When I moved over to the Riverbend area, I was worried about finding a good BBQ restaurant. After all, I had so many to choose from living in the city of STL. There it was like finding a Walgreens, there practically was one on every block. After a few misses at other restaurants, I thought I'd give Fire-n-Smoke a try. Actually, I was driving back from STL and my go to in STL was closed due to a water pipe break, so I had no BBQ in the car. When I programmed their address in the GPS, I was shocked how close it was to the intersection of 111 and 255. This was going to be an easy pick-up and back on the road to home. First impressions count and this place was super clean, practicing social distancing and everyone was wearing mask (correctly) and the staff were also wearing gloves on both sides of the counter. Win! Being a first time visitor, I'll admit I went overboard with my order. I ordered way to much food for one person, but I got to sample many things and I divided it up into additional meals. Not only did I have today's lunch, but I also have lunch and dinner for tomorrow. To sample multiple meats, I ordered the Three Meat Platter. I choose; Baby Back Ribs, Burnt Ends and Pulled Pork. The young cashier recommended the pulled pork, she said it was one of their most popular. Out of the three meats, it was my favorite. The ribs had good flavor, but did not totally fall off the bone the way I like it. I had to do some work, to get all the meat off the bone. The Burnt Ends were good, but a little fattier then I am use to. However, I'll give them another try. My platter came with two sides. Everyone raves about the Mac-n-Cheese in the Yelp reviews, so it was a no brainer to choose it. Again, I asked the cashier which other one I should choose and she recommended the Fried Potato Twisters. I didn't want two heavy carbs, so I asked if they did the BBQ Beans in house and she said, yes. I know it's another carb, but it just seemed a better choice. Also, easier to split up into another meal than cold fries. I liked the Mac-n-Cheese. I really appreciated that it was baked and served in its own separate tin dish. Could have had more seasoning for me, but that can be resolved with a pepper shaker and spices from home. The BBQ Beans were pretty standard and had good flavor and lots of brisket pieces in it. In addition to the Three Meat Platter, I ordered 6 Chicken Wings and I'll tell you now, these little babies will be a go to for me. They are smoked over oak before being tossed in the fryer and tossed in the sauce of your choice. I had the Buffalo sauce served on the side for mine. No sauce needed, these little beauties tasted divine, just as they were. Best of all, they also packaged them, 3 flats and 3 drums. If you know me, you know I want the numbers to match. Service was friendly and as stated earlier, they were following CDC guidelines to the max. So glad I finally gave them a try and realized it's only a 12-15 drive from home. Not bad for good BBQ. When: February 20, 2021 Why: Lunch and Searching for a BBQ joint to call my own. read more

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Great place! From the moment you walk in you get a great vibe, great decor and music, friendly staff who are always smiling and happy to help, it's refreshing to see. Ordered a 3 meat platter, ribs, burnt ends & brisket, sides were Mac & cheese & twisted fries. Platter took a few minutes to make while we freshened up, got our drinks and found a table. Food was delivered and first off everything looked yummy, everything was also hot which is important to me. Ribs were lightly smoked, had good bark on them & were seasoned well. Burnt ends were delicious and so was the brisket. Platter served with 2 slices of bread & garlic butter, this was a nice touch. Sides were both yummy as well. Tried a few of their specialty sauces and they were delicious as well. Now I may be nit picking here, but they lost a point for how the platters were served, 2 identical platters should be identical. One platter had thick cut brisket, the other thin sliced. One had Mac & cheese with crunchy crumbles, the other no crumbles. Also the ribs were dry, I know with baby back there is not much meat, but these were overdone. read more

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I was super disappointed in Fire and Smoke tonight. I ordered the Rib platter to carry out. When I get it home and open it up...I see ribs and my two sides, two pieces of stale white bread And not a bit of sauce Dry Ribs Not a bit of sauce. If I had wanted Mauls sauce on dry ribs I could get that at Schnucks. How hard is it to make sure a little container of BBQ sauce goes in the ribs or in your carry out bag? read more

Fire-n-Smoke Wood River - Dry over smoked ribs - Southern Near Me - Wood River, Illinois

Ventured over to Wood River to play golf at the Spencer T Olin, a beautiful public course, and decided to try a new local haunt. Pulling up Yelp, I found a familiar name of a BBQ joint I frequented in Troy, IL. I instantly knew I wouldn't be disappointed. Easily found in a peninsula of a parking lot, We settled on the smoked wings, burnt ends, and a brisket platter. The sauces were great and any fire lover will enjoy the Ghost Pepper Pineapple Sauce. A down side? The slaw was bland. Seems like something that could be easily fixed. The drinks by Excel Bottling are appreciated to get a taste of the Illinois Mountain Dew, Ski. Otherwise, you could get lemonade, sweet or plain tea, and fountain sodas. Plan to stop by and give a local smokehouse some love!!Chicken WingsChicken Wings read more

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Wasn't a bad BBQ area wings wasn't so bad not big on smoked wings do to the pig flavor, but your wings wasn't like that maybe a little more sauce on the wings the beans was good very hot and fresh thanks for having us .. read more

