Old Cape Fear Smoked Meats

The food is great !!! Ribs to die for !!
Brisket was smack your mama good!
My only complaint is that we only got a tablespoon full of slaw, a tablespoon of green beans and two hush puppies with each platter. When I pay 30.00 for three people to eat, I expect us to be fed.
Other than that, the meat is smoked to perfection !! We will go back.

Amazing meat! Amazing people! We sat down and got a free plate of the most amazing pork rinds I’ve ever had. I was sad they were out of brisket but the ribs were fantastic. My friend had the smoked sausage and thoroughly enjoyed it. Slaw and potatoes were also good. Definitely worth a visit!

Never dined in, But took home a full slab of their ribs and they were fantastic.

I don’t know where the review writers that made such glowing comments as «best ribs I’ve ever had», «samplers the way to go», «ample servings», etc. have eaten bbq before, but I’m sorry… I have to disagree.
The two ladies there were awesome… but that was the highlight of my visit. $ 32.00 for 2 of the sampler platters was ridiculous for the amount and quality of the ribs, pork and brisket, potatoes, cole slaw and 3 hushpuppies. All tasted mediocre at best and dry
Hardly any smoke flavor. Even the sweet tea was weak and almost tasted like unsweet tea. Im sorry to write an unfavorable review, but after reading the other great (almost too good to be true) reviews, I was terribly disappointed. I was born and raised here and know good bbq when I have it. I will not be making a 2^nd visit.

The ribs are definitely the star here. Tender and juicy but with enough texture to bite into (I’m not a fan of sloppy, fall-​off-​the-​bone ribs). Hand-​rubbed with sauce on the side, but honestly you don’t need the sauce. These ribs speak for themselves!

My husband and I have been interested in trying this place for a few months so we stopped in today for lunch. We were immediately greeted when entering and given menus. There were only 3 other patrons so there wasn’t any wait to be seated. The menu was basic but not lacking; all barbecue essentials were included such as slaw and hush puppies. I got the pulled pork plate with slaw and potatoes, husband got brisket with green beans and potatoes. Food came out with in minutes. Everything single thing on the plate was FANTASTIC! It’s unusual that I ever completely finish a meal, but I devoured every bite. My husband loved his choice as well.
The owner came and spoke to all of the customers and made sure that everyone was satisfied with their meals. In all honesty, there isn’t one single piece of advice that I could offer this restaurant in any area that needs improvement. It was absolutely terrific. The food was delicious, the portions were perfect and the service was exceptionally great.
We ended up purchasing a half pound of smoked sausage along with fresh pork skins.
When you come to dine at this little piece of pork heaven establishment, be sure to have the potatoes as one of your sides. They are the best things since sliced bread!!!

Fast and friendly. Really great BBQ! Small menu selection is only drawback. I’ll be going back.

Great pulled pork, brisket, and very flavorful and juicy ribs. The sampler plate is the way to go. My wife had the smoked sausage and BBQ potatoes and both were also very flavorful. We will be back soon. Its a must eat destination.

It was ok. A little on the pricey side. Two drinks, two pulled pork sandwiches with no sides came to almost $ 20. The pork itself was just ok. Not a lot of smoke flavor, mostly just dry. Very limited sauce selection, but that seems to be the norm for the area. That would be fine if the meat had a little more flavor. All in all just a mediocre experience. If I was craving BBQ and in the area I wouldn’t turn my nose up if someone suggested it, but I wouldn’t go out of my way for it either. To be fair the same could be said about every BBQ joint in the Wilmington area, just not a good BBQ town. Service was pleasant and prompt.

Found this on Unilocal and decided to give it a try when I had friends come into down. The food was amazing! Staff was friendly and explains the process — don’t expect a lot of sauces to be on the tables, but food is so flavorful you don’t need the sauce! Highly recommended!

