I hadn't been here in over a year and my boyfriend and I came on a Sunday... The menu has evolved into something fantastic in my point of view. They've really upped their game! I came back on a Tuesday with my girlfriend and this is what happened: (check out the pictures below!). The earthiness of the mushrooms complements the pulled pork and their sweet savory bbq sauce. It has something in it that I can't quite define yet hold on let me ask... It's parsley! Believe it or not. It brings out a balanced culinary experience. My friend says the pulled pork sandwich is tawthum mmpthim oh mmmmuph. Which I deciphered as Awesome! oh my God, this is the best freaking sandwich ever! Just check out her face. It says it all: Yum! Plus, the prices are low enough that I consider this meal a complete steal! read more

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Food was good, waitress was less than average. Appetizer came out after main course. Bottle of Store brand water was 2$ and then their was a automatic surcharge on all food and beverage of 3% read more

Great food at a great price. The ambiance is sweet and the service top notch. They also have live music.

I would give this restaurant no stars if I could first off I order here 1time and I order a half slabs baby back ribs with 2 choices for 54.63 and it's horrible the ribs dried ass fuck , bar b que sauce they put on it's horrible, macaroni and cheese dry baked beans very not flavorful is not given sweet honey baked beans and also the onion rings and french fries are very greasy ass hell ,I will tell you save your money. It's not worth Going there , and also they need new cooks the cookers they have are horrible cookers y'all need to get y'all shit together. read more

Save yourself the time and money you'll spend. If you enjoy bbq this place ain't it. Food ranged from inedible to just ok. Mac n cheese- gross, they used something akin to nacho cheese. Husband spit it out. Mashed potatoes- mystery orange gravy but husband guessed it was made from carrots. Husband threw away. Smoked wings- they were ok. Main problem was how small they were even though it's marketed as Jumbo. Onion rings- meh. Fried pickles- thumbs all the way down. Tons of breading compared to the pickle. Ribs- just ok. Family ate them but only because it was expensive and not disgusting. Garlic parm fries- thrown away Burnt ends- omg where do I begin. First, what they gave was not burnt ends. It was chunks of meat with no fat, no crisp, lol not even slightly charred. It looked like meat that came from a crockpot. It had the saddest single line of bbq sauce across it. It wasn't nasty, but not good either. More importantly it wasn't what we ordered. Super disappointed. I was excited to find a place with such an extensive menu. I didn't ask for a refund, but really should've. Father's Day meal was ruined. 0 stars for food. read more

Easy seating and quick & friendly service. Seems like a town local bar/restaurant. Large menu with great food. My weakness was the Cajun chicken nacho's. read more

Smokey Jo's Scratch Kitchen & Ale House - Menu - Barbeque Near Me - Crete, Illinois

First time here, definitely not the last! First off, our server, Alexa was awesome! She was on top of things and very friendly. The food was hot and delicious! Hubby had the burnt ends and I can attest that they were YUMMY! I ordered the Cajun chicken salad. It was big and tasted really good. I appreciate the fact the manager came by to check on us twice to see if we needed anything, in addition to our server. The atmosphere was very chill. Good music and great vibe. Wish I knew about this place sooner!! A+ read more

Cool place with good food. My cod didn't seem fresh as menu claimed it was hand battered. One piece was hard, but resolved. Cod was OK. Would not order again. Wife loves their salads and pickle fries. BBQ is very good but not great. 2nd best in area next to Bombers. The wings are also very good, but I hesitate to order at $14.50 for 6 wings (not whole). That price is insane. Please adjust your price and I will eat them more often. Beer list is meh. Breakfast was better than the dinners I have had. Pricey but acceptable due to creativity and how good it was. Impressive breakfast. read more

SERVICE: Lexi, Carly and Jonathan are amazing waiter and waitress. Lexi is prop and thorough with a warm attitude. Carly is attentive and polite with genuine care. Jonathan is caring and prop. Overall all the wait staff call you by your name when entering the restaurant and make you feel welcome. The soup and specials are to die for and overall the food is great. read more

Been living in Crete for 25 years this place never disappoints. Staffs are always friendly

Good place to eat and drink. Food was great. Very prompt with the drinks. Probably will go back there at some point.

