Never been to Smokey Bones in Atlanta so happy to be here. Dakota great waiter handling the six of us. read more

Smokey Bones - American Near Me - Grand Rapids, Michigan

Stopped for lunch on the way to the airport. This is not your destination if you are in a hurry. This is a relaxed laid-back place for lunch, and so is the waitstaff. This is not the "Lunch Rush"-but the service was actually pretty good!. So... Having an expense account to kill, I ordered the smoked wings and the combo Rib platter. 1/3 Rack of both the St. Louis style and the Baby Backs! Of course anyone who up-charges $0.99 for a salad instead of letting me substitute for 2 sides loses a star! (Hint: my repeat business should be worth more than one single $0.99 up-charge). It was just ok with sad wilted greens, cucumber, cherry tomatoes and croutons. The wings were deeply smoked with a nice heavy flavorful rub, w a chipotle (?) BBQ drizzle. No weak Bleu cheese or Ranch dressing needed here! Ribs: both fork tender, meaty and well seasoned. The Baby backs were a bit sweeter, and the St. Louis were smokiest, and I think I preferred the St. Louis a bit better. Overall about 3.5, but I leaned to the 4 because my waiter, although not the very best or quickest (sorry Steve), had a great personality and was very helpful! read more

In Grand Rapids for business and decided to eat here since it was fairly close to the hotel. I had brisket, sausage, bean and coleslaw. It was ok BBQ. Definitely not great but kinda down the middle. The brisket didn't really have much smoke flavor. The worst part of the experience was the absolutely horrible service. I sat at the bar and Kali was the bartender. I took a look at the drink menu and ordered one of their beers on tap. She then left for a cigarette break and didn't bring my drink. After 15 minutes or so she came back and asked if I'd decided on anything. I told her I had already ordered a beer but she hadn't served me yet. She poured my beer and then gave me the bill. I told her I would like to order some food. She then left for another cigarette break and came and took my order about 15 minutes later. Then disappeared again and my food sat under the hot lights for about 30 minutes while I assume she went to smoke again . Probably won't be back. read more

Came here with a friend on a Sunday afternoon. It was somewhat busy but the service was still great and the food came out quickly. I had the Dragon Slayer drink and it was amazing!!! Almost too good to be true amazing. We shared the buffalo chicken dip which had some heat and huge chunks of chicken. I will be getting it again read more

Smokey Bones - Dragon Slayer - American Near Me - Grand Rapids, Michigan

Completely inappropriate music being played on the speaker system, snarky waiter with a holier-than-thou know-it-all attitude, combined with just decent food. The overall experience made the prices seem a bit high for an unfulfilling evening out. read more

Came here for a quick lunch before heading back to airport. Great Baby back ribs. Baked potato was a little dry...but overall the meal and service were great! read more

Smokey Bones - Inside - American Near Me - Grand Rapids, Michigan

This place is very under staffed. We've been sitting here for over an hour and 45 minutes waiting for our food. We had to wait about a half hour for our drink and our server took another hour to refill them. Don't go if you are tight on time or if you don't want to spend the whole evening here. Once we got our food it was all messed up. The server said that all the cooks walked out and the mangers were cooking so they were too busy to talk to us. Not a good time read more

Ordered curbside for my first time here. Highly disappointed. Ordered an 8 dollar ice cream cookie desert, which didn't come with ice cream.. it was just a cookie. My nachos were missing queso, cilantro, and green onions. My boyfriend calls the store and while we explain what's wrong the worker try's to argue with us.. we are explaining what is wrong with our order, why are you arguing with me. The lack of respect. So then the manager proceeds to call my boyfriend later so he can assess what was wrong with the order. He then gaslighted my boyfriend into thinking there was nothing wrong with the nachos (even though it was missing three toppings!!) and explained how they don't give ice cream to curbside service. So why weren't we told this? Basically I'm not getting any money back and I'm not coming here again nor will I recommend it to anyone. I work in customer service and this is just bs read more

Michelle was great. Hectic work schedule with minimal time to grab a bite and she made sure all of my food was correct while managing a full bar. read more

The ribs are great so is the pulled pork and nachos my sauce of choice would probably be the chipotle bbq they have four different kinds I forget the names but the colors range from red blue green and yellow if you like hot or sweet go for the red or blue thank me later read more

