Hoot's Smokehouse

This was a great local place we found while in Houston doing work at the port. Food was great we had a taste of all the meats between the group! The sides were nice too! The onions, pickles and white bread were a nice touch! Looks like they were expanding as well! Worth the drive from the port for lunch! Parking can be a challenge due to the neighbor availability of on street parking!

This place is awesome. Kind of off the beaten path but well worth the trip. The BBQ was on point not too much smoke. The baked potato was perfect and the service was stellar.

Hoot's is located on a corner of Canal Street and is easily located due to its large signage out front. Parking is on the street only. Inside the restaurant looks very clean and modern and is a counter service restaurant. I've visited twice within the past couple of weeks and it is open Wed-Sun 11-8. The first visit was to order their smoked 1/2 chicken plate with two sides for $12. I chose the baked beans and potato salad as the side dishes and the food was ready in less than 10 minutes. The chicken is served in a deep tin pan with a cardboard cover. This is rarely done but also told me that this bird was going to be great tasting and it was. Flavorful and juicy with a delicious smoked rub this chicken was perfect (5). One unusual thing was that the white meat was almost as juicy and tender as the dark meat was. Loved it! Serving the smoked chicken this way is the mark of a real pro. The sides were also served in their own covered containers. The mustard based potato salad was cool and creamy (4) and the beans were good in a thicker bold tasting sauce (3.5). The second visit was for a sliced brisket sandwich $14 and sides of dirty rice and mac n cheese for $2 each. The sandwich was wrapped in paper and placed in a styrofoam container to stay warm. The meat on the bun was a generous serving but I thought the meat was a little dry and not as flavorful as I had hoped. Therefore, I used some of the supplied bbq sauce on the meat. Their sauce is thicker than usual and has a bold taste to it. This sandwich while large in size only deserved a 3.5 score for taste and moistness. The mac n cheese was good tasting with just enough cheese to not drown out the elbow macaroni (4) but the dirty rice was dry and I scored it at a 2.I had high hopes after the first visit but the second one disappointed me somewhat. The brisket should have been better and the side dishes are uneven but the prices are reasonable.

Ok, for all of you that follow, BBQ is my favorite, and I do judge them extra tuff. I was caught off guard when we walked in at about 11:45, and there was no one in the restaurant but the staff. This was different for me; usually there is a line, especially if the Q is right. I ordered my standard ribs and brisket; lets start with the ribs. On point, perfectly tender, with an amazing sweet flavor, could have eaten more of them. Now the brisket, again I believe if you have a BBQ restaurant the brisket needs to be the staple, for me this one was not. I requested moist/fatty brisket, and received lean, and the flavor did not jump off the meat and wow you. Again I'm tuff on BBQ and its only my opinion. The sides were super small and were run of the mill. For the ambiance, there was no heat in the place and the concrete building made it super cold inside.

Driving thru to Florida and stopped for the night.Typed in Texas BBQ and this was the only place open past 7pm that had good reviews.And they are right. Got the pork ribs and brisket combo. Both are very flavorful and tasty!Clean inside and food came quickly.Definitely recommend!

Came here twice now, 1st time had very dry brisket (picture below) so I went in today to give it a try again. I spent $55 on two bbq plates and 2 beers. Almost $20 for 4 slices of brisket and two tiny sides. Brisket was dry even though i asked for a fatty cut, flavor was off and the sides weren't great at all. Mac and cheese tastes like boxed Mac. Save your money and check out another bbq gem in Houston. This place is only 3 minutes from me so it's a bummer that it isn't good

Very happy that I visited Hoot's. The food was terrific and the service was great. I'll be back when I'm anywhere on the east side.

Great BBQ and nice staff. A must visit. I would go with Brisket and sausage plate. I want to come back and try more.

Great food and friendly service. We had a large group( family reunion) and everyone enjoyed Hoots. The story of Hoots was fun to read/ get the history of and find out about granddads recipes! The rubs were fall off the bone tender, the brisket very flavorful and the sausage was amazing!! Actually the Sausage was so good, I'd go back just to have that again.Sides were all good / solid too.

Potato salad is the worst I've ever hadGreens beans are good, taste like something a mother who seasons her food would cook. Mac n Cheese is good too. Basic but hits the spotBrisket baked potatoes I originally asked for turkey but they were out. Which was weird because they just opened. Brisket is good. Wish they gave more bbq sauceBbq sauce is good as well, got the spicy bbq sauce Taste homemade