Roscoe’s Barbeque

Rochester, United States

3.2

Closed now

15 reviews

Accepts Credit Cards

Contacts

QR code, vCard

Telephone:
+1 507-285-0501
Website:
www.roscoesbbq.com
Address:
603 4th St SE, Rochester, MN, 55904
Nearby public transportation stops & stations:
0.4 miSoutheast / 3rd Ave SE Park-n-Ride
0.6 miDowntown Transit Center
0.7 miN Broadway Ave & 5th St NW
Categories:
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Bussiness info

Takes Reservations
No
Delivery
Yes
Take-out
Yes
Accepts Credit Cards
Yes
Good For
Lunch
Parking
Private Lot
Bike Parking
Yes
Wheelchair Accessible
Yes
Good for Kids
Yes
Good for Groups
No
Attire
Casual
Noise Level
Average
Alcohol
No
Outdoor Seating
Yes
Wi-Fi
No
Has TV
No
Dogs Allowed
Yes
Waiter Service
No
Caters
Yes

Today

Today 11:00 am – 7:00 pm
Closed now
Local time (Rochester) 01:52 Tuesday, 24 June 2025

Business hours

Monday –
Tuesday 11:00 am – 7:00 pm
Wednesday 11:00 am – 7:00 pm
Thursday 11:00 am – 7:00 pm
Friday 11:00 am – 7:00 pm
Saturday 11:00 am – 7:00 pm
Sunday 11:00 am – 7:00 pm

Description

Specialties

Roscoe’s Barbecue in Rochester, MN is serving up multi-​award winning barbecue, and some of the best burgers and Philly cheese streaks in town. To create our award winning barbecue, the winner of many nationally-​recognized cook offs, we always start with the best meat available on the market. Sure there are cheaper cuts of meat, but you won’t find Roscoe serving them! What makes Roscoe’s Barbecue unique is all in the homemade sauce. The secret to the sauce is that it is hand mixed in small batches by Roscoe himself, (he won’t give anyone else the recipe), to insure a consistent product and freshness. A lot of love goes into Roscoe’s BBQ sauce.

Tender succulent ribs, juicy chicken, fantastic pulled pork and thin sliced Brisket are just some of the delicious offerings you’ll find at Roscoe’s. We also feature all your fried favorites from Cheese Curds, Onion Rings, Corn Dogs to everyone’s’ favorite JoJo Potatoes. Your complete satisfaction is our top priority. Our friendly staff is here to make sure your meal is enjoyable and delicious. Stop by and enjoy great service, food and a casual atmosphere.

History

Established in 1981.

So, what’s the story with Roscoe’s Root Beer & Ribs anyway? It all started back in 1981. Steve «Roscoe» Ross and his wonderful wife Barbara decided to chase the «American Dream» of owning their own restaurant. They came across an old A&W Root Beer stand on 4th St SE Rochester, Minnesota. When they hit on the right sauce and perfect meat, they entered the National Rib cook off in Cleveland and interestingly enough, Roscoe’s Root Beer & Ribs took 1st place Best Ribs. Roscoe’s popularity grew tremendously. Customers from throughout Minnesota, Iowa and Wisconsin flocked to this little restaurant to satisfy their hunger for great BBQ. With over 33 years of success, we look forward to adding you to our long history of happy customers.

Meet the Business Owner

Barbara R.

Business Owner

Barbara has been in the restaurant industry for over 33 years and enjoys being able to serve the public at Roscoe’s Barbecue where delicious homemade barbecue and friendly service are the driving forces of the business. Barbara hopes to provide you such a positive experience you’ll remember to return to Roscoe’s Barbecue when you’re in need of a delicious meal!

