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    Bensmokin BBQ

    4.2 (86 reviews)
    Closed 11:00 am - 6:00 pm

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    Response time

    3 days

    Response rate

    50%

    Services - Bensmokin BBQ

    Catering

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    Star Wars fans!
    Eric J.

    Okok I finally have a great local bbq place in my neighborhood! Bensmokin is a welcome addition to Tower. Amazing staff, very helpful for first time diners. We had combos, tri tip, ribs, onion rings, mac n cheese, beans and cole slaw. Nothing but praise for all! My picky brother is a BIG bbq fan and a BIG man and he was so impressed and the servings were big enough that he was able to take some home for later! I know that their hours are unusual bit it IS local and they cater-just ho back when they are open! We will be there this Saturday!

    Annie B.

    I was craving BBQ, after a goggle search I found this place. I didn't know what l wanted l opted for the sliders & coleslaw along with original sauce & spicy sauce. The meat was cooked to perfection the bun was yummy l really enjoyed it. The coleslaw lacked seasoning, it was crunchy the way I like my coleslaw . If in town again I would stop by to try something else from the menu.....

    Tri tip plate
    Tiana F.

    Visited Bensmokin on a Saturday. I was excited because I saw a TikTok review and I pass by here often. Their customer service was great, very nice family who runs the place. I believe the owner helped us, he was very kind. Unfortunately the foods flavor fell short. The Mac n cheese was bland and didn't taste seasoned. The beans tasted like they had flour in them, very tomato tasting and no salt. Not pictured was the candyman chicken which had a good smoked flavor. The cornbread wasn't great either. I do love supporting small businesses but the flavor was missing here. Their Carolina gold barbecue sauce and the original were good. I was hoping this would become a regular place for us but unfortunately it won't be. The plate pictured was $17 for about 2-3 pieces of tri-tip.

    Nazanin T.

    Wow this spot is wonderful. Tons of options for everyone with plenty of drinks, treats, and sides available. Staff and chefs very very welcoming, friendly, attentive, and patient as we were ordering. The food was brought out to us in a timely manner. Everything was delicious! I look forward to our next visit to try more of everything! Also plenty of parking available which is always a plus. Thank you!

    Pulled pork and bbq brisket
    Crown P.

    Not sure what Ben's smoking, but it's not flavor. I ordered ribs, pulled pork, and brisket-aka the BBQ starter pack-and all three tasted like they forgot the seasoning at home. The mac and cheese looked like it came straight from the frozen aisle, and the fries? Old, burnt, and soggy, like they got evicted from someone else's plate. Portions? Tiny. Prices? High. Value? Nonexistent. Those 4 and 5-star reviews must be from family members or people who've never eaten real BBQ. First time here and definitely the last. Solid 2 out of 5 stars-and that's me being generous.

    Mac

    We love this place come every chance we get. It may be an hour drive but the food the flavor the staff are completely worth it. We love the Bernardo bombs the meats are so good we don't even need bbq sauce but they have so many to choose from if we did..the rolls are so soft and good.

    Hot link & coleslaw
    Kimberly L.

    Foooood was amazing, the smoke ring on that pulled pork was *chefs kiss*! The ribs were amazing, as well as the smoked hot link! Sides we got were delicious as well; buttered corn, Spanish rice, rice pilaf, 3 meat chili beans, macaroni salad and coleslaw! Order at the counter place, canned sodas and some cozy seating inside. Parking is tight, but food is worth it!

    Robert J.

    Well first off the customer service is great. Bring your on beer is great as well as for the food. Well let me say it was ok. My tri tip and brisket was cold. The cheddar sausage was great. The Mac n cheese was grainy the beans were good. The Ribs St. Louis were ok very tender but lack seasoning in my opinion. As well with the other meats. Said I get free rolls that never came and the guy server was not very helpful. Overall very mid in my opinion. Will I come back probably not. But thats just me. But Ben was very nice and welcoming. Hopefully it gets better but for now its a no.

    New updated menu
    Jonathan N.

    BenSmoking Barbecue is an amazing restaurant with top-notch service. They sell out so often that you've got to get there early if you want the good stuff. I'm obsessed with brisket, and it's usually hard to find great brisket outside of places like Texas or Kentucky--so it's incredible to have a spot in Fresno that nails it. The brisket here is legit.

