Yankee BBQ Smokehouse & Tavern — Restaurant in Town of Hamburg

This place was okay, and I don’t want to judge it too harshly after only going one time. But first impressions are everything. My mother and I went on a Saturday at about 1:30pm, it wasn’t busy, and we were 2 of only 5 people getting food there at the time. The guy taking our order was kind of rude and then said it was illegal to order a tap water. Huh? Unless your water is toxic, it is not illegal. A simple “no we only have bottled water” would of sufficed. He barked at my mom for not putting the money in the right spot on the counter, and just didn’t seem like he should of talked that day. I really enjoyed the pickled onion jalapeño and pickles on my butcher paper “plate”, it was a very nice touch, and I wish I got more. We both ordered pulled pork, and I know I should of tried the brisket instead, to figure out what yankee bbq was fully capable of, but I did not. The pulled pork was rather basic, but it wasn’t dry. They had only one bbq sauce to put on it, which was much more vinegary than sweet, which was also fine. They took all the necessary covid precautions, except....they left bbq sauce on all the tables. Seemed a little contradictory. The coleslaw was $1.60 for a small and it was flavorless, it didn’t even taste like mayonnaise, it was slightly mushy cabbage and nothing else. The cheesy potatoes (which for a small were $3.60, a 100% mark up for a 3 day old baked potato with cheese on it) were not good but better than the slaw. The potatoes were rubbery and only had the flavor of the cheese. I think they used Constanza rolls (or something similar) for the pulled pork sandwich which is a plus for this restaurant, and the prices were reasonable. But this place is far from having the best bbq in New York State. I guess that’s why they say it’s only the best in western ny. Maybe so but I don’t know of too many other bbq places, so they don’t have much competition to begin with. You can’t call something the best just because it’s the only place. If I ever go back, I will come back and write another review based on the second experience. Small parking lot, no outside dining, right on route 5, a couple blocks down from a strip club, so there’s that. Clean restaurant, clean bathrooms, dining for about 15 people, otherwise you’re outta luck pal. Probably a hit or miss experience. There were a lot of good reviews for this place, so it may have been an off day, but the man at the front was rude and the woman was pleasant. I left there with a...

Awesome local BBQ! This place is new and opened during Covid. Such an awesome addition to the Southtowns area. We have been meaning to try this place because we drive by often and can smell the smoker going to work in the parking lot. We finally had the opportunity and were impressed!

They serve Texas style BBQ and even store different wood varieties in the entrance of their storefront. I have learned a lot about the importance of mixing wood varieties, for the perfect flavor, from watching cooking and chef shows during covid. So when I saw this, I knew these guys knew their craft. They have a variety of meats which are all sold by the pound. It’s cool to be able to try a little of each meat and not to commit to a full meal. They serve what they have each day until they run out. This place is casual and once you order and check out there is a small indoor seating area or you can opt for take out.

We chose the pork ribs, brisket and smoked mac and cheese. The meats were delicious, fall off the bone tender but had just enough outside char and chew so they weren’t mushy. The BBQ sauce itself was also to die for. My significant other said it’s the best sauce he’s ever had. We will see if we can buy a bottle to keep at home next time we visit.

Everyone was wearing masks and there were instructions on the exterior door to not crowd the entrance due to pandemic guidelines. They were keeping the place clean And we felt safe...

I ordered a 3 meat and 3 sides for $35 I believe. The price is comparable to other BBQ restaurants in the area, the portions however were laughable as in half the size I would receive at other local bbq places. The Brisket was overcooked and chewy, pulled pork was dry and wouldn't be enough for a slider had I wanted to put it on roll, the ribs were fine. The side were all served a few degree above room temp and I'm assuming we're microwave atleast once in it's lifetime. I'm sure everything would have tasted ok when it was hot and or fresh. Server was overloaded with tables but did touch the table a few times, all of which I asked for hot sauce, I'm still waiting on that. Again the Server was overloaded with tables and that's not her fault that there wasn't enough staff. The restaurant it's self was looked nice and clean but packed with as much seating as possible, which was filled to the brim which made the experience extremely uncomfortable. There was a 6 to 7 year old boy behind me and I had to suck my stomach as much as possible so he could actually sit up to his table. I hope Yankee can figure this out, I know they are still new , hopefully they can find something...