Took the family here a few weeks ago. I have eaten here a few times when I'm in town on business. Place was almost empty. The waitstaff was hugely inattentive, we could see them standing and talking to each other while our food sat on the pass for several minutes. It took us 10 minutes to get our drink order in, then another 5 to get them. Then the waiter brought us our appetizer and disappeared for almost ten minutes before getting our actual entree order. Other customers were visibly frustrated, but we tried to give them the benefit of the doubt before we saw them standing at the pass just chatting and never checking on us when food came to see if we needed anything. We waited almost 20 minutes after we finished eating before we could even get our check (which you guessed it, took a long time to get even after we asked for it twice). I think next time I in town I'll be recommending another location to eat to my colleagues. read more

Well some places are better to dine in and some are better for takeout and Smokey bones seems to be one of those added to my list of better dine in! I place an order to be delivered, a fairly large order! first I get called and told that they where out of steaks and that they needed to replace it with something else and no matter what I suggested I was turned down. My order was delivered with two entrees missing so I call again and was then told they would make it again but I had to come and get it! The manager who I was talking to had an attitude and was still giving me an attitude! And only after arguing with him over these multiple mistakes did he agree to discount my order and my son went to pick up the missing items! And wouldn't you know it, one of the meals was missing it's sides..what a nightmare read more

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I wouldn't waste your time or money here. I had the brisket chili. The bowl was very hot, the chili was almost cold. They forgot to add the brisket part of the chili. It did have a bunch of not fully cooked kidney beans. I guess beans are cheaper than brisket. The salt content was the only spice I could taste. I suppose salt is cheaper than chili seasonings. The portion size was pathetic for $8.49 price. read more

Don't even try it ...... after 4 years since last visit nothing has changed there is nothing more than I can say ! food less than sub par wait times to get food you may as well pack a lunch-sad really not sure how they stay in business read more

I am writing this review in hopes something will be done about the experience my wife, child and myself experienced at your restaurant. We used to be regulars at your restaurant and enjoy our experience each time we ate there. However, as of late the quality of service, food and overall experience has greatly diminished, which is unfortunate. The purpose of this email is to inform you of our experience on February 4th, 2023. When we first arrived at the restaurant, there was no host at the stand. People were standing in the waiting area waiting to be greeted. While we waited for "someone" to acknowledge us, numerous other couples came in behind us and left due to no one being at the host stand. We waited approximately 10 minutes before a person gingerly strolled up to the host stand and greeted us. We were told it would be 30 mins for a wait. While we waited another 6 couples came in and left due to no host being at the stand to greet them. When it was time for us to be seated, we were taken to our booth and sat down. When the waitress walked up to the table, she did not introduce herself, rather she just said "I'll be taking care of this table, as if we were a number or cattle to move through a section" We started off with an appetizer (6 smoked wings) and I decided to go ahead and ordered my child's meal so that it could come out with the appetizer. When I tried to explain this to the waitress she rudely walked about while I was talking with her. I would like to point out the restaurant was NOT busy at all. There was maybe 20 tables in the entire restaurant. Typically an appetizer would take anywhere from 5 -10 mins depending on what you ordered. We waited an outstanding 22 mins and 39 seconds for the appetizer to come to the table along with my child's meal. She ordered the mac and cheese w/ applesauce. Well, that is not what came out. She got the mac and cheese and French fries came out with her food. The waitress stated she would be right back with the applesauce. While my child ate her mac and cheese she kept asking where her applesauce was. We kept asking the waitress for it and apparently our table was not important enough to be cared over. I had to get up from my seat and get everything we needed from napkins, ketchup and A1. This is ridiculous considering we came to a restaurant to have a good experience away from stress. The smoked wings have really lost their appeal and were burnt and came out with blue cheese dressing instead of ranch. We did not complain because we waiting 22 mins for an appetizer. My wife and I both ordered hamburgers, her was supposed to be med-well and mine was well. I have worked, and managed restaurants before and typically on a non-busy day two hamburgers should take no longer than 20 mins. We waited 57 mins for our burgers!!! This is beyond neglectful, our waitress was more concerned with other tables and I want to point out during that 57 mins my child still did not get her applesauce. She even asked the waitress when she came over to the table and she ignored my child and walked away. It took my asking her for a 4th time about the applesauce for it to be finally delivered to the table. The hamburgers were subpar, flavorless and did not have that "pow" they usually do. I would compare their flavor to that of McDonalds. My wife's fries were burnt and her burger was not cooked to order. She did not complain because we already waited almost an hour for 2 burgers!! Smokey Bones really dropped the ball on this visit and it was not worth our time or money. I promised my child dessert after her meal but after being at the restaurant for about 2 hours she was tired and ready to go home. This is beyond ridiculous! Something really needs to be done about the service and quality of food Smokey Bones is putting out. read more

