The Local Smokehouse

As of today (January 11, 2016) and thru the recent holidays, Belmont BBQ is temporarily closed.: (Word on the street is that Melissa Easter (of La Taza and etc. fame) will be reopening it under her management with a larger menu. MELISSA, PLEASE KEEP THAT BBQ RECIPE EXTANT, IT WAS THE TOPS. Oh I forgot what «extant» means — keep it «as it is.» Keep the hush puppies, but have the kitchen-​man cook them a little shorter, they were always a bit burn-​y to me. And KEEP ALL THE SAUCES — I loved the North Carolina sauce with a «hot» regular bbq sauce (I forget its exact title). GOOD LUCK AND ALL THE BBQ FANS OUT HERE ARE CHEERING YOU ON!

The BBQ is great. I’d recommend the pulled pork, sweet tea, and slop-​bucket — they are all great. Limited seating though! — especially indoors (also, limited parking — mostly on the streets, but they have a small lot behind it)

Stopped in on our way out of town on the recommendation of a UVA alum. Ordered the small slop bucket per her recommendation and so glad I took a bite before heading out, ordered another large too! Delicious layers of BBQ, slaw, beans, and potatoes with cheese. The small is perfect so you can get decent bites of all the layers. Will definitely go back next time I’m in Charlottesville.

I love their cheesy potatoes, like their bbq, but no one ever answers the phone! It’s hard to call ahead and they run items frequently. It’s hard to support a place that can’t bother to pick up the phone.

4 stars for the slop bucket. It seems as though everyone going there orders the slop bucket and occasionally the pulled pork sandwich. How can you go wrong with your favorite BBQ items all in one container? The small size is perfect for one person unless you’re really hungry then get the large but the size difference between the two is significant. What’s in the slop bucket? Layer of cheesy potatoes (bomb), BBQ beans, pulled pork, cole slaw, and your choice of sauce (I got the inferno). Try mixing everything up or take a big scoop so you can have a little of everything in a bite. The cheesy potatoes are in the bottom so make sure you dig deep for that deliciousness! Service was impressively fast during dinner time but can get a little hectic when people start coming in. Overall, good small BBQ place for visitors and residents to try!

Awesome food! Their North Carolina sauce is a great vinegar based sauce! Slop bucket is a must! Definitely will come here again!

Disclaimer: This is more for the slop bucket than anything else since I admit I haven’t gotten anything else from Belmont BBQ. That said, I definitely loved it.
The shop itself is very tiny with maybe three total seats inside and most of the seating outdoors. The menu is written in chalk on the wall and prices are fairly inexpensive. Now, about the slop bucket… Don’t let the «small» size fool you. That stuff will FILL. YOU. UP. The first time I got the bucket, I was cocky and got the large size, and oh dear, did I regret it. It was just a MASSIVE amount of food and I had to give away the last bottom ¼ of it because I was just too full. I absolutely loved it though. The layers of bbq, cheesy potatoes, baked beans, and slaw were just riffing on my taste buds, and I felt incredibly satisfied eating it.
Again, I’ll be honest, I’ve only had the slop bucket because that’s all I need from Belmont, so if that’s your only intention on a great container of bbq goodness, Belmont is the move.

A really great local place for good BBQ. The slop bucket is definitely a must. Lots of food for $ 6 (and that’s the small size). I shared it with my boyfriend as neither of us were very hungry, but it’s one of those things I don’t know if I could stomach eating a whole thing by myself.
The owner took our order, and even though there was a line of probably seven people, he took time and personal attention with each customer, and even though that obviously takes a little bit of extra time and effort, it’s so worth it (in my opinion). As we were sitting and eating I thought, now that’s somebody who really loves their job. There is a nice patio that allows you to look at the other cute restaurants in Belmont — a counter of indoor seating, but I would suggest eating outside. Personally I don’t enjoy looking at pictures of pigs while eating pigs. The little bit of animal-​humanitarian in me, I suppose haha.

Hard for me to write this review because the other times I’ve been here the food was great. Rolled up today at 7:40 and the lazy employees had already cleaned up the shop, 20 minutes before the restaurant was said to close and told me I was out of luck. This put a HUGE wrench in my plans for the evening and I don’t know if I will ever be back to support such a poorly run establishment. Plenty of other BBQ places with just as good if not better BBQ that stick to their posted hours…

This is a unique BBQ spot but it’s BBQ is rather typical. The true uniqueness though is the slop bucket. If you know how to eat it it is quite good! The big decision is whether to get the slaw included or on the side. I prefer on the side to keep the slop from getting too sloppy. Value wise it’s very good. A half slop bucket is plenty for one person. Got the poppers and they were just OK.

I’d heard friends talk about the Slop Bucket several times, so I wanted to try it out. It was worth having once but not good enough to go back with my husband when he came to visit.
I liked the idea of a layered pint of BBQ, slaw, beans, and potatoes with cheese. I found it was kind of hard to mix it up, though, so I really ate one layer at a time. It gave me that same sensation as eating a burrito, where you just get one bite of one ingredient instead of the amazingness of the flavors together. I was probably most disappointed when I got to the bottom and realized the potatoes were shredded hash-​browns. I guess I was hoping for chunks or even mashed potatoes, not the potatoes that I think of coming in frozen patties.
The woman working was very nice, especially when it came to me deciding which sauce I wanted in my bucket. She even recommended I try some before choosing, which helped a lot.

