The Smoke Shack

It’s with a Heavy heart that I pen this Two star review on what I considered the Most Amazing BBQ in San Antonio. I know it was during the day (4^th of July last year) and during lunch that I visited before, but now know not to come at 8 pm or near closing as Ribs and Chicken will be gone, okra will be greasy and cold, the brisket will be a tad dry and your macaroni and cheese could possibly arrive with hair in it (Mine did *yuck* photo attached). My friend and I decided to dine on BBQ and I recommended the Smoke Shack as he wanted Rudy’s BBQ and hind sight being ²⁰⁄₂₀ I wish we had gone there.
The cashier announced that they were out of chicken and ribs which was a spoiler alert for the people in line patiently waiting for some. I grudgingly ordered the one meat platter with pulled pork, fried okra and the mac and cheese. My friend ordered the brisket with the spicy corn and mac and cheese as his sides. We chatted while we waited on our food and I hated seeing flies circling above the pickles and onions and wish that establishments would place covers over food that are exposed within customer’s reach.
Our waiter brought over our food and my meal was missing my pulled pork and arrived with Brisket instead. I waved down the waiter after sampling the cold greasy okra that on my last visit was crunchy, slightly salted and piping hot. I informed him that my order was incorrect and that I had ordered the pulled pork. He went to the window and then came back and picked up the tray. I yelled behind him that I had picked off the food and that he couldn’t give it back. He returned shortly stating that the line cook stated that he had placed the pork on the tray. (I guess I ate it in the 20 seconds it was at the table).
Once the food was returned with the correct order I decided to make me a pulled pork sandwich with the roll and squeezed some BBQ sauce on the pork. The bottle was icky and sticky and made me not want to touch my roll again. I picked up my fork and decided to try the mac and cheese and after taking a few bites unearthed a nasty long black hair. At this point I was grossed out and my meal was over and I decided to discuss my displeasure with the management up front. The cashier said «I’ll take off the Mac and Cheese» and I replied you’ll clear my entire meal as I’m not eating anything else. They wanted to remake the food but had already told me that the food was running out and no new orders would be made which meant I was getting more dry meat, greasy okra and mac and cheese that was possibly tinted with hair. I choose to pass on the food and chatted it up with my friend while he ate. He seemed to enjoy his meal but said compared to this experience Rudy’s was still his Go To spot.
Can’t say I’ve given up on the Shack, the place that I’ve continually raved about but I’ll Never and I mean Never come back near closing.
Ms. Foodie~

We tried this barbecue place after seeing all the great reviews. While it was good, I wasn’t blown away. The pork, brisket and ribs were all tasty, but we are used to many sauce options which they lacked. Parking was pretty full so that appears to be a challenge but overall would recommend The Smoke Shack to others looking for barbecue.

The Smoke Shack is delicious. My husband and I are visiting from Maryland and wanted some BBQ. We and my parents decided to try this place out. OMG! So tender. The strawberry lemonade, tea, and of course canned sodas were good. Between the 4 of us we tried the brisket, ribs, and pulled pork. All good! Not to much fat and very tender. We also liked the mac and cheese, potato salad, and fried okra. The spicy creamy corn is really good. If you do not like creamy corn you still might like this. The spice was not too much. My mom didn’t like the vinegar taste in the coleslaw but my husband and father liked it. The staff was super friendly. Parking does suck.
When we arrived the lady said, «Since we are not busy right now you can take the menu to your table to decide what you want, «then proceeded to go over the menu with us. I found this funny because on a Tuesday at 2 they only had 3 tables open but they considered that not busy lol.
Great place!

I went when this spot was a food truck and was not disappointed! I don’t care too much for cole slaw… too vinegary for me and the flavors in the creamed corn didn’t sit right with me. Now the meat… Super delicious!!! I loved my sandwich and ate off my sisters 3 meat plate. I even ordered some ribs and brisket to go. I’m looking forward to trying the brick and mortar place and sapling their other sides.

This is just my opinion, because apparently a lot of people love the food here…
I got a chopped BBQ sandwich, mac and cheese, and brisket frito pie.
At first I was super excited to try the brisket frito pie… after about 3 bites I was over it.
The mac and cheese was delicious even with the brisket.
Finally to my sandwhich… it was good the first couple of bites and then I was over it…
Idk maybe it was all too much brisket in everything, and maybe it’s also because I’m not
much of a BBQ person.

