Smokeworks - Bloomington

Service is terrible! We arrived at 11:10 am, ten mins after open, the front door was locked, so we had to go through the restaurant next door to get to this one! We waited almost an hour for our food and there was only one other couple in at that time. The appetizer came out when the food came out, so there was really no point in ordering it. The chicken wings were not fully cooked. I asked at time of ordering for prices on 1/2 and 1 pound portions of the meat to take home, the waiter we had never returned with that request. We had to goto the bar to get drink refills because the waiter never came back with them and was asked several times. The French fries were cold. This was a first time, and a last time.

I wasn't going to write a review until I at least went twice because I know sometimes kitchens have off days, but twice is too much for bad food. Brisket has been SO dry both times, which is just wrong for a BBQ restaurant. Don't bother with their dry potato salad. I'm also one for some salty greens, but oh my lord they're SALTY.On a more positive note, can't beat their house BBQ sauce or the whiskey BBQ sauce. All of their sauces I would literally drink out of a jug. Servers have always been awesome and bartenders make great drinks.But for a BBQ place, really disappointed that they have the worst brisket I've ever had.

The only reason why I gave them 2 stars is because the ribs and chicken was meaty. First time here and was quite disappointed with the food. I ordered the ribs wings tray with Mac cheese and baked beans for the sides. The Mac and cheese had a refrigerator taste to it and taste spoiled it was also cold and definitely not creamy. The baked beans were just ok. The wings ribs were seasoned good it was missing the smoked flavor tho.I also order the smoked carrot cake. Really they gave me a slice of cake straight out the refrigerator and put blueberries on the side! No hint of hickory and no whiskey glaze! You just lied period on the menu!! Oh the corn muffin was actually delicious!

I had not been here in a while, for no particular reason. I can just walk in and breathe in the wonderful smokey aromas! Six of us dined for a late lunch and everyone enjoyed their meals. I ordered the big salad, which is a blue cheese wedge. I've never had this happen before but it came out warm? I'm not sure if it sat on a hot plate for a while or was accidentally under a warmer but the usual cold crispy iceberg was a little wilted and warm. I also ordered some brisket that was excellent and used the house red sauce and the sweet sauce, both very good! Post covid I've been hypersensitive to anything spicy, so these two sauces worked well. I will also say that the cornbread muffin and the sweet butter accompanying it or also excellent! My husband had the pork belly appetizer since he wasn't as hungry. Others had the chicken Caesarsalad, ribs, combo plate... son-in-law chose the Alabama white sauce and the whiskey bbq, both on the spicy side but that's what he loves! Other than the salad everything was excellent and the service was great too! Wish they had some kind of homemade lemonade on the menu, I always love barbecue places that do that! I occasionally drink fountain lemonade but would always prefer a homemade version, especially with BBQ.Since this location is right downtown across from the courthouse, street parking can sometimes be challenging. During the summer when IU students are away, it's much easier to find a place to park! There is a parking garage a couple blocks away.

The food was all good. Took a long time to get waited on. Kinda pricey, but the portions are big even the presentation is nice. A pleasant atmosphere for a relaxing dinner.