I always try to stop here while passing by Roanoke on 81 while traveling. I ordered the smoked wings with slaw and roasted corn. My wife ordered the BBQ lunch special. Both meals were excellent as expected. We would go more often but there is no Smokey Bones where we live in Richmond. Service is foo too. read more

Smokey Bones - 8 Smoked Wing Meal and bbq lunch - Barbeque Near Me - Roanoke, Virginia

Good food, great service. Close to the airport too for a quick bite. Service was excellent

Heard positive reviews for this restaurant which prompted my wife and me to dine in for a special occasion over the weekend. Understandably so, it was busy, but to their credit, the amount of time we were told we would have to wait was very accurate. Our time from ordering to appetizer was nicely efficient, so no subtractions there. My only complaints stem from quality of service and quality of food for the price point. We were not informed of kitchen outages up front, so after a few minutes deliberating over the menu, my first choice entree was out. I chose a backup entree, but I was not overly impressed with it. It was a bbq sampler with chicken, bbq pork, and a 1/3 rack of ribs. The food was decent, but the price point did not reflect the quality of food I anticipated or received. Normally, I would have ordered a steak, but the price points for their plain steaks were surprisingly high for a bbq joint. If it were a specialized steakhouse I would understand the price point, but not at Smokey Bones. In summary, the service was not well thought out, and we really only saw our server a couple of times throughout the night. The food was acceptable fare, but the price point for the quality was, from our viewpoint, unnecessarily inflated. Not planning to return... read more

Worse. Experience.Ever. Waited 20minutes to get our first glasses of water. We ordered sangria, drank them and the waiter never came by to ask us for refills. We could see the waiter just bs'ing and not paying attention to our table. Our food comes and both of our orders are wrong. We asked for the orders to be corrected and they were by the manager. Waiter didn't apologize for screwing up the order nor did he come to our table to ask us if we wanted refills on drinks again. The waiter stayed away from our table until we asked for the bill. Manager didn't apologize at all. She did comp the bill by $5. 'Black and Yellow' by Khalifa is playing in the restaurant which is highly inappropriate for a southern restaurant with children around. Research the lyrics, it drops the "n" word a few times. When we left we passed by a waitress who was sitting down where customers normally sit when they are waiting to be seated on her phone face timing with a friend and being loud. TLDR; Service was horrible. Waitstaff was unprofessional and the ambiance was awkward. read more

If there was a option to put negative stars I would Ordered food from this location on the website around 6:30 pm and wasn't going to pay until I got to this location, the website told me it would be ready in 15 minutes so I pretty much just left straight after I ordered it, when I got there, I told them the name on the order and was told 15 more minutes on the food and that they were working on it, I checked with another lady once it was past the 15 minutes mark, and was told it was going to be another hour until they got my food ready, this has happened 3 times at this location with me and probably others too that were waiting in line behind me, not to mention they got their food first so I walked up to the counter and asked them to cancel the order and wasn't going to wait any longer, the manager offered me a drink to try and make me feel sorry for them that I should wait, I told them no I rather not eat cold food when I get home and have to microwave it, so I walked out and most of the waiting room to either pick up a order or to sit in, left right behind me, THIS LOCATION NEEDS A NEW MANAGEMENT TEAM AND POSSIBLY NOT HAVE ALL THE EMPLOYEES WORKING THERE UPFRONT DOING DRINKS, I will not be going to this location anymore read more

