Saline Downtown Diner

Wow… Tried this on a whim tonight… Fantastic! The veggie nachos were almost a meal in themselves … Sandwiches are huge and the BBq Salmon Sandwich was nothing short of fantastic!

Food was meh, service was not the best ever.

We ordered the salmon and the brisket platters. I strongly believe neither was actually smoked. Bland, soggy (!), no crust whatsoever on either, no smoke ring on the brisket, so disappointing! Another reviewer thought the meat had been baked, and I suspect the same. Tasted like poor quality pot luck food.
Sides were ok.
I will say their bbq sauces were amazing though. Honestly the only thing that made the brisket palatable. I just wouldn’t pay that much for mediocre (at best) protein to put yummy sauce on.

Bbq was very good. And nice size portion.
The mac & cheese was Ok.
The waiter was nice.
Must try

We enjoy the breakfast meals and the friendly staff.

Get like 80 orders of the skins.

I love the smoked pulled pork slider so much, that before I left, I ordered 2 pounds to take home. I froze it in freezer bags, and then I thawed it out and heated it up and it was just as fantastic as it was when I bought it. I love Smoke BBQ restaurant!

Best sandwich in town! Porky’s Revenge. You will understand when you pick one up. The side sauces are perfect for dipping those big pieces of meet that fall from the sandwich.

After finding another local place closed (that we had driven 20 miles out of our way to visit) during their regular hours, we checked Unilocal for another option and found this place that looked promising. We almost didn’t find it as it is quite well hidden away. If you are looking for it and think you are headed the wrong way in an office building… keep looking for and following the signs, you’ll find it way in the back after you walk back outside!
It has changed names and is now known as Smoke! and they serve different types of BBQ. Being gals from the south, we always like to try the local BBQ offerings. Our waitress was super friendly and helpful. We decided on BBQ plates with 2 sides each. I got the fried potato slices and the mac & cheese (excellent) and my partner got the BBQ beans (good but a little too sweet) and the slaw. The BBQ itself was about a 6 or 7 on scale of 1 – 10. It didn’t seem to be fresh cooked/​smoked… I have to wonder if they do enough business to smoke the meat daily. Its texture was like it had been refrigerated in the sauce for more than a day or 2. and it had a bit of scorched taste.
If we were ever back in Saline and couldn’t eat at the other place AGAIN… I would try Smoke! again.

A nice diner with lots of breakfast options … I went with the Farmer’s Omelette with a side of pancakes. The pancakes stole the show — very good. I’d get a tall stack the next time. The omelette was big and very fluffy … The ham was excellent. The hashbrowns weren’t my favorite, lacked a bit of flavor. Service was pleasant and speedy.
It’s not an easy place to find, hidden around the corner from the Main Street (Route 12), and the ambiance is just okay. Saw some people taking breakfast to-​go, this might be a good option for the future!

Just got a carryout from there tonight. Rib platter, side of Mac and side of beans. Tried all of the sauces as well. The spicy sauce was good as well as the black cherry. The ribs were OK, not the best I’ve ever had by any means and in my opinion left me with a quite greasy feeling.
The Mac was not cheesy enough, and pretty burnt.
The beans were really thick and did not have good flavor.
We also got chicken wings and threw them out. They were not good.
Overall I was not impressed and do not think we will be ordering from there again.

The bbq food itself was great and full of flavor. The sides depending on what you get can be good. For example the potato salad great! The Mac and cheese was meh. Also the atmosphere felt like a diner and not a bbq joint.

I was suggested this place by a random person since the original place which i shall not name was closed. I was informed to try to pull pork sandwich and I had a side of Mac N’ chese; i will highly recommand the mac n’ cheese which quite tasty. The pull pork had more of a blend taste nothing fancy at all — so i had to use a ton of BBQ sauce; i was hoping for a little more seasoned meat. The diner was cute with 4 person booths along the wall and 2 person table up front near the entrance; during the colder season make sure to wear something because it get chilly near the door. Staff was friendly and at least that day it wasn’t crowded at all.
Happy Eating!!!

Really enjoy the pulled pork sandwich + potato skins for lunch. Coleslaw on the top
Their brisket hash was also delicious for breakfast. Not sure if that’s on the regular menu, but I’d recommend it if available.
Eaten here 5+ times since they introduced smoked meats to their menu — and will continue coming back!

