Crystal River Smokehouse & Grill

We really wanted to love Crystal River Smokehouse and Grill. The interior has a cozy, lodge-like vibe, but it’s contrasted by folding white tables that detract from the ambiance. This was our first time eating here. We ordered the Smoked Turkey Dip, which was surprisingly good and earned an 8 out of 10, but unfortunately, that was the only highlight of our meal. I ordered the Smokehouse Burger, medium rare, with a side of mac and cheese. My burger came out cold and well done, and the mac and cheese was, quite frankly, inedible—it tasted like boiled cardboard with barely a hint of cheese. My wife had the Smokehouse Hoagie, which had a bit more flavor than my burger (a very low bar to clear) but left a stale aftertaste. To make matters worse, she was supposed to get fries but ended up with the same terrible mac and cheese. We couldn’t help but wonder if the fries might have been a better option. Everything we tried had an overall “old” taste, which didn’t come as a surprise given that we arrived at 6 PM on a Saturday and the place was almost empty. We enjoy supporting local businesses and came in with high hopes, but we left very disappointed. The service, however, was good and not part of our bad experience. I’ve also noticed that the owner often responds defensively to negative reviews. I hope you take this as constructive criticism to help improve the dining experience and draw more customers with better food and service.

Great food.. love the ribs and brisket... great homemade sides... will be back.

The silly review that one guy made about the "Mac and cheese not being smoked enough" drew me here. The mac is definitely smoked, it's like you're sitting on the smokey mountains puffing a camel and listening to "The Highway Man" by "The Highway Men" level of smoke. The portions are great, the food is high quality, the prices are reasonable and the people are nice.

Got the brisket hoagie. Menu says it comes with pepper jack cheese and caramelized onions. Ordered it with no onions. Came loaded with peppers (not mentioned on the menu) which I HATE instead of (or in addition to?) pepper jack cheese. Lunch is now inedible. You fooled me once. Now I'm done with you. Also, we were missing two orders of fries and one whole sandwich, so at least one person went hungry. Sauces came in small ramekins marked with one letter. Nobody at work could figure out what was what. On the up side the fries were very good.

Great place great people great food

Tasty

Good portions and taste for the collard greens and macaroni with cheese, the 1/2 lb pork was tasty but seemed light. Would definitely order again, convenient drive-thru window for pick up

Just ate there 8/23! Delicious food, great service, reasonably priced. I highly recommend!

First off the service two times I have been in was poor. to the point I hated to bother her. Considering the pork is prepared and weighed before we enter the door a half hour passed before food was delivered. At least the flavor was acceptable and the sauces adequate. Just nothing special. I hope the next owners do better. Nice country décor.

This place is a hidden gem 💎 the food is handmade, the prices are low and the staff Gabby, Mike, Aryana and Polly are absolutely fantastic and welcoming they all treat you like family. This place was so good that I came back again today for more. If you're looking for a nice family environment to enjoy some homemade brisket, chicken whatever your heart desires I'd checked this place out!!

We just had a wonderful experience. We ordered the Smokehouse Sampler with collard greens and baked beans and it was delicious 😋

Clean, newer restaurant, with good staff and delicious BBQ.

This is honestly probably some of the worst BBQ I’ve ever had. I’m sitting here reading these other reviews and wondering if this was just an off day or did they get their friends to write a bunch of reviews? We ordered the jalapeño poppers, the smoked wings, and a 3 meat sampler. The jalapeño poppers were ok. But they weren’t as described on the menu. There was no pork loin wrapped around them. Just a half a slice of bacon. Let’s be honest here. Anyone can slap some cream cheese in a jalapeño and wrap a little bacon around it and it’s gonna be tasty with very little effort. The wings were definitely the worst smoked wings I’ve ever had. They were cooked well. But they had negative flavor. The absence of flavor in these wings was a mind grenade. I did not know that you could actually make chicken this bland and flavorless. The brisket was a joke. I’m not convinced it wasn’t sliced pork to be completely honest. I’ve never in my life been served brisket sliced on a meat slicer as thin as deli meat. I kid you not the bacon on the popper was thicker than the brisket was. It tasted kind of like roast beef from the deli at Publix. The ribs were ok at best. Under cooked for sure. The meat was still super chewy and would not pull away from the bone. But they had a decent flavor at least. The “smoked” Mac and cheese definitely isn’t smoked and if it is then it’s for about 5 minutes in a 50 gallon pan because that tastes like it’s straight of the the pot. I’ve made smoked Mac and cheese 50 times if I’ve made it once. Been doing it for years. And when you actually smoke it you can taste a huge difference in it. The smoked chicken breast came as no surprise. It was just as dry as I thought it would be. If you wanna have any shot at a decent smoked breast then you don’t take it off the bone and leave the wing attached to it. Or just stop smoking breast and smoke a dam leg quarter or do half or whole chicken so you can have a chance of retaining some dang moisture. And last but not least, they forgot my baked beans. Needless to say, I will most definitely never be trying this place out again.

Went in for takeout. Was quick enough. Good food.

We have ate there before and I can tell you it's really good. The ribs are some of the best I have ever had and the baked are great. We recommend this restaurant to anyone who likes good bar b que.

Cute little restaurant in the heart of Crystal River. The dining room is very clean with a cute aesthetic. Family of 4. We got pulled pork, sliced pork, a cheeseburger, southern green beans and loaded baked potatoes. Onion rings, seasoned fries and the garlic bread were the stand outs! Many homemade sauces to choose from. Great portions! Already planning our orders for our next visit! 😉

Brisket and pulled pork were very good. Baked beans were delicious. It was a little out of the way for me, but worth the trip. I'd definitely go back.