Unpretentious BBQ joint in the Hudson Valley. As soon as you step into the parking lot you are hit with a smoked pork smell that makes you drool instantly. Huge selection of beer with knowledgeable staff and daily specials that make you come back again and again just to see what's new. I've had the ribs, chicken (pulled and grilled breasts), pulled pork, and Chorizo sandwich and all have very good. The chicken wings are unique, they are smoked first before finished with the requested sauce and find myself going there just for the wings since they are not deep fried like regular pub fair. My only complaint is the rib rub has too much salt but it makes the beer go down quicker. Check this place out, you will not be disappointed.
Review Source:Call it Holy Overrated instead of Holy Smoke. I went there for lunch recently. I sat at the bar, ordered a couple of flights of beer and the pulled pork sandwich. The first thing to note is that the glasses at the bar are filthy. I would recommend getting a hepatitis shot before drinking out of one of their bar glasses. There is no excuse for  filthy glasses - just get a new dishwasher and the problem is solved. Second - the taps should be 5-10 degrees colder. The two flights I purchased were definitely not at the temperature they should have been and that definitely detracted from the experience. On the other hand, the bartender was very friendly and attentive...so no issue with the service. The pulled pork sandwich was just ok. No better than pulled pork sandwiches I recently had at Bridgeview Tavern in Tarrytown, Hurricane Grill on Central Avenue, or The Sports Page in White Plains. I was shocked when the bill came and the bill was over $40 because the flights were $13 and $15 each. Maybe I'm just used to the $10 flights at the Craftsman Ale House in Harrison. I made a special trip here because I seek out good BBQ and craft beers. I won't be back. Too many other places to experience.
Review Source:Crazy Good! HS is the place I compare all real BBQ joints too! I've made it a point to try BBQ down south and in NYC and Westchester and TBH.. It's still the best for real BBQ.
Look, You don't come to this place for the chicken, Ive read other reviews and Ive tried it too, (Mother ordered it, and guess who said she was dissappointed? Everyone else got meat) You go to this favorite haunt of mine for the BBQ!! BTW-the Trash Ribs always sell out. Which is a bummer, but if you can get them, do so. Beer nuts will love this place. Personally I dream about the chilli and corn muffins. In house sauces are still nice and worth drowning your pulled pork and ribs under. They've got a good handle on a menu that hasn't changed much and they've also got awesome BBQ/Meat/beer events that are always selling out. Been to two in the past and its closed to the public when they do these themed events. (Get on the Email list-although I'm not sure if they still use an email list since its been a while since I've gotten an invite)
Chorizo sausage is always on spot, spicy!! I lust after the Pig Nic and St. Louis ribs. Baby backs are more on the spicy side (it was 1st time my friend went with me, and I think that that particular batch was an oops given how much black pepper was on it-which previously over the years and having ordered them myself- the waitress was surprised given she said that it isn't made with black pepper-she saw this as well. BTW the staff is always accommodating and wonderful) They also do takeout which beats sitting with screaming kids-It's family oriented. Cozy and you won't leave hungry. dont bother with the sandwiches! You want chicken or fish, I'd say dont waste your taste buds. Stick with what the locals goto this place for: Beer/ dino ribs/rack of ribs/pulled pork/chilli/corn muffins/sweet potatoes/onion rings. You'll eat off the pignic platter for a few days (feeds 2 or 3 very hungry people no problem) Its my goto when ever I go.
A friend of a friend raved about this place and I knew my husband would LOVE it. We went last night and were certainly not disappointed.
Beer- The selection is outstanding. A lot of NY and micro brews, which we happen to love.
Food- My husband had the Dino ribs and exclaimed "this is the best BBQ I've ever had!" He had corn bread and beans as his sides, which he enjoyed as well. I had the BBQ pulled chicken sandwich with sweet potato fries. Â I really liked the sandwich. Although, I would have liked a little more bbq sauce on the chicken. The sweet potato fries were delicious and I was certainly glad I chose them as my side.
