Unfortunately (or fortunately in our case), it looks like "The Smokehouse" is no more.
Drove by there today & all signs are gone, & the place appears emptied of furnishings. Â No "for lease" signs or anything like that, but ladders & buckets inside, etc. Â So either the original owners are refurbishing/relaunching, or the place will be for lease again soon.
I'm more than hoping someone new will come in with a better/decent restaurant.
Whether due to its proximity to the Amtrak station or to a misguided sense of food quality, The Smokehouse's menu is full of expensive sandwiches. $12 for store-bought pulled pork and stale buns, not my idea of value. A friend ordered the rack of ribs, which he rightly described as "hammy." They were thick, pink ribs that came out lukewarm and still very attached to the bone. The wait staff was nice enough, but otherwise, the whole experience was a complete disappointment.
There's a more highly recommended barbecue place around the corner in Culpeper, but given that it was Easter Sunday, we were just happy to find a place open for a quick bite. In retrospect, I wish we had searched around a little more because The Smokehouse, despite its name, is definitely more of a bar than a restaurant. It's a natural step, from bar to pub, but not everyone can pull it off. The Smokehouse, in my experience, certainly does not. They prey on those willing to buy an overpriced beer by serving overpriced barbecue and sandwiches. If you want a place to watch a ball game and drink a beer, this is a fine choice. If you want to eat, drive around town a little more. Something better is nearby.
To end on a positive note, one wall of the bar is lined with arcade games: an Indiana Jones pinball machine, a Pirates of the Caribbean pinball machine, and best of all, two large-size Golden Tee games.
I would give this place minus stars if it were an option.
Myself and several of my friends have been to the Smokehouse and refuse to go back due to witnessing the owner abusing his waitstaff. Â I feel very sad for the girls (seems his comments were all directed to the females) who feel they have to put up with this abuse to put food on their table and pay their bills. Â Disgraceful!!!!
Avoid! Prices are absurd for the area ($11.95 for a pulled pork sandwich and fries?) and the food's mediocre. Got a Blue Pig burger (bacon & blue cheese dressing), a little overcooked and just flavorless; . Place needs a lot of work - paint's chipped away all over the walls, tv cords dangling, etc...totally excusable if the food was good, but alas. Pretty empty when we were there (and only 3 of us) but our server had a bit of an attitude. Overall lousy experience - there are far better places a few blocks from here.
Review Source:Talk about a blast from the past... in a good way. Do you remember those restaurants that had pinball machines/arcade machines, this place has just that; 3 pinball machines and various other game machines. I couldn't resist on playing while I waited for the food. To go along with the environment, on Saturday they had live music and the artists are talented.
Speaking of food, for someone that doesn't eat vegetable, the fried green beans were awesome, as were the fried pickles. There was another appetizer that was ordered called the "Atomic Buffalo Turds," (jalapenos cut in half and filled with cream cheese and wrapped in bacon). The Atomic Buffalo Turds were ordered more for the name and the curiosity. All in all the appetizers were GREAT!
The main entrees were good in comparison to the Stable (where I ate for lunch). The wings were good and even better at the price of $13.99 for 20 wings. The ribs and sandwiches are good as well.
The service was just as good the food, they actually cared about the customer and willing to take recommendations for the Atomic Buffalo Turds (keep a couple of seeds from the jalapenos to give it more of a kick).
The Smokehouse has made a regular customer out of me and my friends. I will recommend this place to anyone any day.
We were out for a Sunday afternoon motorcycle ride and stopped in Culpeper to look around and grab a bite to eat. Â We happened upon The Smokehouse and decided to give it a try.
Entering The Smokehouse you get the impression that you're in a typical sports bar - albeit a somewhat beat up one - lots of TV's tuned to all kinds of different sports. Â I'm not much for trying to watch TV in a bar anyway - far too many distractions with a dozen TV's each tuned to a different station. I try to just ignore them.
The waitress/bartender handed us the menu over the oddly high bar as she informed us not what the daily specials were, but what they were out of. Â Hmm bad sign already if you don't have 4 things on your menu.
My wife had the pulled pork sandwich  with fires and cole slaw all of which she described "very mediocre".  The sauce - which is what makes or breaks a pulled pork sandwich was somewhat like vinegared-up ketchup.
