I love smoked food, and I have been to their South location before. They’re not opened on Sundays, so we decided to go to Holy Smoke BBQ on 16th Avenue, as they’re opened! The parking lot is quite a hassle to get in, there’s only 1 driveway in, and not enough spaces, so be prepared! Once you go inside, there’s a long counter where you get food and along the window, there’s some seating for you to enjoy your food! Along the exit side of the restaurant, there is a huge selection of sauces that you can pick from! They do recommend which sauce would go with what you’ve ordered, and that’s helpful!
The moment I walked in, I was expecting to be greeted by a strong smell of smoke – like their South location, and it wasn’t a strong smell of smoke at all from here. Regardless, I ordered myself a Smoke Chicken Sandwich as I’ve never tried their chicken. I honestly forgot what they recommended to me that goes well with this smoked chicken sandwich. I can’t remember if it’s their Honey Garlic sauce or Sweet Apple sauce, but I ended up trying it with their Honey Garlic sauce. The sauces are amazing here, and I’m sure I’ll be ordering the same thing to try it with all the sauces!
We also ordered their Pork Ribs which is ordered by the rib. It’s $1/bone, and it works out to be an excellent deal as they’re pretty large in size. They’re very flavourful as is, with a hint of spiciness. The sauce we used for this was their Mesquite sauce and their Jack Daniels sauce. I didn’t care for their Jack Daniels sauce much as it was too bitter for my liking.
The ribs was absolutely delicious. It’s not “fall off the bone”, but you can definitely clean the bones really well. The flaovurs was awesome, and you know it was made with lots of love. We ordered some potato salad with the ribs, and it was made with nice chunky slices of potatoes. It was tender and not over cooked, and quite a great side! We loved the ribs so much we went back and ordered another 6 ribs after we were done! Below is a picture of the selection of sauces Holy Smoke BBQ has to offer!
For a drink, we got a Strawberry Milkshake to split. They do it the good old fashion way with strawberry ice cream and milk – then “shake” or blend it together! It tasted great and it brought back great childhood memories for me.
Overall, we love this place! The only thing we really didn’t like is the parking lot as you can get stuck in the parking lot if you’re trying to leave and someone else just got in. Make sure you bring your driving skills and some patience when you go! There’s about 4 spots for their guests only!
Holy Smoke BBQ
420 16 Avenue NE
Calgary, AB
(403) 263-4659