The food was amazing as was the service!! We will definitely be going back!! Got the shrooms for the appetizer- I would have that for a meal! The sampler platter hit the spot- so much food was left over! Got some bread pudding to take home- portion was so big I had it twice! read more

The food and service are great!! Russell our servicer was phenomenal. We will be back!

The food is really good and the atmosphere is fun. I would recommend this place to people that like bbq.

Good BBQ but doubt ask for Bread, I was charged $4 for Two (2) pieces of almost stale white brea!!!

Have always had great service and food. The musical entertainment is nice as well. The ribs were perfect. We all liked the pork chop, chicken breast and burnt ends. read more

Great food! Great service! Very clean place! I had the buffalo shrimp, which was excellent. My compadres had the nachos and a pepperoni pizza-- everyone was happy with their meals. My server, Allison, was very knowledgeable about the menu and made excellent suggestions. Both Allison & and manager, Barb, made us feel welcome & right at home. Thanks read more

Looking for a place on a Monday that was open. We had seen this a few times and figured now is the time. Sadly, they were out of two items I asked for so I had to settle on something else. Understandable but could have been told that by the waitress when she handed the menu to us. Drinks were good and we started out with the cheese bacon jalapeño dip. It was overly creamy but decent. They give chips and a garlic bread. The bread was the better choice as you can spread it on. My friend had the pulled pork flat bread which was recommended. She said it was okay. I got the ribs. It came with a voice of sauces and I got all four to taste. For me, 2 of the 4 were good. I like a sweet heat and less vinegar taste. The ribs were okay. They needed the sauce. They fell off the bone but not in the freshly cooked today way. I was told the Mac and cheese was good. Nah. However the grilled veggies were the best thing on the plate. The atmosphere in the place is nice, garage doors open on a nice day. There looks to be a separate bar in the rear but open to the restaurant so it is quite a large place. read more

Smokey Jo's Scratch Kitchen & Ale House - Menu - Barbeque Near Me - Crete, Illinois

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Lots of good, some bad. Food can be great, but also inconsistent. Service can be great, but sometimes understaffed and overwhelmed. Live music is a good draw, two bars with TV's, and some slot machines. Outdoor seating is nice, plenty of room. Solid BBQ, chill vibes, cool place to hang out just off the downtown Crete strip. read more

Smokey Jo's Scratch Kitchen & Ale House - a band playing on stage - Barbeque Near Me - Crete, Illinois

I wouldn't go there for the ribs. Full slab was dried out with barely any meat on them. For the price I was very disappointed.

Wow! So me and my teammates won a national tournament back in November. Fast forward to today and we're having team practice in Illinois for another paintball tournament coming up. After we shot the crap out of each other we went here. Being kind of new to the team I didn't know this place is a staple for after practice team dinners. Right down the street from Badlandz Paintball Park! I walk in and BEHOLD our picture where we won back in November is hanging on their wall!!! I've never been on any business wall! I was super proud of that moment! I know I know. I'm getting to the food. I ordered the burnt ends with Mac & cheese and baked beans. The burnt ends had a lil too much fat for me. I did get to sample their smoked chicken wings and that's definitely what I'll be ordering the next go round! OMG! So delicious! Honestly never tasted anything like it. To put the icing in the cake, the owner of the restaurant came to watch some of our games and even started the buzzer for us a couple times. What a way to build the community!!! read more

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Came here on a Friday night with my in-laws for a table of six. Service was warm and friendly and attentive. Ambience is casual and the music on a Friday night as a welcomed highlight. We started with cheese, curds, and burnt ends. Every bite was devoured! Very delicious. For entrées, there was a platter, a few slabs of ribs and the chicken. I absolutely loved my chicken it was perfectly cooked and the original sauce hit the spot, I got the girls vegetables and slaw on the side. What was a great meal!. Everybody who ate the ribs found them to be not as good as usual, and brought that to the servers attention, everything else on the combo platter was well enjoyed will be back to this place as it is a hidden gem in the south suburbs. read more

