521 BBQ & Grill

I’ve been eating here since they first opened their Indian Land restaurant probably 7 – 8 years ago. The ribs are not what they used to be. Small ribs no longer cut individually with sauce basted … Sloppy presentation with the rack just cut in half and a few squirts of their famous sauce. This use to be the best BBQ place I had ever eaten at. Such a disappointment. Hopefully someone will step up and bring it back to how it was.

I’ve eaten here four times, and 3 of those visits were great. Tonight, however, my experience was less than desirable. My dinner date and I chose to eat outside. First off, our waitress rarely came out and checked on us. She even told us she always forgets about her tables on the patio. Next, upon being seated at the patio we noticed there was an empty picnic table full of dirty dishes. When we left about an hour later, that table still hadn’t been cleaned off. It was kind of gross to have to look at. Additionally, and perhaps the worst thing, was the food. I ordered the wing tray and my wings were dry as the Sahara, almost like they had been sitting out under a heat lamp. I’ve ordered them several times before, and they had always been good up until today. One of my hush puppies was so hard I literally thought I’d break a tooth on it. Overall, tonight’s food was just unsatisfying. I feel like I wasted my money. I really hope they get it together, because usually this place is great, but tonight everything was disappointing.

For BBQ, this is the real deal! Unbelievable butt and brisket, fantastic sides (beans, slaw and potato salad). Great sauce and tea. Belongs in the company of the elite BBQ joints across the U.S.

Food is ok … There is BBQ all over, and this place does a pretty good job.
Their service … Slow Slow Slow.
Hello … When you come in at Lunch, it should not take an hour + to get out when you order a pulled pork sandwich and fries. Damn, you advertise that the meat was cooked last night.
A party of three ordered after us and was served before us.
We’re scratching this place off our list of lunch stops.

In my opinion this is the Best BBQ in Fort Mill, The ribs are finger licking good and fall off the bone tender! Absolutely Amazing!

Went there last Friday night
Food and service was excellent
Very crowed tables very close
Only problem the waiting area for take out was
very small only 2 chairs not good
Food portions very large and price for what you get is very good
Will go back Get there early very crowed

We don’t have a ton of Resturants in Tega Cay, but the ones we have are AMAZING! 521 BBQ never disappoints. Best BBQ in the entire township.

The bbq here is very very good. Four of us. Service was great. Place was clean and nice. The only thing is we got the ribs and they were supposed to be baby back ribs and they were more like spare ribs. They were still very good. But not a baby back cut. Sauce was excellent. Beef brisket was excellent. Hush puppies collards Mac and cheese very good. Red slaw way to hot and spicy. Not red enough. Beans were rather mediocre. All in all we will go back. I’d have ribs again. Mac and cheese, collards puppies and BBQ.

VINEGAR BBQ SAUCE. Love a place the has vinegar now sauce. Theirs is great and spiced just right. Mustard and ketchup based bbq sauce available too. The brisket is great and the pulled pork is good too.

I’m a big guy and I love my BBQ. This place is great and you will enjoy your experience with food there. The ribs were so delicious I have bud it the best place to get ribs We have been three times over 2 months and each time the food was spot on. The customer service is excellent and I tend to be the guy who wants to sub items and swap. My wife also raves about the food and service.

Was glad to see this location open, but I’ve still been going to the original spot on 521. Finally got to this one. My usual go to plates are the pulled pork or the smoked wings. I got the pork and a sweet tea.
The pork was well smoked and moist. I added a bit of the vinegar sauce but not much. Really good plate and filling. My wife thinks the hush puppies are the best around. Crispy and moist to go with the flavor.
After trying the fort mill area bbq, 521 is hands down the best. I prefer the smoking pig in rock hill or Mac’s in Charlotte, but both locations of 521 are right up there. I’m hoping it doesn’t go downhill like the bbq restaurant down the street, but I don’t think that will happen. It’s been going well for several years now.

Very good BBQ, pulled pork was very tender and the chicken tasted great as well. Also love the two different types of slaw. Delicious.

This place is pretty good. I had it today for the first time because I was recommended to eat the wings here so I tried the wings as well as the BBQ and I was pleased with both. The wings were like non other that I have had because seems like they smoke them then deep fry so that is always a plus. I am pretty hard to please, when it comes to food but I will make sure to recommend to my friends
Bubba

The bbq was good, the beer selection was lean, but it was a restaurant that I would go to and visit again.

When I’m in town to visit my sister and her family this place is a must go to. The ribs are hands down the best in the business and I crave for this place when I am not in town. Forget your tiny babyback ribs at these little wanna be rob restaurants all you need is the real deal ribs at 521 Ribs..

