The Hog Pit Smokehouse Bar & Grill

I pretty sad that the Hog Pit closed:-(It was a great place to be. I’ll miss everyone there. I made some great friends!

***CLOSED*** (6−11−15)
Sadly I went there today and found a note indicating that they owed in excess of $ 19,000.00 in past rent.
They had great food, service & cold drinks.
Hopefully they will open at another location.

they are CLOSED. Too bad.

My girlfriend and I just went to Hog Pit with high expectations but those were dashed. We had two waiters; the first one was very nice and seemed very accommodating but the second one we got was the exact opposite. She did not introduce herself or smile and seemed very annoyed that my girlfriend order a pulled pork sandwich but wanted the bread substituted for a lettuce wrap. I know you go to a BBQ place for the bread and meat but she is having healthy problems and can’t have bread at this time. Our waitress was very smug and not customer friendly at all. I asked her how the potato salad was and she said «ok» but didn’t really seem to be listening. When I changed my mind and I told heI didn’t want anything she still wanted to add it to my girlfriend’s order and expressed attitude when we clarified our order. We only saw her two times after this when she brought our waters and my girlfriend’s food. We did not see her after this nor did she come back with the check or ask us how things where or if we wanted more water. We finished and waited 15 minutes but she never came back with the check, we left enough money on the table to pay the bill that sadly included a minuscule tip. Overall, she made us feel rushed and that we were not worth her time.
Not worth the time or money due to the unfriendly service and mediocre food. I personally felt the food was mediocre due to the service!

Visiting Tucson for the umpteenth time and just now heard of this place, and it was AWESOME! We arrived at 7:30 on a Friday night, and the food was spectacular, serving size was adequate, servers were quick and funny and brought us some extra ‘off menu’ items, not to mention the beer selection! We ate inside to enjoy some conversation while the live band and karaōke went on outside. Looked like a good crowd though!
All in all with a platter and two large beers I got out for under $ 30, which is far less than other places for similar meals! Definitely suggest it!

The food isn’t very good. The bbq sauce tastes like apple sauce. The waitress was very rude and treated us like an inconvenience. But the live patio music was really nice. It might be okay to have drinks on the patio but don’t plan to actually enjoy a pleasant dinner.

This is JUST about the Service. We came to see Mr Boogie Woogie. We’re back on the patio and there are 2 waitresses granted, however the one on our side walked by us probably 15 times. The Waitress never asked if we needed anything.
So as I said, the review for now is just about the Service, never got to eat.
Reading the other reviews makes me sad. We ate here years ago and it was fantastic. Next time we will hopefully get to eat. Yes we are Groupon people so we have to come back and use it. Haha
More to come.

Ok, so like my BF, this is strictly based on the service. I’ll write another review when/​if we return for food.
We came here tonight because Mr Boogie Woogie was playing & I wanted to listen to him.
We got here at 6:00ish, went straight out to the patio where he was playing & it is now 7:15 and not ONCE did a server ask us if we wanted anything! I would have ordered a glass of wine but they never even asked! I’m sorry, but I don’t feel like it should be MY responsibility to flag a server down, especially when they walk right in front of me SEVERAL times!!! Even STOP at the table right in front of me!
So, needless to say, IF we come back it will more than likely be the last time I return.
I’d suggest going to Brushfire BBQ instead!

WORST FOOD anywhere. I stopped in originally because of A restaurant gift certificate. Pulled pork was DRY and cold. BBQ sauce too sweet. YUK. Management was RUDE. My friends ribs, «Where’s the meat.» All BONES.
SERVICE SUCKS. ROACHES IN BATHROOM SIZE OF HALF DOLLARS. Waitress/​Bartender said, «SORRY YOU DON’T LIKE YOUR FOOD, order something else next time.» I said there won’t be a next time. She got mad and said, then LEAVE if you DON’T like IT. I’ll never come back again. They DON’T KNOW HOW to RUN A RESTAURANT. I’d give it MINUS 5 if I could.