Related places

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Nearby

Near this location:
280
ft
Rossi Auto Body
524 4th St SE
650
ft
Superamerica
400 4th St SE
760
ft
Riverside Central Elementary School
506 5th Ave SE
770
ft
Golden Livingcenter - Rochester East
501 Eighth Ave SE
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ft
Tejano Western Wear
815 4th St SE
810
ft
Rochester Public Schools
506 5th Ave SE

15 reviews of Roscoe’s Barbeque

No registration required
Place rating: 1
Richmond, MN
We visited Roscoes about 15 years ago and we were so excited to return. What happened? We were so disappointed. Way to much sauce! The meat was dry and tasted warmed up, not much smoke flavor at all. The best part of my meal was the few jo jo potatoes on the bottom of the plate that the meat was sitting on (if you could find one that wasn’t drenched in bbq sauce).
Place rating: 4
Rochester, MN
We’ve gone to Roscoe’s for many years now and love their bbq. It’s become a Saturday tradition for my kids and I. They have the best ribs in town and their bbq pulled pork sandwiches are also a favorite. And they make their own rootbeer, which is awesome. We even buy their sauce and use it at home – some of the best I’ve ever had.
The only negative is that the place is a total dive. They don’t seem to care that it’s dirty and rundown. The tables look like they haven’t been cleaned in weeks and there are weeds growing everywhere, including the roof. And the bathroom is so disgusting that my kids go across the street to the port-​a-​potty at the city park. I have numerous friends who refuse to eat here since it’s so gross. It’s baffling to me that they don’t have their employees take care of such simple and obvious things when things are slow. Never-​the-​less, we continue to go since its a tradition and we love the food. I wish they could find a year-​round location that would do well enough to stay open.
Place rating: 1
Greeley, CO
Was looking forward to this place. The ribs are not smoked they appear to be boiled then baked. Their smoked meats are pork brisket ham and chicken. I did try the brisket there was a very small hint of smoke but they dump so much sauce on it that you couldn’t even pick that up. Would not recommend
Place rating: 4
Minneapolis, MN
I am in Rochester every couple of months and decided to try Roscoe’s since I had heard it was good. A friend and I had Roscoe’s Big One (brisket), Double Bacon Cheeseburger and the Chili Cheese Tots. Both sandwiches were very good. The sauce on the Big One was a on the sweet side. Both were more than enough for the average eater. If I were to eat there again, I would pass on the tots. They seemed to really be more from a can or a jar. We took our food to go, but if you are unfamiliar with this location most of the seating is outdoors. Not that ourdoor seating is a problem, but something to keep in mind if the weather might play a part in you eating enjoyment.
Place rating: 5
Rochester, MN
Roscoe’s rules.
I’m not sure where some of these 1 – 2 star ratings and complaints come from. Sure, places can be hit or miss, but my buds and I have been going once a week for over 2 – 3 years now. I’ve been going since moving to town in ’96 and have never been disappointed. Add on a dinner and sometimes I’ll even go twice a week. Plus, its never a bad idea to grab a rack of ribs for Sat or Sun football.
The 4th st stand is the preferred choice for the spring/​summer/​fall. The expanded menu there (vs north location) is where its at for me:
— Double California Burger
— Chuck Hazama (grilled ham & cheese + pineapple)
— Fish Fry
Then once the snow falls, I hit the north store and load up on BBQ & porkachos.
Don’t forget the side of hot sauce, or sub it right on everything instead of the regular.
Place rating: 4
Edina, MN
I’ve heard about Roscoe’s for years from friends in Rochester and finally had a chance to stop in. I had the barbecue beef sandwich with the Jo Jo potatoes. My wide had the barbecue chicken plate with cole slaw. Both were delicious. The sauce was sufficiently spicy but not overly so. The potatoes were nice and crisp and the slaw was tasty. The outdoor dining was a throwback to an earlier, simpler time. A very nice lunch experience.
Place rating: 4
Onalaska, WI
Stopped in for a pork sandwich and curds. I thought the sandwich was delicious and the curds were good. My daughter’s BLT was awesome. Great place for a summer lunch.
Place rating: 2
Adams, ND
Very poor ribs. No flavor to them and they seemed baked. Sauce was good. Beans were good. Potato salad seemed bought instead of homemade. We expected much more from this place.
