Smoking Barrels BBQ is a family-run, family-friendly spot in South City that's kept my family going back for years. We've been coming here since before 2020. They used to do more dine-in and since the pandemic, now it seems to be more to-go orders. Not sure why. Either way, the food has always been exceptional quality. Being a family who all has different favorite bbq meats, we generally opt for the picnic barrels and share family style. The table-side service is always friendly; keeping our beverages refilled but not hovering. The bbq is great when it's fresh and still great as leftovers. Favorite sides of ours are the fries as they're perfectly crispy on the outside, and the fried okra. We've tried all their meats, but our favorites tend to be (in no particular order): brisket, pulled pork, sausage, pulled chicken. read more

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Visited while back home & had a craving for some BBQ on the south side of town. Randomly stopped in and they were empty but we ordered and quickly got our food. I ordered the brisket plate and a side of rib tips. The tips which were flavorful but didnt have a rich smoked flavor. Plate came with garlic bread, fried okra & potato something (it was blah). read more

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As a restaurant, not too bad. As a BBQ place, there are others much better locally. Despite the smoker in front of the door, smoked chicken and brisket had no discernible smoke ring or smoky taste. The chicken could have been roasted, and the brisket was inconsistent with some tender pieces next to extremely tough, overcooked pieces. Sides also varied. A side of creamy coleslaw started fine, but ended with a heavy mayonnaise taste by the bottom of the container. The stand outside was crispy, fried okra. Service was attentive and pricing was fair. Smoking Barrels has a comfortable, cozy dining room with outside seating available for those rare, comfortable St. Louis days read more

Smoking Barrels BBQ - St. Louis - The chicken lunch special with optional two side items ((shown: green beans, and coleslaw). - Barbeque Near Me - St. Louis, Missouri

The food is wonderful. Good size portions. Reasonable prices Close to home, that's a plus read more

My husband and I decided to give Smoking Barrels BBQ a try despite seeing the mixed reviews -- and honestly, I get why opinions are all over the place. A real chef or BBQ enthusiast can tell the difference. We ordered 2 lbs of rib tips, two boxes of pulled pork mixed with brisket, fried okra, and potato casserole. I'll start with the positives: the okra was fried perfectly -- nice and crisp -- and the potato casserole truly made me smile. It tasted exactly like the one my mother makes for Thanksgiving and Christmas every year, so that was a sweet surprise. However, the rest of the experience was just average at best. The rib tips had a good flavor but were extremely dry, and they didn't seem grilled at all -- more like they were baked, just as other reviews mentioned prior. Long time customer's can also tell the difference because people mentioned the brisket and chicken being baked also .. hence why the food is greasy and dry. It's obvious. The pulled pork mixed with brisket honestly tasted like the Jack Daniel's microwaveable pulled pork from the grocery store -- not something I expect when paying restaurant prices. Potion size for the potato casserole was small. As for the garlic bread, it was just okay -- not memorable. Tastes nothing like garlic. Overall, it was an underwhelming experience. I wanted to love it, but there are too many better BBQ spots in St. Louis to roll the dice again here. read more

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Ehh, not a place I'd consider going back to. Why? First, my 1/4 dark meat chicken was dry as dirt.... dark meat! I ate most of the thighs but didn't even touch the legs; should have taken pictures. The sides of Mac & cheese and green beans tasted great, but the portions were very small (in a little cup). Also, a BBQ place this three total sauces isn't typically considering how many BBQ places I've been over the country. Service wise, there was one dude there on the small layout and what did he do the whole time? Stayed on his phone. Had to ask for refills, the check, and a to-go box. Overall, I'd skip over this establishment if you can help it. read more

6-14-26 picked up 2 rib tip dinner plates from So Kingshighway location. Tips were overcooked to the point it was like eating jerky. The other end of the ribs was over cooked, microwaved or whatever they did and was fatty. This is my first review for them after several previous meals that were not up to par but this last time was the worst. This used to be a great place for ribs but not anymore. read more

We ordered the Double Barrel (we chose 4lbs brisket, mac and cheese, fried okra, potato casserole, cole slaw, and buns) and the Single Barrel (2 lbs pork, potato salad, green beans, buns) as a pick up order for our neighborhood association meeting. It was outstanding. We had around 30 people there; no one had ever tried this place, and they all raved about the food. Everything was packaged nice and neatly, and they threw in some plates and plasticware packs at our request. The fried okra may have been a little over fried, but not enough to keep it from being devoured. We got plenty of huge buns to make sandwiches for the meat, and they packed in plenty and a variety of the sauce. The green beans were terrific (and I'm leary of take out green beans), and the potato casserole was so yum. I'm glad we discovered this place, we'll definitely be back. Highly recommend. read more

