Elwoods Barbecue & Burger Bar

Old owner sold business, didn’t know service lousy!!! Food was below average not what it use to be, stay away

My husband and I found this restaurant back in 2012 and were so happy to have found a great BBQ place in South Charlotte. Their food and service was fantastic. Key word, was.
Unfortunately at some point it seems that they have completely changed management. Their service has taken a nose dive and their menu has been changed. We have given them two tries to win back our business since we loved them so much in the beginning, but we will no longer be returning.
The first bad experience, we brought our parent’s with us to try the «awesome BBQ place» we had found. It took 15 minutes for our drink order to be taken and another 10 minutes for the drinks to arrive. Our server wasn’t the one who brought the drinks, so we couldn’t even order for another 10 minutes. At 35 minutes into our visit, we ordered. I still can’t get over a BBQ restaurant changing their menu to no longer offer sweet potato fries. My mother in law decided that the brownie/​ice cream desert sounded good, so she ordered it. HUGE mistake. Not sure if the «brownie» was store bought or had been stored in the freezer but it was cardboard like and disgusting. On the bright side, we all saved using up those calories.
The second experience was two months later and we were hopeful that things had improved. The service again was slow and terrible. Given that we were one of three occupied tables and there were at least 5 people working, I just do not understand why it should take so long. After finally getting our order taken (25 minutes after arriving) we were informed that they were OUT of 1. Pork BBQ 2. Chicken BBQ and 3. Fries. ARE YOU KIDDING ME? Why in the world didn’t you tell us when we sat down that you were out of the main foods that we came in to eat. The server made no apologies for not telling us sooner and acted annoyed that we asked her to stay at our table while we made new decisions (couldn’t risk her disappearing for another 15 minutes).
Thankfully Midwood has opened a location about 2 miles down the road in Ballantyne.

We loved this place when we first moved to the area last summer. It used to have good BBQ, great mac & cheese, and decent service. That is all gone now. We have given them three tries now since they revamped.
The first was brunch. I ordered the chicken and waffles. They did not serve any syrup with my waffles. When I asked for some they acted confused like «why would someone expect syrup with waffles». It was weird. The waiter spent several minutes talking to the cooks. They all looked confused. Eventually, long after my waffle was cold, I was brought a tiny little container of ice cold syrup. I asked for butter for the waffle and never got any. Chicken strips were good though.
The second was lunch/​early dinner. I ordered the burnt ends sandwich and fries. It was too fatty but otherwise tasted OK. Service was very slow and bordering on rude. It was not the worst experience but we had no intention of returning.
We drove by the other day and saw they had posted an award for best BBQ in in Charlotte. We thought that maybe something had changed and they had gotten their act together. NO. Something struck me as off when we first walked in and we almost left. We were seated and placed our orders. We both order burgers. I had the BBQ bacon burger with mac & cheese. Their new «recipe» for mac & cheese consists of some cooked pasta tossed with a watery (yes, watery not creamy) white sauce with flakes of peppers in it. I took one bite. Realized 1) it was disgusting and 2) that the red flakes were peppers (allergy). I told the waiter and he stared at me and asked a rude question about my pepper allergy (none of his business). I told him to take it back and bring me fries. He did, however the rest of my food was cold by the time I got the fries (not that it was very hot to start with). My burger which I ordered medium was undercooked bordering on rare. The onion ring on the burger was disgusting. It was dripping with grease. It had a good inch of batter on it that was raw, like still a liquid raw, from about halfway through into the center. And the batter tasted like old fish. Really nasty. I took it off and ate what I could of the rest of the burger. The fries were OK. Not great. My husband said his burger and fries were OK, again not great, but not as awful as mine.

