House of Bones BBQ

Great food, good service!
We’d heard about this place from a friend and decided to try it out. Atmosphere was kind of dull, but It was nice to try something different, especially when you don’t feel like cooking.

I’m a lot of things, but one thing I’m not is a barbecue expert. You know, those people that are all like «THE ONLY REAL BARBECUE COMES FROM WHERE I COME FROM». God those people are annoying… if you’re one of them, then I actively dislike you.
That being said, I do LOVE barbecue in general. I just don’t think I’ve ever experienced it like I see people experiencing it on those travel/​cooking shows. Secretly though, I’ve always wanted a «go to» Barbecue Place nearby. I think I found the place.
My first experience with House of Bones was during this past Super Bowl. A friend of mine brought over a HUGE pan of ribs as his party donation. What followed was gluttony the likes of which god has never seen. I mean we ate… a lot. And the whole time he raved about their other offerings, specifically the sides and fried chicken. So when a sports clinic took us down scenic route 8 south this past weekend, I made the Executive Decision to make first contact.
It was about 2:30 on a Sunday afternoon, so the place wasn’t very crowded. Maybe 4 or 5 tables and one other person waiting for take-​out. We didn’t eat it, but the ambiance of the place was right up my alley. Order at the counter, seat yourself, food comes… lather, rinse, repeat. And the smell… the smell people… intoxicating. It’s like fat guy Chanel perfume.
We scanned the menu quick and knowing that I had to feed 4 for dinner in a few hours, we opted for the Family Meal #2 Ribs & Chicken. Rack of ribs, fried chicken, 3 sides, 4 breads. When asked about a preference of bread (biscuit or cornbread), we decided to split, and as far as sauce, we went with the vinegar blend… just because. The side selection was challenging, they all sounded and looked so amazing, but I elected to try a please everyone that was going to be at the table and went with potato salad, macaroni and cheese and coleslaw.
For the amount of food we ordered, it came out pretty quick. 10 minutes or so, not bad. And how the heck they can give you THAT much food for $ 44 is mind boggling to me. I mean, the box seemed to weight literally like 20 lbs. Huge, meaty rack of ribs, 4 gigantic pieces of chicken (3 smaller ones) and the 3 sides that were freaking massive. And of course a few biscuits and cornbread. Portions, price and service did not disappoint at any level. And the taste… the taste…
Let me sum it up like this: THE ONLY REAL BARBECUE COMES FROM WHERE I COME FROM. Yeah, that just happened.
Eat here. Often.

Stopped in for lunch with my son. The counter lady was nice. We got chicken and Mac and cheese for my son. The Mac and cheese was good and the chicken was ok. I got the pulled pork sandwich. The pork tasted old and very dry. I also got ribs. I think they heated them up in the microwave they were overly hot and soggy. Hate to say it that chilies has better bbq.

I used to love this place. Then they kept messing up my order EVERY time I ordered. It was rediculous always missing things in the order and charging us for things we did not order. They need to get it together.

Decided to check on some Connecticut Q on a Saturday nite near closing time:
No ribs: (
No burnt ends: (
Brisket? Yes and it is moist and tender with a nice smoke ring. I navigate around the fat for a lean and generous helping! Nothing wrong here!
BBQ beans are just slightly doctored pork n beans. I added a little of their KC sweet sauce and they were better.
Sweet Kernel Corn was perfect and hot! The corn bread was soft, not warm but still tasty!
All in all this was a great meal. I ate ‘in’ but it looks like everyone is served in ‘to go’ containers? Their dining area has about 9 tables but most folks seem to be ordering ‘to go’!
Drinks are in bottles in a help yourself cooler.
If I’m in the area again, I would return, but I’m from California!

