The Smoke Pit

Nowhere better to eat breakfast in Monroe than here. These folks are genuine and you get great food…read moreat reasonable prices. Just down home real people that want you to enjoy your food and time here.

This place is the real deal. Great service with a fantastic breakfast. Big portions. Lots of…read morechoices but make sure you choose the biscuits: they are about the best I've ever had. And since it is the south, I always go with pork chops and eggs. The home fries were perfect. The building is bare bones and old south. The portions are huge.

Yum

Outside March 10, 2026

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Grits Home Cookin

4.5(26 reviews)

11.8 mi

Service is outstanding. Food is delicious. Try to visit on fried chicken Thursday …read more Down home simple interior, clean and comfortable

Local good food in a nice relaxing setting and outdoor seating and they even take care of your dog!read more

Country style steak with gravy, potato salad and green beans.

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Southern Roots Bar & Grill

3.8(44 reviews)

1.0 mi

So we've lived down this way over 20 years now but this is our first visit to Southern Roots Bar &…read moreGrill. We searched for an open restaurant near our current location & found this gem. We were shocked to see some of the negative reviews that claimed it was a racist place & couldn't believe it since we have been here for 2 decades & never experienced any real discrimination. We walked in & saw people of all different races & backgrounds. We were greeted with friendly faces and a hostess who was a person of color & VERY friendly and welcoming. Our server was also a person of color & he was outgoing, friendly, attentive & flat-out terrific. The food was great, the Tsunami sauce is phenomenal. I think it's unfortunate that people will assume racism or bigotry when they simply just had a less than desirable experience. Our experience was top notch & we'll definitely return!

We've dined here twice in the past couple of years. Both visits went well with good service, prompt…read moredelivery of food and reasonable prices. Their location, IMO, is not ideal making them a destination and not a passersby decision. That said, great food is paramount to draw the crowd, and unfortunately, their fare is good, but not great. There's a ton of places just like it in Monroe. Sorta the "been there, had that" type of cooking. Too much is frozen food from Sysco and dropped in the fryer. That ain't cooking. While I enjoy my visits here, nothing has my "Give 'em a Whirl" meter shouting, "Bro, did you see what Southern Roots is whipping up for the weekend?"

Southern dip trio

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Jud's Restaurant

3.8(26 reviews)

0.1 mi

Food,service with a smile, classic southern homestyle cooking is a typical starter…read more This place is a spot that I drove by many times. It sits between a car lot and a bridge. You gotta look for the old school sign. If you pass the correct entrance, you can drive to the back and circle around the fence. Once you get in the door. Sit yourself and someone with a nice smile and southern manners will help you with your gastronomic needs. The surprise is the pebble ice that I love, yes I'm wierd. They have daily specials which come with lots of sides to get down the main spotlight. I drank water so I can not comment on the iced tea. It could be brown kool-aid or a minor color pack candidate. Its your duty to find out. After you stomach is about to explode, waddle up to the register and pay for your discomfort.

It's more of a diner I would say than a restaurant. If you go in with that in mind, the food is…read morereally good. The service is excellent and the staff is super friendly and efficient. They took a mean, bacon, burger, and have plenty of other offerings. It's an old restaurant, but kept very clean.

Inside

Livermush, egg, and cheese on toasted wheat. Love is a runny egg!

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Breakfast of Champions

East Frank Superette & Kitchen

4.5(111 reviews)

0.9 mi

Where to start? Unfortunately got there too late for dinner the next get we arrived in town for a…read morefamily party but def went back for breakfast. Every FOH staff member was friendly and helpful. The atmosphere is adorable, funky, hip, and fun. The food?! Yum! Had vegan grits and vegan chorizo on top. My bf had a breakfast biscuit with egg and idk what else because I was too busy looking at the stickers, decor, etc all around us. Picked up a housemade ciabatta and wow! Too good. Will def be back when in town! Forgot to take pics sadly.

