Queen City Q

It’s cold & wet! So why not feed myself some comfort food at the Q!!! ¼ dark smoked chicken, corn casserole, southwest salad, and an OMB Bauern Bock

This edition of Excited about Eating takes us to Queen City Q in downtown Charlotte, a short walk from the Time Warner Cable Arena, home of the Charlotte Hornets.
Dora here. My first Hornets game ever! Too bad they lost that night. :)
This BBQ joint/​sports bar serves all of our BBQ favorites, burgers, tacos and more. During our visit, most visitors were sporting their Hornets gear while filling up before the game.
We opted to try a few menu items and share: Brunswick stew, hush puppies and honey butter, and Carolina Classic Nachos.
I never pass up Brunswick stew when it’s on the menu, and I am glad I did not pass on this one. This stew was outstanding, with just the right mix of meat and vegetables and a flavor that kept me going back for more. I think next time we visit I could make my whole meal on this Brunswick stew.
Dora here. Hmm. I hear you, but I’m quite sure on our next visit, you won’t be able to resist the lure of the Que. :)
The Carolina Classic Nachos was loaded with three types of meat (pulled pork, smoked chicken and brisket), lettuce, tomato and chips.
I have nachos at many places, but these nachos have to rank in the top two or three. What separated these nachos from the others had to be the white queso, with just the right amount of kick and mixed well with the different meat combination. In addition, the serving portion is huge. Both of us ate on it, and still weren’t able to finish.
Dora here. Huge and delish! I love chili nachos, but the chili version tends to be heavy, so I appreciated the lighter variation. The chips didn’t taste overly salty while I ate them, but I could’ve downed a gallon of iced tea after dinner.
Service was quick and friendly, even jammed with people.
We rate this restaurant 5 forks out of 5 for a friendly restaurant serving outstanding food. ~Ernie & Dora Hiers, Fiction Faith & Foodies Bloggers

Love this place! This is my 2^nd time here and the wings and pulled pork are still delicious. They have great beers selection and the atmosphere is awesome. Service starts off slow but then it picks up and the staff is great. Every time we go to Charlotte, we make sure to make a pit stop here.

Im my opinion, this one of the best BBQ joints in Charlotte. Hushpuppies are great as is the briskett quesadilla, pulled pork, and chicken. A friend had the wings and they looked excellent as well. Lots of local beer on tap and a large selection of good whiskey and bourbon also make it a win.

The food was delicious!!! The service was quick and the food was served hot. I would definitely recommend taking out of town guests, friends or family here because they have a wide variety of delicious food options. The only down side to this place is that they are a little pricy, unless you order the $ 9 pulled pork sandwich.
*I would definitely recommend the sweet potato fries!

We went on ½ price wine Wednesday and enjoyed it while we waited for a table. There were plenty of TVs to watch all the sports. Ordered the half chicken and enjoyed it. The mac & cheese was pretty special too. Overall, I enjoyed it and will return! Pro tip: They validate parking in the 7^th street garage.

Parking garage for easy access. This is a serious +++
The food here is worth the drive from Fort Mill. The drinks truly have alcohol in them. What a novel concept. I’ve always gotten the ribs so happiness surrounds me. My husband have ordered other items and he has been disappointed & his fork manages to find its way to my plate. There is enough food for sure so no problem sharing.
This is my go to place when I have to fly out of Charlotte airport too. We consider this place a great find.

We went on a randomly packed Wednesday night. (The Hornets were playing.) Despite the crowd, we were seated quickly and received very attentive service. There was some confusion with our beer order — BF ordered an IPA and very clearly received a brown ale — and one of the waiters was a little argumentative when we pointed it out.
Food was a little hit and miss. The nachos were great! (Although an upcharge on $ 14 nachos to get about ¼ cup of guacamole is a rip off.) Apricot chipotle wings were average — the sauce was way too sweet with no spice. And, last (and coincidently least) was the tuna taco. I know, I know. Why’d I order a tuna taco at a BBQ restaurant? I was asking myself the same question after tasting it… The taco was cold and flavorless.
We’ll likely be back — you can’t beat their offer to validate parking in the uptown 7^th Street Garage just for stopping in for a beer or some food — but will be wary of the tacos.

A disclaimer: if you are from Texas or the Deep South do not step foot in this restaurant. I had the worst BBQ, I’ve ever encountered before at this restaurant. I ordered the brisket platter with two sides (baked beans and cole slaw). When the waitress provided the food, I stared completely perplexed at the pieces of meat in front of me. Was it brisket or some mystery meat? Let me say, the «brisket» (mystery meat) tasted as bad as it looked. The meat was tough and was served with some sort of sweet tangy sauce on top. Unfortunately, the sides were also bad. A can of Busch’s baked beans would have tasted better than the baked beans they offered. Complete waist of money, I took a few bites of everything and was finished.
On top of the poor food, the service is abysmal. I came into the restaurant during the middle of the day and no one acknowledged me as I waited to be seated. The staff were standing around talking. After being seated, it took 15 minutes for a waitress to come to my table and take my drink order. Please note, there were only 7 other patrons in the restaurant.
I don’t recommend this restaurant.

On a month long BBQ trail roadtrip through the Carolinas, Florida, NOLA and Tennessee Queen City Q ranked top 2 … loved the ribs and chicken. AND the nachos with pulled pork and Queso at the Charlotte Knights baseball game were mind bogglingly good… yeah so good I made up the word bogglingly!

