FatCap Smokehouse in Bedford

Great Food and staff today. Was advertised as a Fathers Day Meal, first come first served, no issues with that but what was t mentioned was the fact that they wouldn’t have the normal beers on, only notes, (I guess as its only intermittently open now). Shame, as the way it is run is hit and miss and you can’t go for a good night out. Could be so much more except its badly run.

Fantastic. Pulled pork, brisket and burnt ends. Spent the last 40 years living in the States, moved back to UK last year. This BBQ was as good as any I had in the Southern states.

Great experience, food was spot on, friendly staff, nice atmosphere 👍

The restaurant has not been open for a few months now. My one and only meal here was very poor quality with slow cooked beef that somehow managed to be tough. I shan't miss the place

Restaurant shut until further notice been nice if they posted that. Made a special journey here

an amazing place for every barbecue conesiour

Apparently it’s closed due to shortage of staff. Shame no one bothered to phone and tell us as we had a table booked. Trying to find out on the interweb is also hard unless you have Facebook

Booked a table on 14th Sept for myself and 2 friends for this coming Sunday 25th September to receive an email just 10 mins ago cancelling our reservation. No explanation and nobody is answering the phone... !!

£14 for a burger is pretty expensive especially as it doesn't come with fries ! The music they play is awful , I know it's an American theme but I don't want constant country music pumped into my ears . I have a feeling that unless they amend their prices/menu very very soon they won't last much longer . The food was ok but not a nice experience on the wallet . I won't be visiting again . **** I've just seen the owners reply . Fries are one of the cheapest things to make and the owners refuse to listen . This place will close very soon . ****

Was OK wait ages for drinks short staff burger was OK don't get much staff were friendly bit slow won't go back in a rush nice place

Food was nice. Burger was messy. Fries were tasty. Staff were friendly

Very friendly and helpful staff. Accommodated with my allergies, nothing too much trouble. Lovely, tasty food. Clean and good atmosphere.

Fantastic food and staff, would highly recommend.

Amazing food, clueless staff. Went entire meal without getting our drinks, after chasing twice! Wasn't even busy. Shame as food was brilliant, but poor service soured the evening. Wouldn't rush back.

Fantastic Food & The Price Was Good

Good food, nice selection of food to choose from, nice surroundings.

Service was shocking. We arrived at 7pm and at 9pm were still waiting for mains. The pulled pork bun and ribs were tasty but the Texas Tang Chicken burger was awful. A piece of shoe leather would have been less tough than that chicken. Would not go back

Delicious meat ! Lovely date and makes me feel a bit back in America ☺️

Amazing food! If you love a great BBQ smoked meat this is by far one of the best I have ever been too. St Louis smoked ribs are amazing right through to the fully loaded burgers. Had some great cocktails with mocktails are a delight to really refreshing. The staff are amazing and very helpful and always smiles and a great meal everytime we have been.

Good food, service a bit slow and got our drinks order wrong

Absolutely amazing. Found this place about a month ago and I'm so glad I did. Food is incredible.

Amazing food, nice little restaurant and really nice staff!

Great place all round, from service to tasty food. We went on a 2-4-1 burger night & were not disappointed. The lady who served us all night was very helpful and you could see she was multi-tasking herself around the venue but always had time for every table there. Definitely coming back to try out a bottomless meal on a weekend.

Great atmosphere, friendly and helpful staff and food was lovely. You have to go back because there is so much to choose from on the menu.

Fab meal with family very tasty food and great service Portions on most things very large There was also live music on tonight which was a great bonus

Delicious food. The beef brisket was particularly tender. Lots of smokey bbq flavour. Great portion sizes. Nice beer selection. Friendly service. My only critique would be I would have expected something better than heinz bbq sauce in the condiments. A real American one would be much better. Never the less, I'll be back soon

Amazing food and service. FatCaps were able to cater for a large office party and kindly closed the restaurant for us. The staff were friendly and managed the night very well - our large pre-order of food all came out to us correct and hot! Will definitely be returning

Lovely menu. Good food. Generous portions. Refillable soft drinks. Shakes looked amazing.

