Smoky Rock BBQ — Restaurant in Town of Rhinebeck

Went with a party of 7. We were drawn to outside to sit, weather was great. I'd say pretty ambiance until you get close up. The chairs were uncomfortable, slouching way back. I basically almost stood up the whole time, for more comfort. On to food: surprisingly pricey for a bbq place. 18 for a Greek salad, that's without any meat. Whatever. Charge me good for good food. Don't mind paying more for quality. This was not the case. We got corn fritters, side salads, and then the meat variety dinner, with sides. Safe to say we tried a good portion of their menu. Ribs were dry, bbq sauce was in house, not very good. Vinegar water. Pulled pork was a chunk of pork in a bowl-- not even pulled. It was soft, I guess tender. Seemed more like boiled. Brisket was flavorless slices of light colored meat. Chicken was alright. How do you mess up roasted chicken, anyway? We also got sausages in the variety dinner. I asked how many would come, waitress said "4 pieces". When I asked 4 pieces or 4 sausages? She seemed embarrassed but said 'pieces'. (It was 2 sausages, cut in half lengthwise then widthwise, equivalent to ONE long sausage, in portions) they cover it in spices, which was the only flavor you tasted, so basically the sausages were bland, too. What's worse, we asked can we have one hot and one sweet. Waitress claimed it's " up to the chef, what he wants to do". Basically, he didn't want to give us a piece of each, cause he did not. Sides were ok, fries and Cole slaw and collard greens and sweet potato fries. We also had corn fritters, they were big DOUGHY balls of cheese and corn, the outside crisp was nice but too undercooked in the middle. They did not refill our drinks, never asked. But charged us for a 'unsweetened iced tea refill'. Huh?? The waitress took forever to get our order in. Then AS WE WERE EATING, she came and asked us if we needed boxes to take anything home. She even came out again and started picking up my plate before I was done. In her defense, I WAS standing. But that was because I couldn't sit in my chair any longer. But I was far from finished, we were basically just served, only a few minutes before. We were not there over an hour. We did not linger, nor bother anyone. We didn't even receive COLD drinks of water and iced tea, I had to ask for a pitcher of ice, so we can add them to our glasses. Ugh. We were not locals, came a long way and was hungry, and we left paying a few hundred dollars on a bland lunch with mediocre service and sore behinds. Definitely will NOT be returning, nor recommending. Don't waste your time, tastebuds, money or anything. Go...

My mom wanted ribs on July 4th, and the reviews have been strong, so we gave Smoky Rock another chance.

The inside ambiance isn't really my vibe, with the tiny tiles on the floors (bathroom look) throughout, it gets noisy inside, and the bubble tents on the front patio are claustrophobic. Besides, July 4th is all about back yard BBQ, so we did takeout.

We got a full rack of baby back ribs (wet), with mash potatoes and corn bread, a piggy Mac with pulled pork, and a large side of baked beans. They through on to small cups of soup, and lots of sweet and spicy BBQ sauce.

This was plenty of food for 3 with leftovers. We didn't even crack the soups, they will be for lunch or a snack with the other leftovers.

The ribs were good and tender, but just shy of fall-off-the-bone tender. The sauces are flavorful, but still thin.

The Mac and pulled pork were tasty, and I added spicy sauce to the pulled pork. Next time we might try the pulled pork separately, to get a better sense of how it stands on its own.

The beans and mashed potatoes were creamy, and come with a thin gravy but buttery enough that they didn't need anything else. The beans were flavorful and again a thin sauce. It's a theme, and not bad, but I prefer thick and rich sauces and gravy.

The corn bread was the most unique offering. It was dense, and moist, not like a southern yellow corn bread. It was sweet and more the texture of banana bread. They offer to toast it, and I think this would be a good move.

I like my soup scalding hot, and while I didn't get to it with all of the meat and other sides, it was only warm when we picked up our order which was scheduled and we were on time. BBQ places are not known for their piping hot food, as the meats and sides are mainly prepared well in advance, but soup should be the exception. Just a picadillo of mine.

We ordered 2 main courses for 3 people, and it was plenty. Our bill was $100 (no drinks). $33/head isn't cheap, but this is Rhinebeck, and the portions were big.

Between my wife and I we would give Smoky Rock, 3.5 stars, but I am writing the review, so we will round up to 4, a marked improvement from a decade ago.

In 2014 this was my review - The meat was great, everything else was a disappointment. One bad sauce, unimpressive sides, no...

This weekend we went for our first time to Smoky Rock BBQ in Rhinebeck. Entering the restaurant, I was surprised at the appearance of the interior, it is very nice, nicer than I would have suspected a BBQ place to be. The way it is laid out it has several areas to congregate, I could see if it were crowded it wouldn’t seem as though you are in a big open restaurant. Being a nice day, we sat outside on the front patio. The chairs and tables are stable, not skimpy, not-fat-guy-friendly ones you sometimes find on patios. The server came right over, took our drink order and explained the specials. The menu seems pretty plentiful for a BBQ place. It was lunch time, so we ordered sandwiches. I tend to get the brisket every time I go to a BBQ place especially the first time so I can gauge it against others. This visit I did the same. JM had the pulled chicken sandwich. When the food came I suddenly realized I forgot to inquire about the thickness of the brisket. I do not like the brisket sliced thick. To me it is fatty and chewy that way. I like brisker sliced thin or pulled. I mentioned it to the server, but she did not indicate she would swap the meal for anything else. It wasn’t just thick; it was really thick. It was too thick for the three slices to be folded over and expected to be eaten as a sandwich. It had to be taken off the bun and eaten with knife and fork. It was quite fatty, and chewy as brisket sliced that thick can be. The displeasure with the presentation of the meat prevented me from rendering an honest opinion of the taste. The pulled chicken sandwich was good, but very spicy which was not indicated on the menu, just as the thickness of the brisket wasn’t. The corn-on-the-cob was good, so was the baked beans. Overall I’m not sure if I would return to Smoky Rock BBQ. To be fair my opinion was clouded by the thickness of the brisket, which was partly my fault for not asking; but it could have an should have been indicated on the menu or by the waitress. Nice place, service was good, food seemed okay, but better info would help improve the...