Brad’s Bar-B-Q

One of my favorite BBQ joints. The BBQ is great, and the sides are nice «down home» like mama used to make. Mostly I get carryout at their weirdly placed drive thru, but on the times I have gone inside, the atmosphere is rather cutesy backwoods-​ish. OK now I’m hungry, I think I’ll do the drive thru tonight!

Brad’s is usually our go-​to for BBQ, but caught them on a bad day, I guess. They seemed to be rather understaffed during a busy time (1 in kitchen and 2 ladies working the counter, phone, drive-​thru & dining room) so my takeout order took 40 mins! I did not call it in, but honestly how long does it take to put a pound of meat in a styrofoam box and wrap a slab of ribs in foil? The bbq meat was really dry, the ribs overcooked, the beans were unremarkable and not sealed so spilled in the bag, and they forgot the hot sauce! The slaw was fine. Our other go-​to of late has been Plumpy’s in Arlington so will likely be going back there next time!

Thank you for supporting our American freedoms. This is a great nation and it really means a lot that you put a sign on the door actually encouraging that responsible Americans carry a CONCEALED weapon. Our freedoms are eroding and it’s very important we as citizens do not have to be totally dependant on government for law, order, and protection. For this I give four stars instead of the three that you have earned on this lunch.
Wait staff: incredibly polite and professional. Waitress has served me many times over the years. She took the time to explain the hot sauce, mild sauce, bone plate, and wet naps. Very polite and attentive. She was tipped well. Ketchup bottle was very clean but hot sauce, salt, and pepper were dirty. I understand how they get dirty, but they can be cleaned. Health department score 94. This was also a star. Only one or two stars left for food though.
Atmosphere: there is a wonderful smoky smell that reminds me of long winter nights in a cabin in the woods. Decorations are country by nature and very relaxing.
Ribs: you can get a half slab with bread and two sides or for a buck and a half more upgrade to a full slab and finish for dinner. My ribs had a wonderful smoky flavor and were really good. Problem was they were probably incredible yesterday when they were cooked. A couple of hints here a: the thin parts are dry and b: they are freshly sauced in the middle, but the edges look horrible. Now the thing with ribs is that you don’t have six hours to cook them by the order so you have to start early, early in the morning to have perfect ribs by lunch. Ah but it is so much cheaper and easier to cook them in business hours and serve them the following day. The problem is that if you are serving me leftovers and I save half for later, then they are pretty much expired.
Beans: straight out of the can. Period. I might be wrong. That is my opinion. It reminds me of the cans of pork and beans where you have to search every plate to see which person got that little piece of meat. I was not so lucky. I did put a small piece of my ribs in though just to make me feel better.
Bread: sesame buns straight out of the bag. It was even slightly stale which would be impossible to tell if only they were buttered and toasted.
Onion rings: frozen and bagged– deep fried. Onion rings are so easy to make and so much better made by the order.
Price: 27 bucks for lunch including tip. Can’t afford to do it often. And now I have leftover leftover ribs to eat later. Now that I factor in the price, I feel like giving one star for food, another for servers, and a third one for the handgun thing.
So when I paid, they asked. Told them the sides are just ok, but the ribs were probably really great when they were cooked yesterday. The only response was that I should try the potato salad because it is made in house. That tells me two things: 1: my intuition about eating leftovers was true, and 2: the only thing (other than meat) prepared in house is potato salad.
Brads, you are a long standing staple in the Bartlett community and I know nothing about running a restaurant. But I ask you to listen to opinions and respect them.

Went to Brad’s today for an early lunch. It wasn’t overly crowded and the staff was super nice.
We ordered a meal for 2 which consisted of ribs-​wet, a pint of baked beans, a pint of slaw, and 2 ‘rolls’ –what she called them.
We got our order in a very reasonable amount of time, however the ribs we found disappointing.
The meat-​although it flaked of the bone was dry somehow and there was hardly any space to be found. It tatted just ok, a disappointment since I am visiting from out of town and have been looking forward to some bar-​b-​q.
The sides– the beans were fantastic, enough said. The slow on the other hand left a lot to be desired. Very small chopped, almost ground in a way, I found the texture unappetizing and the flavor too sweet.
The bread– picture two sesame seed long buns, not even toasted or buttered and basically left in the store brand bag and put straight into our order. Not home made, not special and a weak afterthought.
We have a lot left over and honestly I don’t think we will bother finishing it.
Overall, we wish we would have spent our money at Corky’s.

