This is such a hidden gem- I considered "gate keeping"- We went on a Thursday evening and despite a small crowd it took a "hot honey minute" to get a cold drink. - They had live entertainment, but we left before the music- This place is very skillfully designed. The decor is dark and rich. Perfect for a "bourbon bar." They have curated the most comprehensive bourbon collection I've seen in a long time- Debbie recommended the Nashville Outlaw Hot honey Sandwich- it was smoking and paired well w/pepper jack cheese- I consider myself a coleslaw aficionado and theirs was some of the creamiest-I could tell it was made fresh daily- Fries were lukewarm-but still okay- read more

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Ordered the Smoked Meat Plate (double) with Pulled Chicken and Turkey. It's served with cornbread and two sides. I selected Mac & Cheese and a side salad. The food wasn't bad, it just didn't leave a lasting impression. The meat was dry. I'm not sure what I expected to taste, but I was under impressed. Mac & Cheese was bland. Our server at the bar was fantastic! *Sidenote: my travel partner suggested the restaurant and LOVES it. We just have different taste buds. Parking: Street parking is hard to find. Spaces are extremely close to each other. Price: $20 - $30 read more

Smoke Justis - Smoked Meat Plate (double) with Pulled Chicken and Turkey - Bars Near Me - Covington, Kentucky

Everything was great! Tvs drinks and great food. The meat platter was great. Tacos were fantastic. Wings were fantastic. Only thing I thought the brisket was a little more fatty than I'd like. read more

Normally a fav for us but today all the meat was way over cooked. Beans n slaw were great! read more

Smoke Justis - Bars Near Me - Covington, Kentucky

If you're in the Northern Kentucky/Cincinnati area, this is the go-to spot! I enjoyed this sports bar so much that I actually wanted to visit it back to back nights but I was only visiting the area for a weekend. Our server was personable and very helpful. My bourbon cocktail was delicious and the chicken wings I ordered were very tasty. They have plenty of TV's above the bar, making it a good spot to watch a game with friends. The bar mainly consisted of high top tables and the bar was very spacious inside. read more

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Food is good! Nice spot if you are in the mood for some BBQ. The corn bread is my personal fav. read more

Smoke Justis - House Salad & Smoked Meat Plate Double: pulled pork and ribs with side of Mac & cheese, potato salad, and corn bread. - Bars Near Me - Covington, Kentucky

A coworker recommended this place so I decided to try. The ambiance of this place has a real cool feel to it. It's big and spacious and also has outdoor seating. The service was ok. There were only 2 waitresses and not that many people to serve and I felt like our server wasn't attentive. We had to flag down the other waitress to refill our water. Now, the food. It was not that great! I was expecting some bomb bbq and got disappointed. I asked for the brisket and they ran out or weren't serving it so I tried the ribs. Meh! I also got the cod fish sandwich that had no flavor or was lacking serious seasoning. I got collard greens, potato salad, and cornbread for my sides and that was mediocre as well. The only thing that tasted good that I ate was a brisket quesadilla that my coworker ordered. This was the only thing that had any flavor! I might have to try something else next time... read more

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No question about it. On a Sunday night at 8pm the wings were the best I've ever had. Not sure about consistency. Also the fries sucked. The blue cheese sucked. The wings tonight were outstanding! They are served smoked and have a light char and any sauce comes on the side. My buffalo was a mixture of butter and franks and whatever was added. It was good. Get rid of the shoestring fries. No matter the temperature they're cold within minutes and that means if they are not served right away and sit, they come out cold. Your blue cheese is at the bottom of my list. read more

Smoke Justis - Bars Near Me - Covington, Kentucky

I love the atmosphere. The building has a lot of history. I really like when we preserve and make new at the same time. The person that took care of us, Peyton was helpful, friendly and attentive. I've had the smoked wings many times, they've always been good. Tonight I got a meal. The brisket and sides, potato salad plus baked beans were great. Brisket was juicy and flavorful. The other selections, pulled pork and ribs were disappointing. Both were on the dry side and the pork did not seem to be seasoned at all. We did have a good time here. My friend was here from Portland. read more

Smoke Justis - 3 meat plate, brisket, pulled pork and ribs. - Bars Near Me - Covington, Kentucky

Smoked Justis is AMAZING. Food 10/10, service 10/10, people 10/10. We had Dawson as our server and he was so polite, attentive and friendly. He made our experience even better. Definitely try the smoked wings, brisket grilled cheese and sweet tea! read more

