A gem dropped inside the st. cloud area or as I like to call it «the land of boring chain restaurants with the same cookie cutter bar food». This place has amazing, flavorful and unique BBQ! After living down south for several years– my husband and I were so happy to find this gem. On top of delicious food, the owner and his staff were welcoming and attentive. We will definitely be coming back.
Michael A.
Place rating: 5 Sauk Rapids, MN
The food here is some of the best I’ve had. The southern style catfish and hush puppies were excellent. The whole family loved the food. The atmosphere was lacking but yhe delicious food makes up for it. If you’re into BBQ and real southern food, check this place out.
Molly S.
Place rating: 4 Sartell, MN
Honestly– I went in wanting to hate it, because it took the place of Asian House, which was my favorite restaurant. In the end, the food ended up being incredible. When I was staring at the menu, the woman at the counter asked me if I wanted to try a sample and she gave me the opportunity to try all of the customer favorites. The woman at the counter was extremely polite and courteous and was very patient with me after recognizing this was my first visit. I can not, however, comment on any dine-in experiences since I have only gotten take out. But the ribs were perfectly done, the hush puppies were amazing, and the Mac and Cheese was fantastic. All in all, I would go back again.
Shanara G.
Place rating: 5 Minneapolis, MN
Okay, I’m not a fan of reviews that only talk about really poor customer service or how it took a lifetime to get a refill or pay the bill. So, I wholeheartedly admit to being a touch hypocritical when I say that the owner is awesome! He’s chill, down to earth, and just overall grounded. Now the food, it’s amazing. I use one word to describe the food at Smoke-Ins because there are no words that I can put together in a sentence that could do their food justice. I moved to St. Cloud from the cities and I’m consistently disappointed in the restaurant food quality. Hell, take a week to refill my drink, as long as the food is good and can hold its own, I’m good. Don’t take my word for it(stranger danger, I get it, I really do!) Go in and get the best BBQ St. Cloud has to offer.
Robert G.
Place rating: 4 Saint Paul, MN
Good barbecue. The restaurant is just largely a takeout operation, no liquor license, which can be limiting for some people. The barbecue was really well done and their sauces are very nice. Owner is a real nice guy. Like a lot of good BBQ places, you don’t go there for the fancy ambience, just great ribs and brisket
Cris R.
Place rating: 5 Sauk Centre, MN
Some sites have listed this place as closed, but that is only its Albany location. This place is alive and well and serving, for my money, not only the best BBQ in St. Cloud, but in the entire state of Minnesota. Family run and authentic, generations-old recipes make this the kind of BBQ you can only get in places like Kansas City or Memphis. Family makes the service homey, if not efficient, but any wait is worth it when you receive meaty, falling off the bones, ribs and amazing brisket and pulled pork. Off to a bit of a rocky start because of its strip mall location, Smokin D’s may not be easy to find, but it is definitely alive, well and well worth the search.
Ferdinand A.
Place rating: 2 Sartell, MN
I had ribs, baked beans and caribbean cabbage. All three were very good. The ribs had a very good smoke to them. That said, I did have to microwave the ribs when I got home. It was a to go order and I only live 5 minutes away. I paid cash and my order was lost. They seem very disorganized, and I thought the poor lady taking orders was going to have a breakdown. That said, even messing up my order, I had my food in 10 minutes. In my opinion, prices are quite high, and the food was not real fresh
Matt M.
Place rating: 3 St Cloud, MN
Food was really good, would give the food alone 5 stars, can easily say it’s the best BBQ in town. But unfortunately the ambiance and service needs a lot of work. I had the rib tips, they are of the wet variety so if you are a dry rub type of person they may not be for you. My wife had the pulled pork and she was really impressed, felt it was better than Famous Daves. Now the ambiance, my guess is it used to be a Chinese restaurant and still felt that way. The elevator music playing didn’t really add to it. Finally the restaurant is laden with wooden signs that have nothing to do with BBQ that are for sale, which I thought just cheapened the whole experience. With a little time and effort these should be an easy fixes. As far as the service goes the lady at the counter seemed extremely confused by any question. When asked what the baskets came with I might have well been speaking Chinese. But after getting her to understand she said that they all came with fries, but when I ordered was told there is a $ 1 up charge for fries. So not sure how that works. Then to top it off she forgot our drinks. She also started to get a bit frantic and nervous the busier it got. She started getting people’s orders confused. One nice touch though was the Pit-master was going around checking on how everyone liked the food. Overall will definitely be going back, but will be doing take out next time.
Marie D.
Place rating: 5 Saint Cloud, MN
Living in Kansas City for 5 years turned this former vegetarian into a BBQ fan, but moving away taught me why the City of Fountains is lauded as having the best BBQ around. My husband and I have since walked away disappointedly after countless attempts to find a BBQ joint that would even suffice as good, knowing full well that we’d have to go back to KC for greatness. Imagine our surprise when we found great BBQ in tiny Sauk Rapids, Minnesota. The pulled pork, smoked chicken, Carribbean cabbage, beans, and slaw were all excellent. The ribs, however, were beyond. As good, if not better than Kansas City’s. You can taste that no shortcuts have been taken and quality has not been forsaken in the sacred ritual of BBQ.
Aaron G.
Place rating: 5 Sartell, MN
Had Go Go Dinner with Ribs, beans, slaw, and dinner role. Absolutely amazing. Meat literally falls off the bone with amazing flavor. Highly recommended and will be returning.
Roger L.
Place rating: 5 Sartell, MN
Ordered go go dinner. Ribs, side of cabbage and coleslaw, came with a dinner role. Amazing flavor, ribs fell of the bone. 100% recommended over any bbq in the St. Cloud area.