Sugarfire Smoke House

Someone from this business manages this listing.

1,285 reviews

#15 of 2,839 Restaurants in Saint Louis$$ - $$$, American, Barbecue, Gluten free options

+1 314-394-1720+ Add website

Hours

Sun

11:00 am - 9:00 pm

Mon

11:00 am - 9:00 pm

Tue

9:00 am - 8:00 pm

Wed

11:00 am - 10:00 pm

Thu

11:00 am - 9:00 pm

Fri

11:00 am - 9:00 pm

Sat

11:00 am - 9:00 pm

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What is Travellers’ Choice?

Tripadvisor gives a Travellers’ Choice award to accommodations, attractions and restaurants that consistently earn great reviews from travellers and are ranked within the top 10% of properties on Tripadvisor.

Ratings and reviews

4.5

1,285 reviews

#15 of 2,839 Restaurants in Saint Louis

Travellers' Choice 2024

RATINGS

Food

Service

Value

Atmosphere

Food and ambience

Local cuisine, American, Barbecue, Gluten free options

“... tried to be polite, and asked for his recommendation between two sandwiches.”

“Great selection of different meats, platters and sandwiches.”

“We had Coleslaw, Pasta BLT Salad, Fries and Potato Salad as our sides.”

Location and contact

605 Washington Ave, Saint Louis, MO 63101-1207

+1 314-394-1720

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Is this a Caribbean restaurant?

Yes

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Details

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About

Voted BEST BBQ in St. Louis 2015 Voted BEST BBQ in St. Louis 2014 Voted BEST NEW RESTAURANT 2013 Voted BEST BURGER 2013 Top 5 in the 100 Best Restaurants in St. Louis 2015 1st Place Memphis in May World Championships (seafood) 3rd Place Memphis in May World Championship (chicken) 8th Place Memphis in May World Championship (exotic). Come try some of St. Louis' best barbecue!

CUISINES

American, Barbecue

Special Diets

Gluten free options

Meals

Lunch, Dinner

FEATURES

Takeout, Seating, Television, Highchairs Available, Wheelchair Accessible, Serves Alcohol, Accepts Credit Cards

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4.5

1,285 reviews

Excellent

796

Very good

334

Average

105

Poor

Terrible

JHAllen

Oro Valley449 contributions

Very Tasty

Oct 2020 • none

My wife and I were impressed with the taste and quantity of their offerings, I had the brisket, she had the half ribs. The meal is served cafeteria style, you order your meat, then your sides and pay where you get your drink cup. The meals come with 1 or 2 sides depending on what you chose as well as a drink. There is a choice of sauces, my favorite being the Honey BBQ, they have a White BBQ which is horseradish flavored, too mild for my taste. The fountain drinks contain local brands including Frosty Root Beer something I haven't seen for 60 years on the East Coast. The eating area is wide open and you get to chose your place, the interior decorations is funky and humorous, but not conducive to privacy and would be noisy if crowded. The only downfall is that the steam table heat was too low meaning that the meal cooled off too quickly.

Written 22 October 2020

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Liz O

86 contributions

I'll go three nights in a row!

Dec 2019 • none

I go to St. Louis for work every month and I always try to stay near this restaurant. I've had the pulled pork, salmon, ribs, rib tips, and many, many different sides. Everything was great! They have a lot of different sauces, but I've noticed that they have a sweet palate, so if you don't like sweet food, you may have a hard time. They have some vinegar based sauces, but I haven't tried them; I do have a sweet palate so this place is perfect for me. But many of the sides are sweet, too. The best thing is that the smoke taste really comes through in many of the meats so you may find you don't even need sauce, especially on the ribs. The only thing I don't like is that they don't have coke or pepsi, just off-brand soda, but they have really good tea, so I'm okay with that. It's very casual (pick up your food cafeteria style - although some things like burgers and fish are cooked to order - and grab a table) and it's very cheap for the quality. Sometimes they get big groups and it can get quite crowded. There may be more "authentic" places, but I really, really like this place.

Written 21 January 2020

Dare M

25 contributions

Awesome Food, Good Atmosphere

Jul 2019 • none

In my opinion, this is a must-visit restaurant. We had pulled pork and ribs. Meats and sides were delicious. Lots of sauces from which to choose on the table. Some individual tables and long family-style tables available. Needed help figuring out how to order and the worker was away from the entrance so we had to get a menu on our own and watch what others were doing but that was not a big problem. You order cafeteria style. I am only sorry we only had time to eat there once-more I would have liked to try and were unable to transport leftovers. Visit Sugarfire by all means!!

