Zeke's Smokehouse- Montrose

Zeke's Smokehouse
2209 Honolulu Ave
Montrose
818-957-7045

After experiencing some good and some bad restaurants in the the Bay Area, we returned to the LA area and went to Zeke's Smokehouse in Montrose.

I've read some mixed reviews about Zeke's and I found them to be true. I ordered the 4 bone pork spare rib special, $10.95. The special, which I think is the best deal on the menu, you can get either 2 beef ribs or 4 pork ribs, including baby backs. The meal comes with two sides, I picked mashed potatoes and gravy and cole slaw. The ribs were cut "St. Louis style" meaning they cut off the tips and give you just the bone. The ribs were very good, though a bit chewy. They weren't as meaty as other places but the meat that was there was great. The ribs could have been smoked a little longer but overall a solid good rib.

I tried two of their BBQ sauces, regular and hot. They had a mustard based sauce which I left alone. The regular BBQ sauce was just too sweet. The hot BBQ sauce was terrific. Not too spicy but had a nice kick.

The mashed potatoes were great. They were made with real mashed potatoes, not out of some box. The gravy maybe a mix but the potatoes were great. The cole slaw was too dry, they need to add more mayo. But the cabbage was fresh.

Service was bad. Nobody greeted us when we walked inside. Finally I asked somebody and they said we can sit anywhere we want. We picked a table outside and it took about ten minutes before anybody came to our table. We finally ordered and while the food came quickly, we didn't see the server again for at least ten minutes. I mean don't servers come around and ask how the food is? And not right after placing the meals on the table. I mean we may need more gravy or more drinks. I tipped 10% and I really thought about not tipping anything.

I would only go back to Zeke's for a take out order. There is no way that type of service is acceptable. They need to improve the quality of their service before I think about dining in.