12 Bones Smokehouse

Really like the variety on the menu. Like that the sauce is change daily of what you can put on your ribs. Buttered beans are to die for. I think the next time, I will get pulled Chix or pork to make it easier to try the sauces. I had the key lime pie which was good and tart but not too tart. My friend had the pecan pie which was awesome! The hours are odd but I guess not really for southern BBQ restaurant

We eat here every time we are in Asheville, it is a MUST do. The pulled chicken is awesome. The green beans are good and on the saltier side. Wish I had ordered the jalapeño cheese grits instead of the mac and cheese. Love their BBQ sauces too. Can’t go wrong with the pulled pork sandwich. The ribs look really good too. Great Caronlina BBQ!

Went to 12 Bones for lunch. Tried quite a few things on the menu — smoked turkey, ribs, jalapeño grits, Mac and cheese, and corn pudding. The ribs were as advertised, very good, great bark. All of the sides I tried were good, especially the cord pudding. Mac and cheese was a little under seasoned by salt and pepper fixed that. Overall good BBQ worth visiting when in Asheville.

They have the strangest hours but fantastic barbecue! The service is quick even when the line is out the door you won’t be waiting long. Which is good because it keeps me from getting to the hangries.
With any good barbecue the meat should be tender and slightly smokey. They hit the mark with their meats and no matter what you order you won’t go wrong. I genuinely love their ribs. The pulled pork is as good as any that I’ve had in NC. The baked beans and the greens are above and beyond standard barbecue joint sides. Their quirky twists on standard barbecue sides and sauces are what I feel really makes them shine. Blueberry chipotle sauce, jalapeño grits, best greens ever (enough bacon to negate the vegetable points), pineapple habanero sauce. But if I’m being honest I don’t go there for the barbecue so much as I go for my favorite menu item, their wickedly decedent BLT. They had me at sugared bacon. Xxoo

It’s just not even ok, and I wanted it to be so much more. I wanted it to live up to the talk on the street… the hype. My last visit to the area I could not get into the Asheville location due to the long line, but this time was a charm as we walked in a half hour before closing at the Arden, NC location with no wait.
The pulled pork had virtually no flavor. I needed to add some sauce just to give it some type of flavor. Also barely warm. Ate most of it.
The Mac n cheese was barely that… it was macaroni, but I have no idea where the cheese was located. Someone should be ashamed of making that and calling it Mac n cheese. More like Mac no cheese. Horrible stuff. Barely warm. Did not eat it.
The mashed sweet potatoes amazingly good. Lots of tastiness, but like the rest of the plate, barely warm. Ate it all.
Cornbread…adding rosemary does not always make things better, nor is it necessary if the cornbread is really good. This cornbread was not warm nor good. Did not eat it.
So the moral of this story is, uh… sometimes food is disappointing.

Pretty good food overall. Ordered their blueberry chipotle wings platter with jalepeno cheese grits and the mac & cheese. Pricing was good for the quantity of food. I do wish there was more seasoning on the cheese grits and mac & cheese, since they were mediocre at best. Wings were great though.
I would try another plate the next time I’m in the Asheville area.

Blueberry Chipotle ribs were hands down the best beers I’ve ever had in my life.

Yummy bbq brisket sandwich, with sides sweet potato and smoky potato salad. I think the brisket is tasty but it was a little chewy so the sandwich fell apart. I liked
the sauce and the sandwich needed the moisture. Overall good bbq and service. I know they are famous for ribs but that’s not my thing. Go early on the weekend.

We were so disappointed when yesterday we went by 12 Bones in the River Arts District and learned it was closed then and not open on the weekend. Then we learned that they had another location which is open on Saturdays and off we drove 20 minutes out of Asheville to go to this one. We were not disappointed. My wife’s barbecue chicken was excellent as were my ribs. The meat was tender and perfectly cooked. The sides were great, especially the corn pudding. Well worth the drive!

Ribs and pulled pork are ok. Also, the Mac n’ cheese needs doctoring. The slaw though. Man that’s nasty. Tastes like pickled coleslaw. I’ve had vinegar slaw and loved it but this is gross. Order a different side. Like the potato salad. That’s alright. But I recommend finding a different place altogether. Poor quality food.

Jalapeño grits, corn pudding, and pulled pork is delicious! The prices are great for the quality of the food and the generous portions. Best BBQ in the Asheville area!

My boyfriend and I have been in search of a really good barbecue spot since moving to Asheville eight months ago. After driving by 12 Bones countless times saying, «we really have to go there one day,» we finally decided today was the day to do it. We probably shouldn’t have waited so long, because 12 Bones may be just be the place we were looking for.
We wanted a light lunch (or, as light as barbecue can really be, anyway), so we split a rack of ribs, sides of their mac n’ cheese and cucumber salad, and the pulled pork sample (which promised to be good enough for those wanting «just a taste»). I have good things to say about all of them. The ribs had a tasty brown sugar dry rub (there were other flavor options too that I’m sure are just as good), and the cucumber salad had just the right amount of vinegar and simple adds of tomato and feta cheese to make you want to keep eating it and wish you could re-​create it at home. The mac n’ cheese was just okay, but the pulled pork was better — especially considering that you could pair it with a variety of sauces from the pretty awesome BBQ sauce bar. I would have liked a little more flavor in the pork itself, but given that what we had was just sample size I’ll reserve judgement until we have a bigger helping.
Other highlights:
— Some pretty unique side options. This being our first time at 12 Bones, we went with the traditional faire. But there was, for example, a watermelon basil salad that definitely peaks the interest of this watermelon enthusiast.
— A variety of sandwich offerings and portion sizes that make it likely that 12 Bones has a little something for everyone.
— Neat décor. The garage doors and auto service signs are remnants of 12 Bones’s previous life as an auto shop.
All in all, we were pleased with our experience at 12 Bones and we’ll be back. If you like barbecue, go here. And, don’t wait eight months to do it.

