Smokey Canyon BBQ in Riverside

Great food, fast service and nice atmosphere. Come here for great food from a small business. Help keep this one going, I like to keep eating here. Yes they are a little higher in price than your IHOP or Dennys but that is not why you go here.

I just heard Saturday will be smokey Canyons last day. They will be missed so much!! They have sold their restaurant. The owners and workers there were always friendly and took very good care of their customers. Good luck and god bless you all. You will be missed!! ❤️

Was not real happy with the eggs Benedict. The fried potatoes were out of this world. They were the highlight of the meal.

Love love love this place! Smoked turkey spinach salad and the black berry cobbler, perfect!

Went in last night for the first time . I orderd the tri tip plate side of beans and cheese mashed potatoes. The meat was OK but the beans looked like the were saved all day, they dried out . Same with the potatoes and kinda cold too my kids got the chicken strips they loved it (of course cant really mess that up nuke and serve . The flavor of bbq was only there with the sauce. Paid $80 bucks for what ? Dickys is better you guys need a visit from Ramsey.

Terrible service. Ordered burgers and an appetizer platter. Took over 30 to 40 min to bring order out and when they do they bring out burgers out first. I let the server know we still havent received our appetizer and her response is "Were short Staffed". I ask to cancel the appetizer due to them bringing our burgers out and the appetizer still not being done yet. At this point we still havent even gotten ranch or napkins to eat the burger. To make matters even worst she gives the people sitting behind us our appetizer platter for free. How disrespectful and rude. Staff is unprofessional and I will never come back again.

The Smoked Turkey Sandwich w/BBQ sauce is truly delicious! I treasure the Bread Pudding that has NO RAISINS substituted w/ Chocolate Chips! INCREDIBLE! Tell them I sent you!!!!!

Its not all that bad but it was so dry and the mac was bland and the colslaw was flavorless i had to add Mediterranean yogurt stuff to make it better tri tip was ight. Way to expensive but but the cinomon sugar butter on the corn bread omg yes more oooowwwoooooo

The ribs were all burned...lolYou order and tib them before sitting...worse customer service.Me and my family are never going back there

1st time here. I experienced good customer service and the food was great. I had brisket, fried green tomatoes, and salad oh and a brownie.My fried got the brisket Panini with green chilies that was good as well. I will go back. It is a bit pricey butI appreciate good customer service. That is a big factor on where go.Good food/good customer service worth it $$$Make sure to leave a tip. They deserve it.

Picked up a Grubhub order here, I was greeted by a worker who just started laughing at me as soon as I approached her. “We’ve been waiting for you”, and the rest of her coworkers laughed too. I guess the food was a little late, because what she probably doesn’t understand is that Grubhub drivers are independent contractors and if the customer doesn’t tip, know one will pick up the food. I guess I just find it very unprofessional and rude that the staff acts this way.

We visited Smokey Canyon BBQ with my co-workers for lunch. Atmosphere was amazing. Interior setup is very nice. Staff was quite friendly. However, there are couple things Id like to point out: 1. Their prices are on higher side. Lunch menu was almost $18 per person. For their serving sizes I thought it was too expensive. In my opinion $12-$14 wouldve been more appropriate for that portion. 2. Their BBQ brisket had no taste. It was bland and didnt seem like it had any seasoning added. I travel a lot and always attempt to try different foods, this one was one of the weird experiences. I really wanted to like it and give them a "5" star review. Nonetheless, their prices and food taste just were not up for it.

Really sad to say I won’t be eating here anymore, good food, service is okay due to the employee shortage but what is driving me away is that they are bringing politics into the business. I understand everyone is entitled to their opinion and can do what they like with their business but it could drive more customers away then bring, which is what they shouldn’t be doing right now. My advice leave politics and any other controversy out of your business to avoid losing customers.

It was easy ordering and receiving food. It was my birthday and both waitress were polite and professional. They had the tables all set up and ready and offered to help decorating. I highly recommend this restaurant the food was delicious and the homemade cookies were yummy.

Pretty good BBQ, will definitely come again. Kid friendly is a big plus. Friendly service.