This place is a winner. BBQ was excellent. Be sure to try the mustard based sauce. It was just right with not too much mustard taste and a hint of sweetness. Their regular BBQ sauce is also great.
The hush puppies were perfect with a crunchy outside and soft inside. The beans, onion rings and fries were great.
We were impressed with the portion size and needed a take out box.
Service was good. The wait staff attentive and food brought out quickly. The atmosphere was relaxed with a couple of large screen TVs and music playing in the background. It was not loud and you could talk normally to the waitress or anyone at your table.
We will be going back.

The ribs were meaty, fall off the bone fantastic and the beans were great, and the onion rings were tender inside and crisp outside — yummy. The pups were okay. The white slaw was blah… I happened to visit on a day when they were short staffed in the kitchen, and the wait for our food was extremely long. The waitress was very apologetic about the delay. A man, who I assume was the manager, came over to apologize for the wait and informed us he was taking 25% off the bill. The delay is the only reason 521 did not receive 5 stars. Hopefully on my next visit I can upgrade them to a 5.

Ribs, ribs, fall of the bone ribs!!! You can’t go wrong with ribs and pulled pork. Service staff is very friendly…

If you like BBQ, I suggest you come on down the road to 521BBQ! These people don’t even make hush puppies. I’m calling them heaven dogs. They were amazing! The crunch on the exterior and the moistness inside was crazy. I loved that they had just the right amount of sweetness without going over. The fries were the crinkly kind and piping hot. I didn’t even need salt, so that was a pleasant surprise! The BBQ itself had a great flavor. They offered a tomato based (sweet) and a vinegar based (spicy) sauce, conveniently placed on the tables. I prefer both, so I mixed them together and they go very well, if that’s your thing, too. I even added a little Frank’s that they also had out there because some like it hot and whatevs.
The beer was good and cold, the service was great (Haley and another awesome lady whose name I didn’t catch were the only ones there and they still took time to interact with customers without keeping people waiting) and the restroom was clean. I’m so glad we came through here and the next time I’m in the area, I’ll be back for sure.

Amazing, had the wings which were very flavorful and tender. Chopped pork was fantastic and the ribs had a wonderful flavor and fall off the bone tender! The sides were all very good, some BBQ places sides are more of an after thought but not here, the potato salad and red slaw were fantastic however just way to small a portion. Beans and hush puppies very good! I highly recommend this place.

Whitney was a fantastic server! I ordered a medium ribeye steak sandwich. It came out closer to medium rare unfortunately this resulted in the bun became that soggy type goop before I was done where you have condiment running down your arm if you don’t switch to a knife/​fork. The coleslaw portion as a side was a bit stingy. It came in the equivalent of 1 of those salad dressing cups that you receive when you order it on the side. I would have liked another helping. Hush puppies count’em 3. The side portions are great for those looking to watch their waist line :) The music that day was a bit what ppl used to think of country as before Toby, Luke, or Blake.

Great BBQ. Generous portions. You will not be disappointed. Try the hush puppies too!

Up from Florida and we were looking for some local BBQ and craft beers. This restaurant had both. BBQ was great and local craft beer selection was good also!

I travel a lot for work and eat lots of wings, hands down top two places I’ve ever ate wings at. Smoked, then fried then grilled and sauced. To die for. Little upset I didn’t try them earlier, I’ve been looking for a good wing place for a while. Thank goodness I found one!
Also, good selection of beer, 15 tap beers and about that many in a bottle.

Fantastic place! Excellent BBQ. Try the ribs, you’ll go back for more! Great people and a fun, casual atmosphere. Give it a shot the next time you have a craving for BBQ, you can’t really go wrong anywhere on the menu.
Oh yeah, the smoked buffalo wings are phenomenal. A whole new take on buffalo wings that just might make you rethink the wings you have been eating all along!

We decided to share the 2 meat platter with ribs and pork, which comes with fries, slaw, beans and hush puppies. Wow, so much food, we even brought a small box home! The ribs were super tender! Make sure and ask for the mustard bbq sauce! The hush puppies were some of my favorite ever! And make sure and get the white slaw!
Service was good, even on a busy Friday night! The hostess (looks maybe to be a mgr/​owner) should go home, just gets in the way and hinders the help. Young, fresh staff can handle it!

When we want good bbq, we drive to Lexington, NC. But we don’t always have 3 hours to devote to a meal, so when we want bbq that’s passable, we go to 521 BBQ. I recommend a chopped bbq sandwich with white slaw on a bun with their sweet bbq sauce along with some fries or baked beans. Don’t try to go all out and get something amazing here, just stick to the basics and you’ll leave satisfied.
And be warned: the vinegar based bbq sauce has Franks Red Hot in it — it’s WAY hotter than you’re expecting it to be.

