Bray's Smokehouse — Restaurant in Kingsville

Took off one star each for service and food preparation. Came in on a Tuesday night. We were seated right away. Hostess was sweet. We got smiles coming in, and smiles on the way out.

Our waitress must have been new or maybe just young, or both lol. When my husband ordered a double Jameson neat, she had no idea what that was. She asked if he wanted it mixed with anything. She later had to come back to the table and ask if he wanted it in a tall or short glass.... When it WAS prepared, it sat on the bar for quite a while. It was there so long, I seriously almost got up and got it myself. A young man that was working stopped and looked at it and read the slip and finally brought it over for us.

I ordered a club soda, thinking I was just getting the club soda from the gun at the bar. When I ordered my second one, she brought me a cup of ice and a bottle of sparkling water. Again, she seemed confused. Someone told her to just bring it to me like that? Idk... I asked her if they had club soda at the bar in the gun thing that the bartender uses. She just kind of said "I have no idea, I'm not a bartender". So, we ended up paying $6 for 2 Topo Chicos. Ugh. The other drink refills could have also come a little quicker.

The waitresses WAS very nice though. Maybe she just needs to do a little more training with the OTHER aspects of the place she works at.

The food was fine. BBQ nachos were great!Well-done burgers came out black and crunchy. Well-done is supposed to just mean that it's cooked through on the INSIDE lol. Some items were cold. The shredded cheese on a bowl of chili was cold.

We may go back again.... I'd totally be willing to give it...

We had high hopes based on reviews. Even more so when we walked in and saw the awards they've won. Then we tried the brisket chili appetizer and it was so delicious we thought we were really in for a treat!

Then our meals came and it all went south, with a few exceptions.

My brisket almost seemed like it had been cooked in a crock pot and then sat out and got cold, rather than smoked. It's supposed to be tender and have fat, but not supposed to be just a mushy mess of beef and coagulated fat.

One of my sides (borracho beans) was great. The other (green beans) was flavorless. I'm not sure how you can make a dish that has smoked sausage in it, yet tastes like nothing. And I mean absolutely nothing. The only time I've experienced so little flavor in my life was when I had covid.

My pulled pork on the other hand was, by far, the best pulled pork I've ever had.

My wife's ribs were bone dry. Her chicken was decent and sides were not bad.

The cornbread is also good.

Some dishes make me want to give a higher overall rating, but I can't because this is Texas, where brisket is king for a BBQ place. Ribs are also kind of a big deal in determining BBQ quality. This place had a swing and miss on each of the dishes I give the most weight to.

The service is the reason I'm giving this place a third star. Our server was extremely friendly and attentive.

Unfortunately for this restaurant, the food is what makes a customer come back, and in this case it just made us wish we'd gone back to the place we ate the...

Dont read these-just go! Ive dined in house twice now & let me say-this is the BEST and FASTEST BBQ Ive ever had! I brought my daughter in here on a packed Friday night; we were in fed & out in under an hour! Im a bit of a pulled pork conniseur & this is the best Ive ever had!

Ok, so I have Celiac disease and because of that I can say that I probably threw them for a loop. I called first&asked a bunch of questions. The young lady I spoke to was more than eager to answer my 'weird questions' making sure to state they weren't weird and make sure that she found out- she found their gluten free menu- asked probably everyone in the kitchen to see if they all agreed&then put the manager on. Just the thoroughness of this aspect alone gives me reassurance to be back. That said- I ordered the Rack of chicken with two sides- asking specifically that the side of fries be in a seperate box (my non-celiac daughters side) & we ordered to go. They ended up having to remake it because it all got put together, but there wasn't a single but of hesitancy to do it! The only downside is that I ended up paying $21 instead of what should have been under $15&I even asked.... this isn't enough to keep me away by any means&I'm certain that the poor girl was flustered. Again; they ALL were well attentive&eager to serve. Having Celiac- Im usually met with rolled eyes at the questions stage- so we'll be back & I'll definitely be updating...