Smoke Justis - Brisket Grilled Cheese - Bars Near Me - Covington, Kentucky

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I've ate there a couple days ago, for the first time. I was VERY impressed with the food, and the service. We got the smoked wings and breadsticks( which came with an excellent cheese sauce to dip in. One thing I did notice, parking is metered, except on Sundays. Great food, service, and atmosphere, what else could you ask for? read more

OMG I can't say enough good things amazing place!!! First of all our server Kylie is the best thing that ever happened to this place!! She was so attentive!! Outside of our AMAZING service, the food was DELICIOUS and I can't stress that ENOUGH!! The drinks were FANTASTIC as well!!! We had the three meat combo and the beans were a SUPERSTAR of a side dish!! Everything was tasty!!! I wish I lived here so I could come ALL THE TIME!!! read more

Smoke Justis - Bars Near Me - Covington, Kentucky

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Such a fun hopping place in the heart of Covington! I tried their smoked chicken nachos and was not impressed. I don't know if it was the amount of cheese sauce throw all over it or what but I've had these years ago and they were certainly better than this. Service was quick and our waiter was awesome. I will return but would try something else on the menu. This restaurant is pretty big and can accommodate large parties. There is metered street parking right outside the door and a service lot available. read more

Smoke Justis - Half Tray Smoked Nachos - Bars Near Me - Covington, Kentucky

Had a great time at the Women's Bourbon Social, which takes place the second Tuesday of every month in the back of the place, which is a comfy lounge-style area with an impressive floor-to-ceiling central bar. We had the pleasure of trying Burnt Tavern Bourbon - YUM! - meeting one of the (female!) founders, and playing trivia. There was a small buffet of complimentary BBQ items, which was a great offset to the (several) delicious Whiskey Sours. What a great downtown location. Will definitely be back! read more

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Visiting from Chicago, so I am not a local, but this place made me wish I was. It didn't go off without a hitch, but they made up for what had been missed. Read on for more. I ordered online for pickup. I chose the federal burger (with onions, tomatoes, and provolone cheese - no grand slam sauce, which is a thousand island type of sauce, but I asked for it on the side when I got there) and a tray of smoked nachos with no jalapeños and no sour cream. I also opted to do cheese sauce on the side so that way when I got to my hotel, the nachos wouldn't be all soggy and soft. When I picked it up, I was completely impressed with the look, feel, and general ambience of the restaurant/bar. It just had a general feeling that made me wish I had been able to go with some friends. I was impressed. Unfortunately, after I walked with the food, back to my hotel, I ended up finding out that they had neglected to include the cheese sauce on the side. When I called and was directed to the manager, Rebecca, she was extremely apologetic and offered to either credit me or refire my the nachos. I said that I would love to come get them, but my burger would be cold by the time I got back she offered to re-fire the burger as well. I really wanted to have the full experience for my first time eating from Smoke Justis. Rebecca was absolutely amazing and made sure that I was taken care of well despite the issue that I had. I agreed and said that I would give the original meal to the front desk attendant at the hotel. He ended up being very excited to get a free meal, especially one from Smoke Justis. (Hint: Remember to make sure they put your cheese sauce in the bag!) Now for the food: The tray of smoked nachos were amazing and I definitely I'm glad that I got the cheese sauce. It completely pulled the dish together and it was absolutely amazing. The only problem is that they were so good that I had a harder time getting to the fries and burger. By the time I got to the fries and burger I was almost completely full. The fries were really good and they were seeming to be homemade sliced fries, but either way were great. Then I tasted the burger... wow, just wow. The flavor from the burger, was one of the best I have ever had. No sauce or anything else. Whatever they used to season the meat was incredible. Bottom line, I definitely will be back. Their commitment to excellence, both with the food and with the service, is apparent. Be good to you. Eat here. read more

Smoke Justis - Bars Near Me - Covington, Kentucky

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Amazing smoked wings and Brisket. Best sweet and spicy sauce I have ever had. Had Buffalo sauce also. Garrett our server was top of the line also. Really enjoyed this place. read more

Smoke Justis - What's left of the wings lol - Bars Near Me - Covington, Kentucky

Went on a Saturday night after a reds game. Main seating area had a 30+ minute wait but open seating in the bar area. Bar also had a band which was fun. Friendly bartender who was our waiter. Really enjoyed our wings and salad. read more

