Smoking Jays

Don’t let the exterior fool you. It was very good food at a reasonable price. My husband had the ribs and said they were exceptional. I had a pulled pork sandwich that was also very good.

This place is a necessary stop! Not only was the food amazing but the staff couldn’t have been sweeter!
We arrived in the restaurant and was immediately greeted by a server who gave us an entire run down of the menu. We ended up getting the smoked Gouda Mac n cheese bites for an appetizer, which were to die for. I chose to get a BBQ chicken sandwich with cole slaw and onion rings as my sides, and I destroyed the entire meal. The onion rings were delicious, the cole slaw was delightful, and the chicken was cooked to perfection!
In addition to the wonderful food, the owner of the restaurant went around to each table to ask how the food was and to thank us for choosing Smoking Jays to dine at before he left for the evening. He even brought out some of our food out to the table for us!
It was a top notch experience and I hope I have the opportunity to go back some day!

I travel a lot for work and always hit a BBQ after leaving the airport. This is up there with the best including hard 8 in Dallas. The brisket falls apart, the BBQ sauce is made from scratch and the owner is great to chat with. It’s clear he cares about his cooking and it shows. I may have to come back for dinner!

Awesome food. Best ribs, bbq sauce, Cole slaw, pulled pork, and burgers… not to mention home made fries! Staff very friendly and helpfully. ask for Amanda! Smoking Jay back cooking for you making you feel special! Great experiece!!! Best keep secret! AND COLD BEER AFTER A DAY AT THE ZOO!

Great staff and place to grab some BBQ couldn’t ask for a more honest hottest left my wallet and she held on to it for me till I could get back and pick it up!

Place is really good. Just way too over priced. The Pork PoBoy was great. 3 star for the price. 4 ½ stars for the quality.

Spent the morning at the zoo then left for lunch. All of us had the poboys and they were amazing.

Smoking Jay’s is what I want from a BBQ place when I’m traveling. I walked in and could already smell the incredible smoked meats and was greeted by the friendliest guy who turned out to be Jay himself.
He helped me through the carry out menu and specials he had for lunch and helped me build a little sampler that I could carry back down the road to the venue we are playing at today.
I can already tell Jay is a one in a million guy who puts his heart and soul into his food, and you can bet your bottom dollar I’ll be back here for dinner in a few hours.

I want to say that I liked it better than I did.
$ 15.99 for the Brisket Dinner was just too much. Both sides tasted fine but they were TINY. The corn muffin was a mini. And the brisket, though tasty, had large chunks of fat in it. All in all, for the price, it was a shockingly small dinner.
I’ll go again, at least once. I hope it’s better my next time. But if it’s not, I’ll be a two-​and-​no-​more customer.

We have been back numerous times and have tried a lot of the menu options. The meat is always so flavorful and smoky. My new favorite is the brisket junior sandwich, which is usually offered as a special. The three ribs and a side special is also fantastic. I haven’t had anything that I haven’t loved. The wings are also really good and smoky.

Hands down: the best-​tasting BBQ I’ve ever had. I’m sure that this place doesn’t have as many reviews because no one knows it exists. Being from DC, I even asked the locals, and they love this place.
The customer service was excellent by Deanna, who greeted me at the door immediately and helped me navigate the menu. Tasha cooked everything perfectly and was also very nice. The place has charm, and I love how the comfy black leather seats balance out the brightly colored plastic tablecloths.
The brisket was tender and moist and well complimented by the tangy and sweet BBQ sauce. For dessert, the brand new cheesecake bites were covered in cinnamon sugar and drizzled with strawberry sauce. They were delicious!
Go here for dinner. You will not be disappointed :)

Stopped in on a long road trip and so glad I found it. I had the brisket plate and let Jay the owner pick my 2 sides. The baked beans were very good and meaty without excessive sweet or smoke flavoring. The mashed potatoes were heavenly, lots of garlic and pepper, creamy, cheesy and lots of chives — I would return just for that! Brisket was top notch, smoked and so tender with sauce on the side. Great food and friendly owner — I will return next time in Omaha.

Visited Omaha for the first time on a business trip. Flight landed early so I was just driving around getting a feel for the place. Happened by a small place with a big BBQ sign out front and decided to stop in. I’m sure glad I did because this was by far the best brisket I’ve had! I’ve eaten at some of the best BBQ joints in New Orleans, Houston, and Kansas City. Smokin Jay’s is certainly on par with those and well ahead with their brisket.
I had to wait in the parking lot for them to open, but was greeted warming when I entered. I went with the recommended two meat plate of brisket and beef ribs. Employees were very friendly and kept small conversation going as I was one of the few in there. I had the spicy BBQ sauce to finish off the plate and it really did the trick to bring out the best of the meats.
I’ll certainly be stopping by Jay’s again if I’m back in Omaha!