So, took a while to get waited on at the bar. Did get my drink, ordered all at one time. Took about 10 minutes for my chili, decent flavor, not impressed for a BBQ place. Had the trio with ribs, chicken and pulled pork. The side were good, mashed potatoes and gravy and grilled corn. I will say one thing- the ribs were amazing... the pork was ok, not a lot of flavor, and the chicken? Was beyond dry, as in pulled the moisture out of your mouth, absorbed any BBQ sauce you put on it. To top it off, I don't know what passes for banana pudding these days, but I got some to go, and ate about 1/3 of it before throwing it away. There was maybe 10 guests in the restaurant, not sure how the food was like this, but if this is the norm, I guess that answers my question. read more

Possibly the worst customer service we've had in quite a while. I heard waitresses using the "f" word and bad mouthing patrons. The special wasn't available and food was subpar and slow! Won't be back there. read more

Decent place to eat. The house beer was cheap in price and taste but perfect for BBQ. Our server was great and not overly attentive. The host seemed like he would have preferred to be at a funeral. I liked the sports bar/BBQ theme. The food was decent and probably the best take on BBQ I've had in a chain. read more

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I've been to many of the Smokey bones locations... and I've generally thought them to have very good food and service... but the location I tried this evening in Roanoke Virginia really dropped the ball. There were stray burnt French fries on my plate. I didn't order fries. The wait staff pretty much ignored me. I ordered a couple brioche burger rolls so I could make my pulled pork into sandwiches for tomorrow... and even though I asked twice I never got them. Instead without a word I got a single chibotta bun as a substitute. The pulled pork was cold and dry. All in all the meal wasn't very good at all. Your wait and kitchen staff really needs training and over sight. They were self involved with one another and getting out the door. read more

They food was cold, me and my family were waiting for over 2 hours for two plates also me got told to to be quiet or we will be kicked out take in mind that it was me, my mom and dad we speak Spanish and almost the whole time we were there we were on our phones my mom was reading with my dad and I was just playing as soon as we enter we got weird stares for spanking Spanish over all the staff was super rude to us I don't know if it's just me but that's racist read more

First time ever being here, our waitress was not good at all, we went without drinks almost the whole time. When the food came out two of orders were messed up. Our waitress did not check up on us. They were not busy really at all and you would have thought our waitress was slammed. the food was not worth what we paid. do NOT recommend this place. read more

This used to be our favorite restaurant..not anymore. We hadn't been in over a year and what a disappointment. It took 1.5 hours to get our food tonight. Drinks were delicious. Cole slaw inedible. Not sure if it was spoiled or just gross. Full rack of baby back Ribs used to almost fall off the bone. They were tough with little to no sauce or flavor. Will not be going back. So sad and so disappointed. .$80 wasted. read more

Food was good, but nothing special. SO over priced. It took forever for my husband and I to get sat and they were DEAD, we found out it was because their was only one waitress, who was pregnant by herself. Managers/corporate..do better. Close the restaurant if the only one who wants to show up is a pregnant woman. She deserves the day off. read more

ordered takeout online to be ready at5:45 problems with the online order on their end and the time was pushed to 6:15 received order at7;00 after waiting 45 minutes inside restaurant Not many patrons inside the restaurant and plenty of staff The Food was barely edible to add insult to injury will never eat there again read more

Took dad here for his surprise b-day dinner this past weekend. We went in early to see if they would help us out by giving us a reservation so we would not have to wait too long for a table. The hostess quickly greeted us and told us that would be no problem. We asked if we could bring a cake back later to be kept in the fridge, and they politely obliged. Service with a smile! We came back later with our group and were quickly seated in the back of the restaurant. The waitress quickly came over and asked what she could get for us. We asked her about the sign by the hostess stand that said "Corona Fridays", and asked what that comprised of. She did not know what we were talking about and did not go to ask anyone else if they knew. We asked about buckets of beer. First she told us that 12 beers in a bucket were $5. Then she came back and told us it was $10. Then she came back and said it was $15 for 6 beers! We told her that every time she left the price went up by $5 and the beer count went down, down, down. We settled on individual drinks at that point. We placed our orders and the food came out fairly quickly. Everything was nicely presented and the flavors were good and satisfying. Everyone liked their dinners and loved the good smokey BBQ! I ordered a pick 3 platter with the following: 1/4 chicken pulled pork brisket The 1/4 chicken was the best item on the plate. It was tender and had great flavor. The pulled pork was not too shabby and had good flavors and went nicely with the served sauces. The brisket was overcooked and not what I was used to in terms of brisket with a smoke ring etc., so I would avoid that if I go back again. After dinner I chased down the waitress and asked if she could add candles to our cake. She said she could but let me know that they did not sing. I told her that was fine, that we would sing ourselves! The cake came out and dad was surprised, so all in all it was a success! read more