Yet one of a number of good barbecue places in the Memphis area. There pork is tender and juicy and there sauce is a bit in the sweet side which complements the meat well. They also have some amazing baked beans and the most delicious banana pudding this side of your grandma’s homemade secret recipe. Defiantly worth a try, you won’t regret it.

As far as food goes, it’s hard to beat Brads BBQ. The portions are excellent, the meat, slaw, and sauce are fantastic. Ribs are also tender and juicy. My only complaint is that I looked up the menu online, called and placed a to go order. Luckily I had enough money when I got there because the order was $ 11.00 more than the posted prices online. I got pretty upset about it, but there excuse was that they had not gotten around to updating the online menu. There was no compensation offered and no real apology. I will go back because I love the food, not the owners or employees.

We love Brad’s and have enjoyed take out dozens of times. We prefer finely chopped meat and Brad’s always accommodates. Spaghetti was an especially tasty side dish with our most recent order. Their slaw is too sweet for my taste but the onion rings, wrapped in wax paper and secured by a toothpick, are the greatest. Point of interest — the Bartlett location does not serve a sausage and cheese plate but the Oakland location does.

A food critic has to be harsh when judging barbecue in a place like Memphis Tennessee. Two stars is the best I can do here, because locals have certain expectations in our barbecue. The pork was chopped and not pulled, which is a texture problem. This meat has no seasoning, and I could not taste any smoke. The fries were crinkle cut, and were obviously frozen. The slaw was good and sweet, but that is really all there was to talk about. In a city full of choices, this place will never be the first pick unless they make big changes. The fries should have been freshly cut, and the pork should have been seasoned and smoked properly, so there is no question as to whether or not it was boiled. The servers were very friendly and service was good. I politely offered my feedback to the server and she was defensive, saying the meat was in the smoke pit. The customer is always right. Walking into this place, you were expecting a hole in the wall BBQ joint, but they fall short of that expectation. The last jab I have to throw is that they are Pepsi people, not Coke embracers. ‘Nuff said.

Solid Mom and Pop BBQ stop. Food is top notch and the banana pudding is worthy of stop all on its own. Pulled pork and chicken plates are huge!

Enjoyed a sandwich, beans and banana pudding. Sauce was thinner with vinegar base. Did not detect meat in the beans.
Solid BBQ. A place to drop in and grab a sandwich. May try the ribs on a future visit

While out and about car shopping we got hungry and took a break at Brad’s. It’s a little place, but comfortable. The service was prompt and the food was good. Can’t ask for much more than that!

Great place for BBQ! Try their spaghetti, too. (c: I love their potato salad!
They support 2^nd amendment rights, and while that has nothing to do with their food or service, it does make the experience more enjoyable for me!
Been in here more time than I can count over the year, and have never had a bad experience! Even when they are busy, the service and quality of food never changes. Can’t pass on the BBQ nachos!

Arrived just before noon on a Wednesday to find a mostly full lot and dining room. Great smoke smell inside and out was promising. The décor more closely resembles a country store than a BBQ joint but if had a cozy feel with a mix of tables and booths.
I was greeted promptly and told to take any seat I would like. The server promptly took my order with no small measure of southern charm. The table contained small bottles of their Standard and Hot sauces.
Ordered a half slab, small pork sandwich, slaw and beans since they didn’t have a sampler platter on the menu.
Standard sauce: Thin tomato base with a nice hit of vinegar. Not a ton of personality but tasty.
Hot sauce: thick tomato with a load of black pepper. As a fan of black pepper this was a verify nice surprise. Not a traditional sauce for the area but quite tasty.
Ribs: ²⁄₅
Salt immediately overpowers any smoke flavor in the meat. Moderately overcooked to a grey tone, with the membrane still on the slab. Sauced but at an odd time in the process resulting in a mushy mess of a coating. disappointing.
Shoulder: ³⁄₅
Fine chopped shoulder on a toasted bun and optional topping of slaw. Little smoke flavor and not much texture to the meat. Little to no bark bits to be seen. Was fairly moist though with average flavor overall. Rounding up from a 2.5 here because of outside factors.
Slaw seems like super minced preordered style. More of a sweet than a vinegar hit. Nice as a topping… But bland as a side.
The beans, too, lacked much personality. After adding a tablespoon of hot sauce and some chopped pork they livened up considerably.
By 12:30 the place was packed. Good value, fun atmosphere with excellent staff… but the food just doesn’t warrant coming back when there are so man better options in the area.

I’ve been in memphis all week, have to say this is the best food we’ve had all week! Everything was perfect! The service was great and the food even better. I’m glad we found Brads BBQ, I will be bringing the kids to eat here next week.