Smoking Barrels BBQ - St. Louis - The Double Mega Barrel and Single Mega Barrel - Barbeque Near Me - St. Louis, Missouri

Okay, so just finished some delivery from this place, and well.....this was disappointing. We're traveling cross country and ordered delivery and it got here quick which was nice. The portions are pretty great, but this is a classic qty over quality situation. Here's a quick breakdown on the foods. - Brisket - tender enough but completely unseasoned, which is really weird. - Pork Ribs - Again seemed unseasoned, maybe some mop sauce put on, but a little tough and bland. - Mac N Cheese - Pretty sure this was out of the box Kraft, I'm serious here. - Sweet Corn - Not bad, but hey it's corn. - Baked Beans - Legit tasted like out of the can Pork N Beans with some small pieces of pulled pork thrown in. - Coleslaw - Best thing we had, a little sweet and great. - Garlic Bread - Meh, it's bread, but was again lack of flavor. Grocery store Garlic bread is better. I'm not trying to be a jerk here, but we ordered enough for us to eat twice today, and I doubt I'll have seconds because it was that bad. What's really bizarre to me is the lack of seasoning, or maybe lack of commitment to sauce on the items.. The sauces, though watery mop type sauces, are actually really darn good. You don't know this unless you add them. In my mind BBQ, good BBQ, should be a flavor explosion and this just wasn't I'm not from around here, but I've had BBQ from all over, and make my own regularly, and this just misses the mark. read more

Ambiance: Smoking Barrels is a small venue. The tables and chairs are packed together. Food: We were a party of 20 and we ordered a lot of food. A good amount of the food was good. The fried okra was alright. It wasn't seasoned. The sides were slightly disappointing. The serving size is better suited for children and not adults. read more

Some friends and I who all love trying different STL BBQ places went to Smoking Barrels for the first time last night. We each got the brisket with different sides; for us, brisket is the marker of what a bbq place is capable of. Theirs is thinly sliced in a fairly ample portion, mostly moist and tender, though a few of the slices were a bit dry. That didn't matter, though, because the three sauces on offer--Carolina Mustard, Texas Spicy, and Midwest Sweet--were each distinctively flavored and a great addition to the already flavorful brisket. We shared the loaded potato skins, which feature a melt-in-your-mouth pulled pork, and tried the baked beans, mac and cheese, cole slaw, and green beans. The winner for me was the mac, not too cheesy, but not dry either, and the garlic flavoring was excellent. Of course, as is my wont, I hit it up with some of the Texas Spicy, and it was delicious. We also got a mix of beer, soda, and mixed drinks. I'm not a soda drinker, but be warned it's a Pepsi-oriented place in case that matters. I had Modelo in a bottle with about four slices of lime on the side (which I didn't even request but delighted this lime lover here), and another friend had a vodka and cola. Our server was excellent. She was attentive, patient with our moments of indecision, and just a fun, down-to-earth person. The atmosphere was a great mix of dive bar and sailing ship's cabin, probably due to the wooden barrels scattered throughout and the wood paneling, plus signs galore and an unintrusive TV in the background. One friend pointed out the space was almost barrel-shaped. We will definitely be back! read more

Bbq is not good . There are way better options in south city. Sides are not good either

By far the worst bbq I have ever had. I never write reviews but I feel compelled to write this one. The meat was dry and had no taste at all. No taste of rub or smoke in the meat and the fried corn tasted like a wax model of corn. The food had to have been air fried with no seasoning on anything. I don't see this place succeeding. read more

I would rate zero but that is not a option. Got the 3 meat combo to go and was excited to try a new BBQ place in town. As a KCBS BBQ judge I know good BBQ. This place will be going out of business. Restaurants require repeat business to survive. Look at the picture I posted of the burnt ribs, dried out brisket and pulled pork. Without a doubt the worst BBQ I have EVER tried. If your the owner, consider shutting down and cut your losses. read more

Smoking Barrels BBQ - St. Louis - 3 meat combo - Barbeque Near Me - St. Louis, Missouri

The brisket/ribs sloppy barrel dinner plate- legit! The wings were battered, soggy and not my favorite. I got 12 of the buffalo, ate three and the rest went bye bye. read more

