There seems to be some tough reviews here, mostly due to the service. Since I've only come in here for carry out, I can't speak to the service. I always get a full rack of baby backs and walk away satisfied. I may need a blindfold test to see if I like Red Hot Blue or Famous Dave or Smokey Bones better. I think I may give Famous Dave the edge. They have a smokier flavor with larger sides. But since this is the only real BBQ place in Bowie, I usually come here for my baby backs. read more

Smokey Bones - Barbeque Near Me - Bowie, Maryland

So I used to come here as a kid so I knew it was an okay place. My boyfriend had never been here and we were reading the reviews and I was a little scared to bring him here! But we went and it was actually pretty good. They have updated their menus and friendly staff. I will definitely come back to Smokey Bones again! The Ribs are so good! Some items are a little pricey but other then that you should definitely come! read more

Not a fan, read why!! I have went here on two different occasions over the past two years. I was hoping the second time I went back, everything would have been better. But it wasn't! Service We we quickly seated (which was a plus). The server came out to greet us, and from here it was down hill. The didn't have certain items available that were on the menu (i.e. mashed potatoes). The waitress was polite to some degree, but was horrible at returning to check on the table to make sure the food was okay. In regards to refills, you better finish your meal off with your saliva. It was hard to grab the waitress's attention to get a new drink. Food The food was fairly decent for the establishment. I have not complaints about the food. I had a smoked wing, which were okay. Nothing spectacular. The ribs were okay as well. Once again nothing spectacular. I would not recommend going here unless you sit at the bar and just want a drink.. read more

If I could give a zero after this visit, I would. First of all, they don't believe in having hosts/hostesses on duty evidently. You just stand there and watch all the other employees avoid eye contact while they play hot potato with their responsibilities. Secondly, they give you this afterhours menu that pretty much has a handful of things. Then you sit in the bar area and the wait staff is equally oblivious. HELLO?????? CUSTOMER SERVICE PEOPLE? Why stay open after hours if you don't want to have customers? read more

I only gave this place 4 stars because I didn't try the food but the service here is immaculate. After driving from Cali to MD I've seen it all and when I came here it was like a breath of fresh air. Veria & Ryan were the most helpful and patient people I've seen in the service industry. read more

So I want to start with I can not make this review up. I work in customer service and I am big on it. I will pay for great customer service and okay food. However, this was not the case, my friend and I waited fifteen minutes. After flagging a busboy to get my drink and appetizers. Out food came thirty minutes later. After waiting an hour, we got the manger to get my friend her Sangria, she had placed this order when we first Sat down. Overall there customer service is horrible. read more

This place is one of those places that you just have to go and visit yourself you can't really allow someone to tell you about you have to experience it you'll love it read more

Pros - great for watching the game, funny sexual innuendos all over the walls, good place to get drunk if you have wads of money. Cons - loud people watching the game, not family appropriate sexual innuendos all over the walls, drunks amidst the bars, slow/incompetent workers. Summary - Great for chilling young adults wasting life away, bad for people who want to eat, leave, or bring a family. read more

Food was great and service was exceptional. loved our server Amber was super attentive and super sweet.

A serious disappointment. I ordered the pulled chicken cobb salad. It was mostly iceberg lettuce,was missing the avocado completely, and the scant cold chicken looked like it was a few days old. The wait was especially long, too,but unfortunately not worth it. read more

Smokey Bones - This is the chicken that came on my salad. I couldn't even eat it. - Barbeque Near Me - Bowie, Maryland

I've been sitting at the bar now for approximately 20 minutes now and no one has yet to acknowledge my presence. The bartender (red dreads) has conversed with the two ladies next to me for at least 10 minutes, looked at me, and walked away. I had to asked "can I could" for my presence to be acknowledged. Even now, I still have not been served. The service here is the worst. I should have went to the seafood restaurant next door. read more

Smokey Bones - Barbeque Near Me - Bowie, Maryland

Yea not that great, I've had better and made better. I had, I guess what you call a steak salad, not very appetizing. The dry rub chicken is OK, but again I've had better. The ribs aren't anything to write home about, I guess this why I'm writing this review. Look if you want some good barbecue check out Mission Barbecue, everything is well seasoned and very tasty. Sorry Smokey it's a no for me. read more

