Shrub Steppe Smokehouse Brewery

We special ordered around 8 racks of ribs for a party of 20. They were delicious! Lots of meat, sauce on the side and the perfect amount of seasoning. EVERYONE loved them! If you’re having a party I strongly suggest you get some of these ribs.

Being new to the area we like to try new places. Thanks to VIBE I received a buy one get one free chili coupon. I thought the inside seating area was a bit small but there is also outdoor seating in the grass under the large shade trees. The chili bowl we had was fantastic. They gave us a fork to eat with, which a person totally could have, however we ask for spoons. I’m so happy to have found this place. Can hardly wait to return and try some BBQ.

Had the pulled pork sandwich and side Mac n cheese… Sandwich was served Luke warm. Frankly the worst Mac n cheese I’ve ever had. I’m sure Kraft out of the box is better. Beer was ok and served barely cold in an unchilled glass. Won’t be back.

If you were a home brewer with a day job and had put down roots in the Tri-​Cities, and your day job went away, if you were lucky, you would do as well as Shrub Steppe Smokehouse and Brewery. Good cheap beer! Excellent Brisket. Enormous brisket and sausage nachos! This place is very good and i’d highly recommed it. The nachos and timber ghost IPA. The only detractor is that the beer isnt ‘big’ enough, meaning higher specific gravity before fermentation. Cheers!

Food’s great. Service is great. However, meat platters don’t come with sides, and the portions are a bit small for what you pay. Would give 5 stars if there were more meal options than the lunch special.

Food is amazing!
Absolutely delicious for the food.
We went as a group with friends and we arrived later than planned and the waitress acted like we were a burden or at the very least irritated with our group. At the time there were only 2 or 3 other people in the restraunt. My friend is a vegetarian and was with our group so she asked for a cheese sandwhich with some veggies and her sandwhich came out to be the same price as mine loaded with meat. I know that seemed a little steep in price for a cheese sandwhich but oh well.
Food was delicious. Service and friendliness they could improve on.

Simply the best BBQ and micro beers you will find in the tri-city’s. This place is a little out of the way but we’ll worth the drive.

Excellent BBQ, fast service good prices. I have had the sampler and the chili dog. Both excellent. In and out in twenty minutes.

Went here for lunch with our family.
This place isn’t far from our house and during the week is packed at lunchtime .
Between seven of us we tried the brisket, sausage and pulled pork.
My kids enjoyed the Mac and cheese, the potato salad was decent.
The meat itself was cooked well, and tasty enough, But not the best I’ve ever had.
We also tried he nachos! So good!
None of the 3 BBQ sauces had a lot of spice. So Id suggest that as an addition. And two of them tasted very similar.
Like other reviewers mentioned the service is sub par, if that. Our waitress was nice enough but gave off the impression shed rather not be there working. No energy. It took forever for her to get our order in after she brought our drinks.
UPDATE– they have changed some of their staff and there are some gear people working there! Love going in there!
I’d suggest getting it to go if you have a craving for BBQ. Which we will most likely do of we go back.

Excellent beer and the best chili I’ve had the pleasure to eat. Get the bowl… and eat it under the shady trees outside. And get a pitcher of the Bad Kitty beer.

Beer is good. Chili is some of the best i’ve ever had. It is so nice to sit at a table outside in the grassy yard under the shade of some oak trees.

We love coming to Shrub Steppe for dinner, lunch, or happy hour, but our favorite time is Wednesday night Trivia. Our whole family loves the food — the brisket is unbelievable! We each have our favorites: brisket and slaw for me, sausage dog with Mac n cheese for the kid, and Dad likes everything, so he mixes it up. When we’re not super hungry we split the nachos, which are amazing.
The place almost always has tons of people and a great family atmosphere. There are board games and corn hole for kids and grown ups alike, and the outside tables are always shady and nice. We highly recommend Shrub Steppe — they are a fantastic local business with great food, staff, and atmosphere.

Shrub step is a great little place to stop and have a beer and some BBQ. They have a very down to earth, inviting atmosphere and wonderful staff. The outdoor area is really cute too!
Their selection of beer is fantastic and thru have other beverages if your not into the brews. (I’ve been to some breweries where all they have is beer and if you don’t like beer your stuck with water)
As for their food… YUM! They have everything from beef brisket to pulled pork to flatbread. Oh and the wings are amazing! They usually have a special coleslaw and potato salad every day too. One time it was like a jalapeño flavor. Terrific! They have a great selection of sauces to go with their meats do whether you like a sweet bbq of a spicy bbq you can customize it to your liking!
All in all I highly recommend this establishment. Go there now! You know you want to!