Average. As this is one of two in the state of Michigan, I had no idea it was a chain until my husband pointed out that advertising, promotions and set-up is typical of chain restaurants. Also, checking their website concurred that yes, this is a chain. As many reviewers touched upon, it also doubles as a sport's bar, which, to me, signals this chain is best described as confused. They are throwing all elements of successful businesses into one pot hoping that something works and attempting to appeal to wide range of people but we felt that it was too mediocre at best and should concentrate on specializing with one thing. We ordered: Pretzel bones for appetizer Each ordered the 3 item "Create Your Own Combo" with two sides. TheHusband got the smoked sausage, brisket and pulled pork. I got the smoked sausage, brisket and chicken tenders. The chicken tenders were "sauced" in brown sugar sauce. The pretzel bones were four pieces of long soft pretzels with a trio of sauces, which they were selling for $7.99. While we adored the mustard sauce, the other two were tasteless. And for $7.99, we're paying $2 a pretzel and to be honest, this appetizer would be better priced at $3.99 or $4.99 as it's not worth the nearly double digit price tag as it's pretty obvious the pretzels are frozen and not fresh. Or they should double the amount of pretzels for that price. The "Create your own combos" are HUGE. Literally, we assumed that as it as a combo, it would be a sampler of each of the items we choose (hence why we picked 3 items, not 2 as we were starving) and these were individual meal portions. So, a lot of food. I had the loaded baked potato and coleslaw as my sides, TheHusband had the baked beans and fries. Meat: We both loved the sausage (heh.) and both felt the brisket was too fatty and was pretty tasteless. TheHusband felt the pulled pork was simply average and the chicken tenders in the brown sugar sauce was amazing. Sides: Coleslaw is cream based and was decent and the loaded baked potato tasted like it was microwaved and since I'm paying extra for it (as it was considered a "fancy side" and thus an upgrade to the meal), I was disappointed to see it was on the small side. (They are charging $3.99 for it ala carte and if I had ordered it ala carte and received it as such, I'd send it back to the kitchen for a new one). Ambiance was okay - as others pointed out, loads of televisions showing sports everywhere. So overall: It was okay. A few great items, plenty of average ones, pricing on the high side for what you're getting. I would NOT recommend this place if you're a BBQ aficionado or looking for authenticity. read more

Yum, yum, yum. I am here in MI for business. I found Smokey Bones on yelp. I cannot believe it only has 3 stars. I got the wings to start ..very moist and tasty!!( if you download their app you get free app ) .. I ordered the Brisket with baked potato and broccoli. The baked potato melted in my mouth. The Brisket was fantastic!!! The ribs looked so dam good too. I will be back Fri before I go home Sat. The service was great. Jacey was very attentive and kind. We need a Smokey Bones in Cali!!! Stop by here if you get the opportunity. read more

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The food was excellent. I had the combo plate with brisket, two 1/3 racks of smokey Memphis ribs and baby back ribs. My sides was grilled fired corn and barbecue beans with some really good garlic bread. The baby backs were fall off the bone good and brisket was tender and juicy with just the right amount of barbecue sauce which tasted home made. My only critic is that the beans while good was also a little too sweet for me. I highly recommend this restaurant for some really good barbecue and beer. The service was pretty good too. read more

Smokey Bones - Nice atmosphere - American Near Me - Grand Rapids, Michigan

horrible, we missed out on 3 drinks and all of our sauce and it came cold and 2 HOURS late. and it was so stale. wouldn't order

Came to this place while I was in town. Had the breakfast burger and a flight of beer. Great option! They have a great selection on draft. Also tvs everywhere so you won't miss the action. The burger was really good! I will say, they were cheap on the fries. I even made a comment to the waiters and she blew me off. Overall great place, excellent food, good prices., I recommend it. read more

My rating is after being semi-regular for the past year. Why not higher? Some occasions, the service is poor, especially on our last visit we were basically ignored by the bartender for a friend that was also at the bar. However, we usually go Sunday night (vs early afternoon) and have Jayce who is amazing and awesome. A mistake we won't make again. In terms of the food, I really enjoy the baby back ribs with the Memphis style rub and they are consistently delicious. Plus, they usually have a decent beer special but, it's usually just the basics... Bud lights, Miller, etc. We also tried the corn dogs, the batter was too donutty, for a corn dog, I prefer savory breaking over sweet. If you get Jayce, you'll have a great visit, someone else, can't guarantee it. read more

