As a restaurant, not too bad. As a BBQ place, there are others much better locally…read more 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

My husband and I decided to give Smoking Barrels BBQ a try despite seeing the mixed reviews -- and…read morehonestly, 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.

Food is really good, portions are really good. Place is very aesthetic. Deviled eggs are a must…read moreget. Service was very fast, went during lunch

Salt and Smoke has the food for the mood…read more Solid bbq. I ordered the pulled pork, wings, and brisket. Sauces were on point. Lots of seating upstairs, downstairs, inside and outside. Quick service even with lots of people around. Great food with great vibes. What more can I say. And they have a parking lot.

This is easily a five-star review, and it's coming from someone who isn't a true BBQ lover. This…read moreplace was suggested by a local, and I am so glad that I went because it was the best BBQ that I have ever had. I wasn't sure what to order, but the friendly staff recommended that I have the brisket, and I'm so glad I heeded their advice. The brisket sandwich was the most tender meat that I have ever had. I had never had brisket before having that sandwich, now my mouth waters any time I talk about this restaurant! The cole slaw that I had as a side provided the perfect crunch and balance. My mate had the pulled pork sandwich, which was also very tender. I also loved having a variety of barbecue sauces on the table and was able to try each one. Everyone has a preference, I'm sure, but after trying each one, I am completely sold on the Carolina gold. Also, I do not typically have a fountain soda, but the cola that was on tap was some of the best that I'd ever tasted. 10 out of 10 for Sugarfire, and I will definitely be returning the next time I'm in St. Louis!

I was craving barbecue and decided to give Sugarfire a try. The parking lot is a decent size, with…read moregenerally plenty of parking available. The giant pig statue in front of the restaurant was actually quite informative, as it described where the meat comes from on a pig. Anyway, as I entered the restaurant, I stood in line. It was quite busy for a Saturday afternoon. There are long tables with many seats, so seating wasn't an issue. It is a first come first served dining situation. I ordered the 2-meat plate: brisket, ribs, baked beans, and potato salad. The brisket and the sides were definitely my favorite parts. The brisket was so tender, it basically fell apart in my hands! It was delicious! The baked beans were tangy and sweet, and the potato salad was creamy. I didn't like the ribs, they were very dry and definitely not worth the money. The barbecue sauces are in bottles on the table; my personal favorite was the Honey Badger, sweet with a little bit of heat. I found the Coffee BBQ sauce to be the most interesting; I have never had anything like it before. The coffee notes were subtle and helped balance out the smoky flavors. While I enjoyed the majority of my food, I am not sure if I will be returning. It was a nice experience, but the dry ribs left me feeling disappointed.

Hubby and I arrived into St. Louis on a pleasant Saturday afternoon and decided we wanted us some…read morebarbecue! We heard about the DelMar Loop and also heard about this place so decided to drop on by! One of the best parts was free parking! OK, we saw they had a patio and that was perfect for us because our puppy needed a place too. They seated us quickly, brought us some menus, and took our drink order. We both had 0% beer because, you know, it was just 12 noon - a little early for the hard stuff! We both ordered some barbecue! I ordered the brisket and pulled pork, along with the potato salad and chili! OK before the food review I got it put in a great word for the waitress. She was very friendly, and gave us some good pointers on things to check out while in town - very cool. Oddly enough, we were the only one sitting on the patio, even though it was a very pleasant day, indeed. When the food came? I thought the brisket was a little odd because it wasn't chopped. It was cut into little cubes but paired with one of the sauces? Very nice! And pulled pork was great. The potato salad? Yup! The chili? Yup! The fried bread roll? Well, it was a little unexpected, but it was very nice as well. As we had heard that St. Louis barbecue was uniquely different from any other barbecue, we had to have it! I'm not gonna say it was spectacularly different, but it was good! We ordered a lemon gooey bar for dessert and shared it! Apparently it's a St. Louis thing? Yes! Would we come again? Oh yes, indeed! And you should try it too if you like good barbecue.!

