Honky Tonk Smokehouse — Restaurant in Winston-Salem

While visiting Winston-Salem from Texas, my son and I were eager to try some authentic Carolina BBQ. The front desk manager at or hotel highly recommended Honky Tonk Smokehouse, even giving us a coupon—and we’re so glad she did. She was absolutely right. As Texans, we hold BBQ to a high standard, and this spot held its own. We stopped in on a Tuesday evening and were impressed from start to finish. I ordered a platter that included: • 5 smoked chicken wings – These were the standout of the night. Crispy, perfectly seasoned, and expertly smoked. Probably the best meat we tried overall. • 3-cheese macaroni and cheese – Creamy, flavorful, and lived up to the “famous” label. • Fried okra – Cooked just right with no sliminess, and still steaming hot when served. Both sides were well seasoned and comforting.

My son chose the Split Decision Platter, selecting: • Jalapeño cheese sausage – A special that night, and packed with melty cheese. The casing had a satisfying snap and wasn’t greasy at all. • Brisket (lean cut) – Nicely smoked with a solid bark and smoke ring. While he wished he’d asked for “wet,” the flavor and texture were still excellent. The seasoning was balanced—not overly salty or peppery, and you could see a good smoke ring. His sides were the mac & cheese and green beans, both fresh and flavorful. We also took advantage of a coupon for two free baby back ribs. They were meaty, tender, and cleanly pulled from the bone—an unmistakable sign of perfectly cooked ribs. The rub was on point, and there wasn’t a single fatty bite. Sauces: Honky Tonk has a self-serve sauce bar with a wide range of options: • Original • Spicy • Honey Chipotle • Jalapeño • Brown Sugar • Sweet Apple • Eastern Dip (vinegar-based) • Alabama White

We tried them all. I especially liked the Alabama White on chicken, and the Brown Sugar and Eastern Dip on pork. It was great to have the freedom to mix and match. Desserts: They offer banana pudding, Oreo chocolate pudding, and cobblers (apple, peach, cherry). We didn’t have room this time, but everything is scratch-made in-house and looked tempting. Service & Atmosphere: The staff were outstanding—friendly, patient, and genuinely interested in where we were from and what we thought of the food. As BBQ “novices” to the Carolina style, we appreciated the guidance.

The restaurant is in a strip center with plenty of parking. Inside, the dining area was spotless, with about 15–20 tables (a mix of bar-height and standard). Food is served in paper boats and plates, which gave the whole experience a laid-back, backyard BBQ feel—very fitting.

Final Thoughts: According to their brochure, everything is slow-smoked and hand-rubbed with their own seasoning blends. You can taste that care in every bite. With a massive selection of sides (20+ options), generous platters, scratch-made desserts, and outstanding service, Honky Tonk Smokehouse is absolutely a must-visit for anyone looking for real Carolina BBQ—even for us proud Texans.

I’ll be back next time...

We were very pleased with the takeout that we got from Honky Tonk six-weeks ago so today we decided to have a mid-afternoon meal at the restaurant. I had my heart set on some ribs but at 2PM, they had already sold out their first batch of the day so I ordered a pulled pork platter with collards and Brunswick Stew. My wife got the slider platter and chose brisket, pulled pork, and chicken with a side of barbecue slaw and a seasonal special of sweet potato casserole. You order and pay at a front counter, get your own drink and sit where you can find a table labeled ¨this table has been disinfected. When you sit down you flip the sign over and it says something like, ¨this table has not been disinfected.¨ We had not been sitting long when Lizzie, the hostess came over and said some ribs would be done before we left and asked if I wanted to take some home. I took her up on the offer. Our food was there very soon after that. They have multiple sauces and I chose honey chipotle. The barbecue was nicely moist but not too wet like some that I encountered here in the Piedmont. The collards had an excellent flavor and I give the Brunswick stew a thumbs up. I got a taste of the brisket my wife ordered and it was also excellent. One of the reasons I enjoyed my pulled pork was that it had some nice burnt ends which are often prized for their flavor enhancing quality..I also like the choice of sauces since I have had some not so great ones since leaving Eastern NC. The staff had their masks on, the food came quickly was reasonably priced. The servings were very generous and it was all delicious. I have eaten at almost all of the places on the NC Barbecue Trail and I would rather eat at Honky Tonk Smokehouse than most of them. I have also eaten at more than half a dozen highly recommend barbecue places within 50 miles of Winston-Salem in the last seven months. There are only a couple of those places that interest me enough to go back. I can guarantee that I will be regular at Honky Tonk Smokehouse. A special shout out to Ellie for making certain that I got to take home some of their ribs. Not many hostesses would make the extra...

I’ve eaten at this restaurant many, many times and I have never had an issue..until tonight. My bf and I went for wings and we decided to order some onion rings as well. When the server brought them out, there were four of the tiniest onion rings I’ve ever seen which is not ideal when they charge almost $4 for them. She agreed it looked skimpy and offered to bring some more so that was all well and good. As she’s bringing the ‘extra’ onion rings over to the table, I see her reach into the basket and get something out and start to eat it. Then she sits the tray down and reaches into it and digs around with her ungloved hands to get the fried piece of whatever she was eating out.. while still eating whatever she took out of the basket on her to my table. She makes some comment about wanting to try it and how they had fried them along with our onion rings. I can’t tell you what it was as I’m sitting there mortified at what I had just witnessed. I sat them to the side and finished the wings. When the OWNER came by and asked how everything was I told her what had happened and all she could say was that she didn’t know what to say and clearly the girl wasn’t thinking and said she was sorry. I didn’t get a sense that it was a big deal and it felt very lukewarm. I won’t be...