Smokey’s Char Grill

I am sad to provide this update to fellow Unilocalers…
” Smokey’s
3810 Whitney Ave Hamden, CT 6 518
Dear customers, First thank you for your patronage.
A medical condition requiring surgery and a lengthy recovery has forced me to close the doors at Smokey’s.
The restaurant is officially up for sale. If you know anyone who may be interested they can message my inbox through Smokey’s facebook page.
Thanks again,
Smokey”
:(:(

This place is just the best! Everything I have eaten there has been excellent, and I do eat there often. Its hard to say what my favorite meal is there. The rack of ribs dinner is amazing their barbecue sauce is the best I have ever tasted, and you have to get the macaroni and cheese as one of your sides you wont regret it. A few of my other favorites are the pineapple curry wings, pulled pork, onion rings, and fired up chicken sandwich. And I can’t forget to mention the toasted almond cake!!! If you like cake then you will love this one!

Food was really good and alone would get 4 stars, however the staff was nice but a bit unprofessional. I know working in restaurants we forget that customers are around and have conversations that our customers do not want to hear. This will not keep us from coming back just maybe take it home next time.

Stopped in there today (2÷5÷15) ordered the reg size meat platter that was $ 11.99 which includes (2) sides. Once I picked my two sides, cheese fries & onion rings I noticed on my bill that the cheese is extra & the onion rings cost $ 1.69 more. My gripe is if you offer two sides with the meal then there should be no hidden fees. For example, my buddy I was with got Mac & cheese as one of his sides. No extra cost for his Mac & CHEESE like my CHEESE fries. Get a MIT and get in the game!

Smokeys is definitely one of the best spots to eat in Hamden! Love the pulled pork sandwich and the dogs… Always a good experience

Comparable to any other bbq in CT. Not bad at all. I had the sample plate and got a taste of everything. I like this place better than smoke n bones in derby. I would recommend this place if you are in the area.

Omg! Love this place. Definitely a hidden gem!
A large sampler includes pulled pork, two pieces of chicken, 3 ribs n 3 beef brisket. Plus a corn bread and two sides. Beef was tender and moist. awesome!
You usually can’t taste the difference after so many meats. But they do have their own flavor on every single item.
A must go place when you have craving for southern Bbq!

Funny… I met J.R. and his boys there this week (see previous review). I could write a whole review on this guy’s awesome fathering skills but I digress. I’ll admit I’m a bit late to this party as this was only my second time at Smokey’s. I had the sampler the first visit with cole slaw and a sweet potato for my sides. The sampler (regular) consisted of more food than I could eat: a piece of chicken, pulled pork, 2 slices of brisket and 2 ribs. My son was more than happy to help. I was so impressed with the ribs that I decided to order the half rack this time, once again pairing it with cole slaw (excellent and home made) and a sweet potato. I have to say Smokey’s ribs are some of the best I’ve ever had. The staff are always friendly and helpful with questions. Definitely looking forward to the next visit!

I’m totally hooked. So are my kids, 3 and 5. They love this place and Smokey’s has the best value kids meal anywhere. The BBQ alone is enough justification to visit, the fact that they have an awesome kids meal seals the deal.
Where to start? I could eat the pulled pork, pulled chicken or brisket all day. I’d die young, but happy.
Are you laboring under the impression that BBQ is expensive? You are wrong. More food that I can eat for me, 2 kids meals, drinks, under $ 25. I hope Smokey’s is making money at these prices, because I want them to be around for a long time.
Smokey’s is better than Wilson’s (Fairfield) and is considerably cheaper.
Tips: I haven’t been wrong on the pulled bbq; I prefer pork to chicken. I’ve had the hamburgers, good, but this is a BBQ place yet Smokey’s has won awards for their burgers! go figure! The brisket is excellent. I think I’ve eaten here almost weekly for the last 9 months or so.
What more can I ask for when my 5 year, after eating his way through the basic kids menu says, «Dad, can I try the ribs?» Now, ribs are the standing order (until the tooth fairy arrives) and he can’t get enough.
Keep up the good work, Smokey’s.
PS — Smokey’s has a personable and friendly staff. They are great, too.

Good food, friendly service. I would give 4 stars if the place wasn’t so dirty. Even the to go containers were all smeared with grease and saucey fingerprints. Not terribly appetizing, but I persevered. Really good face-​stuffing hangover food if you can get past the absence of cleanliness.

It’s been about 2 years since I have eaten boy have I been missing out. I went basic and got ½ pound of brisket with house mopped sauce… outstanding. Meat was cooked to perfection. I saw someone order a Carolina which looked amazing that will be next on my list. Then save room for homemade dessert. I had the toasted almond cake incredible I highly recommend. Service was excellent the young girl behind the counter handle the insane lunch rush no problem.

Really friendly service and really delicious affordable barbeque. Probably the best, most authentic bbq in the Hamden. Not to mention this is an awesome pit stop for a spring or summer bike ride on Farmington canal greenway (which runs behind the business). Just be prepared to ride lots and lots of miles after to burn off all the delicious calories from the tender, moist meat.
I thoroughly enjoyed my Carolina pulled pork sandwich. The coleslaw and mustard added a nice vinegar bite to the tender like butter pork. It was served on a generous sesame roll as well, probably 7 or 8 inches in diameter for only $ 6.99. I didn’t get any sides included with that but I didn’t really need them either. I had to take my cornbread home I was so stuffed.
My boyfriend had a delicious texas brisket sandwich that was smothered in onions and struck us as a hybrid of a yankee potroast and a true texas brisket bbq. His chili cheese fries were housed in literally 5 minutes. I assume they were great, but unfortunately didn’t want to get my hand bitten off. I say that with love of course…
The only regrettable part of this meal is that now we know how great Smokey’s is and are totally going to gain weight riding our bikes this summer.

