The Smoke Pit in Northampton

Great food, beer, style and staff... Good value... What's not to like...

Always great food, great service, and a great atmosphere. Would recommend it

Really good food, huuuuuge portions and decent atmosphere. Not a chain which is a bonus. Place was quite busy when we got there but then it died down when few big parties left. We went for the platter for 2 and honestly it could feed 3 adults and a child. The only things that bothered me was foul language all over the walls and especially toilet. My son's eyes were going like CCTV recording everything. I get the "vibe "and being "cool" but if you want to be a family place there is no need for that.

had an absolutely amazing meal thai evening will definitely be back

I came with a large group and we were seated quickly. The staff were friendly and took our drinks order promptly. The staff were a little slow to take our food order but once it had been taken the food came out in good time. We ordered a mix of cocktails and beers. The cocktails were good, I'd prefer they were served in glass than in a can with its lid peeled off. The second round of drinks were then delivered in glasses so I presume they must have been short on glasses? The food was fantastic. The prices may seem quite steep but you certainly get your money's worth in volume and quality. All the meet is packed with flavour and tender. Between us we must have had one of every meat up for grabs and everyone was impressed. The only negative was the side of buffalo prawns. £11 for seven prawns smaller than my fingernail wrapped in batter is a bit over the top. They tasted great but expected more/larger prawns. I'd definitely recommend visiting this place.

Pleasantly surprised overall. However, the food I had could've been better. My Cowpigchicken Burger was very tasty although upgrading to a platter wasn't impressive for the additional cost. I got a cold chicken thigh and a ½ rack of ribs with hardly any meat. Definitely returning but I felt the cost was a bit steep for the quality. Good atmosphere though and nice staff.

Awesome atmosphere inside, the food was good. I had the smoke pit platter, portions are massive so bring an appetite! But everything was delicious.

First time visiting this restaurant, and i wash very impressed. The restaurant itself has a nice modern feel to it, lots of well done graffiti art to admire. The food was absolutely banging, probably the best bbq I've had and the fries were fab. The staff were very attentive and genuine. The whole experience was great.

Big portions and delicious food 100% would recommend

I’ve been coming here for years and don’t think I could ever get bored. I’d even go so far as to say this is my fave place to eat… Everything about this place is top notch. The staff are super friendly and welcoming, the food is next level- I still won’t learn and always order too much! Highly recommend!

Disappointing experience and far from value for money. When you buy a Combo Dish with a sausage, you don’t expect to ask the waiter why you’re sharing the sausage with another customer. Portion sizes are below par for the novelty expense. £34 for a measly portion of two meatless ribs, half a sausage (a month ago they served a full sausage), pickles are a couple of slices and the brisket and pork are an airy heap. The brisket was the only nice thing on the plate. The staff member serving us agreed with the portion and price issue and it’s a regular complaint they said - the owner either had to put prices up or reduce quantities recently. I’d prefer the menu be honest.

We went here for a celebration. The waitress was very nice and welcoming. The food was amazing, I had the best steak of my life and it was bought out quickly. Their selection of drinks was also very good. Overall would definitely recommend to everyone.

Great food, huge portions, honestly they'd be just fine to share! Very good beer choice. Very extensive menu, no chance of my wife choosing, she'd need an hour.

First time here and was impressed with the food. The only complaint was the cleanliness. We were their Sunday lunchtime and you could see bits of food on the tables and chairs from Saturday night. But overall very nice and would definitely like to return

The food was absolutely delicious, cooked perfectly, flavourful and fresh, desserts were also amazing, didn't have that mass produced corporate feel like the chained restaurants do. One tiny observation is that although the decor, fixtures and fittings have that rustic spray painted, industrial vibe (which is cool) in the stark light of day it felt like it needed a good spruce up, slightly tired and a bit of a grubby feel with the tables and chairs (just my personal opinion) Highly recommended though.

Sticky dog ear menus and tables and good brands ruined with lack of basic normal customer service that's foreign to staff.

Absolutely lovely food and great service. Popped in after being let down by the Velvet Room on our wedding anniversary. Superb steak, brilliant burgers, gravy to due for and lovely servers. Excellent quality.

4th visit, love it there. Nice young lady who's served us a couple of times, good banter with me and my mates.