This place is a joke. When I drove up at first I thought it was closed for the night as all the chairs were up on the tables. Then I saw a couple being seated so went in to check it out for myself. I’m sorry I did.
I was immediately told they were out of most everything: pulled pork, wings, chicken, plus a whole list of other stuff I can’t remember. I asked if they still had brisket (yes) and burnt-​ends (yes) so decided to stay. Looked through the menu then ordered a burnt-​ends sandwich and specifically said to put the horseradish sauce on the side.
About 15 minutes later the waitress brings me the sandwich. First thing I notice is that the bread is two different thicknesses. One regular slice and one heel, and the heel slice is about a third as thick as the other. And as I lift up the bread I see the meat slathered in the sauce I had asked be put on the side. I called the waitress back and reminded them what I had ordered. She turned around and left without saying a word, nor taking the sandwich away.
She gets into a deep discussion with another waitress and a guy behind the counter I assume was the cook. Another 5 minutes go by then she comes to tell me that the cook made a mistake by putting the sauce on the sandwich, but she can’t give me another sandwich because now they’re all out of bread. I left. I have no idea if their food is good or not but this was such a crappy experience I doubt I’ll ever go back to find out.

The BBQ pork was good, but everything else was lacking, including the service. This was our second bad experience in the past 2 visits. Big fan of the joint in the past, but there are menu changes along with personnel. Collard greens weren’t cooked. The okra fries taste mainly like breading. Lots of customers along with us, were complaining about excessive smoke coming from the cookers.

Pros: food was good. Nice clean place w easy parking.
Cons: Slow service… food was ready and sitting on the counter for almost 5 minutes before waitress brought it. Never checked back w us to see if we needed anything or refill drinks.
And music too loud.

We ate there for a late lunch and both got sick. We asked for brisket, but they said they were out. My friend had the burnt ends sandwich, which turned out to be globs of fat. I got the bbq pulled pork sandwich. For sides we got the fried okra and the sweet potato casserole. We liked the honey bourbon bbq sauce, but I think we just were not used to that much greasy food. We ate at Midwoods BBQ twice and didn’t feel sick afterwards. I thought the pork had a funny, slightly rancid smell to it, but thought it was just part of the bbq. Something was bad and the place was empty. I didn’t want to write anything but thought I should warn others. I don’t like writing negative reviews. We both were burping grease the rest of the night…

Slower service when I was there (during playoffs) but the food was excellent, though slightly pricey.

Wow! The food was the best BBQ we’ve had! A gentleman named Dan Conrad gave us 5 STAR service! He told us all the history of how they do the different meats! He made our experience GREAT! We will be back real soon!

Just eaten at Elwood’s BBQ.
Good beer, good music, nice service and good pulled pork.
Poor tasting sides, cold fries, overly peppered beef and tough ribs.
Will not go back for a long while.

Horrible greasy food with absolutely no consistence, it will taste different and presumably more disgusting every time. Management/​owners that are never there and their support of employees is non existent. Employee turnover is so ridiculous you will be lucky to see 1 familiar face if you go back. Been in the south all my life, the bbq is pitiful, brisket more like dried jerky and mac n cheese that has a puddle of grease in the bottom of the plastic cup they serve it in. If u go in just order a unappetizing heart attack because that’s all you will be getting. I’d rather eat McRib… Still questionable but cheap and tasty.

Stopped in to try the burnt ends. Delish! A ton of food for the value. Also scored the half plate of fried pickles through the Unilocal offer. Those were good at first, but after awhile, it’s just too much oil to consume.

Went here for a work lunch because a colleague had posted coupons (buy one entrée, get one free) in the break room. The positives are the service and the BBQ sauces, as well as the variety of meats (ribs, pulled pork, brisket, burnt ends). The negatives are the taste of the meat, taste of the sides, and small size of the cornbread side (looks like a miniature muffin, but dry and tasteless). I tried the burnt ends platter. For $ 17, I got a sizable portion of meat; however, nearly half was fat. The sides I tried (collard greens, loaded mashed potatoes) were bland and small. As mentioned, sauces were good, but a BBQ joint lives and dies based on quality of meat. Elwood’s is on the lower end of the spectrum for taste and quality of its BBQ meats.

