"Blue Amber Smokehouse serves up some seriously impressive barbecue. Their ribs are fall-off-the-bone tender, and the sauce strikes that perfect balance of spicy, sweet, and tangy that keeps you coming back for more. The fresh lemon really brightens everything up, and the baked beans are absolutely delicious with perfectly balanced seasonings. This is definitely becoming a regular spot for me. We ordered it to go. Perfect order, quality and price point. -RB read more

I would suggest this place consider that when you're the high price leader in your category, not everyone can afford your food. So, it is NOT WISE to alienate customers that have frequented your restaurant for the last 5 years! Literally, from the day you opened! :( Welp ... here we are again ordering (to go) from what was my favorite BBQ place in my hometown and I'm sad to say ...I'm so disappointed I won't be going back absent of an apology!! :( I ordered 1/2 lb. of moist brisket & a baked potato. I ate the brisket and enjoyed it ... and then I cut into the potato to find a sweet potato. (I don't eat them because I just don't like 'em). So, I called the restaurant to let them know that I ordered a baked potato and was given a sweet potato. She looked up the order and said, "You ordered a baked sweet potato" ... to which I responded, "I don't know why I would order a sweet potato because I don't eat them". That was the point she said, "If you will bring back the sweet potato back to us... we will exchange it for a baked potato". LOL! So, I giggled and asked ... you want your potato back? To which she replied, "Yes!" So, while I was asking my husband if he felt like taking the sweet potato back to the restaurant ... this lady hung up the phone on me! FOR WHAT?? She didn't even wait to find out if we were going to make the exchange. Now, I can concede that I may have made a mistake ordering ... I don't think I did... but, it certainly is possible. However, I've been going to this restaurant for 5 YEARS ... literally since the day they opened!! So, I didn't think asking to have a baked potato because I don't eat sweet potatoes was THAT BIG of an ask! (The price of which is about $4.00: $3.39+tx). Even if I ordered it by mistake, I DON'T EAT THEM ... I just wanted a whole meal for the $25.00 I paid. So, I sent my husband back to the restaurant to make the exchange. When he returned, he described the most egregious interaction I've ever heard which included the cashier telling him: This was His Wife's fault and this would only be a 1 time exchange. They aren't happy about making this exchange because they're losing money. So, we should'n't ever expect that again in the future! Now, I don't know what EXACTLY was said because I wasn't there, but I don't have to be there to understand that if anything remotely close to this happened, then I would classify that is the POOREST SERVICE EVER!! Especially considering they are a high-end smokehouse. THIS was certainly NOT HIGH END SERVICE. AGAIN! I would suggest this place consider that when you're the high price leader in your category, not everyone can afford your food. So, it is NOT WISE to alienate customers that have frequented your restaurant for the last 5 years! Especially those that live in a country club community because I will tell all my friends and neighbors about this experience and how we were treated after being a long-term customer. While I haven't had complaints about their service in the past ... the, last time I ordered, the food was disappointing. This time, the food was okay, but the service really was lacking. I didn't appreciate them hanging up the phone and I feel that if you are going to sell High Priced food ($25.00, inc. tx {for single plate of 2 items} is pricey) then you should also have a HIGHER STANDARD OF SERVICE! It was overall ... THE WORST!! read more

Blue Ember Smoke House is a small chain of 6 BBQ restaurants scattered across western Arkansas. This one in Ft. Smith has a slightly higher rating on Google as of today. Conveniently located just a few blocks south of Highway 22 (Rogers Ave.). Big clean bright modern restaurant inside. Order at the counter, fetch your own drink and tableware. An assortment of BBQ sauce is available. Pump what you want in a little cup to take back to the table. Your food is delivered to your table. I had a turkey sandwich. Good smokey moist turkey. Slaw and beans on the side. Beans fair. Slaw was a pass. If you want jalapeno and onion, be sure to mention it at the counter when you order. My wife had the Fort Chaffee Salad. A fruity salad with candied pecans. She added the same smoked turkey. Over all a 4-star experience. Nice place, decent BBQ, but doesn't have that down home country BBQ joint feel. read more

See all

Pricy , but food is good. Self service. Forced to add unnecessary word age to comply. Hope all reading are well. read more

Very good! We always get the brisket and queso. We dip the brisket in the queso and it's really good. We don't do sides but they looked good and the others in our parties seem to really enjoy them. Will return. BTW - the fort smith location is better that the Hot Springs location. Little rock is pretty good. But of the three we thought the FS one was a notch above the others. read more

Best BBQ in Fort Smith. Smoked meat for plate or sandwich or topping for potato or salad. Fresh salads, sides and friendly staff. read more