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Ordered takeout today. Place looked nice inside, but staff looked right past me and asked the lady behind if she had a pickup order and helped her first even though I had been there first, but whatever. I ordered the buffalo crispy chicken sandwich which is supposed to be tossed in sauce with lettuce, tomato, onion, and blue cheese. I got a a dry piece of spicy fried chicken on a doughy bun with nothing but a pickle. The taste and consistency of this sandwich was something that I would expect from a microwavable dinner or a high school cafeteria. My partner had some brisket and it was literally slices of 100% beef fat. I'm not exaggerating, it was all fat. Was edible, but for the amount of money I paid there was nothing really redeemable about the meal. read more

We went to Smokey Bones for the first time. Our server Andy was wonderful about explaining the different rib types. He was pleasant and attentive. Andy came over to talk and ask how we were while waiting for our food. The baby back ribs were outstanding and my husband enjoyed his chicken. We will go back again. Thank you Andy for making this a pleasant experience. read more

We stopped here on a whim passing through, the atmosphere is nice and the food is great. The prices are pretty typical for a BBQ joint, so no surprise there, and the portion sizes are solid. I found the brisket to be REALLY great, so I'll definitely stop here again when passing through. read more

They are the bbq version of Applebee's. Don't expect a unique bbq experience. They have consistent good food, but not great. Great burgers and appetizers. This is a place that everyone can get something they want. read more

Smokey Bones - Barbeque Near Me - Roanoke, Virginia

Enough sugar to tee you up and enough salt to drive you into the middle of next year! Awful. We had baby backs and St. Louis style ribs. You expect various amounts of sweet in different places, but the salt... My gosh. I suspect over brining, and it's a shame. The meat was tender and moist, and you could see a beautiful smoke ring. You just knew there was taste there, but the salt obliterated it. We threw half our dinner in the bone bag. And you know what? Not a single employee asked us how our meal was, and that's bad news on maintaining quality. It's as though they expected a complaint. And the waitress wasn't very good either. When asked how many ribs were in a third of a rack she said, "I dunno." She made no offer to check, either, but she did let us know how awful she felt. "Nasally". Wonderful. Miss Nasally got a short tip from Mr. Salty. read more

Unless you have unlimited time avoid!! Placed a to go order for pickup at 7:35 ahead of the College Football National Championship (kickoff 8:15). I arrived at 7:36 and let them know I was there. I was told it would be out in a minute but they are out of ranch/blue cheese I asked if they could just throw in a side of Buffalo sauce and was told I'd have to be charged, what?? Nevermind then. At 8:15 my order for pickup at 7:35 wasn't ready so I called again, I was told they are starting in it give it 15 minutes. At 8:39 I called to speak to the manager and it still had not been started apparently, over an hour after scheduled pickup. I told them to cancel and refund, little to no apology other than some "confusion". So the wings I ordered to eat with the game I did not get and I missed the 1st quarter of the game. read more

Definitely agree with the other review "Better choices in the area". We had agreed years ago to not go to another Smokey Bones because of bad service, but decided to try it once again while visiting the Roanoke area. A mistake! After arriving and calling the curbside number and being told that "the person handling the order would bring it out", and then waiting an additional 20 minutes beyond the promised time in the car, I went inside to get the food. The person went around the corner and handed it to me, but when asked why it had been sitting, got a plethora of excuses, none of which made sense, including "people normally come in for their food" -- then what is the purpose of a curbside order? And to whom am I providing a tip? We have gotten curbside at at least 6 other restaurants in the area, and never experienced anything like this -- especially with near sub-par food which we actually had to heat up once we got back to the hotel -- 5 mins away. Not a good experience at all! Do better, be better, if your business model is to provide quality food and service and have repeat customers! read more

