Located on N Broadway, Smoki O’s is one of the most famous BBQ joint and has been acclaimed by many for its ribs, briskets and rib tips. The lady behind the counter/the owner(Earline A Walker) is one of the best person we have met, she greets you warmly, help you through menu. She took a great interest in knowing from where we are and our feedback for the food !!! Though everything on menu looked like worth trying after reading so much good about this place, but we had to bound our self to Ribs and pulled pork sandwich which comes with sides, we opted for BBQ Spaghetti & Mac and 3 cheese. Ribs were perfectly crisp and sweet BBQ sauce gelled well with it. On On the other hand pulled pork sandwich was flavorful with soft bun. The portions are good and even sides are great to choose from. If you are in city, this is a must try few blocks down from The Arch, worth for the price you pay with a great hospitality.
Kim L.
Place rating: 4 Katy, TX
Awesome rib tips!!! Drenched in sauce, just like I like it. They were out of potato salad unfortunately. I ordered the beans(a little too sweet) and the mac & cheese(decent, cheesy, but bland). My boyfriend order the Mac & cheese(he agreed with me about the taste) and the BBQ spaghetti(he enjoyed it). Nice portion size. Good service. The area is only sketchy if you’re not used to STL city. Definitely wouldn’t walk there though lol I’d return. I want to try their turkey ribs.
Adam S.
Place rating: 5 Hot Springs National Park, AR
Slap your mamma good, had snoot and tip combo! It is off the beaten path but as all good foodies are, you have to be on a quest for the best! If you are in need of something not so exotic the brisket sandwich was off the chain!
Shane L.
Place rating: 5 Montgomery, OH
Wow, I frequent St Louis for business and have tried all of the«best bbq» in St Louis joints. None of the popular ones even come close to this. So first off, I don’t think St Louis when I think best BBQ in USA, I would have at least 10 cities in front of it, and those cities are my basis. Pappy’s is barely decent, Bogart’s is good, but not much different than any other good joint, Sugarfire is not good(but best burger in town, get the burger!), and then there’s Smoki O’s. Wow! What a treat if you like real BBQ made the way you would make it. A lot of love and knowledge goes into their product and the owners are there and love to talk. One of the best restaurant experiences I have ever had. I will not go through St Louis without visiting again. Try the snoot, they will give you a small sample. Very good, if you like pork skins you’re in for a treat. If Otis is there, ask him about BBQ, what makes theirs better. Seriously, great food and experience. Not much seating inside, take that into consideration. Flo’s Mac and Cheese is delicious. Best BBQ in St Louis, and in many other cities. A top 3 for me.
Steve S.
Place rating: 5 Chesterfield, Saint Louis, MO
Exactly what I look for in a BBQ place, it’s all about the food. Reminds me of some of the best places in Memphis. I had the ribs and a couple sides this first time but will be back to sample more of the menu.
Mike L.
Place rating: 5 Cordova, TN
In St. Louis for a conference we asked our hotel bartender Calvin about some good local places to eat and right away he mentioned Smoki O’s. Of course I thought it was spelled«Smokey» but Google maps figured out what I meant :-). Its on Broadway, not far from downtown where the hotel is. We ordered the sampler platter complete with«snoot». Well I had never heard of Snoot. So Miss Earline was kind enough to explain what it is and offered us a taste. It is like«cracklins» with bbq sauce. I guess its a St. Louis Thing. She and her husband have operated Smoki O’s right there for almost 20 years, Just the nicest, sweetest lady. And keep her husband in prayer he is having some health challenges with his heart. Anyway the sampler had Snoot, Beef brisket, fried and smoked wings, rib tips, and our sides were macaroni and cheese and potato salad. First off if you’ve ever tried to smoke beef brisket you know how hard it is to make it tender. Theirs was super moist and tender and fully seasoned. Delicious!!. That was my favorite. The macaroni and cheese is made from scratch using a «non-elbow» noodle and 4 types of cheese. Oooey gooey delicious! The baked beans were sweet and good My wife called them sugar beans, Lol, The dark brown sugar flavor was there for sure. They have been on diners and dives as well as Bizarre foods with Andrew Zimmer for the Snoot. They have pictures of both food network stars as well as Don King and other celebrities who stop by. Well worth the visit.
Barbara T.
Place rating: 5 Leverett, MA
Great ribs and awesome sides — greens, Mac & cheese and slaw. Friendly people and good prices.
David S.
Place rating: 4 Ballwin, MO
Stopped in here after a Lambs game, we actually made an illegal u-turn when we drove by, because this place looks like a bbq joint. Most definitely worth it. I tried the hungry heifer dinner for two complete with rib tips, snoot, brisket, wings, with bbq beans, and greens as my sides. My ONLY complaint about anything was they didn’t have peppered vinegar for my greens. That is the only complaint I had. Brisket is usually one of two ways at a ‘bbq’ place — thin and tough or shredded and swimming. Not here. Perfect slices of fall apart goodness. A nice smoke ring around each slice. The wings had a crisp skin and were still juicy.(I know some people don’t like the word moist so i won’t use moist to describe the wing meat.) The rib tips were meaty without too much gristle. I know rib tips are a crap shoot when it comes to gristle and I won on this day. My first time with snoot and it was chewy, crispy, and meaty all at the same time. I loved it. The rest of the group went with pulled pork, ribs, and pulled chicken. I didn’t try their sides so I can’t personally comment on their quality, so I won’t. However, the sampling of the other meats were just as good as my hungry heifer dinner for two’s. The pulled pork was smoky and well seasoned, same for the chicken. The ribs had a slight pull and came off the bone clean… in my opinion that is the perfect rib. Not those mushy ‘fall off the bone’ ribs that fall apart when you pick them up. If you find yourself heading North from downtown on Broadway and that rumbling sensation in your belly is getting the better of you find this place and enjoy some excellent bbq. If you’re not hungry get some and take it home for later. It was just as good for breakfast as it was the night before. (I went here in 2014 and still remember it like yesterday. It is that good.)