The Smoke Pit never fails to impress. This visit was a walk-in and despite being fully booked, we were given a table and amount of time in order to avoid clashing. The staff are always friendly, helpful and swift! And the food... Well, the menu is packed with various options for all and the quality of the food itself is high! The atmosphere and the restaurant itself are very unique and worth a visit alone! A highlight of Northampton

Visited this place last night, absolutely amazing food.. the worst part was picking something off the menu as it all sounded good! Really friendly warm atmosphere, thank you

Greeted by friendly and welcoming staff. Very attentive and patient. Food is great and full of flavour, portion size is generous. Would recommend to anyone.

Update August 2024: been back a couple of times since the original review and will keep going back... Firm favourite with everyone I've been with. Everything about this place is still working so well! Absolutely blown away by the quality of this barbecue place. Everything we ate was juicy and tender. The beef short rib is easily the best I've eaten, with a mustard-dill sauce that brought together the smoke and the fat beautifully. Be warned though, it's not for the light of appetite. It came up as two short ribs with a generous amount of meat on each. A short rib dish as a main is usually one rib, and rich enough to be plenty! We (two hungry people) shared this and a Smoke Pit House platter for one and it was too much between us. The cocktail menu is theatre in itself and I wish I'd been able to try a few more because each is different and in its own way fabulous. The rubber ducky is memorable. Staff-wise everything went perfectly smoothly even for a large and chaotic table. They were brilliant from first order to last morsel.

Great celebration meal, food arrived quickly amd was delicious. Draft drink machine had run out of gas and was offered a can. Had to ask for the price to be corrected or we would have been charged for something we couldn't have. Felt the onion rings were over priced for the quantity

Brilliant meal! Loved the decoration of the venue. Plenty of food on 'Pit platter for one' (with an extra side of Macaroni cheese) to share between two at lunch. Had great time! Will be back.

Just amazing food nothing else needed to be said! Will definitely come back

Outstanding food and good service , will definitely be returning very soon .

Went with a group, only vegan, the options that I had were absolutely brilliant! Wonderful food, well taken care of!

For the type of food offered, it is reasonably priced. Quality excellent and server answered any questions we had. Good array of sauces to go with the meal. We've had various burgers and bbq pit combos here. All great in their own way. Hotlinks are my favourite 😍 Maybe it's the time I always go here but it's never too busy so it's pretty quiet inside. Vibrant decor and good array of drinks to compliment the food.

Very average food, especially given the price point being fairly elevated.

I ordered a burger meal and milkshake from this restaurant, a milkshake turned up only. When I tried for an hour to try and sort the issue out with Snoke Pit they simply said it wasn’t their problem and to contact the driver. Not the customer service you expect.

Great service and atmosphere, but most of the dishes had pulled pork ( even in the dessert section!) so it's limiting if you don't eat that 😑

If you love meat smoked and ready to have super portions this is the place in Northampton .. btw the decorations are amazing

Awesome place, huge portions and great food! Service is excellent always super quick and friendly

Great food and friendly staff. Food was great if a little pricey. But on balance worth it for a treat!

Three generations sat down for dinner. We all had a wonderful evening. The food and drinks were delicious. Don't forget to leave room for dessert. Xxx

Phenomenal food, unique setting/style and fantastic staff out front and out back. Honestly, TSP is up there as one of the best places to eat in Northampton. Price per person ranges from a minimum of ~£25 per head (food + drink) right up to £100+ depending on your order, but prices absolutely reflect quality and no one's leaving disappointed! Car park's a stone's throw away from the front door, brilliant drink selection at the bar (alc+non - coka cola mixer machine's great!). Booking essential - All in all, top notch restaurant!

Good always on point. Atmosphere was okay. Just felt a little bit like we were the late customers nobody wanted in on a late Monday evening. Nice hot sauce available and specials were interesting too.

This is my third visit and they never fails to impress with delicious food and drinks. We arrived early but only had to wait a short time for a table on a Saturday night. We had the smoke pit house platter for two with mac n cheese and garlic and parmasan tater tots. If you go you have to try one of the freak shakes! We had the biscoff flavour and it was the best milkshake I've ever tried. Aside from the milkshake we also had unlimited self serve drinks which with all the food was nice to switch between flavours of the fizzy and still drinks too.

