Can’t Stop Smackin

I’ve only been here once. I ordered the beef brisket sandwich. The meat by itself is very good. I heard the owner smokes it himself behind the restaurant. It would taste just fine without the sauce. I got the hot sauce and it wasn’t too spicy – enough to get a runny nose, but not painful. The folks who run this place are super nice.

I tried and tried again to give this place a chance. I was so excited that a seafood and southern inspired restaurant was opening in the area. I live in the area and couldn’t wait to give it a try. Well… the first visit my fiancé had to send back his BBQ chicken sandwich because it still had bones, not to mention it was very dried out. We figured the place needed a chance to work out the kinks. We returned a different day… same problem. My fiancé decided he was not returning. I really wanted the place to be successful so I did not give up. I decided to stick with the seafood. Catfish well cooked, prawns delicious, shrimp Po’Boy similar experience to a previous reviewer: inadequate shrimp/​bread ratio. Today was the last of my visits. I ordered a lunch oyster entrée to go and returned home to open the box to 3 oysters! I paid $ 15 for 3 oysters and some fries! I just knew it had to be a mistake… so I called, only to be told that it is sold by weight. So a warning to those ordering the lunch oyster entrée, it is sold in 4 ounce servings at $ 15!!! In my case that equaled 3 oysters!!! How sad, I wanted so much to like this place… owners and staff very friendly. Food=disappointing.

We have enjoyed two delicious dinners here. Everything was fresh and tasty. I had the oysters twice and they were perfectly cooked with a light delicate coating. My husband had beef ribs the first time and beef brisket the second time and he enjoyed them both (especially the ribs). The sides were enjoyable. The potato salad was perfect and the sweet potato fries were excellent. The desserts were very good as well. Loved the sweet potato pie! Service was friendly and attentive. Looking forward to going back!

Tried this place for the first and last time. They say fresh food, but while waiting for my food that took for ever to get I noticed them putting my chicken in the microwave. I don’t see how that’s fresh.

There were things I liked and didn’t kind of middle of the road… the wings were actually excellent except one had feathers so it wasn’t cleaned as well as I’d expect at a resteraunt. Pickle chips n fries were over salted… wasn’t thrilled with catfish po boy, again the prep was a little lacking for a resteraunt it tasted muddy which can be fixed if soaked in buttermilk for an hour. Overall I’d try it one more time… it’s pretty close to being great the elements are all there, just needs a little more execution. Might try back after they get the kinks out its a new place.

We hadn’t ventured to the Normandy Park area for some time, so when we drove past the shopping complex we decided to take a peak to see if there were any new and interesting businesses. Sure enough, we stumbled upon Can’t Stop Smackin’. Since we had been on our way to pick up a pizza in Des Moines, we decided to grab some wings (and greens) to go from this place. We’re glad we did!
The place is teeny tiny, and it probably wouldn’t be my first pick of places to dine in. However, it’s perfect for take out. The service was very friendly. Our order was ready by the time we got back from picking up the pizza.
The wings were simply amazing. Unlike the wings at some other wing joints, these wings were incredibly meaty. They were fried in a really flavorful, but light and crispy batter. They were served with what tasted like homemade buffalo sauce – vinegary, a little sweet, and just the right amount of heat. I was a huge fan! We did have to ask for more sauce since an order of ten wings only came with a single little container. Aside from that, our only complaint was the greens. Man were they salty. Hopefully down the road they learn to ease up on the salt a bit!
Overall, the wings are definitely worth another trip back to Can’t Stop Smackin’; I highly recommend!

Never again too pricing and rubbery catfish. Nearly cold fries and this was a take out.

Very disappointing. Prices are way too high for the quality of food. If they are open 6 months I will be surprised. Tried them 2 times just in case first time was a fluke. Only got 2 stars because Amber was an incredible server.

Good service, but the food needs some work. Beef ribs were very tough and the sauce surprisingly spicy. Red beans were dried out so sauce was so thick it just sat on top of the bland white rice. My son had a dry catfish po’boy. Cole slaw was pretty good.
This place has a bit of an identity crisis. Is it trying to be southern soul food, cajun or BBQ? Not many food choices in any of the above categories.
All in all, not worth the price.