Smokey Bones has become a Sunday ritual lately for late dinner and we have been pleased for the most part. We had an issue on one occasion when our grilled chicken (on a salad) was burned/charred and should never have left the kitchen ... then the replacement piece was the same but only on one side (which was facing down when brought out). Found out that cook had left for the night so we were brought a brand new salad (with perfect chicken) and it was removed from our bill. The best part was the next time we ordered that salad and asked to make sure the chicken was cooked but not charred, and explained what happened the last time, the manager removed the salad (again) from our bill. Now THAT is how you keep customers coming back!! We love the brisket and ribs!! Had only one time (and it was late in the evening) when they were out of brisket. Nobody is perfect, we have received ribs that weren't their normal standard and brisket with a bit more fat than should be served, but the majority of the time, food is very good. read more

I will start this review off by saying I despise chain restaurants. I hate the atmosphere, the perky attitudes of wait staff, and the generally mediocre food. This place couldn't be more of a cliche chain restaurant if it tried. The only reason we went here was because it was close to our hotel and the kitchen was open until 11:00P. We ordered a loaded baked potato, 8 wings, and a corn bread to share. The loaded baked potato was pretty good, but it's pretty hard to mess up a potato you put some butter, sour cream, cheese, and chives on. The cornbread was good, and the honey-pecan butter wasn't bad but it was a little too sweet. The wings were maybe a 2/10. Lots of breading, and we split between "Memphis Dry Rub" and "KC BBQ Sauce." The dry rubbed wings tasted like plain wings with absolutely no seasoning. The KC wings were just not good. For "Beer city" - their beer selection was very poor. The only non BMC products they had were Bell's Oberon and Sierra Nevada Summer Ale. They also had some house beer that the lady said was brewed by Killians and was pretty much some kind of variant of Killian's Red. How can you exist in a town with a legendary Michigan craft brewery like Founders and not at least have one beer line for their products?!?! Our server was very nice, having the overly perky attitude that chain restaurants seek in their employees. I may be biased in this rating because of my disdain for chain restaurants, or is it that chain restaurants such as this just live up to this type of reputation. read more

Had lunch here today. Food was great. One of the waitresses must have thought she was working for hooters. It was quite embarrassing and very inappropriate. So glad we didn't have kids with us. We love be the food but it is not a family friendly environment. Probably just go with take out. read more

We took a chance and was pleasantly surprised! The service was excellent, Hunter our server was attentive and brought extra brisket with out us asking. The brisket and baby back ribs were very good. We will definitely be back read more

Parking lot was pretty empty for a Friday evening so there was no wait to get in, I ordered the BLT which was amazing and we had service from Cat who was excellent and made sure I got everything I ordered fast and to my liking. read more

Decent chain restaurant. Friendly service. Decent food. I ordered a chicken dish which had chicken breasts in BBQ sauce, bacon, cheese and green onions - however, it came out without the bacon & cheese. The server brought them separately, said the chef apologized, and I added them myself, which was kind of lame. The cole slaw was VERY vinegary, though, and I wasn't really prepared for that. Despite that hiccup, the food was tasty and freshly prepared. read more

I was surprised by the truly terrible reviews. I've been here twice in the past 6 weeks or so, and had very good pulled pork and chicken wings. My partner had a burger that was delicious and well cooked, also. I also found the service to be average, not terrible. On the negative side, I had ribs that were very overcooked and the mashed potatoes were a tad salty. But all in all, I would go back again for some pulled pork. Maybe this place has gotten better since the last few reviews, or maybe we just got lucky? read more

This place has some of the best Smoked meats you'll find. The ribs, half chicken and smoked chicken wings are excellent. Sauce selection is good as well, regular and vinegar based are both good. Good selection of beers on tap and large bar area. Open till 2am. If you want something different from the typical upscale casual give this place a try. read more

Good food! everyone enjoyed their meal. Service was very good. We were really impressed with Kelsey F. She was phenomenal.