Wow, I was looking for some good barbecue in St. Louis. I knew that shouldn't be hard to find here!…read moreWell, I found a great place on my first try. Came late afternoon, so it wasn't very busy. I sat at the bar, and had phenomenal service from the bartender. But the food is where things really shined. I started the mail with the bacon deviled eggs. They were filled to the brim and super tasty. I got the two meat combo. With ribs, bologna, slaw, and cream corn. Everything was absolutely amazing. The baloney, with a fresh chowchow and Stone Ground mustard, was one of the best barbecue items I've had anywhere. The slaw some vinegar based and it's very tangy. It was very good. This was a really good barbecue restaurant in St. Louis area. I need to try somewhere else, but it's gonna be hard not just to come back here!

We happened to be staying in a nearby hotel. So happy we tried this place! Waitress was very…read morefriendly and service was speedy. But most importantly the food WAS ALL GREAT. Slaw, ribs, burnt ends, brisket, pork, beans and garlic toast! Restaurant clean with cool options on tables to add bbq sauces.

Delicious!! If I lived here I'd be a regular the list out what's gluten free so super friendly for…read morea gluten free girlie! The smoked Wings were 10/10, the brisket was non fatty and perfectly cooked. Catfish wasn't fishy at all. Staff was attentive and quick

Still one of our go-to spots!…read more Early on a Saturday night we were able to get in without a wait. We got a roomy high-top table, love it! Host was super friendly, got us seated and let us know Charlotte would be our server. She is great, we have had her before and she is friendly and efficient! New menu has some new options and a lot of returning favorites. We ordered our usual loaded fries as an appetizer. I got the 1/2 smoked chicken with mac and cheese (still the only place I will order mac and cheese!) As the evening progressed the place filled up so glad we go there early. Appetizer and entrees were great, as usual. Charlotte was great! Host was great, nothing but great things to say!

Another great BBQ place in the city. The interior is very tiny, and they were packed during…read moredinnertime on a Saturday, so our group ended up outside, which wasn't an issue on a beautiful day. Every dish we tried was great. I really liked my Pulled Pork "Sand"- lots of meat on a nicely toasted bun. The sides may have been the star of the show. Loved their Mac n' Cheese (kinda tasted like Bread Co's but elevated), and the bite I had of my bf's Caramelized Onion Mashed Potatoes was delicious. Service was quicker than we expected after seeing how busy they were- even if it took awhile to get our check.

Well, it had been quite a while since my last visit to Pappy's, and it's safe to say the food is…read morestill incredible! I went with two coworkers last week and we got there around 11:45am. The line wasn't too long, but I did notice it's set up a little differently than I remember. They now use more of the building, so the line runs down the hallway and loops into the restaurant, with two ordering counters available. While you're waiting, they have menus to look at and even a QR code if you'd rather pull it up on your phone. We ended up waiting about 10 minutes before ordering. Once we got to the counter, everything moved quickly. The staff member helped us right away and let us know they'd bring the food out to our table, which I was glad hasn't changed. One thing I did notice is that the original ordering/dining area is no longer open for seating, it looks like it's now used for staff and possibly catering/to-go orders. They have their drink station available for self-service and offer sodas and sweet and unsweet tea options as well as water. Luckily, there's still plenty of seating in the newer dining area, plus a good number of outdoor tables if you want to sit at a picnic table and enjoy the weather. Within a few minutes, we heard our names called and our food came out fast. And honestly, it was just as good as ever. I was especially happy with the sweet potato fries, and even though applesauce isn't anything fancy, it's kind of the perfect side for me at Pappy's. I ended up eating about half of my meal and boxing the rest up for dinner later, which is always a win. Overall, such a great spot, and I'm really glad it's so close to work. Definitely still a fan and will keep going back.