    Brisket Combo (missing potato salad)
    B H.

    From nextdoor we could smell the BBQ and it smelled great. It's definitely a rugged place, but that comes with this type of food. The place was empty and that should have been my first clue about the experience. When we got up to the counter to order, I asked how much brisket came with the combo. The woman (short, brunette, 20ish) said 1/3 lb. I asked what that would look like visually...like the size of my fist? With attitude, she said "Smaller than a 1/2, larger than 1/4." I know math! I said VISUALLY!! I looked at my husband and about walked out (he later told me he was too). I said, "But, is that the size of my fist or a what is it visually." She said, "Our portions are created for someone to be full." First, that's not true; second, that's subjective. I should have walked out. The food wasn't worth the effort. We got our food quickly (by that time we were the only ones in there). The links (cheddar jalapeno & hot links) were VERY good. Juicy and full of flavor. The chili bean side was bland. How is that even possible. The coleslaw....now, I know everyone's coleslaw is different and I've eaten all over Texas. This was cabbage with a lot of mayonnaise. Absolutely terrible. The brisket was not smoked, pale and flavorless. My husband ordered a side of potato salad, but they were out. The woman said she would make more, give her 5 minutes. Well, if it were to take more, we would have gotten another side. 20 minutes later I got up to ask about it!!! We were done eating. We were going to just take it to leave, but my husband ate it. It was THE BEST potato salad I've ever had. Almost like a deviled egg with all the fix'ns. I'll give them that! It was expensive too, but what isn't. But...I would expect larger portions and better service for the price. I won't go back. I especially won't go back due to the grumpy, sarcastic woman taking our order!

    The last of the Mac n cheese lol

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    24 days ago

    Killer brisket. Definitely ask for some of their Carolina gold BBQ sauce. Good pulled pork and ribs.

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    9 months ago

    The food is fantastic. I wish this place would be open more days and hours. Service is slow but friendly.

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    Page 1 of 3

    Ask the Community - Bensmokin BBQ

    Review Highlights - Bensmokin BBQ

    I got the Cloudship burrito with brisket, chili beans, Spanish rice and cheese - yummy.

    Mentioned in 3 reviews

    Read more highlights

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    Working with Vanessa as our wedding planner was one of the best decisions we made for our wedding!…read moreFrom day one, she made the entire planning process smooth, enjoyable, and completely stress-free. Beyond the logistics, she was such a joy to work with! We can't thank Vanessa enough for making our dream wedding come to life. If you're looking for someone who's organized, passionate, and genuinely cares about their clients, look no further. Vanessa is an absolute gem!