Smoke Justis - Smoked turkey Bacon Ranch salad - Bars Near Me - Covington, Kentucky

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This place had a cool vibe. Huge bourbon/whiskey bar with a more than you could imagine whiskey list. They also have some cocktails for those of you who aren't bourbon/whiskey drinkers (like me). I had a yummy coconut cocktail. Service was pleasant but they don't check on you much throughout. Our waters would run out for over 30 minutes and we would have to basically beg to have them refill it. Kinda a bummer when you're paying a lot for their liquors. We didn't try any food so I can't speak to that. read more

Good experience good service. Really nice location. Good space for watching games and downtown location read more

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Love the atmosphere here. As soon as you walk in the door you get the enticing aroma of brisket or smoked pulled pork. Sit at a table or one of two bars and enjoy a well stocked array of bourbon or rye or whiskey. Enjoying a pour of Augusta Old Route 8. Very nice bourbon with beautiful nose and a lasting smooth finish. read more

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Food so yummy ! smoke beef ribs The service was great, they have outdoor dining too. read more

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This place has amazing food and an event more amazing staff. I'm a member of their Bourbon Club, and no matter how crazy busy it gets, the staff makes you feel welcome. Want to know about Bourbon? They give the best recommendations and make the best drinks! Make sure to say hi to Jade when you are there as well! read more

If there was a 6 on service, it would be this place. What a great crew. Cool atmosphere with a warm feel. Great place for a date. I was going to order a salad until.... Brisket Grilled Cheese. It was a nice presentation, crispy bread and yummy fries. But, the brisket fell a touch short. It wasn't the meat jelly that I was anticipating. As a result it was difficult to bite through. Served with a side of jus which was an interesting French dip nod. Great place and I'll definitely be back here. read more

Smoke Justis - Brisket grilled cheese - Bars Near Me - Covington, Kentucky

We found this place by accident - great inside, food was excellent and the vibe very cool! The smoked wings were to die for and hubby had brisket grilled cheese - delicious! read more

So, where exactly is the "front door"? It's unclear. Either that or I am going blind. LOL Either way, once we parked (pay lot or streetside), we made it inside, and the place was hopping! We were crammed into a small, tall table next to several loud and rather obnoxious fellow diners. Alas, once the food came, we were able to ignore our fellow diners. One can't hold the business responsible for obnoxious customers. But the weird signs and uncomfortable sardine seating, that's why 4 starts instead of 5. The prices were decent, on the higher side, and the food and service were great. I would recommend visiting Smoke Justis (named after a 19th-century Covington baseball player) on a weekday and giving it a try. Once you've experienced the great food and service, you may be able to ignore your fellow diners. read more

Amazing food. Awesome Monday special $2.00 Coors Light, $5.00 Benchmark Bonded old Fashions. The service at the bar was on point! read more

Smoke Justis - 5.00 benchmark bonded old fashions - Bars Near Me - Covington, Kentucky

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Cool atmosphere is very friendly service. The food was great, though the portion size of the beef brisket that there is an up charge for is pretty small. The macaroni and cheese was amazing. read more

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Got take out tonight and was excited for one of my favorite wing places in cincy. Unfortunately this time it did not hit the same, we were disappointed by the quality. The wings felt like they were hard and 2 days old... usually they are crispy and juicy. We were left with one ranch to split between 3 people when we ordered multiple. Overall this was a 2/5 experience usually a 5/5. read more

We had a nice time at Smoke Justis. We found a spot on one of the couches in the back by the bar. We went up to the bar to get drinks. It wasn't crazy busy and still took a long long time to get our order in. My wife had a cosmo which she didn't really care for. My old fashioned was really good right on point. We split the nachos, we got the full with smoked pork. They were very good. Loaded with toppings, we planned on it being an appetizer for dinner somewhere else later that evening but were so full we never got dinner. What made this a 5 star experience was I came in initially to see if they had koozies for sale because we get one every place we travel to and they don't sell them but a worker went to the back and found a couple for us to have which was awesome as we had popped in 10-15 places before this one before we were gonna walk back over to Cincinnati. Really appreciated that. Would definitely check them out again and get the nachos! read more

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SUCH GOOD WINGS. Me and my boyfriend tried so many wings during Cincinnati wing week, and these were our clear winner. I now crave wings from here at least monthly. They are different- they are smoked and perfectly crisped. This is also a great place to go with friends to watch sports and have some drinks. There are many tvs so it's just an added bonus that they offer great food too. I haven't ventured too far out of the menu but I cannot recommend the wings and nachos enough. read more

