Ellie Lou’s Brews & BBQ

Pretty good bbq to be found in Ocoee. I still believe 4Rivers has better bbq and even Harry and Larry’s bbq off of Plant street in Winter Garden, but Ellie Lou’s has your basic smoked meats. The sides are little different with yummy fried green tomatoes and cheese grits, but from what locals have said it is good bbq just maybe not the best in town.

Ellie Lou’s is great. It is the best BBQ that we have been able to find around town. It’s not greasy and the sauces are just perfect. I usually order the turkey, which is the best that I have ever had. It is moist and juicy and just excellent. The pulled pork is good, but a little on the drier side. The brisket is delicious.
As far as sides are concerned, the sweet potato fries, the blue cheese slaw and the fried okra are our family favorites.
The only complaint, if any, would be the garlic bread. I am very picky about my garlic bread, so I substitute a different side.
Two thumbs up all the way!

A little disappointed tonite. Walked in for take out, Sunday 6:30pm, told me it was a 45 minute wait for take out. I understand their need to turn tables and obviously the priority is to serve their «dine in» customers, but what I ordered was sandwiches, not something they had to cook. Anyway, great food, not sure if I’ll do takeout again.

I was on this side of town, and Ellie Lou’s had great reviews so I decided to check it out. It is very unassuming in a strip mall, but once you go in there is plenty of seating. You go to the counter, place your order, and are given a number to take to your table.
I love BBQ and I was very torn as to what meat to get. I asked the staff if a particular meat was their specialty and they said probably the brisket, but that their personal favorite was the turkey. I love turkey when it is done right and both said it was excellent so I got a turkey plate with mac n cheese.
I went and sat down at a table and my turkey plate arrived within a few minutes. I want to give this places props for their variety of portions. They have plates with one side, and platters with meat and 2 sides. They also have sandwiches and by the pound. Frequently I end up with way too much food at a BBQ restaurant, but the 5 oz of meat and small side was just about right for me.
The turkey was good, but it wasn’t outstanding. After eating La Barbecue in Austin I don’t think any other turkey will ever be outstanding. The macaroni was eh. It was very cheesy, but I felt like it was all sauce and hardly any noodles. The sauce was very thick and stouffer ish. The garlic bread was awesome.
They had a wide variety of sauces which I appreciate, but as a North Carolinian I am always disappointed when the «Carolina» sauce is gold. Boo! That is South Carolina sauce. I want NC vinegar sauce. Despite that disappointment the Memphis Sauce was quite good. The Carolina gold was pretty decent for the wrong Carolina. I did not care for the Sweet Sauce or the Spicy sauce, but I did try them all and was glad they had so many to choose from.
Overall, I thought the place was pretty good. I will likely come back and try the brisket and a different side.

I have been craving some good bbq recently and my girlfriend decided to take me here based off of all the great reviews we saw. I left having some mixed feelings about it. They had a fairly extensive menu that also featured domestics and a few craft brews. The girl at the service counter was very friendly explaining the items on the menu and the other staff we dealt with was very nice as well. My girlfriend ordered the chicken platter with Mac and cheese and fries and I ordered the chopped pork (they didn’t have pulled pork which seemed a bit surprising from a bbq place) with the fried green tomatoes and cheese grits.
Now for starters, the meats we had, the chicken and pork were very good on their own. Very juicy, tender and flavorful. Sampled all of the sauces, my favorite was mixing the Memphis, KC and hot but overall the sauce didn’t really ‘wow’ me. Seemed average at best. The sides we had though were absolutely horrible. I LOVE cheese grits, but these were entirely too salty, which seems crazy to say because I love salty foods– and I’m that guy that usually salts everything after it comes to the table. The Mac and Cheese was the same way. The fried green tomatoes and fries were slightly better, still heavy on the salt but more bearable.
So although the service and meats were very good, the rest really let me down based off of everything I read. We can say we’ve tried it now just not something personally we’d rush back for.

Wow. Awesome place. My boyfriend and I got the Q for Two and it was more than enough. We have lunch tomorrow. The BBQ. Man. It’s good. If you like smokey and you like a good rub, this is the place. The pork was phenomenal. I’ve never seen or eaten a smoked chicken breast that was still juicy and full of flavor. Sauces were great. And sweet tea was on point. Besides the great food the place has a great atmosphere and all the servers were friendly and worked as a team. Good job guys, I’ll be coming back.

Stopped here on a whim with the kids and we all loved it. I prefer pulled pork to chopped pork (have had some bad experiences with the latter), but their Pork & Bleu was great! And the baked beans side is the best I’ve ever had. The kids are asking to come back when we’re in town again and said they wish there was one in Ohio, lol. The BBQ Salad was good, just needed a bit of extra dressing.
Lastly, the Kansas City (sweet) sauce was wonderful!