There aren't many good BBQ spots in Michigan, at least not compared to The South. Smokey Bones is as close to Southern BBQ as you're going to get. Having been to more than half of the Smokey's in the chain (yes folks, this is a chain) this isn't one of the better locations, but in Michigan it passes the test. The meats are fair here and there's plenty of drinks available to wash them down. The difference between stellar BBQ and what you'll get here is the meats here tend to be a bit dry. Fortunately, they have several different sauces to make them taste better. And, there's a wide enough variety that there's something for everyone. As for the sides, they are average. Some tasted canned. None taste fresh, but for a chain they aren't bad. Some of the appetizers are pretty good, though. Try the pretzel bread and the cornbread. Darn good! read more

For the most part, I enjoyed Smokey Bones. The skillet cornbread was to die for. (Note to Southerners, it was NOT our cornbread but Pound Cake...lol). The Gigantic Hawaiian Ribeye picture is deceiving though. It was the regular size we serve down in Mississippi. I would visit again the next time I visit Grand Rapids, MI. read more

Smokey Bones - Mmm mmm good... the skillet cornbread is to die for! - American Near Me - Grand Rapids, Michigan

Came here for some food and beer before the show. Service was fantastic as our waitress really was attentive and was paying attention to detail. The beer cold. Given. The food, well fantastic!! Nice job guys! read more

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Placed a take out order. Order taker took the order, repeated the order directly to us; everything was correct. We pick up the order; arrive home and it completely incorrect; completely missing a side, the other side is incorrect, burger is not correct burger/not what we ordered, and we got charged for "avocado" for the turkey burger but did not get it. We called to question; SAME ORDER TAKER answers the phone and decides to argue with us stating that she verified everything with us ... well yesssss you did; but that is not what we got! First time trying this restaurant and will DEFINITELY be the last time. read more

Jenn has been such a blessing. My girlfriend and I went to many different restaurants in the area, and Smokey Bones delivered. She had such a wonderful demeanor and above beyond service. We will be back! Thanks Jenn! read more

Not someone who likes chain-style places. Went here with a group. Spoiled by KC and STL BBQ that Andrew W has introduced me to.... The food wasn't horrible but I have had better bbq. STAY AWAY from the salmon salad. read more

I had a very good birthday dinner at Smokey Bones ! We went at about 5pm not very busy very prompt attention. My wife ordered the Baby Back ribs and the Pulled Pork combo with roasted corn and fries. I had the 3 meat combo with Brisket, Smoked Wings and Sausage with fries and bbq beans, sorry, I forgot the appetizer was the corn bread with maple walnut butter, excellent ! We had so much left over we have enough for another meal. Not the best bbq I have ever had but it was very good for a chain restaurant. read more

Love going to see the bartender Michele. She is awesome! My favorites are the wings an fresh doughnuts for desert.

I eat here often. Unfortunately the quality of the food has not been good the last two times I have eaten here in the past month. The ribs appear to be a possibility cheaper cut of meat. The ribs are tougher and don't have as much flavor. I have been a regular customer of this Smokey Bones for over 8 years. read more

We used to love eating here and the last two times we ate here were awful. I have gotten sick both times from their food and this time my husband also got sick, which was last night and literally our last night eating there. We had to tell Someone their bathrooms needed cleaning and their restaurant was dirty everywhere so I can only imagine what their kitchen looks like. If they can't keep areas their customers can see clean, imagine what filth they are preparing your food in!! NASTY. read more

This is for service only because we didn't actually get to eat. We were seated and no one came to visit with us in 10 minutes. Even though we tried to get the eye of somebody. We were ready to drink and spend lots of money. Poor service is always a sign of poor management. read more

