Wholy Smoke Family Restaurant — Restaurant in Mauldin

Wholy Disappointed. It says "Texas Style BBQ" on the outside, but don't be fooled. It was far from it on my visit. I grew up in Texas for the first 30 years of my life on good Texas BBQ, I should know when its the good stuff. I ordered the $18 2-meat plate with brisket and beef sausage, and I originally ordered spicy pintos and fried okra for my sides, but was informed they don't have the spicy pintos today even though they were on their hand-written blackboard of available sides, so I opted for blackberry cobbler instead.

The portion of meat was not adequate for an $18 plate in my opinion (see photo), but after trying it I didn't really care as it wasn't very good brisket anyway. It was dry and grey overcooked beef, lacking any noticeable smoke ring, and just not that great. The sausage was better, with a good spicy flavor and a nice snap to the outside casing. Still not that much of it for the price, however. The cornbread was not Texas style savory cornbread as I expected, but rather sugary sweet northerner type cornbread. Basically corn cake. The okra was good and fried well, and probably the best part of the meal. The blackberry cobbler was average, not bad but not amazing in my opinion.

They had several sauces to choose from, I decided to try the "spicy" and the "Texas Gold". Both tasted like they came from a bottle at the grocery store to me, but I definitely preferred the spicy one over the "Texas Gold" which tasted like a very average Carolina style mustard based sweet sauce to me. I could probably even pick out the brand. One mini cup of sauce came with the $18 plate, and I was charged extra for the second, which wasn't much, but I feel should probably be complimentary at the prices paid for the food. I was also charged 35 cents for my cup of water.

Overall it was not the worst but far far from the best BBQ I've had, and I wouldn't say anything about it stood out to me as very "Texas style". I doubt I...

WOW!! AMAZING!!! and “When are we taking the drive back!?!?” Coming from California, I’ve tried a myriad of bbq on the way to SC, and can’t rave enough. The owner came out to great everyone and checked in with the customers to see how the food was and their day, an expression of gratitude and customer service largely missed today by big chains. Not here, the staff was also as pleasant and accommodating. The restaurant was clean and had amazing options for everyone. We had a party of 7 and went with the medium BBQ family meal, which was more than enough of food which we ended up taking home left overs. I’ll start with the proteins - Brisket - holy moly a must order! Tender flavorful, I should have ordered another few pounds to go. - pulled pork - idealistic of competitive pork, perfect through every bite. - Chicken - pulled and great flavor! - salmon/shrimp- surprisingly amazingly grilled and seasoned! The sauces we chose were Original (very much a traditional Texas sauce and great crowd pleaser), Moonshine (wow take the classic Texas style sauce and add some spices with a little bit of a zing of spicy perfect for any protein), and Texas Gold (wow perfect for pork as it was a squash/mustard sauce that was soooo flavorful!) for the sides, we went with Green Beans (best I’ve ever had), Tater Tots (just perfect beyond belief), Coleslaw (perfect!), squash/zucchini (sautéed to perfection with seasoning that was on point), Collard Greens (one of the best we’ve had!), we also had the bread rolls and corn bread and I never knew that corn bread could but that amazing! As you might tell, this was an amazing experience, and now living a short drive away, I can’t...

I honestly can't recall the last time I wrote a review about any resturant, but I absolutely can NOT depart Wholy Smoke Family Resturant this evening without doing so. Today was my first visit & DEFINITELY not my last 🤗. I admit, I love to eat & enjoy a variety of food selections when I order. As I approached the register to commence my order, I realized I wasn't ready & didn't want the gentleman behind me waiting as I attempted to finalized my order. Therefore, I stepped out of line and processed to my vehicle to retrieve my cellphone, but before I could do so I was approached by this unknown gentleman inquiring if he could be of any assistance. Shortly thereafter, it was brought to my attention the pleasant company with such a warm smile was actually the owner of the restaurant, "Mr. James Hester". Mr. Hester took the time to pause a conversation with another gentleman (whom was seated with him at a table) to assist me at the register with placing my order. As an outcome, I ordered the (8) wing dinner [all flats] 1/2 texas gold flavor & the other 1/2 with texas moonshine flavor: (2) sides } mac n' chz & squash & zucchini. Also, I couldn't resist an order of the loaded fries with beef brisket, chz, sour cream & chives. By the way, lets not forget the sweet tea with a splash of lemonade but that was after I sampled the green apple lemonade 😋. I was beyond satisfied with the quality of the food, the portions I received, the temperature of my selections & last but NOT least.......the CUSTOMER SERVICE 👊👊👊👊. Josyln also provided gr8 service with suggestions & feedback 👍. Blessings to Wholy Smoke Family Resturant as they have surely blessed my...