Old South Bar-B-Q — Restaurant in Smyrna

During a brief trip to Atlanta, I sought to find an excellent local rib joint. Old South is your quintessential southern BBQ and smokehouse restaurant. Every aspect of this spot delivers 100%; the food, service, and decor belong in the encyclopedia definition for a restaurant of this type. I ordered the rib plate (five smoked large pork spareribs) with hush puppies, chili, and Texas toast-style garlic bread. Everything was outstanding....the ribs were tender / "fall off the bone" and maintained crisp skin bits on the outside that were great to break off and dip in the delicious hot bbq sauce (there are several bbq sauce options). Old South is a locals' spot and the owner, Joy, quickly took note of my presence as a first-time outsider when she warmly introduced herself and chatted with me tableside. Joy's enthusiasm for the restaurant is evident in her passion for its food and history that is represented in the spot's interior. Joy insisted that I try the Brunswick stew, a southern classic that rivals chili in its description, but that takes on a wholly different character. I'm grateful for her recommendation, because this stew was the bomb! I left with some leftovers plus a serving of delicious peach cobbler that Joy insisted I try.......nothing lasted long upon my return home!

Old South is special not only for its food, hospitality, and history ,but also for what the restaurant represents. America suffers from corporate homogenization that far transcends dining. Smyrna's Old South is a small, but rich example of our country's uniqueness and quality!! 11/10

Note: Pics are of Brunswick stew, menu, and the rib plate (hush puppies,...

This is a tiny family-owned spot that’s been open since 1968 and the owner, Joy, embodies her name. She hugged us upon entry and gave us bigger hugs upon leaving. The whole time, I felt like we were sitting at her dining room table, as the hospitality here was second-to-none. Joy greeted so many people by name, often asking after family members.

Our table ordered the 4 meat plate (chicken on the bone, ribs, chopped beef, and pulled pork) with Brunswick stew, potato salad and a cheeseburger, the sliced beef with green beans and onion rings, the pulled pork and rib plate with fries and chili, the junior pulled pork plate with coleslaw and fries. The only thing that didn’t get eaten all the way was the coleslaw (made with vinegar and not mayo). My sliced beef was a bit on the dry side, but not unenjoyable. Other reviewers said the ribs had a strange texture, but we didn’t notice.

We’re just in town for the Giants/Braves series and was looking for a good BBQ spot for lunch. The glowing reviews led us here and we were absolutely not disappointed. The food was great, but Ms Joy’s hospitality is what sets her spot apart. No complaints from us (well, minus that coleslaw, but Joy said she’d replace it with something different if my friend didn’t like it - but she chose not to take Joy up on her offer)!

So glad we stopped in - if I’m in town again, I’d definitely come back and if I were a local, I’d be a regular (many of whom have their photos in collages...

I've been meaning to try this place for a long time since I've been in Smyrna. I read the article in the MDJ that they were hurting due to road construction on Windy Hill, so I thought finally why not to help support a local business.

Well, I don't think the road construction is the problem. I tried 3x to put in an order on the phone. 1st time went to voicemail, 2nd time was left on hold which just left the receiver on the counter and was hung up on. I finally got through to put the order on the 3rd try. I put the order in for pickup with an ETA of 20 min, arrived in 25 minutes and the order wasn't ready, had to wait another 15 minutes.

I pay and head home to hopefully enjoy good BBQ, which didn't happen. My sliced chicken was dried out on the meat and the outside was charred black. It was almost like eating jerky it was so dried out. My sides were supposed to be coleslaw and baked beans. The two sides were both coleslaw with one of them looking like someone took a spoon bite out of it. The Texas toast was burnt black to the point that it was inedible.

The pork sandwich was ok, nothing to rave about. It had so much moisture that the 10 min drive home the bottom bun had completely gave out due to being so wet.

This review is not meant to be negative but describe hopefully an exception to an otherwise stellar service that I will never know . Unfortunately, this instance was so bad that a big fan of BBQ willl not...