasses and coffee tastes. Fried okra was great. We don't think the slaw or the potato salad were made in house, although they were good. The building has a lot of character but it wasn't kept up. Everything was dirty and dusty and there were dirty hand prints all over the bathroom wall. If the restaurant was maintained and the meat was fresher and not covered with the weird sauce, my review...

Took a chicken and brisket family meal back to our vacation spot because we drove by it when we came into Tennessee and smelt it early in the morning so we knew he got there early to smoke his meat all day and let me tell you what .... best BBQ I've ever had !!! I'm from Indiana and have traveled many places but this place was the best ! The meat is plenty full and tender with good smoke flavor the brisket is to die for and OMG the BANANA PUDDING YALL the cole slaw was creamy beans were on point and had to get a side of that fried okra ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ but most of all was the service.... Debbie has the best southern hospitality you could ask for and the owner Jeff had a huge smile on his face you can honestly tell he loves what he does even after all these years ! You can tell their heart is in it by the way it taste!!!! We will definitely be back every year we come to visit ! Thank you...

While visiting Chattanooga for the week (from up north), I knew that I should try the famous local barbecue. After a first strike at a “famous Nashville” barbecue near my friend’s home, where I was terribly surprised by a pulled chicken plate with a white mayonnaise mixed barbecue sauce - definitely not what I wanted! The unfriendly handling of their botched to go order…was also not great. Luckily I met a friendly local who told me to try Shuford’s - what a great recommendation! My takeout order was perfect as ordered. The barbecue chicken with delicious sauce is just what I hoped for! And the lovely, chatty and helpful service both on the phone when ordering and in person when picking up, was also just the local warmth that I was looking for. So please let me also recommend Shufords when you’re in Chattanooga looking for best barbecue. It’s clear why they are 40 years...