Buckingham Smokehouse Bar BQ — Restaurant in Springfield

First of all if I could leave a negative -10 rating on this review I would, but Google doesnt give you an option for that. My fiance and I have always loved going to Buckinghams on Campbell Street here in Springfield for many years and I took my company here for lunch on this particular day, but we will never go here again, and from now on I'll tell everyone I know from now on not to go here and I'll tell them just how terrible and rude we were treated. The girl at the counter that rings up your order was so rude and hateful. I asked for an unsweet tea with artificial sweetener and she told me the sweetner was on the counter by the window in the blue buckets, there were 2 or 3 blue buckets, so when I got done paying for our food I went to counter by the window and all those blue buckets were full of toothpicks so I went back to the counter and told her that all the buckets didn't have any sweetner in them and that they were all full of toothpicks instead, and she rudely snapped and said so then we are out of sweetner. I told her if I had known that they were out of sweetner that I wouldn't have ordered unsweetened tea, so I asked her for a sweet tea and she gave me an Itty bitty cup of hot tea not much bigger then a coffee cup without any ice and literally shoved it over the counter at me and it almost fell off the counter if I hadn't caught it because she shoved the cup so hard. The first cup of tea was a large cup but she didn't replace it with a large cup of sweet tea instead she gave me that itty bitty cup of hot tea with no ice. I just wanted to slap her in her rude snotty mouth. I don't know where they hired her from but she's the last person that needs to be working with the public or their customers. I ended up throwing both cups of tea away. By this time I was so mad I couldnt even eat my meal so I asked for a box and a bag to take my meal home plus I needed a bag for a 3rd meal I had ordered to go for someone at home and she gave me a scrappy broken box and a bag that was all wrinkled up like it was used or had came out of the garbage can. My Cole slaw sucked also, it was a bowl full of Cole slaw juice with hardly any Cole slaw in it and the slaw juice ran all my pork and the bun as there were no dividers in the box. My friend was given a box with dividers for her food. This girl that waited on me was the rudest person I've ever encountered in a restaurant. We're done going to Buckinghams ever again after many, many years, as I was very embarrassed about how we were treated in front of my friend whom I taken to lunch ! We will find a new Bar-B-Q place to go to now. Don't go there to eat it's a horrible, horrible rude place, and their service sucks all to hell !!! You'll be totally sorry if you go there and you'll wish you'd never ever went there!!! We totally regret it. The Purple Burrito is just a block down the street, and that's where we'll go to eat next time, and until we find another Bar-B-Q place!!! By the way, Purple Burrito has fabulous authentic Mexican food, and we absolutely love it there, plus you'll be treated respectfully and get quality food and service at Purple Burrito and a very filling meal !!! By the way, I have no problem giving credit to an eating establishment where credit is due and you can tell that by all my good reviews on all the places we've eaten in the past, that we were happy with, and enjoyed, so I'll always give you an...

I went to the Buckinghams at 2:30pm on Sunday 6/12. I say the time because whoever was working the drive thru, needs to be talked to. She was not only rude and completely aloof, she has no business working in customer service if that is her typical demeanor. Zero eye contact, felt like I was bothering her by being there to get food and clearly didn’t quality check before handing it over. I was young, working in the food industry, barely making ends meet at one time, but I still did my job well. I ordered pulled pork and found that it was cold brisket when I got home(just two minutes away). The sweet potato fries were burnt to a crisp and 3/4 had styrofoam melted to them making them completely inedible. I can get past the food being sub par every now and then. Unfortunately the last few times I’ve visiting, in a 2 month time span, have been disappointing. I sincerely hope these are not the standards they’re being held to now. Seeing some of the lower reviews replies, it seems they try to put it back on the customer not complaining in person… At a well established business, customers shouldn’t have to complain. We are paying for quality service and products. This company was a staple for me, my family and friends for two decades. So disheartening.

Update I went back 3 months later. I was driving home, smelled the smoke and decided to stop in and see if things had changed. Still the same emotionless girl working the window. The “cheesy corn” tasted like knock off creamed corn from a can. It wasn’t even cooked thoroughly so was tough to chew. The mac n cheese tasted like it was from a box as well. The only upside was the smokey flavor to it. The pulled pork was eh. Just not good and not worth a try. Honestly. GO TO DICKEYS if you are in town. The good days of Buckinghams are clearly coming to an end. These new people don’t even care about their customer’s needs - they couldn’t even get my name right in the review...

Those cords of wood you see out front are hickory and oak in front of this joint. If the wind is blowing just right, anyone close to BASS PRO can smell the goodness coming from "BUCKINGHAM'S SMOKEHOUSE BAR B Q." This July 20th about 12:30ish, my son and I arrived knowing this place was gonna deliver that smokey goodness. 'The Ed' and 'The Pig' sandwiches were our orders. Sides were fries, fried okra, and the horseradish Cole Slaw. The sandwiches were the real deal. Tremendous smoke flavor throughout. The fries were some of the best fries I've ever had. Hot, seasoned, and plenty of them. Okra was crispy and spot on with right amount of salt. The horseradish Cole Slaw was a first for me and had me wanting even more. Service was fantastic along with the food.

Then I was able to go on a tour of how the pro's do BBQ. Main thing, other than the love of what you're about to smoke, gotta have them bbq shoes on! As a little more than a weekend smoker and or grillin' for me, it was a dream come true to see the Pork Butts, St. Louis Ribs, and Burnt Ends being kissed with hours of low and slow hickory and oak. Sadly my c-phone powered off and I didn't get that pic of the burnt ends. Trust me when I say those Burnt Ends looked off the hook, they looked Off. The. Hook!

Amazing how they do things to prep the food for slow smokin'. I can tell by the passion shown "BUCKINGHAM'S SMOKEHOUSE BAR B Q" takes great pride in the quality of food they serve. Thank you for your expertise and love of your passion to smoke what I think is rightous smoked food!

We look forward in returning with empty stomachs knowing we'll get our fill and then some. Thanks again and keep smokin' the meats...