Drake's Place Restaurant & BBQ Smokehouse — Restaurant in Ferguson

We finally decided to stop in on a Sunday afternoon. Let me just start by saying I love to support small business owners. Especially the ones who have a FULL bar! The owner greeted us at the door and seated us right away. I told her it was our first time in and that my husband wanted some soul food. She assured us we were at the right spot, and they only do Soul food on Sundays. She then handed us off to a nice young man(I can't recall his name). He took our drink orders and gave us time to look over the menu. Right away, I saw that nothing stuck out to me as "soul food" When the waiter came back, I asked him what he suggested as "Soul food," and he replied, " We got catfish, ribs, brisket, pulled pork and grilled leg quarter chicken. " Ok, to me, those are meats, not soulfood, but anyway. I chose a NY strip steak med-well, loaded baked potato, and a garden salad with the house dressing he had rehearsed the ingredients for. Lol.. Hubby didn't really want anything as he found nothing "soulfood-ish" but mac n cheese. So he ordered a cheeseburger on Texas toast with fries, salad, and a side of Mac. The waiter brought our drinks, which were the highlight of the meal. And the only reason for a star. (I'll explain the other star shortly) He then brought out our silverware, but NO waters?? Our drinks were alcohol so I assumed he would at least offer water, but no. We sat for a nice amount of time before he brought out the salad. Which was not fresh!! It was a mix of DRY iceberg and field greens with provel cheese stuck to it, tomatoes, and 1 red onion. May have been pre-made and sitting in the fridge overnight. The dressing made the salad edible. Not to mention, I was a little hungry. Finally our meals come out. Per the menu, the steak was supposed to have steak butter..Lol there was NO butter, NO seasoning, and the THIN steak was WELL DONE! The loaded potato was DRY as if cooked or warmed in the microwave, barely any cheese, and no butter. I had to ask the waiter for the steak butter and butter for the potato, which he brought out right away. After adding both butters, I was only able to take a few bites of the steak and potato before I gave up and asked to see the owner. Hubby's burger and fries were OK. Nothing spectacular, but the hamburger appeared to be a hand-made patty. The owner did come out, and I voiced my complaints(Reason for 2nd star). She apologized and agreed that the steak was overcooked and offered to remake it. I declined and also mentioned how we never got any water, which she responded, "Did you ask for some?" Didn't think I had to ask for glasses of water for the table, but ok. She then states they don't offer water because they don't have a lot of glasses. Me: Oh, Okkk.. She apologized again and said she would take the steak off the bill and that I would just pay for the salad. Ummm... wait, the salad came with the meal! Check please...which came to 50 bucks! Drake's is a nice, clean, and welcoming establishment, but unfortunately, we...

Let's be frank: I dropped a note-forty for 3 (mom, girlfriend, myself), and we collectively couldn't find anything that would make one regret dining here. Everything was clean, the staff came at us like family who were glad to see us after so long - but with just the right sincerity to make you feel truly welcomed. The only thing we could lay issue to was the price of drinks in relation to the sizes received. It's the reason I'm giving 4 stars instead of 5, even though this is still a 5-star experience overall. They had a Strawberry Hennessy that will make you consider favorably the risks of living with alcoholism, but what you get for $12 almost makes you want to call the whole dining thing off! Yet, since drinking is a personal choice which can make but not break a meal, that many patrons do without, we won't let that be the reason not to come here. I had a rib & brisket special that would make you turn on your grand-daddy's family-revered barbecue as if he never meant anything to you! My mom had a double brisket with two sides (mac and cheese and some fire garlic bread with cheese), and she was smiling like it was her birthday. But that won't be till June! And girlfriend had a catfish and shrimp platter that looked just like on the menu! And we all know food never looks like what you see on the menu, right? And the food portions are deceivingly filling: all three of us had food to box up when we left! Once you eat the food that this Black, family-owned restaurant creates you'll find that the priority here is great food and greater hospitality. If you need a cozy and/or intimate place to dine, especially on a first date or anniversary (which is why we were here), you're not going to lose by dining at Drake's. And to be clear, regardless of your alcohol consumption, the food and the entire experience is worth every dime you spend! Now I'd like to add that I randomly found Drake's on Google Maps, and 95% of the comments and reviews were in praise, which is why I gave them a try. You don't have to believe this review if it sounds biased. You're already on their site, so when you finish here go and read other reviews and comments for yourself. In conclusion, I'm telling all my friends, and anyone who's read this far, that if you want to try something familiar, not too expensive, yet a little up-class and unique, make a break towards Drake's Place Restaurant. I seriously doubt you'll regret it!

UPDATE: 11 months later, and a return to Drake's is as good as the first time. My only real update is a reconsideration of the strawberry Hennessy. Turns out that's a pretty exclusive item that I haven't been able to find anywhere else. That exclusivity alone negates the pricing issue, gives this place its own unique niche, and brings thier rating...

Hopefully we will try this eatery a couple more times to get an overall census: first visit - completed order online at approx 7pm via website- time to p/u was 45mins. Super easy process. I know it was late but we couldn't decide where to order.. Descriptions of the entrees all sounded wonderful. Facebook had great pics. Hubby hadn't really eaten all day so we wanted to try a couple of things, then we would have leftovers for weekend.. now for food review - keep in mind as I am as well the time of evening I think they close at 8: I arrived at the restaurant approx 48- 50 mins after ordering, there were several cars in the parking lot, inside there were 3 guests divided between two tables, my ord wasn't ready.. we live 7 mins away, retrieveing order took a half hour. We ord Drake's wings BBQ flavor tastee - wings were dry - had been sitting may? My husband's entree was Drake's Texas Burger.. he said it was really good as well as the Frys. I ordered a a large dinner salad to split with house dressing, had cracked pepper in it yum, dressing was very delicious! I ordered the Bri's sauteed chicken which was very tender in a lemon cream sauce, was a bit thin but flavorful with mushrooms and melted cheese and a BP. Your choice was either loaded bp or bp I chose bp. Then I also wanted to try their tilapia - you could add on a pc and I chose crispy which I thought was going to be a different breading than the fried cornmeal but I'm thinking they must have meant well done instead..my bad. When I arrived home and unpacked the order, every food item ordered was enclosed however if I had been ordering for work or eating somewhere other than home I would have been in trouble, no utensils were included and no condiments/ butter, sour cream salt or pepper as the potato arrived plain so if you need them ask...