    To preface, I have experience hosting events from 50-200 guests and have worked with numerous…read morevenues and coordinators. Vanessa is by far the WORST venue coordinator I've interacted with in terms of customer service, industry knowledge, and communication skills. If you read the other positive reviews, you'll notice they ALL paid additional money for Vanessa to be their wedding coordinator. If you do not pay this, she is a horror to work with (as corroborated by the negative reviews), and I recommend AVOIDING this venue. Another reviewer also stated the owner is her brother-in-law so there is no recourse for her behavior and there are no other venue coordinators available. Detailed below are just some of the negatives: - The wedding was actually for my sister. She was having difficulties with Vanessa so asked me to assist. I reached out to Vanessa explaining who I was but never received a response. Instead, Vanessa told my sister that she felt threatened by my contact and will only work with individuals that signed the venue contract. I never said anything negative, but she often overreacted and took offense over nothing. - Every response took 2 weeks. She would contradict herself in the same email, which added confusion. - She would use made up lingo and when asked for clarification, she would blame us for not understanding "industry language" and still wouldn't clarify. In my 10 years, I've never heard some of the terms that she used. - She didn't understand standard wedding requests. We asked for a cake table and Vanessa responded that the request was unclear because she didn't know what size a cake table should be. We asked to add 2 rectangular side tables for guestbooks, gifts, etc. On the proposal, Vanessa commented "unsure why the client requested". - Unless asked, she wouldn't disclose critical information. We asked multiple times if additional tables (sweetheart, cocktail, etc.) are free. Vanessa confirmed they were free, but once the proposal arrived, it showed free tables with each linen at an additional charge. I told my sister to confirm if the venue provided cake cutting utensils. They don't (which is fine) but this is all information that you tell your clients without prompting. Imagine cutting the cake with no utensils! - When asked questions, she rudely responded with "NO" or "YOU'RE RESPONSIBLE" - In the 1.5 years of planning, despite multiple requests, the venue proposal was only updated twice - once for the initial contract and once when full payment was due 30 days before the event. My sister had to withhold final payment to get her to update it. She updated it 1 week after with inaccurate information. We annotated and returned it next day saying that she'd pay once it was correct. Vanessa had the audacity to respond that making notes on the proposal made it seem like they were stalling payment. Granted, there were 1-2 new updates amongst many more corrections but it was because Vanessa withheld information, and new adjustments were required after seeing the revised proposal for the 1st time. - Vanessa never provided a table layout. My sister had to create it and then confirmed if 5 round tables per row would work. On wedding day, we arrived to a different layout of 4 rounds per row. Vanessa blamed it on a 2 ft. wide photo arch, stating that she had to make adjustments to fit an arch that was discussed weeks prior. However, it was evident that the room would have NEVER fit 5 rounds per row. We had to rearrange the seating chart and the chairs to accommodate for her mess. - Also on wedding day, Vanessa was surprised to find the timeline included a champagne toast. Mind you, the timeline was provided 30 days ago and toasts are standard in weddings. So, she gave us 30 mins to decide on the additional champagne cost. I asked to remove 1 champagne bottle charge as there was an entire table of kids, but she refused. So apparently, the venue includes children in the champagne count even though serving alcohol to minors is illegal. - There was also a safety hazard. About 25 chairs with wheels/casters were intermingled with standard dining chairs. I unknowingly sat in a chair with casters and almost fell. There was no visible difference between the standard chairs vs. chairs with casters, and the table linens prevent anyone from seeing the casters. I told Vanessa who saw no issues and argued that people falling out their chair has never happened before. Thankfully, we were able to get these all replaced prior to the wedding to avoid any older guests from getting hurt. To the owner: Not only is Vanessa horrible to clients, but since she never updated the proposal, the kitchen used the original headcount and cooked 40 additional meals (talk about a waste of money). Also, due to not providing a table layout, the banquet captain Griselda set up tables once, and then had to come back 1 hr earlier to redo it, making staff do avoidable extra work.

    MEGA Texas Barbeque - :D

    MEGA Texas Barbeque

    (312 reviews)

    $$

    The best BBQ I've had ever. I've been here 4+ times and it still hits…read more Lines can vary from time to time, but I was happily surprised that the line was short today even for going in at noon. What's convenient is they have a posted paper at the front to tell you what they ran out of, so you know when you order. They ran out of their 2 cobblers, chicken lollipop (I usually find that they run out of this often) and pork belly today. Took 10 mins to get food after ordering. A good amount of spots to eat inside and outside. We ordered two 2-meat plates + cornbread. All in all, we had their brisket, burnt ends, tri-tip, and ribs + coleslaw, potato salad, Mac & cheese, and beans as sides. We've tried almost everything at earlier visits and burnt ends are still my fav. All meats are tasty with their special rub, as well as their OG bbq sauce on the burnt ends. No notes for any of the sides- just delicious! Also if you like some heat, definitely get their spicy BBQ sauce on the side. This will forever be my fav BBQ spot!

    Came in on a Sunday at 2 (about 30 mins to closing) and we were so lucky they weren't completely…read moresold out ! Ordered a two meat platter of brisket and chile verde ribs with a side of potato salad chili beans with brisket. While chile verde ribs weren't my first choice it was surprisingly really good and tender. Brisket was amazing, fall apart and full of flavor. The barbecue sauce on the side was just an added touch but honestly it's so seasoned you don't really need much. The sides were both delicious! What really stood out here besides the amazing food is the amazing staff! The owner Anthony went around and chatted with everyone like we were all friends and family. His aunt brought us honey cornbread on the house just to try which was so thoughtful ! Anthony's wife at the counter was so nice and helpful because we knew we came at closing time yet she still got us two full plates of what was available. Now helpful tip: you gotta come early ! Everything sells out fast !!!!! There are literally lines to the parking lot before they even open! Everything is so damn good people are willing to line up at 10am. Barbecue for breakfast type good! I will back soon and plan to load up on the Texas twinkies I see all over tik tok

    Bensmokin BBQ - catering - Updated May 2026

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