So I have now tried this place twice, I really wanted to like it. The first time I ate there and had the shrimp po boy. The shrimp to bread ratio just didn’t add up, entirely too much bread. The shrimp also still had their tails on which just makes a messy sandwich even more so when I have to pull these off so I can eat sandwich. I would individually give this visit 3 stars. The second visit I was coming back from the park and decided to do takeout with my wife. We both got the red beans in rice with ham. Was going to get the smoked turkey but told it was not on menu anymore. You just opened! Anyway when I got home and opened both boxes they looked completely different. Mine had all beans and very little rice and my wife’s had the opposite. It was also very bland with hardly any meat and not incorporated. Just beans with giant balls of white rice. Like red bean teriyaki. I cut up more smoked sausage that I had at house through both dishes in sauce pan and seasoned and spiced it up myself. This made it edible. I would give this visit 0 stars. Place is also overpriced. Will not go back again. Need to get act together.

I am newly moved into the area and was excited to see a BBQ place open up. And then I ate the food, not so excited any longer. Lets start with the sides, the greens had absolutely no flavor, coleslaw was just finely cut up cabbage no dressing or flavoring except raw cabbage, the beans tasted like they came out of a can (not to bad) and the potato salad was the best of all them. We got the pork ribs the flavor wasn’t to bad but they were very dry. I thought there bread could use some serious improvement. Good luck and I hope you improve because I love me some Bbq.

In a word? Disappointing.
Thankfully we noticed southern «inspired» on the sign so that tempered our expectations. The décor has a Cajun vibe, but the food doesn’t quite fit.
Red beans and rice is bland, salt didn’t even bring out the flavor, which is atypical for that dish. Coleslaw was very crunchy with very little flavor. Fries pickles seemed to be restaurant pack sliced pickles that had been tossed in a small bowl of flour and then fried, this left them limp and incredibly salty. Smackin bread could have used a bit more time under the broiler for crisping and is sweet, just so you’re prepared.
Brisket was very moist but lacking flavor, while the pulled pork was moist and flavorful, but unfortunately both were slathered in so much sauce that the flavor of the meat was almost irrelevant. The pork ribs were very meaty and the meat flaked off the bone easily, which gave us hope, but the top of the rib proved to be much tougher than expected while the underside was juicy and perfect. These definitely needed longer cook time at a lower temp, which can be accomplished in an oven so I’m not going to nitpick about apparent lack of a smoker.
My dining companion (born and raised in the South fwiw) remarked that his catfish strips tasted more like tilapia, and while the breading wasn’t bad it could have used a bit more flavor. Texture was good, not soggy or overdone.
The sauce, which was used heavily, is incredibly sweet. If you like a fruity, syrupy sauce you will likely enjoy this very much. I’m all about the quality of the meat shining through, so I am of the less sauce camp, but those in the lots of sauce camp would appreciate this.
This last bit will likely resolve itself over time (they’ve only been open for a couple weeks) but when there are 3 mistakes when your order is first brought to you, including the completely wrong kind of meat, you might start to be concerned about your dining choices.
To be honest, I’m a little irritated at spending 70 bucks to buy a mediocre lunch for 3 people. I won’t be coming back, but hopefully they’ll improve over time and you will enjoy your visit.

I know they are brand new, but as a fresh start opening. I feel you should have all items on your menu available.
It’s not a very well organized place, the tables are pretty crammed in there.
I ordered the pulled pork sandwich, and it wasn’t really «pulled» pork. It was like a huge chunk of meat slapped on a sad bun. Being an original southerner myself, I know what good BBQ is, and this place is far from it.
I hope, in time, they will improve. It’s not bad, but it’s extremely overpriced for what you get. I’d say try it, but with low expectations.

Food is fresh and fast. I was expecting more of a Cajun cuisine but ended up with more of a bbq joint. They need to add Tony Chachere’s to the spice rack to kick it up a notch for true Louisiana style. Needs salt at a minimum. Also, agree with the earlier review about dry coleslaw. The place could also use a wider variety: gumbo, jambalaya, boudin, hushpuppies, and etoufee are some ideas of menu diversity to set this place apart.
Service was very good– friendly and they offered a complimentary taste of red velvet cake with whipped cream cheese topping that was light and tasty. Clean, cozy and good décor. Lots of mardi-​gras themed items. Maybe some music (zydeco or jazz) would add to the ambiance as well. They were well staffed to meet customer needs.

I tried the brisket sandwich and I was very pleased. You can tell they definitely take their time with their barbecue to make sure it’s done right.
I was a little disappointed with the portion size. They only give you a handful of fries and I expected a bit more meat on the sandwich for the price. But it was good enough that I’ll definitely be back to try some of their other menu items.

