« Ballard Restaurants

The brisket is amazing, the sides are lame.

I grew up in Texas and ate bbq regularly. I realize there are regional differences, but this is place is pretty terrible. Portions are too small and pricey for meat that's smoked in a gas smoker and stored behind a glass underneath heat lamp.

If you love bbq and have some time to kill, smoke some meat, poultry and fish yourself on a regular grill using charcoal and hardwood. (don't use softwood like pine or cedar) Use indirect heat and water pan. Check the temperature frequently. There are lot of instructions on the internet.

I LOVE this place! Huge portions, lots of flavor and great sauces to choose from. The slow dog is my favorite.

Worst BBQ I've ever had, hands down. I'm a sucker for punishment, so I've tried their food three times. I try to support local establishments, but I'm done with this one. The ribs are tough, not even cooked through. The sauce is horrible. The sides are tasteless. What more can I say?

The brisket is to die for (soft, juicy and definitely not good for you) also love the beans and the collard greens. Other favorites: beef & baby back ribs and the hot links.

Pricy but I split their portions over two meals found it consistently good.

The staff are just fine - no more attitude than you'd get from any barista - get over yourselves folks!

So we should just expect and accept bad service? No way!

I love Pete's althought on the expensive side. It is so much better than Garbiel's fire. The brisket and ribs are great. The sides are lacking the zip I want but overall I love to go there.

Met up with a party of 6 for some Saturday BBQ at Pete's On Jan. 31, 2009 and it couldn't have been more disappointing. The food was overpriced, bland, cold and the sullen, sour-faced employees (except for the kind female server) couldn't have cared less. But making the entire experience by far worse, was the fact that Smokin' Pete's didn't have the heat on. It was less than 50 degrees outside, and less than 50 degrees inside. There is far better BBQ in Seattle, try the Viking if you don't have kids with you, it'll be worth your time and effort even if you have to leave Ballard. I hope this place goes out of business so that something better can takes its place

I was excited to try Smokin' Pete's and I just did, and -- Man! -- am I disappointed. The ribs were fine but barely. The sides were almost flavorless, no zest, no zip. This is lower end BBQ and, for the quality, very expensive.

I really want to like Smokin' Pete's because they often times have beef ribs on Fridays, and its hard to find those. But I can't get past that I've twice found bugs in my food. The first was a large flying insect baked into the bottom of cornbread muffin, and the second was a smaller insect at the bottom of my Seattle Greens. It just grosses me out. Both times I had done take out so I didn't bring it to their attention.

I agree that their meats are mostly good and tasty, but tend to be fatty -- wish they'd trim them a bit.

The meat is really quite good. You'll never know it though unless you buy just the meat and do everything else yourself.

The sauce is awful, the bread is all wrong for BBQ, the sides are mediocre at best.

They got the hard part right and completely botched the easy stuff!

I've never had a really good meal here. The meat is often too fatty, and the sauce is just not good. I'm really happy Gabriel's Fire opened to get some tasty bbq in the neighborhood.

So I have eaten here twice and this is pretty much to low end of the food chain. I cannot think of one really positive thing to say about this place.

The meat, port/beef, both times was dry and chewy. I love bbq, but this place seems to be able to ruin a good or bad piece of meat.

I suppose the servers where fine, but whats to say about someone standing at the counter.

The sauce was okay, but nothing special.

For my money I will go some where else.

This is one of those places that you keep wondering how they've stayed open as long as they have.

The BBQ was watery. Sounds odd, but I really don't know how else to describe it.

I've had better BBQ at places that don't advertise being a BBQ place. Therefore, I'd have to give this place a little less than average.

for the 'hit and miss' comments above, I must have been there on the miss days. I've tried 2-3 times to like this place as I live very close and I LOVE bbq, but when I can (and do) make better bbq at home in my own smoker, it's hard to be excited about smokin' pete's.

I totally concur with the statement about the food here being hit-or-miss. From what I heard, the food is prepared offsite and delivered here for re-heating? Can anyone confirm?

2nd time I went here with Nina, we got some hair in our food.

The cornbread is about as fun and flavorful as eating a rice cake.

Ribs are really hit or miss here...sometimes good, sometimes straight up fat and gristle leaving you with an empty stomach.

I really wanted to like this place. I have been quite a few times over the past couple of years as I live nearby and sometimes just cannot resist. I always get the pulled pork sandwich. When I think of BBQ, I think pulled pork. But the quality is hit or miss. Sometimes the size of the sandwich is excellent. Other times it is way too small. Sometimes the pork has been perfectly manicured of excess fat, gristle, and burnt bits (a few burnt bits are not bad). But other times it is dry, chewy, fatty, gristly, and just plain bad. I also think they changed their original sauce awhile back. It was really good before hand. Had that vinegar tang to it. Now it is just so so. But it's all about the meat, and with it being so hit or miss, I just can't take the chance anymore. But when it is on, it can be very very good.

I actually love some of the sides! I get the "Beans and Greens" but replace the Seattle greens with regular old collard greens. And the corn bread made with sweet potatoes? Amazing.

I'm a huge fan of the brisket, and I really like some of the sides, too! My kids love the Mac n Cheese :)

Disappointing :(

The pulled pork sandwich is my favorite but all the meat is great. I like the sides too, but they certainly don't stand out compared to the great BBQ.

Smokin' Pete's smells awesome. Drive by it nightly. But the food has always left me wanting more. I want it to be better, but... I don't know when I'll go back again.

If they would learn to cut off all the gross extra fat they leave on the brisket, I'd start going again (after dozens of visits I couldn't take it anymore). And they need to throw away all the recipes for their sides and hire someone with a knowledge of spices to give them some actual flavor.

Apparently you have neve been to Texas then, since that is how brisket is cooked correctly with the fat left to keep the meat moist. Places that trim the fat should not be in business. Brisket cooked without the fat side up is dry and tasteless. If you want that go anywhere else in Seattle.

I agree about that the sides can be hit and miss, but the brisket is %100 worth the effort. Thick slabs of smokey, juicy, fatty beef. This is real BBQ, not the limp grilled chicken breast average citizens make at home.

Love the pulled pork sandwiches and the ribs, but the sides are disappointingly mediocre.