Hey, we stopped for gas on our trip North and this station had Mid-Grade for the same price as Regular...Not too bad. But one more exit north of there (about milepost 77) the gas (Regular) was cheaper at several spots by about 8 cents/gal. read more

It's a truck stop. Order at the restaurant counter, pay at the convenience store register, pick up the food if you've paid. Three stars - not for the country gas-station nouveau atmosphere but despite it because the barbecue is really quite good. read more

The BBQ is pretty good, but I'm not sure it's "the best in Va." It's very annoying that people pull up to get gas and leave their car at the pump while going inside to eat. If you need to quickly get back on the road I'd go to the Exxon instead. read more

I had brisket and sweet potato fries. Fries were good. Brisket was tender but had a bit of an acrid taste to the smoke flavor. And the sandwich was really small for the price. Wasn't super busy but it was really slow. Biggest issue though was that the place could use a good scrubbing. read more

The server was very friendly, the coffee was hot, and the BBQ pulled pork was smokey and sweet and really tasty. The fried chicken salad was fried fresh... delicious with honey mustard. read more

I had the BBQ sandwich, Texas style, and the potato wedges. The sandwich was very greasy (the white bag was leaking with orange grease), but had a LOT of flavor! It was very good! The potato wedges were hot and seasoned. Very good! read more

The bad - disgusting bathrooms. The good - Best gas station food ever. Amazing fried chicken. Awesome brisket sandwich. Excellent Mac & cheese. Choice of BBQ sauces. Good tea. Cheap fast. Need an umbrella for the outside table. read more

This really is the best dang BBQ in Virginia! For a truck stop it was amazing! Friendly staff and customers, reasonably priced and enough food in one order to feed two people and still have leftovers! read more

Part of a truck stop off I-81, Smiley's is mediocre at best. We arrived around 9PM, which was probably a mistake. We had to walk past half a dozen folks, including 2-3 employees, smoking cigarettes just outside the front entrance; once inside, we had to search a little to find a table that was clean (several still had mostly empty drinks or plates of food that hadn't been bussed -- no telling how long since those diners had left). The waitress who came to serve us was certainly friendly, but not very bright, to say the least. For example, she took our drink order, but hadn't brought our drinks by the time the food arrived, and had to be reminded by my wife. There were a couple of other minor issues throughout the meal that would not likely have happened with a better server. At the end of the meal, her tip was more based on pity than a reward for good service. As far as the food: First, they were out of a lot of items (I guess that's what we get for coming at 9PM, so I won't fault them for that). More importantly, the food they did have was not that great. My plate of ribs was plenty large - more than I was expecting, honestly - but I only ended up eating half of them. They were dry and chewy, and the sauces on the table helped, but only somewhat; the flavor was decent, but hardly great (I can make better flavored ribs at home using a store-bought seasoning rub). My sweet-potato fries were tasty, but definitely overcooked. On a brighter note, my son's pulled pork sandwich was very good. It's possible we would have gotten better food and service if we hadn't come late in the evening, but the time of day can never be an excuse for poor service or sub-par quality food. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that truck stop food isn't fantastic, but it definitely wasn't "the best dang BBQ in Va," and not as good as I was expecting based on some other Yelp reviews. read more

Eh. I've been trying a lot of different BBQ places on the east coast over the last few years. This one is nothing to write home about. Besides the food, my experience wasn't great (i.e. they were out of green beans, no tap water, forks were hidden, tables weren't wiped down, they forgot one of my sides). read more

GREASY!!!! I'll say it again GREASY. In a beef brisket platter several slices were entering fat and gristle. Yuck! It's also in a gas station, so no points for decor. If I wasn't traveling with grumpy kids I would have demanded a refund and left. Who serves beef brisket without a knife? "it's our policy not to give out knives" even plastic ones! Beam me up Scotty. read more

Food tasted just like mama made it......if we only made food in the microwave that just came out of the freezer

Didn't have high hopes but my husband insisted we try it while getting gas. And damn, the Texas pulled pork is SO good. Oh my goodness. We got the potato wedges and coleslaw too, but honestlu those were pretty forgettable. But definitely stop here for the pulled pork. read more

Recommended by a fellow work associate. So far I've had the chopped bbq sandwhich, beef brisket sandwhich, ohhhooo the chicken, mac & cheese (w/the crumb top), baked beans, broccoli & rice casserole... And I seemingly seem to stop here each time I come thru this side od Va. You know the food is good when they are open 24hrs, people of all ethnicities eat & chat, the truckers order large meals, or the locals are always in & out! C'mon folks... we all have to eat something that is 'finger lickin' good... And enjoy it!!! read more