Save your time… money…and appetite.
We were in town for work and decided to give this place a shot. Upon arriving it took a server 10 minutes to bring waters, and then another 5 to return for our order.
The only reason this review is getting two stars is because of the wings. They were smoked and had a decent flavor to them.
As for the rest… well it wasn’t good. The ribs had to be cut apart with a knife, the beans were average, the cornbread — dry, the corn — just awful.
Before I left I stopped by the bathroom and couldn’t get out of there quicker. Disgusting.

The only way this place seems to get business is either by the Groupons it sells every other month or the 55+ year old crowd looking for live music without having to go downtown.
Our party of four adults ordered the Combo that includes a full rack of ribs plus choice of 3 meats, corn, cornbread, and 4 sides. The 4 sides are served in small individual bowls like you get at a cafeteria… this was never explained to us by our waitress.
When the food was brought out the waitress slanted the plate and spilled grease onto the hair, back, and chair of one of our female guests. The waitress was apologetic and brought napkins to wipe what she could but otherwise that was it. Our poor friend sat there with bbq grease in her hair throughout the rest of the meal. The friend knew it was an accident and didn’t want to create a further scene so she did not throw a fit. We had each ordered a beer with our meal. Do you think at the very least they offered the grease-​dumped-​hair friend her beer for free? NOPE! Not a beer, extra side, dessert. NOTHING. There was no care for customer service to try to make up for what had happened.
When our food was brought out they had only brought out three sides and we had to ask for the fourth. On the drive home we realized they also never brought any corn. So incredibly disappointing. Don’t visit unless you are desperate!
The band is VERY noisy. If you want to have any sort of conversation with those you are seated with, request to sit in the side dining room. Sit near the bar and you’ll get hearing damage. The brisket was fatty throughout, the sides were super small, and the plastic picnic chairs we were sitting on felt like they were going to snap at any minute. We love to support Local but we’ll avoid this place. Brushfire BBQ may be worth the few extra miles drive down Kolb Road

Gave this place one too many tries…
It used to be good, I don’t know if the change in management brought with it cheaper use of ingredients or what? Regardless, bad food and bad service. Our waitress tonight was clearly overwhelmed and I get that but this is the 2^nd time I’ve received bad service in this establishment. The food sucked, too. Pork had bad pieces of meat that were the consistency of rubber and the sauces didn’t help. AND I GOT SICK ON TOP OF EVERYTHING. Avoid this nightmare of a restaurant.

Gross. Gross. Gross. The staff was friendly and helpful. The restaurant itself occupies a great space and has potential to be a cool spot. However, the food is awful. I ordered an inedible full rack of ribs which ended up being a mess of tendon and fat.
It’s a bummer when you waste a night out on a bad experience.

Was visiting a friend in Tucson and we decided to come to this place to eat on Saturday night…
Lord have mercy! Some of the best barbeque I have ever eaten, and that’s coming from a Texas resident/​native. Ribs are amazingly tender and juicy. Fall off the bone good! Brisket was tender and marbled perfectly. The pulled pork was almost melt in your mouth good!
The sauce actually had a taste of cinnamon. Never have seen this before but it’s very good. These guys serve up some very good food. Service is TOP NOTCH and I will be making more trips to the Hog Pit in the future!