Horrible service. Messed up a simple order and when I got home and called about it, was put on hold after explaining the problem only the girl answering the phone apparently just sat it down. So after about 10 minuets of listening to what I’m guessing was just employees talking I hung up. This is Memphis and there’s wayyyy too many other bbq joints to waste time and money on mediocre food and horrible service.

Brad’s is the most convenient BBQ location for me so I get lunch or supper here from time to time. The sauce is decent and the meat is okay but often dry. The prices are very good and there’s an old-​fashioned friendliness I find every time I go in, and I think those along with the convenience are what keep me coming back when I do.
If you’re in the area and looking for some BBQ at a good price, it’s worth stopping here.

This place is a community secret. The food here is way above average and will make a run for your money against rendezvous, neely’s, and corky’s AND the great thing about it, this place inexpensive.
The ribs are awesome!!! You can get a full rib dinner for $ 16.00. The staff are down to earth and willing to please. Not like the other big name places, they treat you like that they are doing you a favor for eating at their establishment.
Bartlett has a couple of great BBQ spots and I will be coming back to them instead of going to the «other establishments».

I tried this place based on a recommendation from a coworker. It really was not bad, but my companions disagreed. I ordered the spaghetti and bbq nachos. I felt the nachos were good. The portion was generous, the cheese was acceptable, and the bbq was flavorful. The spaghetti was a little disappointing. It was not bbq spaghetti as I believed it to be, so I can only blame myself for this mistake. My companions ordered the bbq sandwiches. They stated that the meat was dry and did not have any flavor at all. The sauces provided on the table were good, but the meat served was apparently bad enough in their opinion that it was deemed «not really bbq» due to its apparently incredible low moisture content. Based solely on my one experience, I think the food was quite acceptable. It is easily better than Rendezvous, but then again any BBQ in Memphis is better than Rendezvous.
Food: ³⁄₅
The atmosphere is quaint. It feels like a very small wood shed. The waitresses all wear camo-​colored t-​shirts which is interesting and fun in a military way. The area surrounding the restaurant is equally unique with an old train car nearby and the actual railroad tracks literally right next to the restaurant. It all felt strangely familiar as if there were another big name Memphis BBQ place with a similar adjacent railroad location and cozy/​tight dining facility built like a wood shed. I wonder if Germantown has anything like that. If they don’t, I really think they should build a BBQ place near some railroad tracks. Sticking to the military theme maybe they could call it a commissary. That would be funny. A commissary in Germantown! Ha! If I ever live to see the day…
Atmosphere: ⁴⁄₅
The food is very reasonably priced. The portions are large and the price is equivalent. It isn’t as expensive as Rendezvous, but it’s more expensive than Interstate.
Price: ³⁄₅
The wait staff is pleasant and attentive.
Service: ⁵⁄₅
I liked this place. I thought it was a nice to place to sit and eat some decent BBQ. Unfortunately it is quite far from where I live, and I don’t find it extraordinary to the point of feeling the need to drive half an hour to get it. If you live nearby or feel like experiencing another Memphis BBQ joint that you’ve not had before. I’d suggest giving this place a shot.
BTW, they have a drive through. Woo-​woo!

The BEST BBQ I’ve had to date. I’ve been eating here since I was a kid and although I’ve had BBQ all over the place, this is still the #1 BEST I’ve ever had. Their BBQ Sandwich can NOT be beat! I’m telling you check this out, it’s a Memphis secret!

Some people call Disney World the best place on earth, but they obviously haven’t sampled the fare at Brad’s Bar-​B-​Q. I’ve been eating Brad’s Bar-​B-​Q pulled pork since I have been able to digest solid food and it does not get any better than this!!!
Memphis-​style dry rub BBQ is a classic and Brad’s stays 100% true. The sauce is packed with flavor and naturally comes on the side. Everything here is great! A meal is accessorized with the classic plump and juicy baked beans; spicy mayo slaw; crunchy and seasoned cascade of potato spears, and hot and greasy onion rings. The sweat tea is also phenomenal!
The ribs are famous as is the pulled pork. Take a drive over the tracks to their location which has been there for over 30 years. The restaurant is clean and the staff is incredibly friendly whether you are taking out or staying to dine in. No matter if it is your first visit or you are a regular, when you come to Brad’s you are family.
If I had to choose my last meal on this earth, it would be a pulled pork BBQ sandwich from Brad’s topped with creamy slaw and potato spears with an extra large glass of sweet tea!