Ton T

I was pleasantly surprised with how well my brisket was - tender, moist and flavorfully smoky. That said, the smoke ring was a bit weakish, and meat could be trimmed better. The links was borderline dry, and I don’t think I would get it again. 1 lbs of brisket and 1/2 lbs of links was about $50, which is not too far off from what I paid in Texas for the same. The meats appear to be smoked in the back. I hope the neighbors get free BBQ because they’re on the front lines of the smoker.

+3

Felt like the two dishes we order were rationed, our potato salad and greens was very small, and the Sausage was over cooked and ribs had not a lot meat on it. But my dessert $6 was a tiny piece of cake.

Eric Fode

Smoking Wood’s barbecue is a cautionary tail in iterative disappointment. One time, I ordered Smokin Woods barbecue and it was perfect. The meat was tender and vaguely what I ordered but the following five times that I ordered from Smokin Woods BBQ they delivered me items I did not order and we’re not similar to the ones that I had ordered and it took forever so I thought what if I go in person. So I did and I had high hopes they were false placed whoever was cooking the night that I had ordered that very first time is a hero and should be the only person cooking there. But what I got was pretty marginal dry meat that was difficult to order and had incredibly un enthusiastic staff and an incredibly loud environment and it was just an overall unpleasant experience really really disappointed, sad face

Y S

My experience was right in the middle. It was not spectacular but it was not poor either. The ordering process is odd. You order and pay at the host’s stand and wait for the delivery. The food was okay. The collared greens were undercooked and still bitter. The beans were a tad too sweet, but they were good. The Mac n cheese was a saver- glad they didn’t ruin that. The chicken was good, tender enough. The pulled pork was okay, a bit dry. The hotlink was tasteless and dry, the tri tip was dry, the ribs were tender. The brisket was done nicely. The honey butter buns were delicious. But for the tri tip, links, and the other meats to not be tasty was not a good experience. The food was okay, but did not win me over. I doubt I would be visiting again. There are better bbq joints in Oakland.

Maria Elena Valle

Try not to order through DoorDash or similar apps, as you’ll end up with part of your order missing. Food was alright at least Edit: For some reason, their brisket was very dry and my bf’s potato salad was way too salty. The mac and baked beans were fine.

T Shelly

Presentation is lacking. My food was kind of thrown on the pan. Pulled pork was 10/10 flavor, smoke, & tenderness were all incredible Chicken thighs were juicy and charred to perfection. Unfortunately the brisket was abysmal. Dry, hard, and didn’t last the limp test. Dipped into some bbq sauce it was edible. Definitely stay away from this. Mac & cheese was surprisingly good. Nice roux and decent cheese pull. Greens didn’t disappoint but wasn’t a must have. Should have more turkey in the juice. The 7UP cake was moist, dense and aromatic. Lemonade had actual chunks of lemon. It was delicious as chick Fil a or hot dog on a stick. IYKYK. There are no free refills so drink your beverage sparingly. Very inefficient operation. They don’t take cash. Parking is very tough. Only street parking is available. They do have outside seating with heaters. You have to order before sitting down. This reduced the tip because you don’t know what kind of service you’ll be getting. I still gave 15%. $41 for my meal of a 3 meat combo, 2 sides , lemonade and 7 up cake. Not bad IMO. Music is a nice volume. The chairs need to be cleaned. It’s an old church pew for the back part of the seat has dirt, debris and food crumbs. It has about 10 televisions and a bar area. There’s about 22 tables in the dining area. I was told there would be a 20 min wait to get my food. This is fine except you don’t get any part of your order at all. I was promised a roll but didn’t get one. So you can get water from an iced dispenser. It’s a missed opportunity to not have a server who just takes bar drink orders and check on customers. I didn’t see anyone cleaning tables. The host was also taking orders and picking them up from the back for to go orders. This reduces the speed of service and diminishes the overall experience. I like the rustic look and exposed wood. Ambiance was nice. The kitchen are is dirty and dusty in the overheads. Overall this is a must visit for anyone looking to try bbq in the Bay Area. The sauce was really good. Customer service 4/5 Food 4/5 Parking 1/5 Return value 5/5 Time to be served 2/5

+6

This has to be some of the most overpriced and mediocre slop I've ever seen. $25 gets you a tiny portion of ribs and a sausage that's probably still bigger than the owner's one. The other negative reviews on here are absolutely accurate. Save your money and find another bbq place that doesn't drain your wallet for scraps

Foods ight, but they have a tendency to run out of absolutely everything. Made me wait for 20 minutes and I had to ASK just to know that my order was never gonna come. Misleading, unprofessional and oblivious to customer care. They offer me a cheap 20 dollar plate after not giving me by 60+ dollar order. The audacity bruh. Big lady up front telling us that there’s enough beef ribs but I guess today we wanna make stuff up.

Jayne Gagliano

I hardly ever write reviews, but the experience I had missed the mark so badly, I feel like others should know. This review is for takeout so I can’t really comment on the in-house service. I will note that the place was nearly empty on a Saturday night. The smell of smoke in this place is overwhelming. And whatever they use to simulate “smoke” is still lingering on my hands even after multiple washings, and not in a good way. Liquid smoke? The meats: DRY and overcooked. We ordered the brisket, the beef link, the tri-tip (OMG $6 EXTRA?!?), the rib tips, and the pulled pork. The rib tips were inedible. Of all the things listed, only the pulled pork was decent. The sides weren’t bad, though. Good mac and cheese, good beans although comparable to Bush’s, and serviceable Brussels sprouts. I could have done without the bread being packaged on top of the beans though. It was super soggy. Overall, the meal was EXPENSIVE and the portions were laughably small. Not a good value. Such a disappointment…there are literally no good BBQ places in this area. I miss Flints.