My wife and I stopped at this place on the way home from NY, it was 4:43 PM. We walked in and sat ourselves. After sitting for a couple of minutes, a server told us she'll be there in a minute. She stopped by and asked us what we would like to drink, we both said water. She left and after a few minutes, another waitress stopped and asked if we were ready to order. We said we were and placed our order and also ordered 2 sodas. She asked if we still wanted our water and we said Yes. It was 4:57 PM. She brought us our sodas. We reminded her that we still wanted the water. My wife and I was chatting and looking around the restaurants and noticed that a lot of customers were being served. Around 5:17, I mentioned to my wife that they are slow. Mind you we've been there since 4:43. A server stopped by and asked if we had placed our order, we said yes and she said she was gonna check on it. At 5:34, she came to us and yes, that our order was taken but it wasn't given to the kitchen. We told her to forget it as we were not going to continue waiting. I paid for our drinks (which by the way, were crappy) and left. While outside, I saw a gentlemen wearing a shirt with the restaurant logo so I said very loudly, how I will not be stopping at this place again. He heard me and asked me what I had said. I told him what happened and how long we waited and he wasn't happy but didn't offer any assistance. I don't recommend this place based on the lack of service. I can't comment on the food since we never got a chance to taste it. read more

Great spot to pick up a brisket sandwich when traveling on I-81

Wow!!! Got here at 5pm. Had a beer and double whiskey times 4!!! Had a big lunch! Crew change, I was told had to eat something according to Virginia law before I could be served again! So I order some fries, I got a beer! No more spirits! But they voted on killing your baby!!!! read more

Excellent BBQ!! Great sauces and lots of sides. Yummy Mac n cheese, cold slaw! Definitely coming back to try wings and more sides...green bean casserole and sweet potato casserole and Pie! read more

Love this place, great atmosphere and the best ribs and bbq I have ever ate!!! A must!

The food was delicious! The Brisket is a must and the potato wedges were great. The staff is friendly and fun!

Their highway advertising definitely does the trick. The staff is nice, but the bbq just isn't good enough to justify the location.

So...after driving past for years and seeing "best BBQ in VA" we stopped. Parking lot was full so we thought that would be a good sign. Not so much. Placed an order for a BBQ sandwich and hushpuppies, no drink. It was $9. Also for a place that says best BBQ in VA, I'm a little disappointed they only sell TX or NC BBQ, those are the two options :(. Then the lady at the counter hands me a bag, and when I double check (thank goodness) it's a bag of fried chicken... so I tell her "hey this is a bag of chicken, and I ordered a sandwich and hushpuppies. She just said "oh, that's what that said." Now if the ticket had been unclear that's one thing, but it said a big NC on it for NC BBQ...not even close to the word chicken. We finally got the sandwich and hushpuppies, there was no sauce on the sandwich so we added it. Meh, sandwich was worth about $3, hushpuppies a little better but not worth ever stopping again. Next time we'll go to Cookout, way better food, better deal, and better service. Also, paying for Yelp reviews is shameful. Try focusing on improving your food. Or cleaning literally anything in this place. read more

They have the best fried chicken and really good pulled pork . The people working are very nice ad the newly redone bathrooms are nice. Plus fuel is cheap read more

Smiley's Bar-B-Q - Barbeque Near Me - Raphine, Virginia

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Good food friendly folks definitely worth stopping for its located on I 81exit #205 in .va.check it out

Love the food. I stop in here every time I come thru. The Texas bbq sandwich meal is great. Easy on and off the interstate and pretty good truck parking. Prices are very reasonable. read more

I tried the bbq and now i stop in every chance i get dont take long to get your order i am always in and out with my bbq

Ok the day staff is nice here but food is garbage sorry just is. I live close by normally get gas there and that's it! Bbq is fake smoke flavored and fried chicken is a salt lick. If you must eat on road fast go to exit 200 and there is a old kinda dumpy looking gas station on the corner of rt11 Cofey's market don't judge it until you eat there they got good food and okay bbq their pit cooked chicken is good to but not as good as the firemen chicken across from them lol read more

BEST CHICKEN HANDS DOWN!! Their BBQ is good but what's really great is their chicken! Juicy, tender with a tasty crust. We prefer it over KFC by far! Try the beans and fries too. Their slaw is lacking vinegar which I dislike and my partner loves. read more

this was the best hidden gem i was the best fried chicken i ever tasted ..if you ever head that way make sure you stop in its worth it