Excellent food with an impressive drinks menu. A great setting with really friendly staff. Not the cheapest place in town, but worth price

Was there on Saturday for a stag do we all got the big platters we had burgers steaks chicken wings mac and cheese brisket was so good we all was so full. Staff was amazing and looked after us.

Friendly and good for the free family, I would say a little on the pricey side

Went here on a Sunday afternoon after watching barbecue showdown on Netflix.. Wow. This place did not disappoint, even after the tv show set some high standards!! We had the sharing platter for two. The chicken, ribs and pulled pork were all rather tasty. They were great with our kid, have high chairs as he’s under 1 at time of writing and the music playlist was cool too. Mix of 80’s / 90’s and 00’s with old school pop classics.

Wow... what a place. Food was amazing, but make sure you come hungry, the portions are massive. Drinks are fabulous, lots to pick from. Service was first class. It's friendly and they are always willing to help and advise. Will definitely be coming back, but with a bigger group.

What a great place. Food amazing Great selection of drinks and service second to none Will definitely be coming again. Word of advice, come hungry 😋

Lovely food. Portions are massive. Well worth going

Food was great! Generous portions. Good service, very attentive and laid back. Will definitely go back !

Decent, not great. Price was on the high side for quality. Quality of meat was good but some on the cooking not to that standard you'd expect. E.g. ribs not soft and fall off the bone you'd expect of slowed cooked barbecue. Service OK, a bit slow. Portion sizes massive.

What an incredible lil hidden restaurant. Ive been to smokehouses the world over amd this was just right up there. Delicious food, wonderful servers and a proper vibe. Great for families, groups or couples. I had a platter and it did not disappoint. Every element was delicious and juicy with a distinct flavour. 100% recommend qmd will return!

Absolutely delightful. Gemma, the manager, is a wonderful person. She welcomed us with a huge smile and the food was first class. Highly recommended.

Omg the food is amazing. Eight of us went ordering far too much. But we powered through and left very satisfied.

Fantastic service, really good to see an independent restaurant in Northampton. Food was a bit pricey and combinations not my choice but my adult kids loved it, the cocktails and atmosphere were fabulous.

Nice place with some good food but let down in other places. Ordered the ribs and the first time i had them, they were tender and fell right off the bone, compared to last time when it was tough and real work to get any meat off the bone. Same for the cow pig chicken burger, I found tough bits in that were too hard to bite chew that I had to remove.. I don't know if they were having problems on the 1st of June but it a disappointment compared to other times I had been before. When you get to sit in the middle of the room, it's comfy, and there's enough space for you and your food, but the seating at the side by the drinks machine is awful. Cramped, no leg room, and too close to other strangers. Milkshakes are awesome and tasty, but £7 for one glass of coke is ridiculous. Okay, I get they are refillble, but for someone who just wants one glass, it is terrible value for money. For me it's hit and miss here at times. Sometimes I'd give it 5/5 and other times I leave disappointed. Staff are always friendly and excellent though and the art style in the building is cool. If they could sort out the point i make in this post then it would easily become my number 1 restaurant to go too.

Wow! If you like your meat I highly recommend visiting here. I got a blue cheese chicken burger platter and it was incredible. Great low alcohol beer on offer aswell and friendly restaurant staff

Given the absolute BBQ desert that you find yourself in once you leave London to the three counties this is a decent find, the positives are the very large portions, the great cocktails and the wonderful staff. The food is not great, having spent a time in the American South and eaten more than a healthy amount of BBQ the food is average. The beef ribs and the pork ribs were overly salty and the meat quality was not as high as you would expect. That aside the staff were great and you certainly got your money's worth in terms of portions, a shame it was quantity over quality.

Decor - Amazing Service - Amazing Food - Amazing (better than Bodeans and that was the best smokehouse I’d been to in the UK) Careful of the unlimited refill for softdrinks… with two young children with me £6.95 is steep. Do not let that deter you the food was absolutely amazing, portion size was exquisite too. Needed a box and got me a 2nd meal out of it… do not delay go there ASAP!

Loved it here, the BBQ is top notch, the beer selection is decent and the people are cool. Great food, would definitely come back

The Phat Chef Burger is up there as one of the best burgers we've had. The pulled pork was also really good. Staff were friendly and service was prompt. Definitely recommend and would go here again.