This place drives me nuts. It's right around the corner and my husband and his brother always want to go here because it's cheap and they like bbq. I think the food is completely mediocre, the mixed drinks are not great and the service is HORRIBLE. We always sit at the bar and even as regulars, the servers don't pay much attention. One time I ordered the cornbread and just watched it sit on the kitchen window and they never brought it. Last time I was there I ordered a salad with a different kind of dressing because I am on a special diet. I got the salad and ate half of it before I realized they had put BOTH dressings on it. Awesome. NOT. One of my biggest pet peeves about these places that have a lot of TV's in them and put up signs and specials for football and other sports....can we please have the sports audio? I don't want to listen to shitty music when the game is on. There are absolutely NO good sports bars in the area. Most of the time you have to ask them to put a game on. Sometimes the news is on! read more

This place is among the worst. The food is ok, but it takes way too long and every time I've been there, the servers were either nowhere to be found or never brought out the things we needed. The last time we waited about 40 minutes for food which was cold, but we didn't even have silverware and had to wait another 15 minutes to even see the server to ask. I'm sure this doesn't happen EVERY time and with every server, but after 3 bad experiences, I can definitely say it's not worth going back. read more

I've been coming here for years now and I will say this: the food is consistently good. The smoked wings don't even need sauce, the turkey burger is bomb.com, and the sides are always on point. Alas, what the yelpers are saying is true, I've never gotten good service from this establishment. On more than one occasion I've walked in and have not been greeted; hosts are standing around talking amongst themselves - no acknowledgement. UM HELLO!! YOU WORK HERE, SEAT ME PLEASE. This was my favorite hole in the wall to grab something to eat from but the last visit really took the cake. * We walked up to the restaurant and was greeted outside by a woman in a pinstriped button up smoking a cigarette (please tell me you're just friendly and don't work here) * We get inside and sit. No acknowledgement per usual but I flag a to-go girl down and have her seat us * Our server takes entirely way too long to greet us (I've been waitressing for 5+ years, I'm a super stickler for this) he takes our drink orders and flies away. I order a French martini for myself and a Bombay and tonic for my boyfriend. * The woman in the pinstriped button up DOES work there. She's management. I'm appalled. There are plenty of other places to take your smoke break besides the front of the restaurant IM SURE OF IT. * Our server never comes back. Some random girl brings my boyfriend his Bombay and tonic and saunters away. HUH? How did I order both drinks and only one comes out? At this point I immediately pull out my phone and time how long it takes them to bring me my drink. * 8 minutes later (after I've already pretty much destroyed my food) another girl comes over and asks, "Did you get your martini love"? I shake my head no, and she trots off and brings it back * My martini had been sitting on the back bar alone and by itself for 8 minutes. By the time it gets to me, it's sweating and old looking. No froth, no freshness. Just old and stale, with sweat running down the sides. I'm furious. I promptly call over the manager, who apologized and makes us two fresh drinks. * At this point I'm ready to go. Our server was nowhere to be found throughout the entire ordeal and he wasn't even busy. My boyfriend had to flag him down to bring our check and he never offered an apology or an excuse. This place has the potential to be better. I suggest revamping the restaurant and hiring more enthusiastic staff. read more

They were out of everything. We came to the area for Jerry's but they were closed for a private party. We sat down here and another patron said " don't even try, they are out of everything" And they were. We had 2 Grey Goose drinks, ordered a third, but no. No Ciroc, the bottle was empty Looks like Kettle One or Absolut. The food was mediocre at best. Go to Jerry's or Rips. read more

Improving!! When this place first opened it was very good. Then it went completely downhill. We've been inside once for dine in at the end of 2020 and carry out twice in 2021. The food has gotten so much better. I just had the best salmon salad ever. Very fresh salad & salmon was perfect. I will be ordering again for sure. read more

The food is good and they have yummy drinks. We usually sit at the bar and the bartenders are all efficient and friendly. The only reason I didn't give SB a 5 rating is because they don't serve beef until late in the afternoon. read more