If I could give zero stars, I would give zero. ²⁄₂ times our workplace had tried to order from this establishment, no one answered the phone nor was the place open when we drove to it to try to place order in person. First time was a Wednesday at 1pm in April. The second time was today, Thursday at 12:20pm. I hate false advertisement and if you are going to say hours are 11−8pm, you should be open during said hours. And if not, at the VERY LEAST, answer the phone line during said hours.

Really? People rated it higher than a one star?
This is the worst BBQ place I’ve ever been to. How people rated it higher than a one star is beyond me. The brisket is some of the toughest meat you can imagine sitting on your plate. «Bring a saw to Belmont» ought to be the slogan. Keep driving past this place; you can do much, much better.

Atmosphere/​Customer Service was poor but the food was great! Definitely get the slop bucket with the vinegar style sauce. The rib sandwich was pretty good too!

Love to see Belmont BBQ churning out some serious cue! The pork is the best I have seen it and is very tasty. LOVE the slop bucket. It is a MUST try! Can’t wait to see their NEW catering menu! Smoked meatloaf… smoked mac n’ cheese… I have had it before and it’s awesome! I really hope he decides to do his prime rib on the catering menu!

Firstly, I have only eaten here once.
I ordered the brisket sandwich on Kaiser roll and onion rings. I found the brisket to be cut too thick and incredibly tough. I could not bite through any of the slices, and it had large chunks of very chewy fat (it seemed more fat than meat) that just became an arduous task of chewing rather than enjoying the sandwich. I did not find much flavor in the brisket either. It could be that the sauce I order was too hot, I got the hot sauce. But I did try some bites of brisket with out sauce and it tasted like roast beef and half the sandwich came with it when I tried to bite a clean piece off because it was way way way too tough.
All in all I did not enjoy my brisket sandwich and felt it to be a waste of $ 12, also the onion rings were ok but nothing to write home about, almost seemed like they were frozen at one point.
I would give this two stars if the service was friendlier, they were not unfriendly but not excited to see a customer for sure.

I wish I could give zero stars because they really don’t deserve one star. The WORST ribs I’ve ever had. Seriously, the ribs I’ve gotten at Chili’s were 100 times better.
Not only weren’t they «fall off the bone» ribs, I could barely pull them apart I ordered a full rack and threw them in the garbage after gnawing on two of them. $ 25 down the tubes.
Not only was the food horrible, the female that took our order acted like we were a pain in her butt by walking in and placing an order.
If you want ribs go anywhere but here.

Some of the best Charlottesville BBQ, with low prices and home of the famous Slop Bucket.
This was one of the first places I ate at when I first visited Charlottesville two years ago, and I’m happy to report it still holds up, even after trying some of the other BBQ options in the area. It’s definitely a hole-​in-​the-​wall, especially in contrast to The Local just next door. Order at the counter and sit outside on a nice day (beware — the parking is limited, with only a few spaces in the back).
Their signature dish is the Slop Bucket, which contains Layer of Cheesy Potatoes, BBQ & Pulled Pork topped with Cole Slaw and your choice of BBQ Sauce. And yes, dear reader, it’s as delicious as it sounds. They use a tomato based BBQ sauce (see Ace’s BBQ for an excellent vinegar based sauce), and it’s delicious. I also highly recommend the hush puppies, with a crunchy outside and a sweet inside. The service is also top-​notch — our server actually recommended other BBQ places to eat in the area.
Overall, Belmont offers some really good BBQ, and their Slop Bucket always reliably hits the spot. Your experience will likely hinge on whether or not you like a tomato based BBQ sauce. This place is a Charlottesville landmark, and you will not leave hungry.

Your typical college town, there are many pockets in the neighborhood that are beginning to experience a revitalization and renaissance in places that used to old abandoned buildings, or run down houses, and this place is right in the middle.
The small quiet charm of a forgotten district, holds several new businesses, and the BBQ in this place was very good. A small joint, with a great covered patio area, lets you enjoy the food while watching the people go by.
The BBQ is very typical of the area. Virginia has the luck of having North Carolina and Tennessee next to it, with influences of regional ‘Que’ and has some of the best BBQ around. It’s just plain good.

4.5 stars. This place is one of my favorite things about Chrlottesville. I used to live right behind the Belmont BBQ and man, was that dangerous. I had to limit myself to every couple weeks, and it is extremely difficult when you have BBQ wafting through your windows whenever the wind changes direction. As far as BBQ places in the general region, I think this is the best. I even prefer it over the BBQ Exchange in Gordonsville. I like Belmont’s sauces better.
My go-​to is the pulled pork sandwich (with coleslaw on top) and cheesy potatoes. They have an abundance of their sauces out on the counter, so you can fill up little cups to your heart’s content. I liked the mild best, since I prefer a sweet sauce. The slop bucket is their signature dish, made up of BBQ and several sides, including slaw, beans, and potatoes, layered into a bowl. Definitely worth trying. It is pretty good, but I prefer the sandwiches. The fries are surprisingly good. I had the brisket once, and it was a bit disapponting, too dry.
The reason I didn’t give 5 stars is because of the seating. There are a few tables outside, but that is only an option in good weather, and there were a number of flies/​bees flying around. The inside is small and contains only a little bar that can seat maybe 4 people. Not great for large groups, and usually most conducive to takeout.