Poor service, had run out of some menu items so choice was limited. Not impressed will not return.

Food very yummy 😋 service very good and friendly but the floor looked like it needed a good clean

Hubby and I wanted to go somewhere different for a change and came across this place. It didn't disappoint, the food was amazing! It was more expensive than our usual restaurants, but the food quality and taste was to die for. We will definitely be going back again!

Our experience of the restaurant was very negative. There was no real atmosphere/music in the restaurant. The male staff member was really rude to other members of staff at our table which was embarrassing and unprofessional. It really ruined the mood of our table. We found a hair on the hot plate of our mac & cheese and the member of staff refused to swap it with a fresh dish. Worst restaurant service I have ever come across. I would avoid and not waste your money. Portion size are also far too large and 2 people could share but they won’t tell you that. We had so much food left over and wasted.

Just absolutely awesome, I am a bit g fan off BBQ I do a load myself, and I order a lot of specialist meats and so on for my home Bbq but this place isn’t s really something special, I can’t recommend it highly enough.

Came here for a weekend away to meet some friends and went to fatcap. Really enjoyed it, good food and well priced for what you got. Had the ribs and butt myself which was a dream, the Mrs had the short rib and she loved that. Both of our friends enjoyed their burger. They even serve a kids meal which is an extraordinarily big portion. Interestingly, it wasn't busy and that's potentially due to its location however it's well worth the trip. Bedford will do well to not let a restaurant like this go.

Really enjoyed the food... great service

Superb restaurant, food was amazing. Had shared main course ,absolutely delicious. Fantastic service, atmosphere and decor.👍👍

Try the platter. Very friendly service and chefs deliver an outstanding platter!

Food, drinks and service was great! I hope you do margaritas soon!

A fantastic gem in Bedford town. If nachos are your thing these are the best I've tasted a fantastic starter. Their burgers are perfect, juicy, but not too overbearing and messy. Just right. I wish we could of had dessert as im.sure it would have been perfect. We went last Saturday night around the busiest time and the atmosphere was great. Not too busy or loud, fantastic table service and staff. Thank you

Went with 3 friends, food was nice and lots of it, i had the nachos for one which was big enough to share and the burger which was delicious. Staff were friendly. Cocktails were nice but did take a very long time to arrive considering it was not busy, and we twice had to try and get the attention of staff for extra drinks at the table as we were not asked during the meal, which is not a big issue! Was a pleasant evening out with friends.

Massive amount of food and friendly staff

Huge Spiderweb on the light just as you get in on the left hand side. Couldn't help but starring at it. Burned burger bun

Great place to eat! Unique place to eat in Bedford.

I use a Kamodo Joe at home which was much better. This is not a smoke house at all. The meat falls apart but it’s not been cooked in a smoker, and too much sauce has been used on the meat to create a bbq taste, way to much sugar, quite sickly. Sorry! Service from the 1 Waitress was really good though.

We arrived to an empty restaurant and were greeted by the manager. The service was quick and we ordered the “brisket and butt”! When the food arrived it was lukewarm and absolutely saturated in barbecue sauce, so much so that you couldn’t taste the rather expensive meat. We left rather disappointed.

Amazing food, friendly and organised staff. Overall a great place to eat what felt like my body weight in meat in one sitting 🍖

Superb staffing, even with a request and made to feel completely at ease. Cool atmosphere and great American selection across the menu, a great date-night find - we will definitely be back again.

Lovely food and value for money

Very nice food, however was a bit disappointed that the draught beer pumps were being cleaned during opening hours, so we couldn’t have draught beer and had to have bottles. Think it would make sense to do this when customers aren’t in there? Also the amount of food you’re given for the price seems a little bit steep but tasty all the same.

OKish food, bit too costly for the food and ambience

Myself and the missus along with 5 of the grankids and others had an enjoyable meal last night.

Lovely place, staff really friendly and food was absolutely banging! Even came outside in the rain to give me my phone as I left it on the table! Top banana.