This place has some pretty serious BBQ. Its a hidden gem among the entire area. I had the half ribs and it was amazing. Great drink selection as well. I have gone back many times, it only takes one try to become a lifelong patron.

Was there with a group of ladies on August 3. We had to wait so long for our food that when most of us were done the rest of our crew hadn’t even eaten yet. I had the barbecue chicken salad. It was way over priced at $14. I could’ve gone to red Robin and had a huge salad probably two or three times the size salad I got thereFor $12.50. Overpriced food and horrible service

Pained to write this review as I fondly remember attending the opening of this restraint in college. To be fair, restaurants should not be judged entirely on an off-day but this was either a series of oversights or a real quality issue.I arrived at 1, ordered 3 items to go, and was told it was a 20 minute wait one of the chefs had called out. Sitting at the bar, I witnessed four different parties approach and all for refunds after waiting over an hour... a cue to leave I missed. During that time, the very pleasant staff continued people it would be a 15-20 minute wait.In retrospect, it seems foolish to have believed that a long wait would turn into good food. All the good BBQ joints have their food largely prepared very early in the morning - you cant rush out an order of ribs if they werent slow cooked previously. Unfortunately, all the food tasted like it was slow cooked two days ago or rushed through while people were waiting and not done right.Tough things happen in the restaurant industry. The right call today should have been to shut the doors and put up the closed today sign. Thats certainly a cheaper option than sending 15 people back to work not having eaten or worse, giving people $15-30 meals after waiting an hour that are not anywhere near your standards. It sure seems like shortcuts on the meat must have been deliberate as good slow cooking operates like clockwork. The worst thing though was hearing newly arriving customers being told 15-20 minutes when I arrived.

Very dog friendly! The shaded patio is comfortable even on a ~100C day. And most importantly the food is very delicious! I had the beef brisket and it was cooked perfectly!

I cant say anything negative about this place here!!!! They have awesome food and its always the same when you go. Its not good meat falling off the bone one day and then tough dry meat the next. They are very consistent here. Hands down, my favorite place to go for bbq anywhere in the local riverside area being that we font have much choice to choose from. The cornbread and cinnamon butter is a must!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The staff was absolutely phenomenally kind and wonderful and the food was absolutely delicious! Im honestly not one for barbecue and everything was delicious and everybody in my party got their food in a timely manner and absolutely loved it

I wish I could give 0 stars. The service is bad, the food is all wrong and given to others in my party. Firstly when arriving my 2 yr old toddlers are rambunctious and excited. The servers then asked us rudely to quite the girls down. we were the only people inside the restaurant.Then after ordering the food comes out cold and wrong.I wont be coming back.

Underwhelmed and left disappointedFirst I want to disclose that I have not tried their ribs but I did order one of their most expensive menu items. I ordered their Tri-Tip sandwich, runs about $20, but definitely not worth the money, not even worth half of what I paid. I feel conflicted writing this review, as I am local here to this family owned business but the experience here just left me really unsatisfied. The Tri-Tip was bland, dry, and overall not good, the bread roll tasted stale and bland and said to say their BBQ sauce isn’t really that good, it’s too bland. The onion rings were really good though. I haven’t tried their ribs but after tasting their sauce I don’t have a desire to come back to try them. This is a shame since I was expecting an experience similar to HOGGs in MoVal, but atlas Smokey Canyon can’t compare to HOGGs. At HOGGs everything, and I mean everything tastes great, you can’t go wrong with any of their food. The customer service and friendliness is top notch here, but unfortunately their tri-tip sandwich wasn’t up to par.

