Smitty's Market — Restaurant in Lockhart

We knew that when we got to Lockhart, we wanted to have barbecue for lunch. We did a little antique shopping and asked around town. Most of the locals suggested Smitty’s. Some because it’s affordability and some because it’s just a local staple. It’s been around for so long. I am from Austin and I’ve had Franklin‘s, Le barbecue, Terry Blacks, saltlick, stile and Miller. I know a good barbecue supposed to taste like. Smitty’s was a huge disappointment.

I ordered a pound of pork ribs, a pound of brisket from one section of the building where the flames are literally a couple feet from the register so order fast so you don’t sweat to death and wreak like a firepit the entire day.

For some reason my wife had to order the sides from the other side of the building. What the frak?!? She ordered macaroni and cheese, corn, and potato salad. The dining area has down trodden middle school cafeteria vibes. Long tables you have to share with complete strangers and the obnoxious kids. Nothing but metal folding chairs just like the ones we had to stack in school when we needed to convert the dining room into a dance floor so we could learn to 2-step for PE class.

The taste of the meat was actually really good. The smoky flavor was delicious. However, the ribs were dry and not very meaty. I felt like I was paying for bones with nibble servings on them. The brisket was tough and chewy. It was even difficult to pull apart with our fingers. We found it completely ridiculous that the only size they offer inside for the sides are these tiny styrofoam containers that hold maybe four bites each. Less for the potato salad which has an even small bowl. Bowl? No, thimble. Oh and it’s four frakkin’ dollars for a single bottle of diet Dr Pepper. That is price gouging! We decided that a few bites was more than enough so we wrapped up 9/10ths of it angrily and brought it home for the dog. We didn’t know what to do with our tray and trash. We didn’t see any signs with instructions and only one trash can with no where to set the trays. So we just left it not feeling too bad because both my wife and I tipped on either side of the restaurant.

I don’t know how good the drugs are in Lockhart but the locals are high if they think that’s the best option for barbecue. Next time we come we will try Barbs or Riley’s. Barbs wasn’t open on Valentines but I noticed they have a really good rating. We have Blacks in Austin so we wanted to eat somewhere we couldn’t at home. Rileys looks affordable and the guy waving in the pics looks really nice. Those are the...

This was the most horrifying eating experience I have ever faced. Walking down the entry hall, all I could smell was bbq, which is good. Got to the end of the hall and saw a glorious pit with ranging fire, smoking the meat. 20 minutes later, I was still standing in front of that pit, because the line had barely moved. My eyes were burning from the smoke... actually, I could barely see at that point, and the room had to be 120 degrees. I started to think I had died and was standing at the gates of hell. 12 hrs later, laying in bed and taking my PTSD meds to help me get over this experience, my eyes STILL BURN from the smoke. After 20-30 minutes standing less than 10 feet from from wide open, unprotected fire pits (can't imagine how this passes any sober person's risk assessmentl, I finally got to the order counter, where the lady looked at me like I was the biggest a-hole in the world for making her work in kitchen. I don't know what would possess someone to work in these conditions. I ordered my food and think I got what I ordered and ran from the room, excited to be freed from the bowels of hell with what should be delicious bbq.

The ribs were ok, certainly not worth the hell I paid to earn them, never mind the $70 to feed lunch to a family of 4. The sausage was pretty decent, but greasy. But the brisket was one of the worst pieces of meat I have ever eaten. It was chewy, like rubber, flavorless, and even the "moist" cut was dry. Honestly, the brisket was disgusting and I am so thoroughly disappointed in this entire experience that I am mind blown. This is supposed to be the pride and joy of Texas bbq. What a joke.

This place has caused me to officially throw in the towel on paying restaurants for bbq. I have been all over the country. All over Texas. Always looking for good bbq. I just haven't been able to find it in ANY restuarant in this state. Lots of people cook some damn good brisket in their back yard, or a bbq trailer. But every single bbq restaurant I have been to has garbage brisket. Thank you, Smitty's, for putting an end to my quest to find great bbq. I am just going to learn the skills from my neighbor and save my money for beer.

This place is a disgrace to all restaurants, and I can't comprehend how OSHA hasn't put it out...

I generally love the atmosphere of these BBQ spots where you have to step through the heat and smoke to place your order, so it's hard not to give high ratings to Smitty's. When it comes to service, my order was taken promptly and kindly both for the separate meat and sides sections. One of the biggest factors that goes into this review is the sheer number of people who came to dine today, and it may have been the cause of the more negative aspects of our experience. I got brisket, turkey, ribs and sausage all butcher papered up and ready to be devoured. The problem was we needed sides and the line would serve as a 10-15 min barrier between me and all my BBQ deliciousness. I got corn, mac, and cole slaw finally after the long wait. Unfortunately, it was just enough time to have all of the meat lose its heat which I think might have really saved some of it from being very disappointing by my BBQ standards. The good: those ribs were delicious with almost a lightly candied outer layer, and the bite was just right. The sausage was really good, even though I felt like it was not much different from the other local spots, but it just really hit today. The creamed corn was very good and the mac was fairly good. Grabbed a fantastic slice of carrot cake for the road as well. The bad: that brisket was tough and unforgiving. The lean slices were definitely tough, but even the fatty slices were thick and chewy without tenderness. I don't pick favorites when it comes to best brisket at all the competing spots because they all generally are cooked and taste the same. The only deal breaker is when the thing you should pride yourself on is not up to standard(just be tender and juicy). The turkey was cut a bit thick and though it was more tender and tasted good, it suffered the same lack of juciness and heat. I will definitely be back for the good and hopefully this was just an anomaly because I really want some great brisket sharing a piece of butcher paper with my...