Wait- We went at 7:00 on a Saturday and there was certainly a bit of a wait, but nothing overwhelming. The bar area is big enough to stand in while you wait.
I enjoyed that there were a wide variety of ages and types of people there. It is family friendly and also a great date spot. Service was really friendly and speedy.
Overall I really liked Holy Smoke. Check it out if you haven't already and if you are in the Wappingers Falls area it is definitely worth the 30-45 minute drive.
We've stopped going to Holy Smoke.
I ordered a rare steak. I like bloody meat.
The outside tasted like it was bathed in lighter fluid, making it completely inedible. The inside was deliciously red, but so much had to be carved away that there wasn't a whole lot of satisfaction in the meal. The charred, black, chemical stench of the steak was too much to take, and at this prince point, we just couldn't take it anymore.
Maybe it was a bad night on the grill, but $30 is too much to chance on a bad night.
We stopped going here after the service by the owner sucked. Â Very expensive beers (but a large list) served in hot pint glasses right out of the washer. Â Over-large portions of not so great food. Â and an un-accommodating owner when asked to change a burger from reg to cheese. Â no thanks.
Review Source:My hubby, daughter and parents ate here tonight on Valentines Day because we tried to get into 2 other restaurants in Mahopac without a reservation and it turned out  to be a 45+ min wait... To hell with that! We were hungry!
We decided to try here because we didnt think they would be very busy. Coming here was great bc there wasnt a wait (i guess ppl don't find BBQ romantic.... More for me!!) I've eaten here a few times before and I Â know the food is good so I was happy as could be.
I ordered the pulled pork meal with BBQ baked beans and Mac n cheese... Originally I wanted the garlic mashed potatoes instead of Mac n cheese but apparently they were out of the mashed potatoes, so that's why I ordered the m&c... I did not care for it. I think the cheese was Parmesan ... Idk whatever it was, it didn't work! Other thank that everything else was great. Pork was juicy and tender, beans were smoky and yummy. For dessert mom and I shared the fried ice cream. It was pretty good but it didnt come out fried like in a Mexican restaurant..... It was the typical Mexican style fried ice cream minus the fire! So it was ice cream with corn flakes covered with whipped cream and honey/cinnamon. I was slightly disappointed.
Good food. Friendly staff.
Parking lot could use a good paving job... I almost busted my ass on a rock walking to the car... :-/
In for lunch with a couple of friends. Beer selection was extensive - dark, light, IPA and flavoreds - and the staff happily provided taste cups to help you narrow your selection.
Over on the food side ribs were ok, but a tad dry. The house-made chourizo sandwich was quite good - very spicy and lots of onions.
Service was Ok. The BBQ was nothing to write home about, at least to our limited tasting. I would try it again (and some other choices) if I was in the neighborhood, or for a meal out with friends.
After SEVEN different friends recommended this place to me, i finally made the thirty min trek from tarrytown ny. I was not dissapointed. We ordered the "pignic"basket in order to get a good sample of their different meats, and i would reccomend this to any first timers. It says its "too much for one, enough for two" however its really enough food for three maybe four ! So between the two of us we had two take home boxes and were beyond stuffed. And it was just all so delish. They have an excellent special mustard/bbq sauce combo thats very tasty. Creamed spinach, onion rings, bbq beans and chili were the sides we chose - all amazing but spinach and beans were esp great!! Walking in i knew they already had seven die hard fans, now they have two more :)
Review Source:Hubby and I came here for dinner last night after doing a Yelp search for BBQ restaurants in the area.
We were seated right away and it smelled amazing inside. They had the specials on the chalkboard behind us and the soup of the day was chorizo corn chowder (delicious!). The beer menu was extensive (you can get a flight of 4, 5 ounce beers) which is what my hubby did so he could try a few at once. If you're more of a bourbon person, they had a whole page just of those! Since I'm not a beer person I chose the Angry Orchard cider.