Visiting our daughter at Wingate and she recommended the restaurant. Parking was interesting and…read moretook us a bit to finally find a spot. It is in downtown Monroe with street parking and some public parking lots. Our daughter said she has been there around 11:00am and got a spot on the street right in front. It is very eclectic with decor and items for sale. They have indoor seating, seating along entrance hall and outdoor seating. You order at one counter, which has a large menu boards above the counter. The young lady that took our order was very nice. You pay over at the bar area. It was not busy at the time we were there. I had the Salad Sandwich. You can get it with chicken salad, tuna salad or chickLESS salad. I had the chicken salad in a spinach wrap with lettuce and tomato. There are other bread options. The wrap was filled with the chicken salad. It was nicely seasoned and tasted really good. My husband and daughter both did the Pick Your Burger, a build your own. My husband had the burger with bacon, lettuce, tomato, pickles, grilled onions and pepper jack cheese. My daughter added bacon, lettuce, grilled onions and provolone cheese. They both said it was a great burger. We enjoyed our food. Definitely will come back.

Ham, egg and cheese bagel

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BIG ol' burrito. OMG!

Gus Family Restaurant

4.4(41 reviews)

1.3 mi

Perfect example of, don't judge a book by its cover!! The inside was fresh and clean with beautiful…read morefarmhouse decor. We were a party of 8 and were seated in 5 minutes. Service was fast and friendly and all the food (Philly, Chicken Caesar wrap, Chicken Alfredo, French Toast and Chicken and Waffles, to name a few) was fantastic! Will def go again and highly recommend!

Locals recommended Gus' to us - great place!…read more All food was not only QUICKLY served, everything was delicious. Staff was very attentive and friendly.

Dining room

Fried fish sandwich with mac-n-cheese

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Menu breakfast 2

Knife & Fork Restaurant

3.3(63 reviews)

0.3 mi

Worst dinner in North Ca rolina i wouldn't let my dog eat…read morethis food they screwed my order up then took it away to fix it and it came back worse terrible and the food made me sick eat at your own risk you've been warned

Divey, old school diner that's been here since they paved Roosevelt Blvd out front. And it looks…read moreit, too. Customers fill the place, however, as they sling grits, scramble eggs, pour endless cups of cheap coffee, and offer meat-n-three daily specials with side choices as long as your arm. Observing some of the low ratings most were upset with the credit card service fee or higher prices. I figured it was food quality or cleanliness issues since their sanitation grades are barely A level (93 seems to be what they can muster routinely). Which should give one pause since the serious issues are out of patrons sights; namely, how they manage, store, and prep your food. That said, I'll probably roll in again for a breakfast sammie or biscuit and pay the tiny service fee on my credit card. I've dined all around the world and apparently have a constitution like, well, the Constitution. Unfortunately, Knife and Fork left my "Whirl-o-meter" sitting idle. https://public.cdpehs.com/NCENVPBL/INSPECTION_VIOLATION/ShowVIOLATIONTable.aspx?INSPECTION=4357338&ESTABLISHMENT=238286&esttst_cty=90

Egg and ham on toasted rye

Deluxe bfast special (half of it!)

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Breakfast!!

Maxwell's Tavern

4.3(437 reviews)

12.2 mi

Finally got around to giving out one of my rare 5-star ratings, as Maxwell's Tavern just does it…read moreright. Sorry that they cannot control the availability of parking, so drop your party off to get in line and then have your own adventure in parking. It's a bar, but a very nice, clean bar, a super menu, daily specials for drinks and food and a nice chummy atmosphere to enjoy. Prices are reasonable and service spot-on. Maryrose took us on for lunch and kept the iced tea flowing. Wife had lunch nachos ($9.95), which were OK, but needed more cheese. We did take some home, but with the sour cream in it did not make it appetizing any more. I had a combination chile and half BLT ($10.25) which was excellent. The BLT was lunch enough for me, so I took the chile home for later. The side o'day was fried okra and we loved it ($4) and paid the extra $.40 for their excellent ranch dressing. Come at other than prime times for lunch and dinner. Benches outside are because it is a very popular place and you will warm those benches if you hit busy times.

