The Proper Pig Smokehouse - Lakewood, OH — Restaurant in Lakewood

I enjoyed our visit to the Proper Pig. My wife and I stopped here for dinner. They have a relatively small dining room and counter service found at most traditional barbecue places. The menu is straightforward - a selection of the standard barbecue meats, plus one or two unique sandwiches. They also have a good selection of beers as well.

I ended up getting the brisket, the pork ribs, and the turkey breast, in addition to potato salad and the smokehouse beans. My wife had the brisket sandwich and cole slaw, both of which she enjoyed. I enjoyed the flavor and bark of the brisket, but I think it might have been cut with the grain, rather than against the grain, which made cutting it somewhat difficult. Otherwise it was good brisket. The pork ribs were fairly simple - I think the rub is mostly salt and pepper and they don’t put any perceptible amount of sauce on them prior to them being served. Instead, a sweet-tangy sauce is available which is quite good. I think the ribs are cooked to the proper amount of tenderness so that they are tender, yet don’t quite fall off the bone. Finally the turkey was very good. Again, it seems like it’s probably a simple salt and pepper rub and the turkey ends up being very peppery. If you like pepper, it’s great, but if not, it won’t be your cup of tea. The turkey is moist and tender.

I liked the smokehouse beans a lot. They had a lot of flavor. I was not as big of a fan of the potato salad, which didn’t really seem like a cohesive dish instead of just some chopped potatoes in dressing.

Overall, I think this is some of the better BBQ in Cleveland. The value is good - we got all of the food pictured for under $40. I’d rate this as better quality than Mabel’s. There are a couple things to improve on (brisket slicing, sides), however I would definitely come here again and would recommend it...

If you’re looking for good eats and you like meat the proper pig is the place for you to go. It is a small quaint place and most people would call it a dive bar. There’s a bar that you can sit at to eat your meal, but there are also tables. Now There are only about seven or eight tables in the restaurant total so this is definitely not for your large groups. I ordered the three combo platter. The combo came with coleslaw, mac & cheese, and pickles beef brisket, turkey, and pulled pork. I also ordered the pulled pork nachos. Although I’m not a big pork eater, I did taste them and they were absolutely delicious. However, the smoked beef brisket and smoked turkey deserve more than just a mention. We were given the food on a metal platter with plastic ware to utilize. When you can cut beef brisket with a plastic knife, it tells you you are in for a treat. Each of the meat products that I had was full of flavor and was tender. The sides were meh. This restaurant deserves a visit and if you love meat, go ahead and try it out. Honorable mention goes to the moonshine in mason jars.

Now, don’t expect them to roll out the welcome mat for you. The service wasn’t bad but it...

Just came from the proper pig not even an hour ago.the food was horrible I couldn't finish it it was garbage for the price they are charging you guys are unbelievable. Nothing about this so called barbecue represent the South in no kind of way the coleslaw was basically cabbage cut up and very dry the meat it self was cold didn't have any favors what so ever. The bake beans had lots of meat but no taste at all. The sauce was not good the money spent here tonight was a total waste. These guys need to shut their doors and stop their false representation of the south we don't cook like this. Y'all need to cut this cramp out and quit serving garbage to try and make money go back to the table and start over and firer the cooks quick wow! I don't no where these people came from on this panel they must have some type of investment with the owners of this restaurant to lye about their reviews or they must like eating garbage I'm sorry but this is terrible and the food is even worst like I said firer the cooks and learn how to burn period point dot and stop making money off of...