New bbq place down the street from my house? I think YES! Only 2 days old, I thought I’d give this a try, the restaurant was very colorful and inviting. Very quiet, only a couple of people there. The waitress was very nice and informed that since they opened yesterday afternoon, there were a couple of menu items that are not available, which was a little unfortunate I really wanted to try the red beans and rice. The wait time was resonable for bbq, my brother, boyfriend and I ordered a jumbo prawn Poboy, half order of smackin’wings and a half rack of pork bbq ribs with fries and potato salad (2 sides come with rib order).
Pork ribs are delicious, meat falls right of the bone, melt in your mouth, tangy bbq. Smackin’wings so juicy, you would figure with the name however they would be smothered in some kind of delicious sauce but they are plain and crispy the Poboy was amazing. Big crispy cajun shrimp, nice doughey bread. Yummmmm. My only call out was the potato salad, there were huge chunks of onion, and needed a little more salt. Overall for a restaurant that just opened is pretty good, service was good. They just need a little music or the tvs on as we walk in. I would definitely be back here again!

I’m going to start with saying that this place is getting an EXTRA star right now simply for being new. It is less than a week old and it takes some time to work the kinks out. With that sad my first experience would have been a 2 – 3 star experience anywhere else.
The wait staff is extremely pleasant! Very friendly, kind and conscious of the patron. A+ Service.
The establishment itself is actually smaller than expected. Tables are crammed wall to wall. If the place gets to the point its constantly busy this may be necessary. They would be better off removing 2 or 3 tables and giving services room to move around the floor. But that’s not really here nor there. Just simple advise.
The biggest problem I had was actually the food. I had a Fried Cod Po Boy and a BBQ Chicken Sandwich. I’ve been excited for a Po Boy since the sign first went out but it was disappointing to say the least. It was the driest sandwich I have had in my life. The coleslaw mix was straight from a bag with literally nothing on it. It should be mixed with a remoulade sauce at the very least. Instead the remoulade was used as a «light» spread” and ended up that you couldn’t taste it at all. The fish was chewing not flaky at all. It was simple not a very good meal, especially for the price of $ 13.
The chicken Sandwich was better. A good chunk of chicken thigh in BBQ sauce placed upon a cold bun. I had it for takeout but you could tell the bun was never warmed to begin with. Just a pet peeve of mine. There is never a reason to serve a bun from a bag without doing anything to it. The BBQ sauce itself was very tasty. It nearly managed to cover up the fact the chicken was actually overcooked. It’s extremely hard to overcook a chicken thigh but it happened. To give them credit I did drive it 5 minutes home before enjoying it so maybe it would have been better had I ate at the establishment.
Overall what this place has going for it is PROMISE. This place can be great and I’m going to come back and give them another opportunity to prove that to me once things have gotten straighten out. Both dishes I had are only a few quick fixes away from being delicious. I have hope. We need a good southern style place in this neighborhood. Best of Luck.

This place has an amazing vibe! Wait staff was very helpful and accommodating, I have three children. The owner/​chef, Tom, came out to greet us and introduce himself. Very kind man and experienced BBQ cook. We ordered a smorgie of dishes: fried okra, brisket, pulled pork, extra beans and rice — sides: cole slaw, fries, baked beans, more beans and rice. All incredibly edible and kids and I were happy and full.
The co-​owner and wife, Jerry, also a very kind, warmly excepted my suggestions and was just really nice to talk kitchen with. Hehe, Tom and Jerry, she pointed out.
We enjoyed some complimentary lemon cake, ahh-​maazzing!
We’ll be back for more! Finally something different around here —》 THANK YOU! HOPE YOU’RE HERE TO STAY :)
Only reason I didn’t give five stars, BBQ is one of my personal specialties, I can be a bit hard to please … but like I said I’ll be back, can’t say that about any other BBQ I’ve been to in Seattle area.

Apparently this place opened 3 hours ago… I happen to drop by on the first day what are the chances?
This place is new and clean.
The food is excellent.:at least what I had.
I ordered a half slab of baby back ribs and fries and they were all perfect.
The ribs were well smoked and the sauce combined really well. I’ve had ribs at quite a few places in the area and these were the best around.
Even the fries were good.
I had the option of an extra side, but I asked for extra fries.
Personal is still trying to figure things out… even saw some come in for their first shifts, but it’s a really great start.