First visit, but not our last. Old Cape Fear is the best barbecue in the area, hands down. We went for a full slab of ribs and a brisket sampler plate. Ribs are among the best we’ve ever had, and we’ve had ‘em from Amarillo to Memphis to multiple cities in North and South Carolina.
These are dry rub ribs, but they are tender and juicy with a nice outer crust. Slightly sweet but not overly so. (Yes, they have a NC bbq sauce for those of you who need to slop vinegar on everything, so go ahead and stream it on; it won’t detract from the goodness of these ribs). Our only complaint — the slab arrived in one piece and we only had a plastic fork and knife to attack it. The waitress did take it back to the kitchen for them to cut it down, but they only managed to divide it into thirds. It would be nice if they could cut the slab down some more in case we wanted to share a slab with others (though it’s unlikely you’ll want to after you take the first bite). For carny out, though, I’d want them to leave the slob whole, so I guess we should leave well enough alone. That said, the ribs do pull apart easily but that nice crust can cause them to split raggedly.
We also tried the sampler plate which offers generous servings of brisket, pulled pork and two smoked ribs with sides and hush puppies. The brisket is definitely a five-​star item. Brisket is one of those things that always calls to me, but I am often disappointed when a dried out pile of sliced meat is set in front of me. NOT here. This brisket is tender and juicy with great smoky flavor. I’ve already raved about the ribs. The least impressive of the trio on the sampler is the pulled pork. This is flavorful smoked pork, though it was a tad greasy. NC «Q» fans will miss the vinegar most on the pulled pork. It’s not bad, just outshone by the ribs and brisket. You could come here for the pulled pork, and leave very satisfied … but you will have missed dancing with the stars.
We had green beans and slaw as sides. The green beans are like grandma used to make. but I’ll confess that I never cared for grandma’s beans though most people seem to love them cooked to death. These beans are nicely flavored, so this is just my prejudice. The slaw, on the other hand, is pretty darned good. Next time, I’ll go for double slaw. Oh yeah, don’t neglect those hush puppies there on your plate. They are light and yummy, and I would sit up and beg for more of these …
Ambiance here is pretty bare bones — utilitarian, not hole-​in-​the-​wall, booths with rolls of paper towels on the table. It’s clean and the service is very attentive. Food is served in large to-​go containers, which makes it easy to snap a lid on your leftovers for later. We will probably carry out next time, primarily because we’d like a cold beer with these ribs and OCFSM doesn’t have a license yet. But don’t let that stop you.

Some of the best ribs I’ve tasted in a while, the history smoke ribs, with a dry rub was very juicy.

Had the bbq sampler… It was very good. Included brisket, ribs, & pork. Owners were very friendly & enjoyed the bbq sauce as well. Will be back.

This is a nice smoked meat barbecue place. Simple menu; pulled pork, beef brisket or pork ribs. Sides and drink. Get it as a sandwich or a plate. No matter your choice, you will enjoy it.

OMG… just had the best BBQ! Juicy, tender, pulled pork, not chopped, real wood smoked with dry rub, local pork, and choice of two homemade sauces. This pit master and mistress know exactly what they are doing! Looking forward to trying some of the other items on the menu. Don’t forget the homemade slaw!

First of all, the service is EXCELLENT here! The ribs were the highlight and expertly cut and smoked. The rub was good but the flavor is a little different. I think it is the paprika. Pulled pork was average. However the vinegar sauce made it good. Brisket is only on Thurs and Fri so i didnt get to try it.
Did i mention how great the service was?

This place was so good I am writing a review for the first time. We got the Pork Plate with Green Beans and Potatoes. Fantastic, smokey perfect pork. We also got the Three Rib Plate. The hush puppies maybe the best I’ve ever had. I plan on going back on a Thursday or Friday for the brisket.

I have to say they have the best ribs I have had in a long time. I’m a dry rib type of guy but Dave’s smoked ribs were the tastiest I have had. The flavor was rich and the meet was perfect. Can’t wait to come back in June with the wife.

Just got done eating there and let me just start by saying everyone HAS to try this place! I ate the sampler which comes with pulled pork, brisket, ribs and hush puppies. You can choose between bbq boiled potatoes, slaw or green beans as a side. I chose the potatoes and slaw, but of course Dave came out and let me sample some of the delicious green beans!
As far as the meats go… they were nothing short of perfection. The pulled pork was on another level with great taste and texture. The ribs were tender and juicy and everything you could want. And lastly the brisket was thinly sliced and smoked to perfection. Dave brought out some of their house made bbq sauce for the brisket which was delicious as well with a little bit of a sweet and tangy taste.
To top it all off, Lisa and Dave are incredibly nice and welcoming. They spoke freely about how they want to make great food and continue to see their customers smiling and satisfied faces. I don’t live in Wilmington, but I will definitely come back and I WILL be spreading the word about the BEST BBQ!

My husband and I have visited Old Cape Fear Smoked Meats twice now. We were thrilled to hear that a place with brisket would be opening in the area as it’s not something that done’s much in Wilmington. On our first visit we both got the sampler platter with pulled pork, brisket and ribs. It also comes with two sides and hush puppies. The brisket was tender with great flavor and their special brisket sauce adds the perfect flavor on the side. The ribs have a great dry rub. No need for sauce there as the flavor is perfection. Fantastic pork, too.
We expected that with this sort of attention to detail on the meats that the sides would be average and that was not the case at all. The BBQ boiled potatoes are awesome and the hush puppies were the best I’ve ever had — anywhere!
On our second visit, we both had the brisket platter which was consistent with our first meal there. Stellar! This place has to be a top contender for best BBQ in Wilmington.
The owners are very friendly and really want to make sure that you’re enjoying your meal. We’ll be back, often.