Abrasive ownership. The owner was extremely rude for no apparent reason tonight. When asked «why» he became more rude and practically confrontational. So I left without incident. I’m sure this doesn’t happen all the time but I would never encourage anyone to support this local business.

The food here is to die for! The brisket meal with mac and cheese is the best! Once you get over how good the food is you realize that they have some very tasty BBQ sauces!
A must visit!

Brisket was alright, not a ton of flavor by itself. The service really sucked, probably because they only had one person serving and one other cooking (mind you there were only like 4 tables taken in the joint). Beers were ok, nothing special in what they brewed. Would recommend getting your BBQ fix somewhere else.

Solid, but not truly outstanding.
Had the meat sampler, which included sausage, brisket, pulled pork, & wings. The sauces were tasty, but tended toward the sweet, not smokey. I Enjoyed them, particularly the Sexy Shrub. The pork was very good, the brisket was OK (a bit dry).
For brews I had the full flight to get a feel for their range of beers. The amber lager («Bad Kitty») was tasty, as was the porter. Their hopper choices were very mild. Only the double IPA had a real Hit of Hops. The Imperial IPA was a bit sweet, which wasn’t bad, just unexpected.
Overall, an enjoyable experience, but not really remarkable.

Ok heres wassup, I have always said I’m not really a BBQ person. I do believe I may not understand what it is. I think I’m stuck in the 80’s where barbecue was only half a chicken, ribs and some wings. This Plc ROCKS! The secret society, not on the menu to order is the Chili Mac. Bean less all meat chili made from brisket, andouille sausage, pulled pork & a shootin ton of flavor!
It’s all amaze honestly, full menu, make their own beer and good wine on the menu. Just hit it, it’s a cool Plc

Stopped here because it was the first restaurant we saw upon entering Richmond.
Value proposition is a bit unique: house craft beers along with various BBQ sauces. We liked the opportunity to test and compare the approx. 6 BBQ tastes, from N. Carolina to Kansas City.
The beers were too hoppy for the two of us that drank, but will work for those that like hops.
AMBIANCE: 3.0. café/​deli interior.
SERVICE: 3.0. No problems. Business-​like.
FOOD:
— Brisket (without bread): 4.5. soooo tender.
— coleslaw: 3.0. I prefer more cream and less vinegar.
— pork chili: 3.0

A budding new bbq brewpub has been in the rumor mill for months, and its doors have finally opened.
Softly.
Yes, Shrub Steppe Smokehouse Brewery is the newest brewery on the microbrew dance floor. As you can deduce from the business’ name, this place is unique because of its smokehouse. This eatery & drinkery is also housed in the Port of Benton’s Tri-​Cities Enterprise Center which is quickly becoming a Tri-​Cities destination (especially with super-​popular White Bluffs Brewery, yummy Ethos Bakery, and nearby Thomas O’Neil Cellars).
This place was said to open back in Sept, but we were kept in suspense until now (Jan). It’s a soft opening, and with this opening, there are three in-​house ales on tap (one guest tap from Ice Harbor), and there is a dinner menu. I can only assume there will be more in-​house beer on tap. I heard there will be TVs installed, and there will also be a lunch menu.
Beer & BBQ. A perfect pairing. With its infancy, I’d say the beers were ok. They were strong in taste (& in alcohol content). They were all a bit similar in taste and hard for my limited palate to distinguish. But don’t take my words to serious here, they just opened a few days earlier, and I’m sure they will only get better.
Now as for the food & smokehouse, they are fully tasty & operational. I went with a beef brisket sandwich with a side of mac & cheese. The side was decent, but the sandwich was super tasty. And I’d have to say the bbq made the beer even tastier! They don’t have a huge menu, but I’m excited to try their other sandwiches, and their appetizers looked varied and interesting. They also provide tasty sauce options (Kansas City [normal & spicy] & Carolina [normal & spicy]).
I do have to say, I know this is a bbq joint, but it would also be nice to have some vegetarian options.
This definitely seems like a place you will see me in again (to bring visitors, or to make a pit stop after work!). I sat at the bar and was able to see the cook work his magic at the smoker. There was one server who handled the fair-​sized crowd on an early weekday evening. There is a decently-​sized dining area. There are a few choices in local wines, as well as some non-​alcoholic drinks.
I’ll be sure to write an update after a few more visits, but be sure to come out and support this local & independent business!