Restaurant Review: 4Rivers Smokehouse

Burnt Ends and Six Shooter (or what's left of them!) Click for larger image

If you're from the Orlando area, chances are, you have heard of 4Rivers Smokehouse. And there's a good reason why they're popular nowadays - it is because their food is awesome!

From the rustic dining area to the courteous and polite crew, 4 Rivers is just the place to be. I don't think I have ever gone there and just straight up ordered. Every time we visit, there is a line outside their door, which continues to the inside where there is an efficient assembly line of employees that would take your order. Be warned, though. Your food will come on a tray - NO PLATES - just a plain old tray lined with paper. If that's enough to scare you from eating there, then it is your loss. 

Anyway, on busy days, we would always see a cop or two outside the restaurant. At first, we thought that they were "crowd control" - making sure that people don't go too rowdy (or that nobody would cut in the line because it is almost always looong). Later on, we found out that they are there to control parking and make sure that customers don't park on private properties. But don't let parking follies deter you as well - on weekdays, they serve free juice and water outside, and if you're lucky, you might even get to taste a free sample! 

So far, hubby's favorite is the "Six Shooter" - it's cheese grits topped with pulled pork, southern  slaw, pickles, jalapenos and BBQ sauce. I know it sounds weird, but it is delicious! I would never have imagined that slaw with pair well with cheese grits and pulled pork, but by golly, it does!

Of course, my favorite is the burnt ends. And I promise, you will love it too once you try it!


What we liked: 

- The food. The meat is tender and delicious. Yes, it is delicious. Did I mention it's delicious? You really don't need the sauce to cover up the taste of the meat. But hey, their sauces are good too! (Hubby agrees, and he normally drowns his BBQ with sauce. But not at 4 Rivers!)
- A lot of sides to choose from. We recommend the Smoked Jalapenos. It is wrapped in bacon and is just so yummy! Occasionally, you get a very spicy one so just be careful! (When I mentioned "smoked jalapeno" to hubby, he got that glazed expression on his face - like he wandered off to dreamland and dreamt of those 'peños).
- Reasonably priced. We wouldn't mind paying such amount for great food.
- Courteous staff. Very helpful and attentive. 


What we didn't like: 

- Dining area is small-ish. Several times, we ate standing. But it was well worth it! ;-)
- Parking space is scarce. Good thing they let you park in the street. (Oh, what did you say, officer?)  ;-) Note, though, that they are building a bigger venue just right across their location.
- We always have a hard time ordering. That is because everything looked so good and we wanted to try all items in the menu! 


The Verdict: 

Needless to say, we love 4 Rivers and have been coming back. Not only that, we brought friends and family too, and they also loved 4 Rivers. Frankly, the reason why there are only 2 pictures here is because we tend to forget everything and just start digging in when we get our food. So yes, we recommend it to everybody. And a word of advice: come hungry! 

As usual, just letting you know that this is NOT a sponsored post. Just spreading the love. ;-)


*Visit 4rsmokehouse.com for locations