45 minute wait for a table on a Saturday night. No big deal. 30 minute wait to receive food. Fine. Cold side dish. Not OK. read more

If I could give this place 0 stars I would. I visited on Saturday May 10th and had the worst restaurant experience I have had in a long time. Before heading over, I called and asked if they had any current specials. I was informed Happy Hour food and drink specials start at 6pm. Upon entering I was welcomed by a horrific smell, what smelled like raw sewage backing up. I should have exercised common sense and left. However I decided to give a try anyways and was sat in the bar area by the hostess so I could take part in the Happy Hour. Our waiter was bottom of the barrel. He took almost 15 minutes to greet us at our table, even though the restaurant was not very busy. I asked the server what specials were being offered and it went downhill fast. He told me there were no specials, and rudely interrupted me and walked off when I politely explained to him what I was told before. After 30 minutes had passed we still did not even have water brought to our table. The waiter then passed by our table and I asked to speak with the manager. The waiter continued to do his own thing and never got the manager. I had to get up and find the manager. We left and will never come back. There are far too many awesome restaurant choices in the area to go to this cesspool. read more

This place is good for a group of friends/family to watch a sporting event but not so great for a good meal. It is kind of a divey place in a bad way. It is not completely dirty but definitely not clean. The carpet is in dire need of replacement and the walls are in need of fresh paint or a scrubbing. The overall feeling is just Grimey! The sides are horrible. Some people may enjoy soggy broccoli and under baked, baked potatoes but I don't. The smoked turkey breast was extremely dry and needed the whole bottle of BBQ sauce to overcome the dryness. The BBQ chicken however was pretty good. It was tender and juicy. They did allow me to switch my soggy broccoli with roasted corn which was not good either. BTW they take pride in serving their broccoli soggy. The only way I will end up spending my money here again is if I'm attending a gathering to watch a sporting event and even then I will only order adult beverages. Did I mention the broccoli was soggy??? read more

My family enjoys their smoked wings, the mega nachos (with chicken, cheese, jalapeños, and all kinds of toppings), and the shareable app with smoked wings, fried pickles, bacon cheese fries and nachos. Constantly delicious and always on-time (unlike other places where you arrive at the instructed pickup time and still have to wait). Customer service is a positive experience as well with professional and accommodating employees. Their fresh brewed sweet tea is lovely, with a balanced amount of sugar. Their burgers are well prepared and tasty and the kids meals are substantial. Ribs are 'okay' but I'm not a big rib person so don't read negatively into my rating. Smile! Lots of folks order them so I'm guessing they are rated highly. Overall you should give this location a try. I ordered from them a few years ago and didn't enjoy the food. It wasn't until my daughter told me to give them another chance about a year ago and I've been a fan since. If you like well smoked wings (even without the brown sugar sauce, which BTW is pretty amazing), this is the place to go. You won't be sorry. read more

First, the food here is pretty good. The issue with this place is bad waitstaff and an under stocked kitchen. I ordered Mac and cheese and got chicken tenders. They were out of everything and didn't tell customers until after you sat and placed the order. read more

Ate here in a hurry. Was seated promptly. Bar was nice, many televisions. Waitress was extremely kind and helpful. Food was above average for a chicken Caesar and iced tea. Will go back because it is convenient. Went back. Second time the bar service (because the place was packed) was pretty bad. There isn't much service here, and once you get it, it's very rude. It's like we're not supposed to be there. Whatever! Food is decent. Iced tea tasted worse and I didn't get a refill, but they were happy to take my glass away. read more

Service was great! Had the crowd pleaser app very yummy. Had the first salad listed. It was a side salad and loaded baked potato with either beef brisket in top or pulled pork. I had it with the brisket. The brisket was very fatty. The ranch salad dressing was warm. $6 for a pitcher of bud light. Had a $10 off coupon and no issue using it on a Friday night. read more

Smokey Bones - Loaded bakes potato with beef brisket on top and side salad - Barbeque Near Me - Bowie, Maryland