My burger (the Blue Pig - with bacon and bleu cheese dressing) was actually decent - cooked as requested and plenty juicy, although it was served on a bun that was near or past the sell by date. Â I also had fries and they are, in fact, my biggest complaint. Â Crinkle cut fries?! Â Gimme a break. Â How hard is it to wash a fresh potato and run it through a slicer? Â Crinkle cut fries are for overworked parents to pop in the oven after a long day at the office - a quick and easy starch to serve the kids. Â No decent restaurant serves those things...
Oh, and it was actually quite pricey for what we had - the two sandwiches above (with soft drinks - no alcohol) came to $36 with tip. Â A Â lot for lunch in this area.
Service was okay, but the BBQ is not authentic. Pork and ribs had no smokey flavor and tasted as if they had been boiled. Fried pickles were good but food took quite a while to get to our table. Restaurant feels more like a bar than an eating establishment. Not a cheap option for lunch
Review Source:If I could give them negative stars I would do so. I have never been treated so disrespectfully at a bar or restaurant in my life. I will say though that it was not the wait staff but the owner that did so. I was with a group of friends and as a whole we spent a substantial amount of money, and at the end my Hispanic friend was thrown out for no apparent reason. When I went to inquire as to why, I was also forcibly removed. As a woman I do take offense to people manhandling me, particularly when I feel that I am entirely within my rights to ask a simple question. He did however graciously allow me back inside to pay my tab and collect my personal effects.
I regret that the decision to go to the Smokehouse was mine. I had been previously for lunch, and while I found the food seriously lacking in flavor and over priced, I thought that as a place to enjoy some music and a beer it would be great. Possibly true if you're white and have no issues with overt discrimination.
Seeing the sign out front saying BBQ I was all set for some good pork ribs. Â This is not the place to go. Â The ribs were just okay. Â Definitely not smoked, tasted more like boiled. Â No real flavor. Â Only one choice of bbq sauce on the table. Â They only offer one side with the platter so I picked potato salad. Â Also very bland, no seasoning, just watery mayo and potatoes. Â Really?
Maybe their other foods are better but if you are a bbq ribs lover I can not recommend the ribs here. Â . Â
The staff was very friendly, and the food came out fast. Â So that is a plus.
Would put no stars if I could. Food was not good. But the worst is the owner who is obviously a drinker. The other night I saw him pull a barstool out from under a young femaile patron who fell too the floor and told her to get the fuck out. She and some friends had been joking about a sign that she took off the wall and laid it on the wall right below where it has been. A really frightening situation, she should charge owner with assault. Stay safe and stay away from thsi place!
Review Source:Where would you be if you were eating bland non-smoked BBQ? Â Why you would be at the Smokehouse, that's where. Â Where the music is loud and the food does not resemble anything like the "hickory smoked" goodness they advertise. Â AND on the day we were there, that would be yesterday, when we ordered the "combo plate" ($16.95) a combo of pulled pork, (shredded so it was more like mush), BBQ chicken quarter, (fall off the bone but with no flavor, not even chicken) and ribs, (unavailable, yes, they were out of ribs)...well...let's just say, I ate it because I was hungry after traveling all day and the food on the plane sucks... I will admit I liked their green beans, reminiscent of how my Grandma used to cook them to death (kind of like comfort food); but the mac n cheese had no creaminess, no mouth feel, it was dry and tasteless. Â
As far as the surroundings, well, the group of bikers was a little loud, the music was a lot of loud, the crying baby was a bit off putting, the people there were as eclectic as the surrounding "I'm not sure what I want to be" decor.
LindySez: I love to visit local dives when I travel, sometimes they are a hit, sometimes they are a miss, this one is one I will be sure to miss.
We saw the Smokehouse while driving by it one weekend, so we made plans to visit soon. And so we did. BBQ places always interest me, not only because I love BBQ, but because BBQ artisans are so adamant about making a mark on the world with their special twists on seasoning and preparation.
Ambiance: The Smokehouse is tame by day, but has the looks of a wild evening hang-out, with the makings of a modernized country sports bar. The walls were lined with flatscreens, each with a different sporting event. Not really my thing, but if the food rocks, who cares about an over-saturation of sports?
The friendly wait staff greeted us and sat us quickly, and gave us menus. Oh, what's this? Fried pickles - a fav of ours, so we ordered some, and a salad. For my meal, I ordered the Chicken Salad Sandwich, and my wife ordered the Pulled Pork Sandwich, and it was to be offered Carolina style, with a vinagar based sauce. I'm more of a St. Louis or Texas guy, so I wasn't psyched, but my wife loves Carolina style.
