Smoke Modern BBQ

I’ve been there twice — it is so amazing and so good. Definitely not ‘cheap’, but I certainly haven’t had better bbq anywhere, let alone for less. Beer selection is dynamite as well.

The atmosphere is nice and very modern for Glenwood Springs. However, the service was a little slow and I watched a lot of chaos since we were sitting at the bar. People waited to be sat for some time and the hostess seemed more interested what was going on on her phone that anything else. The bartender was pretty inexperienced which I found more common in Glenwood Springs than not, but he was pretty slow. We ordered the 3 meat combo and split it. The was just ok. Nothing to be overwhelmed about. I saw a lot of people with the burgers and sandwiches and I am thinking that is the best way to go here. The Mac and cheese was good but very greasy.

I’ve been involved with competition BBQ for years.
It’s rare when you can order a «sampler platter» and struggle to decide what the best thing on the plate is.
Texas, Kansas City, Memphis, Carolinas… Smoke has done you proud!!! My guess is, if I ate here 3 more nights and tried different things each night… they’d all be equally good.
No sauce needed, but if you must… check out the «XXX».
All served up with great Colorado hospitality by a super sweet bartender! Thanks Summer… thanks Smoke! Just 2 of the many things that made my stay in Glenwood Springs a great experience!

What a great find! We’re already planning a return trip to Glenwood Springs so we can try the ribs and other specials. The pulled pork sandwich with the variety of sauces was very tasty. The scalloped potatoes side dish was massive and exquisite! The changing tap beer menu is a bonus. Brian, our server, was very helpful with beer recommendations and samples. I chose the Odell Mountain Standard Double Black IPA and it was delicious. Great service, great food, great staff and great beer = 5* in my book.

If you’re looking for a good place to eat in Glenwood Springs, this is the place! The combination of oak and applewood brings a great depth of flavor. Brisket was melt in your mouth! Staff was friendly and professional. Our server, Jacob gave excellent service and great recommendations.

Food was pretty good and large portions… I’m from TX so I’m used to some really great BBQ, this was great but not absolutely amazing. Prices were fair, though! The service left some to be desired… not sure of our waiters name but he wasn’t the most friendly person. I’m not sure he smiled at us once… and seemed almost annoyed to be working. Maybe he was just having a bad day? I sure hope so. I would gladly have given 4 stars if it wasn’t for the bad taste left in my mouth by our waiter. Overall, definitely worth checking out if you love BBQ… don’t expect mind blowing amazingness and service. But… it was good.

Wow so impressed by this place! We had to wait about 30 minutes for the table but we were glad we did because the drinks from the bar were great and the bartender was fantastic! Already feeling good we were seated at our table and presented with a menu that had som many great things it was hard to choose. Again we have wonderful service and our waiter answered all of our questions and made recommendations that turned out to be awesome. We all had BBQ in different forms and all cleaned our plates, the meat and sauces were excellent! We really enjoyed our night here owing to both the great food and the wonderful service!

Ten of us stopped at this restaurant and we had the same thing to say: very good but not great. I had the chili, bacon wrapped shrimp plus the pulled pork and brisket. I never had a colorado chili before and never will again, it was weird to have chili with sour cream.
I tried my meat with all 4 sauces that were on the table and found the spicy texas sauce to be delicious! Meat was cooked perfectly but was not hot, we all made the same observation. May I suggest a hot plate? Or maybe cutting the meat right before serving it. Friends that had salads and different types of mac and cheese also loved their food.
I will definitely be back at this bbq joint!

I am sitting at the bar and thought I’d give my review. The food is always good at smoke, whether it’s brunch, lunch or dinner. I got summoned to pickup to go on a busy, Broncos football night. The place is packed I got the last seat at the bar. Dave is an awesome bartender he is extremely busy and made sure my large Togo was correct, personally with me. He makes a great Old Fashioned and is very upfront his are on the sweeter side. I can’t express the customer service in this place, it’s amazing. Everyone is a busy bee and and working hard. Seriously the food is great; all the food. cheesy grits will make you come back wanting more. Enjoy.

