Stuart's Smokehouse & Seafood

Visited Stuart's Smokehouse on New Years Eve. There was an entry fee of 10 dollars per person. I didn't ask if that was common or only for the holiday. The food was decent. My SO and I got the pulled pork and brisket sandwiches. Fries were a separate charge. There were quite a few regular patrons and a lack of waitresses so it was a longer visit than expected. Finally, we get to the atmosphere. It was welcoming and everyone was polite. Definitely a unique West Virginian experience.

I love the atmosphere of this place. It's rustic and basic but a gem perched above the Greenbrier River. There was a staffing issue the day we went and our server was running ragged and stressed. Common occurrence everywhere these days though. I'm concerned about the future of this restaurant due to some rumors I heard about it possibly going up for sale. I'm not sure if it would retain its backwoods charm if Mr. Brugh wasn't managing it.

Me and some family didn’t have the greatest time. We have been here before and it was great, but this time it wasn’t good. Maybe they were wore out today.. but first thing I noticed was the table still had quiet a bit crumbs left on it. Ok, well we brushed them off. Waited an hour for the seafood boil and a grilled chicken sandwich. Another family had mentioned they waited two hours, a waitress had to re-take their orders. Once our food arrived, I ate half of my chicken sandwich before noticing the piece on top was a bit pink. Our Mr Pibbs tasted incredibly flat. It also looked like the place needed a decent cleaning, there was a bunch of dust everywhere. Not trying to be mean or anything… just hope things get better again.

We went here with high hopes. Drove over 1 1/2 hrs for my birthday dinner. Let me start by saying my boyfriend liked his food. We were told they didn't have Brisket, Bone In Chicken Wings or Crab Dip. He thought the pulled pork was good along with the French fries. Portion size was good. I however was disappointed in my meal. I ordered a steam pot with Crab legs and shrimp. It was to come with potatoes and corn. The Crab legs were good. The shrimp over cooked. The potatoes were not the usual boiled salt potato or little round potatoes but deep fried chunks of potato. This for me was disappointing. We did order dessert which was listed as Deep Fried Cheesecake. Presentation was good but when we cut into it, it had a brown colored cream which when we asked about it, we were told it was some type of banana filling. They said they weren't sure because they are bought that way frozen. I have 2 suggestions. The 1st - Use salt potatoes or little round potatoes in your steam pots and either replace the deep fried cheesecake with real cheesecake, or let people know its not just cheesecake. The river in the back was nice to watch and there are railroad tracks which we happen to watch a train go by.

I wish I could rate this place zero stars. We shoulda known better from the reviews. But we do like to give these little local places a chance... so, jokes on us this time! Our order consisted of a steam pot, fried shrimp & crab cakes. Let's begin with the pot, shall we! My family ate the crab leg- literally one. The shrimp was cold as could be and gross, the corn was disgusting and freezer burnt, and the potatoes were fried! In a boil! Strange, right! Thankful so, because they were edible. Crab cakes were burnt to a f'n crisp! See photo! They might could have been decent if it wasn't for that. Now the fried "shrimp!!!" I cannot remember how many came on the plate, maybe 6-8... they were butterflied. And the absolute worse things I've ever put in my mouth! I can't even describe them for you! You couldn't even bite em! That's one in the photo after I tried to find the shrimp with a fork (plastic silverware and paper plates, I may add!). I just don't want to say anymore about the food... it looks like this place is popular for hot dogs so maybe that's what we should've ordered. They need to STAY AWAY FROM SEAFOOD. And you need to STAY AWAY FROM HERE IF THAT'S WHAT YOU WANT TO EAT! When we started our order and asked about the special (all-you-can-eat oysters) we were told the cook would be happy we didn't order those cause they didn't want to cook more! Our waitress was nice and we did tip her well... I can't say she was efficient or entirely alert, but she was kind. Needless to say we paid $60 to eat cereal in our hotel room later! The next day we happened to run into the other family eating near us that night and they had a very similar experience... it wasn't just our taste... it's this Godawful food.