Smokey Mountain Grill & Rib Shack — Restaurant in Mendenhall

On a quick trip to Mendenhall for business purposes I had a craving for some really good bbq. Having had the pleasure of eating here before I was on a mission!!! Being that the restaurant closes at 2:00pm and reopens later, I checked the clock and it was 1:50pm and I still had 2 or 3 miles to go. Needless to say, I arrived safely with approximately 7 minutes to spare before closing time! Hurriedly I rushed to the door and got in “just in time” to place an order to go.

The service was stellar and the sweet girls at the counter were just that! Very Sweet. And then….. the long awaited, drooled over food was bagged up and out the door I went. Business accomplished, I head home…having to smell that “delicious” food all the way! By the time I got home, I was starving and was all ready to take a bite with great expectations -‘remember now, I’d eaten their bbq before, and oh…… I was sooo disappointed ☹️

The ribs were “center” and very good flavor wise but, they along with the whole smoked chicken I’d ordered had been (maybe) left (I’d have to say forgotten about) a tad bit (a lot) too long on/in the smoker as all of the meats were very dry, unbelievably tough and hard to chew (almost impossible)!

Not to be thwarted, I made the attempt to, at least, get enough to get full but, that was a lesson in futility!!!! Once chewed enough to get a taste of the flavor, (sorry people but how else can I tell you the truth if I don’t chew it up first) it was tasty enough or would’ve been but, unfortunately, being so dried out and nearly burnt to a fair thee well, I’m still not convinced that it was really “chicken” I was eating (or trying to eat).

It had all the looks of a burnt - oops sorry - “smoked” chicken and it did have a nice flavor - once I got past all the dried out - “blackened” part and was able to get a small bite that somehow managed to avoid being torched and that was the bite I got to taste so I could give this critique objectively!

Ribs were actually a smidge bit better only because …. and I’m guessing here, the “head meat smoker in-charge person” (HMSICP) had the foresight to snatch 6 ribs (center ones too!) off of/out of the (bottomless?) pit of an eternal inferno of inextinguishable blazing flames that never goes out…. Oh, pardon me! Got a wee bit carried away there but, I think you’ve got the point!

My overall impression of this one experience is pretty plain to the most casual observer - I don’t like slamming anyone and as a rule, never comment on negative situations, bad customer service, uneatable food however, we all know how tight money is right now and especially for those who have children to feed…..so, if I have helped anyone with their decision as to whether or not to stop and give Smokey Mountain a chance, I’d say I’ve done my due diligence here BUT……

ONE CAVEAT: I really believe that this past episode was a fluke!!! Having been there before and truly enjoyed it, please do not hesitate to treat yourself to a really good meal and it’ll surprise me if you don’t find yourself eating there again and again!

Thanks for your time! Drive safe and be careful! May God Bless You and...

Absolutely amazing food and service! On its own merit. But the owner is an absolute Godsend! 02-17-21 US-49 was closed/open/closed due to the storm causing wrecks and stuck vehicles. I sat in stand still traffic for just under 2 hrs and my clock has run out. Can't legally move other than to clear the roadway and find parking. Not gonna happen at a truck stop. That's when I came across 2 small restaurants with 4 trucks parked in between, maybe not a legal spot but have to chance it. Next morning, the road was open. The owner had been told her parking lot looked like a truck stop, and her reply was " I don't care let em park". She came up to check on her restaurant and told her employees to stay home cause of the ice. She and I believe her son offered to us to come in and get something to eat Eden though that were closed! And made food for me and my wife, and the other trucks that were there! AT NO COST!! We offered to pay but she refused politely and said if it wasn't for us truckers she wouldn't have any groceries for her restaurant! This beautiful soul is an absolute Angel! Especially seeing how she could have just kicked us all out! Instead she went well...

My hubby and I were looking for something different from all the ho-hum places we eat when we’re traveling back & forth from our business to our home which is almost 2 hrs, I’ve never written a review before on a resturant but we ended up going to this restaurant because of reading all the wonderful reviews of this place! I read where a guy talked about the wonderful bread, well our sweet young waitress asked us after she took our order if we wanted some bread, we said yes not knowing what we’d get but she comes back with a homemade loaf of bread with delish sweet creamy real butter, my husband got the ribs plus 3 sides which he said were delish, I got the pull pork sandwich and baked beans, very good too, we ended up taking 1/2 our meal home plus 2 homemade desserts and 1/2 the loaf of bread. Everyone that worked there were all very sweet and we will be going back even we had to go out of our way but it was...