My family and I just celebrated Father’s Day at Smokey Canyon BBQ and the food was amazingly good. From the pork ribs, tri-tip sandwich, cheesy potatoe salad, coleslaw cheesecake 🍰and not to mention a salad 🥗that we never came around to eating because we were busy with the other food. Lol😂🤣😂 but most important to me was the service. Thanks to the entire staff for making us feel like family and not just like customers. Everyone was so friendly and welcoming. Thank you

This aint it! Had this place in mind to try, but never got around to it. What a disappointment, took my daughter and we bought dinner for the whole family. Lengthy wait for the food, order was supposedly checked, but it was not. My Order was mixed with someone elses order, meats were dry and tasteless. BBQ sauces were so unremarkable. Would had gone back to get the correct order, but it was too far and I had a hungry bunch to feed.I am all for buying local and supporting small businesses, especially after this pandemic. But this place is NOT worth it. Save yourself the hassle and drive a bit more to Lucilles and youll at least get your order correct there.

Amazing! Great food, wonderful staff. Definitely coming back. I had the two meat platter. Beef rib and brisket, very good!

I will never eat from here again, all of the food is bland . From the cornbread to the meat that had been boiled then threw on the grill for a char. The greens had no seasoning and were not spicy. The Mac and cheese taste like air, and the meat is so bland you’d think you were eating solid air. I DO NOT RECOMMEND you to spend your hard earned money on this food.

We ventured in on a Sunday afternoon at 2:30pm. There about 6 families finishing up their meals inside and outside. There was no line and we were able to walk up and order immediately.The staff was pleasant and welcoming. They were very knowledgeable of their menu and answered our questions with confidence and accuracy.I ordered the Beef Rib (3 bonesplatter w/ Coleslaw & Mac N Cheese. The ribs came with the Kansas City style sauce, that was a sweet molasses based. My wife ordered the Loaded Baked Potato platter w/ Missouri beans, and Corn on the Cobb (which wasn’t sweet corn). The brisket had a lot of fat/gristle, but the meat was tender and smoked well! We also ordered a side of fries with their homemade seasoning that went well with their Ranch sauce. They gave us a side of collard greens.We enjoyed our visit and will be back to try more items! We recommend Smokey Canyon if you’re in/near Riverside!

Great food at reasonable prices. Super friendly staff that is always appreciative of customers.Theyve done so much to help the community. Back when the covid situation first began, when things like eggs, flour and other staples were nearly impossible to find at grocery stores, they offered the community a lifeline. They took phone orders for these staples and placed bulk orders with their food suppliers, then fulfilled them with the general public, at cost. No profit. Just doing good deeds for the community.My wife and I have been eating with them for several years now, and always feel welcome, which isnt how we always feel at some places. Were an interracial couple, and often get cold stares from staff at some BBQ places, but not here.As for the food? Its amazing. Consistently good or better quality. Consistently made properly, even special orders. The menu is accurate in describing what is on it. The staff knows the menu and knows what to recommend. Ive had several of their meats, the tri tip, smoked Turkey, pulled pork and chicken. Love them all, but I usually fall back to the Turkey, cause Im trying to maintain a lower calorie intake!We once took my father in law for his birthday, the whole family loved it and wants to come back all the time, but of course options are limited now.They also, like a good bbq place does, offers very hearty and customizable to go options. You can even buy meat by the pound!They have 3 BBQ sauces, a hot and Spivey "Firehouse" sauce (this is the only one o havent tried).a mustard/vinegar base "Carolina" sauce, which is the default sauce on their meats, and I have to be honest. I dont like mustard. But I like this sauce, in small doses.And a tomato based "Kansas city" sauce, this is my favorite, and I usually pour this on my meat liberally with a dash of the Carolina mixed in.All 3 sauces are available for purchase also!I cant really get enough of this place, best BBQ in the area.

I just got $38 worth of nasty, FLAVORLESS food. Mac n Cheese, Collard Greens, Beef Ribs, Chicken.... Even the "Southern Sweet Tea" was bad! Never again!

First time eating here. Ribs were delish aswell as cheesy potatoes n corn. Umm Well muffin was ok. Prices were alittle high 2me. I will eat there again if sharing dinner. More cost effective when ordering 4 two. Staff was very pleasant!!