This is a real example of home cooking, in fact the meats that are smoked are prepared just across the parking lot in a small upright indirect style wood smoker!
My wife has ordered the chorizo burrito every time we have gone and it really throws me because in the past she would never touch something made with spicy sausage or jalapeños inside! She loves it and now is making up something close right at home.
I love the pulled pork anything because they use just the right smoking time and temperature to keep the meat moist with perfect saturation of smoke for a delicious meal.
It takes talent to smoke meats as they do and put it together in a way with the Ingredients for each menu item that uses smoked meats and taste is consistent and delicious!
The staff is great and keeps checking on you regularly. I normally don’t drink restaurant coffee though their coffee is fresh and strong enough even for my tastes.
Gotta go I’m hungry!

We had enjoyed their carry-​out BBQ at a party and decided to try it in the restaurant. We arrived a bit before they were open (dinner hours are 4:30−8 pm), but they welcomed us in, had us sit down, and served soft drinks.
I had the combination platter with pulled pork and brisket, with sides of mac&cheese and potato skins. Both meats were delicious, tender and moist, and there were a variety of sauces to combine for an even better taste. The baked mac&cheese was excellent, with a nice crust but not overdone. The potato skins were good, as was the slice of cornbread. My wife had the brisket platter with mac&cheese and cole slaw, and enjoyed her meal, too.
We also placed a take-​out order for more brisket so we could enjoy it again the next day.
The one negative was the iced tea — we switched to Diet Pepsi because the tea was fairly bland.
The restaurant is family-​run, and occasionally closes if they aren’t available to work (we ran into that the first time we tried to visit several weeks ago), so call ahead to be sure you’ll get to taste their excellent BBQ.

Excellent homemade feel/​food. Friendly local diner. Excellent service. The pulled pork is their specialty, and is great with homemade BBQ sauce. Ciabatta bread is fresh. Maybe not «heart healthy» but a great sleeper near Ann Arbor.

Had some time to kill before a Bixby Hospital run, so I pulled into this well-​reviewed diner. It did not disappoint. I didn’t even need the menu as the waitress’ recommendation of their pulled pork sandwich and potato soup were beyond awesome. The soup was so good, I took a quart home with me. (I would’ve taken the whole pot) In typical MI fashion, the owner and I ended up talking for 20 minutes about food. They smoke their meat, soup is homemade, bread is all super fresh. All I can say is that I will be back! Thanks guys!
Ps. Thanks for the pastie!

I finally noticed the blackboard sign out on the sidewalk. (Duh! How long have I been living in Saline?) I had to wait a long time for an excuse to try Saline Downtown Diner. Our opportunity to dine there came tonight. We were downtown for business and it was too late to go home and begin making dinner from scratch. So I suggested this place.
We smelled the smoker as soon as we walked in. Guess they have BBQ ribs on the menu? The waitress was friendly and accommodating. Hubby and I split the combo platter: pulled pork and brisket. Smoky! The cornbread muffin was *not* dry. The cole slaw was crunchy and creamy. The mac & cheese had crunchy bread crumbs on top, and helped me cleanse my palate as we sampled the four BBQ sauces. North Carolina: vinegary, Midwest: mellow and caramelized, Kansas City: assertive and rich, Louisiana: tangy and tomato-​y; reminded me of Korean gochujang.
I think my fave sauce overall was the Kansas City.
We were stuffed, so we took home some peach cobbler for tomorrow. Can’t wait to try that!
I’ll try to invent an excuse to eat here again soon.

Incredible BBQ. Best smoked salmon I’ve ever had?! Brisket excellent. RIbs also very good. I tried all the sauces — liked the St. Louis the best (personal preference) — they are all made in house.
Super moist bbq. Just the right amount of smoke.
I had heard a lot about DD but glad I finally stopped in. Apparently dinner is a new thing.
They brought out some home made pickles which were FANTASTIC.
Only thing that wasn’t totally great was the mac and cheese — it was beyond crispy and hard.
That said — I’d order it again — I think this was just off for some reason.
Will be back soon. I hear lunch and breakfast are great.