Blue Ember Smokehouse - Brisket, beans, cole slaw - Barbeque Near Me - Fort Smith, Arkansas

See all

Our family came here and man was the food delish! I can't enough of the potato salad and the apple bbq sauce! Oh and the sausages, sooooo yummy!!! read more

This place consistently serves outstanding food! The folks are friendly and the service is fast. You go through a line where you get the food hot out of serving dishes and cut fresh for the barbecue. They offer a dessert bar with soft serve ice cream as an option as well as hot fudge sundaes. It is a clean place to eat, and it is well maintained with spacious areas in the dining area so that you don't feel so cramped. There are large screen TVs where you can watch the latest games as you eat with your family. I personally appreciate the fact that they always have Christian music playing in the background. read more

See all

3.5 stars. For Fort Smith the BBQ here is great! I really enjoyed the smoked brisket and potato combo. The burnt ends were pretty good while hot too. While the smoked chicken leg quarter can feed 2 people. It is a bit pricy. But word of advice you need to know what you want because there's always a line. The bbq sauces were tasty. The only thing I did not enjoy on my visit is how the salad was composed. Because it's made to order, they used spring mix and dumped mandarin oranges w/the juice in it. So by the time you got it home it's all too soggy. read more

It was a pretty solid barbecue joint. The bbq sauce definitely has a lot of sugar so if you are looking for a vinegar based sauce this one isn't for you. My 6 year old daughter claimed it was the best meal of our trip. She liked the pork sandwich and Mac and cheese. read more

Meat is delicious and not dried out. Had the brisket, pulled pork (nicely seasoned and moist), ribs (perfectly cooked and good flavor). I ordered the 3 cheese sausage but they gave me the jalapeno/pineapple instead. I got all of this to go so I didn't notice until I got to my destination. It was really good though even if not my first choice. Baked beans are phenomenal! Smoky, meaty, sweet, peppers. So good - maybe best I've had anywhere. Mac n cheese was seriously lacking flavor. Didn't taste like cheese - just pasta. Needed some seasoning and maybe a smoked cheese or something for more flavor. I would NOT get it again. Green beans had good flavor but was season-less as well. Potato salad was good - mayo based. Bread was just toast - no butter or seasoning. Little frustrated with the service to go. I ordered a few different sauces to try but they just threw them all in the bag and I didn't know what was what. Colors were the same too so I couldn't tell. Would be nice to get some moist towelettes or something in the to go bags too. Ordered to go this time but I've eaten inside before. Restaurant always looks clean and well maintained. Family friendly. Modernish bbq look. Nicely done. Workers are nice and helpful. read more

Great taste good service. Only complaint was the temperature of my food. Somewhat cold by the time we got out of the line.

Thanks Yelp peeps! Driving through Arkansas and hitting Fort Smith at lunch time led me Blue Ember thanks to the reviews. The bbq was a treat! The meat was very lean and I liked the nice salad options. Service was great - fast and friendly, and the restaurant was bright, clean, and open with lots of sitting options. I appreciated that they played Christian music on outdoor speakers. Very enjoyable! read more

Blue Ember Smokehouse - Barbeque Near Me - Fort Smith, Arkansas

Very bbq with a wide range of choices. My favorite is the jalapeno and cheese sausage links. The sauce is better than average as well.

The bbq is great!! They have lots of different options. The pineapple sausage is one of the best I've had. I always get turkey here. Moist and flavorful. The brisket is very good as well. The sides are all good. It's hard to pass up the Mac and cheese. They have several sauce options. They are all very good. The restaurant interior is nice. The staff is great and the line moves quickly. Prices are good for the quality and that you get. read more

Was in town for the night. Pork and sausage was good, but nothing spectacular. The brisket was dry and tough.

Food was delicious. I ordered the smoked chicken with a salad. I also ordered a side of smoked sausage. The sausage was the real star. Smokey yet still very juicy. Many times, smoked sausage turns out dry with all the juices smoked out of it. Not here. If you've got a bbq craving, Blue Ember Smokehouse will not disappoint. read more

There were three of us and we all ordered the brisket sandwich. They asked if we wanted the trimmed brisket, i.e. fat cut off or the regular. We went with the regular and the amount of fat on the meat was minimal so there was no problem there. The amount of meat was twice what I typically receive at BBQ restaurants so the sandwich was large. The flavor was very good, not excellent, but I find the bbq scene in Fort Smith isn't very good so it was the best I have had when I am in town. The sauces were too sweet but the spicy sauce isn't really spicy and wasn't quite as sweet so I would recommend it. I thought the slaw was good, again a little sweet, the okra was perfect but the beans were under performing. I will go again and would recommend this restaurant but it isn't the best I have ever had. read more