Phenomenal! Ordered The Texas it was beef brisket and onion rings! So juicy and just the right amount of flavor. The waitress even have me a free refill. Definitely coming back and recommend to all.

Stopped here for a late night veggie burger and fries. Both delicious AND they have homemade desserts, which looked phenomenal. I regret not giving them a shot.
Got some burgers to go for le chien and they were deliciously prepared and made the little guy very very happy. He gives his paw of approval.

Wow
This was hands down the best BBQ we’ve had
The meats are fresh and deliciously prepared. Their BBQ sauce is delicious and tasty!
Make sure to stop by when in the area!

Not the fanciest place, but a decent offering of BBQ favorites. Great portion size, fair prices and friendly staff!

Smokeys is a diamond in the rough. There are not many notable BBQ restaurants in the area, but this is definitely the exception! The food is tasty and reasonably priced; the owner and his staff were very friendly while I waited for my take-​out. Try the pulled pork, the Bamba burger, or the Mac and cheese, but don’t leave without trying one of the homemade deserts. Two thumbs up for the rice pudding! I drove from Milford– definitely worth the trip.

Burgers are my favorite thing to eat and kinda am a burger snob. The burgers here are nice and juicy! Love the bun, because it’s so soft and really compliments the beef patty. I also tried their Mac n Cheese and wished their portions for lunch were bigger. For $ 6.99 you choose a burger, brisket or pulled pork sandwich and a side and drink. Good deal! They serve lunch till 4pm!

I was lured in by a
gift certificate I purchased at the end of December, but when I stopped in yesterday, I was disappointed to find a sign on the register that said they’re no longer accepting the certificates. I asked about it, and they said we could exchange them for other gift certificates on the website, which I’ve done before, but they’re not yet listed as no longer accepting gift certificates on the site, so I haven’t been able to exchange it yet. Also, I didn’t get an email notification that they’re no longer accepting certificates, as I have in the past when restaurants stopped their promotions. I went with a group of friends from school, and we all wanted barbecue, so we stayed for dinner anyway. I can’t help but think that I’m not the only person who’s done that this month, which feels unfair. I noticed that they stopped selling new certificates on
, and because I check the site pretty regularly, I know they hadn’t sold them for very long. I understand that it’s hard for restaurants to take accept the discount, but if they sold a limited number of gift certificates to begin with, it would have been nice of them to at least accept the ones they sold. I felt really bad as well because I bought one and gave it to my friend as a birthday present last month, and now he can’t use it.
So I started off pretty disappointed, but I did make the best of being there, since I was with three good friends and school was over for the day. I ordered a two-​item plate with pulled pork and ribs, and for sides, I got slaw and fries. It also came with cornbread. Two of my friends got pulled pork sandwiches, and one got chicken tenders. Prices weren’t bad. I spent just under $ 12 and got a good amount of food plus a drink. My pulled pork and ribs were tender, and they had a good amount of smoky flavor with the barbecue sauce. The pulled pork was better than the ribs overall. The slaw was sweet and had poppy seeds, which was a nice touch. Fries were good — the natural cut kind. The cornbread was really bad — dry and crumby, and it kind of tasted freezer-​burned. One friend got a side of onion rings, which were really good — huge and hand-​battered. The chicken tenders were definitely the frozen kind, and my friend didn’t like the ranch because it was too sweet, but I guess because this is a barbecue place, it’s best to stick to the barbecue items.
There was a steady flow of customers and maybe only two people working, so it took us a while to put in our orders, even though there was no one in line ahead of us to order. I was worried that we’d get our food spaced far apart because all our orders were taken separately with gaps in between as the staff put together orders for the two customers who ordered ahead of us, and that’s what ended up happening. And we had to wait a very long time for our food. Overall, though, it was pretty good barbecue, and not a bad option for takeout in the area when I have a craving for it. It would be 3 stars overall, but I had to knock it down a star because I still feel disappointed by the gift certificate issue.

Smokey’s is a Very good option if you are looking for top quality BBQ. There are very few places locally that offer it on this sort of level so it is definitely worth your time.
Some highlights include St. Louis style ribs, pulled pork and tender beef brisket. A quick word about the brisket: It was almost like eating sliced prime rib though I would have preferred a bit more sauce. Nonetheless, you can always add more of your own. The two main sauce offerings are a sweet St. Louis style and a tangy Carolina style vinegar based sauce. I prefer the St. Louis.
I would suggest getting The Sampler combo platter which will get you all three meats mentioned above, along with BBQ chicken, two sides and cornbread for $ 11.99.
The sides are offered in three different sizes if purchased ala carte. Highlights include baked beans, Mac and cheese and homemade apple poppy seed coleslaw. This is some of the best slaw I’ve ever had. I am picky about slaw and am always hoping it won’t be too soupy. This wasn’t. In fact, it goes well on a pulled pork or brisket sandwich, which are also excellent offerings.
The best part of the sandwich menu is that you can get them on either a sesame seed roll or, get this, Texas toast! Go for the toast. It is a very nice touch and holds the sandwich together very well.
The all beef hot dog with chili is also a surprisingly hearty menu option. I am also picky about chili on hot dogs and Smokey’s chili meat sauce is better than a lot of famous hot dog stand recipes.
As I mentioned, there are not a lot of top quality BBQ options in the area, so when one comes around and they do the good work that Smokey’s does, you are sure to have a great food experience. Smokey’s definitely delivers!