First Look: Flatrock Smokehouse Is The Colony's Newest Spot For Barbecue Goodness

Robert Davis didn’t intend to bring tasty barbecue to The Colony, but it’s a move that seems to be working. Davis and his wife, Kimberly, own Flatrock Smokehouse, which got its start in Euless with a brick-and-mortar restaurant in January 2020. As with so many others, running a restaurant during the pandemic was a challenge.

The Davises ended up shuttering the Euless location, and their landlord sold the building. But just as some proverbial doors open when others close, Flatrock Smokehouse found a new home in 2021 on Main Street in The Colony, just north of State Highway 121.
“We live in Frisco, so we were driving past this every day going to Euless,” Davis says.

Challenges have never scared Davis, an Army veteran who left the corporate world to pursue his dreams of cooking barbecue. Flatrock Smokehouse has built a healthy fan base willing to travel for the food no matter where the couple sets up shop.

We popped into Flatrock Smokehouse on a recent Friday after the lunch rush with a healthy appetite in tow, and found some delightful barbecue that more than satiated our hunger pangs. Flatrock Smokehouse runs a large A.N. Bewley smoker just off the patio that turns out a plethora of smoked proteins. We ordered a quarter pound each of lean prime brisket ($7.25), pulled pork ($4.50) and sausage ($4.50), then added a side of brisket mac-n-cheese ($3.50) and fried okra ($2.50).
We grabbed a table in Flatrock’s dining room right next to the patio door, catching whiffs of smoke from the smokehouse each time it opened. This already had our taste buds working overtime, and when our food arrived we realized we might have over-ordered.

Flatrock’s brisket comes sliced in textbook pencil-width chunks, and the crusty outer layer has plenty of smoky flavor that complements the moist beef within. The pulled pork was another excellent choice, lightly sauced and full of juicy and tender goodness. Flatrock’s sausage was perhaps the weakest meat of the three we tried, but that’s like saying Placido Domingo is your least favorite of the Three Tenors.

Davis also smokes chicken, turkey and ribs on-site, and tells us he’s most proud of his ribs. We’ll know the next time we come in to add a slab to our order, waistlines be damned.
We also found lots of joy in the gooey brisket mac and cheese, and Flatrock’s tangy barbecue sauce that is drizzled on top makes for a tasty bonus. And for $2.50, the okra might be the barbecue side value of the year just on quantity alone. Each bite is smartly fried and crispy, without the sliminess or greasiness that sometimes comes from overcooked okra. Davis tells us he’s considering a “loaded okra” topped with cheese and some of his barbecued meats — an idea we’re on board with.

While we ate, two different staffers from the counter came by to check on us and make sure we had everything we needed for a solid meal. Kimberly Davis stopped by as well, only to joke that she already saw two of her team check in and she didn’t want to bother us any further. But that kind of attention to service only serves to separate Flatrock Smokehouse from the crowd and is something we will always appreciate. The tasty barbecue on top of a welcoming atmosphere means that you’ll find us back at Flatrock sooner rather than later.

Flatrock Smokehouse BBQ, 4900 Main Street, The Colony. Friday noon – 8 p.m., Saturday 11 a.m – 8 p.m., Sunday noon – 6 p.m. or until sold out.