Smoke Town BBQ — Restaurant in Overland Park

Hands down, the WORST experience at a so-called ‘restaurant’ in my entire life!

My husband & I dined here with my Dad. We placed 2 separate orders & sat down.

We waited & waited. Eventually, a waitress with dark hair (Jamie, I believe) came out w/ 2 plates of food & went to a table across the room. My husband said he thought it was our order because the table she was delivering it to had literally just sat down. He waved his arms to get her attention, but she never acknowledged us & instead, left the food at that table.

And we waited & waited while others kept getting their orders. The waitress came out with 2 plates again & made her way to our table. One order she had was my husband’s, but the other wasn’t mine. And the reason why, was because this was the order that belonged to the couple who had already received ours.

So, my husband began eating his while we waited again. My husband’s $19.99 burnt end platter was a joke. It contained no more than 8 burnt ends &, the result of an up-charge for onion rings, was a whopping 5 onion rings!

Next, the 2nd waitress brought out my order & sat it in front of my sister who had come from another table to visit. I indicated it was mine & some off-hand comment was made that the confusion was because my sister was sitting w/ us. I guess I didn’t realize there was assigned seating.

So, now I have my food, my husband has completely finished his…& my Dad still doesn’t have anything.

Eventually, an order of fries was delivered to him but still no burnt ends. They finally arrived after he’d eaten half of the fries. He made a comment while eating them thar he didn’t know why he hadn’t received a pickle or Texas toast like my husband did w/ his.

Irritated, I went to the counter to ask where the rest of my Dad’s order was & was informed it didn’t come with anything. I explained my husband’s did & was told my Dad didn’t order that - even though he clearly thought he had. The lady said she’d get him some bread & pickles & I told her not to worry about it - we didn’t want it.

Shortly thereafter, the 2nd waitress came to our table w/ a bag. She sat it on the table in front of my Dad & said she was sorry for the problem with his order & was giving him their most popular sandwich to take home.

We finished eating. Jamie eventually came to remove our plates. As she was picking them up, she said something about their apologies &, as she turned to walk off, said I didn’t need to ‘continue to snub my nose’ & directed it at me.

Appalled, I went to ask to speak to the owner. As I approached, I could hear them talking about me behind the swinging doors. Jamie appeared & I asked her who the owner was. She went back in the kitchen & said, ‘Tanner…SHE wants to talk to you.’

The 2nd waitress came out instead & said she’d ‘handle it.’ I told her I didn’t appreciate Jamie’s comment. She said they had done everything they could to make up for the problems but I was never going to be happy. I reminded her there had been no apology until the sandwich was brought out to my Dad & that was directed at him. Before I could finish, she interrupted me & told me ‘You can leave now’ more than once. Great customer service!

This place employs unprofessional & rude staff who thinks it’s appropriate to sputter hateful, off-the-cuff comments to their customers who paid $50 PLUS a tip (paid when ordering that wasn’t warranted) for mediocre food with an owner hiding in the kitchen who promotes such behavior & partakes in it himself. Obviously, it’s not a place I would ever return to nor recommend. Touted as reopened under ‘new ownership’ - I’d say their rebranding is an utter & absolute disgrace to KC BBQ & what it stands for.

PS - You can apologize AGAIN because the previous review that you thought was from me wasn’t. The pictured plate there WAS a burnt end platter served to my bro-in-law. Their family DID spend $70+, my husband & I spent $50+ w/ tip, & I don’t know Dad spent. So, you’re welcome for that & by the way, your ‘free’ food consisted of a SINGLE sandwich. 🤣

‘Berating’ was done by...

On a whirlwind 2 day adventure, in attempts to visit NE, IA, MO, and KS all in one trip, I ventured down from Gretna to Kansas City. Now, I was only in the Missouri side of town, so I had to do something in KS to make it count. Enter: Smoketown BBQ. If Smoketown BBQ is the only thing I ever do in the state of Kansas, I will die a happy lady. There was not one single part of the meal or experience that was a miss for me, or my friend who described her burnt ends sandwich and mac and gouda bites as "life-changing." After seeing that there were only, IMO, basic beers, I selected a Boulevard Pale Ale in hopes of stumbling on a local gem, despite not typically drinking pale ales. It was local, and it was a gem. Next up, burnt ends tacos. I'm normally a fan of street tacos, but these took it up a notch by being just a bit bigger and therefore, the perfect size. I also am not usually a huge slaw fan, but the flavors all melding together had me wondering if they invented it. From the seasonings to the sauce, I was in heaven, not to mention the burnt ends themselves! I had to try a local sounding side, so I opted for the cheesy corn. I'm sorry, what?! As both a corn lover and a cheese lover, I can't believe I hadn't heard if this til now. Add a little BBQ and I found myself wondering what else I could add sauce to. One thing that didn't require it, was the gouda bites. As a Midwesterner, I can't tell you how pleased I was at being offered ranch, without having to ask for it. The server must have known it wasn't necessary, but just having it offered was something dreams are made of as a ranch lover like myself. However, as I made my way through first bites of ranch dipped gouda, I surprised even myself when I exclaimed that the ranch would not be necessary. The Mac cooked to perfection, the gouda filling my mouth and tasebuds with fresh joy, the perfectly crisp fried outer layer.... chef's kiss.

Tldr; this place is amazing and they should have higher than 4.6...

I was incredibly impressed with the COVID safety protocols being practiced at Smoketown. I had lunch very late in the afternoon, and there was one other party in there. When they left, the staff cleaned their booth for several minutes, getting at every angle of the booths and walls, and spraying a lot of disinfectant. They also hung plastic between the booths. Staff was wearing masks and shields. There was hand sanitizer on the wall right next to the door. They have plenty of dedicated parking, including handicapped parking. The entrance is semi-accessible. They have a few tables outside, if you're not comfortable dining in restaurants right now. They are even offering 10% off call-in orders at the time of my visit.

This is about the 60th BBQ restaurant in KC I've dined in. The burnt ends were recommended to me, and I liked the bark on them, as well as the smokiness throughout. They were not too fatty. The brisket and pulled pork were suggested as my second meat. I chose the brisket. I was underwhelmed, it could have a little more smoke/flavor. I did appreciate that it was also lean. I don't usually order mac & cheese but I did and it wasn't really special, also I prefer my pasta al dente. The beans had a little bacon in them (I favor this, but it's also important to note if you do not eat pork) and were on the sweeter side, in a soupy broth. I wish the portions were a little bigger, as in KC I'm used to always having leftovers when I eat BBQ. I know that during COVID the prices of meat have gone considerably higher and I hope as things even out the portions will improve, as I think that's what KC BBQ diners expect. Although this may seem trivial, the things I appreciated most about my meal were the toast and pickle. They were probably the best of each I've had in town and this really made my meal particularly enjoyable. It's the small touches...