WOW. If you are looking for real southern barbecue in the heart of Atlanta, this is it!
FULL DISCLAIMER: I have known the Master Chef/Owner/Operator, Jordan Wakefield, for almost twenty years (since 7th grade). He is as good a hard-working, honest, patriotic American as you will find; an incredibly warm, caring person, with an infectious personality.
My wife and I, and four of our friends ate dinner at Smoke Ring last night for the first time. Honestly, I was a bit concerned that I had set unrealistic expectations for his establishment, maybe I did, but my expectations were exceeded! Our table ordered several apps; wings, fried gator bites, fried pickles, and boiled peanuts. All of it was incredible. Gator bites were full of flavor, the wings were smoked to perfection, and the peanuts were perfect. (Fried pickles were good, but I'm not a fan)
I ordered a Two Meat Plate: pulled pork, brisket, mac 'n cheese, and collard greens. It was absolutely incredible. I've lived in Georgia all my life and I've never had better pulled pork or collard greens. The table also ordered lamb belly, The Show Stopper sandwich, brussel sprouts, baked beans, and fries; ALL of it was incredible.
I wasn't super impressed with the staff of servers, but the food was epic, the atmosphere is a perfect representation for how southern style has evolved with the growth of Atlanta.
If you are in the area and you love BBQ, please give Smoke Ring a shot! You will not be disappointed!
Smoke Ring was fabulous! The ambience is fun and boisterous and the warm wood tones make you want to snuggle in and stay for a while. It’s just a awesome place for some of the best barbeque in town. It’s a MUST VISIT for Atlanta restaurants! Guten appetit!
Some of the best food I've ever put in my mouth! BBQ and sides are all great! Will be back many times!
I went to The Smoke Ring a few days ago as someone visiting the city for a few days. I was not disappointed. The food, the service and the atmosphere were all wonderful. There was a good variety in food, sauces, and drinks - including local draft beers. Our server, Joesph, was great at recommending not only food for the restaraunt but also things to do in the city. If I'm ever back in Atlanta I would certainly go here again. I highly recommend it to anyone else.
What a treat!. Had the wings and the ribs. Both were very good. The rub has a little spice to it, which I love. This is the best BBQ I have had in ATL so far. I'll be back to try something else.
Claire Johnson Carson
+4.5
Yum!. This is a great BBQ restaurant. The atmosphere is fantastic and the food is too. My fav is the smoked chicken - supper yummy! My husband says the burnt ends are the best he has had. Go now!
Not perfect, but great BBQ. My wife and I made the trek from the suburbs to check out the Smoke Ring today. I was a bit conflicted about driving more than 30 miles to try it out after its lackluster rating on Urbanspoon, but the positive vibes from the bloggers was enough to convince me. After a great dining experience I can confidently say that this place is a LOT better than its current voter rating would otherwise indicate. The meats were all superb and comprable to the uppermost level of BBQ spots of Atlanta (Community Q, Heirloom Market, etc.). Although I really enjoyed the great brisket (my typical benchmark of Q quality), the pulled pork was simply awesome. Moist, bark-laden, great color, and packed full of flavor (which is strangely uncommon). I enjoyed it so much that I almost forgot to add sauce! The chicken was awesome as well and the 1/2 bird plate is a HUGE portion of meat. While the meats were certainly the star, the smoked trout dip appetizer was also delicious. We were told the trout is brought in fresh, then smoked before preparing the dip. It is rich, cheesy, and filling, but not in an overboard sense. The only things we didn't like were the jalapeno corn muffin (which was bland, dry, and boring), and the blue cheese and bacon potato salad. The latter of which sounded so good but is devoid of the strong flavors one would expect from such a description. There was bacon visibly present, but it was a very subtle flavor. It seems odd to me that a restaurant would serve an offering with a pungent cheese and the savoriest of all foods, then mute it to the point of being mundane. Minor complaints aside though, one visit to the Smoke Ring has earned them a place in my personal top 3 in Atlanta. I consider them a serious contender for the best Q in town and I plan to return soon. You guys should definitely check them out!
Incredible food. Great atmosphere. Great craft beer selection.
Mmm Mmmm Good. We went to The Smoke Ring on a ScoutMob deal which allowed me and my wife to get two drinks, one appetizer, two barbecue plates and one dessert. Oh my word! This is some good stuff. The place is a modern looking cabin décor with what appears to be reclaimed wood all over. Great ambiance and great service. We started with two ginger based cocktails, one was a Gingerita the other was The Mule. Both were greatly crafted and great tasting drinks. Next we got the fried okra which comes with a chipotle ranch sauce and they were great. After the appetizer we got our plates...my wife subbed a plate for a sandwich and got the Showstopper, pulled pork, bacon, pimento cheese, lettuce, tomato, jalapeño jelly...mmmm.mmmm.mmmm good! Honestly one of the best sandwiches either of us have ever had. She got the mac and cheese as her side and it was good, but not BBQ1 mac and cheese. I got the half rack of baby backs and they were superb. Perfectly smoked, great crust and both the white and red BBQ sauces (both vinegar based) were incredible. I got the burnt endz bbq beans and without question, those are the best beans I have ever had. Great stuff....we will DEFINITELY be back here...
Great BBQ - Great Atmosphere. The Smoke Ring is a great new Barbeque joint in downtown Atlanta right next to the Castleberry firestation # 1. The food was outstanding and the atmosphere is very nice. My family and I greatly enjoyed the meal , the restaurant, and casual yet sophisticated atmosphere. It is a great new spot and I highly recommend this restaurant to others.
The sliced brisket is thick cut and very tender. The cumin and smoke are in-your-face bold. Delicious. Triple cream corn screams fresh corn cut, even scraped off of a cob and creamed in its own corn milk along with dare I say some dairy too. Just natural sweet corn flavor is all you taste and all it needs to taste like. You can't beat fresh corn goodness.