Ellie Lou’s is the rare BBQ restaurant the combines excellent service with far better than average food and for a more than reasonable price. If you live in the greater Orlando area this is a must for BBQ lovers. In fact, it’s good enough to become a destination for out-​of-​towners, even though it’s a trek from the theme parks. If you’re a local and have been to Smokey Bones or Bubbalou’s expect to be wowed here. Ellie Lou’s is at least two notches better. It’s safe to compare it to the quality you’d receive at 4 Rivers Smokehouse, perhaps a bit better.
If you’ve eaten an extensive amount of BBQ in Central Florida, you’ll agree the region doesn’t have a wide range of quality choices. While there are a few go-​to spots the rest of the Southeast thumps it, as does Texas, Kansas City, etc. Fortunately, Ellie Lou’s bucks that trend. It’s a great place for lunch or dinner whether with works friends, buddies or a family dinner. While the dining area is small you’ll be able to get in as long as it isn’t during peak hours. Otherwise, expect to wait, and don’t let that deter you: any good restaurant has a wait.
What makes Ellie Lou’s better than the average Central Florida BBQ? Several things. First, there’s a chef behind these creations and mostly fresh, non frozen meats and sides, which are made from scratch. You’ll notice a huge difference from the sides offered here compared to most competitors.
The meats won’t disappoint, either. While none of the meats will be the best you’ve ever had (if you’ve eaten BBQ at other quality restaurants nationwide) all the entrée meats offered are much better than average and will impress. In fact, if you complain about the BBQ here you’re the kind of person that’s never satisfied. While we haven’t tried the ribs, we can attest to the quality and flavor of the brisket, pork, chicken and sausage (which is top-​notch). All come chopped in cubes and are lean and tasty. You can’t go wrong with any of them, which is why I always order the platter.
Keep in mind, there are four homemade sauces to choose from, meaning if you’re one that doesn’t like vinegar based sauce you can turn to a different style and be content. The chefs have done a great job making sure they cater to an array of BBQ lovers, rather than one style.
Many of the sides are impressive enough to eat as a meal. From their taste it’s clear most are homemade and seasoned with only the best ingredients. Take the sweet potato fries, for example. Hand cut, and well seasoned, they could be the best you’ve had. Even if you’re full expect to continue eating them. The fried okra is darn good, too, and comes without grease. Even the items you’d expect to be bland and boring — like green beans — come packed with flavor. What surprised us most is the garlic bread (which comes with every platter) is baked with care and a goal in mind: to put a crispy, tasty piece of bread on every plate, rather than to half-​ass it.
There’s a tremendous amount of value, too. With the quality delivered one would expect to pay far more for this BBQ. Meanwhile, a four-​meat combo goes for $ 15.99, which is dirt cheap when compared to its peers. You’ll also find large portions. In short, if you finish a three-​meat combo with two sides at lunch — you might not be hungry at dinner.
When it comes to dessert, I’m not sure how anyone could fit it in. With large portions and tasty sides we couldn’t find a spot for it on any of our visits and would likely pass anyway. While it may have changed, they’ve been buying them from a baker in Tampa and I’m sure they taste excellent (because they look good) but if I’m going to order dessert at a BBQ place I’d prefer it be homemade, like everything else seems to be here.
While this isn’t technically a sit down restaurant it sorta functions as one. Guests order at the register and find a seat before awaiting food to be brought to the table. Meanwhile, the staff works hard to make patrons feel like they are welcome and wanted. In fact, Ellie (the owner) stopped by our table several times to make sure we enjoyed every bite. She went as far as bringing us samples of sides the first time were were here. She wants us to enjoy everything on the menu and gave credit to her staff and chefs, rather than herself. Fortunately, this place remains small enough where every customer counts. The staff goes out of their way, as do the cooks — and it doesn’t go unnoticed.

Great restaurant! My friend and I decided to give it a shot after seeing it on Unilocal.This was our first visit! As soon as we walked in, we felt welcomed. Everyone there was so nice. The food was amazing, so much better than the chain BBQ joints. The meat was flavorful and juicy… just delicious! The sides were just as yummy. Its rare to find both great meats and sides at a restaurant but they have mastered both. They bring your order to the table and get you anything thing that you may need. This place far exceeded our expectations. Great find, great place! Thanks Unilocal!
***“ONE THING THAT BOTHERS ME ABOUT THIS PLACE… after spending 20 something dollars, I should be able to get more than one little sauce in my to go order. I had to pay extra for more. Sonny’s and other BBQ don’t do that. I paid the extra $ 2 for ribs but to pay for more little sauces after spending 20 something is a bit much… literally.
Still a great place.