This evening my husband and I took my aunt whose in town for work out to eat and I wanna to try somewhere close to Fort Sam which luckily a lot of my bookmarked places were close to so we decided to go here. The outside of the restaurant is designed was kind of confusing figuring out the main entrance but it did remind of a little rustic bbq shack.
Once we entered enter the inside of the restaurant you place you order and take your number to the sitting area. Right away when entering the table and booth you notice there are mass produce shelves with no uniqueness except tables/​booth areas it was interesting how they had different money from around the round. As well as seen storage such as to go boxes which unfortunately right behind our booth.
Then after a short wait our food arrive. I had the two meats and two sides with a rolls. I ending up getting the brisket and chicken with at first potato salad but they were out so I chose Mac and cheese with pinto beans. I will say first off the brisket was a little dry but the chicken was cooked perfectly! The pinto had great seasoning and maybe a hint of spice which if it had any was faint but delicious in its own way and the Mac and cheese was a nice replacement to the potato salad since it tasted homemade and had shredded brisket in it yum! The rolls were really good as well with the perfect ratio of butter to toasty! Overall the food was really good the whole family agreed but the brisket was a little dry but had a really good char to the outside and it was almost 8pm when we stopped by and a pretty good amount of people there.
Lastly maybe they could possibly figure out a different storage system or I could just not chose that same booth again.

YES, if you want the best barbecue in San Antonio, this is the place to go! You can smell the smoke before you even walk in! But after you’ve walked in, prepare to smell like the yummy barbecue smoke smell for the rest of the day! Parking is difficult, but that’s my only complaint. Normally there is a line you have to wait in– but that’s a good sign because you know this place is popular and you will get some freshly barbecued meat! I normally get the two sliders with sausage because I’ve never had anything like them. I normally get the spicy cream corn as my side as well as the Mac and cheese (it has brisket in it). I’ve also gotten the fried okra and it hasn’t disappointed. They give you a ton of their bbq sauce and you can even get pickles added to your sandwich. Seating is sometimes difficult because this place is so busy! The (marbled) brisket is also very good. The Smoke Shack used to be a food truck and you can sometimes see the food truck outside the restaurant. I highly recommend this place for some delicious barbecue!

Back at again with my Unilocal.Recently my new job has moved me to Sunny San Antonio, Texas and the only upside has been looking forward to some extremely good barbecue!
After searching on Unilocal for a nearby place this restaurant showed twice on the top five because they own a food truck and brick and mortar store. If you you have seen my past posts you will understand I am a huge fan of food trucks anything! Food trucks always make theeeeee best food ever.
Okay so let’s get to the important stuff.
Parking is difficult, restaurant is average size and the menu is an average size. If it’s your first time I recommend to grab one of the meat plates; that range from 1 – 3 types of meat. This also include bread and a choice of two sides.
The sides are endless but I highly recommend the Mac and cheese and the spicy creamy corn.
As for meats the pulled pork and brisket were alright but the ribs were off the hook!
Defiantly take a stop inside or check out their food truck!

Ok. Let’s be honest here. The only reason we went by today is that a brisket grilled cheese was featured in the Sunday paper. Today is Monday.
I went for the sandwich, the husband the two meat plate. He asked for brisket and sausage, got brisket and ribs. Both were beyond tender. The pit master has got it going on.
I chose cole slaw and the husband went with Mac and cheese and creamed corn. The slaw had blue cheese in it a nice surprise. Really set it off to more goodness.
My sandwich was not as fat as in the Sunday paper picture, but tasty none the less. By the time we left around 7 pm, the line was about to go out the door. Well-​deserved. Yum. Go there.

Best best best Texas smoke house besides franklins. Their bbq ribs are absolutely out of this world mouth drooling good. Thru use a sweet sauce on it and it just falls off the bone. Pair that with their cheesy and creaming Mac n cheese and I would chose that as my «last meal» every time.

Yeah, I love BBQ. I’ve traveled all over this country eating the best of the best and San Antonio is home to some dang good BBQ. So what makes this place worthy of 5 Stars? Start with the history of the concept, from food truck to brick and mortar. Got to love a good success story like that. Then add in a staff of employees that seem to genuinely enjoy what they do. Finally, and most importantly a great product. I’ve tried all of their meats now and have to say the Ribs are the best I’ve ever tasted from a flavor profile. Great brown sugar sweetness. The hidden gem in my opinion though is the turkey. Great flavor profile and still moist despite it being just a turkey breast. Smoke Shack has quickly become a «must visit» every time I’m in San Antonio now.