We ordered the Fat Cup feast for £49 and it was very good! A lot of mixed pork meat, 2 serves of chips, beans, slaws and bread. Bottomless soda drinks for £3.80. Very nice staff and clean restaurant. Just a little suggestion, change the plates because they were too small compared to the huge amount of meat you serve! Thanks 🙏

Ordered brisket and ribs combo £22, dry and Luke warm. Expensive, tasteless microwave food. Plus side is McDonald’s is only around the corner

Tasty food, nice atmosphere I would return

This is the second time I have been here and I would happily return. The service was amazing, the food was delicious and the final bill was less than I thought it would be. I imagine the negative reviews here are simply a blip and are far from the norm. I will be back and of the 9 people who came 4 had never been before and are already talking about returning with their friends and families! They had a decent selection of Gluten Free food for my wife also. She normally feels left out but did not here!

Every visit has always been brilliant food with friendly service. The BBQ offering is second to none and if I could afford a weekly visit it would happen. The fatcap feast is an ode to food frankly.

this was just ok for me. we had the pulled pork burger and some burnt end bites. the burnt ends were tender and the bbq sauce was super tasty, however I could tell that they had been pre cooked and then heated up as the meat had started to dry out. same issue with the pulled pork. service was great a lovely blonde girl was friendly and attentive. overall the food is decent and I would eat here again but is no comparison to the likes of Hickorys or Reds BBQ

Me and my girlfriend went to fatcap for dinner on a Saturday night - the restaurant was busy but not packed. We were sat for 20 minutes before someone came and asked us for our drinks order, at which point we ordered food and drink as we’d been waiting so long. The food arrived promptly but the drinks didn’t - so we were sat with our meal, with no drinks for at least 15 minutes. Considering there it was only 2 cocktails this was extremely disappointing. Eventually we got our drinks and finished our meal which was nice, and asked for the bill. The bill, unlike the food and drinks was brought out immediately and we were out in a shot. Good food but felt like we were being ignored all night and we’re not being serviced.

Had a takeaway. Ordered main and dirty side . Still hungry. Small portions and the brisket fries were just cheap mince on top of a few chips with maybe a small bit of brisket in. Burger was nice but also tiny with a tiny side of chips..

Omg amazing food and great service from Emma she was superb and a credit to your team made us feel really welcome well done

Nize food! But toilet could be warmer ))))

Excellent service from the staff throughout our meal. Starter was nachos and it’s impossible to get it wrong. Main had the smoked ribs and smoked brisket. Ribs didn’t seemed slowly cooked for 6-8 hours as it said on the menu, they were alright but nothing to get excited for. Brisket was absolutely superb, succulent and full of flavour simply melted in my mouth. I feel I need to add that my friend’s burger seemed tiny and if it was me I’d be disappointed with the portion. I’d suggest to simplify the menu a little bit with things you know you can do great and then I’m sure you’ll be a great success!!

Great food fantastic service, highly recommended.

The meal was lovely and our server was lovely. But was very disappointed that that the tip we left on a card payment didn’t go to the staff. Very poor company policy.

I really liked the service. The staff were very polite and helpful. - The food came reasonably quickly. The food was great, but the portion sizes were a bit too small. I tried the burger, nice smoky flavor, but tiny for £15.

Staff didn’t know the menu, asked if the prawn starter was shelled and what sauce it came in, was told yes shelled and BBQ sauce - arrived still with legs and shell in an oily sauce which didn’t taste of much , 4 prawns for...

