Buxton Hall Barbecue

Reviews 3

KR

Krys Earles

I hesitate to give anything but 3 stars. TLDR: It misses the mark entirely on being BBQ, but it is well made food that tastes good. The atmosphere of the place is really nice. With the exception of the fact you have to put some forethought into dodging the skylights or risk having the sun beaming down on you half the meal (we went during lunch), the place looks great. Definitely NOT Southern-style peanuts on the ground sort of vibe (though Im into that) it has a very upscale approach. There were nice pies on display right at the front, and you might get a feel for the prices of the place with the $6 brownies hanging out the moment you walk in. There are no fire pits, or anything remotely grungy looking inside... if you have vegetarians squeamish about seeing meat cooked this would be a good place to take them. Otherwise, it just looked like a neat, tidy place to me, nothing really screamed BBQ. The service: On point. Really not much to say, the waiter was attentive, not rushed, nor too invasive. They did well. The food: This is where I come up with a lot of stuff to say. The food was so-so BBQ wise but pretty good on its own. I would venture to say "BBQ Inspired cuisine" because thats how it felt. No sausage on the menu. No brisket on the menu. 1 small roll. No dill pickles. No house made sauces besides the one plus mustard and youre up a creek if youre a sauce fan and dont like Carolina-style. Fried Chicken was their Sunday special, and roasted brussel sprouts their seasonal side. Not really the first things I think of when I think of BBQ really. My date got hash-and-rice with chicken bog, and I got a pulled pork platter with mashed potatoes and potato salad. The pork was almost great. I did get a piece of stringy, dried-out meat that wasnt chewable, but 95% of the meat I got was tender, cooked down, and simple straight up meat. The mashed potatoes were pretty straight forward, I didnt notice any hint of smokey flavor but they were well done and not gummy. The potato salad was Stellar. A dry-style salad with peas (? I didnt really taste them, and I dont like peas, so I was happy about that) and basil and the basil made a surprising taste that I really enjoyed. My dates hash and rice was.... not what we expected. We figured some meat would be on the platter. But really, it was a meat-based gravy with rice served on the side. Very marrow-y in flavor. It was yummy and good, but no meat was added into it, or on the side... we paid the same price as a meat-based plate for... meat scraps boiled down. The chicken bog had hardly no meat in it, and while it made it seem like it was more of a meat-side with some bits in it, it really was a bunch of rice and hot sauce with bits in it. Im not sure what we were expecting, but some dainty little cups of stuff that the waiter had to guide us through was definitely not it. And there werent many other options really. No bread really served; a small dinner roll was it. Nothing to really scoop up all of that pulled pork with. They were purists offering only Carolina BBQ sauce which was standard. Very hipster, so the hash and rice, for example, came in one of those standard Applebees tiny soup cups that gives you about 4-5 spoonfuls of something. You definitely will not be over eating ordering a platter of food here these portions were small. I should have gone with a sandwich in hindsight, Id have gotten more meat and bread for cheaper prices. I also didnt like that the only pickle they offered was bread and butter, dill-fans will be disappointed that pickles arent standard. The pies were $7 a slice. Far too pricey to enjoy a small dessert. I dont care how fancy you make banana pudding pie look, its pudding. If youre looking for BBQ, go elsewhere. A hipster place near a brewery for a pricey lunch? Here is good. I sound negative because really, 12 bones is more my style and a place with BBQ in the name should feel like BBQ to me. I wouldnt go back, but it isnt really a bad place. Just better options for BBQ out there, especially for the price.

CH

Chris Bridges

What a disappointing experience. Im from eastern NC and have lived in the Asheville area for 14 years. I eat BBQ 6-7 times per month at other local establishments not called Buxton Hall. I like to think i know my way around a good bbq experience. For the life of me, I do not understand the hype around this place. We ate there yesterday for the first time, and ordered hush puppies, bbq, limas, green beans, the famous fried chicken pimento sandwich, chicken nuggets for the kiddos, and two craft cocktails. The cocktails were great, no complaints there. Unfortunately, that was the end of the greatness. The hushpuppies were gummy, cake-y, and flavorless. They were not straight cornmeal, but had what appeared to be wheat flour in them along with some cornmeal. No kidding, these were the worst hushpuppies Ive ever had in my life. Not crispy. Not sweet. Not savory. Just terrible. Someone needs to kick it on down to a seafood shack at the beach and get some coaching. The BBQ was OK, but not great. It wasnt chopped, it wasnt pulled, it was just mushy, with no smoke flavor whatsoever. I kept laughing at the "smoked while you sleep" sign above the kitchen, because there was no smoke flavor to be found. Pretty small portion too - maybe 4 oz. The limas and green beans were serviceable. The entire plate of food needed flavor and salt. The chicken sandwich was the most disappointing thing we had. When we ordered it, our server said, "you mean, the most popular sandwich in America?" I laughed, and then when it arrived, I wanted to cry. The bun was a plain white bun, which would have been fine if it had been warmed, toasted, and/or buttered. It was none of these things. The chicken was moist on the inside and crispy on the outside, but again - no flavor whatsoever. Does the chef have high blood pressure? Whats a person gotta do to get little kosher salt in there? The pimento cheese was good, but there was a cold, un-melted slice of American cheese on top of the chicken. Thats when I lost it. Seriously, what the hell? Add to that the floppy bread/butter pickles (dill would have been a better choice), and you have what I would called Americas most overrated sandwich. The best thing on the table was the eastern NC style vinegar sauce. Hats off on that - top notch. I wouldve just squirted it straight into my mouth if I hadnt been in public. There are much better bbq places in town than Buxton Hall. Dont waste your time. Its all hype.

ME

Mel Ray

Buxton Hall is one of the bajillion restaurants in downtown Asheville. Its tucked into an old warehouse, and I love what theyve done with the place. Theyve kept the décor somewhat industrial, somewhat flea market, but not Cracker Barrel … if that makes sense? It just made sense to me when I walked in, that there would be a pig cooking in the back of that huge kitchen/dining room (ahh, childhood memories! lol). They were pretty busy right outta the gate – to be fair, it *was* Saturday night in Asheville. Regardless, once we got past the queue at the front door (a little odd – we waited in line for about 20-30mins to put our names on the list … to then wait for a table …), everything ran pretty smoothly. The atmosphere was fun, the service was great, and I absolutely love how they can print up-to-the-minute menus, which show whats on special, what theyre running low on, and whats been 86d (awesome!). Im not a great judge on portions: I always leave a huge amount on my plate to take home – last night was no exception – whereas my husband and 14yo finished their plates and also had dessert. I was a bit disappointed that there wasnt more of a selection of side dishes (unless they just ran out really early?): limas + butterbeans over rice, *stewed limas + butterbeans, waffle fries, *potato salad, & macaroni salad … I was dying for some fried okra, but it was only available an entree, as was eggplant.