Wow, I've been wanting to try this place for awhile! They definitely have some great food! One of my favorite restaurants in the area! Their twisted fries 100% amazing! Their salad is good but was a little disappointed. I asked for extra jalapeños in my salad, I got about 2. Literally, see my picture :( but next time I'll make sure to check my food before driving off. Maybe they misunderstood? Who knows! I'll definitely return to fire n smoke when I'm in the area. read more

Fire-n-Smoke Wood River - Southern Near Me - Wood River, Illinois

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Great food, consistent in the flavors, quick professional service.. friendly to all atmosphere Spacious with drive thru. TVs inside Awesome establishments. My Favorite Bbq Spot read more

I absolutely love your food, but you need to do something about your phones. 95% of the time when we call we get a recording about your message inbox being full. It's been like that since you opened and it makes trying to place to pick-up orders impossible. read more

Called and tried to ask a question about ordering ahead for Superbowl Sunday and was immediately put on hold. The call held for 10 minutes before automatically hanging up on me. This place needs more people working there. read more

I am a semi-frequent customer of Fire and Smoke. They are literally the only game in town for BBQ. The store is a former KFC. It's decorated in a kind of rustic/industrial look. Maybe a little too dark inside. The cleanliness has slipped a little and some of the TV's either aren't in or don't work properly. But I don't come here to watch TV. I've had a title of everything on the menu and it's decent. My go to meal is the Texas Burger with Mac and cheese. Their burgers are pretty good on their own, but add brisket to it and you've got a solid winner. The Mac and cheese is thick and gooey, just the way I like it. No box Mac going on here. The staff is always friendly and attentive to customers needs.the price seems right in line with most comparable BBQ spots. read more

Told them it was for a gluten allergy to not add bread they added bread asked for replacement or refund and they argued eventually leaving the phone on the line. Don't recommend if you want your actual order when you have an allergy. +asked for manager to help they said no read more

Fast, good quality, overwhelmingly expensive. I would return, but only if I could afford to drop $13 for 3 tiny tacos and a little bowl of coleslaw. read more

I've been wanting to try this place for a while and finally got the opportunity to today. I ordered the two meat platter to go with ribs and brisket. They were not bad but nothing to write home about. The service was good. The one complaint I had was that when she handed me my box, I thought to myself that it was kind of cool when it should've been warm to the touch. All the way home I'm thinking this box must be really insulated because I don't feel any heat. When I got home, I found that the reason I didn't feel any heat is because nothing was warm. The beans were the closest thing to being warm, everything else was slightly warmer than room temperature. The fries were almost inedible because they were not warm. I may give them another try at some point so overall it wasn't the worst experience I've ever had. read more

Some things are pricey but you get good portions. I've eaten there twice and it was amazing. Smoked turkey was good and the burger was phenomenal and a great price. Very happy overall!! Excited to go back. read more

One of my favorite places to go. Turkey and shrimp platter for me every single time. read more

Fantastic local barbecue, but I emphasize GO EARLY. Only in that case, you can tell it's not as fresh and they run out of items like ribs quickly if you hit it too late. You can even notice the pulled pork becomes more stringy and crockpot tasting, rather than fresh BBQ when you go early. Worth our 30-40 minute drive just for carry out if we hit it at the right time. One of those places where it's still good without sauce. It's a local favorite on this side of the river. read more

Great consistent food with good service! The nachos were fantastic and enough for an appetizer for 4.

Always great food at a reasonable price. The staff is extraordinary, always polite and personable whether on the phone, in the restaurant or in the drive thru. You will not be disappointed. read more

Great bbq and awesome sides. Friendly staff. Drink selection is not to bad, at least the tea was very good. Even the burgers are really good. read more

don't go there, there workers will flip you off. Food is really cold, wouldn't let you talk to a manager.

There ice machine goes down they don't have alot to choose from and the drive thru takes for ever

Food safety is an issue with WoodRiver location. Employee was scratching his head over foodservice counter then packed food orders for the drive thru. No gloves on but that wouldn't have helped with hair, lice, dandruff, etc falling onto food and food counter. i got my refund and left. that was my first and last time visiting their restaurants. i will be following up with health department as well. read more

everytime I go there, they're closed during operation hrs. it was 7pm tonight when I went and they were closed. 4th time I've tried going there for food diring open hrs and they were closed. read more

Went through drive thru, they got my order wrong. Was told at 3pm they didn't have enough ribs for 2 tracks so I ordered one. I order 2 of their twisted potatoes and got 7 in one of the orders. The burger was old and rubbery. This is the 3rd time we tried them and probably won't be back. Food is not worth the price. read more

Messed up my burger I asked for a woodfired burger with cheese ketchup lettuce and got half lettuce pickels no cheese or ketchup.

Ate here few weeks ago. It was very "ok". Nothing to write home about. But...home is New Orleans. So take it for what its worth.