This place is a little hard to find for the first time because it is nestled within a shopping center that has businesses laid out in clusters. Just look for the Chase Bank and you will find BBQ nearby.The restaurant has an open floorplan with an order line along one wall and metal-top tables in a grid pattern.They feature a large menu -- much bigger than your average BBQ joint with about ten items -- so everyone (except maybe vegetariansshould find what they want.Their meats include brisket, tri-tip, beef ribs, St. Louis ribs, turkey, several cuts of pork, chicken, and hot links. There is an extensive list of sides, a number of salads, and a few dessert items.I ordered a Caesar Salad ($10and the Two Meat Plate with Brisket & Tri-Tip and chose Cheesy Potatoes & Cole Slaw for my sides ($24).The salad was great: Lots of crispy Romaine lettuce, shredded parmesan, croutons, and a nice helping of thick dressing. A light eater could make a meal out of this salad, it was that generous.The main course was served on a round, flat, metal platter covered in brown butcher paper. I know it is trendy to offer BBQ this way but I prefer my food on a proper ceramic plate. The sides came in cardboard boats -- again, not my favorite presentation.The brisket was quite good. It was very tender and flavorful. The meat was served, however, in a pile of different-sized slices, as if the chef were trying to use up all the left-over bits. Still good tasting but not as appetizing as a set of thick slices, carefully lined up in a row.The tri-tip, on the other hand, was not as good. While the pieces showed off the correct red stripe, the meat was over-cooked and not particularly tender. Again, the serving was composed of a mish-mash of different shapes and sizes.The meat was served with mild BBQ sauce already squirted onto about a third of each pile. I prefer to be given meat without topping, so that I can choose to apply -- or not -- the sauce of my personal heat range, in my own choice of quantity. The waitress said she would return with a selection of sauces but she never appeared again.The Cole Slaw had a good flavor but the dressing was watery. Also, the portion was pretty skimpy. The Cheesy Potatoes were quite a disappointment, as well. They consisted of large, diced blocks of red-skin potatoes tossed with a pretty flavorless cheese sauce. My idea of cheesy potatoes is a baked russet, hogged out and blended with shredded cheddar, sour cream, & chopped green onions, then ladeled back into the potato skin, and baked for a few more minutes. Their cheesy potatoes were more like something you might get at a fast-food drive-thru. Like the Slaw, the portion size was lacking.The drink selection was disappointing, with a self-serve dispenser of Pepsi products (I hate the taste of Pepsi, BTWplus a couple of versions of iced tea. They really should expand their offerings of drinks to include some regional favorites.The final tally shows a pleasant atmosphere, with a large selection of mostly mediocre food, plated haphazardly, by disinterested staff, that is over-priced by double.Overall, this was a $19 meal that cost $41. I am afraid I cannot recommend this restaurant.

Nice, cozy and delicious food. Today was my husband and my self first time there. Our breakfast was a delicious experience thanks to the corteus, ready to assist with a smile (under their maskstaff.

This place was very nice, the staff was very friendly and very helpful. We were a party of eight and all of us had a great time and really enjoyed our meal, The barbecue was delicious The sauces were delicious we had no complaints whatsoever and probably one of the best things you could actually eat inside, so if you want to go sit down and eat you should definitely go visit these folks. On an added note the prices weren’t terrible

First time here and this will not be the last. Beer on tap 🍻 we had the 3 meat platters very good tender and fall of the bone ribs. The onion rings were very good as well as the mac n cheese also the salad was so crisp with the best ranch dressing Really liked the patio quiet and very inviting pet friendly.

Just had the worst experience ever. Placed an online order for 2 burgers and a appetizer platter. Get home to see only 1 burger and the platter. Called back to see what happened and lady on phone basically said she remembers taking my order and I only asked for 1. So immediately I asked to speak to manager and the owner comes on the phone and basically yells at me telling me she made a mistake and it is what it is. She conducted business very poor and it reflected on the way her employees conducted themselves. An a time like this where small businesses like this are struggling to make and Karen owners like this one who simply dont care about their customers. They lost my business for good.

This place was so GOOD! I had the pulled chicken sandwich and the bread pudding, and both were very delicious. The sandwich was stuffed full of moist chicken, and the bread pudding was just delicious goodness with each bite. We also brought my dog, and she had a great time sitting on the patio with us!

