Smoked Lotus BBQ — Restaurant in Hazel Park

So we’ve ordered from them plenty of times and the food has been good. We went to EPC one night, unaware that Smoked Lotus was open. We accidentally brought food with us since it was allowed in the past. One of the owners respectfully asked us to put it away while they’re open and wait until they’re closed. No problem, we easily obliged. Once they closed and put up a CLOSED sign we opened our food. The other owner came out and loudly cussed us out in front of the entire bar. He claimed we were “so rude” to eat outside food in their presence whether they were closed or not. He continued to swear and belittle us in front of other patrons. The owner of the bar they’re inside of came to apologize to us from his behavior. We will never be supporting this business again due to their childish and unprofessional behavior.

EDIT* As mentioned above, it was a total mistake that we brought outside food in, we'd done it before and didn't realize the rules changed. Also, Smoked Lotus is as pop up/ghost kitchen inside a bar, they are not a full restaurant. They rent the space and when they are closed the bar allows outside food. We respectfully put it away when confronted. We were told BY THE BUSINESS that when they close it is OK to eat it. So we continued to have drinks and when they closed, we ate our food, at which point the other business owner came out to chew us out and yell and curse at us in public for simply doing what his partner told us to do. The owners response below (which was edited, he deleted another childish rant reply first) and his in-person temper tantrum speaks more about their business and dissuaded people at the bar from purchasing their products more so than a single sandwich from Tubby's did.

EDIT 2* Since you keep engaging and writing a false narrative, I'll reiterate this one more time. It was a mistake, we didn't come in to burn your business down, in fact we've supported you plenty of times and purchased food. It was a mistake, which your business partner initially confronted us about, we apologized, and everyone was good. YOUR PARTNER told us we could eat when you close, so we did what he asked us. Then you decided to come out and embarrass yourself (in front of all the bar patrons) at the end of the night by yelling at us, cursing at us, and being a really immature business owner. It was a mistake, no one is coming for you or your livelihood. Your continuation of acting ridiculous and taking this way too personally and deeply is unsettling. Hope you figure out a better way to remedy issues in the future because berating customers won't last long. Also since we are paying members of the bar, we will be seeing you...

Edit: Went a second time on a slow night (Thursday at 6pm) with a different set of friends who hadn’t been there before and decided to give it another shot. Ordered Brisket and Mac, and the chicken sandwich with a small Mac order… they somehow lost our order for the sandwich and Mac so had to wait longer to get it, but owner was apologetic. Got the sandwich and it was tasty, but was completely missing the mayo it was supposed to have so quite dry until I realized what was wrong. We were given about as much mayo as the small Mac and cheese we received, which is to say it was a inappropriately small container of Mac for the money. Given the noodles are large like a penne sort of style, there were maybe 12 noodles in the small clear plastic container we were given. Our friends who had the brisket also commented that the meat was “bland”, and lacking salt…. Texture was good (they clearly know how to cook meat) but flavor/seasoning was just bland. Which tracks with our previous experience last week.

The chicken sandwich was actually quite delicious so we will likely get that again. With the barbacoa on it it almost tasted like a chicken parm sandwich, which wasn’t a bad thing. Given it’s attached to a cool tiki bar, we will likely eat here again, but the size of the small Mac was laughable, and there’s clearly some kinks they need to work out in their system to keep things going in a reliable and organized fashion.

Original review: We had an incredibly mediocre food experience with SL bbq. Idk what all the fuss is about, because our meat was very bland, hardly seasoned and the bbq sauce was bland and watery as well. Our friends described it as “watered down ketchup”

Idk if we hit them on an off day, but everyone in our 6 person group was very disappointed.

We got there to check out the tiki bar and decided to try the food. Ordered rice bowls and Mac and cheese (they ended up not having any) and some sandwiches, a smattering of stuff on the menu to try and get a feel for it. No one was impressed by anything they tasted. I hope they work on their sauce game because that could improve...

Smoked Lotus shares a building with Eastern Palace Club, which is a tiki bar. The bar's fun vibes and drink menu pair well with the BBQ. The staff of both establishments are friendly and polite.

I recommend going on a Wednesday, which is when BBQ tacos are a special. I've tried 3 of those, most of the meats, and all the sides. The tacos I've had are beef brisket, pig belly burnt ends, and pulled pork. Of those, the burnt ends taco was the best, but all 3 were great. If you came here just for the tacos, I wouldn't blame you at all. As for the meats, I truthfully don't have a favorite, because they were all that good. The ribs were juicy and tender. The brisket looked and tasted just right. I didn't even need a knife to cut it. The meatloaf was unlike any I've ever had. It was incredibly tender and had a great, smoky flavor. Although pastrami is beef, it tasted like a very well seasoned ham. Most places I've gotten burnt ends from dry them out, but that is not the case here whatsoever. The pulled pork was standard compared to the rest of the meats, but still better than average.

None of the sides disappoint. The beans appear runny, but were delicious. The mac had a generous amount of cheese, and wasn't dry either. I've only had collard greens a couple times, but I found it enjoyable. The potatoes were delightful, but what took them to the next level was the toum it was served with. Toum is a Lebanese garlic sauce. The slaw was creamy and flavorful. Blueberry cornbread is something I've never seen on a BBQ menu before. Both that and the pickles tasted as they were advertised.

Smoked Lotus blew me away, and I'll even go as far as saying it's my new favorite, local spot for BBQ. Even the pricing is fair, especially for the quality you're getting. If you love BBQ and haven't been here yet, you're...