Outstanding BBQ and great, very friendly service.
I had the pork sandwich w blue cheese coleslaw. The pork is delicious enough to eat with no sauce and I could eat a whole bowl of the slaw.
Excellent restaurant — will def be back!

Ellie Lou’s knows how to do every type of bbq– sweet, smokey and vinegar! This is a hidden gem worth driving from any part of town to get. I’ve now gone two weekends in a row and can’t stop eating leftovers in between :)
Set in a strip mall it looks small from the outside but they have tons of tables inside for any sized group and on the weekends there are lots of families and locals who enjoy this place. You order at the counter from the overwhelming menu where you can get plates, platters or sandwiches with piles of turkey, chicken, pork, sausage, brisket, etc. and any number of down home sides. The side of settler’s beans are my favorite with huge chunks of bacon and every kind of bean you can imagine inside. I absolutely love the pork and blue sandwich which comes with blue cheese coleslaw on top of their delicious pulled pork. Beware– the lava sauce is really freaking hot but oh so good! Also, their regular and sweet potato fries are some of the best I’ve ever had– always crunchy and well seasoned.
They have lots of rotating beers on tap to wash it all down with and don’t forget to order some food a la carte on your way out! The prices are ridiculously cheap and you will be craving some more. Services is always great and waitresses will check on you several times throughout the visit.
PS-don’t forget to sign up for the rewards club and get a free cookie!

Such incredibly good bbq!
It seems that every time I make it back to Orlando I stop here as well!
The Turkey is good every single time I have ordered it!
Fried Green tomatoes is a must order each time (although the last time they were a bit on the cold side)
Fries and fried okra are crispy and tasty!
My personal favorite which some of you will laugh is the blue cheese cole slaw. I could seriously eat that stuff by the pound! I have sometimes even been at Publix and I just want some of the coleslaw and will make a quick stop there. And they don’t judge me when I do it!!!
Really nice staff that works there, and the hot sauce is actually HOT!!! They have quite a few option for bbq sauces, all of which are equally tasty, the mustard base one has a slight edge for me!
Ellie Lou’s definitely was a surprise but the kind of surprise that has you grinning from ear to ear!!!

This place is absolutely phenomenal! It’s a bit far from me, but I would definitely drive back here for some amazing BBQ! Lee is the man! He was so warm and welcoming the second we stepped inside. He was so excited that it was our first time and gave us samples in the order line of the coleslaw and mac n’ cheese since we were asking what was good! He also made me his version of a snake bite with a few of the beers he had on tap and let me sample that as well and it was quite delicious, so of course I ordered one!
They have the usual BBQ fare, but it’s definitely outstanding in taste! I got a combo of brisket and smoked turkey (since I couldn’t decide) with mac n’ cheese and fries as my sides. Everything was sooooo good. The smoked turkey was by far my favorite, and all the sides were great! I loved the fries, they are fresh, hand cut and seasoned and piping hot! All of the BBQ sauces were delicious and I couldn’t decide which one I liked best!
Lee came over to our table to see how we were enjoying the food and wanted to recommend which BBQ sauces to use on certain meats. He definitely takes great pride in the food there! I will absolutely be going back to enjoy some BBQ and would highly recommend Ellie Lou’s to anyone!

I have to say it. I wasn’t expecting much from this place. My husband came in for a beer a few weeks ago and got suckered into the ribs. He has since then made it his mission to get me here.
I was blown away from the moment I walked in. Everybody was friendly and it smelled wonderful. After checking out the menu thoroughly, I decided to have a signature sandwich; the Texas Cheesesteak. I went with a 3 cheese Mac for my side. I don’t think I could have made a wrong choice, but this sandwich was excellent. Everything came out quickly and they even came by the table a few times to check on us. Danielle was awesome and even chatted with us a bit. We joined the loyalty club while we were there, so we’ll definitely be coming back.

It’s rare to go somewhere nowadays and have food that is anything more than mediocre. The food at Ellie Lou’s was excellent! My sandwich was piping hot and the fresh-​cut fries were fresh out of the fryer and seasoned perfectly. My boyfriend, who doesn’t get excited about food, took one bite of the beans and said, «these are freaking amazing!»
The restaurant is clean and the staff is extremely friendly and accommodating. I was mad my friends kept this place a secret! You definitely won’t regret your decision to try it out.