Great stop for lunch or anytime. Friendly attentive server, great food, sports on tv, good menu!…read moreNice surroundings.

Inside view

Humble 1/2 BLT and cup of chowder.

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Humble 1/2 BLT and cup of chowder.

Emmet's Social Table

4.3(419 reviews)

12.1 mi

The food is amazing! I love everything. Never disappointed. Great staff. A go to for our family!!…read moreWe love Emmets!

First time at Emmet's and left disappointed. Arrived and seated promptly so a good start. Our…read moreserver came over and took our drink orders. It took a while to get our drinks and they were not busy. If they were busy I was willing to overlook that but they were not so not sure what happened but we did eventually get our drinks. We started with the Emmet's Trio and the German beef sliders. The trio was just ok. The pickles were the star of that dish. The tomatoes were bland and the eggs were also just ok. Next we had the sliders. The pretzel bun was great, the burger ok but again lacked flavor. I think if there was more of the mustard, it might have helped but disappointed. We tried one more dish, the buffalo chicken dip. It was also not bad just not great and lacked really any heat. It did have a good amount of chicken so there was a positive. The chips were just ok. Throughout the meal we really only saw our server a few times, drinks ran empty so not impressed. Emmet's wasn't awful but they didn't do anything that was great and leave me wanting to come back. It was just ok.

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Sweet and Spicy Chicken Flat Bread

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Wedge salad

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46 reviews that are not currently recommended

The reviews below are not factored into the business's overall star rating.

Charles L.

2 years ago

At The Smoke Pit in Monroe town, Where folks from near and far come down, The brisket's tender, cooked just right, A smoky dream both day and night. Amazing barbecue so divine, Each bite's a taste of pure design, Cornbread golden, sweet delight, Sides that make your heart take flight. From coleslaw crisp to baked beans fine, Mac 'n' cheese that'll blow your mind, Every dish a masterpiece, A Southern feast that brings pure peace. So if you're ever 'round Monroe, The Smoke Pit's where you need to go, For food that fills both heart and soul, A barbecue joint that's true and whole. read more

Chuck W.

5 years ago

I hosted what became a 20 person tailgate party for the BIG GAME in Winston. I knew I wanted GREAT NC barbeque so I called around for catering. No one called me back except Brianna at THE SMOKE PIT. SO GLAD THEY did because it was the best Que I had eaten & made those 20 folks at the tailgate believers as well. It wasn't the cheapest but Brianna took care of everything (even banana pudding for desert). She made it easy for me to pick it all up the morning of the game in Salisbury. As my Texas guests admitted, it blew away anything they had down there. Thanks Brianna! read more

Myra B.

8 years ago

The Smoke Pit was excellent. We have had smoked bbq before and it tasted nothing like the Smoke Pit. We asked for a sample and they gladly gave us one. It was Great! We had the pulled pork, burnt ends & smoked sausage. It was all wonderful. The sides were also good. The sweet potato soufflé was awesome. We had more food than 4 people could eat and there was only 2 of us. Abigail was our waitress and she is wonderful. We will certainly go back to eat and sit in her section! read more

Brown F.

8 years ago

I am so amazed how outstanding this restaurant is. Saturday, was my family's first time visiting "The Smoke Pit". What made the visit even better besides the food was our wonderful waitress Lauren. She was so patient and friendly the whole entire time, no matter how many questions we asked her. We are so excited about our next visit, and just to make sure we a visit just like before we are going to request Lauren. Thank you so much Lauren! read more

Tiffany P.

8 years ago

Listen, this cannot compare to any BBQ I have had. No joke , just came back from Nashville and I thought that was it! NOPE! The brisket is delicious. Wednesday is get 3 sides instead of 2. I got mac , red slaw and bbq beans and it did not disappoint. The service? Well lets say its better then the food (and holy crap that's saying alot) especially my girl abigail. Super nice and very informative!! Thanks again! read more

Makenzie F.