If you could imagine tossing a hard roll and pulled pork in a blender for 2 seconds and then putting it in a take out tray, then you can picture what my meal was like.
The pulled pork sandwich was drenched with with the KC sweet sauce making it feel like there was more liquid then meat. As a result my bun was completely soggy as if someone mopped it with sauce. The pulled pork was also too hard with bits of really tough meat in some places. I have been here a few times before without really any issues but this experience really ruined it for me.
The only positive thing I can say is the fries were tasty.
House of Bones needs to figure out how to keep their sandwiches hard when utilized in take out situations.

OMG, I’ve eating in many places and this place is the worse place I’ve ever eaten in my life, that’s how bad their food is. I had the BBQ Sampler, it was cold, nasty, tasteless and it didn’t taste like the normal bbq, it was like eating plastic, I’m out of words for this place. You’ve been warned!

We received a gift certificate and decided to use it for. The location not so great if coming south bound. We had 1 fried shrimp Po boy and 1 fried clam po boy awesome, generous sized po boys. The menu a bit confusing and they were out of staple item of macaroni and cheese. The food we had was very good.

Stopped by a few nights ago with my husband for a quick dinner. The inside is cute, quaint with a few tables and chairs. They have a good sized menu, and once you walk in the smell of bbq hits you– amazing. I ordered the Pulled Pork (sandwich) with a nice bbq sauce (not spicy). My 2 sides were cole slaw (sooo fresh and delicious) and mashed potatoes– which they make with the small red potatoes and leave the skin on. omg yum. Hubby got a full rack of ribs, cornbread (jealous mine didn’t come w/​it) slaw, and another side. Those were fall off the bone delicious. The only reason for the 4 star review is because they left the door open because it was so hot out. That welcomed in every single fly that was outside, inside. There are really only a few pet peeves I have about eating dinner comfortably– and that is one of them. I was continuously swatting them out of the way. I hope this place just invests in a really cheap screen door– so they can keep those buggers outside. I also was impressed w/​the young lady behind the counter who was very polite, and was very well versed on the menu and fully explained it to the both of us since we never have eaten there before. A good BBQ joint, I would try it out!

Ordered the burnt ends with a sweet BBQ sauce and the Memphis pork ribs with a vinegar BBQ sauce, with sides of coleslaw, mashed potatoes and cornbread.
The burnt ends were far and away the best brisket offering in the area by a mile. The ribs were great and the tangy vinegar sauce was delicious. Both offerings were seasoned very well and slow cooked to perfection. The sides were all flavorful and enjoyable; the potatoes had a nice roasted garlic bite, the slaw was flavorful and the cornbread was fresh, tasty and moist.
Would note that I ordered out. The location can be a bit of a pain getting in and out of for lunch, due to the low priority traffic light monitoring the exit of the location. But that’s just a side note of what’s otherwise the best BBQ location in the area. Accompanied by a good beer selection, they really stand out. Highly recommended.

Wow! Can the northeast make some BBQ? This place was awesome. Quick & I’ve never had my BBQ handed to me in a big box. Mac & cheese, corn & cornbread are a must have! Great job Bones! –visiting from the south

Smoke and Bones is now called House of Bones.
Same great food, same great atmosphere.
Just new name.

Very disappointed, decided against a pizza which was 3 minutes down the road. Instead I went here which was about 15 minutes away for fried belly clams. I have these here before and no problem. But I wasted my time and 14+ dollars and fried batter. They were so overcooked, that I tasted no clam and couldn’t eat ½ of them. I ended up throwing them out. I won’t be coming back.

There is a basic equation to breakfast sandwiches. Egg, cheese, good bread and some kind of meat — right? This place takes them to ANOTHER LEVEL by topping it with DELICIOUS BEEF BRISKET and the tastiest, slightly spicy, slightly sweet BBQ sauce. I have never had a breakfast sandwich this good. Do yourself a favor. Run, don’t walk. Note: no breakfast on Sundays which is a damn shame, (especially if you’re nursing a slight hangover). It’s love on a Portuguese roll.

