Smokehouse 52 BBQ - Chelsea — Restaurant in Chelsea

Downtown Chelsea is a quaint small town vibe with a rich history, full of nice shops and country atmosphere.

Smokehouse 52 has been a staple of downtown Chelsea for as long as I can remember, and a well deserved title at that.

Today ( Snowy Sunday ) the family and I ( 10 total ) chose Smokehouse 52 as our monthly dinner spot for November.

We arrived shortly after 3:00 pm and we're sat right away. The smells when you walk in the door are amazing in and of itself. The cool downtown corner location works for the interior brick, metal and rich wood ambiance. We sat near the front window facing main street in a large family table well suited for our size.

Sophia was our waitress. she was a 5 star server all day long. Quick to help with suggestions for appetizers and honestly, my drink was never empty.

We got the pickle spears and the smokehouse nachos as appetizers. The smokehouse nachos are to my surprise the real hit here. Tender brisket on top of crisp chips with cheese wiith beans and sauce and sour cream. Very well done ! The pickle spears unfortunately didn't steel the show. Some crisp and others kinda limp. Maybe prep time was off and the pickles sat waiting for the nachos to be prepared.

When it comes to Smokehouse 52. One thing I remember was brisket. So, I opted for the brisket dinner with Cole slaw and mashed potatoes and gravy as my sides. Pulled pork. Mac and cheese and fried chicken were all dishes the group ordered.

When plated each dish looked fantastic and NO conversation was had while dinner commenced. We ate and ate well.

The mashed potatoes are very good. Gravy once salted brought out the flavor I was looking for to compliment the mashed potatoes which if you love slightly lumpy. Your gonna love these like I did !

The coleslaw was a hit, I was licking the bowl as the dressing for the slaw was not to sweet and not to vinegar. Just right ! I wish I had bread to sop it up !

Onto the brisket. Brisket is a tricky meat. Chopped brisket holds more fat then sliced and sliced if not juiced or served immediately can dry out and become tough very quickly. Since smoked food is not piping hot when served. Due to low temps for proper cooking. This can make the window of prime brisket really short.

The chopped brisket with higher fat content was superb. The sliced brisket was good. It could use to be a bit thicker cut to retain that moisture / tenderness.

This was a very good meal. A comment was even made about the coolness of the ladies restroom chandelier. I will have to take her word for that one :).

Why four and not five stars. Affordability. Simple short and sweet. I read several reviews and affordability for what is plated is mentioned allot and I agree. $ 27.99 for the pictured brisket dinner below is maybe a slight premium if not high for most. I did leave very happy. But for a party of three ( my portion of the bill ) , $116 makes smokehouse 52 a once in a long while visit. Surely not weekly or monthly.

We will be back again and enjoy that delicious looking fried chicken dinner next time. Thank you guys and thank you again Sophia for...

This place was amazing and I had some of the best bbq anyone could ever hope for. This restaurant is located in the heart of downtown Chelsea and just a couple blocks down the street from the Jiffy factory. The customer service here was fantastic from our host to our waitress. The food itself was absolutely amazing! I am so bummed I couldn’t take pictures of our meals or the restaurant itself because my phone was completely dead. I would say anything you eat here you will fall in love with all the flavors dancing around on your tongue. I personally had the Mac and cheese mixed with brisket and it was absolutely savory and delightful. My fiancé ordered a mixed dinner of pulled pork, chicken, and brisket. It came with collard greens, loaded mashed potatoes, and corn bread. My one son had the brisket sandwich with French fries. My other son ordered chicken wings and fries. Everyone had a great time and enjoyed their meals. They have an array of homemade bbq sauces that will drive you wild and have you wanting more. It sits on a lazy Susan in the middle of your table ready to use in their squirt bottles. We could not stop talking about all the different types of sauces and how much we loved them. My personal favorites were the hot and root beer flavored ones. They even make their own house too beer soda pop here. It was pretty good. The lemonade was also delicious. It wasn’t too sweet or sour, it was just right. Our waitress was so kind to inform me that they individually jar and sell them for $8 a piece right there in the restaurant itself. I was tickled pink and took home their signature hot bbq sauce. I put it on almost everything! If you’re looking for an authentic bbq spot, then this is the place for you to stop in and have a finger licking time! (Will update pictures of the restaurant itself the next time my family...

I was the only person seated at the bar. So no big rush, no confusion. Specifically asked the server BEFORE I ordered, if the large combination plate could be split in half IN THE KITCHEN, packaging half to go and serving the other half to me. The server said sure, fine! What parts do you want? I said I want half of everything.

Instead of doing what I was told they could do, I was brought the whole plate and not told that it was the whole plate. I've never had this dish before so I just thought wow this is big servings you get a lot for your money!

A few minutes later I received a to-go box (I hadn't asked for one yet). No problem I thought, I'm not going to eat this much food anyway, even if it's only half.

Got my bill, paid in cash, left 20% tip, ask server oh where's the rest of my food?

He said he brought all of it! Was I just supposed to know when he brought me the to-go box that I had all the food? If all I wanted to do was pack half of it in a to-go box MYSELF, I wouldn't have bothered having any kind of conversation with the server other than to simply order the food.

Server offered an apology and free food to compensate, but I don't want free food ( it's not that good). I want people to listen and respond to the words I actually speak to them. If you didn't understand what I wanted or if it could not be done server should have stated as much.

I wanted the food packaged in the kitchen as I was going to the Purple Rose Theater after eating, and I felt it would be better if it is packaged while sitting in the car.

I came here once years ago when the place first opened, found the food mediocre, and never went back until today. Food is still mediocre and the drinks are weak. I don't feel any need to...