Reviews for Bear's Smokehouse Barbecue in Hartford, CT
If I want some guaranteed good BBQ and I don't want to go far, I will hit up Bear's Smokehouse. This place always has really... good food you can count on, the staff is really nice and the restaurant itself is a cool place. So you walk up to the counter,school lunch style, and menu is on wall above the ordering counter. They do have all kinds of options, even if you don't wantBBQ. For me I chose the Pick Three meats option, which also comes with 2x sides. This time I got brisket, chicken wings and 1/2BBQ chicken,BBQ beans and potato salad. Once you get your food you can choose your seat, the fountain drinks and BBQ sauce areon the back wall, so feel free to fill up on whatever you need. I chose strawberry soda and then some sweet BBQ sauce along withsome ghost pepper BBQ sauce. The food was amazing, as always. All the meats were tender, juicy and full of flavor. All thesides were great as well, I even added on some fantastic cornbread as well. I really don't think you can order a bad thing, I'mpretty sure everything is awesome. I know the pulled pork is also very flavorful and super tender. So is you want some greatBBQ, in a cool place that's family friendly.....Bear's is the place for you. Read more
This folks, is some darn good bbq! Friendly staff, ample seating, and the foods were spot on. I had the two meat combo - half... chicken and pulled pork, with beans and mac as the sides. Everything I ate was fantastic. The skin on the chicken was crisp andflavorful, and meat fell off the bone. The pulled pork melted in my mouth. They have a nice variety of sauces too. Definitelystop in here while in Hartford! Read more
Decided to try this place today for lunch. It was delicious. Had the 2 meat combo with two sides. The pulled pork & chicken were... very flavorful & moist. The cornbread was yummy & very dense. The coleslaw was good. Also tried the seasonal watermelon, basil &green salad (no meat). It was a nice addition to the bbq. Staff was professional, friendly and helpful. Plus definitelyrecommend. Read more
Saturday family Diner after visiting the Science Center. Everyone was hungry. We wanted to try this restaurant for the first... time. Walking in, I had the wrong concept for this place. It is not a sit down and order kind of place. You are prompted toorder your food at the counter and once you are given your choice of meat, you move along to the next station with your tray inyour hands to order your choice of sides. Then, you move with your food to the cashier were you can order your drink. Afterthat you pick a nice place to sit and enjoy your food, including outdoor options. There is also a Bar located at the front partof the establishment were you can seat, drink, and order your food. If you are having soft drinks, you will have to serveyourself from the soda fountain located in the dinner area. Since we are a family of four, we decided to order a Family Deal.You get a choice of full rack of BBQ Ribs ($64) or a whole chicken ($54). You can also choose one (1) pound of meat from thingslike turkey breast, pulled pork, pulled chicken, kielbasa, Texas sausage, Moink Balls (meatballs covered with bacon). Or for anextra cost (+$4), you could also order the beef brisket, burnt ends or pastrami. You can also choose three (3) pint sizedsides. Mac-n-Cheese, BBQ beans, coleslaw, broccoli salad, collard greens, roasted corn medley, and potato salad. You can alsosubstitute a side for four (4) cornbread pieces. We went with the ribs and brisket. M&C, potato salad and the cornbread. Thefood was luke warm. The ribs were good, the brisket was tasty, but drier than expected. The sides were pretty good. Portionsare good. We couldn't eat everything, had to take the rest home. We paid around $95 w/tip. Read more
Today me and my husband visited the Hartford location and we were immediately greeted by Kevin, the assistant manager. He was... warm, friendly and extremely helpful. He provided thorough explanations of what we asked about, and he took the time withoutrushing us in any way. He had a genuine desire to give us a great experience. We also encountered a woman working on the foodline named Bree. She was wonderful. She smiled at us and was also very helpful during the entire ordering process. These are theencounters and customer service experiences that give me faith and hope that it still exists out there. I am hoping that eachand every employee will take notice of their behaviors and learn to be how they are, to provide the customers with a wonderfulexperience, on top of the food always being impeccable. We were very satisfied with our visit today. Read more
Highly recommend bear's. I like the cafeteria style serving. It made things flow smoothly. Food was great. Pulled pork and... chicken were really good. Read more
This is one of the best smoked BBQ places I have found. I wish I lived closer and could eat more of the yummy for my tummy BBQ.... The layout is rustic and I love the server yourself cafeteria style service. I have tried the brisket burnt ends, slicedbrisket. They were both excellent. The sides are also awesome. I had the baked beans and mac and cheese. The service isspectacular and the décor and atmosphere jive well. All in all a great place to eat if you like good smoked BBQ. The sauces aregood also, they have a ghost pepper I am afraid to try, but the Texas Pepper is my style. Read more
Wow! I was pleasantly surprised for a northern barbeque restaurant. The prices are just right for what you get - honestly each... meal serves 2 people. Since it appears to be an assembly line style restaurant, I was expecting dry overcooked food but insteadreceived moist beautifully smoked meat piled on top of fresh fries smothered in gravy (Bear style). Definitely worth thestop! Unsure what to get? Ask the server their recommendation - that is what I did! Bonus: they serve local made HosmerMountain soda! Also there is a bar. Read more