Review: Rub Smokehouse, Birmingham, UK

You know when you really look forward to visiting a restaurant as there has been some hype around them, they have great marketing and their menu looks awesome. This is Rub Smokehouse.

We visited the Birmingham restaurant on the 12th March 2018 for a friends birthday and our experience was an interesting one.

There are plenty of gimmicks - you can win a prize when you book online, ours was a mystery prize that ended up being 10% off or a free cocktail or free dessert.

There is the Nugzilla, a giant chicken nugget:

And the birthday cake burger, that is a burger in a birthday cake - with added meat and marshmallows:

The menu changes so it is worth checking online before you go: Menu with the latest version launching on March 13th. Having a read through they still have similar items and the ones we tried. What we did find interesting is they market themselves as 'Serving low n slow authentic American bbq food' but this is only a small portion of their menu, and if anything misses out the interesting parts - the 'EPIC' selection. I mean is it us or are smokehouses so 2017?! But how many places do a double cheeseburger in a calzone? Or a nugget birthday cake?

So here's the rub, excuse the pun, on our visit to the Birmingham restaurant:

• Service was slow, and there were only 5 tables filled so it wasn't busy, it took them almost half an hour to get our drinks round sorted

• The menu looked full of potential and between 5 of us we ordered quite a selection including the birthday burger, a taco pizza that came in a VW bus and a number of starters and sides
• Starter sizes were fairly small for the price
• The taco burger was dry, it needed melted cheese or something as it was also fairly tasteless - but looked EPIC

• The birthday burger would have been better without the middle layer of cake, it became dry and thirsty work
• Strangely the tap water, when provided was super cloudy - now we appreciate it's just minerals but wouldn't you let it settle before bringing it to the table? Cloudy water is never appealing!
• The burger with melted cheese wedges was overcooked and the wedges appeared reheated - the cheese was solid rather than melty
• The cheesy chips barely had cheese on them and were cold
• The battered prawns were delicious though and most of the food had potential, just on this occasion it didn't deliver
• For the cost there are places you can get a better meal and better service. It isn't a place for those who like great value

The potential for Rub Smokehouse is huge. There are tons of ways to engage with them - and not just on social media. If you are someone who likes to eat, a lot, you can take part in their food challenges like there Nugzilla challenge here. It certainly looks like a fun place, although maybe avoid Monday's - it's too quiet to have any atmosphere.

They also have deals for meal and a cocktail for £10 or a bottomless chicken tenders party where the person who eats the most baskets can win £250. 

Plus their desserts sounded delicious but we were too full to even attempt them. 

It also looks like a great place to go as a large group. For 5 of us the wait for drinks and then food was passed with plenty of conversation but as a date night it would have made things super awkward. Plus, and this may be because I'm pregnant, but when I have eaten a large meal I like to recline in my seat. Here the seats are bolt upright wooden palates so there is no sitting back and relaxing. In fact we decided if we were going to get dessert we would go to somewhere comfier. 

We wish Rub all the best but it doesn't make our recommendation list!