Smokey Bones Melbourne — Restaurant in Melbourne

We were trying to remember the last time we went to Smokey Bones and figured it had been over 5 years, at least. We remember the taste was good but thought it was expensive for what you got. When we lived in Alabama, Smokey Bones was one of our frequent haunts, but not here in Florida. The service was very good and the atmosphere of the restaurant was nice and inviting. We had thought at first to get the rib fest for two, but ended up getting the Bone-Fire for three. This is a hibachi type serving that includes some smoked wings, chicken breast, a piece of steak, sausage, some baby backs, potato wedges, and grilled peppers and onions. It arrived to our table almost thirty minutes after ordering, which is a long time based on our experiences at other BBQ restaurants. It was huge to look at and very smokey, but the smoke didn't last long after serving. So, this is more show than value. You really don't get much. We count 5 wing pieces, each of fair size for a pigeon but not a chicken. We'd guess it was around 4 oz of steak, a single chicken breast, about 3 inches of sausage, 4 ribs of baby backs, 2 small peppers and three small onion rings. We ordered two sides of cole slaw and two soft drinks. Cost, a whopping $70. The food was over cooked and dried out and everything had a strong pepper (like black pepper) taste. We will say the bowl of sauce on the platter and the sauces on the table were very tasty. But, I don't think anything was notable enough to warrant returning. That said, Smokey Bones seems to be a very popular place, but we noted everyone around us went for simpler dishes. One patron lamented the removal of meatloaf from the menu. Also, our server has an unusually strong cologne on. Something I think should be toned down in a public setting, as it was actually giving me respiratory issues when she was at our table. But that is a personal choice and up to her and management to discuss before someone else has a serious medical episode from exposure. My bottom line is we didn't enjoy our meal. Too little and too dry for the money. Or as my wife said, it's lacking in quantity, quality, and value. Put this way, there is a notice about showing management your review prior to posting and you will get a free bag of their cinnamon powdered donuts. My wife asked if I was going to show this and get the donuts? Ok said, after this meal I don't want fresh donuts that are comparable to the food we just ate. I'd only be throwing them out. In comparison, we get the meal for two at the other local BBQ places, Mee Maws, Woody's, or Sonny's and usually have a meal to take home for at least $20 to $25 less. I guess it will be another 5 years or so before we return, unless I remember this posting. If management reads this, I'd be willing to talk...

Smokey Bones Bar & Fire Grill, 1510 West New Haven Ave, Melbourne, FL- 2-Stars (Chain Restaurant Rating)

Smokey Bones was founded in Orlando, Florida by Darden Restaurants, Inc. in 1999, and sold to Sun Capital Partners in 2007 where the name became the DBA of Barbeque Integrated, Inc. As of 2019, under new CEO James O'Reilly, there were about 61 remaining locations of this struggling restaurant chain along the Eastern Seaboard, although there used to be more than twice as many.

I think I know why.

Perhaps 3:00pm on a Thursday was not the best time to come in. Katie started off upset that we were interrupting her cleaning, to which I replied, "If you could just keep customers out you would have no trouble cleaning."

What can I say? I am always a charmer.

At first, this employee nodded in agreement at my statement, but then I watched as the logic fallacy slowly dawned on her face. Of course, I didn't come into a BBQ joint for philosophy. I came to eat, so let's begin.

Even if you have never seen me, you can tell by my name that I am not an ectomorph with a lean and delicate build. When I come into an eating establishment, my intention is to eat Big Boy Style. I ordered the The Bone Fire for two people, promising baby back ribs, choice sirloin, smoked wings, smoked sausage, chicken breast, potatoes, grilled peppers and onions and house-made Bone Fire sauce. The large assortment of meats were all low quality. Everything was overcooked and at $70.00 for two people without alcohol, everything was overpriced too.

If mediocre-at-best fare, unreasonable prices, and lackluster waitstaff didn't make it clear enough, the glacial pace of the kitchen itself would indicate the inferiority of this entire operation, although supposedly Smokey Bones outperformed the casual dining industry during the pandemic and was certified as a Great Place to Work two years in a row. Maybe that is because its CEO has been professing in industry journals for the past two years to be focusing its restaurants on the drive through and take out business, which would certainly help with Katie's cleaning conundrum.

I'm not sure to whom this restaurant is trying to appeal, but Big Boy Dining Out will be releasing its Top 5 National Chains list in January and Spoiler Alert: Smokey Bones will not be on it.

The Big Boy says, "For $70.00, I'm going down the street to Cryderman's Barbecue....

Thought I would try out a new place to see if the barbecue can be a tasty restaurant to get one of my favorite meals. I have to say the pulled pork was the smokiest flavor and good flavor around. The ribs were cooked a little fast and could use a little more attention to make them better. The sauce was great one of the best in town of Melbourne. Had the slaw and baked beans also both we're good. The price for the amount of food I thought was a little high. $42 and the side dishes were very small. Probably less than 1 cup of slaw and probably less than one cup of baked beans. The bar and atmosphere are nice then wait service at the to go counter was fantastic she was very friendly and very accommodating to anything you needed. 1 funny aspect was the parking lot was packed and when you go inside it is not packed. Unless everybody is driving two cars to the restaurant I don't know where everybody was. There were two people at the bar and nobody waiting for seats. I will probably get the pulled pork again if I go there and not get the ribs again and we'll get the slaw the baked beans appear to be from a can with not much homemade part about them. I will definitely get their sauce as it was good but will need to add more hot sauce to the hot as it was not hot at all. The vinegar base was also not very Tangy but the flavor was good. Only negative for the interior I could see was that the to go bar had a latex type paint on the counter where your arms rest and was a little sticky. I guess that needs attention to have the correct type of coating and needs to be redone. Wait time was very good for the food less than 15 minutes after I place my order I was back in my truck the parking has reserved spots for to go food pick up and the outside is easily seen from the street...