Smoq Pitt

The portions are very generous, the service was very friendly and fast, and the food was amazing! It was definitely the best pulled pork I’ve had in a while! I can’t wait to go back for more!

Just… Okay. They deliver and that’s the saving grace for me. The chicken was dry, the macnchz abysmal, bland with a weird spice to it. Did not care for either the tangy or sweet sauces.

I have looked long and hard for the best BBQ in Pittsburgh. My fiancé and I decided right after our engagement that we wanted southern cuisine at our reception, and we set out to find the best BBQ caterer in Pittsburgh.
We were beginning to lose hope, UNTIL we we tried the Smoq Pitt. We stopped by one Sunday afternoon and ordered multiple items for takeout. We let the owner, Mitch, know that we were interested in catering options, and he gave us great insight into options for our wedding. He was willing to go off-​menu for us, which shows what an awesome chef he is!
We then tried the food, and were blown away. First of all, the portions are generous! We ate our order for three days! Second, the food itself is delicious. The ribs are smoky and fall off the bone. The dry rub on the pulled pork is so good that it doesn’t need sauce, but definitely ask for some of the Chicago Fire spicy sauce! My fiancé loved the tender brisket and creamy Mac and cheese.
We have since taken both families to experience the amazing BBQ, and they can’t stop talking about it, either! We are so excited for our wedding, and can’t wait for the food! Go to the Smoq Pitf ASAP and try the best BBQ in the Burgh.

OMG the ribs tasted like hotdogs. Chicken was dry… Brisket was soggy… Do not recommend

Stopped in here recently while visiting from out of town. (I’m from North Carolina, so I’m sure some of my barbecue preferences are shifted, so take that into consideration if you’d like.)
The atmosphere was nice and the staff were friendly and on top of things. The only complaint was the food. Here are my thoughts on what I ate:
Brisket: This was pretty good. If this was my only meat, my review would probably be 3 or 4 stars. It wasn’t the best brisket I’ve ever had… but it was good. Smoky, moist, tender. I enjoyed it.
Pulled pork: Honestly, terrible. It was extremely dry, and I didn’t care for the seasoning at all. I wasn’t expecting true Eastern NC ‘cue, but I’ve had pulled pork plenty of other places, and I’ve never had it be dry before. Not sure what the deal was.
Mac and Cheese: Again, pretty good. Nothing to write home about (just your basic cheese with a little bit of crispy crumb topping), but I enjoyed it.
Baked Beans: Again, terrible. Very soupy — almost like bean soup rather than baked beans. And very, very tomato-​y. Tasted almost like beans in a bowlful of soupy ketchup. Usually, barbecue joints have excellent baked beans that are smoky like their meats…

I stopped by here earlier today for lunch with my father. We had been in the previous BBQ shop to grace this spot and enjoyed it so whenever I saw that a new one had opened up, we headed over to Brookline to give it a try. The inside of the restaurant wasn’t that much different than in its previous incarnation. As soon as you walk in there is seating for about 20 or so people on the right with picnic plaid covering the tables and then there is a counter right in front of you. Other than that this place has a cool feel to it as the walls have a distressed look and there are a number of older signs on the wall including a Coca-​Cola sign that looks like it was used for target practice at one point in time.
For lunch I decided to order the special of the day which was the Sam and Ema brisket, pulled pork and coleslaw sandwich and for my side I decided on the mac and cheese. My father ended up going with the pulled pork sandwich and at the last minute changed his side to the fries. After only about a 10 minute wait, during which my father and I enjoyed watching the Price Is Right on the only TV in the restaurant, our food was brought out to us. My meal came out first and the first thing that I noticed was how huge it was. The sandwich was simply massive and I knew right away that it wasn’t going to be easy to keep it on the bun. That proved to be the only downfall of the sandwich as well because both the brisket and pulled pork were tender, moist and had a great smoky flavor to them. The cole slaw was a nice addition as well as it gave the sandwich some extra moisture but that also caused the sandwich to collapse about half way through eating it and I ended up finishing it with my fork. The sam. Since the bun was fairly mushy and was not toasted at

I have eaten here about 10 times and it is always a wonderful experience. I have eaten there and had take out, and never been disappointed. A few recommendations… pulled pork — always juicy and fresh. I don’t even put sauce on it unless it’s a sandwich because there is so much flavor. The St. Louis ribs… I like them with the sweet sauce. The brisket is very good as well which leads me to my next suggestion — get the meat combos and try more than one! The mac and cheese is good, as long as it is fresh, which 9 out of 10 times it has been. Another thing to try is s’mores pie… extremely sweet but tasty. A side note… one day I got take out and left my drink on the counter. The owner van across Brookline Boulevard to bring it to me. In my opinion, the longer this place has been open, the better it gets.