Place rating: 3
Rochester, MN
This BBQ joint reminds me of a drive in out of the the 50’s minus the eat in your car spots. The location is easy to reach but pretty sketchy. The floats are pretty good especially for the price. They have gluten free options for their meals (basically no fried foods just veggies and cole slaw).
The meat is a bit dry which is why they probably drench it in BBQ sauce. The sauce is more tangy than sweet. It’s a nice place to eat a quick meal on a sunny day so long as not everyone else in the neighborhood is going there.
Only parking is about 12 spots and they have plenty of tables outside to eat at.
Place rating: 2
Sayner, WI
Not horrible, but not great. By no means would I call this good barbecue. Cheap, but the pork was drenched in sauce and tasted like it had been sitting in a slow warmer all day. I think the only reason it took a while to get our food was because they cooked the fries fresh.
Place rating: 4
Lake City, MN
Deffinitely the 2nd best barbecue in town! Sorry, but I’m a Hardy’s fan… A great little out of the way place to take the family after a day of swimming or playing at the park. It’s a little shack with outdoor seating. The food is good and the staff is friendly. Priced at what you’d expect for a barbecue shack. about $ 10 per person, including drink.
Place rating: 2
Shelton, WA
Way too much sugar in the sauce, without a doubt.
The beans were ok, but still way too sweet. The cole slaw was not much better.
I applaud them for having a wheat bun, but the multigrain bun that was served up with the pork was dissappointing. I did not get any wheat taste from it and it was loaded with flax seeds, whole flax seeds.
While it is admirable to include flax into our diets, it means nothing if the flax is intact. Flax needs to be ground to be digested by humans. The flax I ate last night was flushed down the toilet this morning.
Go back to a whole wheat bun, drop the sugar and the place might be worth a visit, otherwise, move on.
Place rating: 5
Rochester, MN
This is the original site for Roscoe’s. The stand is seasonal, and closes for the winter. They have also been in a bowling alley and a table-​service restaurant in the north that they closed. Now they have an all-​year get-​it-​at-​the-​counter-​and-​seat-​yourself restaurant with a more limited menu in the north right by the Château theater (no fried fish, which was excellent in their Maplewood Square restaurant, which I haven’t tried at the stand.)
I like their ribs so much that I rarely get anything else; the ribs have won at prestigious competitions, and their sauce was a national winner.
For sides, I always get the beans for sure.
Here in Rochester, we are blessed with three outstanding BBQ restaurants: Roscoe’s, John Hardy’s, and Bob’s Smokestack Ribs, plus a chain (Famous Dave’s) that I’m happy to eat at.
============
We recently tried the fish at the stand. It is not an all-​you-​want fish fry as it was at the restaurant. It is still very good.
Recently, their sauce was featured in «Saveur» Magazine’s article on 18 Barbecue Sauces they wouldn’t be without. Apr. 2012
Place rating: 4
Rochester, MN
WARNING: I’m putting this on top because I think it’s important. Due yourself a favor and order the bbq sauce on the side. If not, pay the consequence and try to enjoy your meal with a gallon of sauce poured all over everything on your plate.
Roscoe’s 100% hit the spot. I found much tastier than the seemingly more popular John Hardy’s. The reason: Roscoe’s does everything right while Hardy’s is famous for one thing (pulled pork) and seems to ignore the rest of the menu.
The beef brisket at Roscoe’s was a tad rubbery, but was easily rescued by the delicious tomato-​based sauce. It was so good I could have chugged it. Also, I’ve had good experiences with the brisket before. Like most BBQ joints, sometimes you catch a sub-​par batch of meat.
The baby-​back ribs were amazing, however. They fell right off the bone and had a distinct, juicy flavor and soft texture. You won’t find better ribs this far north.
There were plenty of tasty — albeit a tad generic — side dishes to choose from. The garlic toast was good and the Jo-​Jo potatoes were even better.
Place rating: 3
Rochester, MN
Stopped in for some ice cream. It was what you’d expect, and at a pretty good price. They had floats, «bad winter storms» (the equivalent of a dairy queen Blizzard but without the trademark), and even $ 1.00 cones!
All the seating is outdoors and part of the seating area is covered. Will write an update once I get a chance to try the food!