Fantastic. I love that they offer a mix of pulled turkey and chicken as someone who mostly eats only white meat. Plus, the variety of sauces is awesome! We’ll be back!
Update: We went again, and while I loved it nearly as much the second time, there was a pretty sizable bone in my memphis bird sandwich. I’m a bit of a squeamish meat eater to begin with, so needless to say this pretty much ruined my entire meal. I will definitely give them another chance, but I’ve been hesitant to go back after the bone fiasco.

What better way to celebrate 4^th of July than with BBQ food?
(Sadly) I am by no means a BBQ expert, however, I know delicious food when I taste it; Ellie Lou’s is absolutely delicious. My gf ordered the Pork BBQ Platter (+ Blue Cheese Coleslaw, 3-​Cheese Mac, Garlic Bread) and I ordered the Brisket BBQ Platter (+ Fries, Potato Salad, Garlic Bread).
Sides: I may be a bit biased since I make a great Blue Cheese Coleslaw, but I thought it was the weakest link of the meal; it was somewhat bland. The 3-​Cheese Mac was tasty and definitely not lacking cheese, but not outstanding. Surprisingly, the fries were great. They had a great amount of salt and acted as the perfect sponge for their delicious sauces. The Potato Salad was solid; it was tasty and had a good potato to mayo ratio.
BBQ Pork/​Brisket: very moist, good smoke-​ring and just absolutely delicious. There are 4 distinct sauces on table (all are great), but this is the type of meat that doesn’t need to hide its flaws. My gf made a comment during the meal and I think it summed it up perfectly, «Like the sprinkles topping off the perfect sundae, they are always welcome, but not necessary.»
The sauces! Memphis (smoky, slightly sweet, rich), Kansas City (sweeter, less rich, slight tang), Carolina Gold (well rounded, mustard based) and Southern Lava (similar to Kansas City, but with heat as opposed to sweet). All are great and all worked well with our meat selection.
The service was extremely friendly. They constantly walked around checking up on refills and always had smiles on their faces. I will definitely be back, sooner rather than later.

I am heartbroken that this wonderful gem is located on the other side of the earth from me. I may be making more frequent trips to Ocoee now!
Customer service here really knocked my socks off. The owner was super excited to tell us about the food and the beers they had on tap. He made sure to visit and tell us more about the sauces and recommended which to use depending on the meat we had ordered. He joked around and made us all feel right at home.
I decided to go with the 2 meat meal since I was fairly hungry. Brisket makes or breaks a BBQ place to me so I decided to give it a shot here. I heard great things about the turkey so I ordered that as well. For my sides: 3 cheese mac n cheese and the beans. The brisket was heavenly. I’ve been an avid 4 Rivers fan since their brisket is so good but they’ve now been topped. GET THE BRISKET! The turkey was great and I love that it was cubed instead of sliced. Moist and went great with the Carolina bbq sauce. The mac and cheese and beans were also top notch. I could taste the tanginess of the 3 different cheeses. And the beans weren’t cringingly sweet like most places tend to make them. AND THE GARLIC BREAD. So buttery and crispy.
The owner gave us samples of the bleu cheese slaw. I’m not normally a slaw person but this one was tasty. I may try it on my next trip if I can break away from what I already know is divine.
Writing this review made me hungry all over again. If you’re nearby, just go to Ellie Lou’s for my sake!

Delicious BBQ and great service! My husband and I were craving BBQ after spending a Saturday morning in Winter Garden and decided to stop by for lunch. I’m so happy that we did! We loved it so much that we went again this past weekend which was only two weeks after the first visit!
You place your order at the counter and then the food is delivered to your table. The staff is very friendly and happy to help.
I’ve tried the Texas cheesesteak, turkey, brisket, St. Louis ribs, 3 cheese mac, settler’s beans, hand cut fries, blue cheese cole slaw, and garlic bread.
The Texas cheesesteak has brisket, cheddar, jalapeños and onion straws. I love the brisket but I’m obsessed with the turkey! The mac is super duper rich! I found the ribs a little bit on the dry side but very meaty. The blue cheese slaw was very creamy and full of blue cheese chunks! The fries are perfectly seasoned and crispy. I’m not a big fan of bbq beans but the settler’s beans are really good. I loved the garlic bread so much I took some to go!
I only wish that I didn’t live so far from this place so I could go on a whim. Although the distance will not stop me from going back soon!

I heard so many great things, so I had to stop by and give it a try. First, the woman that took my order was so friendly! She seriously was so nice. For me, that is a huge factor in whether I will return or not. I ordered the brisket platter and the rib platter to go. Both were excellent. The brisket was flavorful and tender and the rub on the ribs were nice. The fries are exceptional and we really liked the Mac and cheese. So glad I got to check it out. I can’t wait to go back.