This is a new location near us and it’s nice to have local food by local folks. The inside is well done. Nice decorations and new.
I could do without the big dirty BBQ pit out front spilling out smoke as you walk in. I also don’t know who is in thinks is a quality BBQ joint using KINGSFORD wood and charcoal? Really? Are you serious? You are using store wood and stuff? That’s not how you do BBQ.
I want to eat BBQ not smell like it. Plus the idea that my lunch is being transported from the parking lot to the kitchen… NO!
The inside is arrange really funny. There is this dedicated BAR area which seems to be the focus inside and then the side where the people who come to eat BBQ sit. What is the focus BBQ or BAR. Pick on and try to do it well and stop doing both. It’s the BOTH that gets people into trouble. Do one thing GREAT and do it all the time. Stop trying to be everything. The menu reflect this mess as well.
So the sign says BBQ but the inside says BAR. It’s kind of confusing.
The menu is a mess. There is BBQ but then you have all this other stuff and I guess that’s the BAR side or the GRILL side of things. BBQ joints should be a half page of perfection in big print. Make BBQ and make it well but stop all the other stuff no one wants and if it comes in a freezer bag in a truck you are doing BBQ wrong!
I had the LARGE BBQ Sam’ich and my son had the Pork Chop Sam’ich.
So while we were waiting other people came in and were served drinks and then served meals while we waited. There was about a 15 min. wait for the food. My BBQ showed up and the bun was cold. Very cold. Never heated up cold. Been sitting out on the counter cold. The meat was a bit warmer but I am guessing not the right temp at all. Loads of meat but the bun being cold was not good. The server seemed confused when I told her and offered to heat it up? My question was «Do you warm the buns» and she said she didn’t know.
The Pork Chop Sam’ich didn’t taste like anything at all. It was boring. Tasted like I would have made them at home. I don’t go out to eat to eat stuff I can make at home. Make is spectacular or stop making it. Not enough meat on the bun and just boring taste overall.
The 2 sauces are a bit boring too. The Tangy Sauce has way too much going on and the Vinegar based sauce is just a mess of flavors and such. I will commend them on just doing 2 sauces. Most bad BBQ places will have 3 or 4 sauces to try to cover up for them not knowing anything about BBQ. Would have loved a Mustard/​Tomatoe Sauce but… meh.
The ice maker/​drink station is right in the middle of the seated area and is noisy. It’s distracting.
The service was OK but clearly this place is another BBQ joint being run by a few people who entered BBQ contest, won, and then someone told them to open a joint and this is the result.
It’s just not working.
They have no idea how to run a restaurant and hope the big smoker thing and a decorated interior is going to make for a good place to eat, when in fact it’s not. The price was not bad but $ 23 for lunch for 2 people and nothing crazy it is a bit much for 2 people. Don’t feel like it was anything special.
Overall this was a huge disappointment. I won’t be going there again.

Just visited 521 with a food tour… we had an awesome server with an amazing work ethic! Mike the owner came out to chat with us about the food… very nice guy clearly interested in our feedback. The hush puppies were great. The chopped pork was very good with a nice texture and flavor. The ribs were excellent — tender and moist with a nice crust from the slightly sweet caramelized sauce. Red slaw and white slaw each had distinct flavors. Fries were serviceable. My table mates said the beans were ok but really just beans. They offered a vinegar sauce and a sweet/​mildly spicy sauce. The two combined was a nice heat/​tang combo. Will definitely be back next time we are in the area.

Great BBQ and you can order in bulk fresh and frozen. The bar staff are very cool and will give you a sample of the new drafts on tap. I especially like the Hop Drop and Roll and would have never discovered it if a sample wasn’t offered.

Good but nothing spectacular. Will come back but won’t go out of way for it.
Wings were good, great portion on the wing plate. Mayo based potato salad could use some seasoning, salt & pepper?
Ribs good but the pork chops were the best thing!
Waitress says grilled food takes 20min but seemed like 5−7min

I would give this place 3.5 stars if I could. Kevin thought it was a 3 and I would probably give it a 3.5−4.
Five of us arrived here close to 2 on a Saturday, and the place was packed. We all happened to order the same thing — pulled pork sandwich with a side. I actually liked the pork with their tomato based sauce. Kevin just thought it was okay. It’s hard to give these places anything more than just okay when you have had Midwood Smokehouse bbq. The fries were just okay, but I liked the creamy and cheesy macaroni and cheese!
I would go back for proximity and ease of getting some bbq, but there are definitely better bbq places out there.

The Ribs could probably be the best I’ve ever had. I find myself making weird noises when I eat them. lol. Not really but they are wonderful.
The BBQ sauces are really good too. I mix the 2 sauces for a sweet & spicy taste. It’s really good with the pulled pork or to dip the fries in.
The kids menu is pretty pricey & it don’t include their drink. The drink is an additional $ 2 charge. This is way I gave it only 4 Stars.
All in all, I strongly recommend this place.