Smokin Jims Barbeque

Food is always good and friendly service. Good place to take our family when we all go out to eat.

I’ve tried several things on the menu here and loved all of it… The owners are amazing and take the time to talk to when they’re not super busy. I think the Brisket is awesome as is the Brisket Manhattan. Definitely one of the better Barbeque places around the area!

My favorite place to eat in Bedford! Service is great, friendly & fast. Love their ice tea, can’t get enough. Wheel chair accesible. I eat here often, it’s also on the bus route. I have hard time deciding because it’s all good. I like the pulled pork sandwich, & the pulled pork nachos are to die for! Ihad the Beef BrisketManhattan 3 days ago & agreed with others in our group of 12 it was awesome! I’ve had the ribs too & was not dissapointed (I like the hot spicy bbq sauce, but not the really hot one). One of my favorites is the Sirloin Steak it was perfect medium cooked & juicy. I love the baked potato, green beans or baked beans. Salads are always good & fresh as is the potato salad. Persimmon pudding is my favorie dessert. The decore is really nice & fits the atmosphere. Its very clean & really enjoyable! I highly reccomend it, we have been there at different times & always enjoy it, on a scale of 1 – 10 I’d give it an81/​2

Always a clean environment, and very friendly servers! The Brisket Manhattan is the best thing on the menu!!! I’ve had the ribs, and burger before and they both were very bland. I would stick to the brisket. Also best sweet tea around.

If you love to wait for cold BBQ by all means rush out to smoking Jims. Never thought i would say this but i think Rustys was better. If your a true BBQ lover your probably not going to be pleased, very mild non smoky flavor and just drown the meat in sauce.

I was a bit disappointed with the food, however the place was clean, and all of the staff was very friendly.

They are a great value for the money, always clean and friendly, and food is served hot and fast!

Went with colleagues to this place because the locals said it was «Really, Really Good». Um… In the future I’ll stick to Unilocal for dinning recommendations. The place was very clean, the service was good, and the staff was very friendly. The food was a bit disappointing. I ordered ribs with fries and mac’n cheese. The ribs were actually kinda of bland. This was odd because there was a ton of season rub on them. The fries were good, but the mac’n cheese was not much different from the stuff you get out of the freezer isle at the grocery store. One of the guys said he was up all night with heartburn. (I don’t think you can hold them responsible for that)
Also of note: this is a «Christian» establishment. Closed on Sunday’s, and no alcohol served. But, ironically in its «western» decorations there was a silhouette of a six-​shooter which read «We don’t call 911». I laughed my ass off! So this Christian place says that alcohol is evil yet they will shoot you… Wasn’t Not Killing one of God’s commandments? Ah, irony… I truly appreciate you! I think they should focus more on stepping up their flavor!

Stopped in around 5:30 on a Saturday. Dining room about ¼ full. Not busy. Waitress was quickly at my table. I ordered ½ rack ribs with the suggested onion rings and green beans (my call). 21 minutes to get my food. Double checked that with my FB check in. Ribs still had the silver skin attached and were fatty but tasted ok. Nothing special. Green beans had bits of bacon but we’re fresh out of the can. Onion rings were limp ant not crispy. Golden Corral across the road would have been a better choice.

