Cancel

    Open app

    Search

    Thomas' Smokey Pit Stop

    4.6 (154 reviews)
    Open 11:00 am - 7:00 pm

    Order Thomas' Smokey Pit Stop Takeout or Delivery

    Thomas' Smokey Pit Stop Photos

    THOMAS' SMOKEY PIT STOP ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?

    You might also consider

    More like Thomas' Smokey Pit Stop

    Recommended Reviews - Thomas' Smokey Pit Stop

    Your trust is our priority, so businesses can't pay to alter or remove their reviews. Learn more about reviews.
    Yelp app icon
    Browse more easily on the app
    Review Feed Illustration

    Reviews With Photos

    Menu
    Jason P.

    I keep a running mental list of nearby places that have high Yelp ratings, so I can visit when the opportunity arises. When I recently had an errand in Manchester, I remembered that @thomassmokeypitstop had a 4.6 overall rating and over a 100 reviews. Thomas's specializes in BBQ and Soul Food, and my family and I sampled the pulled pork, lean brisket, Mac, Collards, Yams, corn bread and potato salads. We liked everything, and highlights for me included the classic stretchy cheesy Mac, the brisket with the great bark, the pulled pork and the potato salad with the mustard and pickle flavor. If you're near Manchester, you should definitely check out @thomassmokeypitstop . They have some limited seating, but they're probably more of a takeout spot. They also have a food truck and cater. 4.25 Stars

    Catering van
    Philip J. H.

    Now the place so people least know will do catering & overall for BBQ this one is up there without a shadow of a doubt in my mind because a place I go to is celebrating a second anniversary & for what I had my stuff was filling (unknowingly I wasn't aware of it so if I had maybe I would've skipped supper) & you get good pulled pork, Andouille sausage (oh yeah that's hot), green beans & cornbread. I suspect if this is just that element I might want to investigate the dining establishment.

    1 Meat Plate Chopped Brisket, Collard Greens, Cornbread
    Blaze B.

    Fantastic food, reasonable prices, wonderful service, clean establishment. Easy in and out every time I pick up my to go order. Make sure to grab a slice of dessert when you go, it's always a hit.

    1 Meat Platter - Corn Bread, Dad's Baked Beans with Smoked Turkey, Mom's Baked Mac and Cheese, and Brisket
    Michael W.

    I have been in the mood for BBQ for weeks now so when I finally decided to get some I wanted to try and support a local business. Everyone is familiar with Bears so I hopped on yelp to find a different place up to 20 min from me and Thomas' popped up with glowing reviews. They offered online orders so I went for it. As others have mentioned, it is strictly take out. The shop is small but they had great music playing and everyone behind the counter seemed to be in a great mood. My food was ready and waiting. At first I thought portions were small but everything was just packed in really tight - this was a lot of food! The star of the show was definitely the brisket. Great smoky flavor, super tender, and not too much fat. Unfortunately the sides left me disappointed. The beans tasted like all ketchup. Not the rich and savory flavor I was expecting. The Mac & cheese seemed like it may have been sitting for a while. Didn't taste very fresh. Wasn't the worst I've had but definitely wasn't the best. The cornbread was ok but again, I have had better. Overall, I would consider returning to try some of the other meats they offer but I wouldn't order any of these sides in the future. Pricing also seemed fair compared to other BBQ places I have visited.

    Dan R.

    "When it comes to southern cookin' They know what it's all about They got some barbecue ribs and red beans and rice Make your tongue snap your eyeballs out" (Charlie Daniels) Man oh man oh man, did we have a fantastic experience at Thomas' Smokey Pit Stop! I really like ribs, but haven't had them in a very long time. Sometimes they are dry and overcooked. Not here. The ribs I had yesterday were among the very best I ever had. We ordered a one meat platter of pulled pork, mac and cheese and corn bread for $12 and a two meat platter of ribs, BBQ chicken, green beans and slaw for $18.25 plus a $2 rib upcharge. We loved every single bite of every dish. My ribs were amazing -tender and juicy and just perfect. And the boring old green beans were stellar too - must have been the smoked turkey they're cooked with. The BBQ was a drumstick and thigh cooked in a fantastic BBQ glaze. For extra measure, all dishes included a container of extra BBQ sauce. My wife's pulled pork platter looked fantastic and let me tell ya, there was a ton of pulled pork in her container. For dessert we split a delicious slice of coconut pound cake ($4). The food, the service, the pricing were all excellent.

