Food is good. I usually do takeout but call in because if you order online, everything is a dollar extra. read more

The Smoke Pit - Menu 12-2024 - Barbeque Near Me - Gastonia, North Carolina

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Get the wings!!!!! So good Smokey flavor. Prices are reasonable. Not cheap and not expensive. They give you a lot of food especially those platters with ribs and barbecue. They have plenty of waitress we normally sit at the bar so we don't have to wait. Plenty of seating for large crowds. Can get a little loud depending on the day. Highly recommend this place. read more

we love the smoke pit! i always forget how yummy and filling it is. the portions are worth the price. mac and cheese is SO good. brisket and burnt ends are great! the smoked turkey is so much better than i thought it would be and the chopped pork is delish. we've had so many of their meats and sides and i've never been disappointed! read more

What a great place to eat!! Loved everything we ordered . The portions were huge. If ya go consider sharing plates and sides . The beans were amazing . Both the white and red coleslaw were yummy. The burnt end plate was so much food . If you order the pork ribs the half order feed two. The server here was fast and friendly. It was a great dinner. We will definitely be back when we come back to Gastonia. read more

The Smoke Pit - I ordered the burnt end sandwich. The portions were was plentiful. the photo doesn't give justice to how big the sandwich was . - Barbeque Near Me - Gastonia, North Carolina

I attended this establishment with my family (4 of us) on a Saturday night around 6:30, and had about a 30 minute wait. They do not accept reservations. It was pretty busy and a steady stream of people in and out. Once we were seated our server was good, and the food at this location I think tasted better than the concord location-- my husband also remarked that he thinks his portion sizes were also bigger than the concord location as well. This is a much larger space than the concord location-- and a nice, casual place to grab some good bbq. We ordered (between the four of us), cornbread, fried okra, shredded chicken, brisket, burnt ends, hush puppies, sweet potato casserole... the sweet potato casserole was a BIG hit, they put pecans in it. The hush puppies weren't great but the cornbread was. Everyone enjoyed their respective meat dishes. You also get little slices of pickles which I thought were tasty. read more

How this place isn't a 5 star is crazy to me! Short story is this is the BEST BBQ I've ever had hands down and the staff was just as amazing! I literally sat there the entire time just baffled at how perfect everything was! It has been a very long time since I've had an experience as good as this restaurant! Long story is everything about our experience was amazing! The food was some of the BEST BBQ I've ever had and I've had BBQ from the southwest to include Texas and all over the east coast and Midwest. When I tell you their brisket melts in your mouth and the collard greens were PERFECT!!! The service was top notch too! Our server was so amazing with how friendly she was and on top of that she was on top of anything we needed before we even could ask! And to top all of it off the environment was perfect! The art on the walls was so cool and it all tied into each other! The whole restaurant was just an absolute perfect experience! read more

Today, traveling through Gastonia from a very long weekend, we decided to grab a bite to eat at SMOKE PITT Restaurant located 421 Cox Rd, Gastonia, NC 28054. We ordered 5 meals, one for my husband, who has been driving 6 hours, myself, my son, daughter and granddaughter. We start passing out the food and notice my husbands meal was missing. While we all ate in the car, my husband popped back into the "restaurant" to say "hey you forgot to put my food in the bag" to which they TELL him, you have to bring all the back in, which all of us had already started eating, to "prove" that food was missing in our bag. I'm sorry, what?!?!!! So I pulled food from my family, half eaten, for my husband to take back into their establishment. IS THIS EVEN SANITARY???? By the time my husband brought our food back out to us, EVERYTHING WAS COLD. Nachos were now soggy, inedible, bbq was cold, etc, etc, etc. Their reason?!?? "Oh we get a lot of people saying they were missing food so we need you to bring you food back in to prove we made a mistake". When we asked for the owner, WE WERE DENIED. Funny, since a quick internet search provided all three owners names. So hopefully THEY WILL SEE THIS POST AND RE-EDUCATE THEIR LINE MANAGER, who was the one who ordered our half eaten food back into their kitchen to "count". read more

Justin at the front desk is exceptionally great at customer service. He was friendly and apologetic about the wait. Our server was on break so Brandon (manger) stepped in. He took our order and after she came back, he sent her over to introduce herself and said she would be checking in with us but NEVER did. I needed a drink refill but quickly gave up on that. We had to flag another waitress for to go boxes and were finally able to flag our waitress to bring our check. It wasn't that busy so I'm not sure what the problem was, even with the manager still helping her. The food was great! Meat was tender, flavourful and a good amount of fatty and lean. The sides were also good and so were the hush puppies. Hopefully the next time we come back she will be better or we get someone else! read more