Excellent pulled pork. Sauce and sides are solid; not memorable. As a thirsty...lady I appreciate the giant mason jars as cups. Street parking is moderate. Decor is a caricature of the BBQ place. The Curtains are amaze tho. read more

Never again. Several of the pieces of turkey from the order were moldy. I don't think I need to bother with the extremely dry turkey. Stay away from these guys. read more

Authentic smoked bbq in St. Louis. Had 2 platters, pulled pork, brisket, rib, pork steak and sausage. Brisket was bit dry iMHO, it was early and I had thought we'd get the juicy cut...oh well. Others were just fine. Pork steak ribs and sausage were good. Portions were ok, not overwhelmingly large. Ice tea, refills. They opened on New Year's Day, props. read more

Smoking Barrels BBQ - St. Louis - Pork steak, sausage and ribs - Barbeque Near Me - St. Louis, Missouri

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I have been here before and it was good. I am not sure what happened to it. Hardly anyone there, but noticed a lot of take-out orders. I usually get the pulled pork, but opted for the brisket this time. It didn't have much taste and only 3 kinds of sauces. I mixed 2 of the thin sauces and still not much flavor. No smoked flavor at all. And sad to see they joined the club for ridiculously small condiment cup as a side, although the mac n cheese was tasty. That mini side sadly seems to be happening at a lot of places. The service was good. She even offered me another tea to go. Being another step down from my 2023 review, I guess I am done. read more

I was looking forward to try a new BBQ place....Ordered food for pickup. Fast to get everything together. I would probably not eat inside because of the area this place is at. There were young men at the place next-door outside that would not move out of the way for me to park. Glad we got it to go. No one was eating inside. Saw only to go orders. Sides: Beans tasted like they came out of a can. Potato Salad, Potato Casserole, fried corn, Macaroni nothing special. Apple sauce was regular. Fried okra good and would get again Meat: Ribs - okay Chicken very dry Pork steak okay and a little dry Sloppy chicken - good Turkey - dry tasted reheated Bread- good Did not care for BBQ Sauce This place is nothing special and would not go back. Disappointed! read more

My boyfriend and I were in the mood for some St. Louis bbq so we did some searching around and ended up coming to try this place after the place we wanted to try originally was sold out for the day. There weren't many customers when we first arrived and because of this we were a little nervous about trying them out since they weren't very busy but more customers eventually started coming in. We both got the three meat bbq combo plate and there were a couple order mistakes but it was made right. The service was friendly and the ambiance was decent but maybe a little dated. The food was okay but I probably wouldn't visit again due to the meat lacking seasoning of any kind, some of the ribs and rib tips being so hard I could barely eat them and then to top things off I even found a piece of black hair on my chicken thigh. That kind of ruined my appetite. On the bright side, the rib tips and the ribs had a sweet smokey taste to them and the bbq sauces were good. The fries and cola were also very good. Overall, probably won't visit again but still had a good time. Thanks St. Louis! read more

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Mostly on street parking. Cute, clean restaurant on the corner of Kingshighway and Milentz. Very cozy with a lot of cow/pig decor. We thought it was cute that they served the drinks in-laws jars shaped like barrels. We ordered the Barrel of Ribs with fried corn on the cob and Mac n Cheese. The ribs were smoked well, and they came clean off the bone. Unfortunately, they were a little drier than I liked. The sauces are kind of basic, and they are on the thin side as opposed to a thick, rich sauce. The deep fried corn was dry and needed some flavor. My son said the bread and Mac n Cheese were both good. The staff were all friendly and helpful. The bathroom was clean and well stocked. read more

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Amazing BBQ. Generous portions and very tender. Chicken and Ribs barrel was delicious and easily enough to feed 4 people. Fried corn was delicious too. Be sure to try all their sauces. Staff were very attentive and friendly. Parking is somewhat limited but it wasn't an issue when we visited. read more

Smoking Barrels BBQ - St. Louis - Rib and Chicken Barrel!! Yummm!! - Barbeque Near Me - St. Louis, Missouri