I LOVE BBQ! That my friend is a fact. I’ve been to all the best pits, shacks, hole in the walls all over Texas and the south. I was very excited to stop on in with a friend on his birthday expecting some amazing BBQ based on the reviews here and the incredible train smoker outside.
We approached Smokin Jims last night full of excitement and high expectations. As we walked to the door we saw the first sign that said «Closed Sundays, God Bless», we thought to ourselves that that was cute. Then we saw the second sign «No Alcohol, God Bless» that was a little strange for a BBQ restaurant. We made it past the first door to encounter the sign on the second set of doors with a flyer asking «Do you have enough faith to be an atheist…». Wow, what? I’m an atheist and came here to eat, not to have my beliefs questioned. I started to feel slightly uncomfortable/​excluded as we were being taken to our booth. After ordering I got up and walked past the tacky, outdated Texas décor while heading to the bathroom to relieve myself. It’s not really relieving when you look up from the urinal and there’s a framed contract to god called «The Resolution». A contract that you would sign pledging to god and Jesus to obey them. I want to think that everyone is welcomed here but I did notice on the «Redneck Commandments» that you should only follow the «one true god». I can’t imagine people of other faiths would feel welcomed in this atmosphere. The owners are definitely entitled to their religious beliefs but this is a RESTAURANT not a church.
On to the food.
They had a lot of options on their menu which is fine but I found it odd that their appetizers (besides the chicken wings) did not take advantage of their impressive smokers. I didn’t go to Smokin Jims for bar grub. Smoke me some delicious unique starters! We ordered the sampler platter, the brisket Manhattan, and a brisket sandwich
First, the sampler platter. When I was asked what sides I would like to go with my platter from the server I asked her what «country» taters are. She held up her hands and made an approximately 2″ cube demonstrating it’s size. Although she did not know what made them «country» I ordered them anyways thinking they sounded interesting. Well, well, was I ever so surprised to find a little bowl of tiny ½″ cubed potatoes that were very reminiscent looking of the kind of potatoes that you would get from the frozen isle of a grocery store. Onion rings were unseasoned meh. Both served warmed pushing the cold side. I could see if they were really busy that our food might not be super hot but it was just us and a couple of other tables. The junior pulled pork sandwich was pretty lack luster. Just some meat in the center of a little bun, not even coming to the buns edge. That’s it. The ribs were actually pretty good. Nicely smoked, moist, fall off the bone and well seasoned. The accompanied BBQ sauces added a much needed touch of heat
Well, the brisket Manhattan was an ungodly mountain of food covered in gravy. I know what to expect when ordering a Manhattan but was curious as to why they would cover their beautiful smoked meat with 2 cups of jarred/​canned gravy? I pushed the gravy off a few pieces and was delighted to find some well smoked, tender, albeit a bit fatty brisket under all of that. I was encouraged to go deeper into the grav-​de-​mountian only to be immediately heartbroken to discover the nights coup de grace… INSTANT mashed potatoes!
Jarred/​canned gravy, frozen potatoes, frozen onion rings AND instant mashed potatoes? WTF? I would not have cared if they made their own homemade sides and failed. At least they would have tried. What does Smoking Jims do with the drippings, scrapes, bones? Why not make your own, fresh sides, gravies, maybe do some sausage? Makes me think there’s a lot of food not being used from the animal and tossed. Also makes me think that it’s a home cook playing chef or the person that ran the BBQ fundraisers at the local church which they convinced to open a restaurant.
I paid for the whole meal and felt embarrassed that I brought my friend to a church cafeteria instead of a knock out Smokin BBQ pit. Smokin Jim’s has the potential to be great but I won’t be coming back. The last sign I saw that night was when I was paying at the bizarre/​tacky country gift shop that read «Come in a stranger, leave a friend». I thought it meant to have unprotected premarital coupling, leaving a «friend» behind. What a mixed message from the other signs. I wound up leaving with no new friends and feeling strange.

Stopped in for lunch.
The waitress, Lisa was great, very kind.
Ordered Half rack Ribs smothered in BBQ sauce with 2 sides, Baked Beans plus Mac N Cheese. Unsweet Iced Tea.
PROS: both sides and drink were delicious.
CONS: ribs were close to dry. Prepared with the silver lining on, I assume to hold moisture. The BBQ sauce lacked flavor.
If you ask, they do have a spicy BBQ sauce to add on the side. It had flavor but the ribs were dry.

Waitress was so friendly and knowledgeable. The brisket nachos are a must. I ordered the brisket Manhattan which was big enough for 2 full dinners but you just don’t want to stop.
Menu had so many things I was interested in I ordered a pork tenderloin to go. I live too far away to be a regular and wanted to take advantage.
I don’t think I’ve had barbecue that was that melt in your mouth good in years.

Priced reasonably
Getting the billy the kid meal $ 9
Waitress very friendly Brooke
Pulled pork awesome bbq beans good
Potato salad would been better if colder.
Nice place too eat .
Stop by and try it out

One of our favorite places to go in Bedford! Excellent BBQ. Beans are delicious. You must give it a try at least one time!

Delicious food, excellent atmosphere, and amazing people.
My husband loves the brisket, melts in your mouth… and if you get the «bark» on the end… oh my… yummo city. I am a weirdo and I hate ribs… but I devour the ribs at smokin jims. They are meaty, not fatty… and the sauce is just delicious. Loaded pulled pork nachos are addictive, the pulled pork sandwich is great. I have easily had nearly every item on the menu and loved each and every thing.
Go…take your time and enjoy your family, the atmosphere & food. Carry out is an option… either way, you will not be disappointed.
Bonus! If you are coming from the north… enjoy the view of the life sized locomotive smoker. Yep… it’s a train smoker, and it is actually used! I thought that was pretty cool myself.

This place was so friendly it almost hurt! ;-)
GREAT food, nice atmosphere, sweet and sassy wait staff. It really was a great way to end a weekend. Can’t recommend it highly enough. Do stop by if you’re in or near Bedford.

Probably the best family restaurant in Bedford, IN. Unfortunately no alcohol — food is good — very good — best spare ribs I had in years.