My parents just moved to unincorporated Crete and found this place. They have been here several times in the last month and today they took me. I'm going to say, WOW. I ordered a burger. I'm kind of boring and plain. Sorry. The burger was fantastic. The bun was so soft and fresh and the pickles were the best pickles I've ever had. Our waiter said they make them there. I had a side of Mac n cheese and that was the best restaurant mac n cheese that I've ever had. I'm not exaggerating. I highly recommend this place. It's cute, the food was amazing, the staff was so nice. We'll be spending a lot of time there. For sure! read more

It's a hit or miss in n the service, sat for awhile before we were waited on , got drinks the way the waitress was didn't wanna try for food.. read more

I gave this a place second chance. All I can say is check your food if your getting a yo order. I had to go back after I was at home about to eat. Had to go back they remade my husbands order but mine I just didn't want it anymore nor did I want a remake. So it was a big damn deal for a refund. So I left without a refund or food. I'm sooo not ever going back. Was it because of my skin color. Himmmmmmmmm. I'll never find out !!! read more

The food was okay. But it was somewhat pricey vis-à-vis the somewhat small portions. I'll go back eventually.

We gave them 3 opportunities . 1st great 2nd dry rib tips and burnt ends told the replacement would be the same 3rd breakfast can't mess that up wrong. We had to get up and get our own coffee , asked repeated for refills, never seen the waitress after she took our order and dirty silverware not once but 2 times. This last list on 6/2 well fell coming in the door not one employee came to check if ok. Mac and cheese under cooked . Even informed waitress that I fell to let mgr know was told "watch step" was on the door??? Well that "watch step" does not mean you as the owner ate not liable. read more

First time here...Lunch atmosphere was chill, food was great, and service was top notch!

Both the breakfast and the dinner foods are amazing. The staff are all kind. The out door bar and dinning area is beautiful

They have good breakfast items. As a bar - terrible pours. So if you're a beer drinker you're good.

Found the service to be outstanding from the manager Barb to the server Carina made sure everything was perfect. The music playing in the background was just enough to hear but didn't drown out conversation. Our food was done to perfection the burger to the steak sandwiches read more

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If you have not tried this place, you are missing out Big Time!!! If you have been here, then we all know you come here often. Best food atmosphere and people in the South Side This is my must eat place whenever I am in Da Heights. read more

I recently visited this "establishment" and had to leave before I even had a chance to try the food. Sadly the experience still leaves a bitterness I will not soon forget. To get to the point... a waiter publicly mocked my sexuality. The way the situation was handled shows evidence the staff is not trained properly on interacting with the modern world...especially the LGBTQ+ populace. Not planning to return. A special thanks to "Russel" for making our experience one that took me all the way back to my high school cafeteria. read more

Burgers are legit Fries are bomb If you like fish and chips definately get em here. So fresh and flaky My friend had the brisket and loved it. Salads are good. The pizza was decent but the sauce was sweeter than what I typically enjoy. Service is friendly and quick The Establishment is clean and they do live music events quite often. Definitely a nice place to stop in and grab a bite to eat. Price point is mid-range but with the food choices it's worth the cash read more

Haven't had it in a while. The Ruben was rubbery and nasty. The salad had black spots all over it. Ive tried it several times and I had to look to see maybe it was a bad review I left so they were giving me bad food but no it's just bad food lol. read more

Came here for breakfast on 12/15/23 around 10:30am. Bartender said hello, when we came in yet, two waitresses were gabbing at the back bar. We sat by the stage, for 15 minutes, no service, no acknowledgment, no menu given. We must be ghosts yet the place was dead too. So we walked out. Wonder why!! Won't be back...on to the next. read more