Fire n Smoke really surprised me and is a great addition to the STL BBQ scene. The staff here were great and you cannot go wrong with any of the options on the menu. If you are like me and want to try a bit of everything go with their large platter so you can try a bit of everything (more or less). The sauces were all very good as well, especially the ghost pepper one! The only downfall for this place was the frozen custard. I thought it was okay but it was not anything special and I felt like compared to the amazing dinner I had my dessert was subpar at best. I am in this area once a week thought and I am excited to continue to come here for some really good food. read more

We are semi frequent customers since this location opened and have had a few hiccups, but this past Friday, my husband and I went out to eat as he was hungry for BBQ. He knew the burnt ends would be sold out so he ordered a pulled pork platter and I ordered pulled pork nachos. We waited and waited and watched several tables sit down and served their food, but we didn't get ours. Inquired with one of the staff and she came back to tell us that they didn't have our ticket so she'd bring it right out. Now we understand that stuff like this happens, but were getting a little hangry. She comes back not a couple minutes later stating they were out of pulled pork. We asked for a refund, but Monday when checking our bank transactions they actually charged us two separate charges and NO refund. I've tried to call and it just rings and hangs up...I also sent a customer service email from their webpage with no response. Very frustrating when we were told the refund was coming and instead paid twice for no food. read more

The was amazing and so was the service . We got the smoked wings and the chicken taco's. They were delicious and the Mac and cheese was very good read more

There is plenty of good BBQ competition in the area and yet Fire-n-Smoke still stands out as my favorite. Like most BBQ joints, it is very casual inside but clean and spacious. They have a nice selection of sauces; my personal favorite is the Honey Chipotle. Their meats are very good - our favorites are the briquette and the ham (not available in Troy, IL) but their sides set them apart from the others. Best Cole slaw and potato salad I've ever had and the Mac n' Cheese is outstanding, as well. The two of us can usually share a dinner and it is plenty to satisfy us both. A go-to restaurant for us at least one night a week! read more

Great food. The dining area is not kept the cleanest but there is paper towels on each table. If they left cleaner it would be even better! I just order to go now. read more

Ok I was traveling through and it caught me eye so I tried it! When I went to post this I saw there are mixed reviews; people love it or hate it! It may be what you order. I tried the PIG sandwich and it was amazing! The twisted taters were freaking great and everything was ultra hot; I loved that! Now I went through around 11:15am. Also got a concrete and threw a coozie around it and it was still cold and not melted by the time I finished the meal. I did not try the brisket, and I can tell you from my travels and dining experiences that brisket is an art to prepare well and often bbq places dry it out too much. I can also tell you this; look at my reviews I travel the US extensively with work and especially the mid and Deep South and I eat at lots of bbq places. The sandwich I had today was one of the best ever I have had. It was a little fatty, but one of the meats on it is pork belly, duh that will be fatty. I like a little fat not loaded but a little for flavor and juiciness. The portion was huge. I will be back and I would try it if you are looking for something local read more

I love BBQ and travel a lot so have a chance to try bbq around the country. This is some of the best. I usually have the burnt ends which are top notch. Today I came in late in the day and most meats were sold out so I had the last serving of pulled pork, wow! Very good. I also recommend the mac cheese and sweet potatoes. The only downside is that I can only eat here once or twice a week if I want to keep my waist line from growing. read more

This is simply the BEST!! Had the brisket and I have a new love! The service is fast and everyone is so friendly. At first I thought the prices are a little high but when you get your food. Trust me you will be taking some home with you the portions are more then enough for 2 possibly 3 meals. You will not be disappointed read more

Best restaurant in the Wood River - Alton area! I love everything on the menu. Brisket, pulled pork, street tacos, Mac n cheese.. perfect every time! I travel the country often and THIS is great food. This location is a bit small but if you prefer a larger location check out their Troy restaurant. This one also has a drive thru. Pricing is good, service good. All around five star! read more

Worst bbq I have ever had !!! Our first time we went they messed up our order We tried it again and it was worse ! The brisket was dry and was given about 2 tablespoons We will definitely drive further to Edwardsville for good BBQ at docs smokehouse read more

Food was very good! The loaded nachos had lots of toppings and was delicious. I also had the Fire & smoke sandwich and Mac & cheese, definitely will get again! read more

Love this place! Great food and nice staff in a Wood River area that needs quality restaurants.

Decided to pop in after not getting anything from here for a few months. I opted for some ribs this time since I had never tried them and I have to say they are probably the best I've had from a bbq joint. Tender, moist, and had a sweet glaze right on top of the bark. Burnt ends were also good as usual and somehow I have missed ttrying their green beans up until this point. I swear it was like eating them right from my grandma's kitchen table(that's a good thing). They offer a drive through, carry out or I'm sure there is one of the random delivery companies that will stick it to you if want to be lazy and not leave your couch. Ready to go back and just get a rack of ribs. read more

The Mac N Cheese is the best!! Everything thing I had was delicious. Beef Brisket, wings, bbq chicken salad...everything!!!