Harley’s Smokeshack

Meh.
The portions are grand the quality is average.
I’m desperately struggling to understand why people in New York are struggling with Brisket.
pity.
Nice people though.
If you’re in the mood for run of the mill BBQ that won’t excite or, after reading this, disappoint. Give this place a go.

Two words: $ 5 margaritas (or is it three? Haha). I came here on a Friday night with a friend. As anyone who lives in NY knows, it’s really difficult finding a relatively inexpensive dining experience in midtown — especially near Times Square. The margaritas are amazing, and the $ 3 beers can’t be beat. The waitress was super friendly, and I ordered the cheese quesadilla and the apple salad (I know, a strange combination). It was a bit crowded, but had a roomy feel to it at the same time. The crowd was more low-​key than the other places I’ve been to. Will most likely come again.
PS: the Harlem location is great, too!

Houston we have a problem in Midtown. This place needs a little assistance. Anyone who has awarded this place a 4 or 5 clearly needs their head looking at.
We walked past this place a few weeks ago and picked up one of their menus as it looked pretty respectable from the outside. We were in the mood for BBQ so rather than trusting something we know (like Daisy May’s) we opted to give this place a spin.
As we walked in I had that sinking feeling that this wasn’t going to be an optimal dining experience — there were only another two table occupied. We saw ourselves to a table as the hostess or waitresses were obviously so busy serving the other two tables to be bothered seating us.
We ordered the Chilli Nachos to start which contained an assortment of black and red tortilla chips which at first I thought were napkins. The menu describes the dish as being piled high with Chilli — to an Ewok maybe but to a human it was decidedly not piled high.
We also ordered the Two Meat Sampler and the Baby Back Ribs — only to be told that they had run out of Baby Back Ribs. How on earth can you run out of Ribs in the middle of New York? For sides we ordered the mashed potato, mac and cheese, slaw and beans.
The Two Meat Sampler turned up, a good sized portion of brisket and pulled pork that was unfortunately body temperature. The brisket wasn’t bad but perhaps they could have managed a few more minutes in the microwave? The pulled pork was greasy and fatty.
I won’t even comment on the sides, I think you get the picture.
I won’t be returning in a hurry.

Went to meet up with some old friends after work — came over from Reunion which was just packed and loud.
Was seated at a small table in front of the bar. Honestly couldn’t tell you who our waitress was because we had like 3 people serving us — which wasn’t bad but I felt like we were flagging any girl who walked by to get service. Ordered a $ 5 margarita special and when it was brought over it was clear… and tasted like nothing. Pounded 3 and would have been able to pass a sobriety test with flying colors like a NYC gay pride parade.
Ordered the slider sampler and about an hour later my stomach was making noises that I’m pretty sure were emanating from the deepest chasms of my gut and it sounded like satan himself was using my intestines as a gateway from the underworld — not good. By the time I got home the horribleness I was experiencing was bad enough that even my dog couldn’t tell if the smell was coming from me or her.

Pulled pork — fatty
Pulled turkey — tough as hell
Mac n cheese — horrendous
Baked beans — pretty good
This place is lousy. Friendly servers though.

Harley’s Smokeshack recently changed themes to BBQ from Irish pub food, and unfortunately this transition doesn’t work. The atmosphere is fun, plenty of TV’s — the place still has a large soccer watching crowd leftover from when it was called The Irish Rogue, but the bad service and poor food quality really drag this place down.
My wife and I frequented the Irish Rogue whenever we were in that area of Manhattan — the food was always good, drinks the same. Harley’s is apparently owned and operated by the same people who owned the Rogue, so we figured the food would still be good. 4 of us went for lunch and ordered wings, a 2 meat sampler, and boneless wings. The wings were decent, although didn’t taste «smoked» as the menu described, they could have been previously frozen. The 2 meat sampler — pulled pork/​brisket –that our friends had was bland and fairly fatty, although they liked the mac & cheese that came as a side. Boneless wings were blatantly frozen, not expecting much here but you could literally taste the freezer.
Service was friendly, but very inattentive. We had to ask for menus, and small stuff like napkins etc. A side order of fries never came — even when asked about after our food arrived. About 15 mins later we asked for the check, then the fries came, which we asked to be sent back. Gratuity was automatically included, by the way.
Unfortunately we lost a decent midtown spot to a bad business swap; we won’t be going back to Harley’s.

the first time i came here it was fantastic, but last night it seems they made a complete 180 degree turn. My friend and I had to wait well over 10 minutes to get a waitress. Service was slow, however very friendly. The sodas were flat, the beers were warm, and the food was lukewarm. The wings are supposed to be smoked, but they were clearly fried. hard at that. Perhaps they smoked then fried them, im not sure but it was not good at all. I do love the free cell phone charging station tho.
Will i return, perhaps… if they follow the same pattern my next visit should be, dare i say it… fantastic.

I liked it soooo much better as the Irish Rogue. But, they were bought out, what can you do. I have been here mostly for lunch since it changed into the BBQ place. Their $ 10 lunch special is decent, the food is good… it’s just nothing I can’t get at another spot on the corner. And the service has been slow everytime I’ve been in there. When it’s lunch time and there are only two tables of people, I expect a little quicker with taking orders and bringing meals and the check.

Came here after visiting the Discovery Channel Harry Potter and Spy exhibits. We all thought their BBQ was VERY good. The food had that perfect charred/​BBQ taste. We took a risk and tried their Texas lollipops appetizer without really knowing what they were and they were delicious! The BBQ chicken wings were also outstanding. The baby back ribs were a little too tough and possibly overcooked. I got the barbecuban for my meal and it was great. I was with 5 people and everyone loved their meals (forgot what everyone got).
Our waitress was nice and accommodating. She screwed up a drink order and forgot some stuff but it wasn’t really a big deal because she was super nice and apologetic about it. It’s a big sports bar atmosphere with TV’s everywhere. There’s a game room upstairs but there was a private party in there so we couldn’t go in. Looks like they have a pool table, dart board, shuffle board table etc. We asked them to put a hockey game on for us and they did immediately on the TV right next to our table. Would definitely recommend this place for sports and BBQ fans.

You know, this is a cute little BBQ bar. Nothing all that exciting but the staff is friendly and the happy hour is cheap. ($ 5 margs, $ 3.50 bud light draft, $ 3 cans of bud).
It’s not very rowdy which can be good or bad depending on what you’re looking for. Rudy’s just a block away has a much rowdier scene, but if you just want to chat with a group of friends over some beer, this is definitely a better option for the neighborhood.

Came here for lunch and you really can’t beat a yummy $ 10 (with tax) lunch with a burger, fries, and a cold bud light during the hot summer. I would def. recommend this place to someone in a hurry or on a casual date. Sports games are on as well. Outside seating is also a plus.