I'll make this short. The first time that I went there the food was really quite good. The meat fell right off the bones of the full rack of ribs that I ordered. The side dishes were good too. The second time that I went ( two weeks later ) I had one of the worst rack of ribs in my life. It was fatty and really chewy. I had to use a knife with quite a bit of force to get the meat off. The sides were alright though ( mashed potatoes and corn ). I don't plan on returning. read more

Awful service, wrong food brought to table, inattentive wait staff, cold dishes, rest room not maintained

It all starts with whom ever is serving you and in the "customer service" business there are some people not cut out for it. That being said, our waiter should look for something he is happy about doing.....My friend and I looked over the menu and asked about a "variation" of one of the items...The response was, "you get what you see" in a sarcastic tone. So we ordered our food and an appetizer. The onion rings came out fast and were not that bad, they were crispy and not over cooked. We waited over a half an hour for the other food to come and the place was not busy at all. My friends chicken tacos were sub-pare with cold chicken. The sauce (guacamole?) that came with it was old and tasted funky. We had no time to re-order as we had a 2:00 meeting 15 mins away. (we came in just before 1:00) So that was not an option. My pulled pork was ok however greasy (as I read in another review) and no real smoked flavor like a slow roasted pork butt should taste like. The sliced chicken I ordered as an extra meat was dry and not that warm, fries were limp...Don't you hate limp fries!? I do not know why it came so late as it should have take 5-7 minutes for the prep of our meals and like I said they were not busy at all. Joshua (our waiter) you really need to find something in life you like to do, I (we) do not think customer service is where it's at for you. Both my friend, and I travel every week for work and have been doing it for a long time....when in town we will not be back here. In all fairness we did not bring the issues up as we were cramped for time because of the long time to get our meals....my friend did say to our waiter that we were in a hurry after waiting 20 minutes with no food. read more

the food is good! the service aspect of this place is definitely the draw back!! stopped in for lunch today and the service was pretty much a let down.. went thirsty, took forever read more

Went there yesterday to get something to eat after work. It was extremely packed. Still got seated quick! I was actually shocked by that. The waiter was on point, food came quick, refills were right on time as well. No complaints at all to be honest. If you're in the Eastwood shopping center and want a bite to eat you can't go wrong! read more

Smokey Bones isn't all that bad ..Just don't compare it to anything on Beale Street in Memphis ....Have ate there 4 times service has always been fast and the bartenders great . Have tried the chicken and the ribs nothing to write home about but the sides were good . Good selection of domestic drafts..... read more

The first time I came here, I ordered the fish and chips. Big mistake. It was cold when it came out, took forever to get to me and it tasted like reheated freezer fries, no - those are a little better. Nevertheless, I told them the food was horrible and I got something from the grill. DON'T GET ANYTHING ELSE. The food from the grill was good, but that's probably why this place is still in business. read more

Ribs were just warm enough to eat. Way over priced experience. Only redeeming part of our dinner was the Fried Pickles.

We went to Smokey Bones Sat. We were seated quickly, and the waitress took our order. 40 minutes later our food showed up. We all had Baby backed ribs. They were well done and tough. we sent them back and were replaced with them with the same over done ribs. We came in back in March . Had the same issue. The restaurant was only 1/2 full. I guess this place only likes to over cook their ribs. There are way too many other good restaurants that offer better ribs than this place. My suggestion is if you are hungry for ribs , DO NOT come here. The management does not seem to care about the food or staff. read more

I've eaten here several times due to meetings. First, the service here is great! I've never had a bad experience! Now for the food. Sigh. I wanted to like this place. I love BBQ. I'm from TN and I've eaten BBQ all across the country and moving to Lansing has meant a search for good BBQ. The BBQ here is awful. The pulled pork is greasy (though at least they don't drown it in sauce). The brisket was just horrible - over cooked and drowned in sauce (who serves brisket already tossed in sauce?). The baby back ribs taste steamed not smoked. The St. Louis style ribs are the closest to OK, but even they need some sort of sauce and I really prefer dry ribs to wet. Also, I don't think they understand the point of dry rub. You don't cook the ribs, put on sauce and then sprinkle dry rub on top of the sauce. You rub the ribs and then cook them. Sigh. This place is just not good BBQ. The sweet potato fries are great as are the cooked apples. The cute little doughnuts were also quite tasty. Really, if you stick to the salads, grilled chicken, etc., this place is great, but then what really is the point of going to a BBQ restaurant if you are going to do that? read more

Nothing special. The food was a bit heavy and a little too greasy. I had a brisket sandwich. It was ok, but I wouldn't come here again if I wanted to. Think of this place like a BBQ Chili's or an Applebee's. read more

The food was awesome. We had the pulled pork and the BBQ ribs. The best I have ever had. I am picky about my coleslaw and that was amazing to. The server Mercedes was one of the best servers that has ever waited on my family. She was very attentive and super sweet. She talked with us like we were apart of her family. This place is awesome!!! read more

Really good food but the service is extremely slow. I've gone for lunch twice and it took at least 1.5 hours, and the restaurant wasn't that busy. The Mac and Cheese is delicious, as is the pulled pork. My friends love the pretzel sticks as an appetizer. read more

LOVE coming here for lunch, dinner, dessert - everything! Staff are so friendly, and food is delicious. Management always is present and double checking to make sure our visit is THE best! read more

Great service good burger, and the Brunswick stew awesome, good atmosphere, don't treat it as BBQ joint its just a good place to eat.