I always receive great customer service whether I’m with my family, a colleague or whoever. I came in last night with an out of town guest and the first time in many visits, there was a mistake in my order. The appetizer came out after our main meal and my sandwich was incorrect. No big deal as there was just some minor differences. I said I was fine with it as long as the correct mean was billed. Andrew, working the bar, ended up taking care of everything which was totally unnecessary. He went above and beyond. He is an example of the staff I’ve experienced every visit. Thanks.
You really can’t go wrong with the food. They have meals for folks who don’t want too much and fulfilling entrees for those who want to go all out. There brisket is great and they serve it in several ways: taco, quesadilla, sandwich, cheese steak and of course classic meal on its own.

Not bad. Great sides (hushpuppies and deviled eggs). The mac and cheese was on point. However, the barbecued chicken was ok. The chicken was not barbecuey enough for me.

Came to NC for a wedding and after flying almost the entire length of the US we were hungry and looking for something good. Jen found Queen City Q on Unilocal and we decided to give it a try.
We had the Q platter which if you are undecided is a great option. We started with the chicken and bacon quesadilla which was awesome. The platter was awesome and the brisket, which past experiences have delivered dry and bland, was actually really good. you could seriously taste the grill which I loved. my opinion on ribs, which also come on the platter, is that the minimum requirement is that they fall off the bone, after that it’s all up to the sauce. The regular sweet sauce is right up my alley and I loved it, but if you like variety they have 5 or 6 more versions right on the table for you to try.
The topper was that our server along with all the other staff were very friendly and helpful to us tourists looking for things to do. Even other employees that were doing their side work or. other duties didn’t seem bothered my our questions and took more than just a minute to stop and visit with us. What a great reflection upon not only the restaurant but Charlotte as well.
Anyone looking for good BBQ and very friendly staff must go to Queen City Q.

The meal here was lackluster at best. I asked for a modified version of an item and the waitress said that they could accommodate. However, when she brought out my plate, it was the opposite of what I ordered. I settled for the chicken salad wrap, which was just ok. My date ordered the Texas Brisket Sandwich with macaroni and cheese, which he thoroughly enjoyed. However, his first beer was lukewarm. The place was nearly empty when arrived and the atmosphere seems like a cool after work spot.
I would not come back to this place.
**Disclaimer: I do not eat beef or pork, so my review is to be taken with a grain of salt.**

This is a solid choice for some BBQ food, and probably the best choice in Uptown, but definitely not the best in Charlotte.
It’s got a good sized patio area to enjoy the nice spring/​summer/​fall weather, as well as many tables inside. They have a vast beer selection, which is always welcomed by me. Their BBQ is pretty good, and competitively priced to other BBQ joints around town.
The several times I’ve come, I’ve always gotten the hand pulled pork entrée. You just can’t beat that deal. It’s $ 12, and comes with 2 sides and texas toast. The pork has always been tender and cooked/​smoked well. I’ve yet to have dried out pork here. Their Mac N Cheese is delicious, as is their green bean casserole & hush puppies.
If you’re Uptown, I’d definitely recommend giving this place a shot!

I’m always hesitant to go to a BBQ joint being a vegetarian and all, but this place was fantastic! All the veggie options were clearly labeled and well made.
Their veggie burger was very basic and a little boring. I would stay clear of it, there are many other places in town that make it way better! However all their sides are amazing! Great hush-​puppies with honey butter, fantastic fried okra, and great mac & cheese!
If you’re a vegetarian, I recommend just filling up on sides. It’s totally worth it.

We had a lovely late lunch here.
One of the best Chicken Quesadillas I’ve ever had, even though their salsa is watery.
My boo had the fire roasted buffalo wings…
Take that fire roasted statement literally. They packed quite a punch, but he was able to customize his order and split flavors of the wings. He got the other half barbeque wings. Which were no where as spicy hot.
Note: Everything seemed to be ala carte, so there are no fries, salads and barely any garnishes served with anything.
Pink lemonade was nice too. They had a full bar and local beers!
This place is next to the Levine Museum and in the center of everything. The prices were decent and the menu was huge. Yay — To outdoor patio seating to enjoy the Charlotte sun, city vibe and people watching.

I went to Queen City this afternoon with 15 collegues from my office, for a 25 years anniversary with the Company. They had set up a nice table in a side room so we were by ourselves, which was nice since we were a little loud.
With 15 guests I was surprised to see we only had one server. She took our drink orders and gave everyone ample time to review the menu and returned to take our order. Being a large group it seemed like we have a variety of items, pulled pork platter, pork sandwich, sliders, nachos, quesadillas, etc. and everyone enjoyed their meals. Overall I heard some complaints about the fries, not being cooked, and the nachos lacked meat. They were a pile of nachos. I ordered the pulled pork sandwich with fries. The pork was okay, not my favorite and my fries were raw… which was very disappointing because I love me some good fries. As for the cole slaw I would pass on that, pretty dry.
Overall, we had good service and the food was okay, but not barbeque that I would rush back to.

Queen City Q was just what we needed after a long day of traveling. The beer selection is large with lots of NC brews. The pulled pork plate was huge and cooked to perfection. The collard greens were especially tasty and just salty enough from the bacon they were cooked with. They have a bunch of great barbecue sauces here – one from every major barbecue region. Use the eastern NC sauce with some cholula hot sauce. They have a ton of TVs and a few big projectors which makes it a perfect place for watching NCAA tournament games. The service is fast and all the staff were very attentive and friendly. Even though it’s a huge restaurant the quality of food and personality of the staff made it feel like a small hometown barbecue joint to which I will definitely return.

Popped in for a second meal after the vendors over at Seventh Street Market was closed. Taking two seats at the bar, we ordered a couple of local draft beers and a platter of nachos. The beers were served quickly, the nachos arrived an appropriate time later.
I wasn’t impressed with the barbecue nachos. Too many chips, not enough toppings. The few bits of shredded barbecue meat on there were very dry. I would not have these again. I don’t feel right dinging them for it though.
Next time, I’ll go for a plate of their famed barbecue.