Food was delicious, service mediocre, management rude. We attended on a Sunday afternoon and my partner and I had 4 wings to start which were large and tasty, tender chicken with a crisp skin. We enquired about their Sunday offer of ‘bottomless feast’ which had no price attached, and were told if we ordered the sharing platter we also got bottomless drinks from a limited range. We actually weren’t interested so much in the drinks as my partner does not drink so opted for the bottomless soft drinks instead, expecting these to be included. Only once during the hour and a half we were there did anyone ask whether we needed another drink, then it transpired there was a drinks refill station and it was just no one had told us! If it had been busy I might understand this, but there were 3 wait staff including manager and only 6 tables! The platter again was lovely, the cornbread was moist and sweet and the St. Louis ribs in particular were spectacular. Once the bill arrived I noticed we had been charged for 3 bottomless soft drinks so I queried this, and said I was under the impression they were included, but even if not, there was only 2 of us anyway so could they please correct it. The waitress was very apologetic and polite about it and went to correct it. When the bill came back it was £20 more, as apparently the bottomless feast was a distinct menu item from the sharing platter m with a cost of £35 per head (as opposed to the £46 for the platter plus £3 each for our soft drinks). When I queried this, I told the manager I hadn’t been told this but clearly there was a mix up and I was happy to pay the original ticket minus the extra soft drink. To which he very rudely told me it was my fault for ordering incorrectly, and thst he told his staff it would cost more that way (no one ever thought to ask us?) and that if we don’t order correctly how can the ticket be right? I was quite happy to just let the mix up slide and pay the original price, instead, the rudeness about the whole situation left a sour taste so despite the good food we won’t be returning. If the offer is a distinct menu item, include the price for it and make sure your staff are giving out the correct info!

Four of us went to the FatCap Smokehouse before going to a gig at Esquires. I was really looking forward to it as the menu looked great and well, who doesn't like barbecue? The website also looked very good and perhaps the 'style over substance'...

Dissapointing attempt at barbecue. Four of us went to the FatCap Smokehouse before going to a gig at Esquires. I was really looking forward to it as the menu looked great and well, who doesn't like barbecue? The website also looked very good and perhaps the 'style over substance' adage applies here. The food was very mediocre and expensive for what was presented. Two of us had the Pitmaster three meat combo. The brisket was desiccated and a miniscule portion, the pulled pork cold in parts and all served on paper on a tray which was breaking up so you got paper on the fork as well. The only decent meat on the tray was three sausages. One person ordered a Mac'n'Cheese side and it was totally dry and devoid of any cheese sauce. It was all just very underwhelming and overpriced. The staff were friendly and attentive but the whole experience wasn't a memory maker, well perhaps it was for the wrong reasons.

Great experience yesterday at FatCap Smokehouse. Food and service was fantastic. Only four stars as the difference in quality differed greatly between some of the meats and some of the sides on our sharing platter.

Visited here for dinner during a short mini break in Bedford. The staff were really lovely, very welcoming and friendly and took our order quickly. The food itself was really delicious- had the 2 meats (brisket and ribs) and it was 10/10. Would definitely return!

Was expecting something more exciting with the taste of the food. It feels like sauce is added to meats as a dish rather then flavour embedded in the meat. It could be great food if just done slightly differently

Ordered via deliveroo. Was told it would take 1 hour, which is fine as it did arrive on time. That was the only good thing. When we unpacked it all we found our fizzy drinks to be warm. They hadn’t been kept in a fridge but maybe straight from box. The food was cold, all of it. The burgers, the fries and the sides. We warmed in microwave started eating then found the burgers were so undercooked. So pink! We did not finish the food. wasted. This was a delivery but we have had similar issues in the restaurant. Long wait for food and drinks and one person food was forgotten. Safe to say We won’t be choosing again

Went in a group of 10, had preordered our food but it still took almost an hour for the food to come out. Food very hit or miss. Meat based dishes were generally good but the vegan burger was an absolute joke, it looked like a McDonald's saver menu cheese burger, with less dressings and half a portion chips (for £11!?). We were honestly embarrassed for the waiter that had to serve it! The brisket bits in the chilli bowl were also a bit undercooked and gristly.

Was expecting something special, pretty disappointed in the end. Ordered for collection but given someone else's order. 15 minutes later, with the correct order, the fries were cool, but nothing special anyway. The burger was warm enough to eat, but the patty's were a little over done and not particularly juicy. Still a fairly tasty cheeseburger. The 'loaded' onion rings were likened to frozen oven cooked ones with 4 out of the 5 pieces of brisket on top being whole cubes of fat, very little sauce and some mince supposedly resembling 'chilli' Maybe a sit in experience would be better, but perhaps getting the basics of handing over the correct order not being achieved, who knows. Hopefully Steve ordering from JustEat gets a freshly cooked order, not the one I had a rummage around in!

