Parker's Smokehouse — Restaurant in Lincoln

My wife and I have been wanting to try this place for a while, and we drove from Omaha to Lincoln and we were in the area and finally tried it. The service was great. The waitress was really sweet. We got the platter for 2 since our daughter came with and everything was more than enough for 3 people, or so we thought. We got the brisket, ribs, and chicken with mashed potatoes and beans, and it came with potato wedges. I'm a lover of all things bbq, and I have to be brutally honest. Almost nothing tasted good... the brisket was super dry and stiff, the ribs with bbq sauce on them were STILL dry, and the chicken was very dry also. We took a bite of each and immediately all stopped eating. It then took maybe 10 minutes for anyone to check on us, and then we explained how everything didn't taste good. The manager came by and wanted to make things right and offered pulled pork with fresh chicken and brisket. We kept the sides (which were all only decent, but not great) and gave the whole half rack of ribs back. To be fair, all of the replacement food was much better, but it was still not super flavorful. Brisket was more bendy and fatty like it should be, and the pulled pork was much better than the dry ribs. The chicken was, unfortunately, still not very good. We took everything to go, just to give it to someone else... we got the bill and thought they might comp a little off, but they did not. I didn't mind paying the full price, if it was worth it, but even giving most of the food back (which we should have just kept) it was absolutely not worth $90 with a tip. We've had so much better bbq at multiple places and without paying nearly as much as this place. So do yourself a favor and find a cheaper place to try. The average price here was about $24 for a two meat plate, and most places like Hog Wild are about $14 to $17 range for a two meat plate with about the same portion and if not better tasting food. We could have honestly gone to porky butts in Elkhorn and had way better food, and for only $40 to $50 ...

Just have to drop you a line and say how absolutely disappointed we were in our attempted visit. A group of us, 5 adults and 4 children attempted to eat at your restaurant for my son's 20th birthday on Tuesday evening the 27th. Its tradition in our family to go where the birthday boy/girl would like to eat out at and my son was excited to get some ribs at your establishment. When we walked in, well over half off the tables were empty and we were repeatedly asked if we had made a reservation for our party. We had not and didn't considered we would need to on a Tuesday night in a restaurant that was closer to empty than it was full. We were told it would be a 35-40 minute wait because they were busy and the "big top" tables were occupied. I actually laughed out loud thinking the staff was kidding around but quickly realized that they were serious and said "this is busy" with I'm sure was a weird confused look on my face. I then asked to be seated in a couple of tables and was told "I can't do that as we don't want to overwhelm the staff". So apparently your staff can't handle 2 tables. Its not like there were 30 of us there were 9. If we had walked in as a family of 5 and a family of 4 I'm guessing we would have been seated but since we all happened to walk in together we weren't able to celebrate my sons birthday at the place he wanted to eat. So thank you so much for ruining a birthday celebration. I do hope that you let the waiter or waitress know also that you cost them a $30+ tip for maybe an hours worth of work. I'm sure they'll be happy to know that as well. As for the waiter who actually got the tip he was quite appreciative so he thanks you for sending us to his restaurant.

UPDATE: After emailing the company, I received a response and an apology. Truly appreciative of the owners response to...

On our two week RV tour from Virginia out west, we stopped in Omaha Ne for the night. On our way into town via I80, GPS dumped us off on route 6. While headed to the KOA we passed Parker’s Smokehouse and after a quick check of reviews decided to drop off RV and come back out for dinner. This entire trip has been about exploring new places and finding local eateries. Parker’s Smokehouse was, by far, at the top of the list for favorites. We have eaten at local steakhouses, tried iconic restaurants famous in their areas and while most were quite good, Parker’s was in a class above. Each dish was clearly locally prepared, not pre-packaged. And the amount of food was stunning, as we left with enough for at least 2 more meals. We started with an appetizer, Parker’s Sampler, which was a huge dish. It included chicken tenders, rib tips, catfish strips, and wings. Each item was phenomenal. Full flavored, tenders and catfish strips hand breaded. Rib tips out of this world. The entree was a 1/2 platter, that said it fed 2-3 people, which was a gross understatement. We chose the BBQ chicken, brisket, and ribs, along with baked beans, cinnamon apples, cole slaw and corn muffins. The meat again was cooked to perfection, and the sides... amazing. Each one clearly prepared on site, with their own special recipe. We had to ask about the cinnamon apples as they were like none we have ever tasted before, cooked in a rue with a hint of citrus, peach, and amaretto according to the waitress. Not only was the food delicious and plentiful, but the staff was incredibly friendly and attentive. While we don’t know when we will ever be back through Omaha, if we are we will go back to Parker’s. Highly recommend them to locals or anyone...