Looking for bbq on a Monday (most places are closed on Mondays) and found Smoky Bones in Roanoke. Wanted to do carry out since we had two little ones that aren't nuances to true bbq yet and we were not disappointed. Two orders of the pulled pork platter (baked beans/mash &gravy and fries and salad), one shrimp with veggies and one burger. Also ordered the wings since it was a buy one/get one. The boneless wings with brown sugar sauce were the star of the meal followed closely by the pulled pork. Delicious! Sides were fine (the baked beans were great-skip the fries and order a double order!), shrimp were delicious. "Build your own" Burger tasted fine but didn't come with the selected toppings (missed the crispy onions and included lettuce and tomato that was checked as "no"). Kids loved the Mac and cheese from the kids menu. I would go back in a heartbeat and have pulled pork, brisket or ribs (skip the burger) and the baked beans. Service was fast, a lot of food ready in 20 minutes. Prices are terrific and there are lots of really good weekly specials. read more

The food was delicious we picked a good day because it was not busy and we had a large group. While our meal was great the doughnuts were the star ending to our meal. They were not doughy but fluffy and hot and delicious. read more

Smokey Bones - Salad ready - Barbeque Near Me - Roanoke, Virginia

Great wings. We had the smoked wings. Large and flavorful. Edwin was our server. Great personality and attentive. Ask him for the Edwin sauce. read more

This place was a disaster. There was a long line when we got there so we sat at the bar. There was a young girl who appeared to be unsure of what she was doing because she had to look a a recipe when she made a drink for someone. No one came near us for 15 minutes and then we got menus. Another 10 minutes and we still been asked what we wanted to drink. No one was waiting in the lobby at that time so I spoke to the hostess and she said she'd talk to the bartender. Another almost 10 minutes and I went back to the hostess and she sat us in a different section. By that time it was too late to go anywhere else. The service was slow there but at least we only had to wait about 5 minutes for our drinks. I had ordered an appetizer with the drinks and that took 30 minutes-and was barely lukewarm!! We were so over that place. Our server apologized for our experience and she was able to take the app off the bill. The place was half empty so I assume there was a staffing issue. I feel like we were really patient but this was awful. read more

Positive-good food. We ordered the salmon, smoked sausage, pulled pork. Everything was very flavorful. Negative-horrible customer service and service time. We showed up 15min before our "promised time" and we're told it would be ready in 15-20min. No problem. We ended up waiting an additional 45min for our food. We weren't the only people as there were three people having the same experience. They just kept saying we're understaffed. Ok, then tell us that when we first check in. Instead you gave us a time that you weren't able to deliver on. I understand things may be more difficult during COVID but the way you handle these situations and take care of your orders tells a lot about how you view your customers. Unfortunately they lost future business tonight. read more

Ordered the steak salad. The salad was doused with blue cheese. The taste of blue cheese was overpowering, one could not even taste the onions. read more

The food was decent, nothing amazing. The service was incredibly slow. Thankfully I was trying to waste time otherwise I would have just walked out. It took 15 minutes or so for a waiter to take my order. About a half hour for the food to come out. Then about another 20 minutes for them to charge payment. I had the baby back ribs. They were fairly bland. Not bad, just not worth going out of your way for. read more

