Shawn’s Smokehouse BBQ Company

Shawns is one of the better bbq places I’ve been to in a loooong time! The restaurant is laid out well and very nice… clean, fresh, and very inviting. The service was very friendly, efficient and made me want to come back. We had a half rack of pork ribs, and pulled pork… it was actual pulled, not chopped… Mac n cheese, coleslaw, beans, and fries. It was all very well done. The ribs were very tender, the pork was especially moist and had great flavor. It was all smoked perfectly. The sides were very good. Coleslaw was different, yet well done… very tasty. The beans were outstanding! Fries were hand cut and very good… the Mac n cheese was ok… I like a baked Mac and this was cheesy and slightly gluey… but that’s a personal issue. It had good flavor and was tasty. Desserts were also available… Chocolate cheesecake was a 4 outta 5. Very solid place! I will definitely be back.

The food is good but the experience at the register never good.
Always a new person when I go in there and they have no idea what they are doing. New cashiers need to be trained better. Long line out the door during weekday lunch and owner just walking around. You need to help them out especially when people are on a time limit.
Prices seem to go up everytime I go in there. Never paid the same for the same food ever.

Very nice — happened upon this place while driving through town. Meat was very flavorful, great sauces. The slaw may have coconut in it, but did not taste particularly coconutty (thankfully)…

Really great Cole slaw with coconut! The chicken is tender and succulent! Really great atmosphere! Recommend!

Decided to return for more BBQ but as people have said, they have raised their prices. And last time I went I got the meat combo with chicken and pulled pork. It could have fed three people. I got it again today and it was only enough for one person. So higher prices and less food. But the BBQ chicken is amazing. The brisket was good. My wife ate all the pork so I didn’t get a taste of that. The ribs looked good, were tender, but didn’t have a whole lot of taste to them. I make better green beans and my wife said the cole slaw was so so. I got french fries as my side and as soon as I grabbed a fry I could tell it was battered. I complained and somehow they redid the fries or rather made me new fries which were not battered. How I do hate battered fries. And apparently they STILL put sugar in their corn bread. It looks like the staff eats a lot of corn bread.

We were first introduced to Shawn’s BBQ about a year ago when my sister had them cater her baby shower/​fall cookout, and we have been addicted ever since!
I love really good BBQ-​type meal, and Shawn’s is the best that I have had so far and it beats places like Famous Dave’s, Dixie Bones, and Shane’s Rib Shack by a long run! Just about at Shawn’s is good; you can’t go wrong with anything on the menu. I am more into side dishes than the meat itself, and Shawn’s has some of the best sides. Their coleslaw is very unique with it’s addition of coconut, and it is the ONLY coleslaw that I like! Their Baked Beans I believe are made with their own BBQ sauce, the cornbread is a delicious, large chunk of sweet cornbread, their potato and pasta salads are great, but perhaps the best side dish at Shawn’s is their MAC AND CHEESE. Penne pasta in a ton of creamy, cheesy sauce-​some of the best Mac and cheese I have had.
We often get the Family Meal Sampler, which allows us to choose sides and comes with a sampling of all their meat, so you can get a taste of everything. The only thing that I do not care for is the brisket, but I myself do not care for beef, so don’t take my word for it.
My favorite part about a Shawn’s meal is dessert, specifically their banana pudding. It rivals the world famous Magnolia Bakery Banana Pudding very closely and I can never get enough!
We usually get our food as carry-​out, but the restaurant itself is a great little place that has that all-​American feel to it. Shawn’s had become a favorite of ours and I hope that you love it as much as we do!

We use to live in Texas so I have had lots of barbecue and I have to say I was so surprised by this place. It was so good!!! We got the family platter, it came with ribs, chicken, brisket, shredded pork, these awesome buns, and 3 sides. We got the Mac n Cheese, coleslaw and potato salad. We had 7adults and 4 kids and it was more then enough to feed us all.
The meat was cooked perfectly. They have about 7 different types of sauces on the table for you to try. The coleslaw had a really unique flavor, sweeter then most but it went great with the pork. The Mac n cheese was different too it has a little bit of a kick to it, not too much though because the kids gobbled it up.
They were having karaōke the night we were there. It was very entertaining. All and all a great way to spend a family Friday night. Great food at a good price.
I wish I lived closer we would be making this our Friday night spot.

Been here twice now since moving to Culpeper. First time was the same as the first. Ok pulled pork sandwich although they need to heat up the buns it was cold. Very consistent food though I do enjoy that the pulled chicken and pulled pork comes bare with just the rub no sauce.