Written 27 March 2020

debbiebuford

Atlanta14 contributions

Good food...service needs work

Sept 2020 • none

Second visit tonight on our Saint Louis get away. Once again..food is very good but service needs attention. The line moved super slowly..folks behind the counter seemed disorganized and several had bad attitudes. My husband came to join me but was locked out (30 minutes prior to closing because they said "we ran out of food". They eventually let him in and let me tell you..there was ALOT of food in their pans behind the counter!! I'll try somewhere else next time. Service means alot to me and if I'm going to pay over $15 for 8 oz of pork, 2 small sides and a fountain drink..I'd like to have a smile.

Written 6 September 2020

Art S

Bloomington123 contributions

Good but not the best I've had

Jan 2020 • none

I got the pulled pork meal, my daughter got the ribs, and my wife got the brisket. This restaurant has about 5 different types of barbecue sauces. I really enjoyed the coffee barbecue sauce on the pulled pork. They had a selection of about 7 different craft beers and various types of sodas. The pulled pork was good but didn't have the smoky taste that I really enjoy. The ribs had too much fat on them so they definitely were not the best I've ever had. The brisket was a little above average. The portion sizes of the sides were a bit above average. They came in a french fry boat whereas I'm used to serving sizes in a round condiment cup. I got the potatoes and baked beans and both were very good. Decent barbecue but certainly not the best I've ever had so my overall rating is average.

Written 19 January 2020

Declan H

London36 contributions

Good food but felt rushed

Jan 2020 • none

Walked into this place expecting to be greeted by a member of staff that would show us to a table. We soon realised (after being waved over to the food counter by a member of staff) that this wasn't the case. Since we didn't have the opportunity to look through a menu, we felt rushed as we were stood at what I can only describe as a high school or prison like food counter. There were some options listed on a chalk board but these appeared quite faint. I then asked the lady behind the counter what she recommended and before I knew it, a few ribs and some pulled pork was being thrown onto a tray for me. I then had the option of some sides and again, this felt rushed and I went for the fried okra and beans. Over all I wasn't disappointed with what I was given, I say given as I don't feel like I was really given much choice of what to choose from. Maybe if there was a table service type of ordering, along with a menu then I would have felt a bit more relaxed. It seemed like, unless you were a regular there, the whole dining experience was a bit unclear. We even had a man come up to us and ask if the staff clear the trays from the table or if you have to clear them yourself. The latter was soon established and we headed out once this was done as it didn't exactly feel like this was a chill out spot, more so a "lets get a quick bite and get out of here"

Written 2 February 2020

brkann

Carbondale324 contributions

This was our first time after

Jan 2020 • family

This was our first time after years of hearing about Sugarfire. Our party of five ordered pulled pork platters and a full slab of ribs. Sides included the loaded tater tots (amazing), slaw, beans (super unique and yummy), and fries. Everyone ate every single bite and loved the food. Food is ready when you get there, and they put it on a tray for you as you walk through the line. We would definitely go back.

Written 4 January 2020

sidder

West Chester657 contributions

Call to confirm they have brisket...moist, flavorful pork

Jul 2020 • none

Arrived at about 6 on a Sunday night and was disappointed that they were out of brisket, which I had been craving. However, the pork looked meaty, moist, and had yummy charred ends, so opted for that on a Caesar salad. I appreciate that they were willing to support the pork for the smoked turkey that was part of the salad entree. Sides all looked yummy. If in St Louis, go!

Written 27 July 2020

Darrin

Baltimore40 contributions

Meh

Dec 2020 • solo

The best way to describe my experience is Meh. I'm staying in a hotel around the corner and not much is open downtown. I did not do any research prior as proximity is what drove me to this place. Usually when they have a sign out that says BBQ TODAY, the assumption is that it is in great demand and limited supply. Given the pandemic, I can understand why they would still have such a desired commodity at 7:00 on a Tuesday night. I walked up and the friendly person distributing food help me out with picking a combo of four ribs, sausage and pork. Along with the combo included two sides of which I selected their scalloped potatoes and garlic green beans. They offered a selection of different sauces, so I picked two and moved on to my table. First off I noticed that the food was lukewarm at best and seemed that it had been sitting out for a while. The pork was not chopped so I had to use the plastic utensils to cut it up. It was mostly dry and lacked flavor. The ribs were again just okay and nothing to write home about. The sausage was interesting but again it also was not even warm by the time I started to eat it and seemed a bit undercooked. The scallops had bits of what I believe are croutons and chopped turkey. The scalloped part of the potato tasted pretty good, but the rest I could have done without. The garlic green beans included a lot of onions and I'm not a big fan of onions but I figured I'd give it a shot because I wanted to get my Greens in. Once I picked through all the onions the green beans were pretty decent again lukewarm at best. In summary maybe I caught them on an off night and of course there's a pandemic, but if you're going to be open you should at least provide hot food.