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Went during Blink because we were in the area. Not impressed with the salad. It was presented in a cardboard container that was rounded so every time you went to get some with your fork the container would tip over. It was really tiny also. read more

Smoke Justis - Cobb Salad - Bars Near Me - Covington, Kentucky

I brought my family visiting from out of town to Smoke Justis because I had heard such great things about it. A game was on so we could hardly hear each other, but that's understandable. However, when the food came, I had to spit it out. I was nauseous. Everyone at the table was disgusted by what had been brought to us. The fries were sort of okay. The only part of the experience that made us relieved to be there was a waitress with black hair. I think her name was Amber. She was phenomenal. I would go back just to have her as my waitress and just order fries. read more

Went there to get dinner/watch rest of SNF game and continue The B-Line passport.The food and place were great! The bartender was able to do a half brisket grilled cheese to eat there and then half to go...so points on that! What was TERRIBLE was the drunk I had to deal with (Jason)!! He kept on loudly wanting music to be back on, stating that the only thing going over the speaker was the sports commentary/plays...LA Rams vs Philadelphia Eagles! Also, loudly repeating commercials that came across the TV (Arby's "we have the meats"!). Had to be a local/regular/owner (shame if it is) because the staff was trying to keep him quiet and he kept on trying to get another shot/drink, which they said no (good for them) I was going to stay and finish my drink and watch the game, but I had had enough! Most likely NEVER coming back! read more

Great food, very tasty and friendly wait staff. We came in on a Sunday right after a Reds game, so be prepared to wait for a table or for your food to arrive. Their beer selection is pretty big. The portions for BBQ seemed a bit small but the taste made up for it. Highly recommend the pulled pork or the smoked sausage. Cornbread was amazing. read more

Smoke Justis - 1 Meat Plate: pulled pork with cornbread, coleslaw and BBQ baked beans. - Bars Near Me - Covington, Kentucky

The physical facility is awesome, great dining area, bar, tons of TV for watching sports. The staff was attentive and friendly. The food was awful, if you want atmosphere and good drink / beer selection, just stick with standard bar food. The BBQ was very bad. Ribs were black, dry and crusty. Pulled chicken was unrecognizable. Pulled pork was bland, dry, very little smoke flavor. Sides were average at best, mac and cheese, baked beans, out of a can no doubt. The fries were shoe string, limp and very oily. The server did take off one order of ribs as our companion complained. I would NOT recommend this place to friends, probably not to people I don't consider friends either :). read more

Of course they had good whiskey, it's Kentucky but the staff were amazing! Also the smoked wings were a highlight as well as I had never had anything like it. I'm definitely coming back read more

Some great barbecue in Cincy! Got the Smoked Meat Plate with chicken, and it was cooked great! The smoky flavor wasn't too strong, and while I had doubts about their barbecue sauce by the way it looked, it turned out to be very sweet and savory. Most of all, it went well with the chicken, Mac and cheese, and fries! The Mac and cheese and fries were both very good as well, can't complain! They also have great deals on their whiskeys and bourbons, including half off on their Stag when we went in. The bartenders are very sweet as well, and the overall ambiance at their bar is super friendly. read more

Smoke Justis - Bars Near Me - Covington, Kentucky

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I've been here twice now. First time I would have given 4 stars, but this time the food was poor. The first visit the brisket was very good, nice and moist and tender. This visit was the worst brisket I've had in a very long time. Dry as a board and had to use a lot of force with a knife to cut. I would give it negative stars. The ribs were okay but very fatty. Mac and cheese was lukewarm and dry, as if it had been out on the counter for a couple hours. I currently have a stomach ache as well which certainly makes me question how long the brisket was out as well. Will not be back. read more

Smoke Justis - Dry brisket - Bars Near Me - Covington, Kentucky

Great service. Delicious food. I had the Mac and cheese with pulled pork. It was almost too much. It would probably feed 2 people. The prices are reasonable for the area. Probably need to come back - it's that good. read more

We found this spot on Yelp and saw a great bourbon selection, so we had to check it out. Wow at the selection and the food was great too. They have yummy cocktails and all the bourbons you love. We enjoyed it so much that we went the next night and invited a friend that fell in love with the place, too. read more

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