First, let me start my review by saying I used a Groupon and that Groupon saved me 42% off my meal.
Second, let me explain that I use Groupon for new places that I’ve never been because you’re not out of too much money if the experience is horrible.
Now for my review: my husband and I ate out on New Years night at the Hog Pit Smokehouse. Our first impression upon walking in was great. It felt warm and comfortable, plus it smelled amazing. There was good notes written in chalk along the celing beams and on the walls from firestations, my old high school Santa Rita etc… it seemed like we were in for a treat! We didn’t wait long to be seated, unfortunately… we were sat right under a TV and that was distracting, but it wasn’t bad.
Our waitress seemed eager to serve us and that was awesome. We asked a few questions regarding the menu and got some yellow flags at that point. Just about half of the dishes we inquired about did not come with everything that was stated on the menu… like the corn for example. The waitress said that it wasn’t because they were out, it was because they didn’t serve it with the dish anymore. We found something that would work for us and I belive it was a fest for two. More yellow flags popped up. The waitress said we could order a salad for a side (keep in mind this is suppose to be for two people), so we did and we ordered the onion rings or «pigtails». The meal also came with ribs, chicken and pulled pork. It too was suppose to come with a side of corn, but that wasn’t the case anymore.
The salad was the fist to arrive from our meal. And when I say salad… I mean one small plate with some lettuce and dried bread on it. The first question was how is this suppose to be for two people and is just getting lettuce with dried bread considered a salad here? The waitress brought us some shredded carrots and a few tomatoes to dress our salad, but we sadly had to order another salad since it clearly would not suit two people.
Next came the main meal. The waitress just dropped it off and walked away… there was no offer of condiments, extra drinks or anything else. It would be 10 minutes later before we’d have ketchup for our onion rings (which tasted more like French’s fried onions). The pulled pork was good but it was not amazing. The ribs had a good rub in them but they lacked the proper brining to get a good carmelizing on them. In fact they tasted like an amateur try at smoking meat. However, they were not bad just not amazing. The chicken was the killer of the meal. It was dry, crumbly and bland in flavor. It was not suitable for being served to anyone. Needless to say we did not stay for dessert.
We were glad after the meal that we used the Groupon, we would have been very upset if we had paid anymore. The prices on the menu were pretty high… $ 9.99, $ 16.50, $ 17.50, so with our experience, the food was NOT worth the price.
Now, there us my review. There is just one last thing; I was asked by Groupon to share my experience with the Hog Pit Smokehouse, I summed up this review to say simply it was not worth the price. I received an email response back from the restaurant whom made sure to point out my savings via the Groupon on their food as well as a «do not come back».
Folks, that was an opportunity to inquire about what they could have done better and think of this… what diffrence did it make that I used a Groupon? Would the food have been better if I’d used my Master Card or Visa? If do, why bother doing a deal with Groupon? I still had to pay money for that Groupon. Bottom line, the food wasn’t that great and I provided an honest review

The food is delicious, the staff is friendly and welcoming and the FRIDAY Karaōke is a pleasant, fun surprise! I recommend EVERYTHING on the menu… but, the BEST and sweetest part of my visit (besides karaōke) was the LIVE nightly entertainment!
FRIDAYS are FUN! AND, and… there’s karaōke! I have only one thing to say about that: BRILLIANT! Karaōke on FRIDAY, and LIVE bands EVERY night of the week!
Another BONUS is the full bar! They serve BEER, WINE AND LIQUOR!

Okay, so there are no BBQ joints in Tucson that get over 3.5 stars. Unfortunately my bf informed me of this AFTER we ate at The Hog Pit.
So, let me begin by saying me LOVE BBQ. Truly. But my brisket was dry and the corn was overboiled and waterlogged. The corn bread was actually Texas toast (per my bf who was born in TX) which was thick sliced Wonder bread with margarine. Inedible. My bf’s pulled pork was beautiful, moist and melt-​in-​your-​mouth, the rest was quite unimpressive though the bf’s large beer was very cheaply priced. The waitress was sweet and nice, but slow to greet us and take our order.
I guess if you want good BBQ, you’ve got to go to Bobby Q in Phoenix because that is TO DIE FOR! We won’t return to the Hog.

This place! The food is lovely, best wings in Tucson, best smoked meats in Tucson, just freakin’ delish. The sauce is different and perfect, thick, sweet and well spiced. It smells wonderfully smoky without actual smoke wafting about.
I would give it 15 stars except for two things, you can’t give 15 and the SERVICE IS ABSOLUTELY HORRID. They need two more bartenders. One should not have to wait more than an hour for one’s check, especially when they are sitting at the bar. There were 6 requests for the ticket. During this time I was not asked if I’d like something to drink, needed anything else, nada. My friends waited 1.5 hours for a grilled cheese sandwich because the bartender in training really needs to play barback on busy nights. Or they need a food runner and leave bartending to the bartender.
The food could keep these folks in business for decades, the service will kill them. I really hope they read these reviews and correct this.

