The Shack

Extremely impressed with the pork plate. Service was great and everyone was really nice. Definitely well be back.

Was closed yesterday at 7 pm it says open until 12AM. Time needs adjusting drove 2 he’s for beer and a burger!

Firstly, I had the sampler platter which was a lot of food. Secondly, I really liked the fries, and the mustard greens, the fries nice and crispy, the greens were very flavorful. Lastly, the pulled pork and chicken was good, but not great, their barbecue sauce really helped these two out. I really was not a fan of the ribs, they seemed baked, not smoked or grilled.

Fantastic!
A very friendly and helpful staff, with great food and a fabulous choice of regionals beers on tap — along, with the usual national suspects. I highly recommend when you are in the area!

This place is awesome! If ever I return to the TRI-​Cities, I will return to Patrick’s last stand. Excellent food and service!

Best wings and beer In town. Great costumer service since being under new ownership. Its a hidden gem in Kingsport for all sports bar and grill needs!

Good food
good local atmosphere.
Local local. Local.
If your looking for something that is not normally found in a racing town with a good music scene. That sells buckets of beer and Barbcue. This is not the place for you.
I had a shack burger. (7.99 $) Bacon chili cheddar and slaw. It was hand slapped and spiced perfectly. I mean salt and pepper. That’s it. The rest of the flavors all come together very well. Also on the table was a 10 pack of «hot» wings. (6.99 $)Which they were. Franks hot. That’s all. Simple tasty and yum.

The very hospitable new owner clearly takes his BBQ seriously. The pulled pork and chicken were perfectly smoked without overshadowing the taste of the meat itself. The buns were firm and tasty. The house red sauce was very pleasant without too much heat. Try the new white sauce on the chicken; it has just a bit of peppery tang. The beans were great, and the slaw was slightly tart, not at all cloyingly sweet as is often the case. The service was attentive and efficient, but we were there on a quiet evening, so we can’t speak to rush times. We understand that there’s live music inside on Friday and Saturday evenings. Closed on Sundays. It’s only a short drive north from Exit 59 on I81; look on the right, back from the road in a shopping plaza. With an excellent selection of craft beers on tap and reasonable prices, this has to be the «go to» place for BBQ in the area.

Good BBQ in the area. They don’t have many healthy options. I ordered grilled chicken with a twice-​baked potato. The chicken was exceptionally tender and juicy, and the baked potato was pretty good/​standard. It had butter, cheese and (optional) sour cream.
The service was sub-​standard. It was a challenge to catch the waitress’ attention and she didn’t quite pay attention to our dining needs. My colleague asked for a straw and never got it. My cup was empty for at least 5 minutes before the waitress noticed. And when she did refill it, she didn’t add ice. I don’t think her inattentiveness was because she was new but a staple of the quality of service here (though this is perhaps standard of similar-​style restaurants). The fact that my cup wasn’t refilled until we’d asked for the check is my biggest complaint.
The restaurant looks cool. There is a stage and projector, so they might have bands or project football games. There is also a spacey patio for if you want to catch some rays. Another note on our experience: our drinks left water marks on the table which made it impossible to not get your arms wet.
Overall, it was ok. I would return if I am craving bbq/​grilled meat and am in the area, but I probably won’t go back.

We had issues finding the restaurant when typed into GPS (it’s kind of tucked away in a corner), but this was such a great comfort meal. I got the pulled pork sandwich, which was great once I got some restaurant BBQ sauce to add an extra kick. The baked beans also had a very distinct flavor (couldn’t tell you which spice it was), which were perfect as a side dish. The onion rings were a little salty but put a great mostly unspiced flavor in my mouth to enjoy the rest of the meal!
Would recommend.

We were dyin’ for some legit BBQ after landing in Knoxville from CA and driving toward the Blue Ridge. We got part way there with The Shack. Sorry bad pun.
If you are in those circumstances, it’s a maybe. The bbq was OK (I had the sampler) but I wouldn’t go back. Service was molasses-​sauce slow and they weren’t busy.
From what I can tell, the ticket here is come on a warm day, park yourself outside, order many pitchers of beer, have a great time and add some food, it will be fine enough.
Next time I land in Knoxville, I will just make a bee line for Chandler’s Deli. That’s BBQ (and omg fried chicken).