I had the pulled pork, baked potato and cole slaw. All was delicious and service was great and super fast! Will definitely be coming back when craving BBQ! read more

Been to many times and each time was better than the last! The staff is great, the location is great and most importantly the food is even greater! We tell everyone how great this place is! read more

This wasn't our first visit to Smokey Bones but it will be our last. Took our granddaughter there for dinner and she had the smoked wings. She had eaten 2 of them before she said, "EW, this has feathers on it!". I looked and sure enough there were feathers on several of the wings. When the waiter came by to check on us we showed him the feathers and he said, "yeah that happens". He then said he'd tell the manager. When we got our bill we saw that they had taken $4 off the total. If they are that blasé about chickens not being properly cleaned then what else are they serving to their guests that you can't see? This was totally unacceptable and not once did our waiter or the manager come over to apologize. We all lost our appetites. read more

I took a friend visiting east Lansing for the first time to there, just because I thought it's a classy place with good food. Well the food was fine (so I give one star) but the young lady who was set to serve us was terrible! She didn't greet us at all, looked like trying hard to avoid any eye contact, turning her head other way when we were deciding. When we ordered something, she even didn't wait for us to finish and rudely walked away!!! We ordered margarita and she came back with something in regular glasses. My friend asked her what is this? And she rudely responded that this is the cheapest margarita we have!!! I saw my friend blushed and said did we ever say we want the cheapest? And I told her you have to let us know that you have different margaritas, so we can choose! And she walked away!!!! I don't know if she was tired or just hated us because we were brown or what! By the way, we talked to the manager and he assigned another servant to us who was way better and we appreciate that. But I don't feel like I want to go there again, I had enough embarrassment when my friend told me "next time I will find a place to eat in east Lansing"!!! read more

I had the 32 oz. ribeye and it was fantastic!! Lightly smoked and grilled to perfection! Crispy crust with a juicy center! Staff was amazing!! Overall fantastic experience and would recommend anyone to go!! read more

Awful! Worst pulled pork we ever had. Not a fresh salad. Our first time here and our last.

Well the prices for what you get are horrendous we got the fish and it was nice portions but very greasy and hard to take on the stomache. The service was mediocre at best but can be explained by the fact they charge you 18% on your bill no work or quality just great rewards.For 5 adults and 3 kids she made 35.00 for an hour thats just 1 table who needs to show consideration,getting their money does not depend on quality.Now I am sick from old nasty grease on top of it.Will not return for sure read more

Pretty good food for such a big menu. Great drink menu. Best part about this business is the service! Tara the bartender is so friendly and attentive. We love this place. read more

Ordered a rare burger,ask the waiter if I could get it red inside,he said yes.First burger was well done and dry.showed waiter and he agreed and brought me 2nd burger .that was unevenly cooked ,well done except for 1/4 of the edge on one side.I decided to eat it as the group of ladies I was with were almost done and I was hungry.Waiter did not check on how 2nd burger was for over 10 minutes (working as a server thru college I would of checked when I dropped it off),.Manger came over as we were finishing up and said he was sorry ,meat has to be tempered and that he will have to check out his grill to see if it was calibrated correctly. Paid for the less than mediocre burger,manager made no attempt to correct or offer an adjustment. We waited for the food for almost an hour and it was't busy(should of joined the people who dined elsewhere) .Would not come back or recommend it. Try Meats in Old Town or any of the other eateries and you'll have a much better experience. read more

I visited the location on Lake Lansing Rd. on Memorial Day, and I was very disappointed with the food. Upon bringing my food which was minutes after I ordered the waitress shared that the meat was cooked earlier, and just had to be put on the grill to "make it yummy". My two side dishes were hot but both my ribs and brisket were cold. I ate my veggies, and put a request in for the waitress to come to return to the table, and when she came I told her about my meat being cold, and she said that she would take it back. Not only was the meat extremely cold, and not the acceptable temperature to be served as a hot dish it tasted funny, and I told that to the waitress. When she returned with the meat she apologized, and said that the manager would come by to speak with me, but she never came to my table. Almost immediately after tasting the food I asked for a to go box so that I could just leave, and the waitress brought one. She did apologize for the food not being up to standard, but the thing is: 1. meat has to be at least 165 degrees when served at any public restaurant or kitchen, and I could touch it with a bare finger and not feel heat, 2. the manager should have come to at least ensure that a customer was satisfied with the replacement food, 3. a person who is paying for a slightly costly meal does not want to have their food served or eaten in sections! I will not be coming back to this location the one in Grand Rapids is much better! read more