One of the things I love to do when traveling is to check out the BBQ scene. We have family in the Fort Smith area, but since Blue Ember opened I had not been back to visit until now. We finally made a visit and it certainly didn't disappoint. Driving up it has a modern, upscale looking building with a touch of rustic. When you get out of your vehicle you can immediately smell the wonderful aroma of smoking meat. Inside, more of the same decor. When you order, you receive your food right there off the line, meat cut to order. I ordered jalapeño and pineapple sausage, a mix of moist and lean brisket, and Mac and cheese. My wife ordered chicken, smoked baked potato, and baked beans. I got to sample her chicken and beans which was an added bonus for me. The meat is all prime, meaning the highest grade of meat given by the USDA. This is a big deal as not all BBQ joints use prime. Quality matters and makes a difference in taste. The Q did not disappoint. The meat was smoked to perfection. The marbled brisket was rendered down making juicy and tender bites. The post oak they use gave just enough smoke taste along with the rub to enhance without overpowering the flavors of the meat. The smoked sausage had a great snap to the casing with a nice blend of spices, meat, jalapeño and pineapple. The sauces are very flavorful, but certainly not necessary to use with the super tender meats. We enjoyed our meal so much and hope to be back sooner than later to try more delicious BBQ. read more

Blue Ember Smokehouse - Brisket, sausage and Mac n cheese - Barbeque Near Me - Fort Smith, Arkansas

Let's start with the expectations I or anyone that is a bbq fan in general would have. For the Fort Smith area good BBQ is definitely lacking. Unfortunately, Blue Ember is no exception. Let me explain... Burnt ends I was glad to see on the menu, however they were lacking everything a burnt end should have. They were way too small in size, way too much sauce and I don't like any meats pre sauced, but even if I was a sauce kind of guy, the sauce tasted like it came straight out of a Panda Express sweet and sour style sauce. The ribs had no flavor from any sort of rub or even just salt and pepper. No texture to them at all. the Brisket is just a no go. Way too much untrimmed inedible fat. The service was okay, no one really cared too much in my opinion, but I did go in at an odd time after lunch and before dinner so who knows.. The restaurant is clean for the most part. It looks the part but to whom it may concern you have a nice location and lots of upside, but definitely need to insert some quality control. 5 out of 10 read more

Best barbecue I've had in a while the coleslaw was great, and so was the potato salad

Barbecue is expensive, and when it's mid...not pleased. This is mid. The sauce is full of sugar, which I assume is meant to mask barely passable smoked meats. This place is also extremely overpriced. For what they charge, the portions should be triple what they actually plate. Shameful portions for the price, and the sides are garbage. Hey, get the John Soule's BBQ stuff at Walmart and do yourself a solid. Add a better sauce. Otherwise, feel free to overpay for sugary, grade D meat and trash sides. read more

Blue Ember is near the top of the list for BBQ joints in Arkansas. I've never had something from here that was disappointing. Today I tried the Brisket Loaded Baked Potato w/ a side of Fried Okra. It's hard to judge meat quality when it's mixed with a bunch of other stuff, but overall it was really good. I topped my potato with the Kickin Apple BBQ Sauce, the perfect balance of sweet & spicy. The fried okra was AMAZING! I'll be getting this again. My wife had the Pulled Pork Sandwich w/ Mac & Cheese. She ate everything on her plate, so I'd say she loved it! My sister had the Chopped Chicken Sandwich w/ Baked Beans & Potato Salad. I didn't try her sandwich, but the chicken looked a little dry. I did eat about half of her potato salad and it was amazing as well. Service was standard to most BBQ joints. You follow a line as you pick out your meats, then sides, and then drinks/deserts and pay. The dining area was really clean. Soda fountains and BBQ Sauce stations were well organized and stocked with supplies. This is my Go-To BBQ restaurant when ever I'm in Fort Smith and I'll be sure to go back again and again. Don't forget you get you an ice cream cone! read more

See all

Good quick service place with lots of smoked meat choices. Workers were friendly and I like the self serve beverage station. This is cafeteria style which is fairly typical for any BBQ joint. I had a rib, pulled pork and brisket. Each were good but not the best that I've had. I didn't care much for the BBQ sauce as I thought it were too sweet. But I do like my sauce to be mustard or vinegar based, so someone who likes a sweeter sauce might really like them. read more

Blue Ember Smokehouse - Rib, pulled pork, jalapeño sausage, brisket - Barbeque Near Me - Fort Smith, Arkansas