I ordered Smoking Barrels today for lunch and had it delivered via Door Dash, so my review is over the food only. I am looking forward to stopping in soon to check out the vibe! They have a good amount of choices for whatever you're craving. I love BBQ of all sorts, but decided to go with the turkey today. I like eating a bit lighter in the middle of the day so I don't feel like falling asleep after I enjoy lunch. I got the lunch plate which comes with specific amounts of whatever meat you're ordering (the turkey was 6oz). It also comes with 2 (4oz) sides and 2 pieces of garlic bread. I feel like this is a super great deal, as it all was under $15. I also ordered a diet Dr Pepper to accompany the meal. My meal was prepared in a super timely manner (according to Door Dash app). The turkey was deliciously smoked, and not dry. It had a great smoke flavor, and the 6oz was perfect, as I always try to prioritize eating protein. The green beans were soft but not mushy, and had a good flavor to them. I really liked the Mac n cheese (it was flavorful and not too soggy, which I don't like.) the garlic bread was soft and lightly buttered. Always a plus, stale garlic bread is never good! No problems with this kind :) I also ordered the Carolina mustard sauce with it, which was a great addition to the meal! Looking forward to trying the pulled pork and brisket next time. Smoking Barrels definitely knows how to do BBQ! read more

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A small spot you could miss if you weren't looking for it, but Smoking Barrels packed a punch! We ordered the "Barrel for 2" and picked it up curbside. Their to go ordering process was super easy! I used Yelp/grubhub and it was ready when I got there. The Barrel for 2 is obviously designed for two people but it came with SO MUCH FOOD (no complaining here). A 1/2 rack of ribs, 1/2 of a chicken, 1/2 pound of meat of your choice (we chose brisket), 2 sides and 4 pieces of garlic bread. We had almost half leftover! The standout meat was definitely the ribs. Tons of meat on the bones, juicy, tender and seasoned really well. They have 3 barbecue sauces and gave us some of each to go, and the ribs were amazing with any of the 3, and even on their own. A little disappointed in the fried corn on the Cobb. It tasted like it had been fried a while ago. Not really hot, just kind of soggy oily corn. I'd try a different side instead next time. The baked potatoes were cooked to perfection. They threw in lots of butter and sour cream in our to go bag. I wasn't expecting 2 good sized potatoes but was pleasantly surprised! read more

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Gave this place two tries at different periods to be fair. I was not impressed on either visit. My biggest critic about this place is that how does any other bar b que place in the region make good brisket but this place does not. Why brisket was not good: It didn't have that bark nor the smoke flavor. In fact it didn't even have smoke ring. It was tender but with the flavor of a beef that has been in the oven instead of a smoker. I sound angry but I'm not...just disappointed. Don't even think of stopping by here unless you want something else that's not bar b que. read more

We were excited to try this place based off of the good reviews, but maybe we hit them on an off day? After getting into town we were hoping to get some solid BBQ for dinner. We ordered a few different meats to try out (ribs, pulled pork, beef brisket, turkey) plus fries, mac n cheese, potato salad and coleslaw. The Midwest sweet sauce was pretty good, but we found all of the meats themselves to be pretty dry. The potato salad and coleslaw were good, but the fries and mac n cheese were just okay. Overall we felt like that summed up the meal, not bad but just okay. It will do if you're hungry. read more

Ordered the brisket dinner and pulled pork dinner. Got the baked beans, Mac & cheese, potato salad and Cole slaw. Potato salad & Cole slaw reminded me of what you buy at Schnucks deli. Just ok. The Mac and cheese...I have no words for except to say it's the absolute worst I've ever had. Very dry, no cheese at all. Terrible! The brisket was so dry it was impossible to swallow. Pork was also very dry. We've ordered from here many times over the past and always enjoyed it. Have noticed the past couple of times the quality was disappointing. This is the last time. Don't waste your money here. All our food went in the trash and now we're looking for something to eat. What a waste. read more

I ended up here by accident, the first BBQ joint I went to wasn't open, even though their website and google maps said they opened at 11am. Had no issue finding the place and the parking space. I walked in and was told to sit anywhere. Got the menu and reviewed it and decided to go with the 3 meat combo. I got the ribs, turkey and brisket with slaw and green beans. Had water for drink. This place served baby back ribs, not the St. Louis style ribs that I expected. Ribs - tender, meat came off easy, seasoned well. Would recommend the ribs over other items that I got with the combo meat. Brisket - I guess in St. Louis/Kansas City area, they are always sliced thin. I'm not a fan of the lean portion, the few fatty parts I had, they were great, tender and juicy. If you can order the fatty parts only, go for it... but the lean portion of the brisket, I would stay away from. Turkey - didn't have any smoke flavor, so wasn't sure if it was smoked or not... skip it. Slaw - just ok, skip it Green beans - seasoned nicely, if I had to repeat, would get this as both side items. Service was great, the person kept checking in on my, filled up the water. It wasn't busy, but two folks were working the front of the house. Would be back for their ribs for sure. They have 3 BBQ sauces, the Texas Spicy was nice, had a hint of spice, but not overly spicy. The sweet was good as well, I ended up mixing both :) read more

