Smok Barbecue — Restaurant in Denver

We did take-out so admittedly not the full experience. But, the mac and cheese was perfectly cheesy, the burnt ends were amazing, and the potato salad stole the show for me. Can't wait to actually go there to give them the 5th star.

NEXT VISIT (actually THERE this time): Earned the fifth star and then some. Think coupons and gift cards don't work? They do. Keep it up, marketing departments.

LOVED it. Happy hour time. Our three bartenders were Natasha, Bill, and Connor. Very much a team effort, and we noticed the cohesiveness and training. All were good in personality, humor, and efficiency. This place is located in The Source hotel. Tons of stuff nearby too, so worth the trip regardless. Looked like a nice hotel. Not sure how the people staying there get away from this awesome BBQ though. GREAT happy hour that makes all sorts of people happy. I had $1 off IPA's, and they had a decent rotating selection. Wife had the $6 Old Fashioned, and even had one "usual" one mistakenly made for her and she loved them all. We are bar seat people, but the tables looked nice too. We had the smoked jerk wings from the HH menu and they were AWESOME. The blue cheese was some of the best I have had, and I literally had to scoop it onto my wing. Ask for all the hot sauces. You get the house, the Carolina, the Bama, and the hot sauce (green). Their house is a little sweet to me, but the whole system works if you have effort in combining. ALL mac and cheese is good, and this place is on point with that, but it is your selection of sauces that make or break the mac. I tried all combinations for mac and cheese and settled on the green hot sauce and white Bama BBQ. You do you. We got a quarter of the brisket and burnt ends. I am a burnt ends guy, but would say they were a little big, and the brisket was slightly better (although both were off the hook). I did the house sauce and Carolina mustard on the brisket and it worked well. We said no on the chipotle cheese fries and okra, but you should try them. You can only eat so much at one time, folks. Tunes were classic rock, energetic in volume but not irritating, and Led Zep fans would have had a blast on my night (I am one of those too). Open concept overall, and all employees seemed happy and engaged. Definitely recommend and...

The owner straight lied to my face and gave me attitude about their take on burnt ends that are not true Kansas City burnt ends and just bark cut off ends of the brisket. Especially for the price I paid, there was no extra work put into them as I watched the guy hack pieces randomly off the larger smoked brisket. Half way through our conversation he even said they didn't have time to make true burnt ends, so they charged me extra to just cut random certain pieces off the brisket that might qualify as burnt ends to someone that doesn't know.

He told me he was straight from Kansas and was militant about it. Didn't mention at all he was born in Texas. But then somehow Texas BBQ came into the conversation which made me suspicious, especially BBQ people mixing styles, which you don't do in the south. Only in states like Colorado or Utah where white people don't know true BBQ or the tradition that goes with it. The website says he is from Texas and worked in Kansas. Couldn't even tell me the truth and had to take the stand that how dare I question him because he was born in Kansas.

He even went as far as telling me that's how old school people in Kansas do it. I travel for work and our company is based out of Kansas, I asked a couple managers when I got back to the hotel if they have ever heard his style and they were insulted, and told me Colorado BBQ is mediocre.

I give this place a 1 star for lying to me, or at least giving me an attitude. He offered me something else, but I would of just ordered brisket, so kind of a no win situation.

I have traveled the country and have only found beef burnt ends done completely wrong 3/4 of the time. while pork burnt ends for some reason are being done right across the country which I find insulting to the recipe.

If you can't do it right, don't tell people you have it. And don't be insulted when you can't follow a recipe and people question you.

I went to culinary school and know how to read a recipe and know the difference between original recipes and sloppy or lazy substitute.

Burnt ends is bark on every side of the cube of meat with a moist center, each piece is supposed to be BBQ candy.

He even went as far to say he has had this conversation many times with other customers, so he knows but just doesn't care enough to make the...

Amazing BBQ place and my only regret is that I was too full to eat more lol.

Ambiance: Came here with some friends for dinner before a show downtown, only a short drive away. At first I was taken aback by the setup since Smok is attached to a hotel(?) and the restaurant entrance was through the lobby - no biggie, just unexpected. It wasn't super busy when we arrived since it was a tad too early for dinner, but it was clear that this place is popular and the current customers seemed to be enjoying themselves.

Food: My husband and I ordered one meal each with the intent to share the side orders. He ordered the chopped brisket sandwich at the recommendation of the staff and I ordered the burnt end sandwich (partly because I was overwhelmed with the options and went with one of the first on the menu). Both sandwiches were packed with flavour and I would be happy to have them again. The mac and cheese was creamy and tasty; the okra was coated and fried (I wasn't expecting the coating) and was good as well; both sides were delicious but felt somewhat heavy to have with the sandwiches.

Parking: There's a bunch of parking out front but be mindful of the signs since most of the spots are for quick pickups. There's a garage that was parked in that was free on Saturdays, so bonus!

Overall and excellent experience and I'd be super excited to go back the next time...