Smokey Bones Ronkonkoma — Restaurant in Town of Brookhaven

For those that don’t know, this is a chain restaurant that makes good and sometimes really good BBQ, tonight’s dinner was very good. Dinner for one was the pulled pork platter which came on toasted garlic bread and with two sides. I was at a loss of what to choose but thanks to my waiter’s advice, I had the mashed potatoes with gravy and the seasoned steamed broccoli. Both complimented each other and the pulled pork. I would have liked a little more pork on the plate as I wanted to make open faced sandwiches with the garlic bread and the meat and was not able to cover both slices of bread. Would have liked a divot in the potatoes and more gravy - it was very flavorful. The pork was really good, from the smoke ringed skin that tasted like bacon all the way through the juicy cooked meat itself. The garlic bread, I only just liked. I think it’s a premade toasted frozen product that they heat up as needed during meal service. The garlic bread fit the meal but I would have liked a buttered and toasted Brioche bun instead. I’m not sure if this is good or bad but the sports bar/ restaurant vibe with all the BigScreen TVs doesn’t lean towards a BBQ Joint feel but it was clean and there were locals around the huge center of the room bar.

Now the service… It was wonderful. I had Mike as my waiter and though he looked harried (an unfortunate perpetual look that wait staff can’t hide behind a mask with anymore these days) he stopped and answered questions about the menu, what sides would work best, and even asked me how done I wanted the broccoli - cooked with a bit of a snap still, not a chew. Every time he walked by my table he checked on me - while carrying a huge platter with plates of food, walks by, “If you need anything sir, I’ll be right back”. At the end of dinner I voiced my opinion about the serving size of the pulled pork and he apologized (No need - I understand restaurant economics) Mike listened politely to my experience of another Smokey Bones restaurant and was honestly curious about the quality comparison - both really good, again, my opinion. Finally after all that he asked if I was interested in dessert - ironically after our conversation… I closed out the night with a huge creamy banana pudding because I was still just a little peckish...

I was just there for dinner 8/24/24 and it was the worst experience of my life. We sat down and instantly our waitress had an attitude and was rushing us every time she asked us if we were ready and dripping sweat. When ordering, I had a gluten allergy and I let the waitress know that I couldn’t have any bread or wheat and I ordered accordingly to the GF on the menu. I ordered a salad no croutons as that made it gluten free as per their menu and I ordered the ribs. The food came out and there was bread on my plate and croutons on my salad as well as my plate. I politely said oh excuse me I can’t eat this there’s croutons and bread. Instead of politely apologizing and taking my entire plate, my waitress decided it was appropriate to use her bare hands take the croutons on my plate and put it back on the salad and take the salad and when I said oh I still can’t eat this the bread she manhandled my entire plate and grabbed the bread also with her barehand and when I said um can I speak to a manager that was kindof disgusting she came over and took my entire plate and just plated it on another plate. At this point I wanted a manager and a fresh meal as she touched my entire meal with her hands but she refused to bring over a manager and though it was nice to give a discount on my meal I was still wanting to speak to a manager about my experience as it was appalling to do in food service. I myself have worked food service and understand it can be stressful however I never would think about touching someone’s food with my bare hands, no matter the situation. And knowing the situation the manager still never came over to talk to us. This experience has made us realize they lost a customer and we never will be...

We recently celebrated a very special 60th birthday at Smokey Bones for my uncle, who is mentally handicapped and nonverbal — and I just have to take a moment to recognize the exceptional service we received from our waiter, Glen.

We’ve had the pleasure of being served by Glen in the past, and we specifically requested him for this gathering because of his consistent kindness, attentiveness, and warm personality. But even with our high expectations, he somehow exceeded them again.

Our party of 15 had a very large and varied order—between bar drinks, appetizers, entrees, and desserts—and Glen was absolutely on top of everything. He refilled drinks before we had to ask, anticipated our needs before we even realized them, and made sure every guest felt cared for and comfortable.

What touched us the most, though, was the way Glen treated my uncle—with genuine respect, warmth, and joy. He went out of his way to make him feel included and celebrated. That kind of empathy and care cannot be trained — it’s just who Glen is.

Every single one of our guests commented on how amazing Glen was. He didn’t just serve our table — he enhanced our entire evening. His professionalism, energy, and compassion helped make the party unforgettable.

In a world where great service often goes unnoticed, I want to make sure Glen gets the recognition he deserves. He is a true gem, and Smokey Bones is incredibly lucky to have him.

We’ll absolutely be back — and we’ll always...