This is a hidden gem. I’ve been here breakfast lunch and dinner. Best French toast I’ve ever had here. They have great sandwiches and all the meat is great. Bbq sauce on the table for us messy eaters. Great corn bread too. Plus once you’ve stuffed yourself you can take a stroll around the canyon crest plaza. I’m not really paying attention to the time it takes but it’s not very long. I love taking my wife here to eat.

At this point I have mixed feelings about this restaurant. This was my first time here and I have to say that the waitress scared me. She was really intimidating. I mean she said all the right words but her eyes and gestures were like...holy cow.....Potatoes salad was really good....some of the sides we tried were also good. The meat however I am not sure about. I am a chef and BBQ fanatic (I smoke and BBQ alot and think I have it almost perfectedand I truly believe that their meats are not smoked but rather smoke flavored with liquid smoke. I ordered all my meats (brisket, pulled pork, shredded beefwithout any bbq sauce and all that fancy stuff so that I can try the meats they way they are. I also dont think they use any dry rub or much of any seasoning (which some people preferbefore preparing and there is really no red smoke ring which makes me believe their meats are not truly smoked. I think they boil them and such. Meat wasnt bad though just not at a level where I feel like paying over $30 for the portions they serve. I also noticed that pulled pork, the cheapest meat to prepare in a BBQ restaurant, was piled on the plate and the brisket just 2 or three very small slices. It shows that they try to save money. I definitely will be back after this Covid19 madness to see if they will step it up and revise this review accordingly.

Wonderful food and great place. Pam and Dan are some of the sweetest people 💕 and are so down to earth and hospitable. Most of their staff is as friendly and welcoming as them. Me and my family have been going for years and whenever she sees us she always comes over to personally say hello.🙂

Absolutely fabulous! Starting with the corn bread and honey butter and on to fried green tomatoes which were the best ever. We ordered a couple of platters to try to get a taste of everything and we werent disappointed with any of our choices. Great service and a very friendly owner. We will definitely be back!

Food here is very good and the service is fast.

We tried tritip salad and rib bone with barbecue sauce we like it so much the bones was juicy and tasty. The price was ok too.

They offer 2 types of ribs, St. Louis style and beef ribs. I tried the beef ribs and they were very meaty, juicy and fall off the bone delicious. They have lots of salads, sandwiches and burgers as well. Their potato salad was very tasty. And they have 3 styles if BBQ sauce to choose from, their house sauce, which I thought had just enough kick to it, another one with some vinegar that a tiny bit sweeter and their HOTTER sauce. And no, I didnt have the nerve to try it because Im a wimp.This is one of a few places I will recommend.

Had a late breakfast with my husband, a lazy Sunday kinda thing. We stumbled upon this place, and how lucky we were. Breakfast was big county style servings. There were newspapers to read, good coffee. Nice escape.

The place is a little bit pricey, but if you can get a piece of the cheesecake go for it. The crust is oreo, then a layer of cheesecake, a layer of cherries, and finally some homemade whipped cream. So worth it.

Good service, not too busy for a Friday night, which was good for us...no wait. Enjoyed the BBQ burger with onion rings. My wife had the pulled pork sandwich, which was a bit on the dry side. The macaroni side dish was excellent as were the onion rings.

My wife and went here for the first time and having lived in the south before here...it was SO satisfying! We haven’t had good BBQ like this in California until now! Highly recommend it. Great indoor and outdoor eating spaces and is kid friendly too, which is always a plus! The ribs were so tender and full of flavor! 🤤 A must try kind of place!

This place was really good.PROS: Dog friendly. Its reasonably priced. The burger was one of the best burgers I have had in Riverside. The meat was high quality. The buns were soft. The BBQ sauce was delicious. The fried pickles were really good.CONS: These are more nitpicks than anything. Fries could have been better. They were a bit soggy. Dont get me wrong, the taste was uptown, but the texture was terrible. Same thing with the corn muffins. They tasted great, but they were ice cold when we got them.

When it comes down to bbq this place nails it. Delicious food, good service and great beer selection.