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Ok, disclaimer. Me and my husband are 60 year olds in 30 yr old something bodies. We went to a late lunch on a Saturday at approximately 4pm. Therefore, no lunch crowd and no night crowd; walked in and were seated right away. Our type of establishment! We were asked if we would prefer a regular table or a high table in the bar area. That's nice they even gave us an option, so we opted for the bar area because of all of the TVs. Lots of TVs everywhere where no matter where you are seated, you are able to view at least 2-3 at an easy glance, then another additional 3-4 if your turn to look at the main tv's above the bar. May I also mention they had the college Cheerleading competition on?!?! THAT deserves a STAR on its on coming from a former competitive cheerleader (spirit fingers!!!!). Everytime something tight was done by the team, I would exclaim, "ooooo!! Watch this watch this!" Way to turn the tables this time around!!!!! Ha!! Ok. Now to the important parts: Service: not sure what her name was, but she was pleasant and did give me a good margarita recommendation. She was attentive enough to make sure we were taken care of without being all up in our space. The mgr even came around and asked how things were, which I always like. Next important topic: FOOD. Ehhhhh. Mediocre. This place is a BBQ joint, so as it is my first time here, I got some type of BBQ. I got the brisket sandwich that's like a Philly cheesesteak. Ehhh. I wish I could say more,but I can't. My husband got a burger. He says it was okay too. He really liked the baked beans. If you want a chain type BBQ, I would prefer Famous Daves. Anyway. The highlight of my visit was the non-packed restaurant, cheerleading on the tv, and a nice waitress who knows a good drink. We would come back just to avoid going to Bowie Town Center for lunch. read more

Heather at the bowie location is an excellent server. She is attentive and a forward thinker..... she knows what you need before you do. Hire more heather likes Give her a raise so she will not leave anytime soon. Her service is worth it read more

The food is good. My 2 star rating is for customer service; management in particular. Over the past few years this location has gradually been going down hill. We ate at the bar and they had no draft beer because the co2 line was broken. In addition, they were out of certain food items and when we placed a to-go order, they informed us that they did not have lids for the sides so they had to use saran wrap. I really felt sorry for the bartender because he had to tell people this. While he was explaining to me what was going on, the manager on duty started making chuckle noises; I guess in an attempt to drown him out. The manager then tells the bartender that it's not his fault because it was another manager's job to order the truck. Whether the manager was joking or not, you don't do that when an employee is talking to a customer. Instead the manager should have apologized for any inconvenience. Needless to say I will not go back to this location. read more

I wanted to like this place just because the name is very cool. However, the food is definitely not as good as the name. I ordered a create your own combo with sliced smoked turkey breast, smoked beef brisket, fire-roasted corn, mashed potatoes & brown gravy. This sounds like a really good meal. However, you know the meal was bad/sub-par when the best thing you ate was the corn. Smokey Bones gets two stars only for the drink specials and the fact that they have a lot of TV's for game watching. read more

We stopped coming to Smokey Bones a few years ago because service was awful, never a problem with the food. Gave it a chance today around 5 pm. Didn't have high hopes, but we were pleasantly surprised. The smoked wings were delicious. My son loved the kids Mac and cheese. The appetizer (pretzel bones) came out just 2-3 minutes before our meal but other than that we had a good experience during this visit. read more

I enjoyed their 2/3 of a rack of ribs combo. I wish they would offer dry rubs also but their sauce was very good

I ordered chicken wings and fried green tomatoes online. They both were horrible. The wings were tasteless and the sauce was disgusting. They only gave me 3 slices of fried green tomatoes. But I did not care because they also had no flavor. Needless to say, I will never patronize this establishment again. I wish I were able to give 0 stars. read more

Went here on a Friday night around 7p.m with a party of 7. Place was pretty empty and we were seated immediately. Our waitress was friendly enough, but as a waitress she less than mediocre. Drinks sat empty for long periods of time, multiple times she forgot things and it took two or three times to get it right. She kept disappearing, and rarely came to the table. The food was brought out by someone else and she never bothered to see how everything was or if we needed anything. For the most part everyone was satisfied with their food. The SouthWestern Scorcher wasn't even remotely spicy/hot. I had the smoked wings, with added sweet brown sugar sauce. Not a fan. Something about a dry rub and wings just doesn't work out well. Also, there was the random man who wandered throughout the restaurant the entire time we were there. It was so strange, he just kept walking around and staring at tables, but never stopped to say anything to anyone. We were there for over an hour, and he did it the whole time. We saw him go into the kitchen once, so we're assuming he was some sort of manager, but the vibe he was giving off was a no-go. Really, this place just loses stars because of the service. If that could be corrected, it would be pretty decent. read more