AWESOME A great stop and well worth going out of your way for! Sweet potato fries were totally awesome, and I had a chicken leg which tastes like real chicken we had in the '50's... I fully expected to see free-range chickens running around when I left. I agree with the poster who raved about the cole slaw... it was the best I've ever had. My 2 companions had the BBQ sandwich and loved it. Waiting in line for lady's room was fun since other women all were saying hello and catching up on gossip/news/etc. It was like a community meeting place. The checkout girl was chatting with someone named 'Mav' and catching up with him. Real Friendly, I loved the place. My companions went out of their way to go back on return trip; I was jealous I couldn't cuz I was on a train. What brought us there was the lowest gas price we'd seen on 11/25/2012 it was $3.18/gal. Highly recommend. read more

I think this place is honestly over-hyped. All these signs say "Best dang BBQ in Virginia" when honestly it's pretty mediocre. The meat is tender and juicy on the outside but once you start working your way into the middle of the sandwich, it starts to get dry. The sauces definitely help but it would be nice if the sandwich could be moist without it. The side dishes are pretty good but nothing spectacular. read more

I was in the middle of a road trip. My goal was to find a quick bite to eat. This is not the place for such a thing. They were out of their brisket, hamburgers, pork chop sandwiches...basically everything except pulled pork (there was a "meal deal" advertised for their cheeseburger meal that drew me in initially). There were two people in line ahead of me and it took more than 5 minutes for them to order because everything they wanted they didn't have. One lady ended up ordering only mac & cheese and when she ordered the employee asked her if she wanted to double it for $4.95. She exasperatedly said "for mac & cheese??? Hell naw!" and got a single order. I finally got to order and after a few minutes I realized on my own that I had to pay at the main gas counter before I could get my order. There was one person at the gas register at a busy truck stop and after waiting 5 minutes to pay for my food and another 3 to get my mac & cheese (because they had to make it), I got my food. The dining area was filthy - I don't think that anyone was assigned to clean it up during the day - I had to return to the counter to get ketchup and silverware because there were none available nor were they offered to me with my food. Four ketchup bottles around me we're bone dry not to mention my messy, greasy table didn't even have ketchup bottles on it. The meat was good but the cleanliness, ordering process, time, and value for the money was tremendously lacking and sub-par. You're all on your own here. Good luck. I'll be going to the Iron Skillet across the street from now - no questions asked. Even the ice maker for the fountain drinks was empty. I am kicking myself for even stopping there. Not what I wanted or expected at all! I give it two stars because the pork was good but nothing else about the experience was worth the pain or price. read more

I love the pulled pork Carolina style barbecue sandwich. The pork is pit cooked and chopped (i.e. - Carolina style) with a nice tangy vinegar sauce. It's a bit messy but delicious. read more

Don't let the outside appearance deter you. The food here was very good. Texas BBQ pulled pork and mac and cheese were both delicious, as was the apple cobbler. We even took some more pulled pork to go. Prices are fair. Staff is friendly. There seemed to be lots of regulars too. read more

Unimpressive appearance but good food. The pulled pork sandwich was very good, with a nice smoke flavor, and there was an assortment of BBQ sauces to put on it. Mac and cheese was creamy with a hint of crispy topping, and coleslaw was fresh and flavorful. Altogether a satisfying lunch and nice change of pace from the usual fast food chains. read more

Worst BBQ in Virginia Smiley's BBQ ware the portions are small and the Price's are high. I went in today and they had no coleslaw which is unbelievable for a barbeque restaurant. I inquired were there smoker was and they said they didn't have one that they shipped there pork in. The best in VA doesn't even make there own BBQ pathetic. read more

Not BBQ, repeat, not BBQ, at least the ribs were not. BBQ is slowly smoked meat, not BOILED. I should have been clued in by the absence of a smokey smell, followed up by the lady unwrapping them from plastic wrap. I should I have asked for my money back. They looked and tasted like they were boiled and seared on the grill for a minute or two. The food was edible, but definitely not BBQ. Don't be fooled by the claim "Best dang BBQ in VA." The people were very friendly, and service was good. The fried chicken looked really good. I should have gone with that. read more

I am giving a 5 star rating to a gas station with snarling clerks and crappy bathrooms. I have been eating here for years. I start thinking about it for hours before I get there. I have slept in the parking lot to eat bbq for breakfast. I regularly commit bbq adultery to my mid-south roots by joyfully eating the Carolina special with slaw. The fried chicken-- if just out-- is pretty damned good. It may have slipped a notch with the kids running it; and nothing this good last forever. But for right now, this place is still a benchmark. read more

Truck stop gas station, wasn't sure if we wanted to eat here, doesn't look very good. But the food was great.

Great BBQ! Brisket was tender. Mac and cheese was awesome. Atmosphere not so good, but the food was excellent!