A friend told us about this place the other day so we decided to try it– we got the 4 meat combo (which is an awesome deal because you get a TON of food). The ribs (St. Louis and baby back) were phenomenal — super tender and full of great smoky flavor. The pulled pork was also delicious!
I wasn’t a big fan of the sauces but other than that it was great!

Very good bbq. I got the brisket sandwich, and put tons of the tangy sauce on. My son’s got pulled pork sandwiches, and they loved them. Next time I’m in Pittsburgh, I will go back.

I can’t understand how other people could like this place. I ordered ½ of a slab of St. Louis ribs and a side of baked beans. The ribs were so smoky that they were bitter and extremely tough. The baked beans were mediocre at best. Ribs require patience to cook properly and smoke should be used as a seasoning like salt. Whomever prepared this food is quite heavy handed with the hickory. The girl at the counter was nice and very friendly so I gave them 2 stars instead of 1

This place is very good; we ate here last week and got delivery. Ordering over the phone wasn’t the best because the girl had a little attitude for us ordering a lot but the food was worth it!
Their pulled pork is amazing! I would not recommend their «tangy sauce» but their sweet sauce was very good and unique! Their brisket was good minus the excess fat & the ribs are good. The mac & cheese didn’t seem fresh but the corn bread was good minus the corn in it.
Two down sides;
The online ordering on Grub Hub never seems available. Also, they don’t sell 2 liters of soda.
Over all, awesome little place.

Nice little restaurant with friendly staff.
The sign says, «Rub, Smoke, Love». Smoq uses four different woods to smoke the meat and you will know it is smoked by the smoke smell in the restaurant and that it clings to your cloths when you leave. The ribs were nice with a smoke flavor and juicy, so better than most over cooked ribs in the area. The meat was tender and tasty. Three sauces were on the table. A sweet that others liked but I thought to sweet and not a good compliment to the meat. The Tangy was pretty good with a hint of mustard but not overpowering like most South Carolina sauces, and the spicy which was OK. Tried the mac and cheese side and it was very good with a nice harder cheddar flavor. Will have to come back and try some of the other items.

The BBQ was excellent! I got the chicken sandwich and my boyfriend got the brisket and pulled pork sandwich. We both really enjoyed our food! The sandwich buns were nice and hearty, had great flavor and didn’t get mushy.
The sides were just as good as the main dishes. We had baked beans, coleslaw which was out of this world… made with vinegar not mayo, and baked beans.
The portions were huge, good bang for your buck. We had enough food for two more meals to take home.
Sauces were served on the side, not directly on the meat. They had spicy, sweet, and tangy. I wasn’t a big fan of the sweet. I liked the spicy, would like to have had my meat cooked in the sauce, maybe I’ll request it next time.
The staff was very friendly and they had a candy dish at the counter with starbursts… YUM! My only complaint was
that we sat down to eat and it was really hot inside not sure if there is no air conditioning in the building or not.
I’d definitely go back. Can’t wait to try the ribs!

This place has been open for about 3 months and is a welcome addition to the Pittsburgh barbecue scene. The atmosphere is Western with lots of wood and old rusty memorabilia decorating the walls, a perfect ambiance for barbecue. I stopped in here the other day and ordered a sampling of four meats and two sides. It was a hot day and we were offered complimentary bottled water, which as very nice of them.
Meats: As far as the barbecue goes, the pulled pork was phenomenal, though does come pre-​sauced. The chicken and ribs were also very good. The brisket was OK, but not as good as I was hoping for. I appreciated that they offered sliced brisket, whereas other joints in the area only offer chopped brisket. Still, I was hoping for a little more moisture and robust flavor in the brisket.
Sides: The mac and cheese was a little gritty with not all the cheese fully melted. I was not a fan at all of the baked beans as they were covered in thick sauce, cooked to be very mushy, and there was no variety at all in the beans, just small what appeared to be pinto beans (In stark contrast to Pittsburgh Barbecue Company which has amazing baked beans).
Sauces: There are three sauces on the table. None of them taste much likely any sort of typical barbecue sauce. Either they are missing the liquid smoke, or paprika, or ground pepepr, or something because most tasted like some sort of flavored salad dressing rather than barbecue sauce. I appreciated different styles of barbecue sauce from various regions, including vinegar based or mustard based sauces but the offerings here didn’t really match up with anything I’m accustomed to.
The portion sizes were huge and definitely good value for the prices charged, which I would say are average to a little less than average as far as barbecue goes. I’ll come back and give them another try sometime as they are relatively new and Mitch was a very nice guy. Hopefully the beans and sauces will improve.

The sweet smell of bbq lured me into this place. We were hitting the post office and then heading home to eat lunch. It was hook line and sinker. I’m really picky about my bbq because I don’t like fatty textures which are typically food in ribs and pulled pork. This place food was delicious and new had to bbq it up! Ordered the pulled pork with tangy sauce, mac&cheese, and yams.
My 1.5 daughter (who hardly ever eats meat) loves the tender juicy meat. Lunch was a huge success here! So happy we stopped! Lunch meal was only $ 12 and fees both my daughter and I, plus some left overs. Def going back!