Waited 20 min for server to show up and he did not have a clue how to take a order. Never once did a manager come by to Check how our food and service was like every other chain does. When we got our food the server never once asked how are food was or ask if we wanted refills on our drinks. I should have looked at yelp reviews first. Corporate needs to come to this place and do a clean sweep. Only reason I give two stars in food was hot and decent. Also no soap or paper towels in bathroom. How do employes practice correct hygiene standards?? read more

Worst place I have ever eaten. I would rather eat at the Navy chow hall again. I wish I could give it 0 stars! The "chicken" looked like it was spam and the broccoli tasted rotten. DO NOT EAT HERE!!! Save your money!! read more

Smokey Bones - The "chicken" - Barbeque Near Me - Bowie, Maryland

Very good food and atmosphere. The staff can use with a little more urgency to help their guests...but all around very good. We went a little after lunch and the place was not busy so I expected a bit more attention from the staff. I recommend trying this place out. read more

Haven't even been seated yet and I already feel compelled to write a crappy review! Waiting an hour, but was told there was a 30-minute wait. When we inquired as to our status, we were told that they were not seating because THEY RAN OUT OF PLATES. There are currently 6-7 vacant booths. My assumption is that they don't have enough staff. This is strange because we have watched (for an hour) 3-4 lobby dwellers/employees that seem to have nothing to do. They chat, take a name, chat...and inform that there are no plates. Ridiculous! Pay a dishwasher! Food is usually good, but the service has declined over the years. I have never felt it was worth waiting for...but understood a Saturday night crowd and caved in. Super bad idea! Unfortunately, poorly trained staff and a poorly run organization is usually the direct result of poor leadership! Fire the manager now...and start fresh with the staff. read more

Good food good serve. Not so big portions. I was a little taken back by this. I had the salmon. Good but small along with my sides. Great atmosphere people ect. read more

If you are familiar with this chain, then you generally know what you are in for with the BBQ theme carried throughout the menu from the ribs to the sandwiches. The food quality is decent, their ribs are acceptable, but I have had better. If you are a doughnut fan, the Hot Bag 'O Donuts is a good desert that comes with two nice side dipping sauces. There are several drink specials, including a rotating brand 22oz. beer special for $3.25. Cheap mixed, and strait-up drinks make for an inexpensive add-on to a meal or a good happy-hour hangout. The Bones Brew is an in-house beer that resembles Yuengling in price and quality that makes for a nice inexpensive option if you are not into the traditional Bud/Miller/Coors fare. My biggest complaint about this location is the service. I have gone a few times and the service is always slow, and most times the waiter/waitress has an apathetic tone when interacting with me. When something bad happens, they are quick to apologize and offer free drinks or appetizers, but more effort at being pleasant and welcoming is definitely needed. If you can accept the less-than-stellar service, it makes for a solid dinner and a good place to take in a sporting event on the televisions over the bar. read more

A few co-workers and I decided to meet at Smokey Bones for Happy Hour this Friday. The three of them arrived about 10 minutes before I did, so imagine my surprise when they didn't have any drinks, and actually, hadn't seen a server yet. We waited 5 more minutes, then went to the hostess stand to see if we were supposed to go to the bar for service since we're a a high-top. We waited 5 more minutes, a server stopped at our table and said "has anyone been here yet?" We answered, "no," and she kept walking. At this point, we were already looking on our phones for a different restaurant. After a few more minutes, we were out the door. At the table behind us, a gentleman had to return his meal because something was wrong with it. He got his plate back about 5 minutes later, and immediately went to go find his server because it was still wrong. This was a very disappointing experience because I've been here before and really enjoyed it, but after this visit, I will never go back, and neither will my companions. read more