Smolik's Smokehouse — Restaurant in Mathis

Smolik's Smokehouse: Good Smoke, Needs a Heat Bump

Smolik's Smokehouse boasts a classic Texas BBQ experience, complete with paper-lined trays and friendly service. I dove into their 3-meat plate, featuring the holy trinity of brisket, ribs, and cheddar jalapeño sausage. While the flavors were generally good, a lack of temperature across the board kept it from being a slam dunk.

The cheddar jalapeño sausage was the first misstep. While the smoky and spicy combo sounded promising, it arrived lukewarm. The casing remained unpleasantly chewy, and the cheese hadn't fully melted, making for a less than ideal textural experience.

The brisket, the undisputed king of Texas BBQ, also fell short. It possessed a decent smoke flavor, but again, the temperature was lukewarm. This prevented the crucial fat rendering, leaving it chewy and lacking the melt-in-your-mouth tenderness a good brisket should have.

The ribs were a similar story. While the smoky-sweet rub imparted a good flavor, they were cool to the touch. It felt like they might have been prepped earlier and sat for a while, explaining their dryness. The redeeming quality was the meat itself, which remained tender despite the lack of heat.

The sides offered a mixed bag. The cole slaw was decent but forgettable, a standard slaw without any surprises. However, the green beans were a revelation. Cooked perfectly with a hint of smokiness, they offered a vibrant snap and delicious savory flavor. These were a true standout.

My wife, on the other hand, had a much more positive experience with her half chicken. It arrived smoky and juicy, with a well-seasoned skin. The chicken itself was flavorful and perfectly cooked.

The atmosphere at Smolik's is pure Texas BBQ. Picnic tables and a no-frills setting let the smoked meats take center stage. Overall, my experience was decent, but with a little more attention to temperature control, Smolik's could be truly great. Perhaps a second visit on a busier day might yield a hotter, fresher experience. If you're in the area and craving BBQ, Smolik's is worth a try, but be prepared for a potentially...

I had to go back and change my original review just because of how disappointed I was on my last visit.

I will start off by saying the atmosphere is awesome. The service most of the time, is really good.

Where my low rating comes in, is the quality and portions of the food. I have heard different people say "ever since they sold , its just not the same anymore." Well, it's not. I didnt say anything about my last visit thinking it was just one of those days, but it happened again.

We dont go as often , just because it is very expensive. However, I understand ever since Covid, everything has gone crazy, price wise, but I dont mind paying for good food, but last night was unacceptable.

My wife ordered bbq chicken tacos, that was supposed to come with red onion, Chipotle cream sauce and avacado.

The order instead came with cilantro, chipotle cream sauce, pico de gallo and no avacado.

So we brought it to the waitresses' attention, which she was awesome and says , no problem I will go get the avacado. She comes back with barely enough for one taco and says the lady in the back says it doesn't come with avacado, so we pointed out on the menu where it stated it does so she goes and gets another slither for the other taco.

These two tacos cost 11.99, which is just crazy for the amount of chicken they gave us. Honestly, it was embarrassing.

Look at the picture at the amount of chicken they put in that taco. I had to offer a piece of chicken from my plate just so she...

Stopped in on our way down to SPI and I'm so glad we did!!! Great idea to add the second location and putting up a nice big billboard! It worked on these travelers. We might not have gone the extra few miles into town with our RV (for which there was ample parking at the Smokehouse!).

Got the pork ribs special which comes with 2 lbs of ribs, 2 large sides (we chose potato salad and macaroni both very tasty but not out of the ordinary. May I suggest some jalapeno for the mac and perhaps a bit of bacon and scallion for the potato salad?), in addition to an extra 1lb of brisket al a cart.

During the very brief wait for our order, the dessert case became overwhelmingly tempting and we decided on a big slice of white chocolate blueberry cheesecake. Also grabbed a couple enormous rib bones for our dogs from the cooler near the to-go entrance.

Everything was absolutely divine! I'm not 100% positive but it really seemed to have been cooked in a proper smoker, not just the electric kind which always leaves the flavor and outer crust/coating a bit lacking. It was also super special to chow down on such fine BBQ right on the beach, 10/10 would recommend.

I'm honestly sad that there won't be another visit to Smolik's until our trip again next year. Next time I'm ordering twice as much and skipping any plans to buy groceries or cook while we're camping because that food honestly lasted 2 people nearly 4 days. I still regret not trying the pecan pie too... ah...