The only reason this gets 2 stars is because our server really put in a good effort to make our meal better but the kitchen couldn’t produce.
I used to love this place I heard there is a new owner and I guess I haven’t been here since the change. There once delicious smoked sausage has changed to something plain and boring. The first round of brisket they brought out was bottom of the bucket slop. Nothing but large fat chunks and burnt crumbles. Our server replaced it with some better brisket but it was still not up to participate with previous visits to the hog pit. The mac and cheese was pretty much flavorless kraft is better. Hog Beans Where Pretty good. Still about the same as I remember. The pulled pork was mediocre at best. The ribs where undercooked although the rub had pretty good flavor. I still love t heir BBQ sauces.
Overall it was a disappointment and not worth the money spent at all. I’m hoping I can change this review later because this used to be my favorite BBQ in town.

Disappointing. I purchased a deal online to visit the Hog Pit. I should have known right then that they were aching for customers, because the only time I ever find deals for restaurants is if they’re trying to drag customers through the door.
So my hubby and I ordered the smoker combo platter for 2, which says it consists of: Half slab ribs and choice of (3) meats. (Quarter chicken, pulled pork, brisket or 2 smoked sausage.) **Served with cornbread hushpuppies, 2 servings of corn and choice of (2) sides.
We opted for the ribs with pulled pork, brisket and the 2 smoked sausages, plus the 2 servings of corn, mac and cheese, and onion rings. This is our review:
Ribs: They were just ok. Not very «fall-​off-​the-​bone tender.»
Pulled Pork: It was tasty, but a tiny portion, especially for two people.
Brisket: It was very fatty. That was ok with us because the fat is flavorful, however, people who are grossed out by fat will be disappointed. Also a tiny serving for two people.
Smoked Sausages: Um, no. First of all, it wasn’t two smoked sausages – it was one smoked sausage halved lengthwise! (Really annoying when a restaurant is so cheap and they blatantly rip you off.) Also, kinda bland.
Corn: It was ok. It was on the cob and we only got one cob total, cut in half. Again, cheap owners!
Mac and Cheese: Eew. Just eew. Tasted really overdone and mushy like Stouffer’s, and it was a TINY portion. Think of a little bowl that comes with coleslaw in it… but this was supposed to be for two people.
Onion Rings: Totally mislabeled. They were haystack onions, and again, a tiny portion.
Hushpuppies: Again, no. These were NOT hushpuppies… those little deep-​fried balls of deliciousness. This was a nasty, dry cornbread muffin. But hey, at least we each got one to ourselves.
The waitstaff was completely confused as to who was going to wait on us, and it took about 5 minutes to actually be sat at a table, despite the place being fairly empty. The waitress was also fairly spaced out and confused during out entire visit.
The atmosphere was fine with me. It kind of reminded me of a biker clubhouse. And they had good margaritas. The outside patio looked cool, too, although we sat inside. If you are looking for an upscale place, this isn’t for you. But if you are fairly ok with hanging out in a garage-​like atmosphere, it’s cool.
Can’t recommend the food though. It’s not all bad, but the owners really need to stop ripping people off with tiny portions when you order the combo for two! Better bet would be to just order the combo for one. At least that way they can’t cheap out and give you tinier sides. I’m sure the bowls don’t get any smaller than what we received.

I came on a Sunday around 1pm. The brisket was very good. Moist, tender. No need for sauce, but the spicy sauce is smokey and nice. The fries and corn that came with the combo were good too. Sat at the bar and the bartender was very kind. She said the rib eye is good, I’ll have to come back and try it.