Smokeworks Reviews Summary

Staff and Service

Pros:

• "Really friendly and helpful staff."
• "Service from Lewis was excellent, friendly and informal."
• "The staff are very friendly."
• "Service was flawless."
• "Staff has great ethics. It is a very nice cozy atmosphere."
• "Not only were the staff fantastic with both us and my daughter but the food was insane."
• "Service is friendly and efficient."

Cons:

• "What brutal behaviour we just experienced by the host!"
• "Overall didn't feel welcome."
• "Under no circumstances would I have tipped for this meal voluntarily."
• "Asked for some form of discount or not to pay the service charge on top of my bill in which they add without asking I was declined."
• "We waited 30 mins for someone to come over to ask for the bill but eventually just went up to the till to pay direct."
• "She got my order wrong and tried to convince me that pork ribs were beef ribs."
• "The staff didn't know if we had had starters or not and when the mains finally arrived an hour later the order was wrong and no sides came."

Food Quality

Pros:

• "The food was excellent, the restaurant was clean and the music was pretty awesome too!"
• "Southern fried chicken wings with honey mustard was super crispy, tender and delicious!"
• "The food we ordered was enough for the 2 of us but we haven't had breakfast so we were hungry. But food is really tasty."
• "The pulled pork was smokey, perfect!"
• "The baby pork ribs... I like the fried chicken the most."
• "The beef short ribs was juicy and smokey."
• "The food here is amazing. Proper bbq. Ribs with meat that falls off the bone, Smokey full of flavour."

Cons:

• "The blue cheese dip was, honestly, a disgrace; it separated and split into an oily puddle immediately and does not deserve to be served on a menu."
• "The ribs is so disappointing that I cannot imagine this is their signature dish."
• "The meat was mediocre quality and severely lacking in flavour; not smoked for long enough or seasoned properly."
• "The beef dripping mash was super watery which was disappointing, as where the milkshakes."
• "The ribs should at least be average. These were less than average, they were so overdone, chewy, the sauce was odd."
• "The baby ribs that I was served were very dry and tasted very artificial smoky."
• "The 'BBQ Beans' were definitely British though.. They were nowhere close to American baked beans."

Atmosphere and Decor

Pros:

• "I love the cosy decor and the industrial feel of the restaurant."
• "Lovely location in the heart of Cambridge."
• "The atmosphere was industrial which looked nice we for sure look forward to coming back again."
• "What an awesome little place!"
• "Amazing place with an industrial feel to it."
• "The atmosphere was awesome, so exciting, real fun feel to the place, kind of industrial trendy."
• "The ambiance of the restaurant is heavily themed around the BBQ lifestyle, which was carried off very well."

Cons:

• "Wouldn't recommend for families with young children-only one table in the two floor restaurant that staff are 'allowed' to seat families with buggy at."
• "Step access to enter the location so unsuitable for wheelchair users."
• "The toilets were quite smelly."
• "One of the toilets was out of order."
• "The down stairs room was quite cold environment."
• "The bar and restaurant are not physically connected, which I find odd and a little inhumane."
• "Close to the city centre, so no parking available unless you choose the car park."

Value for Money

Pros:

• "Prices are representative of the quality and quantity received, between £13 and £18 for a good main course."
• "The prices are actually pretty good."
• "They do a £10 student deal too."
• "The portions are big and the price is very good for the quantity/quality."
• "Prices are ok as well."
• "Good beer selection and atmosphere with a reasonable price."
• "Well worth the price."

Cons:

• "Paid 13 odd quid for 2 ribs (all I could eat with 3qtr pint of water) and small patio of chips."
• "In addition, addition of 10% load which was not marked in the menu."
• "Also rather pricy for the portion size and quality of the food."
• "All in all it was nice, maybe we caught them on a mediocre day, but £80 for a mediocre meal for 2 was a little gut wrenching!"
• "The regular prices are a little higher than they should be."
• "The platters are over priced."
• "It seems wholly unreasonable to charge £5 to ‘upgrade’ the fries and then significantly downsize the portion."