We've been here 20 to 25 times. The food has always been hit or miss, and seems to depend on who's cooking, but we've found the hamburgers a safe bet. I did a birthday celebration on a bad day, and brought guests there, we've been less since. It can go from really good to really bad, and everywhere in between. Never have complained on bad days.Today was the first time we've been in since last summer. The servers have always been wonderful, and a friendly environment. Why we've gone back. We each ordered a burger basket and a drink, we were in a bit of a hurry, we had been out enjoying the weather. But decided to go there instead of a drive-through, decided revenue for a local business is good about now. It was Culver's or there, wanting to patronize a local business was why we chose over Culver's. We're locals. One order was for a bacon cheeseburger and the other for a blue cheeseburger. The server came out with the order and the blue cheeseburger had blue cheese dressing on the side. Not the biggest deal, and I could sense when she took the order that it could maybe go wrong. New. The burger I ordered came with a variety of cheese choices, and blue was one of them. The barbecue sauce wasn't on the other burger, but we didn't bother, in a hurry. The other had already been taken back. We didn't want to wait longer. He ate a dry burger without complaint. When the server returned with the blue cheese burger about 10 minutes later, there was a bowl of crumbled blue cheese on the side. I explained it should be melted on the top. She didn't seem to know the menu. She said she checked with another server and she told her it was on the side. Why not the cook? I asked her to just remove the sandwich from our bill so we could go. He was almost finished with his food, and we had a lot to do when we got home. It seemed like she couldn't remove the order, and protocol would be for the manager to check with the customer. She asked if I wanted to speak to the manager, I said sure. The manager came out and said they would melt the cheese on the SAME patty, and we're into 20 or 30 minutes since the food came out. Gross. Was I going to get that same side of potato salad with the mayo too? Anyhow, I'm trying to be nice and get out of there. I asked for my bill to be adjusted, and she seemed hesitant to do that and got really nasty fast when I just didn't want the OLD food at this point. Wait, it gets worse. When the manager came back, she had the nerve to charge me 2.25 for the one glass of iced tea I had (to got with my meal). Anyhow, I've worked as a server over 15 years total, and never once have I seen them not just take the drink off the meal being refunded. I asked the manager, "seriously?" I wasn't being nice at this point either I just wanted to go, get through a drive through and get home at this point. We had been there about an hour, and the food was out pretty fast. We did have to wait some to get menus and have or orders taken. They were busy, so that was fine. Next, we were left us at the table for another 10 minutes or so without collecting the money. So the games are on. I've worked in food service a long time. When I walked in to see if someone could take our money, there's the manager with the mask hanging off her chin, the other severs all had them on. She had it on when she came to our table outside. I took a picture, and the class act she is, stuck her tongue out. I'll see if I can find the owner tomorrow. Anyhow, I've worked at several restaurants, and never once have I seen them not refund the drink when someone returns the meal. Yes, I drank 3/4. Repeat business is generally valued. Then, most places will offer something so they get the repeat business unless the person comes in and complains all the time, and usually this type is just complaining for the free stuff/repeat offenders. Easy to see this wasn't the case, the order was wrong two times. We just wanted to eat and go home. Seemed like she was trying to squeeze every dime she could, and it was plenty busy, so peculiar. Waitress was really nice, but under-trained, and just not ready to be on the floor. Manager is just foul, from her attitude to her appearance, dirty looking, and I was far from well groomed today. We had been out hiking. So my standards were pretty low today. This was like hungover biker chick with a nasty attitude that rolled out of bed, threw on a tank-top (sleeve tats, whole nine yards) and went to work. Seriously, she was so bad, like, did you even brush your teeth and put on some deodorant today, type of person. Had she been my server, I would've walked. Anyhow, I'll never go back. It's not the cleanest place to begin, it is a bar. The trying to serve old food, and being nasty when I won't accept it, floored me. Food has to be kept at a certain temperature so people don't get sick. The "Managers" should know this. read more

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Great food, service and hospitality! The team works hard and it's a comfy, homey atmosphere! Bands are there on weekends too! Remember, tip in cash and save your wait staff taxes!! read more

I bought a rib tip with no meat on it. Nothing but bones. Obviously they don't know asthenic barbecue. If you want real barbecue you may have to go the Pit Stop on Lincoln Highway then the wait time is long. read more

I stopped by for lunch and saw they had a buffet . This review is based on the buffet my friend ordered off the menu and that was four star quality . For the price point the buffet was okay . One soup and one dessert was put out . The pizza crust looked and tasted under cooked . Two chicken items and one beef BBQ was tasty . Popcorn shrimp was okay . The mixed vegetables where roasted or grilled and very good . The conversion of this building to a bar and grill is layed out nice . Several glass garage doors open up to the patio during warmer weather . Hostess and waitress where pleasant and attentive . Good place to have a drink and hang out . read more

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