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I would be very surprised to find out they actually smoke their meat. Had the pork steak and it taste and looked like it came straight out the oven. The ribs seemed very pre packaged. I feel like people who bbq and love bbq can tell the difference between fresh smoked/grilled meat. Very disappointing especially when you consider the name of the establishment. Do not recommend read more

First time - ordered to go. I ordered the rib tip dinner. It was pretty good. Nicely cooked and Filling. I had sweet bbq sauce. It had a Simple's taste to it. The sides I chose weren't too bad either. I really liked the bbq beans. The potato casserole was a good twist, as opposed to the usual potato salad or fries option. read more

Smoking Barrels BBQ - St. Louis - Rib tip dinner plate with potato casserole and bbq beans. - Barbeque Near Me - St. Louis, Missouri

Great food for a great price! I got the lunch special - pulled pork. The pork was amazing and had very little fat I had to pull off! I also enjoyed their bbq sauces! This place is definitely a hidden gem more people should try! read more

Smoking Barrels BBQ - St. Louis - Lunch special - 6 oz. Pulled Pork Lunch Plate - Barbeque Near Me - St. Louis, Missouri

Waste of money. We ordered brisket and pulled pork with mac and cheese and garlic bread. The worst part was not the fact that we didn't get our brisket it's the fact that we received only elbow pasta without the cheese. The garlic bread was just a plain bread. The pulled pork we received was disgusting. It's like wet dog food. Unfortunately it's been a bad experience read more

Smoking Barrels BBQ - St. Louis - Barbeque Near Me - St. Louis, Missouri

We have been going to this restaurant for years - even drove there from St. Charles when we lived there. The food is top notch - very tender meat and the fries are wonderful! However, with regret, a few weeks ago our server doubled her tip from $8.00 to $16.00 unbeknownst to us. We thought $8.00 was more than a generous tip for her to begin with. We found that out later when we got our bank statement. Unfortunately, she wasn't wearing a name tag. We have tried several times to contact Dennis, the owner, and even sent him a letter saying we wanted to speak to him about an urgent matter, but we have not received a reply as yet. This is very disheartening as we love this restaurant. So everyone - watch your bank statements to make sure you are not taken for twice the tip you give. read more

Got takeout so I can only speak to the food and it was delicious! We got the barrel of ribs - a rack of ribs with two sides & garlic bread. The ribs with the Midwest sweet BBQ were delicious. We got the mac & cheese and baked bbq beans for our side. The beans were amazing. The Mac n cheese was just alright, wouldn't get it again if I go back. The garlic bread was so yummy and a great addition to the meal! read more

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Ordered the 2 meal combo to go. Turkey & ribs, green beans, baked beans, & fried okra. Ribs were either brooked or reheated and had no flavor or seasoning. Smoked turkey was dry. Green beans no flavor. Baked beans out the can or something. Best thing was the fried okra. Has this before last year and it was so much better. This was a disaster. read more

It's a great place to grab something to eat. The restaurant is ample and well kept. You could eat inside or outside. They speak English and Spanish well. The staff is friendly and helpful. I definitely recommend this place. Give it a try and you will have some great food at great price. read more

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Ribs and smoked Turkey, had to break it up a bit. Both were fantastic! Really enjoyed the Turkey. Green beans were solid, but the cheesy potato casserole was to die for. Smoked potatoes set into cheese and baked again. The Texas toast was a nice finish to soak up the sauce. #spicemeister approved. read more

Smoking Barrels BBQ - St. Louis - Ribs and smoked turkey. - Barbeque Near Me - St. Louis, Missouri

The day started like every other summer Saturday me with an instant craving for BBQ! I decide to stay in the neighborhood and try a place near my house and I'm glad I did! I got the ribs meal with corn and a baked potato. I didn't care for the sweet corn but the ribs were great! Perfectly cooked came right off the bone. Also, had some kind of sweet rub on it almost didn't even need a sauce. Great service and nice people. Good for a quick family meal. It is small so large groups might be too much read more

Smoking Barrels BBQ - St. Louis - Half Rib Meal - Barbeque Near Me - St. Louis, Missouri

Place was busy so I understood the long wait. Waitress kept us well hydrated. Food is a different story. Ribs overcooked to almost burnt. Mac and cheese was butter noodles. Sausage was tough. Okra was good. Will not be back. read more