All good, but found the portions a bit small and the price a bit too high. Everything else is great! 👏

It took me 10 years to come and try it as the prices always scared me however this food is incredible and a very good treat. We came here before a show at the Derngate and really glad we did. So much food, everything so tasty. I don't mind spending a lot when the food is that good. I would definitely recommend it to anyone

Visited the smoke pit as was recommended by locals. The restaurant was fairly busy for a midweek evening which was a good sign, service was quite slow though. Ordered the beef brisket and had 2 drinks, which came to £34. The brisket was ok, but didn't really have the wow factor. The portion size was very small, which was just some pulled beef and fries and a bit of sauce. The mixed platters on offer maybe better value, but based on the beef brisket I wouldn't return again.

It felt like I walked into a midtown southern state smokehouse! Good selection of music playing that added to the atmosphere. I had the platter and added wings with buffalo and ranch. The meat from the platter was excellent The pulled pork was among the best I have tried in England and it was interesting trying pulled brisket. I didn't enjoy the pulled brisket and would have preferred sliced but this is my preference and it was excellent and fun to try a different take on brisket. Thanks Smoke pit for our experience keep up the good authentic work!

Service was very good, food great all in all excellent 👌

Good smoke and grill meats. A bit on the salty side.

Always liked the smoke pit, great food and service

Food is incredible with staff that go above and beyond, a must visit for food and good music

Food was quite average. Ribs were dry, pulled meats were salty and watery. Fries were in a very small portion. Overpriced and the decor was nauseatingly hipster. Waitress had good customer service.

Pleasant meal with friends, great service/ great food

It’s a few years since we’ve been to The Smoke Pit, so we thought we’d give it another go. Things are different this time; one of us is a pescatarian, and we now have two kids. The place has changed a little; the decor is wild - with cool trinkets, quirky ornaments, and graffiti on almost every wall! It’s personal taste, but we loved the theme. There’s so much for the kids to look at, and it’s interesting. Right above where we were sat was an artwork of Disney characters. The toilets were excellent (well, as awesome as toilets get) - picture attached! Ok, the menu. It is packed full of typical ‘meat smoke pit’ style dishes. They’ve got all the popular ones: burgers, ribs, a fish sandwich and a vegan burger. It’s not a comprehensive menu for Veggies, but there was an option or two, and that was enough for us. Fundamentally, it’s a meat place - and I think you’d have to be cool with that on the way in. We ordered a couple of sides, but we didn’t need to. The portion sizes were HUGE. There is a special note here for the kid's hotdog. We genuinely thought the kitchen had made a mistake in our favour and accidentally served up an adult meal. It was gigantic. The fries had a super tasty seasoning; I thought sugar, perhaps because of a delicious sweet aftertaste. Oddly, the kid's hotdog meal had more fries than the adult's fish burger. But no complaints; we all had plenty enough. The staff were also charming, polite and helpful. Scores on the food; Mac & Cheese Burger: 7.5/10 Hotdog: 5/10 Vegan Burger: 8/10 Fish Burger: 8.5/10 It's a pretty extensive drinks menu, too. We also went for a Brooklyn Special Effects (alcohol-free beer) and a few refills. The bill came to £91, probably right given the quality and amount. The not-so-great. It's pretty subjective, so please take this with a grain of salt. Firstly, the side of Mac n’ Cheese was ‘overly creamy’. I didn’t have any myself, so this is feedback from the family. Secondly, the side of onion rings. Like everything else, it's enormous. But a big slab of raw onion in the middle. They weren’t terrible, not what we expected, and looked better than they tasted. It's still ok though. We’d come back. It was a great experience! Thanks!

Great food, great drinks, good atmosphere, something different

Honestly can't rave about this place enough! We visited on a busy Thursday evening and the front of house team managed to find us a table despite there being a few large parties in. Service was honestly impeccable! Huge kudos to Gemma our server who made the night for us!! She's an asset! Food was devine... The 16 hour brisket just melted and the Oreo sundae was the perfect end!

The staff were amazing and extremely professional and friendly! Especial shout out to Maddy as she was amazing with kids and very patient! Harry was also great and his milkshake specials "freaks " are brilliantly prepared. The manager was also amazing!! Food wasn't as expected though, shrimps small and dry, wings were actually nicely cooked and coated, but by far the short ribs were winners! Thank you for the experience guys and well done!