8 years ago

I have eaten here on several different occasions & not only is the food GREAT- the staff is AMAZING! I have had Jacky a few different times and she is awesome! She never lets our cups go dry, our food is always out in a timely manner, and if we need anything, she gets it to us quickly. Another thing I like is that Jacky, along with all the others, talk to my three year old and he loves that! read more

Jaime C.

8 years ago

This is the best place ever! The food was awesome and there was plenty of it! I loved my server Abby! She made you feel like you were eating at your friends house! She recommended my dinner and boy was it great! I got the fried pickles and pork bbq plate! It was soooo good! I recommend getting there early because this place will fill up fast! Best service and food I've seen in a long time! read more

Christopher C.

8 years ago

I've been in the area 5 months and tried many BBQs joints and by far this has been the best. Food, price and service has been the best. Blows Midwood away. Love the local waiters and waitresses with their southern accents. Especially Abigail. So pleasant, informative and sweet. Everyone that's come to visit us has been taken here. And always left happy, full and with leftovers. read more

Donnie H.

141

8 years ago

This is the best BAR B Que since Sonnys left Monroe. I had the Jumbo Pulled Pork plate with French Fries, Baked Beans, Hush puppies & Tea. Portions was good. Took some home, pork still good cold hours later. The Waitress was excellent and very friendly. The prices was good. I will go back. Next time, I'm gonna try the burnt ends. read more

Tracy J.

8 years ago

Hands down the best bbq and burnt brisket ends. We love Plaza Midwood Smokehouse in Charlotte but honestly The Smoke Pit is better. Try the collards, fried okra, and fries. Hush puppies, slaw, baked mac n cheese, literally everything here is a 10 out of 10. All servers are friendly - ask for Abigail, super friendly and helpful! read more

Shawna K.

8 years ago

Always the best food. No matter what you try you won't be disappointed. Huge portions at a decent price. The atmosphere is nice and the watermelon tea is not to be missed. The service is always top notch. Abigail is an amazing server and made the visit that much better! We will be back and we will bring friends!!! read more

Latoya B.

7 years ago

Great, excellent, hot food was prepared accompanied by excellent customer service!!! We returned due to a discrepancy in an order and manager Tracie handled it with perfect execution! The food was prepared with love and fast and we will definitely be returning for future visits. Thanks Smoke Pit for the excellence! read more

Kong L.

Elite 26 All-Star

470

1615

4540

1 year ago

Despite the rave reviews, my quick stop here left me a bit disappointed. The quality of the burnt ends and pulled pork didn't quite justify the price. Additionally, the sweet tea was overly sweet. The highlight, however, was the variety of barbecue sauces. Overall, the customer service was decent. read more

Caylin T.

8 years ago

Amazing food and very nicely seasoned. The prices are great for the amount of food your get and the location I went to was very clean. I had no problems at all with this restaurant. The location I went to had very good service the waiter was very nice and assisted us whenever we were in need. read more

Sheri J.

7 years ago

I hired Smoke Pit Catering and everyone raved about the food, especially the beans. We had pulled pork and chicken wings, red & white slaw, baked beans, cornbread & rolls with tea and lemonade. Thank you Allen Bishop for taking care of us and making my daughter's wedding food a hit. read more

Matthew S.

8 years ago

My server Jacky was amazing and very informative. The food was delicious and you got large portions for a great price. I was here on business and I have eaten at the Smoke Pit everyday for lunch. I got something different each time and never found anything I didn't enjoy. read more

Angela E.

8 years ago

My husband and I love this place. We have eaten there twice this weekend and both times we had Abigail as our waitress. We never wanted for anything, and the food was as excellent as our service was. We both highly recommend the smoke pit for a great meal and service. read more

Bianca M.

2 years ago

We love going on Wednesdays for the 'free side Wednesday'. Absolutely delicious. I like to get the 4 bone ribs plate. Their cornbread is to die for. The white slaw is fantastic also. Mac and cheese is really great. Very friendly staff and a great atmosphere. read more

FreshStart C.

