Wallabys Smokehouse

Reviews 4

JA

Jack O

Ive eaten at the Wallabys in Orem since it opened but after I retired I havent been back to the Orem area for a few years. Recently, however, I went to the new store in Sandy that took over an old Dickies location. When I walked in I was greeted with, "Were out of brisket." Well, that was the good news. Things went downhill from there. I ordered the ribs with mashed potatoes--called smashers on their menu to be cute. I also ordered them "loaded" whatever that meant. My wife got the Tri-Tip with vegetables and salad. When one of the employees brought us our food, I ask for some butter. She pointed to the other side of the restaurant and said, "Its over there." Ok, thanks. Thats certainly great service. When I looked at the ribs, I noticed they were kind of dark. Well, the dark turned out to be burnt--really burnt. The bones were char-black 25% of the way up on each side. They looked like they came out of failed cremation. Of course the smashers werent loaded with anything. I brought the plate up over to the counter and ask about the "loading," and I got 1 teaspoon (yes, teaspoon not tablespoon) of sour cream, 4 or 5 bacon bits and about the same number of green onions. Wow, thats real "loading" and all for only a $1. My wifes Tri-Tip looked like 3 ounces, not 6, and it was cooked almost as burnt as my ribs. Im guessing they started with 6 ounces and burnt it down to 3. Of course the vegetables were steamed--in other words totally raw, which seems to be the only way a restaurant in Utah can cook--well not cook--a vegetable. They all seem to treat vegetables as throw away food. "But theyre better for you steamed." Well, I didnt come to your restaurant with your high fat menu to eat healthy steamed vegetables, I come to eat good tasting food, and steamed vegetables aint in that category. When one of the employees came over and did the customary, "How is everything?" I showed her the burnt food and told her it was terrible. She said, "Sorry," turned around and left without another word. Why ask the question if the person asking it doesnt want to know the answer, cant do anything anyway and doesnt care. Restaurants should stop sending people around to ask the question. Very few customers really tell them the truth, and 9 times out 10, they get the response I got if something is wrong. Wallabys was really hitting on all cylinders. This Wallabys didnt have an adult in the place, including on the grill. It was being run by teenagers with no manager on site. I suspect the original Wallabys was bought by someone who wanted to ramp up expansion. Heres a thought. Ramp up the quality with adult employees and good food! Try that formula. Wallabys isnt any better than the Dickies it replaced, which is sad. Pats and R&R Barbeque are so far ahead of these pretenders, theres just no contest. Skip this place and go to one of those two places. Youll be a lot happier. A half a rack of ribs and one side feeds two people at Pats and its always good. I dont know where Pats gets the ribs, but they are huge--literally. Wallabys is like the McDonalds of ribs, so dont expect much.

A

A Private User

I LOVE eating here! The first time my spouse and I ate there, we wanted the full experience, so we tried a couple different meats, and different sides, with a dessert at the end. We also tried all 3 of the bbq sauces. Our review, it was AMAZING! We couldnt go wrong with anything we ordered! Getting the pulled pork is the easy thing. You can go anywhere and get good pork. The thing that makes this place different is all about the bbq sauces. We personally favor the zesty, but the other two are great also! We were very impressed with the chicken and even talked to the owner about it because we couldnt get over how good it was! The smashers were perfect to say the least. They are no ordinary potatoes with cheese on top, if you even take the time to look at what you are eating, you can clearly see that these things are made with more, they are perfect and you cant get enough of them! The rolls have been perfect every time we have gone and the cinnamon butter is amazing! We have had the oreo brownie and the cinnamon roll, both are amazing and plenty to share between 2 people. Our favorite is the oreo brownie. The Taz eggs are amazing as well! We have heard that the ribs are one of a kind there and we cant wait to go again and try those next. If you are looking for a place to go and have the flavors absolutely burst then melt in your mouth, this is the place to go! We enjoyed the bbq sauce so much we got in line and bought some to take home, yes, its THAT good. Yes, I do recommend Wallabys to everyone, especially family.

JE

Jeremy Heckaman

Mediocre at best - I would give it 3 stars if it was priced appropriately. I got the 2 meat combo - tri-tip and sausage, with smashers and cucumber salad for sides. The tri-tip was cut really thin, and cooked all the way through, totally dry. Edible, but not something I would pay for. The sausage was gross - it tasted like a lame sausage I would buy at the store, and not cook all the way through. I havent found a really good bbq sausage in Utah, but this was one of the worst - blech. With generous amounts of the bbq sauce (which wasnt anything special, but at least it added some flavor to the meats) I was able to eat the meats without cursing. The smashers were alright, nothing amazing. I was surprised that they are the most popular side on the menu (its just mashed potatoes with shredded cheese tossed on top - I could make much better at home). The cucumber salad was disappointing, it seemed like some of the cucumbers were really old. Did I die from eating here? No (or at least not yet, I just ate there... its too early to judge the long-term implications). But am I happy to have just spent 12 bucks on an unsatisfying, mediocre meal/experience? Absolutely not. I came here to see if this was a place worth revisiting/recommending, and I got my answer - nope. Not sure what all of the 5 star reviews are for, but hey, if you like food places simply because you think you should due to other peoples reviews, than this is your place I guess.

GR

Greg Arnold

Dont understand the good reviews...Read on I have my own smoker, and have gotten pretty good at ribs, pulled pork, chicken and sausage. But it is a bit of work, so on occasion I like to go out and just try and enjoy some barbecue. I have yet to find a place in Utah County that does it right. These ribs were not cooked low and slow. They most likely were boiled and then thrown on a grill. We did not detect any smoke flavor in the ribs. This was made more difficult to detect by the fact that they were slathered in BBQ sauce (actually a decent flavor), but both my wife and I felt that they tasted burnt. We also got the 2 meat combo, and chose brisket and chicken. Both were shredded. Chicken was smothered in sauce as well, and I am not sure how it was cooked, but there was no detectable smokiness in the meat. The brisket was about the only meat that we thought was decent. The sides were decent, but nothing to write home about. I need to either open my own place or just not go out for bbq anymore, at least not in Utah County.