Phoebus Smokehouse — Restaurant in Hampton

I’m a BBQ connoisseur. I’ve been to all of the BBQ restaurants in this region, and while I haven’t reviewed them, I intend to starting with Phoebus Smokehouse. I heard about it on Yelp as a new restaurant to try. My wife and I visited on a Sunday around 1:30pm. Our server said they opened May 29th. There were two other small groups in the restaurant. First, what’s best: the ribs, and the service. We shared a full rack of ribs (12) that were brined to perfection, smoky, meaty, fall off the bone and tender, for just $30. We could only eat eight. Country Grill and Smokehouse, Smoke, Old City BBQ, Scoots, and Alpha Pitt Smokers — take notice. Your ribs are overcooked, skimpy and expensive. Yes, I left off Bubba and Franks and Pierce’s on purpose— no smoke. Our server was friendly, attentive, and helpful without hovering. She did let us know what they didn’t have, so positive points for service, but negative for food. Second, what’s mediocre: coleslaw, Texas toast, unpreparedness, and ambiance. The coleslaw was room temp, bland and mayonnaisey. The Texas toast lacked flavor. They were out of iced tea (what‽) and several entrees. The Phoebus Dive Bar ambience still lingers— we almost turned around when we came in, but we wanted to give it a chance. Phoebus Smokehouse has great potential, and their BBQ (particularly the ribs) and service sets them above the rest. Everything else is fixable. Until then, I look forward to getting...

I ate here with a friend for the first time on a Friday evening. We arrived around 7:30, and there may have been about four or five other customers. My initial thoughts is that it wasn't very welcoming because we weren't greeted by anyone. We had to walk up to the bar just to get assistance. We almost turned around and left, but someone behind the bar finally said that we could take a seat wherever we liked. The menu choices were decent, but they were out of a couple items. I wanted to order the catfish and shrimp combo, but they were out of shrimp. I also wanted to try the collards, but they were also out of that. I settled on the yams, which were good and coleslaw, which was different and a little salty, but not bad. My friend ordered the pull pork sandwich and mac and cheese, which he said was good. Overall, the food was good, but not great. The prices were reasonable compared to other places I've been to. There were DJs setting up to play music as we ate our meal. They weren't scheduled to start until 8:30, so we didn't get to experience that entertainment. I believe this restaurant has been opened less than a year, so I hope there are plans for improvement. It has a lot of potential if they upgrade the furniture and improve the customer service. The staff was friendly once they started taking care of us. I would visit again after some time has passed just to see if improvements...

Looking for a place near Hampton for a semi-quick bit, this is a must. The atmosphere has a juke joint-meets-cowboy parlor vibe. It's kinda dark inside but probably a pretty good vibe at night as there is a stage available, so I assume that there is live music. The food, greens and green beans (both with smoked turkey were very flavorful. The greens have been slight vinegar/tangy taste, which I love. I had the fried catfish/shrimp combo. The shrimp were well seasoned and fried perfectly. The catfish was a crispy, a smidgen over-fried for me, but a beautiful coating. The seasoning was light so I needed hot sauce (which tasted like Texas Pete). Fries were very crispy and were seasoned. My daughter enjoyed them along with her lemon pepper wings. The baked beans were too sweet for my liking and were in a thick sauce (which was dark and almost like molasses). Those who like really sweet baked beans would like them. Service was very friendly and accommodating. There wasn't a lot of staff getting our order in took a little bit of time, but once in, the food came out quickly and was hot. I will come back the next time I'm...