Update… After my post, I was immediately contacted to ensure this doesn’t happen again. What a great customer service experience! I will give a second thought and definitely go back. Thank you for caring.
I’ve been looking to try this place out and ended up ordering takeout. I ordered pulled pork which we they were out of… Now, we only found this out when we went to pick up the food. …a barbecue place who runs out of pulled pork. Interesting. We ended up getting brisket but now we had to wait. We also ordered baby back ribs. They were the toughest ribs I ever ate. I actually struggled to pull them apart with both hands. The cook, unfriendly. $ 47.00 down the drain. We won’t be back. However, If this is the food everyday they won’t last long.

We had been waiting for awhile for this place to open. We are BBQ fans so we are always excited to try new BBQ places. We walked into the restaurant and it smelled like the real deal BBQ. The décor is contemporary BBQ with red walls and unique light fixtures. The tables had the red and white checkered tablecloths. Take Out is ordered on one side and Eat In is on the other. We greeted by a very nice lady who gave us menus.
We ordered a pulled pork platter with BBQ beans and coleslaw. We also ordered sliced brisket with coleslaw and Mac n Cheese. They have 3 sauces-​Sweet, Tangy, and Spicy. The sweet and the Tangy went great with the brisket. The Spicy went well with the pork. Both the brisket and the pork were smokey and juicy. They didn’t even need sauce.
The BBQ beans have a little bit of heat at the end and they are quite tasty. The coleslaw is a vinegar based coleslaw but it is very good. The Mac n cheese had REAL cheese which was delicious but the noodles were a bit soft.
We had the homemade lemonade and the homemade sweet tea. Sometimes sweet tea can be too sweet but their tea is just right.
We will be going back to try the chicken and ribs and some of the sides.

After trying to find the taste of Brookline which actually didn’t exist this year, we stumbled upon SMOQ. The inside is quite small with only a few tables and a counter. We reviewed the menu on the chalkboard and ordered at the counter. There was a small basket of dumb dumbs and starbursts for the taking in the counter. I was a little disappointed in their drink section. They had a very limited selection of bottled and canned beverages. I was told that they are BYOB. Hubs and I decided to go with the three meat platter in order to try a few options. We sat down and were served rather quickly.
Our meal came out on a tray which we put between us. We were offered one of their sauces on the side but opted to try all three. My favorite was definitely the spicy sauce but hubs preferred the sweet. I proceeded to dig into the pulled pork. I was immediately impressed. Tender, juicy with a great smoky flavor. The brisket was also very good though I thought it lacked the depth of flavor I loved about the pulled pork. The chicken was my least favorite of the three options as it was a little dry for my taste. As for the sides, the fries were great but the mac and cheese was a bit watery and lacked richness. Overall, SMOQ is off to a great start. We will be back soon!

No no no no no!!! I’m so disappointed. Here’s some bullet points:
— clearly stated on the menu under SIDES (and on the board in this joint) A TASTE OF RIBS. Fiancé ordered it– ribs aren’t a side. Okay, fine strike 1.
— ordered pulled pork, at a bbq joint. Out of pulled pork. Okay, thanks anyway. Strike 2
— we both got brisket plate with 2 sides. Food came out fast and it looked like we ordered appetizers. Well our bill was $ 30 so hopefully the taste matches the price.
— my fiancé loved the brisket. I ate some of mine and gave the rest to him. Wasn’t impressed.
–his baked beans looked more like bean soup.
–the macaroni and cheese had ZERO flavor. And I mean zero. I put bbq sauce on it for some sort of taste. Still couldn’t bear it. Strike 3.
— cornbread was good.
Not going back.

Today, my wife and I were excited to try a new restaurant that opened in Brookline called SMOQ PITT. (Spoiler alert: This place did not disappoint.) Just the aroma that hit your nose walking in the door tells you that this is a carnivore’s paradise. And we immediately wanted to see what this place had to offer since they only opened yesterday. You can eat in or take the food to go which we decided to enjoy our meal at home.
We ordered the pulled pork sandwich and the smoked chicken sandwich, both were delicious. The pork was juicy and flavorful while the chicken was out of this world tender. Unbelievable side dish choices as well, we both got the homemade onion rings which were of some of the best we have ever had. We tried all three of the sauces; sweet, spicy and tangy which all three were great but the spicy could have had more heat only downside. Also interesting side note, the to-​go containers were made of cardboard instead of styrofoam; glad to see something easier on the environment.
The restaurant itself is not large; a few tables with seating for about 12 and another area to stand and eat. Their concept is all about farm to table ingredients and slow smoking the bbq staples (ribs, brisket, pulled pork, chicken) with various wood chips. The restaurant was just renovated and it has a great ambiance of reclaimed materials with modern touches. Let me tell you this place needs to make your short list for great bbq food ASAP.