Great food, if you can spend £25- £30 for a burger. Service was slow. Atmosphere can be improved. The toilet was dirty.

No matter what you order it's going to fill you up. Cracking menu.

Awesome food, they go heavy on the portions so I’d recommend getting a main course and 1 side only

Just driving through while on vacation. Best American style BBQ I have had outside of the US and better than most in the US. Worth the detour.

Absolutely spot on, food, drinks and service very good, place was booming on a Saturday night as well, I had potato tots with buffalo shrimp, very nice 👌 large group of us, a good time had

Love this place, food is amazing, place is so cool and service is always good!!

Really good burger and perfect ribeye for a fair price.

The portion sizes are generous, the atmosphere is great, I enjoyed the themed ambiance, although it's a bit pricey, the staff is excellent. The food is delicious and satisfying.

Went for the smoke pit platter. Even for 1, it’s quite a lot of food. - ribs meh - pulled pork 🤤 - pulled brisket 🤤 - hot link sausage meh - chicken thigh meh

Just without doubt the absolute best barbecue I have ever eaten in my entire life. Had the St Louis ribs....you could taste the smoker! You could taste the quality of the smoker in which the ribs were smoked. Guys...eat here, eat something from the smoker menu!

Great food massive portions . The only thing i would say is it was a bit hard to get served , staff kept walking past or cleaning an empty table but didn't notice me waving at them to get served. But otherwise definitely worth a visit

Cool place that serves massive burgers

Great place, great feel. Food is good, well worth a visit

Absolutely amazing great food coupled with the great atmosphere and the decor be can't wait to go back the safe are amazing also felt so welcoming and at home.

Absolutely gorgeous. Everything was cooked to perfection. The staff were very friendly. Is worth every penny , definitely will come back.

Great place with lovely food and great management. Staff couldn't do more to help you and went above and beyond to accomdate our needs. The portions were massive too A lil loud for my tastes but I put high marks for atmosphere because everyone was having such a good time!

Rheanne is the best waitress and Milly the Bartender is absolutely lovely! Also the food is unique and always exceptionally well cooked. Cannot recommend this place enough.

Had a birthday get together with family of 12 and loved every minute of it staff were amazing and friendly they went above and beyond to make us feel welcomed. Food was amazing Will be recommending to all. Thank you to all at the Smoke Pit for making my Birthday get together Great xx

Great place and fantastic food. We visit here quite often

We dropped in for lunch, no booking. Warm welcome, service friendly. We asked for chunky chips rather than fries. Nothing a problem. Gemma informed final orders were at 2, closing 2.30. It was 2.40 when we checked the time, and we still weren't being hurried. Oh, and the food was delicious: pulled pork, chicken (Korean spiced I think), hot chunky chips.

We had a lovely family meal here. Highly recommended 👍🏽

Food was great but had to wait an hour after ordering, floor staff were great it was the kitchen that was behind.

Buffalo shrimp is honestly the best thing I've ever eaten, mac and cheese is amazing even if you don't love "meat" it's winner around.

Great food the staff were lovely and helpful, the cocktails were splendid overall 10/10

I went here after a work meeting and I was really impressed. Great Food, Great Service & Great Venue! Can't wait to come back.

My first order and loved the menu. It was a disaster. Not the restaurants fault essentially. The delivery driver visible on the tracker took absolutely ages to get here. The delivery estimate was generous as expected so technically on time but the journey from on way to arrival was so slow. One road, a short one, took 5 minutes to drive down. On arrival the food was stone cold not even tepid. It was not taken out of a heated bag and seemed to be in car in cardboard boxes. It took several minutes to unload once at the door for some reason as well. Food may have been ok but was dry and reheated and sauces had dried into buns etc. wouldn’t attempt again sadly.

Great BBQ food and menu options. I had the platter which was a huge amount to eat, but every part was delicious. My kids had a dessert but really one between them is enough outside of the kids menu, my wife picked a selection of starters for her main including halloumi fries 😊😊

Been eating here since it opened, favourite place to eat by a long chalk!

Pretty busy, so service not the quickest. Friendly staff, food was tasty. Cheese platter was amazing