The Smoke Pit - Texas Brisket Plate - Large (hush puppies, fries and hashbrown casserole) - Barbeque Near Me - Gastonia, North Carolina

Absolutely one of the most enjoyable experiences I've had at a restaurant in quite some time! Everything from the food, the service, the overall vibe, just *everything* was perfect and I look forward to going back soon! TLDR: if you love burnt ends, brisket, great service, and/or 90's country music, check them out! If you want all the details, please continue reading below. Not even sure where to start with this one but I wanted to get the review up while it's still fresh on my mind. First off, one of the things that made our experience so great was our waitress. She was friendly and attentive but not overly so. I don't know if that makes sense to other people but it's a delicate balance that can come off disingenuous sometimes. Not the case here though. She seemed genuinely kind and actually cared about our experience. Which isn't the norm as much as it once was so that was refreshing and I appreciated her customer service just as much as the amazing food. Speaking of food, oh. my. gracious was it good!! As soon as I seen they had burnt ends permanently on the menu, my mind was made up. Those can be tough to track down at most barbecue restaurants so I'm always quick to decide when they appear on the menu. And boy did they deliver! I was in awe of the portion size of everything but especially the burnt ends. Many places ration out these things like they're made of gold but Smoke Pit makes sure you get your money's worth when you eat with them! I ate until I was ready to pop and still went home with probably more than I consumed. The burnt ends were tender and covered in a sweet and thick bbq sauce. The dish they were served in was packed full and I never seen the bottom of it. I could probably make another couple of meals off of what I took home. The fries were cooked well and perfectly seasoned. The collards had a nice spice but could've used a little more seasoning elsewhere. That's being super nit-picky though because they were really great too. And the hushpuppies were wonderful as well. Cooked just right, not overly greasy or anything, and the perfect sweet hushpuppy flavor. Everything on my plate was a win and I would order it again and again! My husband ordered the two meat meal with turkey and brisket and sides of macaroni and cheese and the daily special side, hash brown casserole. All great options but of course the meat was the star of the show. They even ask how you like your brisket (more lean, fatty, or both; never had anyone ask that before.) The turkey was so tender it nearly fell apart with the least amount of effort. The brisket looked delicious as well but just realizing now, I didn't get around to sampling it. As good as my burnt ends were, I know it had to be perfect too. The waitress said they ran out of brisket (we visited a hour before closing on a Sunday) and she didn't know when we ordered so she gave us half off his entree for it being shorted. Honestly, we probably wouldn't have noticed since this was our first visit and it looked like more than most other places offer on similar plates. She was quick to correct an issue we hadn't even realized and that means a lot to me. Heck, we both ate until we were stuffed and still had plenty to take home! Anyway, back to the food... I will say the macaroni and cheese was a bit of a miss for me but that was probably due to it being the end of the day. It was rather dry and not very creamy, but I've seen other recent photos that looked much better so I feel like it's one of those luck of the draw items. The hashbrown casserole made up for it, though. We sampled each of the sauces and found the sweet to be our favorite. We're not as big on the vinegar based sauces so having options was nice. My entree didn't really need it so I mostly just tested it on my fries out of curiosity. The meal ended with a nice surprise of free strawberry cobbler to take home, offered by a passing waitress as we waited on our card to be returned before leaving. I sampled a bite of it just before putting everything away when we returned home and it is quite delicious as well. It was still warm and I imagine it would be perfect with a side of ice cream. All in all, Smoke Pit offered an amazing dining experience. I've honestly taken a bit of a break from dining out as much mostly due to the decline in customer service across the board over recent years. This definitely made up for a lot of that and I hope when I return, I'm lucky enough to have the same waitress. If not, it seems all of the staff are pretty awesome so I'm sure we'll be in good hands. Also, they were playing all the 90's country hits and it was truly the cherry on top! I don't listen to much country music these days but something about Grundy County Auction and Tim McGraw really takes me back and will always have a special place in my heart haha. read more

The Smoke Pit - Two meat plate: turkey and brisket and sides of macaroni & cheese, hashbrown casserole, and hushpuppies - Barbeque Near Me - Gastonia, North Carolina

