Smiley's Grill & BBQ — Restaurant in Vinton

Seven months ago, I gave Smileys a glowing five-star review because the food and service were excellent. Unfortunately, that experience is long gone. Tonight’s visit was such a disappointment that I’m removing four of those stars. The food was unacceptable across the board. The mac and cheese tasted metallic with a burnt Kraft-like crust. The fish sandwich resembled a microwaved frozen patty from the supermarket. The fries had zero flavor — no salt, no oil, nothing. The green beans we purchased to take home were so bad they were completely inedible. The only redeeming item was the chicken tenders, which my daughter enjoyed — and that’s the only reason this isn’t a zero-star review. Cleanliness was just as bad as the food. The floor was filthy, and multiple tables sat dirty and uncleared from the time we arrived until the time we left. Service was inconsistent at best, with long stretches of being completely ignored. For a $40.87 meal, the experience was beyond disappointing. Mac & cheese: 2/10 Fries: 1/10 Fish sandwich: 2/10 Chicken tenders: 3/10 Green beans: 1/10 Cabbage: 4/10 Bottom line: Smileys has gone from being a standout local spot to one of the worst dining experiences my family has had in years. Even my five-year-old voted against returning. Unless drastic improvements are made in food quality, cleanliness, and service, this place is not worth anyone’s...

I really wanted to give this restaurant a 4 but I couldn't after weighing the "cons" with the pros. I will put the pros first, we were feeding five people. The people are SUPER nice, I did not have to wait long for the order to be bagged and parking was very ample. Chopped steak and gravy was good! Mac and Cheese, pinto beans and mashed potatoes were also good. Chicken Salad sandwich, hot dogs and the double cheeseburger were a thumbs up as well. Cons: The burger was ordered with a sunny side up egg and the egg was NOT sunny side up, it was more of a partly scrambled fried egg. The cake of the day was so dry, it did not get finished, total waste of money. The fries with the hotdogs and the smiley fries must have been cooked in old oil. My daughter would not eat the smiley fries saying they had a funny smell. I bit into one and understood what she meant, spit it out and they hit the trash can with the cake and other order of fries. Nonetheless, we will give this place a try again because there were many positives, I think we will know what to avoid...

Very disappointed today! We have stopped at Smileys for years, literally every time we travel I81. Our daughter has recently become gluten free medically and cannot have it. I inquired with the young man about my concern and was asking specifically about if they had any BBQ sauce that was gluten free. He showed what he knew when he said that bread was probably the only thing with gluten in it. I asked if a manager could assist and he walked off for a min to return saying no one knows anything about this. As a restaurant, someone there should be able to answer this question. Better yet, even put on the menu board which sauces are gluten free. We left because the young man we talked to had no interest in assisting further and could really care less about my daughter’s health situation with gluten. Yes, we will return again as we love the food but not when my daughter’s health situation is with us. I hope to see a change in the knowledge of those who take orders or at...