I went here because I was mad tired from hiking the iced over Hanging Lake, and had a particular taste for BBQ. Perhaps I should have skipped it since CO is not exactly a BBQ state. But anyway, my first impression was a sour one, as I was greeted by the bartender as soon as I walked in with, «May I help you?» I was thrown off because this is not the usual greeting offered at restaurants. Normally it’s a simple «table for x» question. When she realised I came in with intentions to eat… imagine that… she asked if it would be take out. I don’t want to jump to conclusions and make accusations but this was not a welcoming welcome.
So we got past that awkwardness and I was seated. I went with the Pulled Chicken Sandwich and sweet potato fries, with sweet tea to drink. When the waitress brought out the meal, she explained their 4 sauces – 3 of which were based on regional BBQ sauces (KC, Texas, and Carolina), and the other being mustard. Let’s start with the sandwich. It was piled high with shredded chicken, two slices of bacon, and melted cheddar cheese. The seasoning of the chicken left a bit to be desired, but was not horrible. I added a bit of each sauce to each bite just to taste them. They were all meh, but good enough to add a little taste to this otherwise tasteless sandwich. The bacon and cheese provided flavour but the chicken had not been seasoned well. The sweet potato fries were probably the best part of the meal – sprinkled with sea salt and slightly crispy. The sweet tea was barely sweetened, but again this is Colorado – not a sweet tea state. It was sweet enough and refreshed my tired throat.
I would recommend this place only if you’re not all that into BBQ and especially if you have no favourite regional BBQ.

There were 7 of us and we’re from 4 different states. We ALL agreed that it was the BEST BBQ any of us has ever had. I had the combo with brisket and chicken, sides were burnt end Mac and cheese, and the cole slaw. Nothing short of fantastic. Service was great also, all of us being from out of town, our waitress spent extra time making sure we understood the menu, and brought us a piece of brisket to try before ordering. It’s a must stop if you’re in Glenwood Springs.

Um… WOW! This is the kinda gem you dream of finding when you visit a city. Whatever your high hopes have for this place – it will meet most of them. Smoke is, hands down, one of the best barbecue places I’ve ever been to. The service here is top notch. I would want to dine here every night if I lived in Glenwood Springs! The owners seem to be passionate about the culinary side of a nice and chic venue, and it sure comes out in their food. Our waiter went through the entire menu with us and made jokes and really made us feel welcome.
I’ll put the brisket against anything that the Food Network has to offer. The spicy sauce on the table is soooo great. Trust me, this brisket needs no sauce at all, but that spicy sauce. Oh my. It enhances the brisket in the best way. The Mac and Cheese and onion rings were delectable– they sent my taste buds to food heaven. The Banana Pudding was excellent!!!

My guy and I love BBQ and we’re excited to try this place out… it underwhelmed us, sadly. The sauce, let’s start there…
Watered down and nothing special.
The brisket and sausage were ok… the brisket was a bit dry.
The mac and cheese was terrible… I had 2 bites, didn’t touch it again. why can’t wait staff notice when their patrons don’t eat food and don’t want a to-​go box? Pay attention waiters!
Now the cheese grits were exceptional and the corn bread was delicious… the place was clean and we were seated right away… that is why I am giving them 3 stars.

Best ribs and beans I’ve ever had. I do not eat coleslaw but was convinced to try and it was totally edible which us saying a TON coming from me. Seriously, come with an empty belly! Awesome!

We were craving some good food after whitewater rafting and this place did not let us down.
Our waiter was very kind and efficient. The atmosphere of this place was modern but still casual. It also has a great bar that has everything that you need.
Ordered the BBQ chicken salad to share (This salad was so delicious and the BBQ chicken was very juicy)
Ordered the Green Chile Burger (the egg was done the way I asked and the burger was packed with so much flavor. My mouth is still watering from thinking about it)
Ordered the 3 meat combo: Brisket, Dry Rib, and pork with a side of sweet potato fries (BF was pleasantly surprised at the smoky taste (along with the dry rub) of the ribs. He is usually not satisfied enough to eat ribs dry, so He tend to choose eating them with sauces. However, these ribs were a real treat because the rub and smoke they used were fantastic. He would not dare to put any sauce on them, they were that good. The pulled pork came dry as well. So it was his choice whether to use sauce on it. Once again, it was flavorful and He didn’t need to use any sauce. The brisket was a bit dry however. The flavor was lacking when compared to his other choices on the plate. There was a definite smoke ring on each slice but unfortunately the flavor and the doneness was nothing to rave about. He did have to use some sauce to cure the dryness.