The food was delicious and HUGE portions. We each got the combo platter (he got brisket and baby backs and I had the 1/2 chicken and pulled pork). In hindsight we could have easily shared the combo platter and STILL had leftovers. The mac and cheese is amaze-balls and the coleslaw was good too. The corn muffins had little kernels of corn so every so often you got the nice, sweet pop of a kernel.
Somehow hubby still had room for dessert and ordered the fried vanilla ice cream. It was rolled in cinnamon and FROSTED FLAKES and drizzled with honey and covered in whipped cream. Another table had what looked to be make your own s'mores.
Our waitress was super friendly and attentive as well :)
Somehow I left my wallet at the restaurant and they were awesome and must have used my address to track down my phone number to call me to let me know.
We'll def. be back and this time I WON'T leave my wallet!
North of Manhattan, this is the best BBQ i've had yet. In the summer time you can eat outside. The beer menu always has interesting rare beers, and get on their mailing list and find out when the beer tasting nights are. I drive 30 min each time to get there, but it's worth it everytime.
Review Source:I don't know what I am missing. I have been to this restaurant several times in the past, and went again on Wednesday. There is nothing really wrong here. The waitress was very pleasant and tried to get me a draft beer I would like. They gave an amazing number of draft beers available.
The food was delivered quickly and was hot. But the St. Louis ribs were dry and flavorless. The Dino bones were a little better. the sides were good, especially the sweet potato fries.
But we paid over $60 for the meal and it really wasn't worth it. Too bad because I would like to support restaurants in my neighborhood.
Had a tasty lunch there on the way from country house to city apt. I had no idea it even existed,but my GPS on "find restaurant" mode found it! Service extremely pleasant. At the waitress's  suggestion, my partner and I shared a brisket melt and two sides ( excellent FF onion rings and Mac/ cheese-- OK, we're not on a health kick....) and the portions were generous enough to make an excellent meal. Nice, normal , quiet people at the  other tables, so it attracts a pleasant crowd as well.
Review Source:I mostly come here for two things. Â First is the beer selection, which is the best I've found in the area. Â Second is the smoked wings. Â They are crispy, smoky and the sauce is spicy and tangy. Â They also have a lot of beer events that support charities. Â The bbq is pretty good for around here. Â One minus, Tue cornered sucks out loud. Â Over all a good dining place for Putnam or northern Westchester.
Review Source:Best BBQ in the area by far.
The meat is thoroughly smoked on site for a flavor you just can't get elsewhere. Love that they have craft beer on tap and a selection of bourbons!
The portions are huge and the prices are not bad. If you're a group of two or three who want to try a little of everything, definitely get the Pignic.
"I got my pork pulled at Holy Smoke!" read the back of one bus boy's t-shirt.
Clever, no?
Perhaps not appropriate for a teenage boy that looked no more than 15 to wear, but, I digress...
My friend had been raving about this place for a good two years now, saying that I needed to come up from the city for dinner here with her and her friends.
Finally, the day had come...
We happened to arrive during a special event night, so there was a beer and bourbon menu three pages long for our enjoyment. Many kinds were imbibed, much to our sheer pleasure.
What food items did my stomach digest that evening? Let me tell YOU: Fried pickles, corn fritters, sweet potato fries, a BBQ pulled chicken sandwich, cole slaw, mac and cheese, and cornbread. I washed it all down with an Angry Orchards hard cider.
DAMN.
I could literally feel my stomach below my ribs as it started to protrude, and it was as hard as a rock.
Yes, I AM bragging.
The chicken was tasty, but so incredibly light on the BBQ flavor. I was the most disappointed by that. Luckily, there was BBQ sauce at the table...but, still. Ehhh. I did try my friend's pulled pork and THAT was the BBQ flavor I was craving. I should have ordered that, in hindsight.
The best part of my meal? Surprisingly, the mac and cheese. So creamy, with notes of cheddar so sharp and delicious, I had to stop myself from making too many pleasurable noises. (At least audibly...)
