Love Shack Live Fire Grill

Sandwiches that overdeliver.

“The thing is huge. It's not vertically challenged. It is tall. It's a tall sandwich.”

A dish that’s pure indulgence.

“It is the best. It is your guilty pleasure. Cheat meal for sure.”

And it’s all made with love.

“You gotta cook with love. There's no other way to do it.”

You’ll find that love isn’t just in the name... it’s in every dish at The Love Shack.

Nestled in this adorable spot in Warren, Rhode Island, The Love Shack Live Fire Grill is a fun, funky spot serving real deal wood fired barbecue and more. Owners Steve and Kate Sylvia are the dynamic duo behind the place, creating a restaurant that’s as much about the experience as it is about the food.

“When you walk in the door at the Love Shack, you're probably going to be struck by how cute it is. We've got lots of great spaces, both inside and outside to sit in. People often comment how welcomed they feel here. You're probably going to love the music. We've got a great vibe and a good soundtrack and it smells really good.”

And the stars of the menu are coming right off of Steve’s smoker.

“Smoking meat in a live fire is hands down the best way to cook. The only thing that's ever been in the smoker is hardwood from Portsmouth. All the trees are kiln dry, fruit trees and oak. You can really taste the difference when you're cooking with wood and fire, I believe.”

After you’ve ordered one of the local craft brews pouring from the tap, it’s time to kick things off, and nothing quite tops the absolutely massive BBQ Nachos.

“The barbecue nachos are insane. They are immense. They're kind of showering over the sides of the plate, but they are full with smoked pulled pork, barbecue sauce, pico, pickled red onions and jalapeño on top. They are a meal in and of itself.”

There’s the ultra cheesy Grill Street Corn Dip spiked with pico de gallo and served with house made chips.

And if wings are your thing, try these zippy Honey Sriracha beauties.

But this is a BBQ place after all, so the BBQ Sampler should just be an automatic order.

“The barbecue sampler is our house smoked pork butt and our vinegar based barbecue sauce. It's baby back ribs with a honey barbecue sauce, our cornbread with maple butter and green apple coleslaw. It's a great opportunity to try a little bit of everything that we do. And it's the two things that do come off the smoker on the regular.”

One bite of those ribs and it’s hard to not order a rack as your entree.

“I use back rib because I think it's the best, but I do cook those a little bit longer than normal. If you shake them, they'll fall off the bone completely, and we sell out every night.”

If you order the chicken and waffles, you have Kate to thank, because this legendary dish only made it onto the menu after she fought for it and won.

“Steve was going to put them on the menu, so I tell people that the chicken and waffle is my favorite fight I've ever won with my husband.”

“The chicken and waffle is two or three of our fried chicken breasts. It sits over a pearl sugar waffle and it's topped with chili maple syrup and white sausage gravy.”

“She loves chicken and waffles, and she insisted they were on the menu. As usual, she was correct.”

If seafood is more your thing, get the Fish Tacos, filled with whatever is coming off the boat and absolutely packed with a citrus slaw, pico de gallo, cotija cheese and a sriracha crema so they’re almost impossible to eat.

“You kind of just want them like... you just want to have this fall out of your mouth a little bit. We don't judge when it gets messy. That's kind of the vibe. We overfill them. They taste great.”

And for something between a bun, try the double stacked fried chicken sandwich.

“The fried chicken sandwich is two fried chicken breasts topped with yellow American and bacon. It sits over our Shack sauce with shredded lettuce, tomato, onion and pickle. It's a huge pile of food that you need two hands to eat, and a lot of times there's leftovers.”

For a symphony of taste and texture, grab yourself a pulled pork sandwich topped with green apple coleslaw.

“The coleslaw is a little bit sweet and crunchy and has great texture to it. The pork itself is so rich and fatty that we use a vinegar based barbecue sauce to help cut through that as well. It's on a toasted brioche roll, which is a richer bread option. You got to try it.”

And if you want something on the healthier side, try the BBQ Bowl with coconut rice, pickled vegetables, sesame seeds and a protein of your choice.

But if you just want to indulge, the Pulled Pork Mac and Cheese is the way to go.

“This is like the most ridiculous dish. It is some of the creamiest mac you are gonna find anywhere, topped with our Shack smoked pulled pork, vinegar based barbecue sauce, pico de gallo, a little cotija cheese and some jalapeño. And it is to die for.”

And from the smoker to the kitchen, almost everything at Love Shack is made with intention. Because for Kate and Steve, this restaurant is about more than just serving food. It’s about creating an experience.

“This is a marathon, not a sprint. And the work is really hard, but it is deeply satisfying. If we didn’t love it, we would never make it.”