Went on a road trip recently, and spent a few days in St. Louis. Since St. Louis has a whole style…read moreof rib named after it, I had to try and seek out the best in town. My research brought me here to Pappy's. I'm very glad it did. Ambiance starts with a line out the door, literally. You slowly shuffle down a long hallway full of Pappy's memorabilia. Then you make it to the ordering counter, order, and find a table. The dining room is huge, plenty of tables, with a full complement of sauces on each table. The service people at the counter were friendly, and so were the people delivering the food. The food came out quick and hot and delicious. We had baked beans and potato salad for sides, and they were pretty solid. Nothing show-stealing, but no complaints about them whatsoever. And of course, we got the ribs. Tender, juicy, a nice bite and chew, a decent bark, just a really wonderful rib. Better than any St. Louis style rib I've ever had back home in Florida. Other states, hard to say, the jury's out, but in that moment, I was eating a five-star rib. So good. We also got a 1/4 pound of the Burnt Ends. Usually, burnt ends are the king of meats, but I think we've entered the phase of America, where they're just another variety of meat and not necessarily upper echelon anymore. That being said, these were pretty ok. Should have gotten more ribs. Overall, Pappy's was pretty wow. Great local spot with a lot of pride and history, excellent ribs, I will definitely try to come back next time I'm in town.

First time visitor and I will be back! We arrived at 6:30 and by 6:45 we were eating our meal. Our…read morewaitress, Lauren, did a fantastic job of giving details about the items on the menu. The service was fast, the food was good, with a wide variety of bbq sauces. My favorite was the Mustarolina. You have to try the brisket! It was recommended by Lauren and she was not wrong. These days, very rarely can you go into a restaurant and be served good food that fast at that time of the day. Hats off to Lauren, Rachel (Manager) and the Salt + Smoke team for the work they do! Keep up the great work! Great atmosphere!

I thought I had tried salt + smoke before but I DEFINITELY would've remembered this! I didn't feel…read morelike getting too messy so I ordered the Oklahoma bacon cheeseburger and oh my god... one of the best burgers I've ever had. Full stop. The place was getting busy around 11am and by the time we were leaving the place was packed. I don't think there was an empty seat left. The service wasn't anything special until toward the end, the waiter started to let their personality show. They were so great with the two kids though! Definitely need to come back and try their ribs next!

We love this place. Whenever we are in town for a work week we hit this place 2-3 times for…read moredinner. The sides are always delicious and I personally enjoy the Turkey and the Sausage links but everything we've had we have enjoyed.

I used to love Sugarfire, but after my last visit I don't think I'll be back. It's probably been 4+…read moreyears since my last visit since we moved out of state. We ordered to go. In the past I would eat their brisket with no sauce and it was always sliced very well and tender, so I ordered an 8oz brisket plate with 2 sides. What I received were 4 pretty thick (1/2") pieces of brisket. In the past if I ordered the 8oz I would get about 6 normal sliced pieces. The brisket was pretty dry this time with not much fat. I added some sauce and it was ok, but not what I was expecting at all and I ended up just tossing the last slice. The 2 sides I got were baked beans (very good) and mac & cheese (also good) but the size was pretty small.

Mr. J's BBQ is a BBQ stand on the NE corner of The Kirkwood Farmers Market…read more You can find him there on Thursday and Saturday. He serves great St. Louis backyard style BBQ prepared in a couple barrel pits. He prepares several meats every day he is there and has a number of sides. Today I tried his ribs, his brisket, his pulled chicken, and chicken thigh. All had good smoke flavor and were well cooked and seasoned. I really enjoyed the chicken thigh and the ribs. Don't get me wrong the other items were good, but I enjoyed those 2 the most. I'm not a fan of pulled chicken, I've noted that previously, but Mr. J's pulled chicken was right good. He puts a little of his se'lah gold sauce with it and some sautéed peppers and onions. That makes for good flavor. The reason for the 4 not 5 stars is minor. I had several slices of brisket on my plates and the first slice I picked up while nicely smokey and well seasoned was tough. However, every other slice was perfectly tender indicating a proper cook. I only tried his Se'lah Original Sauce. But let me tell you he has a wonderful quintessential St. Louis style BBQ sauce in that. Man is it good. I get to KFM often during the summer. I'll be back by for sure. Y'all enjoy!!

Mr J's BBQ is a long time staple at the Kirkwood Farmers Market. Today I had a rib play that was…read moreoutstanding. I should have taken a picture. The ribs were perfectly smoked using on site smokers. The ribs were very, very tender. I didn't count the number of ribs on my rib plate but it was very generous compared to a sit-down restaurant. He offers a variety of sides and I chose the potato salad and the coleslaw. Both were excellent, with decent sized portions.