Cuisine: The food was delivered hot and promptly, and the salad was really fresh. I was happy about the salad being fresh, because as of late I've been noticing restaurants including past-date/browned leaves into their salads. Is it a sign of the times? I hope not! Definitely not at The Smokehouse, kudos on fresh salads!
Anyway, back to the food;) The fried pickles and mayonaisse-based dipping sauce were amazing. To the skeptics, definitely try fried pickles, you won't be disappointed. My wife loved them too, as well as her pulled-pork sandwich. I have to admit though, I wasn't really into my Chicken Salad sandwich.
Normally I wouldn't criticize a dish, but I feel like this might only help. Firstly, they hyped up a "secret recipe" for their Chicken Salad in the menu, so I was hoping for something with an amazing, complex flavor profile, something that would compliment their BBQ menu. There are some amazing chicken salads out there! Unfortunately, the chicken was very dry, and I am pretty sure the "secret" is seasoning salt and way too much celery seed. Definitely a bummer.
Although, on the upside, good chicken salad isn't rocket science, so I'm sure at some point the recipe will improve to something that will better compliment their menu of BBQ items.
Cost-effective: Not really - it was kind of expensive for a lunch. However, my wife was happy with her food, so it wasn't a complete wash.
Return Visit: Yes, I want to try something else on their menu, based on the merit of other successful menu items!
Food Muser
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The Smokehouse seems like a true 'locals' bar type of place. Â There are 12 tables plus the bar area. Â Nothing fancy. Â The menu is a laminated tri-fold brochure and daily specials listed on the white board out front. Â The waitress didn't tell us about anything, though. Â
We were expecting it to be a down home barbecue joint based off the other reviews and the category. Â It had a few bbq items (pulled pork, chicken, ribs) with NC vinegar-based bbq sauce and sauce options on the table were vinegar or regular bbq. Â Tasty. Â There were also a bunch of Tabasco sauce flavors - regular, Chipotle, Green, Garlic, and Buffalo.
I got the BLT because the menu described it with Bacon, Bacon, Bacon. Â It was loaded with bacon - yum - but the bread was toasted way too much. Â Tore the roof of my mouth up more than usual. Â Everything was average - no complaints, no praises.
Great place for a good time on a budget! Â It is a really nice rustic atmosphere. We have not ordered off the menu other than appetizers. The staff is super friendly. This place is a great addition to Culpeper! We seem to be ending up there every Friday after work for a wind down of the week.
Review Source:We live in Culpeper & were getting tired of our same old Chili's/Pizza routine, so we wanted to try something new...SO glad we did! We found The Smokehouse by accident driving through Old Town Culpeper & decided to go there for dinner.
We walked in to this coffeehouse turned restaurant & they were pretty packed - the only available seats were at a bar-style long table along the front window. We had a seat there & actually enjoyed the quieter seats with a view. Our waitress was Kelly & she came right over to help us. We each had a Bud Light (on draft) & ordered their Atomic Buffalo Turds. Crazy name, I know - but they were great! It's a jalepeno pepper carved out with cream cheese filling, a cocktail weiner, wrapped in bacon.
For dinner, we couldn't decide what to get b/c we wanted to try so much. We decided to get a BLT & a Super Steak & Cheese with onion rings & mac & cheese as our sides. It was all delicious & came out super fast. The steak & cheese has a lot of meat in it so you don't feel jipped at all - great flavor! The BLT has extra bacon on it & was equally delicious. For sides, the onion rings weren't the best I've ever had, but they were still good. The mac & cheese was very cheesy & rich - the way I like it. :)
Our waitress was very attentive & friendly - we liked her a lot. We wanted to try their dessert (chocolate peanut butter pie) but we had no room left in our stomachs! As we were about to finish up our meal, a train started going by - they rang a bell & everyone cheered. They have TRAIN SHOTS - razmatazz (sp?), blue caracauo, & vodka shots...for $1/ea. They hand them out every time a train goes by. First I thought 'how cool is that?!' & second - the shot was delicious! I was kinda hoping another train would go by before we left....haha.
To sum it up, we will definitely be regulars at The Smokehouse!
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