The servers were kind and accommodating, although one waitress was trying to get us to move to another table to accommodate a party of nine...while we were still halfway through with eating our meals. We were asked about three times, actually. We made a 6:30 reservation, and many did not make reservations at all, but this place was hopping the entire night. I truly believe they try their best at organizing the masses, but I still felt a little odd being asked to switch tables mid-meal.
These certainly are not a bad three stars; they are a good three stars. Always room for a bit of improvement, but I really enjoyed my time and my food. I would not come up from the city solely to come and eat here. However, if I was with my friend crusin' around Westchester and she said to me, "Let's go gorge ourselves on pulled pork until our stomaches burst!", you would NOT have to twist my arm.
Been here twice and will keep driving an hour to go again. Always a new and delicious selection of craft beers to choose from! And If you like your bourbon like I do, prepare to be wowed.
As far as food goes, I have nothing to say but good things, but I don't know why anyone goes to the entrees. I LOVE the trash ribs appetizer and a couple others and I am not sure why I bothered to order more food, but when I got to my half slab of ribs I only had room for 4 bites! Luckily it's tasty so the massive slab of leftovers is something I'll be glad to dig into.
You should also go home with a bottle of their homemade BBQ sauce and they also have this really tasty mustard-based vinegar sauce. I don't know what it is but I plan to put it on everything.
The service is good and laid back. I don't like being bugged every two seconds and they take that to heart. They are honest and will tell you which dishes aren't the best and then they leave you be. Something I think is hard to find in this area!
Yum.
Not a HUGE fan of BBQ but this place has great hamburgers and what not. The sweet potato fries were my crack for awhile. And the honey BBQ sauce?? OMG I hate BBQ sauce but that stuff is like candy, love it.
All the guys I knew in Mahopac were in love with this place, especially for all their craft beers. They have festivals and a cute outdoor area, typical hick heaven.
In terms of micro-brews and bbq Holy Smoke is a 5. Â I have been coming here for a few years and my only complaint is that I don't live closer. Â They have numerous special events and Brewer take-overs throughout the year and always have at least a dozen to twenty taps available (mostly stuff you won't find anywhere else on the East Coast).
Their food is incredible. Â I don't think I have ever finished a complete meal here, simply because they give you so much with your order. Â I brought twenty guys here for a friend's Bachelor party and it was a raving 5 stars from everyone in attendance.
Service is also awesome. Â On numerous occasions we have sat at the bar tables and ordered our food and beer simultaneously, and they have arrived simultaneously, as well.
On another note - the owner of Holy Smoke also runs a very good email list that keeps all the fans of the restaurant in the loop as to tap offerings and special events.
When I go to a BBQ restuarant, I always have the dillemma of not knowing what to order. Â Tack onto that the fact that, while I would usually go with a combo platter, I wasn't particularly hungry on this trip, and was limiting myself to one meat, and imagine my inner struggles. Â That was the preview to this meal.
Let's go chronologically: Â The beer selection here is out of this world. Â Probably over 20 taps, and not a single one that didn't perk my interest. Â Normally, I have to go with one and done, but Holy Smoke offers flights, so that's a HUGE plus.
Onto the meal: Â Because of my issue detailed above, I went with the old staple of a pulled pork sandwhich. Â Another member of my party got the pulled pork platter, and I'm not kidding when I say that we probably got an equal amount of pork. Â I had to forgo the roll entirely to even make a significant dent in the meat, but it was delicious. Â They were out of many of the sides on the menu, but featured Mac and Cheese, which WASN'T on the menu, so I got that and a side salad. Â The salad was really nothing particularly of note, but the mac and cheese was awesome. Â Other meals at the table included pulled chicken (very good) with creamed spinach (a highlight for me), and a two meat platter with brisket (which i didn't try but looked quite good though not the best brisket i've ever eaten with my eyes) and ribs (which were tender and amazing, and if I go back will be the meal I order). Â They also have churrizo on the menu, which gains extra points despite the fact I did not get it. Â One day....one day.....
A nice atmosphere and good enough service rounded out a great meal that, all in all, I would definitely definitely revisit next time I'm in the area.