I came here on a visit with my sister. We were quickly seated and the server came to introduce their restaurant and menu. We ended up ordering the 3 meats with 2 sides with ribs, brisket, pulled pork, cream of spinach and burnt end mac n cheese. This was perfect for the two of us to share. They provide 4 kind of sauces on each table: Carolina, Texas fire, Georgia gold, KC royal with descriptions of what each sauce tastes like (sweet, sour, etc.). I liked the KC royal because it was a sweeter sauce. The meats were pretty good, but I’ve definitely had better. I really liked the burnt end mac n cheese and thought the side sizing was perfect because it is a heavy dish. My least favorite was the cream of spinach. There was so much garlic in it that it overwhelmed the flavors. Overall I thought this place was just alright.

When we first walked by this place, I told my husband that it looked too nice to have good barbecue. The next morning, our rafting guide, Chris, said his former roommate had opened a new barbecue place that had the best shrimp and grits, and recommended we check it out.
With his recommendation in mind, we ventured back to the place that looked too nice for good barbecue; and boy, was I glad we did.
The shrimps and grits was heavenly, and the barbecue was some of the best we’ve ever had. We had grilled oysters for an appetizer, which was a perfect starter that was made even better with an order of cornbread muffins served with melt-​in-​your-​mouth honey butter.
This is our new favorite restaurant in Glenwood!

Actually not that great I’m sad to say… They are trying to be too many things at once. Pecan encrusted flounder was a total disaster… Unseasoned, over crushed, and oily. Burnt end Mac and cheese… Nothing special, simply a dry uncheesie Mac with burnt ends and diced tomatoes (odd) which had little flavor aside from enda. 4 meat combo plate ridiculously small for the price.
To their credit, the brisket was probably the best brisket I’ve ever had… Crazy tender! The dry rub ribs were very good to… Nice seasonings and crust. BBQ sauces tableware are great. Chili rocked… probably the best chili I’ve had in an long time!
Service was outstanding.
Overall I would not be inclinded to go back… You go to a restaurant to eat, so it’s about the food first, price second, and everything else… There were too many food basics off the mark, coupled with high prices to take this as anything other than a restaurant trying to be something it’s not or can’t muster the strength to be… you can only be modern bbq if your bbq firstly kicks but in every regard and then you amplify it with a modern American twist… Blah blah Mac and cheese are off the mark and not modern American. dazzle us with incredible bbq and then amp it up the way only a skilled chef can… Off the mark here.
The good parts of the meal didn’t come close to out weighing the blah and bad.

Had a delicious lunch here with my family while on vacation. Unlike other barbecue places, Smoke advertises itself as «modern barbecue», which basically means that the ambience is sleek and contemporary rather than rugged and woodsy.
We got a 3-​meat combo with beef brisket, spare ribs, and pulled pork and a bronzed ahi tuna salad to share (for a family of three), as well as sides of a shrimp and sausage Mac & cheese and hash browns. The meat is really really good, though being from Texas, I can’t say it was the best I’ve ever had. The flavor is pleasantly smoky, and the meat is juicy though not as tender as I would have liked. Smoke gives you four barbecue sauce options on the side that paired really well with the meat. The Mac and cheese was the star of the meal, with a lovely, stringy crust of cheddar cheese on top and a creamy middle chock full of shrimp and sausage chunks. The ahi salad was yummy as well, with orange slices and nicely seared strips of tuna. Lastly, the hash browns were delectable too, crisped to a golden brown on the outside and soft on the inside.
This was just what we needed after a long drive! Definitely go if you’re in the area.

Yay, I finally found a place to eat in this small town that excels beyond the typical over priced mediocrity most eating establishments specialize in here in Glenwood Springs. I found a small slice of home and a fine cocktail.
Prices are good snd service is far above the RF Valley Aspen price paradigm. For that I thank you and will have many happy returns.