Ronnie Jones

I ordered 2 4 ways. I was told their bbq was really good. Last week I went to Everette & Jones and their bbq was the worst that I had in years. I was exited to try smoking woods. I hate to say but, I was very disappointed. You just cannot find good bbq anymore. I think Flints was the last decent spot for bbq in Oakland. Smoking woods ribs were tough on top. That happens when you either cooked the ribs too high, or the coals or woods was too hot underneath them, or they weren’t flipped enough. When the heat is too high. Put a can of water in there to stop them from scortching. The steam stops that. The tri-tip and chicken was bland. The hot links were like mush? I never had like that mushy, awful. The potato salad was not homemade and the greens were not anything special. Collard greens aren’t hard to cook? The cooking is below average.

Kevin Simms

Started going to this place years ago. Was very pleased before. However, up until recently the taste quality has diminished and the portion size is totally laughable. I ordered a two plate combo with ribs and beef links. It came with two small ribs a small link. One scoop of potato salad and scoop of Mac and cheese. I left out of there paying $50. Definitely disappointed and won’t be going back. Now I see why people say Everett and Jones in the best of the Bay Area. Pictures included

They forgot my sauce And both my brisket plates was mostly fat They greens was mid at best. Mac and cheese was Not good but I ate it. Totally not worth 50 bucks.

Eddie T

I tend not to leave negative reviews however my experience made me feel inclined to. I cannot recommend. The experience: ordered the Everything Smokin platter for carry out. Once home I realized they forgot the brisket and rolls. I called and they left me on hold for 30 minutes then hung up. I went back they checked the order and provided the brisket and rolls without an acknowledgement or apology for wasting over 30 minutes of our time and having us drive back and forth. By the time we were able to eat most of the food was cold. The Food (we did not reheat because it was already dry): overall DRY and bland. However the smokiness was very good, well balanced and not overpowering. Brisket (ate warm since we got it last): tender but dry, flavor average. Would not get again due to dryness. Beef sausage (ate cold): texture was strangely crumbly but flavorful with good spice. Chicken (ate cold): more moist than expected to be honest but still dry overall. Flavor was fine. Tri tip (ate cold): Tough, dry and flavorless definitely not worth the extra $6. Was bad honestly. Pork Ribs ( ate cold): moist and cooked well, only meat not dry. Flavor was fine. Honey Buns: very dry and crumbly. Seemed like it was sitting under a warmer too long, texture reminiscent of styrofoam. Sides: 2x Brussel sprouts, green beans (ate cold- were fine, we wanted collard greens, but they were sold out. Mac & Cheese (ate cold): fantastic honestly the best food item we got. If it wasn’t for the poor experience I would definitely get again. Bbq sauce: fine but a little on the sweet side, which some people like. They said they gave us a mix, but they were unlabeled so it was hard to tell. Staff: neutral to friendly Manager: not apologetic to their mistake or tried to right the situation (wasting our time driving back and forth, keeping me on hold for 30 min then hanging up). She just gave us the food we paid for, but they forgot and told us to reheat our cold food on our own.

Jeremy Jacob

Today I placed a $250+ order through a third party app and when I arrived to Smokin Woods to pick up my order it wasn't ready. I was informed they were having issues with the Door Dash app. Cool, no problem I'll wait. They were able to get me in and out faily quicky. I asked the gentleman bagging my order is this everything and he said yes. When I arrived back to my destination, I noticed there was a plate missing. I called back and spoke to this young lady that said they will fix it and she or her manager will bring it to me. She informed me that she'll call me back. Hours go by with no call back. When I called back and finally got through to someone it was the manager. He was very combative and told me they're not delivering the food and I will need to come get it. I asked for a refund for the missing plate and he hung up on me. You try to support small businesses and this is how they treat you. This restaurant doesn't believe in making things right when they make mistakes. The manager could have easily had a courier service deliver my food. It's good, I will never spend money with this establishment again.

Anna Gutierrez

We have been coming there for about at least two years, and haven’t been there since about 6 months ago. We decided to treat ourselves order 3 orders (1) Classic rib (2) a two-way link and tri tip (3) rib and link all came with Mac and cheese, collard greens. The portion size have to be joke for $90 . When we called , there was really no comment just silence. They have lost customers. Trying to support our black business owners. Unacceptable. I wish I can rate a ZERO !!!

Lovely Smiles

So I've come to this bbq place twice now to give it my honest review. Service was ok, my discrepancies are that the price on the menu for certain items was different when we were rung up. They said they changed their prices and didn't change it on the menu(false advertisement). Professionalism needs a lot of work from host to bartender to want to be managers. The food was cold, not tender and lacked flavor, I took everything home reseasoned and threw in the oven. I've never been a bbq place and left within 30 mins. Happy hour is the only thing this place is good for. Drinks are weak so do shots only and the henny wings are truly the ONLY good thing they have. Happy to say I'll never return.