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Followed our noses from the target parking lot and ended up at the Smoke Pit. We dove right in (sorry for the missing pieces) Meat was cooked perfectly and is naturally gluten free which was great. 2/3 lb pulled pork: 5/5 1/3 lb burnt ends: 5/5. Didn't need any extra sauce either. They have 4 sauces on the table: Sweet: 0/5. Too syrupy sweet Lex: 0/5. Straight vinegar Piedmont: 2/5. Very strong but ok in small doses. Ok if you like mustard Sizzling: 3.5/5. Half the table liked it. read more

The Smoke Pit - Pork Belly Burnt Ends - Barbeque Near Me - Gastonia, North Carolina

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First time in this location. Food was good as always. We had Shell for our waitress. She was great. Funny, efficient, helpful. What a gem!!

Did the Mac and chs with the brnt tips . Best Mac and chs I've ever had. Perfectly portioned too for a heavy dish!

Incredible service and bbq catering for a great price! I love the Smoke Pit in Concord so when I needed to cater a work event for out of towners requesting NC bbq I knew where to go. Our event was Uptown so the Gastonia location was closest for delivery. Just like the restaurant...the food was awesome! Seriously some of the best bbq around. Our guests were treated to pulled pork, pulled chicken, or brisket sandwiches. Every single person raved about their food. My brisket was on point as always! The portions were huge. The packaging was impressive! The price per meal was very fair and they delivered right on time for a very fair fee. Thank You Sonia!!! read more

The Smoke Pit - Deconstructed brisket sandwich from catering order with baked beans and Mac n cheese - Barbeque Near Me - Gastonia, North Carolina

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I want to love this place, but I've been disappointed too many times. Their food is delicious, however when ordering carry out, they consistently forget important items that we have ordered. Very frustrating! read more

Ordered my food in advance by an hour because I was driving from an hour away. I ordered the Dino beef rib which was really the only reason I made the drive and the 2 meat combo with the chicken and brisket sides were Mac and jambalaya. When I get there after the hour long drive I am told at the register that they ran out of Dino beef ribs that "as soon as the order was placed they found out there wasn't anymore" the chicken was ok and the brisket was mediocre and a small portion. Not only was the food mid and them "not having the beef Dino rib"but I still had to wait 30 minutes at the restaurant even tho I placed the order a hour prior. The cherry ontop was the fact that they gave me beans when I asked for jambalaya and the food was warm it wasn't even hot. The professionalism sucked the food sucked and most of all the brisket sucked . I'd recommend avoiding this place by all means and save your money!! The least they could have done was call back and let me know that they ran out of the Dino rib it woulda saved time and a headache read more

We picked up some take out last minute since we were in the area doing some shopping. We order the brisket and ribs. The side door was easy for the pick up and the order was nearly ready when we arrived. The portions were large and all food was fresh. The place is located in a shopping center across from Target and traffic was a nightmare to get out of there. read more

The Smoke Pit - Ribs - Barbeque Near Me - Gastonia, North Carolina

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Everything is great. You get a ton of food. I was so stuffed and tired after eating but it was worth it! Got drinks and a dog bag to take home and was happy with the prices as well. read more

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We were in the mood for some good bbq and made a stop here for lunch. Definitely a great choice. Both go the pick 2 I had pork and smoked Turkey with Mac, baked beans, and hush puppies and wife did brisket and sausage with collards and sweet potato crunch. Everything thing we took a bite of was delicious. We barely put a dent in the meat as it is quite a bit so took rest for dinner next day. Definitely would return. read more

The Smoke Pit - Smoked Turkey and Pulled Pork - Barbeque Near Me - Gastonia, North Carolina

Very good options and extensive menu. I wish they also had eastern vinegar sauce, but the SC Mustard was good too. The hush puppies were really good, I'd strongly recommend them. Service was great and super patient while we decided what to get. It's also a TON of food for the price. read more

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Now thats what I call BBQ!!!! I was on the hunt for some good BBQ but no place fit the bill. The line was out the door when I arrived, but it was definitely worth the wait. I got the 3 Amigos with the banana pudding!!! I was so impressed with the level of service, flavor and how quick they were able to accomodate their guests. They were so attentive and while it was a busy crowd - they maintain the professionalism the entire time. Such a great spot if you are looking for delicious food and at great value. read more

