Mo's Pit Bbq The Newport Room

Germania Hall in Camillus was once home to immigrants who worked at the nearby cutlery factory in the village. Then it was a bowling alley. Most recently, and very briefly, it was a comedy club. Now it's home to Mo's Pit BBQ, run by owner and pitmaster Kevin Morrisey. And the smoker is parked right outside for all to see. The new location includes a banquet hall, the Newport Room, that can handle parties of up to about 250 people. The restaurant also has two dining areas, a separate entrance for takeout, and a bar area. It's a much bigger place than its former location. The restaurant seats about 100; the former place had room for only about 40. The new place is beautiful inside. Wood flooring, a nice big bar, clean bathrooms. Mo's menu has stayed the same: burgers, sandwiches and a host of smoked meats, including pulled pork, ribs, brisket and chicken, but it's also been expanded to include salads, pizzas, a salmon entree and nightly specials. I'd been meaning to try Mo's for a long time. As a matter of fact, I only found out the place was moving when my buddies and I tried to go on a random Saturday, only to find they weren't open their normal business hours cause they were moving the next week. But, eventually, my buddies and I got to the new location. We were sat right away on a Saturday afternoon, but we were there right at opening time. My buddy ordered a pulled pork sandwich with fries and mac and cheese and I got the 1/2 chicken entree with the same sides. Our food was brought quickly. My buddy really liked his sandwich and I thought my chicken had great flavor. We both agreed that the sides did NOT taste homemade however, contrary to what the menu states. The fries seemed to pretty clearly be frozen fries and the mac and cheese tasted like boxed mac and cheese. I also would've enjoyed my chicken more if the skin crisped up a bit, but it was flimsy and slimy. The smoke flavor was great along with the sauce on it though. Our service was friendly. Prices were fair and comparable to other similar restaurants. I'd definitely give them another try, I'm hoping that the sides have possibly improved with the restaurant being open for a decent amount of time again. The BBQ is decent, but the rest needs some work.

We ordered a couple of beers and shared some poutine and wings. The poutine was tasty, but I found the wings to be a bit soggy for my liking. The medium sauce we selected turned out to be a medium BBQ sauce rather than a buffalo sauce, which was a bit unexpected. It wasn’t a dealbreaker, but it might be helpful to clarify on the menu. Overall, I thought the prices were a little high for what we received, but I would be open to giving it another chance, especially since we somehow managed to order zero BBQ at a BBQ restaurant. I wouldn’t recommend this place for a first date, but if your dad is looking for a place to grab a beer, it’s definitely worth considering!

Surprisingly, the bar was empty, although the beer prices were reasonable at $3.75 for a Blue Light. It was odd to see no bar activity on a Friday night at a place like this. Additionally, the pricing seemed excessive. I paid $18 for three pieces of beef brisket and a small portion of pulled pork, while my wife received a more generous meat portion on her sandwich for $6 less. Overall, I doubt I'll return; I felt like I overpaid for the amount of food. In comparison, Dinosaur BBQ and Limp Lizard are far superior and worth the wait. I wish the restaurant the best as I truly appreciate supporting locally owned establishments.

So, we just left and I feel the need to update my review. We recently visited and were impressed and decided to try to make it more of a staple, since it's close to home and a local business we could support. Well, today's visit was nothing like last time. The service was not as good and the brisket definitely was not. I'll start with the service. She was fine with grabbing drinks and taking our order, delivering our food. She then brought a pitcher of water when mine was empty. I appreciated that aspect as mine was empty but normally when waitstaff brings a pitcher, they top off your glasses before putting it down. Not our waitress. She just put it down for us to fill. When she saw that I moved my glass toward her when I saw her coming with the pitcher; she just commented that she'd put that there for us. Right after bringing the food, she did come over and ask how it was. Then as I think it must have been pretty obvious the quality of the brisket was poor based on the pile of fat that I was pushing aside, she did not come back. Even the owner and his wife were walking back and forth and glimpsed over, so again, it seemed clear. I do not think there was a way they didn't notice that there was an issue with my food. Mind you, we were the only people in the whole restaurant at 5:30pm on a Sunday. So it's not like they were busy and may not have noticed. Even when the waitress came and took my plate, when I was done, she didn't ask how everything was or comment on the pile of fat on my plate. Last time we went, the brisket was really good and nice and lean. The brisket today was so fatty. I probably was able to consume half of what was brought to me. The remainder could not be. What it comes down to with me is consistency. I'm really big on that. Consistent food, service, atmosphere, etc...I understand brisket can be more or less fatty but this was just too far to the other extreme. If they are going to be that inconsistent with it, treat it like the TX BBQ restaurants do (I just was there a month ago) and offer 2 different cuts of brisket with 2 different prices. Unfortunately, based on this visit, we won't go back. For $55 pre-tip and $65 with tip, not worth it. I left still hungry and spending too much for what I got. I have no problem paying good money for good food but at $16.99 per meal, not worth it. Of note too, the menu is different than last time and the weight of certain things is no longer listed. For example this brisket dinner used to tell you it was 8oz of brisket, I can't say that I think that remains the case, though the price is unchanged. I am adding a pic of the pile of fat that I left on the plate.

I understand that any restaurant can have an off night, and we usually give a place at least two chances. I don’t like leaving negative reviews, especially since I’ve owned a restaurant and know how challenging it can be. We brought our concerns to management, but the response we received was quite awful. The owner actually called my husband a bully, and at that point, we hadn’t even requested a refund. To top it off, two small pizzas cost us $32! I won’t be returning.