Written 1 December 2020

wetravelalot007

Rossville1233 contributions

Sugarfire Is the Real Deal

Mar 2021 • none

There are places that stand the test of time and continue on even through the craziness of the last year. This is just one of those places. WE ate here on a recent westward trip through St. Louis. WE are glad we did. WE had the three meat platter to share with corn bread and a cookie. It was plenty of food for the two of us to share. The three meats we had were the turkey (super tender and moist unusual for a smoked bird), pulled pork and brisket. The brisket was great. The sides we selected were potato salad and cole slaw. The potato salad was great. Our food was five star worthy. The atmosphere was so ecclectic it worked. Usually if you have a run down place that looks a bit dirty and unkempt it gets rated down by us. Here we are willing to give them a shabby chic positive vibe rating. Perhaps a bit of a stretch but we enjoyed everything about it even our shabby surroundings. This place has renown galore. It had the Best Sandwich in the world rating for 2018. TV shows come here to give it noteriety and it is well written about throughout the media. Service is all done at the front counter. It is well done as well. They do get a knock for not doing a good job of keeping the dining room cleaned timely. As it is so busy people clear out and others have to grab their table without a thourough cleaning. In this era that is a no-no. But truly that is the only thing we had to knock this place on. Our ratings: Food 5 stars Renown 5 stars Service 3.5 stars Atmosphere 4.5 stars Romantic appeal 5 stars (great date destination) Value 5 stars Averages out to 4,7 stars rounds up to 5. We cannot wait to come back and try the Cuban Reuben sandwich that was rated the best sandwich in the world in 2018. We hihgly recommend.

Written 26 March 2021

Sue B

Colorado Springs52 contributions

Just average for BB'que

Jan 2020 • none

We are from the west so have had lots good 'que, and found Sugarfire to be average though prices were a bit steep for what you get. I had brisket and pulled pork, they were a bit dry and required using some sort of sauce. The variety of sauces on the table was a high point, I think there were about 7 different ones. Side dishes (I had the slaw and beans) were unremarkable, and other fellow diners felt the same about their sides.

Written 10 February 2020

TanyaT

Michigan127 contributions

Pretty Good, but a Bit Pricey

Jun 2021 • family

My daughter and I had a great dinner here. The meals are large, but so is the price tag. 2 combo plates for $50 with tip. You place your own order, pick up your food, pour your own drinks, and get your own condiments. Why is there even an option to tip? I’m tipping at all restaurants right now since COVID has made the last year so hard on restaurants, but I’m not sure why you’d tip moving forward. We were uncomfortable with the long tables for seating all diners right next to each other, but were able to get a small private table near the door.

Written 26 June 2021

EvanCourtney

132 contributions

Amazing Local BBQ

Apr 2021 • none

We went at lunchtime and there wasn't a crowd. Our family got the Meateater which was 4 types of meat, 2 sides, and 1 drink. Our family of 4 (w/ two elementary kids) all shared it. It was more than enough food. The brisket and jalapeno sausage was amazing! Also, the baked beans were super good.

Written 5 April 2021

Levi N

Fairfax660 contributions

Way Overrated

Nov 2019 • none

This place wasn't bad but it definitely doesn't deserve to be ranked so high. The menu is not the easiest to understand and the staff were less than helpful in walking us through it. We were looked down upon with derision when asking questions. You do get a ton of food for what you pay, however the food is fairly average. Certainly not the quality I would expect for such high ratings. The range of sauces were well done however. The overall ambiance was nothing to write home about either. We expected a good bit more from BBQ in St Louis.

Written 26 April 2020

asia999

United States310 contributions

Best BBQ ever

Jun 2021 • none

Amazing brisket and ribs, also had the sausage and pulled pork which were OK. Sugarfire Smoke House is run cafeteria style, where they had a counter with all the food, they put it on on a tray as you move down the line and add more to your order and pay at the end. However, you can not hold a table while someone in your party is online ordering food. The brisket is sliced to order with just the right amount of fat, tender and flavorful. The ribs were tasty and cooked to perfection in my book, although others said they could be a little more fall off the bones. They provide a ton of BBQ sauces to choose from.

Written 9 July 2021

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