Ken Kelly
This is my wife’s favorite barbecue joint. She loves the flavor of the meats better here than anywhere else that I take her. It’s in a great location right downtown Middelton and his golf cart accessible for residence of Middelton and The Villages. It’s a great facility with indoor and outdoor a bar and at the outdoor they allow small dogs. We always get the three neat combo with burnt ends, pulled chicken and lean brisket. Make sure you ask for lean if you want it lean understanding that it will be a little bit dry, but it avoids the extra fat. Out of the two barbecue sauces I enjoy the hot more than I enjoy the sweet although both of them are excellent. Their sandwiches are also very good. And now the best part desserts. They have their own bakery in your house and do fantastic cakes and cookies. Are famous our favorite is the Reese‘s peanut butter cup chocolate chip cookie. Definitely a great place to stop. Pricing is fair friendly staff at a great atmosphere. It is counter service but once you sit, they take care of you the rest of the way.
… moreWayne Pettit
We just went there for the first time. Heard good things. We split a 2 x 2 combo with St. Louis ribs and “moist“ brisket sides were beans and cheesy potatoes and we each had a cornbread. Everything was amazing! The cornbread is like a jalapeño cornbread and so good. Our bartender was Layla and she was perfect. We could not have had better. Hang onto her! Try this place if you haven’t. So good. By the way….It’s a one hour and 15 minute golf cart ride for us. It’s worth a trip! I posted my half of our meal.
… moreStew Dun
We will not return – it is no different than the one in Orlando. I ordered Brisket – SLICED – and I asked for a mix of lean and moist. For those who are in BBQ that is Flat and Point. YOU DO NOT receive a “slice” you get a piece of the slice…and I could not tell any “point meat” in the slices. So a girl walked by and asked how was our meal – and I told her and showed her- is this a slice? Yes. Can you tell moist from lean? I expect a WHOLE slice – so 8-12” long – you know – a slice of brisket. She appologized and went back to ask – and came back with a tray of more PIECES – which had visible fat. NEXT table over, he got what looked like chopped pork and sliced brisket So I went over and asked. He was super nice – yes you only get pieces – never a slice… what was chopped pork was in fact – BURNT ENDS!! OMG. His wife was more critical – it was NOT a cube of burnt end – but a cropped mix of supposedly burn brisket and pork!! OMG – NO WAY. He said well it is mixed stuff. You have to pay 50 cents for corn bread – I did – dry corn bread – no thanks. Ribs were good. NOT WORTH THE PRICE.
… moreLeah Richardson
We ordered our food online for togo that way it was ready when we arrived due to a slight time crunch. Food was ready at the time it said it would be! Service was nice, establishment was clean.. But food was just okay. We wouldn’t go out of our way to come eat again. We tried a variety of things such as Wings, St. Louis Ribs, Burnt ends, sausage and the fries. The burnt ends were the worst, very chewy and wouldn’t recommend. The St.Louis Ribs i would recommend along with the sausage( if you like mild sausage like myself) The wings were fine about average.
… moreGloria Schwartz
Disappointed. I’ve never been to a barbeque type smokehouse before.
Four of us tried this restaurant for the first time. When we placed our orders at the counter, we were told the restaurant was out of corn bread, smoked chicken, and pulled chicken. It was 6:30pm. How can they be out so early, especially corn bread which is a staple.
The cashier told us it would be 40 minutes until the next corn bread was ready.
I ordered 1/4 rack ribs and chose 2 sides: mac n cheese and coleslaw. It came with a small bun. The meal, as seen in my photo, was $13.99usd. I did not know 1/4 rack was just 3 ribs. Hardly any food for $14 and I am not a big eater. My husband ordered brisket and smoked turkey and 2 sides. He was given 2 small slices of dried out turkey and a rather small portion of brisket. All 4 of us were disappointed. My friend went to refill her sweet tea and the dispenser was empty. We all agreed we will not come back. On our way out, I asked the cashier for 4 pieces of complimentary corn bread to go, since they did not have any when we ordered. He kindly gave us some.
… moreKristopher Sargeant
Went with the family to 4Rivers Smokehouse.
It was set up differently that I expected. You ever and order at the counter (fast casual kind of style), they give you a “buzzer” that tracks your location. When you find a seat, there’s a special place to put the “buzzer” and the kitchen folks know exactly where to bring the food to.
Atmosphere is tasteless done. Somewhat of a modern smokehouse vibe. Still get the BBQ feel, wood, animals, etc. but in a modern place, tile, edison bulb lights, etc. Decent sided bar on the interior. Great outdoor patio space. Not many TVs as a whole but makes it more of a conversation at dinner kind of place. We enjoyed it.
Staff was terrific. Upon entering and ordering, greeted with a smile, helpful folks. Brandi, our attendant- not sure the title- but she was our person outdoors if we needed anything; napkins plates, extra drink refills, etc., she was amazing. Great person to have as the customer facing team member. Wonderful upbeat personality, helpful, great with the kids.
On to the food – the meats, Ribs and pulled pork were juicy, great flavor. Added a little of their exclusive BBQ, literally amazing. Thw BBQ by itself seems very vinager-y, but mixed in with the meats takes the meats to a whole new level. The sides for us were goods and not so goods. Personal preferences really. Baked beans werethe best we’ve had in a long time. Tastes of brown sugar and maybe caramel or syrup. Not sure which but amazing baked beans. The cheese potatoes sounds delicious but feel a little flat for us as they were like hash browns from Dennys with cheese. Stringy potatoes and not our 1st choice but im sure some really enjoy them. Another side was the cheese grits, not sure on these. They were a baked grit that we thought were cornbread. We actually told our attendant that we were missing our grits, until the next one came out and then she explained it to us. We had no idea. Weird texture for me but again, im sure some love it. Our one kiddo like the cheesy potatoes. Lastly, the mac-n-cheese side was…less to be desired. A bit watery, less cheesy. Our kids who only eat mac-n-cheese, unfortunately did not like the mac-n-cheese.
Side note: They do have a small kids menu, which does include a chicken tenders option.
We will make another go at it and try more things. Lots to choose from. Give them a shot.
… moreNora T
Husband and I are big fans of 4 Rivers for several years, and we were so happy for this new location to open. We’ve been twice, and both times my six shooter was room temperature. The grits and the meat should at least be warm, but the entire dish on both visits was room temp. My side of fried okra was warm enough and pretty good. My husband’s brisket was mostly fat, and was room temperature. He also ordered smoked wings and they were a good temperature and likable. Everytime I go to 4Rivers I order the coconut cake, and I did order it on my first visit, but it tasted old like a freezer/refrigerator. I decided to not risk it again, so I didn’t order it today. We don’t plan to return to this new location. Sorry!
… moreNick Loving
That barbecue be good! We ate our entire meals before we realized we didn’t even add any sauce, I definitely would go back for more. We had various brisket sandwiches, all so good. Sides were also yummy.
Service was great, very quick and friendly. Go there!
… moreRod Maddux
Our first experience at 4 Rivers Smokehouse and it was Exceptional. We actually got the order to go, but could not ask for more tender, delectable meat. I had the three meat, 2 sides and have plenty left over! Very fair pricing for the amount of food you get. Quick service, too.
… moreJody Dee
Beautiful restaurant, great atmosphere and customer service, but sorry, the food was not as expected. Brisket and ribs were dry even though I asked for the “wet” brisket and fries were so salty I couldn’t eat them. I don’t frequent this restaurant chain often as the closest one was in Winter Garden, however, I remember that the last time I eat there the meat was much more tender and juicy and left me wanting more. Not planning to eat here again as I spent over $20 for lunch and was not happy.
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