    Jerk chicken, pulled pork, baked beans, and slaw

    Food is amazing! Move over Bears! Thomas' BBQ is so good! The service is super friendly as well. My bf and I had platters of the Jerk chicken, bbq pulled pork, and sliced brisket. The sides were also very good!

    Dessert
    BB Q.

    This place packs a punch for a little corner joint. Got the 3 meat combo, came with 1 side but had to get 2 more, And a Dessert! Before I get into it, this place is excellent BBQ! Great job! Ribs and Sliced Brisket were both $2 extra. Got the Jerk chicken as my third meat. Mac and Cheese, Baked Beans, Candied Yams as my sides. You know I gotta get that Banana Pudding. Ribs were perfect texture, very moist. Nice red and orange rub that tasted like a very nice traditional rib rub. Not quite as much rub as I like to have but I'm sure I'm in the minority there. Its has a tiny tiny kick to it, I could barely taste it but it was nice. Meat doesn't fall off the bone but it's easy enough to clean it off. That's the way it's supposed to be. Brisket was an option of sliced or chopped which I appreciated, but if you don't get sliced you are wrong. Great smokey smell, good amount of bark but not as dark as I like it. A tad bit greasy but not enough to effect it. The fat melts like crazy in your mouth but didn't have quite as much of a flavor to is as I look for. Again I like a lot more of that powerful rub spice flavor but I'm probably wrong. Very juicy, that nice sorta tough but still moist brisket texture. Good stuff Jerk Chicken. Gets you a leg and a thigh. Damn! This was the real deal Jamaican Jerk Seasoning! it's embarrassing how many places don't know what the real stuff is like. Chicken meat was Extra Juicy! Some of the best smoked chicken I've ever had traps that moisture inside the skin and it's like biting into a water balloon sometimes. I will say it felt like the chicken could have smoked for a bit longer but I'm not sure. It tasted a tad bit on the too juicy side. But it still tasted amazing with the spices. Cornbread is phenomenal. Cornbread hitting them 3 G's "Golden - Gritty - Glistening". Very moist, no corn kernels though, that would have been next level. Not too sweet, Not overly buttery. Excellent cornbread Mac and Cheese was pretty good. They keep a lot of their sides right up at the front counter in some chaffing dishes. I was happy to see the Mac and cheese was baked style and not just a scoop of pasta with cheese goop. All in all it tasted good, much better than most places. But it doesn't have a rue to it. It's oiled pasta with black pepper and shredded cheese. I need that milky creamy cheese sauce surrounding the pasta. This shredded cheese just gets soft and chunky. The pepper saved it. Baked Beans were really good. Unique flavor. Mostly BBQ sauce flavors as Im sure it's slowly cooked in their BBQ sauces but some zingers in there too. Like a citrus and ginger or something. Navy And Red bean. Great texture. Gravy sticks to the beans and doesn't fall off. Great beans. Banana Pudding is hard to screw up, even if it was just the Jello pudding style I would love it. I've had some incredible banana pudding though. In all of New England I would say this is top 5. Although I would get it as fresh as possible. Some of the bananas and wafers in my batch had another day at best before it started getting questionable. But still really good pudding, they even gave a few extra wafers to get that nice crunch. Excellent Job! Great BBQ!

    Chopped BBQ Brisket Grilled Cheese Sandwich

    See all

    4 months ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 1
    Love this 1
    Oh no 1
    Photo of Tom D.
    1136
    879
    2414

    1 year ago

    Helpful 11
    Thanks 4
    Love this 12
    Oh no 0

    9 months ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 1

    2 months ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    8 months ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 1
    Love this 2
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Jason P.
    342
    1216
    8256

    2 years ago

    Helpful 3
    Thanks 0
    Love this 2
    Oh no 0

    1 year ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    1 year ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    10 months ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    4 months ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Pamela F.
    25
    82
    13

    7 months ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    2 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 3

    4 months ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    3 years ago

    Helpful 15
    Thanks 0
    Love this 11
    Oh no 0

    2 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    1 year ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    1 year ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Max S.
    0
    30
    13

    8 months ago

    Top notch food and service. Great people too. Get the brisket. Don't forget dessert!