What can I say? I love the Shack. The chicken wings are the best, and you can always catch whatever sporting event on the televisions.
Very casual and laid-​back, and great service. The iced-​tea is always fresh too. It’s a great location too.

Great place. Great people. BBQ place, but their burgers are the best tasting in town.

Loves the BBQ beans and toast rocked. The pull pork was better than average. A great unexpected find with cheap beer.

I was driving a 30 foot RV from Destin, Florida to Philadelphia, PA with 4 very hungry adults on board. My wife looked up road food and voila! The Shack came up! As a former transplant from NC, any restaurant that serves BBQ is worth investigating. My only concern was whether it was near the highway and if there weren’t any low bridges. (That would be a «yes» to both questions.)
Our waitress, Miss Kitty Cat, (I assume this is a nom de plume), was very nice and extremely attentive. She had some serious style! I love ordering in the south because they always ask you, «Hon, what you having?» This place was great! The BBQ was fantastic and had a delicious flavor and was very tender. Our group had everything from the ribs to the pork BBQ sandwich and everything was delicious. The fried green tomatoes and pickles were worth the heart attacking waitin’ to happen! There were a lot of locals in The Shack which is always a sign that this place is a winner. They have a stage for live entertainment as well. This place is a pretty small so I can imagine that a Saturday night is pretty wild here. This place is definitely worth the stop on your way north or south!

Food (**** out of *****)
Soft, fall off the bone pork rib BBQ. Good smoke flavor. The burger’s beef patty also had a good smoke flavor.
Atmosphere (**** out of *****)
Have you ever seen the HBO series «Trueblood»? If you have, then this is just like Merlotte’s. It is a bar and restaurant in a small town. It is kind of a rough place where bikers and rednecks hang out. It really does feel like you’re dining in an olé shack. It has a real country charm that you won’t find in any cookie cutter chain restaurant. I love it.
Service (** out of *****)
Remember how Merlotte’s is always woefully understaffed and the waitresses are overworked because Sookie is always suddenly AWOL from work? Well, this is also true for The Shack. The entire restaurant only had ONE waitress. I would give it one star for service but bless her heart, the poor olé waitress tried her best, so I gave it another star just for effort.
Conclusion (**** out of *****)
Even though the tally is three stars for this restaurant, I snuck in another star and gave it four stars because of value. For the price of a meal, you get LIVE ENTERTAINMENT. Some big biker chick sang country western and rockabilly tunes accompanied by her band. They are open late, which makes them the only night life in this small town, so they were crowded with patrons. Even though I’m not a country music fan, I rolled with it by having a beer and enjoying the show. Yeehaw, pardner! This restaurant is right off the highway, so if you’re driving through Tennessee along highway 81, be sure to take exit 59 in Kingsport TN for a meal at Merlotte’s, I mean, The Shack.

The food is very good and prices r super reasonable. It is locally owned and everyone is really nice

Solid performer but wasn’t exceptional. Prices were great.

Let me preface this review by saying I am from Kansas City so I do have a midwest slant to how BBQ should taste.
The Shack was easy to find though tucked into lower level of strip mall & facing the side.
It was clean & very quiet for a friday evening meal. I think there were two other men at the bar eating & a single couple at a booth.
Waiter, who it appeared doubled as a bartender sat me, was attentive & very polite.
I was a bit disappointed to find no briscuit on the menu. However, I had the pulled pork sandwich platter. The pork alone was very tender, lean seasoned minimally & served on a grilled bun. W/​the BBQ sauce at the table it was I found it very complimentary to the meat. BBQ beans were hohum. The slaw was sweet & I ended up putting it on my sandwich (don’t know where I picked this habit up). The seasoned fries were good though I prefer mine a bit more crisp. Yuenglings beer on tap washed everything down quite satisfactorily.
Price was great & portions were actually appropriate for a normal human beings consumption.

Great bbq and excellent service! I found this place by accident last year on a business trip when a restaurant across the street was closed for the afternoon. My flight home was delayed and the bartender and regulars provided ample conversation and made me feel at home. I will definitely be back each time I’m in Kingsport.