The Vault Smokehouse — Restaurant in Ennis

I’ve stopped by several times, but they’ve always been closed. Thought I’d give it another try today (12/13/19) and they were open. I go in, order a 3 meat plate, sliced brisket (from the moist, or thick, end), pulled pork, ribs, macaroni and cheese and Cole slaw to go. The wait time was not that long, especially considering that it was around lunch time. I grab my pickles and onion from their condiment bar and leave. After getting back to work I get my lunch from the bag and am very excited to finally get some BBQ from them. The reviews spoke very highly of their food. When I open the styrofoam container, I see my ribs and pulled pork. I pick up the ribs and see the brisket underneath. The brisket was cut from the lean, or thin, side. Not what I ordered, but not the end of the world. I then notice that there’s no mac and cheese. I couple check the bag to make sure that it wasn’t in a small let container. It wasn’t. I don’t have time to go back and get it so I decide to call and let them know and possibly get it on my next visit. I called and get a recording stating that their messages are full and that I cannot leave a message. I call back a couple more times later and have gotten no answer and the same message.

Now on the the food. The ribs were moist and juicy. All of the meats were very moist and juicy. Which was a welcome change from some other BBQ places that seem like their serving jerky instead of BBQ. However, there wasn’t much flavor to the ribs and pulled pork. It was almost like there wasn’t any/enough rub used. All of the meats were lacking that traditional smokey flavor you associate with BBQ. I was not a fan of the Cole slaw. It wasn’t bad, but not my type. It’s more of a personal preference than anything. Like another review stated, the sauce seems watered down and wasn’t very flavorful.

In summary, it wasn’t bad. The meat was okay, it could just use a little more smoke and rub. I’m assuming that, because it was lunch and they were busy, is why my brisket was not as ordered and my mac and cheese was forgotten.

Even with the negatives that I’ve listed, it’s still better than some of the other BBQ places in the area. I wish there was a way to leave 3 1/2 stars, because I feel that that would be more accurate. It’s still an establishment that I will visit again...

I'm giving the rating based purely on the food. The staff were all great, service was nice and quick, had no problems there. I have an exchange student from Colombia with me for a few days so I wanted to take her to a BBQ place and I've always heard good things about The Vault so we went about 20 minutes after they opened to make sure everything was available. It was her first time having bbq in the US, so we got a variety of meat for her to try: ribs, sliced brisket, chopped brisket, chicken, and cheddar/jalapeño sausage. The ribs were actually pretty good, by far the best part of the meal. The briskets were both dry and overall lacking in flavor, there was very little bark and what little it did have was lightly seasoned. The chicken leg/thigh was also dry, skin on which was good, but the skin only had the smoke for flavor. The sausage was also dry; you could tell the flavor was there for that one, but you had to smother everythingin the sauce to eat it. If we didn't have the sauce, we would have had to wash everything down with a drink or we wouldn't have been able to eat it at all. The ribs were the one thing that you could pick up and eat without issue and without needing the sauce, and they actually tasted pretty good with the sauce too. The sauce itself was pretty good. I had the student rate it from 1-10 based purely on flavors, and she gave it a 4/10, with the ribs being the exception. I would be a bit lower, but overall I agreed. Nothing we had was bad. There were issues, as I stated, but nothing was actually bad. It's certainly better than Dicky's. The restaurant and staff are great, those can be 5 stars. The food was pretty average/boring though, and while the ribs were really good, I can't say that 1 out of 5 meats is enough to make me give it a higher rating. I would go back for the ribs, but none of the other stuff unless someone convinced me that today...

Being a lifelong lover of BBQ and Smoked Meats, I was totally unimpressed with The Vault Smokehouse. I ordered a brisket and pulled pork plate. I could hardly detect any smoke flavor on either meat. It tasted more like oven cooked vs. smoked. Very plain and unimpressive. Their BBQ sauces were lacking any distinctive flavor with a vinegar type taste and seemed to be "watered down". I was very disappointed in the meal after reading past reviews by others. The cost was not cheap for my meal and I felt it was definitely not worth the money I paid. I would not recommend The Vault for BBQ or Smoked dining.

EDIT :. Since the "Owner" decided to post a comment now, 3+ YEARS LATER, I had to come back and add the following.

After reading the owners comment to my review, I would suggest that you read the other comments here about the quality of the food. I'm not the only one here that thinks it's not of good quality, and the prices charged for their sub-par quality food is ridiculous. Considering the rudeness and personal attack they chose to level at me for an honest review, you should factor that in when it comes to how serious they take things at this establishment. I have been smoking meats for longer than the unprofessional "owner" has been alive and have also been a judge at many national competition level BBQ competitions. While I understand he wishes to defend his business, he should learn how to utilize the customer reviews to improve customer satisfaction and not be so sensitive to said feedback. His use of a public forum for display of his lack of professionalism and poor customer service skills speaks volumes ! Berating people for their honest views is akin to the quality of his restaurant. Pathetic and sad. I stand...