We stopped here for a quick bite on our way home from our vacation at the Shenandoah valley. The restaurant was clean and staff was friendly.
We order the 2 meat combo of brisket and chicken with cole slaw and mac and cheese. The plate was big enough for my husband and I to share. Both meats were very tender and we’ll seasoned. The sides were good, but I wasn’t crazy about the coconut on the cole slaw or that they used penne for the mac and cheese.
Definitely recommend if you need to crab a bite in the area.

Pretty much the most amazing BBQ ever! I drive PAST Smokey Bones, Shane’s BBQ and McCoy’s BBQ in Fredericksburg to get there and enjoy this deliciousness!!!
Everything I’ve eaten has been perfect… from the beef brisket, the ribs, the chicken, the pulled pork sandwich to the potato and pasta salad, right down to Mama Sue’s homemade nanna pudding… this place is spot on! Melt in your mouth BBQ and fast, friendly service! It is absolutely worth the drive!

So I went back to Shawn’s for one last hurrah as I moved from the area. I was very sad to leave after the great food I experienced once again! The ribs fall off the bones they’re so tender and juicy. Love the sweet and sassy bbq sauce! Pork was a good portion. The pasta salad was different than I remembered, but still creamy and cool, a good foil to the spicy bbq sauce. Definitely recommend! Keep on keeping on Shawn’s bbq! I’ll miss you dearly.

On March 19, 2014 we decided to try Shawn’s Smokehouse BBQ in Culpeper, Va.
When I ordered, I begin to think that maybe these folks were the real deal. I asked if the meats were bare or sauced and was told the ribs and chicken were lightly sauced, but the brisket and pork was «bare» with only a rub. I was told that sauces were on the table if we wanted to add any. The only downside on the brisket order was that you could not select between point or flat, only sliced or chopped. I ordered the Smokehouse Sampler — a quarter chicken, third of a rack of ribs, pulled pork and brisket sliced.
THE SAUCES
He has 5 — Mango Chipolate, Southern Gold, Sweet & Sassy, Carolina Love, and Carolina Cussin. The Mango Chipolate was excellent, with a real kick at the finish, but a bit too hot for me (I really have no tolerance for heat). The Southern Gold was a mustard sauce — really good! spicy and bold, but smooth at the same time. The Sweet & Sassy was my favorite, a KC type of sauce but with just a little hint of heat in the finish. The Carolina Love was VERY vinegary and a little hot, a bit too much vinegar for me, but maybe the folks from Carolina would say it was perfect. The Carolina Cussin was also vinegar based with some heat, but more balanced in my mind and very good. Overall, all the sauces were good to excellent.
THE FOOD
I though everything looked good. Shawn did tell us later that he gave us extra brisket. When he realized that we knew the difference between the point and the flat, he wanted us to sample both, so we did get a bit more meat than a normal Smokehouse Sampler would have. The sides were just what we ordered.
The Sides
I will review in the order of worst to best.
Mac-​n-​Cheese — sorry to say that I did not like this at all. Not real cheesy and it was a bit dry and clumpy/​pasty as opposed to a creamy texture that I like. I could not recommend.
Dirt Rice — I thought it was good, but I am not a connoisseur of dirty rice and have not had that much in my life so not a big data base to compare to.
Beans — very good. They use the big white Northern beans cooked in a sweet tomato sauce with brisket. A bit heavy on the sauce, but I liked them.
Coleslaw — very fresh and crispy, very good, but a sweet slaw with no vinegar, so not my preference (I like a vinegar based slaw). With that said, it was a very good slaw and I would eat it anytime. Shawn later asked if we could identify the «mystery» ingredient, which we could not. He then told us it was coconut milk and at that point, we could then taste the hint of it in the sauce. It made it unusual and I think it is what gave it its sweetness. I think most folks would like this slaw even if they do like a vinegar based slaw.
Potato salad — really, really good. Firm potatoes, sauce was not runny, nice balance of flavours so nothing overpowered. I could recommend this side.
Corn Bread — only one word for this: OUTSTANDING!!! If I was condemned to die and given my last meal, this would not only make the menu, it might be the only thing on the menu. I have eaten — and made — a lot of cornbread in my time. Nothing touches this cornbread!
The Meats
Again I will put in order of preference.
Ribs — tender, smoke flavor, not over sauced, but a bit on the dry side. Still, a good solid above average rib.
Pulled Pork — in all fairness, I have gotten to the point of having eaten and sampled so much pulled pork that I really am not drawn to it anymore. With that said, I thought this was a very good pork. Tender, but firm, you could taste the smokiness. No sauce, so I could sample a few of his sauces on it which I really liked. Again, a very good pork which I think would do well in a competition.
Brisket — very, very good. The point was «overdone» by competition standards, but I thought that made it great for eating standards! Tender, juicy, smoky. I would give it an 8 at a KCBS comp. Again, I liked that it only had the rub, no sauce.
Chicken — really outstanding. Juicy, tender, smoky. I later told Shawn that even though the sauce was very light, I wished it was bare, that is how good this chicken was. Wish I could turn this in at competitions!!!
Dessert
They offer several desserts, but I got the Banana Pudding because it is a bbq classic. They have just added it to the menu and isn’t even on the printed dessert menu yet. A huge portion — easily feed all 3 of us. It was a good, solid banana pudding, but not exceptional. In fairness, it had tiny chocolate chips spread on top and I think that detracted from the pudding. The whipped cream on top was also a bit heavy for me. But good, fresh bananas used and a nice smooth pudding so I don’t think most people would be sorry they ordered it – if they had room!!!