This brisket is some of the best we have had. It’s moist and slightly smoky.
The pulled pork along with the crispy bacon, melted pimento cheese, jalapeno marmalade and Ancho BBQ sauce created an unbelievable explosion of flavors.
Pork belly sliders instantly caught my eye and got ordered along with fried green tomatoes. Those sliders are just heaven on a soft bun. Delicious side of crispy fries go nicely with the fatty tender pork with guiness mustard and bacon bourbon marmalade.
I recently paid a visit to two of the newer BBQ joints to open up in the metro and came away with mixed emotions. Both Smoke Ring (Castleberry Hill) and Righteous BBQ (Marietta/East Cobb) received favorable first impressions from several legitimate sources so I figured that was enough for me to hop back on the BBQ train. My plan was to try the pork, brisket, brunswick stew, and any other unusual items that caught my fancy. For me, having quality brunswick stew is a must for any decent BBQ joint in the southeast, and luckily both of the offerings I tried were pretty solid. I hit Righteous first; it’s in a strip mall off of 120 and is a no frills hole in the wall with few tables; most people appeared to be getting takeout there. I really wanted to like this place, but the brisket was really dry and the baked mac and cheese had the consistency of hard plastic; it appeared to have been made much earlier in the day and allowed to just hang out and dry up. I also tried the collard greens and
This place has nice decor and feels very welcoming. Went there to grab lunch before the Falcons game and We can walk to the stadium from this restaurant. Food was good and they have Alabama white BBQ sauce. Only few places I know of has this sauce. Good number of beer on tap available.
It looks like they've taken some great things OFF of their menu, but what I had was SLAMMIN! Wish that it'd been quicker, but staff was nice. Got take out. Wing sauce was great.
Had the bbq slider and a few different craft beers. The fresh cooked/smoked same day bbq was great, and the different craft beers I had were great. Some I hadnt tried before. Will be coming back again soon!!!
Great food and I mean great food. I smoke food myself and have eaten competition BBQ. Trust me I know good BBQ food. You will not be disappointed here
We have had the best meal at Smoke Rings in Atlanta Georgia. I had the brisket burrito and Keta had the ribs with baked beans brussel sprouts. Great dinner on the last leg of our trip from Richmond Hill GA to Guntersville Al to Chattanooga TN back to Richmond Hill GA. Smoke Rings has the best BBQ and atmosphere in Atlanta Georgia. Make it your must stop while in Atlanta Georgia.
I just.. I love this place. Every time I visit Atlanta it's the one place I have to go. Do yourself a favor and get the brussel sprouts, even if you think you don't like brussel sprouts: just do it. If I'm wrong I'll send you an apology letter (I won't be wrong 😄)
Been to the smoke ring a few times and the smoke turkey is outstanding. Personal favorite is the someone turkey club. large portions. Service is incosistant which is the only reason I rated them a four.
Walking distance from Mercedes Benz Stadium and Philips Arena. Great place to have a beer and smoked meat. We ordered jumbo wings and baby back rib. Wings are crispy outside and juicy inside, excellent! The corn on the cob tastes delicious so does the tater tots. The baby back ribs are too salty and dry for my liking.
Good BBQ here. Close to the Philips Arena, Centennial Park and the Georgia Dome. They have a delicious white BBQ sauce here that rocks. Local beef from Bear Creek Cattle Company in Ellijay GA.
Gr8 spot to go on date nite or w/ a grp!! When they say smoked it is good n smoked that flavor is dwn to the bone. Had 1/2 chicken w/ waffle fries and bbq brussel sprouts as pictured n my hubby had the farmers daughter w/ collards n baked beans also pictured (he started eating b4 I would get pic). Server - Busta, knew the menu well n gve gr8 recs. Service was fast, adult beverages were on point. Clean and spacious. Defitively would visit again when next in twn!!
So we never really go out for BBQ because let's be real.. good BBQ is hard to find! Nonetheless we were in the mood so we decided to give this place a try.. BEST DECISION EVER!! We walked in and it was pretty empty.. like 4 other people empty but we were ok with that. The host came over and told us we could sit anywhere we like then directed us to the "VIP Booth" as he jokingly called it. As we sat down we figured egh, this is probably just going to be an "ok" dinner. Our waiter came and was very nice. We asked him what the most popular dishes are and he said the pulled pork, brisket, and wings on Sundays. So we decided on the pulled pork sandwich with mac and cheese, and the ribs with a side of Brussels and potato salad. We also did the deviled eggs as an appetizer. When the eggs came they were "ok" nothing to write home about but that was ok. Once we got our food our taste buds were dancing with joy!! Whoever came up with the idea of those brussels needs an award! The mac was good and I'm very picky about mac & cheese but the ribs and the brisket sandwich omg so good that we cleaned our plates even after being full!! Needless to say we will definitely be returning to The Smoke Ring!
william koenig (Quiet)
+4
Came here before a MLS game. Place was packed with a wait. Hit the bar ordered drinks and food... Brought the food to an outside table which was cool with the staff. Avoided the wait and got to eat a very tasty pulled pork sandwich with Mac n cheese. Everything was on point and the service at the bar was great. Next time I go see a game... It's likely I'll eat here before.
The food here is really good. I'd say this is #2 in all of Atlanta so it's really good. Our party didn't have a single thing that wasn't good. I had the Duck, pork belly, roasted pepper, queso, onion marmalade burger. My wife got the picture attached.
Great atmosphere the food was delicious the smoke wings were my favorite
Love this place! Atmosphere is relaxed and staff is friendly. The Kale Chicken Salad is a must get and the Lemon Drop....yummo. Food and drinks are always so delicious.
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