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    1 year ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of BB Q.
    1
    186
    972

    3 years ago

    Helpful 2
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    1 year ago

    Got delivery was fantastic. The ribs were fall off the bone, greens delicious . They forgot my cornbread but that's not a dealbreaker

    Business owner information

    Photo of Darryl T.

    Darryl T.

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    3 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    4 years ago

    Helpful 3
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    2 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    1 year ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    2 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    1 year ago

    The best barbeque in the CT area. A must visit for BBQ enthusiast and those who appreciate culinary craftsmanship

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    1 year ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    3 years ago

    Helpful 2
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    5 years ago

    Helpful 2
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Dave G.
    935
    79
    170

    4 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    1 year ago

    Best BBQ in Manchester! The banana pudding is out of this world!! I always have a great meal when I order

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    2 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    1 year ago

    The Carolina ribs were burnt and dried out. The brisket and cornbread were good but not unique. Not really worth the price.

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    5 years ago

    Business owner information

    Photo of Darryl T.

    Darryl T.

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0
    Photo of They 9.
    7
    201
    90

    4 years ago

    Helpful 3
    Thanks 1
    Love this 2
    Oh no 0

    2 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    5 years ago

    Helpful 3
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0
    Photo of L T.
    1
    184
    90

    3 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Sho R.
    104
    1744
    7502

    6 years ago

    Helpful 2
    Thanks 0
    Love this 3
    Oh no 0

    Page 1 of 4

    Ask the Community - Thomas' Smokey Pit Stop

    You might also consider

    Gee Gee’s Southern Cuisine - Fried Chicken Wings

    Gee Gee’s Southern Cuisine

    4.1(53 reviews)
    56.9 miSmith Hill

    I am a sucker for when I'm craving chicken, mac&cheese and just so happens all the sides I like to…read moreeat. So I'm always down to try spots serving up southern style dishes. I reallllyyy like the chicken at this place and since I love Mac & cheese, thiers was very good too! The collard greens was also good. It wasn't tooo salty. I would definitely come back for lunch again til I try everything!

    I've been craving some real soul food that I can't find in my state, so I took a quick trip next…read moredoor to Providence, Rhode Island to check out Gee Gee's Southern Cuisine. I pulled up right when they opened to get that fresh, hot food. Soon as I walked in, the vibe was on point--good music, welcoming decor, and just that feeling that you know the food's gonna be fire. I grabbed a seat and looked over the menu. Couldn't decide between the chicken or shrimp... so I went with both. No regrets. My plate came with mac and cheese that was creamy and flavorful, and the collard greens? Perfectly seasoned, just how I like them. The cornbread was soft and buttery, and the sweet tea hit just right. Solid 10/10 on the food--nothing but goodness. Only downside? The customer service. My waitress made me come up to her to place my order--and it wasn't even busy. That was the only thing that threw me off. Other than that, it was a whole win #goodeatsinct #soulfood #providence #Rhodeisland #geegeesoutherncusine #travelingandeating #makeitcount #goodfoodgoodmood