Came here on the way home from a day at Lake Anna, on a Wednesday at about 7pm.
Not too busy, no line when ordering.
We got a banana pudding (which we quickly devoured while waiting for our food to come). Our food seemed to take a while to come out but maybe that’s because we were pretty hungry.
We both got the steak and cheese sandwiches with onions and peppers. The steak was incredibly flavorful and tender, amazing. But way too much cheese and needed a lot more meat. While it was really yummy we probably wouldn’t get that menu item due to the scant meat. But the meat was amazing so I look forward to trying more menu items.
We shared a variety of sides; French fries, Mac and cheese, and pasta salad, all of which were good. Each sandwich also came with coleslaw which was a little heavy on the dill for my liking but other then that was good.
Good stuff and we definitely look forward to coming back!

Took a spin here last night, and it was a great experience. The brisket was some of the best I’ve had… anywhere. Great bark on it, and butter tender and juicy. I also liked the beans and dirty rice, a little bit of a kick, which is a bonus for me. Another item I liked here was the 6 different sauces that were at your disposal. I’ve never seen 6 different sauces available at the table. I tried 2 of them, one was a mustard base that was unique, and had excellent flavor, and another more traditional spicy blend. Both were superb.
I ordered the 3 meat combo, with wings, brisket and St Louis ribs. I didn’t make it to the ribs, and they are in the fridge waiting for me for dinner tonight.
I am looking forward to a return trip!!!

A friend brought me here after we hiked Old Rag, and it definitely did not disappoint! The brisket sandwich was incredible, and the baked beans were pretty darn good as well! My friend is a Texan barbecue snob, and the fact that he went out of his way to bring me here says a lot about how good it is. Will definitely be back next time I’m in Culpeper!

Wow. That’s all I can say. Except that perhaps all the excellent reviews may have swelled Shawn’s head.
Was planning on ordering the same wonderful takeout meal we had last year around this time, but was somewhat blown away by the price increases.
One pound of pulled chicken — last Feb. $ 12 a pound; now $ 16 a pound.
Pint side of cole slaw — last Feb. $ 4; now $ 6 (for a PINT of cole slaw? Really?)
Pint of Mac & Cheese — last Feb. $ 5; now $ 8. (Honestly — for a pint container of mac & cheese???)
Pint of green beans — last Feb. $ 3; now $ 8. (Again, honestly??? A FIVE DOLLAR increase??)
While I fully understand how food prices have risen, these price increases are way out of whack for this time period. I ended up making our own «pulled chicken sandwiches» (with sides), which were delicious, & cost us less than we would have spent dining at Shawns.

Dear Shawn,
While I do not know you personally I feel like we connect on so many levels. Where do I begin with my love for you and your BBQ company?
Sincerely,
SSBC fan for life.
After visiting the Luray Caverns for the weekend, we were headed back to Virginia Beach and needed a lunch stop. I was pleasantly surprised on how spacious and clean the restaurant was. After staring at the large menu for what seemed like eternity I decided on the BBQ sandwich combo. I picked cole slaw to go on the sandwich, a side of baked beans and mac & cheese. Everything was amazing and couldn’t even finish everything despite my best efforts. I loved that they have a variety of BBQ sauces for sampling and homemade banana pudding!
During the summers while in college I worked at a BBQ restaurant in Myrtle Beach called Mr. Pit so I’d like to think I know a little bit about good BBQ. If I lived in Culpeper this would be my go to place. Barbeque, BBQ and barby/​barbies what ever you call it, this place is legit.

Stopped here in my way home based on a Unilocal review. The review was 100% correct. Food is delicious; meat is tender and juicy. We had baked beans and string beans and both were yummy. The cole slaw was the sweet kind– also yummy. The only complaint (same as another Unilocaler) is they served delicious meat on a cold hamburger bun :(. Otherwise it was great. Would definitely go back.