8 years ago

I simply love the "Smoke Pit!" Tonight, I had the best meal with the greatest serve ever... Ms. Abigail! She was on point offering great suggestions and I even tried something new tonight. Can't wait to return for another meal.. Simply the Best Ever! read more

Quinton F.

6 years ago

Had lunch here recently and the food is phenomenal! The service was excellent and fast, and our server (Brooklyn?,Brooke?) did an amazing job with keeping up with our refills, and was friendly. The pulled chicken is my go to here! read more

The Smoke Pit - southern - Updated October 2026

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Jud's Restaurant

3.8

(26 reviews)

Midwood Smokehouse

4.1

(647 reviews)

(9/25/26) My wife wanted to take me out to dinner at Midwood tonight. We're fortunate to have one…read moreclose to the house. I'm having a hard cider and Nachos Libre with brisket. My wife is having a large pork plate and an order of wings. She's drinking sweet tea & water. I'm drinking an Angry Orchard cider. I don't know why I order so much food anymore. Most of it winds up going home with me. The service was great. It's always fast. The thing I like most about Midwood is the ambience. It's got great music and has a neighborhood bar vibe to it.

My girlfriend is a creature of habit, and when it comes to BBQ, that habit is Mac's Speed Shop. I'd…read morebeen to Midwood Smokehouse before, so on date night I convinced her to branch out and try the Ballantyne location. Yeah... probably shouldn't have done that. Nothing was bad, actually, everything was pretty good. The problem was that nothing really crossed over into great. We ordered the $46 Pig Out platter with four proteins, two sides, hushpuppies and pickles. We went with coleslaw and sweet potato fries, and apparently I was feeling particularly committed that night because I ate almost the entire thing myself. The brisket was good. The slaw was good. The sweet potato fries were good. The hushpuppies were good. See the pattern? For something called the Pig Out, I also found myself wishing the meat felt a little less like the precious commodity on the plate and, once again, the pulled pork mostly made me wish I had a pound of Lupita's sitting in front of me instead. Midwood Smokehouse isn't bad BBQ by any stretch. It just landed firmly in the "good" category for us when I was hoping for something memorable. Considering I used some relationship capital convincing her to abandon Mac's for the night, I don't think I'll be suggesting a return trip anytime soon. Honestly, I'm not sure I'd make one myself either.

Texas Roadhouse

3.4

(630 reviews)

We love coming here. We've been to a few different locations and this one is absoultely the most…read morefun one to come to. Servers are lively and seem to enjoy their job. Servers make your time here enjoyable and offer good suggestions. Parking is pretty good too. Food was great, and came out hot. Definitely a go-to place and will be back next month for a birthday celebration!

The food was average but the manager never showed up to speak to us when we inquired about our…read moreseating arrangements for the big group. We explained why we wanted to be seated but they simply said we'll check with our manager but never heard from manager nor really got an answer about that. So the experience started off bad. The ambiance was average.

Grits Home Cookin

4.5

(26 reviews)

Service is outstanding. Food is delicious. Try to visit on fried chicken Thursday …read more Down home simple interior, clean and comfortable

Local good food in a nice relaxing setting and outdoor seating and they even take care of your dog!read more

Rock Store Bar-B-Q

3.2

(32 reviews)

Dang Rock store barbecue... you're a rock star ! The place is small but it's huge on flavor ! I…read moretried the BBQ beef sandwich and seriously I considered the fact that I wish I could eat more ! It was the bomb dot com ! Really really really ( 3 reallys ) good. The hubs had the banana pudding and he went back for seconds. It was 100 degrees outside and we were both sweltering hot but this joint was cool. The seats were worn but no doubt they've been weathering the crowds that come here. The place was steady busy and it had only a handful of inside seating due to Covid but it will definitely be in my places to stop for BEEF BBQ. Two thumbs way up

Despite the reviews, I was hungry and visiting my family who live less than 5 minutes away from the…read morerestaurant. I like barbecue and I decided to give Rock Sore Bar-B-Q a try. Well....I am disappointed. The food is lackluster - no flavor in the chopped chicken or pulled pork, the hush puppies were overcooked, the banana pudding was not good, and the sauces in the bottles at the table added ZERO flavor to the meat. The barbecue beans were dry and flavorless, and the potato wedges were like warm. Everything was so deficient in flavor that I am concerned if anyone understands barbecue. My wife enjoyed the wings, and that is why this rating is 3 stars. I was so disappointed in my meal that I didn't try her wings. The interior was clean and orderly, and the workers were generally friendly. The food came up quickly, but everything was lukewarm. I am hopeful I caught the Rock Store on a bad day. I will try them again, for the wings, on a future visit to Waxhaw, NC.

