Local Smoke BBQ — Restaurant in Red Bank

BLUFF- ribs and brisket are where it’s at (4.5). Pulled pork and sides are mediocre at best(3). A bit overpriced Overall 3.6

Nice restaurant. Friendly staff with good recommendations. The brisket and the ribs were recommended as the best things on the menu. I went ahead and got the pulled pork because I always like to see how a barbecue joint does their pulled pork as well. Should’ve listened to the staff and just stuck with the ribs and the brisket.

Ordered the three meat combo. Brisket, ribs, pulled pork, hot, and ordered two sides, which were à la carte (coleslaw and the mac & cheese). Also also ordered cornbread. Was a bit disappointed that the sides and cornbread weren’t included in any meal option. They were all à la cart. Felt like the prices were a bit on the high side and some small sides or cornbread would be included. But no dice.

Regarding my order:

Brisket was tender and moist. Decent portion size. A win for sure.

Ribs were really well cooked and tasty. Not too much sauce and the meat was really tender. It definite win.

Pulled pork was a fail imho. Drenched in their Carolina bbq sauce. Would prefer for it to come out dry and allow the customer to add the sauce that they wanted. Almost felt soggy. Unpleasant.

Coleslaw also a fail. Probably one of the worst long coleslaw I’ve had. Completely mushy. I don’t have many texture issues with food and I certainly didn’t expect it with coleslaw but this one definitely was not pleasant to eat, so much so that after a couple bites to taste it, I couldn’t stomach anymore and left the 90% full side container on the tray.

Mac n cheese was decent. Nothing to write home about but not horrible either.

Cornbread was good. Definitely the top winner in the “sides“ category.

Overall, if visiting this bbq establishment I would stick to the staff recommendations of brisket and ribs. And throw in some cornbread. Leave the rest...

We just had the displeasure of getting take out from this place after being quite pleased with their Mac & cheese at the Mac & cheese fest. The staff were nice and the Halloween decor was creative, but that was it. We got ribs and brisket with sweet potato fries and Mac & cheese. The mac & cheese was definitely not the same as at the fest, very bland and cold. But that was the least of it, all the food was COLD! We have never gotten takeout that was this cold and just had the quality of something we would take out from our fridge as leftovers. The meat flavor was OK but not freshly made and just poor quality. And the worst is the exuberant price tag for this absolutely terrible meal being $56! I wouldn’t mind paying this and more for a quality meal, but not for what we had. Of note, prior to writing this review I read several recent 1-3 star reviews, and management was very professional in responding to each and every review, and stating how all these issues will be addressed. Well obviously over the last several months nothing has been addressed, so these replies are just as generic and cold as their food. I only write this with the hope that management does reads it and actually fixes these issues, so we can have a great BBQ restaurant in red bank! Thanks is...

We ordered food to be delivered from here about a week ago. There's no nice way to say this, but the food isn't very good. I spent a few years doing long haul down south; so maybe I have high standards for a BBQ place, but my girlfriend doesnt. Neither of us liked the food. The appetizer "wings" are the worst I've had at any restaurant, let alone a BBQ. Forget the idea of crispy skin. It was slimy and disgusting. The buffalo wing sauce tastes like sugar, and you dont get any wings in the order. Literally 0. Not 1. Just bland, slimy, drumsticks. Next was the ribs. They dont "fall of the bone" at all. Ya gotta chew em off. And even then, youre throwing half of it away. The chopped brisket was another disappointment. It was sweet and tasted like it was seasoned like pork. The brisket container was half empty. Generally speaking, their food tastes like the prepared food from shoprite, but only its quintuple the price. We will never return, and I highly suggest you spend half that money and get the same quality meal from Applebee's. In fact, Applebee's wings are 100% better. Go to Applebee's. At least youre getting the cheap food...