Damn Delish!!!! Â I would have given this 5 stars, but our waitress was serving us with a lollipop in her mouth the whole time. Â Not a fan of that. Â Lots of brewed beer choices, awesome food. Â It's a loud, family type place. Â They don't take reservations and it was a Thursday night, and we waited 45 minutes at the bar for a table... no big deal because the bartender was friendly and fast and beer was good!
Review Source:Holy smoke! Oh my Holy smoke! I love this place. My friend went here for the first time and we really love our experience. The service was good. They were fast and helpful to first timers like us. They have large servings. The interior and the outside of this place is well furnished and clean. I love how they have a full bar inside. I am definitely coming back. Such a nice place to just hang out with friends.
Review Source:GOOD FREAKIN BBQ!
Came in expecting the same ol' wanna be bbq and I left one very happy girl. Â Everything on the menu is made with pride. Â Didn't have any dessert(not my thing) so I can't say if it's good. Â I LOVE their BBQ sauce. Â Something on the menu for 'everyone' and the smoke will not get you sick like most other places.
There was a wierd wait getting the waitress to come over and acknowledge us, fetch some drinks. Â But once she did everything came out lightning fast. Â But then, it was a slow night too. Â Hope it's better when it's packed. Casual feel to the place, like you're at a picnic. Â Simple wood tables and red checkered curtains. Â And quite an impressive Beer and Bourbon menu for an out of the way place like this. Â I am going to recommend this place to a LOT of people. Â Best authentic BBQ in NY. Â There, that's my stamp of approval.
Six of us headed here at 4:30 last night (no. We're not blue haired seniors. Just needed to eat early.) and had no trouble getting a table. We had to get our own menus and ask twice for silverware and extra plates.
This joint was pretty townie and featured an extensive menu of anything BBQ and anything that had the word "beer" in it. When my niece is in town, she frequents this place, just for the beer.
For appetizers, we had the coconut Creole dredged shrimp, which had 6 shrimp and a little-too-sweet piña colada dipping sauce. We also shared the Loaded Nachos (a special), but the topping-to-nacho ratio was WAY off. I think I counted maybe 15 nachos. The toppings were interesting and plentiful: brisket, a few strips of pork, sour cream, olives, chili, jalapeños, chicken, white cheddar and a yellow Cheez-Whiz type cheese, the latter of which was no value-add.
Our entrées consisted of brisket with garlic mashed potatoes, a few helpings of St. Louis ribs with fries, ribs and chorizo combo, "dino" beef ribs (two ribs weighing in at 2 lbs, 1.5 lbs of which was probably fat), and for me, a BBQ chicken sandwich and fries. I also ordered an egg cream (not so good, esp for $3.95). The mashed potatoes were cold, so they had to be sent back. Five orders came fairly quickly, and after 5 minutes, we were wondering what happened to the beef ribs. Seems that the chef on call when we placed our order was no longer the chef (his shift ended), so that order was never cooked. Yeah. Mr K got his meal about 10 minutes after everyone else did.
My meal? Up there with one of the worst I've ever had. The pulled chicken was REALLY dry, the sweet sauce wasn't working, the roll was soggy and big. I picked at the chicken and then said never mind. Good thing I had partaken of some of the nachos.
Really weird: When it was about 5 pm, the help went around to each of 10 windows and placed a thick panel into each. We couldn't imagine what they were doing. Maybe to block the sun? Nah. Wasn't sunny and it was late. To keep everyone roasty, toasty? Nah. Was warm enough. Turns out there's entertainment at night, so they needed to block the sound. Must be a local ordinance and surrounding homes must have complained about the noise.
Would I come here again? Only if everyone else wanted to. And I'd order a salad. Minus 1 star from me, but 3 from others, so I'll give it a 2.
We were really looking forward to trying something new and heard good things about this place. Â The only good thing about this place was the beer. Â The choices were plentiful and the beer was delicious. Â Other than that it was mediocre at the best. Â
We love BBQ food so I guess we have high expectations, but this was just tasteless. Â The brisket looked good but was extremely bland. Â The portions were huge, but we didn't even eat half. Â The only thing on the plate worth talking about were the garlic smashed potatoes. Â
The service started out well, but once the waitress got a few tables she seemed t disappear never returning to even ask how the food was.