Ok. I've never seen a cleaner more modern and elegant BBQ place in my life. Matter of fact it so didn't look the part of a real BBQ place I wasn't expecting great food. I was wrong. Our table of 3 had three different meat choices and various different sides. All of it was excellent! The ribs were smoky and fall off the bone, and the bbq beans were perfect. My wife's stuffed baked potato was massive! We all love the 3 sauce choices. My tastes were to the spicy, my wife LOVED the apple, and our guest loved the more traditional sweet. I will be back. And with an even bigger appetite. read more

The food is amazing! When you walk in, you choose what meat, how much and the gentlemen even ask if you want tender meat with fat or sliced and lean. There are plenty of sides to choose from and you get a decent portion size. Service was wonderful and the atmosphere was quaint and quiet. They have an apple bbq sauce that was to die for and the food tasted good as leftovers. I would definitely recommend! read more

Blue Ember Smokehouse - Sliced brisket, green beans, bread. - Barbeque Near Me - Fort Smith, Arkansas

Doesn't matter what you order, it's all good! Food and staff are wonderful. I get the spud everytime but I change up the protein. We've arrived when they open and arrive before they close. All is clean and great! read more

Great BBQ. You walk in and select what you want pretty much from a buffet. Some things were sold out but we were there at night so that was ok. Large and seemed very clean. read more

Polite pass. The brisket was good. All three sauces were excellent. However, the pulled pork was chopped and you get more bread than meat. The Mac n cheese is more like macaroni salad. Where's the cheese? Both cokes machines had "off" syrup and carbonation. The sides are $3 each. Sooooo a small fry is $3?! Definitely not worthy. TIP: there's a really great bbq truck over on Massard. Save your time and read more

See all

Friendly staff!!! Love the ambiance and decor of Blue Ember. Christian music was nice to listen to while we were eating the amazing food. We went back for more! read more

At 5:45 on a Wednesday evening, with maybe 10 ppl. in the restaurant,after waiting in line to order bbq, then attempt to order corn on the cob as a side..."i am sorry, we are all out of corn". Corn is selling for $1 for 3 or 4 ears right now at the grocery stores...Blue Ember sells it for $2.99 each. What kind if initiative does it take to tell one of the help to pick up, or send an employee to the grocery store to get a dozen or so ears of corn? How does the restaurant run out by 5:45 on a slow night! Really very poor management or ownership. The wrong answer..."we are out". Good-bye! read more

The Brisket has passed the test! Definitely the best BBQ in town, great sides and good sauce

so so yummy!!!! kinda confusing if it's your first time with the lunch line vibe BUT the food is amazing!!! ice cream afterwards is so neat. cool vibes inside also. read more

Excellent BBQ in Ft Smith. Had the chicken sand w baked beans. Was so good I almost chewed my fingers off when I got to them. Ice cream dessert included is a nice touch! read more

Blue Ember Smokehouse - Signage - Barbeque Near Me - Fort Smith, Arkansas

Where do I start?? Everything here is fantastic. The brisket, the jalapeno & pineapple sausage, the sides of mac and cheese and the baked beans were all so good. 3 different sauces were all tasty in their own way. Friendly staff also. Can't wait to go back. read more

Better than good BBQ. Self serve and industrial building interior lowered the review. But, a good place to eat without spending too much time or having high expectations. read more

For a BBQ place they offer the best selection of sides. Their sweet potatoes and baked beans are spot on. You can smell the aroma from the parking lot which triggers mouth watering cravings by the time you reach the front door. The BBQ is hands down the best flavor consistency and d taste of any smokehouse of all time anywhere in the US. Worth trying. They have unique sauces. Mondays their special is the nachos and Tuesdays their special is taco Tuesday. worth stopping in. Trendy quick order and seat yourself place that feels upscale when you sit down to eat. Upscale high end urban luxury picnic. read more

Blue Ember Smokehouse - Inside seating - Barbeque Near Me - Fort Smith, Arkansas

See all

Stopped off with friends after church. The atmosphere was very pleasant and the staff was very courteous. The food was good, we had the pulled pork sandwich and the loaded baked potatoes (sorry forgot to take pictures) It tasted good and the next time I come back to the area, we will definitely stop by for a bite. read more

Blue Ember Smokehouse - Front - Barbeque Near Me - Fort Smith, Arkansas

Brisket was awesome. Fall apart fork tender with just the right amount of smoke. Potato salad was good and beans were really good.

Great food. I enjoyed the baked sweet potato with brisket. So good together! The sweet potato was loaded with all the fixings. My husband had the ribs and lived them. read more