Everyone and every place has an off day, and we obviously hit such a day with this place. We have been there quite often in the past and the food was quite good, the wait staff friendly but right on with the technique and professionalism, and the overall efficiency and guest care were easy four and often four stars. This was not the case when we went there at 9:30 PM on July 21. The young woman who did wait upon us was quite friendly and pleasantly outgoing, but there were some things she should have done - it was as if she had some of the "tools to use" missing. Most were small things, and I tend to be very tolerant of server errors as I see any problem with not having the best "tools to use" as a training issue - what are the things to do to make sure the guest is given the best service? What are his / her needs and requests for the best experience? These questions were a bit lacking with this otherwise friendly and outgoing woman. However, the main problem was the food. In light of the fact that a manager had to be summoned twice and the fact that he was NOT a "kitchen manager" who oversaw and is ultimately responsible for food quality, preparation, and presentation . . . well that shouts volumes as to why our meal was way below our expectations and prior experiences. The brisket tacos were OK to good - a bit more brisket would have helped. However, the guacamole had a full-size pit in the dish! My companion thought it was a radish at first, and the Smokey Bones Corporation may thank its lucky stars that she did not decide to chomp down on it. We called the server over who recognized it as a pit and did apologize, but it being there was not her responsibility. Indeed, I don't think servers should apologize for actions and aspects that are not their responsibility. That falls directly on the highest person in the place. We did make some humorous comments, but I did ask to see the manager. He did come out and confirmed the presence of a pit, explained that the restaurant uses real avocados (glad to hear that - but that is the minimum I would have expected) but that they usually don't add the pit to the dish. Again, we did add some humor, but did remind him that had one of us bitten down . . . very bad mojo would have happened. There was little to no attempt to "make it right" at that time. I ordered a steak & spinach salad and she had a combo - brisket and chicken with a house salad and broccoli. I like my steak medium well-done - a touch of pink and the server even made some comments about how "bloody meat" was not something very appetizing - again, funny and friendly repartee - as I usually do. However, the dish was not good, and it got worse as I tried to look past the red, cold centers of the pieces of steak, and the drenched and wilting spinach. Yes, it would have been better to ask for the dressing on the side, but that is something the server should have reminded me of that option. Sadly, she did not come back to check, and here's where I fault the management: a truly great restaurant has some manager "touch each table" as a matter of giving great service. Now, if there has been a problem, a manager better check back several times during the meal. We did have to ask to see the manager for several problems with both our meals. The rareness of the steak pieces was a major issue, and the wading pool of dressing combined to make the steak salad unfinished (although only about a quarter or so as I really hate to toss or waste food), but there was another, just as problematic an issue with the combo plate: The brisket was over half nothing but fat! It was not trimmed and was truly out of place. The chicken was very dry, and there was at least a half onion on the salad. I did enjoy the croutons. We did ask to see the manager - who did say that he was not the kitchen manager and dealt mostly with service issues - and he did say that the fat "seemed like a lot." (If you are familiar with the classic "Young Frankenstein" the famous line: "What Hump?" springs to mind . . . ) He (the manager, not Marty Feldman) did agree that the onion was "a bit much," and he even agreed that "those spinach leaves . . . hummm?" We expressed our surprise and disappointment as we had enjoyed meals here, and we also did tell him that we eat out often and how we are generally quite tolerant of slight errors and praise really good food and places with vigor (I even told him of the best restaurant we have ever eaten in . . . sorry, you'll have to check my other novels, but here's a hint, you have to drive past Spring Lake to get there . . . ). He didn't make excuses, and even though we told him we would cover the meal, he did reduce the check. Again, there was no aggression or rancor with him, but there were some skills that were lacking. OK, I am running out of space, so I will stop with this statement: Strike one. Paul C. PS Under the table were seen: bread, napkins, knife - very unpleasant read more

We waited for about 45 minutes and never got a drink or anything. It seemed like we were ignored completely....I understand with Covid...but that's bull crap. read more

Second time I was there in 3 weeks. The server was excellent both times, however, the kitchen staff left a lot to be desired. The orders both times were VERY slow coming out, putting the servers in a bad situation. I witnessed a group that was seated and placed their order (after we did) receive their food first... This is a shame as I do enjoy the menu offerings. One of the servers and a member of the kitchen staff were far more interested in visiting with a large group that had arrived (again, after us) than tending to their duties. Might give them one more try to get it right.. read more

My wife and I stopped going here when they stopped carrying their amazing onion rings. Prior to that we liked them for the most part at lunch. We did go to dinner here once but absolutely had a terrible time. My boys wanted grilled cheese sandwiches and they came back to tell us they were out of bread (what? they couldn't run to the store?) and they were out of the salad my wife wanted (which was on special). The service was lousy, too. But now that the onion rings are gone - so are we. They were the best in town! Their food was always just ok. read more