After eating here for the first time, I’ve been kicking myself for waiting so long to come! The BBQ here is the best I’ve ever had in TX and they do many things well so they’re well beyond being a 1 trick pony. For example, I’m not much of a brisket guy but I did try theirs and it was definitely above average in so many ways. I also sampled the turkey and if you like Rudy’s, I would say it’s on par flavor wise but much better from a juiciness/​tenderness standpoint.
Going beyond the meats, the sides have much to offer. Since I went with my girlfriend, we got to try the pinto beans, the creamed corn, and a few other options. Nothing fell short of good and some things were even exceptional. This is the kind of place where everything you try seems to meet a very high standards they set for themselves.
Service is Fast N friendly and even with the lunch rush, food comes out in a matter of no time. They are patient answering questions when ordering, and even make suggestions based on your preferences. This is place where you don’t have to wait an unordinary amount of time to get quality food. I have not had the chance to try their desserts but several sound delicious so I’ll make sure to do so the next time I drop in.
All Things Considered, this is my favorite overall barbecue place in town because nothing I’ve tried has been below good and service is so fast. If you’re looking for great BBQ without having to drive out of San Antonio, this is the place to go to. There may be other establishments that make better brisket or turkey or sides, but my experience has been there is no place that make it all collectively as good here. So grab a fork and knife, bring your bib and get ready to throw back some of the most delicious barbecue you’ve ever eaten.

There’s a lot I miss about San Antonio, but Texas barbecue is up there. I don’t want to begin to count the number of times I’ve ordered brisket only to be served thinly-​sliced dry pieces of jerky that made me long for my time in the Lone Star state, so once I got an opportunity to come back, I knew what my mission must be: find some good brisket. I think I may have overshot my mark, because the brisket at Smoke Shack is otherworldly to the point where it’s not even a fair comparison: what kind of magic must be possessed to create a brisket so tender and juicy that you can’t even pick it up with a fork? Daniel Vaughn mentioned that this might be the rare type of place where it’s better to order the lean rather than the fatty, and if I had a second chance I might do the same.
Pulled pork was fine, especially with the mustard sauce that adorned it. Sausage was equally fine, though I like more of a snap to the casing and a slightly firmer texture — this was on par with a bologna. The sides were similarly okay, with a vinegar slaw that needed more vinegar and fries that were cooked much too long so that they were crispy but dang near hollow on the inside. But everything else ends up taking a backseat to the brisket, so as long as they’re doing that, I’m happy.

I will likely take some heat for this review but I call ‘em like I see ‘em. Two friends told me this would be the best BBQ I would ever eat. Now, I did not rate them on that statement because there is no such thing. BBQ done right is BBQ done right. It’s hard for me to say great BBQ here is better than great BBQ over there.
I ordered a two meat plate and chose ribs and pulled pork with a side of creamed corn and fried okra. One of the guys who recommend this place was with me. He got ribs and turkey and the same sides.
I thought this had been a joke at first. I tried the pork and it was not dry, but pretty darn close. It was also very firm which to me, pulled pork shout not be. Decent flavor but the moisture and the consistency left a lot to be desired. The ribs were nothing short of inedible. These were dry and flavorless. Now, they do glaze their ribs with something and I can tell, had the ribs not been overcooked, that glaze is probably really good, but it too was overcooked along with the meat.
The sides were fine. Their okra is the real deal, cooked perfectly and not greasy. The creamed corn was good, but not anything I would send someone over there for. My buddy, who introduced me to this place said he did not understand what was wrong. He loves the ribs at this place and said they have never been this way. His turkey could have passed for jerky with a few more hours of dehydrating.
The other item we got was something called, I think, Smoked Mac. It is Mac and cheese with brisket and some BBQ sauce. The Mac and cheese was bland and frankly got in the way of the flavor of the brisket. Salt was lacking but you could definitely taste the great smoked flavor of the brisket if you got it without any M&C on your fork.
This place was crowded so they apparently have done something right at some point that draws this many folks, but as for me, I cannot recommend this place. I would say, give a try on another day. Who knows, maybe they had a ton of meet left over from yesterday and reheated it and destroyed it. If not, that is sure how it tasted.