The Smoke Pit - 3 Amigos - Barbeque Near Me - Gastonia, North Carolina

So glad we found this place. Had a great experience. Manager Brandon was amazing. He had several workers call in so they were shorthanded. Did it show, no! He came out and helped the waitresses and no-one missed a step. Between Brandon and Melissa, we had a wonderful experience and will definitely be back when in the area. The food was out of this world. Hubby had the chicken and Jalapeño cheese sausage with baked beans and slaw. I had the Brisket Spud (baked potato) . . . with the kicking' collards - MAN!!! it was amazing . . . and definitely a reorder for me. highly Recommended!!!! A+++++ read more

The Smoke Pit - Brisket Spud - top chicken and sausage - bottom - Barbeque Near Me - Gastonia, North Carolina

Amazing food and delicious everything. Can't even say anything bad about any of the meat, sides, or sauces. Although, their service especially for takeout leaves a lot to be desired. We ordered a pretty large order and realized when home that they forgot an entire tray of cornbread. After attempting to call multiple times, there was not a single answer. Great food again, just not sure how you miss an entire pan. read more

Stopped by on our way to Greenville, SC. The food was so good. I got the half rack ribs, dry rubbed and my husband got the chicken nachos. Servings are huge and the food was delicious. Wish we had these up in CT. Service was a little slow and the cashier wasn't overly friendly but the food made up for any cons we had. read more

The Smoke Pit - Chicken nachos - Barbeque Near Me - Gastonia, North Carolina

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Great food and service. The closest to home cooked BBQ you gonna get. Always eat at the Gastonia and Concord locations. Thanks for the awesome food. read more

First time and I would like to say it is Rare My husband and I like everything on our plate but we did all the way to the Pickle. And when I say we tried almost everything the Dino rib, burnt end, smoked turkey, brisket. side too great sweet potato casserole, collards, beans!! oh and the Fries we wonderful but they were on my husband's plate so I got a couple!! read more

Seated immediately. Two servers tending to us. Both were personable and friendly. Brightly lit, noisy but not LOUD and mostly clean. Food came out quickly. Spouse had pulled pork, Mac & cheese and cornbread. Everything tasted good. I had Beef Burnt Ends, white slaw and cornbread. Burnt ends very tasty and saucy. Meat was a little dry under the sauce but I ordered beef in pig country and I love me some brisket! Slaw nothing special. Good chunk of cornbread. Pickles come with everything. read more

The Smoke Pit - Small Burnt Ends Plate* - Barbeque Near Me - Gastonia, North Carolina

I give them three for the food alone. Service was awesome from Melissa. She loved her work environment and treatment from her higher ups. I had issues with the food. 6/10 Yesterdays chicken quarters. Their smoked wings are fried. They don't make sausage in house. Collards lacked seasoning. The sauces were the highlight. Also, they use hickory wood for their "Texas" style brisket. Didn't try the brisket, but overall it was a good experience. Service was 10/10. read more

The Smoke Pit - Smoked sausage, skinless reheated chicken quarter, smoked then fried wing (which kills the healthy aspect of it) - Barbeque Near Me - Gastonia, North Carolina

Food was delicious except for the staple I found in my baked beans. After I called to let them know all they say they could do is give me a dessert or replace the beans. Also seemed like they were trying to make it sounds like I put the staple in the beans. read more

The Smoke Pit - Staple - Barbeque Near Me - Gastonia, North Carolina

I can't comment on the food because we never got the chance to try it. After waiting patiently for 30 minutes for a table, we were finally seated, only to be completely ignored. No server ever came to take our order, check on us, or even acknowledge our presence. After waiting for an unreasonable amount of time, we decided to leave. The only people who seemed to notice were the guests seated behind us. Disappointing experience, and based on this level of service, I wouldn't return. read more

Good food and good service. What else can you ask for? My go to barbecue spot when I'm coming in and out of Charlotte. read more

I am big believer that bbq is about the cooking and the quality of the meat, and that sauce just covers up poor cooking and cheap meat. The Smoke Pit didn't just exceed my bbq lunch expectations, it blew them away. The pork shoulder was As Good As I've Ever Had, velvety and full of smoke. I added a touch of the Lex sauce for fun, but it was completely unnecessary. Collards and bbq beans were the perfect sides. It isn't cheap here, but I'm convinced you get what you pay for. read more

Food is awesome.street corn(wow) In a hurry , sit at bar. Got personality and speed... Remember to tip well .....