Good food - large portions. Good ambience.

We had a great time at the Fatcap ! The food came out in a timely manner and was well presented. The restaurant had a fun and friendly atmosphere, and all the staff were very attentive and cheerful.

Fantastic meal. Could not fault the meal at all. They certainly know how to cook meat to perfection !! Big thanks to our server, Emma she was extremely helpful in advising us what to go for. The restaurant was busy so I’d advise booking. Cheers

Nice place, delicious food, lovely staff! Definitely come back

We visited last weekend and were hoping for some good bbq fare. Starters of halloumi sticks and Jalapeño torpedos were pretty good. We were pretty disappointed with the pulled pork and beef brisket as both felt very dry/overcooked and lacked flavour. Milkshake and iced tea were really nice. We did feel that staff could have been more attentive. Still looking for that all American BBQ experience which hits all the rights spots!

Awful experience. Had the food as a take away and when it arrived the food wasn't even hot. I even expect warm as it has to travel and it wasn't that. We ordered 2 of the same burgers. One was cooked through and the other burger was still bright red in the middle. Such a shame as it has been good in the past. Not ordering again

What a shame. This place gets worse everytime I go back... So not gonna bother again. Genuinely, I had THE Worst chicken wings of my life from this place, I think they must be catching starlings from near the river and frying them... Absolutely no...

First time at this venue for me. Nice reception on arrival and although the staff numbers were low they were all pleasant. For a Wednesday eve it was busy but spacious. Food was hot - (as were the tasty wings 😲). Only thing I would...

We had the sharing platter and it was amazing! Huge portion, great selection and tasty food. First time having Texas toast and it was delicious. Good value for money and the staff were extremely polite and helpful. Will definitely return next time I am in...

Great food. Good service. Generous portions.

Just had a very nice meal here and our first. I'm not a rib lover but I can certainly recommend the baby back ribs. Meat fell off the bone. Brisket was beautifully cook and all served in good time despite it being busy. Very friendly service and staff were very helpful Will certainly be back

Nice greeting, friendly staff but poor food. Had the chilli bowl and had to send it back as it was extremely salty. I thought this was due to the fries that the chilli sat on top of. But second bowl arrived and it was the...

The marketing was brilliant and I was excited to try here but was sorely disappointed. My feet stuck to the floor from entrance to table. Food lukewarm, amount of brisket was tiny and it was dry. Chilli was nice but was just mince and menu...

The service was good, the food option for vegans was nice

Lovely staff, lovely food. We had 2 feasts (each for 2) and our table overran. So much food we didn't have space for plates and I got rolled back to the car afterwards rather than walked 🤣 Welcoming environment. Cocktails looked good, but had the shakes as we were driving and was still early o'clock. Definitely go again, but might opt for something a little smaller. The feast gave a real opportunity to try everything so we know what we liked for next time.

My husband liked the food but unless your a fan of meat not anything on menu for you. The people in the restaurant seemed to enjoy it but I wouldn't go back.

Fabulass service amazing amount of lovely food never herd of the place but glad I found it 10/10

Food tasted ok. Servis was quite slow ( when the place wasn't that busy) ordered the prawn starter fir £7 , 5 of the smallest prawns in the world. Will not be coming back.

Really lovely food and the staff and service is great as well

So for an American style diner the portions were tiny it took ages for the food to come out and the cause was somehow down to the lack of coleslaw. My gf ordered the pork shoulder and it was basically a slice of something certainly...

Food tasty but overpriced. If you going to charge £14 for a burger it better be bigger than. The McDonald’s cheeseburger size, yes way tastier than anything at McDonald’s but the price is not justified. Shame as the surf n turf burger I had was delicious just small.

Great service and even better food sadly can only give 5 stars and not more. Asked for little ones food to come out with the starters and it came out just before and was a great size

Food very nice, slow service, No napkins, Nothing given to clean fingers , (had prawns.) Was eventually given Kitchen roll ! this is not acceptable!! Not enough cutler. Some of the staff was unfriendly, will not go back!

Food was good service a little slow