Ron's Restaurant

4.2

(21 reviews)

We love this place the staff are just the nicest, my elderly uncle & aunt eat here every Thursday…read morefor lunch, I try to come with them most of the time. We enjoy the people & our family time.

My husband and I went to Ron's for lunch and ate there. My husband ordered the BBQ platter, with…read morecole slaw and French fries. It came with two dinner rolls as well. The BBQ was delicious, and was well complemented by the sides. I had one of his rolls with the BBQ and slaw, and it was awesome! The fries were very tasty as well. I ordered the fried flounder, which was two generous pieces, with hush puppies. The sides I picked were pinto beans and collard greens. With salt added to the pintos and vinegar to the collards, they were perfect! The flounder was delicious. I didn't taste the hush puppies yet because I got too full and had to get a takeout box! The counter and grill ladies were very pleasant and our order was done right! For great food, nice folks, and a clean, well-appointed (and very popular) restaurant, this is your place! Note: Ron's is only open for breakfast and lunch.

Country Grill

4.8

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Amazing spot for a good and fast lunch!! Everything taste, looks, and is great!! Constantly…read moreawesome American Diner Grub!!!

Awesome local grill! Quick, easy, and their food is so tasty. Cash only, but atm inside.read more

Mac's Speed Shop

3.8

(651 reviews)

Another late review! And this one really hurts because my phone battery died, so I didn't get a…read morechance to take many photos. I may have one or two on my husband's phone that I still need to pull. Now, let me tell you...this place is amazing! And it was even better because our server RICO (UPDATE: I figured between the five of us, someone remember Rico, right? I just wanted to make sure I gave credit where credit was due.) He gave us just the right amount of attention without us ever having to ask twice--or even once! He kept our drinks refilled and checked in to see if we needed anything else. That kind of service makes such a difference. The interior is unique and really cool. I especially loved the idea of hanging a full-size motorcycle from the ceiling. Definitely a great conversation piece! We had a party of five, and all five of us ordered something different, ranging from a chicken salad to tacos, hush puppies, and, of course, my Chopped Brisket Sandwich with a side of sweet potato fries. I'm already drooling again just thinking about it! The brisket was tender, juicy, and full of flavor, with just the right amount of seasoning. But let me talk about those sweet potato fries... THE BEST sweet potato fries I've had so far! They were crispy on the outside and actually tasted like sweet potatoes. I've had sweet potato fries at other restaurants that were soggy and tasted more like frying oil than sweet potato. These were completely different--crispy, flavorful, and absolutely delicious. I 100% recommend them! So, if you're in the Charlotte area, do yourself a favor and stop by Mac's Speed Shop at 2414 Sandy Porter Road. Great food, great atmosphere, and phenomenal service. I would definitely go back!

Award-winning since 2005, this BBQ restaurant absolutely lived up to its reputation--not just…read morebecause of the incredible food, but because of the outstanding service. James, the host, welcomed us with such a warm smile that, even though I'm visiting from Dallas, I immediately felt right at home. That kind of genuine Southern hospitality is hard to find and made the experience even more memorable. The food was phenomenal, and the mac and cheese tasted just like something Big Mama would make--rich, creamy, and full of flavor. Every bite reminded me why great barbecue is about more than just the meat; it's about comfort, tradition, and hospitality. If you're looking for authentic BBQ, amazing comfort food, and service that makes you feel like family, this is the place to be. I'll definitely be back!

Palace Restaurant

4.2

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