Delicious ribs! Creative recipes & quick friendly service. This is a great place to grab lunch. Yummy!

Ordered the sliced beef brisket with mac n cheese, the smoked potato salad, and the mustard sauce. I think I ate it all in under 5 minutes, it was so good. It even came with a piece of cornbread. The staff was so pleasant. They made you feel like you were at home, which is how a BBQ place should feel. Unfortunately, we got here after 4 so we only had the option for take out. We will definitely be back whenever we come to Asheville!

Lots of hype, went with friends, it was so-​so for me. One of my friends got the ribs with the blueberry cayenne sauce. She said they were good. Another the pulled pork, said it was pretty good. Another the blt. He really liked it. I got the chopped brisket sandwich, come on a plate, no bread, swimming in bbq sauce. Tasted over cooked. Small bone too. The sides were good, and they have cheerwine! Cool dive, nice staff.

We have had bbq all over the US. Memphis (Central), Austin (Franklins), San Antonio (Randy’s), Kansas City (Arthur Bryant’s), St Louis (Pappy’s Smokehouse), Chicago (Smoque), Dallas (Pecan Lodge), Atlanta (Fat Matts), NewOrleans (The Joint), etc. but 12 Bones was the worst use of a $ 50 in my lifetime.
We always try all the flavors and all the meats and most of the sides to give everyone a fair shot.
Great bbq requires great cuts, great pitmaster and experienced seasonings and or sauce.
The ribs were tiny and mostly meatless, overcooked to the point of rock hard and the sauces are marginal.
But I am a believer a great rib can be eaten naked when cooked properly without fancy ketchup.
The brisket was flavorless without a hint of a smoke ring besides the fact the word is touted in their name. Worst I ever had. Anywhere.
Sides were meh. I have tried to attach a picture.
The picture says it all. Experienced bbq people can tell by looking without even tasting when it’s bad. So bad we threw it all out. Very depressing night.
Unilocal needs to allow no stars for when you throw the food it’s so bad.

I’m usually a pork sandwich girl, but since I just had pork the prior night I decided to go for the sliced brisket today. Wow, it knocked me out out! Tender juicy brisket with an edge, a buttered, grilled bun, topped off with the sliced lightly pickled onion. It was fantastic. My sides were slaw and potato salad, both very good as well. I believe the price was only $ 7, well worth it and I can’t wait to try this again!

This might be the first time I’ve ever said this about a BBQ place besides Rudy’s, but the sides here are LEGIT.
The special side the day we went was the Pickled Okra Salad… I’ve got to figure out how to replicate this dish! Pickled okra is my absolute favorite pickled veggie. The smoked potato salad was some of the best I’ve ever had in a restaurant (my mom’s is still my favorite, but this gave it a run for its money!).
We tried the ribs, but I have to say they were my least favorite of the meats we sampled. It was later in the day, but the ribs were pretty dry. The chopped brisket on the other hand was moist without being fatty which we definitely appreciated.
I loved all of the different sauces. The jalapeño had some major bite to it, but it tasted so good we were pouring it over everything. The mustard would have been great if I’d had some sausage to dip in it. It was tasty on the brisket, too.
My favorite of the meats that we tasted is what we were told 12 Bones is known for and that’s their smoked turkey sandwich. I definitely recommend trying it, you won’t be sorry!

First, not from North Carolina but I love it. My travels from my job bring me to different places and therefore, I stopped at this place. When I arrived, the place was packed out the door. There’s no doubt that there must we a lot of regulars that go here to eat.
The food: I ordered a half rack (6) of ribs with mac n’ cheese and green beans.
Ribs: there were choices of what type of seasoning/​sauce you wanted your ribs to be cooked with. I explained to the cashier that I had never been there before and she suggested a rub seasoning to accompany my ribs. I thought the seasoning was superb and the dipping sauce (4 choices) I chose to go with it was fantastic. The only complaint I have is personal. I thought the ribs were a bit dry for my liking.
The sides I mentioned earlier were extremely well prepared. As a person who devours mac n’ cheese everywhere I go, I really appreciated the way this dish was. The green beans were really tasty as well.
Lastly, the sweet tea wasn’t «southern sweet» that you may ordinarily expect from a BBQ place.
By all means, check this place out.

Yummm
The sides are super delicious! Loved the sweet potato mash. Friends loved the jalapeño cheese grits. The ribs were good too. Tried the blueberry chipotle and pineapple habanero which was spicy! The cornbread was not the best. Kind of dry. Also loved all of their sauces. The sweet tomato BBQ sauce was good! Overall one of the best BBQ places I have had:)