Just ate there on Monday. Boy has this place gone done hill. Brisket, fried chicken, smoked chicken, and ribs were all dry and flavorless. The BBQ sauce was like water and the sides were just edible. We bought 5 meals and just about everything got thrown out because it was that bad. The corn bread was like they went to stop and shop and bought some nasty prepackaged loaves and the biscuits tasted like raw flour! So gross! I have a really hard time believing that the Grant family still owns this place. If so, their standards have hit rock bottom. The food is terrible and the place should just shut its doors. They have just plummeted since they have opened. It’s a shame too because it used to be pretty good. Please step it up or find someone who knows how to cook real BBQ.

I stopped in a couple of weeks ago, while passing through on my drive back from a customer.
Very good beans and cornbread. The burnt ends? Terrible.
The sauce (KC Sweet) was tasty, but not enough to save those dry, rocks of meat. Gang, for those who don’t know, burnt ends are supposed to be soft, moist and flavor packed. These were over-​smoked, dry and hard. Of the plate of burnt ends, I enjoyed 5 or 6 of the small pieces, choked down two more, and passed on the remaining half of them. The plasticware provided literally couldn’t penetrate them. I think power tools might have been required.
Decently sized lunch crowd and quick service, but terrible quality overall.

Review in a few words: Simple, fantastic, and cheap BBQ.
Review in full: I stumbled across House of Bones by mistake… liquid lunch was closed and I was making the trek back to New Haven with a hangry girlfriend in the car. I was ready to stop anywhere and I consider myself lucky that House of Bones was the first place we came upon. What a treat.
I got a meal which included 1 piece of fried chicken, a side (I chose mac & cheese) and corn bread. All for $ 6.50. Everything was ready quickly and it was delicious. The meat was juicy and tender, it had been prepared fresh. The side was substantial and it was great. It was clear that the offering was not an after-​thought. My girlfriend got the beef brisket sandwich and it was enormous and still under the $ 10 mark. She seemed to enjoy everything as well.
I was really impressed with the quality and portions provided when the price was considered. $ 8 — $ 10 will barely get you a meal at a fast food joint and here you are getting a fresh cooked BBQ meal that is delicious. House of Bones is well worth a visit if you are in the area.

House of Bones? I could have sworn it was called Smoke & Bones… ANYWAY, this place is phenomenal. You can get a huge dinner for $ 20 or so (prices may have changed since I was there last), complete with a BBQ chicken, a bunch of sides, etc. The food is ALWAYS good. I’ve gotten the shrimp Po’ Boy and pulled pork here a few times, and never been disappointed. I also love how the Collard Greens have chunks of pork in them. MMM! So good. The prices for their other stuff are okay. Overall, though, I have no complaints and love going to this place for casual lunch dates too.

Finally made it back to try the fried chicken — went with a 1pc breast meal, sides were the baked beans and the Mac & Cheese. Very, very good, these guys do it right. The chicken was excellent, not greasy at all, like KFC or Popeye’s. Sides were outstanding also, loved my Mac & Cheese.
Can’t wait to get back to try the ribs !

Funny enough I had neither smoke nor bones here so I cannot attest to how the BBQ tasted. However I can say that I liked the lobster roll which had a good amount of meat, was on a proper roll and was served with a small container of butter so you could regulate how much or little you wanted to pour on it. At $ 14.95 it was a good amount of lobster for the price. They also serve Foxon Park soda from East Haven and said they try to buy local whenever possible. I went with the Lemon Lime neon green pop! The sweet potato fries where meh and overly crispy. My dad had the veggie burger — I know… And he enjoyed it and the little cousins had the chicken fingers that were plump and juicy. Everyone liked their meals.
My favorite thing was the staff — so friendly and welcoming — we had a great chat with one of the ladies and her smile and demeanor were infectious. This was my first stop after landing and I enjoyed it so much I went back for a 2^nd lobster roll. I also found out they have a new lunch truck serving at off Bridgeport Avenue in Shelton — you can even call ahead to save time — I found this out from their Facebook page which features their daily specials as well.
A word of caution — the parking lot is not easy to get in and out of so proceed with caution.