First time here on recommendation of a friend. Very good beer and drink special prices. Bloody Mary’s are large AND tasty!
AJ, my bartender was attentive without being overbearing. The GM, Dan came over to say hello to me as well. You can sense the place is focusing on customer service.
Had the wings on AJ’s recommendation. They were smoky in flavor and the neat was moist. I like mine spicy and was told they are bringing in a Six Alarm flavor shortly.
About to try the fried pickles. As a Northern guy, I’m not sure my review of those mean anything.
Atmosphere is very relaxed. Good place for groups and kids. Looking forward to trying their BBQ sandwiches and plates in future visits!

My fiancé and I came just in time for happy hour today. We ordered the nachos which were half price. They were delicious! The plate was piled high with toasted tortilla chips topped with a generous amount toppings. I highly recommend using one of the many in house BBQ sauces as a zesty addition to anything you order.
On too of the great food we received great service. Our bartender was A.J. who was very accommodating with our drinks and we also enjoyed quite the stimulating fantasy football convo along with Marcy and the manger, Brian. Overall… top notch services, food, and experience!

Ordered food to-​go tonight from Elwoods and we thought it was really good!
We called it in and the lady that answered the phone and took our order was very pleasant.
When I arrived the hostess guided me to the bar to pick up the order. The bartender was super nice and greeted me promptly with our food and my bill.
I ordered just a regular burger, with American cheese, lettuce, tomato, grilled onions and bacon. I asked for it to be medium rare because whenever I say medium at other restaurants it’s always over cooked. Well it was perfectly medium rare! So juicy and so good! The bun was a perfect accompaniment because it wasn’t too bulky but didn’t fall apart either! I chose onion rings for side and they were good too! Should have asked for a side of ranch but that was my bad.
My husband ordered the local burger that has pimento cheese and bacon on it and he loved it!
So when I used the ever helpful Unilocal app, they offer an order of fried pickles when you check in. I asked as I ordered if I could have those since I’m not dining in and they obliged no problems. My husband and I did not like them. They were way too salty for our liking. That was the only issue we had with our entire order.
All in all we definitely will be dining at (or out) Elwoods in the future! I’m excited to try their brisket!!!

I like this place. Good BBQ, great side dishes, decent atmosphere, good service. I have no real complaints. Usually the side dishes are where BBQ places skimp, as they focus on the quality of the meat. Elwoods has awesome sides: the hush puppies are spectacular, the mac & cheese is excellent, and they have the best onion rings EVER. The BBQ beans aren’t bad, either.
This place is close to me, which is great, as the next good BBQ place from me is 15+ miles away.

My top brunch pick: the brisket BBQ Benedict with poached eggs and grilled tomatoes nestled on English muffin halves and topped with their signature red sauce. It made a brunch believer out of me.
I’m also a big fan of their burnt ends (juicy as pork belly) and their chunky loaded baked potato casserole.

This is a good local BBQ joint. I try to always get the burn ends (well, maybe I should say that, cause once they are out… they are out. The ribs are very good, fall off the bone tender. The sides are also different, but in a good way (hush puppies, mac and cheese, cornbread… mmm)
They have live music in the evenings, good bands. Service is average.

I really wanted to like it but it just wasn’t that good. Great service, lots of TVs and a good beer selection just didn’t make up for the «average» food. We pretty much sampled everything and here are the highlight and lowlights:
Ribs were excellent and if I’m back I will order a full rack.
Wings were good if you like them smoked and grilled. I did but my finicky 9 year old didn’t.
The pulled pork was better than average and included lots of yummy bark.
The brisket was tender but VERY dry.
Both the onion rings and hush puppies were bland and greasy.
Green beans, red slaw and fries were all boring.
Good place to take the family or friends on game night but if you are looking for better than average bbq and sides I suggest you keep looking.