    Photos
    Gee Gee’s Southern Cuisine
    Gee Gee’s Southern Cuisine - Yams

    Yams

    Gee Gee’s Southern Cuisine - Front entrance

    See all

    Front entrance

    Carmine's

    Carmine's

    4.3(199 reviews)
    6.0 mi
    $$

    I'm back! The restaurant is located on 389 Main St. in East Hartford, CT. It's been a few months…read moresince I was last here (December) which is a crime. Carmine's is a fresh from scratch kitchen that is ALWAYS open. Their appetizers, pastas, entrees and desserts combine old-world traditional Italian flavor with a modern flair for presentation, and the freshest ingredients around. Menu staples like rigatoni bolognese, fettuccine carbonara and chicken Milanese are coupled with unique recipes like chicken ala vodka and toasted almond cake. They've staffed the kitchen with a dream team of chefs and you can tell instantly! They also do parties, catering and online ordering/delivery. The restaurant is well known for its live music. There is never a cover and parking is always free. This place and produces absolutely amazing food and drinks. I have noticed quite a few menu changes. The Happy Hour menu has expanded. It's also no longer all day Monday. The main menu no longer has prices on featured drinks (although that's the tre d these days). Note that the Bar Bites menu is available open to close! The Main Menu looks the same although there is a new Wine List (that's a first here). The music is very pleasant and the right volume level. It's always a big cool in here too. For my first drink, I'm having a Pratt N Whiskey. This is made with Woodford Reserve Bourbon, sweet vermouth, red wine and sour mix. It's definitely an unusual drink. It's not garnished, but it tastes great. The wine sticks out for sure. It's clearly a shaken drink not often found with a whiskey component except for maybe Whiskey Sours. For my first item, I'm having the House Salad made with spring mix, basil, tomatoes, julienned (thinly sliced) carrots, cucumbers and house red wine vinaigrette dressing. This is a big portion! I love this dressing! This tastes great! For my next item, I'm trying the Carmine's Secret Tenderloins. These are off of Carmine's "Secret Menu." They are pan seared, caramelized chicken tenderloins, made with wine, olive oil, cracked black pepper (dried black peppercorns broken into coarse, uneven pieces), kosher salt (a coarse, flaky salt named for its use in the Jewish koshering process of drawing blood from meat), shredded Parmesan and a very special "secret sauce." I'm curious as to what this sauce tastes like. Wow! Nice presentation! These are good! I love that sauce! There's a good crowd in here (20 people). Only one worker (bartender and server). She's damn good at what she does! For my next drink, I'm having a Connecticut Cosmo. This is made with Litchfield Vodka, Wild Moon Cranberry, Triple Sec and lime juice. This vodka is the Gold Medal Winner 2018 & 2019 at the New York International Spirits Competition. Silver Medal Winner at the 2017 San Francisco World Spirits Competition!Our Gluten-Free Batchers' Vodka is distilled from luscious corn grown during the beautiful summer months in Somers, CT. We distill 4 ¾ times and use a gravity-fed charcoal filter that takes 12 hours to filter 100 gallons. The longer the vodka sits on the charcoal, the more impurities are removed, which creates an incredibly smooth taste. Bottled at 80 proof. It is impeccably clean, slightly sweet, velvety smooth mouthfeel and sweet buttery overtones. It's smooth with a warm finish with subtle notes of sweet ripe corn at the end. I actually sat down next to the owner of the Distillery at a wine pairing dinner at Flemings in West Hartford about 7-8 years ago. This looks nice! Wow! This has great flavor! For my next item, I'm having the Rigatoni Matinara. Rigatoni is a large, tube-shaped pasta with ridges on the outside and straight-cut ends. Marinara sauce is a tomato sauce usually made with tomatoes, garlic, herbs, and onions. I don't eat pasta all that often. This will serve as my appetizer before I hit the main course. This is a BIG portion! It is very good! For my entree I'm having the Pan Seared Salmon which is "hand cut" salmon with zesty orange glaze served over mashed potatoes with seasonal vegetables (broccoli). Add LOTS of crushed red pepper. Nod that's "LOTS." This is spicy! My kinda spicy! The plate is nice and hot! I like the presentation. This tastes great! What a great meal here!

    I can't believe we were charged for bread - twice! We got a small half of a loaf (not even as big…read moreas a half grinder roll) and asked for more. Never have I ever paid for bread in a restaurant and we were asked if we wanted bread - no mention of we had to pay extra for it. Side salads are an extra charge too. If you get a chicken meal expect it to have a very charred taste to it. We found the food to be middle of the road and not very big portions considering we usually take food home from other places. There was a birthday party going on in the restaurant, not in a separate room. Not that it bothered us, but it was extremely loud in there and it seemed to bother the table next to us. Don't expect a quiet dinner in this place. Getting the attention of the waitress was impossible. I had to stand at the bar and wait to pay our bill. The party had the entrance blocked because they were filming and we had to exit through a side entrance, which didn't bother us, but not the best from a safety point of view. Do we recommend the place - no. Will we go back - no.

    Photos
    Carmine's - Bar area

    Bar area

    Carmine's - Steak Tacos

    Steak Tacos

    Carmine's - Steak tacos with salsa and garlic aioli

    See all

    Steak tacos with salsa and garlic aioli

    Thomas' Smokey Pit Stop - bbq - Updated May 2026

    Loading...
    Loading...
    Loading...