Chris e.
Place rating: 5 Chatsworth, CA
This place is out of this world!!! They are masters at there craft, the meat falls of the bone very tender and with great flavor.
Steve T.
Place rating: 3 Fife Lake, MI
The staff were great. The food was just ok. Had some errors in the order(we took it to go).
Staci S.
Place rating: 5 Seattle, WA
It’s definitely not in a super fancy neighborhood, but it’s completely worth it. The food is unreal, the people who work there are great, and the restaurant’s story is heartwarming. Much better than the other more famous places like Pappys, where you might end up waiting an hour. The baked beans are really good, and they’re a specialty of the original owner.
Lloyd C.
Place rating: 3 Saint Louis, MO
I only came to try the snoots… they were not to bad at all. I believe next time I will ask them to put less sauce on them. The price was moderate for what was a large order by their standards. Even though I felt I should have received more for $ 12.00. The snoots were cooked very well, they stayed crunchy in the sauce and we’re very fresh flavored snoots. However, the potato salad was just to seeet… they had way to much sugar in there as I could not taste anything else. This made them the worst part of the plate. I will not be ordering those ever again. Parking was ample taste and texture of snoots great… but that’s it. A nice little place it is a bar b q shack… and I appreciate that.
Taniesha W.
Place rating: 4 West Palm Beach, FL
If you want to break away from the typical restaurant food and experience some serious BBQ… Jet on over to Smoki O’s. Had some great eats while in town. Tried and LOVED the snoot.
ChiTown F.
Place rating: 5 Holland, OH
I’ve been looking for authentic St. Louis bbq and finally found it. If you are looking for the perfect bite, chew, tenderness and FLAVA… this is your spot. The staff is beyond friendly, service is great and the sides are stupidly awesome!
I R.
Place rating: 2 Saint Louis, MO
I’m not really sure what the St. Louis style BBQ is other than the style of ribs, but the sauce on everything here is sweet. Too sweet. The potato salad was even sweet. I gave them 2 stars because they were so friendly. Give it a try if you want because they were on the tv show bizarre foods, but you’ve been warned.
Phong D.
Place rating: 3 Redlands, CA
I came here specifically for the snoot and it was fun. It reminded me of a pork rind on steroids: crispy, dry, but with a slightly pungent undertone. The staff was friendly. The surrounding neighborhood, however, seemed not so friendly.
Chris C.
Place rating: 3 San Ramon, CA
Super friendly people, but so-so bbq. What I don’t understand is that the ribs are the most popular item yet they are grilled? Maybe I misunderstood. I liked the snoot sample, it reminded me of chicharon, but I liked it without the sauce, maybe a nice vinegar would have been good.
Christine P.
Place rating: 5 Urbana, IL
We saw a review recently on a cooking show and had to stop by and check out the place while in St. Louis this weekend. The service was excellent, food was fabulous. I had the pulled pork sand which. Very yummy! You must try the snoots. Yummy. We will visit again. What’s not to love about a small family owned restaurant.
Danny T.
Place rating: 4 Saint Louis, MO
Stopped here on the way home from work and picked up the sampler for me and her. Also got samples of the Beans Alexander, Potato Salad, and the Mac-N-Cheese. The sampler platter comes with crispy snoots, rib tips, brisket, and wings, covered in Smoki O’s sauce. If you’re a fan of bbq slathered in sauce, then this is yow place. I personally don’t mind sauce, but I also would like to taste the meat, and too much sauce blurs that. The wings were delicious, and she loved the brisket. The rib tips were swimming in sauce, so I really couldn’t get the taste of the meat. The crispy snoots, however, were our favorite. Crispy snoots are a mainstay at St. Louis bbq spots. If you’re unfamiliar with«crispy snoots,» I’d suggest you hop on the web and search for them. Some places do them better than others. Smoki O’s has mastered crispy snoots. Their snoots definitely have that pork rind flavor, but the texture is great — crispy on the outside, and somewhat chewy inside. With the sauce, it’s delicious! We’ll be back again — thanks Smoki O’s!
Chris Z.
Place rating: 2 Kirkwood, MO
You most likely decided to try this place for one of these reasons… — You feel empowered by telling your friends you eat at a North STL city dive. — You are a BBQ junkie and have to try every freaking BBQ joint in STL. — You are like me and are addicted on trying every place in STL… no matter the location or cuisine. Their BBQ is decent. It’s served wet… like slathered in sauce. And not really a great BBQ sauce. After your meal you’ll want to take a shower and a nap. We tried the ribs, snoots, wings, tips & brisket. Don’t judge. that’s just how we roll. Our two styrofoam boxes of protein plus 2 sides and two drinks costs us $ 50. But we have plenty of leftovers. Inside the place is dreary. There are lifeless people sitting in the few cafeteria-like chairs waiting for their food. Nobody speaks. No music. Time stands still until your food arrives. There is a counter to eat inside, but it really isn’t all that comfortable. Again… decent grub, but if you want better BBQ, I’d suggest Shaved Duck, Pappy’s, or Bogarts.