Update. Been a bit since I've been here. They changed the format from counter ordering to table service. Not a big deal. Atmosphere is still very simple with a clean/minimal decor theme. Not sure where those last two reviews ate but I've now been here 4 or 5 times and have had nothing but excellent food. Burnt ends, Gma's Cheesy taters and Brunswick Stew were all delicious. read more

The Smoke Pit - Burnt Ends Sandwich Hash brown casserole - Barbeque Near Me - Gastonia, North Carolina

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Had lunch there the other day. I order brisket, sausage and Mac & cheese. All were great and tasty. Service was great too. read more

The Smoke Pit - Barbeque Near Me - Gastonia, North Carolina

We frequent The Smoke pit Gastonia location frequently. Have never been disappointed in the food..EVER! We always purchase the 4 meat combo with Ribs (upcharge ) and 3 wings( nla as an Upcharge) Yesterday 10/20 they were extremely busy. I normally order online but couldn't figure out how or why I couldn't add the wings as an upcharge. I know now. I tried to call and place an order over the phone but I couldn't get anyone to answer the phone. I kept calling for 20 mins and finally gave up. Had to place an order at the register. It was a Sunday after church so i expected them to be busy. I waited about 30/40 mins for my food. I ordered the 3 meat combo with sausage, ribs and smoked turkey with a side of wings and 3 extra sides. They changed their smoked sausage. It use to be a jalapeño cheddar sausage or something like that. I ordered (2) Mac n cheese. Baked beans, okra and collards. The turkey was amazing this time and not dry. I was impressed. It's usually dry. The wings were decent. Those ribs which were smaller than normal were way over cooked. They were not succulent and juicy like they normally are. I was highly disappointed as the upcharge for these. The Mac and cheese was way overcooked. Noodles were too soft. Not sure if they got new cooks or, just had an off day. I'm a little disappointed so it may be a while before I return. We did eat the food and if I were closer I would have went back. I'm hoping it was just an off day because we do love the smoke pit. read more

I've been dying to try Smoke Pit and have heard great things about their BBQ. So I decided to order togo for my parents anniversary. We ordered the pick 4 (our picks were: Pulled Chicken, Ribs, Brisket, Sausage) with a side of Mac and Cheese and Fried okra with Corn bread, the 3 amigos with Potato salad, BBQ beans and Texas toast and a Sides platter (with our picks : Sweet potato casserole, Red slaw and Banana pudding. This was a massive amount a food for my family of 6. We had plenty of left overs. The food was all delicious. My favorites were the brisket, ribs and the pulled pork. The pulled pork has a good flavor to it. All of the meats reheat well. We got some a couple sides of sauce. We tried the Dragon sauce, Alabama white sauce, Sweet sauce and the Barbalo sauce. They were all tasty but the spicy ones were truly spicy. Overall I was throughly impressed and would love to eat inside the restaurant once Covid season is over. Smoke Pit 421 Cox Rd Gastonia, NC 28054 Sunday August 2, 2020 4pm read more

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So much food! After reading all the positive reviews we decided to try it. The portions were enormous. My husband has never left a rib on his plate. He said they were fabulous and after ordering a half a rack, he ate 3 and left 4. The sides were excellent and huge. I had the blueberry chicken salad. What I really appreciated was that the chicken was hot and in a separate container. The dressing was on the side. The salad was so big that when I finished eating you couldn't tell that I had eaten any. They gave us strawberry cobbler to take home! We were extremely impressed. read more

We've been to both locations. The pulled pork is great and there are lots of sides to choose from. Note: you get a lot of food! We could have split a meal! read more

This place is always busy every day which is a good sign. The team at the counter was well organized and Dixie's handing the rush like a well oiled machine. Each person was handling their stations like seasoned professionals being patient answered questions with a smile from each person in line. Note the line stayed out the door during our entire visit. We ordered food to go since the scene was too packed. Our order was well packed and neatly prepared correctly. We ordered the tacos and wow they were full flavored and presented nicely. We also added the collard greens, cooked perfectly. If You are in the mood for some good BBQ and don't mind a small well worth the wait stop by. This place is right in front of the Target tucked away. I would have taken more pics of the food but was too excited to eat, lol. read more

The Smoke Pit - Three taco combo and kicking collar Kickin' Collard Greens Bulk - Single - Barbeque Near Me - Gastonia, North Carolina

Three of us ordered the brisket and it came out cold along with my fries. The waitress Kim is horrible and I had to use serious restraint. She's slow and not very attentive and had major attitude because we weren't satisfied with our food. read more