Put it this way....By the time we got to the parking lot we realized we forgot the leftovers on the table....and at that point it wasn't worth the 10 steps back inside to get it.
Good Beer....no flavor. Â We will never return.
This is a conflicted place. Â The beer is as good a selection as to be expected anywhere. Â Fresh 12 plus taps and bottles up the wazoo. Â The bbq; ribs, chicken, pulled pork are flabby and tasty. Â The pork is just way too fat and every time I've been here, I feel like I'm overdosed in every way. The service is amateurish, but the owner is friendly to the point that he believed that we come there because of him. Â We don't. Â Strangely, we go to meet each other and have some food with our beer and conversation. Â Don't expect to be left to your own devices. Â I wish the service was as attentive as the owner is interested in us.
In all, some of the special dinners were good, nothing here has ever been excellent, just good. Â
Now, for you smoke buzzards who have a need to drown in your beer, this may be the equivalent of a *** French restaurant to you. Â It's not to me.
I'll make this quick. Service was extremely nice. My coconut shrimp was probably a couple seconds from being burnt. My caesar salad looked right but tasted wrong. They have a HUGE portion control problem but somehow, I only got about 10 pieces of small shrimp? Very, very disappointing. And very bland.
Review Source:I was really excited to try Holy Smoke BBQ after hearing great things around the area. Â Sorry to say, it simply didn't live up to the hype. Â The portions were huge and the meat tender, but the taste of just about everything was very bland. Â If there was more seasoning and sauce, I definitely would have enjoyed the meal more. Â The one bright spot though was the chili. Â If we go back, that's what it will be for.
Review Source:Whenever I visit my buddies up this way we usually stop in for a bite. Â The BBQ is well above average for the area and the beer list is great as well. Â It's a good place to go when you just feel like feasting. Â
My favorite is the pulled pork plate, the sauce is so sweet and juicy it's some of the best pulled pork i've ever tasted. Â The sides are pretty good and they give you a lot of them. Â
Definitely a good spot to check out if you're in the mood for some BBQ.
Pretty good BBQ!
As Dennis S. described the PigNic..which is tons of food, and good for the price (about $40). Â The ribs and chorizo shine the most.
I had the buttermilk fried chicken which left more flavor to be desired, it was crunchy on the outside and it was tender on the inside but it generally didnt have much flavor.
Like Dennis S. said, in New York, this is as good as it gets - literally. Â This place is incredible. Â I've had a lot of barbecue both in NYC and in the outerlying areas in New Jersey, Rockland and Westchester County. Â This place is the best.
Their beer list is notable - we actually found Holy Smoke in Beer Advocate. Â They have EVERYTHING good and have a really great list of monthly rotating taps, all small craft breweries and larger craft favorites. Â Lots of local beer. Â
The food is amazing. Â Try to barbecue hotwings, the corn fritters, the chilli (oh my god, the chilli!), the fish and chips, the pulled pork, barbecue chicken (in any form) or the chorizo. Â The ribs are better than average, but the stuff above is what we go for.
Can be busy on Friday nights, but overall, never too crowded. Â Service is good and the food is worth driving 40 minutes north (at least to my boyfriend and I - we do it every Friday!).
Let's face it NY is not known for its BBQ, luckily Holy Smoke is as good as it gets up here.
The food is very good and the portions are large.
My wife and I split the "PigNic" choice of 4 meats and 4 sides.
The Meats:
St Louis Ribs, Texas Brisket, Carolina Pulled Pork, & Home Made Chorizo. All very good.
The sides:
Garlic Smashed Potato, Creamed Spinach, Cole Slaw & Sweet Potato Fries (I couldn't stop eating them) again all very good.
We could not finish all the food and I'm a big eater.
If you're in the mood for BBQ, Holy Smoke does not disappoint.
3 Stars
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