Okay. So if you check my other reviews I have been pretty harsh (justifiably) on other Omaha restaurants.
In this case, I am proud to say I was pleasantly surprised. I ordered a 3 bone pork meal. It was phenomenal. The meat fell apart. It was so easy to eat and so good. It was about 10 $ which is a great price for such high quality BBQ.
NOW THIS IS WHERE THE OWNER (S) NEED TO PAY ATTENTION:
Any chance you could be open/​have breakfast BBQ biscuits so we can eat them on the way to work (7:00am-8:30am)? Seems like a genius business model since thousands of people drive by every morning.
See you shortly for more BBQ.

Finally got the chance to come try this place the other night, and it didn’t disappoint. I got the pork ribs (half rack) and my wife got a pulled pork sandwich. My ribs were so large that I couldn’t finish them all, they we’re fall-​off-​the-​bone tender, and I must say, mighty delicious. Only came with one choice of BBQ sauce (which is normally disappointing) but it was such great sauce that I didn’t need any others. My wife’s sandwich was humongous and although I didn’t get to try it, it looked delectable as well. My only beef with Jay’s is that I spent more money here than I did at Joe’s in KC, which is absolutely superb. Still, this place definitely deserves more love than I see it getting on a daily basis, go now!

Awesome brisket. Good beef ribs, which are not easy to find at BBQ joints.
The beef here is not highly seasoned. It is left to do it’s own talking. That’s just fine when the brisket is so tender. Thickly sliced and juicy. Mmmmmmm.
The beef ribs are okay. They get a little dry on the ends and they are a fatty cut. So you have to keep that in mind. Also, the beef rib sandwich is a beef rib — bone and all — on a bun. LOL So get ready to, er uh, strip your meat if you order that! ;-)

One of the best BBQ places I’ve ever been to, Smoking Jay’s is a must if you’re in Omaha. The food is fast, delicious, and the owner is very nice and accommodating. Although not the cheapest place, the ingredients were obviously fresh and homemade (we got fried pickles, spicy loaded bowl, and a Ruben with a side of beans). The Ruben was especially delicious. My mom and I were in and out, with freshly made good, in less than half an hour. Is especially great if you’re planning to go to the zoo, which is right down the street.

On our way out of town, I picked up some snacks for the road. What better snack than a BBQ meat sampler.
First Impressions: When I stepped out of my car I could smell the smoke (that’s the first sign of a good BBQ joint). Second, confidence! The sign reads, «Best Brisket In Town!» We will talk about that later. Finally, when I placed my order, and just to confirm the sauce is on the side, they replied, «Always!» So after that I knew I was in good BBQ territory.
So this is what my tongue and brain thought:
The Meats: The smoked sausage was good, although it could have used a bit more smoke. They were moist and flavorful. The Pulled Pork could have used a little more bark mixed in and was a little shy on the smoke (recurring theme here). The Pork Ribs where pretty much spot on. The rub was interestingly different. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it but I’m thinking cinnamon… maybe? The ribs were moist and tender with just a little tug and chew, just like they are suppose to be. The Beef Ribs were good as well, could have used a bit more rub. And now to the Brisket; Th Brisket was moist and tender, but what would have really done it for me is if there was a thicker bark and generous amount of rub. As well, it really needed an amp on the smoke profile.
I would rate the meats as =/​+ average and if this is the best brisket in town, then that must mean all the other BBQ places in town are sub-​par. A little slight at the competition I suppose. I will say it is much better than the last BBQ place I ate at last time I was in the Omaha area.
The Sides: I ordered the Beans, Slaw and Potato Salad. I really won’t bother with the sides as they were good but pretty much standard fare and nothing of a stand out.
Final Remarks: The staff is very friendly and helpful. The Restaurant has plenty of seating and is clean and welcoming. They have only been open for about 6 months and I think hey have a good future ahead of them. Note; Keep it Fresh off the Smoker and They’ll Keep Coming! In the end this is a good BBQ place so check it out! I would rate it a 3.5÷5. I’m snobbish when it comes to BBQ and reserve 5*‘s for only the over the top and exceptional places. So would I go back if I was in Omaha? Yes.

This review is going to be short and sweet – overall not a lot to report. Nothing super negative but nothing that impressed me either.
The pulled chicken and pulled pork were decent, and reminded me of the place in the Epply airport (Kracky somethings). I would guess they don’t make their own BBQ sauce – it tasted canned and pretty generic. The meats themselves did taste smoky but I didn’t see that tell-​tale pink smoke ring that lets you know it’s going to be killer.
Sides seemed to be lacking. Nothing looked very good so I didn’t order any of them. I figured this would be a good place for a cheap but decent lunch. It was fine, but in my opinion pretty pricey for what you get.
The following aspects of my experience can be summed up with the onomatopoeia“meh”: service/​staff, décor, vibe, overall impression.

So disappointing. Every time a new bbq place opens I have high hopes. This time was no different but I was let down more than usual this time. I opted for the $ 15.99 brisket dinner thinking that should be safe and a good item to gauge their menu by. This could be the worst brisket, corn and muffin I have ever been served. The beans were decent but everything else got tossed in the trash. The corn was greasy and had a very odd flavor, the muffin was totally dried out and had the texture of sand and the brisket was greasy, fatty and doused in mediocre sauce. I so wish this had been better.