For my first visit, I am not impressed. When we arrived the order line was three people long but the wait time was almost 20 minutes at 5:40 on a Friday. It turned out the gal at the register wasn’t familiar with the new system. She kept calling someone over to fix her errors. As the long grew longer behind us, this continued, rather than having someone familiar with the system run the register.
It wasn’t clear how food comes out, is it brought to table, do I pick up? So I waited by the area food was being set out. As my order came out I told the food runner it was mine. Without saying a word he set one plate down on the nearest table and then followed me to my table as I carry one plate, keep in mind these are average size and weight plates. Once seated he walks away and doesn’t inquire into accuracy or additional need.
The food was mediocre. Yes, everyone has a different take on BBQ but this was mediocre. I had the pulled pork sandwich and potato salad.
Unfortunately, nothing about this visit encouraged me to return any time soon.

Perfect for our cravings. Delicious! Had the grilled cheese sandwich with brisket, jalapeños and onions, had the half rack, fried okra, potato salad, slaw, lemonade and sweet tea. Everything was great!
That grilled cheese wasn’t even on the menu and it was phenomenal. The rib meat easily fell off the bone and they’re sauce was optional to use, but it made the ribs and the grilled cheese flavors explode in my mouth.
Glad we found this on Unilocal

where to begin… first the brisket had zero smoke flavor which made me think of oven brisket that was tossed on the grill for an hour.
.the sausage was average at best. The Mac and cheese was thick and cold, the slaw was doing different. When the highlight of you your meal was the strawberry lemon aid… you got problems
FOLLOWUP: Both my bud JD and I were ill with stomach problems as in… you know what I mean…

A great location to bring customers or large groups. Easy menu and great tasting BBQ.
The quality definitely out rates the cost. So load up on 2 – 3 meats cuz it’s worth it!
I had the brisket and turkey. Both were good. Brisket was some of the best I’ve ever had. What I really enjoyed and reason they got 5 stars was the potato salad and the BBQ sauce. Not to mention that the service and the staff were great.
Definitely try this place out of your on that side of town and bring friends. I’ll be back!

Arrived here at 7:50pm on a Friday night. Found street parking in the neighborhood and walked over. The venue was crowded, but there were seats. We looked at the menu and asked the cashier for recommendations. She recommended the brisket, pulled pork, and ribs. My friend and I decided to get the 3 meat place with the above recommendations. My sides were the spicy cream corn and the mac and cheese. We also ordered two sliders (turkey and sausage) with two condiments.
The food came out pretty quickly as soon as we got our drinks and found a booth. Unfortunately my plate did not come with the pulled pork (I figured it out later when I saw my friend’s plate) so I had to tell the waitress and she immediately got me a separate plate of pulled pork quickly. Good service.
The mac and cheese sides were very heavy on cheese and filling. The spicy corn went down well. The brisket was fatty and moist: a great combination. It didn’t completely melt in my mouth, but was juicy and you could savor every bite. Based on the brisket alone, this venue is high on my list for the best Texas BBQ’s. The ribs were moist and tender too, and actually melted in my mouth. One of the best ribs I’ve had so far. Pulled pork was alright, but nothing special. I had to use sauce for it.
The turkey on the slider was soft, moist, and tasted heavenly. One of the best slices of turkey I’ve tasted. The sausage was good too. Overall I rank this venue high on Texas BBQ places and would come here again. Lots of people in the restaurant and it shows.

This place really did Texas BBQ justice. I had the absolute best ribs here.
Atmosphere: Really chill, Texas style place — with bench like booths and tables and chairs. There was live music which someone playing on a guitar in the back. You order at the front by the door and then they give you a number to take to the table. It’s like semi table service and semi fast food ordering style. The manager was really nice and talked to us about the place since we were visitors from out of town.
Food: By far, the best ribs I have ever had!!! So fall-​off-​the-​bones Tender and juicy and flavorful. I loved their BBQ sauce-​on the sweeter side but that’s how I like it. We just got a full rack and ate it all up. The Spicy creamed corn was really good — it had just the right amount of heat (and I don’t usually eat spicy food) and flavor, really addicting. The mashed potatoes were good too. The only thing I wasn’t a big fan of was the cole slaw — it had feta cheese and vinegar and it was not to my liking.
(Tip: a full rack of 12 ribs cost the same as $ 2 per rib so if we had known that, we would’ve ordered just a half rack and tried the other dishes.)
Service: Like I said, semi table side — they came and took our dirty plates. You get your own water and drinks. There’s a condiments bar where you can get onions, peppers and really sour pickles. Mostly everything else you need is already at the table such as utensils and lots of napkins plus BBQ sauce.
Definitely stop by if you can!