4 Rivers Smokehouse - Tampa

We were excited to visit the restaurant after reading all the wonderful reviews. The place was clean and had a nicely decorated cafe-style atmosphere. To our surprise, it was not busy at all for the time and day we went. We ordered burnt ends, pulled pork, ribs, coleslaw, green beans, French fries, and bread pudding. The portions were generous and the food presentation was appealing. Unfortunately, the taste and quality didn’t live up to our expectations. The burnt ends were not actually burnt, which was a major disappointment, as they seemed to lack flavor and didn’t resemble what we expected from burnt ends. Some of the other dishes were also underwhelming. The fries were cold, and most were at room temperature, suggesting they had been sitting out for a while. On a positive note, the highlight of the meal was definitely the corn bowl, which was excellent.

As for the burger itself, it was a delightful blend of flavors. It came topped with melted cheddar, crispy roasted onions, fresh salad, tomatoes, and their special 4R sauce. The most surprising element for me was the unique texture of the burger patty. It had an unusual consistency, almost as if it were partly raw, though it was fully cooked. This odd texture made it a bit uncomfortable to eat, especially as the patty tended to squish out from the sides with each bite. Despite this oddity, the flavor of the burger was genuinely delicious and more than made up for its strange texture.

The prices were reasonable and the portion sizes were just right. The service was good, following the typical line-order format. One area for improvement could be the training of the staff regarding the products they offer. For instance, when I asked if the Texas BBQ was actually sourced from Texas, they didn’t seem to know. There are several companies based in Texas that supply sausages to BBQ restaurants, which is why I was curious. Just for fun, I also asked one of the staff members if she had tried the jalapeños, and she admitted she hadn’t. While these are just my observations and not significant issues, I do enjoy chatting with the people behind the food. It’s wonderful when you can speak with someone who knows the menu items well and has personally tasted them. Overall, I highly recommend this restaurant!

Distinguished sides and delicate meat! You smell the meat from the parking lot. The restaurant has spacious cafeteria-style seating. I went in and looked over the menu. I told the employee what I wanted, and he put together a meal for me. I ordered moist brisket, Texas sausage, green, corn, beans and corn bread. Everything was delicious. Try even better with the bbq sauce.

I have had this 2 other times and they were very good! I usually order the family BBQ sampler and get 4 different meats and 2 sides. The collard greens are very good, the beans are sweet and soft with a smokey aftertaste. While today's brisket was a little dry, previous times they were on point. The ribs were fall-off-the-bone tender and savory, the pulled pork and pulled chicken were very good, and the sausage is also very good. Make sure you smother everything with their BBQ sauces! Their bread pudding is not that good, I've had better, but then again, I'm not a big fan of bread pudding. Can't wait until they put banana pudding on their menu. I am going to blame it on me taking too long to pick it up for take out this time as the reason why the brisket and ribs were a little dry today. Dry, but still tender. They did soak up that BBQ sauce though! Get the fatty parts for the brisket, that stuff is spectacular! I'm going to round up to 4 stars. The best BBQ I've had was in Charlotte, NC so far, though they say nothing beats Texas BBQ... unfortunately, I have yet to try any Black's in Texas yet... why did I order take out? Because nobody wants to see me chow down on BBQ in public!! It's a messy affair!