Smoke Public House — Restaurant in West Hartford

My expectations aren't super high, but I think the "ska club," "night at the Roxbury" music playing that didn't fit the vibe might have something to do w/ it. There were 6 other people at the bar, a couple in the corner & a table if 6 behind me. The manager came out to talk to the couple in the corner about their experience, which is not a great sign, but we'll see. He saw that I was writing a review & never went back in the kitchen after that, unless it was for a brief moment. He involved himself in pouring drinks & barely left my side. He made small talk & I learned that he had been open for 4 years. It was difficult for me to eat, take pictures of the food or write the review with his constant engaging presence. He was pleasant & made sure to pick up the bartenders slack. For instance, a coaster under the drinks, offering me a glass, or putting down a placemats under the food or supplying silverware, none of which she did. I ordered a Modelo, but when she grabbed it out of the cooler, i saw that it was Especial not Negra, so i asked do you have the dark? She said no & w/ out hesitation opened it, not giving me a chance to ask for something different. Not a big deal, but she seemed indifferent & with no affect. None of this is a deal breaker, just an observation. The food, that was a deal breaker. I ordered the (smoked BBQ sandwich) & opted for the brisket. It came with a side & I chose onion rings. They were pre-salted, almost too much, but they were good. No complaints there. The sandwich however was impossible to eat. The meat was very tough & stringy. It was impossible to tear, bite or cut. The roll was soft, untoasted & soggy, causing it to fall apart making a mess. I gave up, turning to fork & knife to cut what resembled a tangled bunch of hair in both in taste & texture. There was something on the meat, but it was more of a marinade than BBQ as we know it. The same goes for the cheese. I did not see any caramelized onions, but there were two jalapeños. The owner asked how the meal was & I said eh. He said only ok? so I elaborated. He said he would relay the information to the kitchen & I thanked him. After that he never came back into the dining area until after I had left. I do feel bad writing this review because he was so overly involved in my experience & he was a nice gentleman that I would like to succeed, but I do not think I would want to return there after my experience with that sandwich, especially for the price. The meal alone was bad enough. Maybe a change in staff would help, unless they were related. I felt bad writing this review because the owner made it a point to be overly engaging with me once he saw that i was writing a review, but the better way to handle things is to make sure that you guest's experience is top notch. I felt like he tried to keep me engaged, so i wouldnt be rough on him, but it is supposed to be about the customers experience, not my empathy for the friendly owner. I wish him the...

Just so everyone knows; I had PLANNED to take pictures of both mine and my husband's meals, and I DID take pictures of some of the other areas of Smoke Public House....but I FORGOT to take pictures of the meals themselves, so I can only hope I can create a truly delectable image in your minds of each of the plates with my words alone....

Putting that aside; I honestly do not understand some of the negative reviews I read about the place because in mine and my husband's minds; it is one fantastic restaurant! The minute we walked in; the whole atmosphere seemed welcoming, cozy and relaxing. It had a bit of a "British Pub vibe"; which my husband and I do love, and the staff was very congenial and friendly! Once we were handed the menus I could not help but notice the creativity and effort put into the look, and thought how it only added to the overall pleasant feel of the place.

When it comes to the food itself; of course my husband wanted to try the ribs, so he ordered the 1/2 rack meal, and though at first he thought it might be just a tad pricey; when he got his food he realized it would be well worth the price because of all it came with. I promise; it is not a meal you would leave hungry from; ribs, garlic mashed potatoes, coleslaw, roasted vegetables, and a VERY LARGE piece of very well made cornbread; crumbly a little, but still moist, with an excellent balance between sweet and savory. I just wanted something simple so I asked for the Smoked BBQ Sandwich. Now with this sandwich you get a choice of chicken, pork or brisket, on a hard roll with a slice of cheddar, carmelized onion, bbq sauce, jalapeños and lettuce. I did need to ask them to leave the jalapeños off as my stomach is not good with spicey food any more; which they did, but when I took that first bite, it was as if I had never tried good bbq before I tried that sandwich. For a side; regular fries, sweet potato fries, onion rings or a side salad could come with the sandwich; of which I asked for the sweet potato fries because I had not had any in AGES, and let me tell you it was a very generous helping. Now imagine the taste; imagine something so perfectly crisp on the outside, and something so perfectly soft, fluffy and sweet on the inside, and THAT is their sweet potato fries!! I do NOT think I will ever truly enjoy anyone else's after these; they were THAT yummy!!

Now add all of those qualities together and imagine yourself having a truly delightful meal out! I promise; with all that in this establishment's favor; you will NOT be...

I’ve been wanting to go here for months. So my partner finally agreed on 11/25/2022, we sat down and were given water and our very nice bartender took our drink order. I ordered Diet Coke and my partner a margarita. The drinks were brought to us and we ordered. My partner liked his margarita, the Diet Coke was off and flat but I drank it.

I had read about 1/2 price apps for happy hour. So we ordered from that specific menu the pork nachos, burnt ends, dumplings and the dates. It took a short time but the apps were good but mediocre size portions.

We ended up ordering the pork nachos and dumpling a second time. Plus more drinks.

This time when the apps came they were 1/2 the size as before and we were told the first order should have been 1/2 the size they were. We both looked at each other like what? But said nothing. We were also told the dumplings which were 6 the first order now 3 were on the house. Whoever heard of a restaurant cutting their apps in 1/2 completely for happy hour or it should have been explained to us before ordering our initial order. Also, very loud in regards to volume on the sound system.

Our bill was $77.00 and for the apps and 2 margaritas plus Diet Coke which I thought refills were free. Plus one app was supposedly on the house. I’m thinking not or something is definitely off but I had been in the mens room when the bill was paid.

We would have been better off going out for a full meal somewhere. Very...