So, call me an idiot but I returned to the scene of the crime. Always willing to give a second chance and the fact that this place is located across the street from my hotel I went in to see what it would be like. I went in with a great attitude and clean slate. I ended up regretting I was so stupid to think a place this bad could change. Monday February, 28 at 10:00pm. I walk in. There are 5 people standing at the Host station talking. That is fine, but they look at me as if I was from outer space. Blank stares and waiting for me to tell them what I wanted. Imagine walking in and approaching the Hostess station, of course I wanted to be seated. So I say, "Are you still open?". The response from one of the crew was "yep", then they went back to yapping as I stood there. I then asked "Should I just sit at the bar?" The answer from one of them was "yep". Again, never a hello, smile, greeting or acknowledgment. Only a scowl that I would have the nerve to interrupt their party at the Hostess Station. I grab a seat at the bar. I immediately noticed it was Mr. Dirty Rag from a couple of months ago. But hey, a new year and a new frame of mind so let's see what happens. He was wearing his blue gloves and at the garnish station and had his back to me as he was having a deep discussion with a female Server. He looked back at me not once, not twice, not even three times. But four times over the course of more than 5 minutes as he was yacking away to the Server who was looking at me on occasion as she carried on with him. After about 8 minute of no recognition whatsoever, I decided to leave. As I exited the bar area, I told Mr. Dirty Rag and the female Server that I was so sorry to have bothered them and each looked at me clueless. The klatch at the Hostess Station was still yacking and I told each of them that this was the worse location of any Smokey Bones I have ever been to and I will never be back. I was soooooo mad! As I headed to my vehicle a Manager comes out. His name was Ryan. He asked what was wrong and I explained the situation. He was very nice and apologetic and offered to make it right and he would personally serve me if I returned. I politely declined. I told Ryan about my experience two months ago and how tonight was even worse. He said he fully understood my frustration. He said countless people complain about the guy in question all of the time. He said if it was up to him he would do something about it but that it is up to corporate to do so and they won't. The guy struck me as sincere. He offered again to make things right but I declined and said I was not looking for anything for free and that I did not trust Mr. Dirty Rag not to spit in my food. He understood and sympathized with me. My last Yelp was promptly responded to by "Business Manager" from SB. He asked that I send him an email explaining my situation. I did and guess what? Never a response. I guess I should not be surprised. I ended up seeing that TGI Fridays was in the same parking lot. I went there and had a great meal and great service. I would not recommend coming here at all, unless you are wishing to witness would could be the worst service in the State of Virginia. And Ryan, if you ever read this - leave while you can. Move on to a place that makes sense. No reason to stick around this God awful place. read more

1.it was freezing in the restaurant 2. It took an hour to get our food 3.too much butter on the baked potato 4.the salad was all lettuce 5.way overpriced for the service we got read more

My first order was a late online order with Smokey Bones and when I arrived to pick up my order, I meet the best bartender who made my day. I already had a long difficult day and it was a nice feeling to come into an establishment late at night and still garner the feeling I was important to her as a customer. The bartender name is Cheyenne and she was awesome, if you ever need a good laugh and great service I highly request you ask for her when you arrive to ensure you experience at Smokey Bones for the outstanding service. I later visited the location two more times within two months and she remembered my favorite drink and meal I had ordered in the past. Now that's what I call great customer service. She is a great asset to the business and that feeling of a neighborhood bar and grill makes you feel like you at home. More importantly, you feel appreciated and special even at 1:15 AM in the morning. Great food and special drinks! read more

We had a wonderful meal last night before we went to a Tobymac concert at the Berglund Center. The sliced Chicken breast was juicy and tasty! The brisket was tender enough to cut with the edge of my fork. Lucy was our waitress and she was great! She was very attentive to what we wanted. We split an entree and Lucy and the staff made two plates for us. We love their BBQ and service!! We would highly recommend Smokey Bones on your next trip to or through Roanoke! And if you are blessed to have Lucy as your server you will be pleased. read more

I talked this place up to our party all last night and they didn't disappoint. Smokey Bones was understaffed and they were packed but we still had space made for us and the service was impeccable. Our server Kendra was FANTASTIC! Great personality, great attitude, and everything ordered was perfect. Our entire party agreed we will definitely be coming back. Thanks for a great night! read more

On business, I came into Smokey Bones fairly late on a Tuesday night, and was happy that the restaurant serves food until 1:30 AM (and closes at 2:00 AM). Being alone, I chose to sit at the bar which had four screens facing me with a different sports show on each. I saw a specials board at the entrance for a Hawaiian Ribeye Steak that sounded good, so I gave it a go. I didn't understand the "Hawaiian" moniker since there wasn't anything resembling typical Hawaiian such as teriyaki or pineapple. But it was a well-seasoned, tasty steak. It came with two sides. Each of my choices, onion rings and loaded mashed potatoes, had a small up-charge of $0.99.The rings were good but unremarkable. The mashed potatoes were enhanced with cheese, green onions and bacon. Overall, the dish was very good for this level restaurant. My experienced was made even better with the delightful and attentive service by my server, Cheyenne. She double checked the accuracy of my order before entering it, and made sure it was to my liking when it arrived. She made sure my beverage was refilled before I reached the bottom and checked in often to make sure I had everything I needed. read more