I was really disappointed by my experience here. While the food and atmosphere may appeal to some, what stood out most to me was the complete lack of basic human decency. We stopped in with our toddler, who urgently needed to use the restroom. Despite explaining the situation, the staff refused to let us use their bathroom because we weren't dining customers at that moment. As any parent knows, when a toddler has to go, it's not something you can delay or reason through. I understand policies exist, but there should be room for compassion--especially when it involves a young child. It felt unnecessarily rigid and frankly unkind. A small act of understanding would have gone a long way, and instead, we were left scrambling and stressed. Because of this experience, I won't be returning, and I'd caution other families about how situations like this are handled here. read more

We tried 521 BBQ while in Lancaster for a quick visit. I tried the pork BBQ sandwich with slaw. My sandwich had a generous serving of pulled pork, accompanied with slaw and a sweet sauce. I rarely order pulled pork because it is invariably too dry, but this was very moist and flavorful. My dining companion ordered the pork chop sandwich and noted that it was clearly grilled to order and was very good. Toasting the buns on both sandwiches was a nice touch. We both tried the baked beans for a side and found them just right - not too sweet with just the right amount of "porkiness" to enhance the flavor. Service was quick, efficient, friendly and helpful. The location is exactly what comes to mind when you think about a BBQ restaurant in the downtown of a small town: clean, homey, but definitely an older building with the quirks that brings. All in all, I thought 521 BBQ was a solid 4-star BBQ restaurant. Everything was good. We will return the next time we visit Lancaster. read more

Great ambience nice music and great food. Wings where delicious and the potato salad fantastic and today they have music. read more

521 BBQ & Grill - Wings and fresh salad!!! - Barbeque Near Me - Lancaster, South Carolina

So to start, I decided to come for lunch and get enough to have leftovers for dinner. I got there a few minutes before noon so that I can get the food before I had to pick up my son from school. As soon as I walked in I was greeted but was immediately told that they didn't have grease so I couldn't order anything that had to be fried. Ok I get it, sometimes orders do t come in but this place is closed Monday so you would think coming in Tuesday, they would have everything they needed. I place my order and got 2 rib plates with potato salad and Mac n cheese and a bbq basket. After placing my order and paying, I was then told they didn't have ribs at the moment and that it would be an hour. So I figured I would take the bbq basket home and make some pulled pork sandwiches. The pulled pork was ok, but it did have lots of hard over cooked bits. I went back an hour later for my ribs before picking up my son and was told it would be another 15 minutes or so. So I went to wait in line to pick up my son and went back to the restaurant a few minutes after 2pm. Got home with the food and was ready to have an early meal, when I opened up the trays there was no potato salad in either tray. At this point I'm completely over this place, I just want to sit and eat. The Mac and cheese has good flavor but is a bit mushy as if it had been sitting for a while, the ribs, for have been waiting over an hour for were ok. Not super tender and very low on sauce, which they also did not give me. Luckily I had some leftover from the bbq basket I had asked for. Maybe I caught them on a bad day but either way it was very disappointing. The girl taking my order was very nice and apologetic for all the inconvenience, but having to go back 2 additional times is not ok and then to not even have all of my order makes it worse. read more

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Hush puppies were great. Hamburger was ok. Sweet potato fries were room temp and flavorless. Tea was great. My criticism is that when I placed my order the server said, "which side would you like?" This implied that a side came with the hamburger. She didn't ask if i wanted to add a side. I didn't realize till I looked at my receipt when I got home (20 miles away) that I had been charged $3 for flavorless fries. Wording it the way she did seems intentional. If it wasn't, perhaps her manager will correct how his staff words their questions. The food wasn't good enough for me to make a return visit when (if) I'm back in the area. read more

The new owners are fantastic! They truely take pride in their business. My go to sandwich is the BLT, delicious!!!

Had a to go order.Service was good, food was bad. Nephew got dry ribs, sister got a dry BBQ sandwich with a missing side. I got the combo plate with chicken and sausage. They need to say what kind of chicken you are getting on the menu. For the cost, I thought it would be a real piece of chicken like a leg and thigh quarter. It was a thin dry flavorless boneless chicken breast. Yuck. Sausage was good but it was a cut piece about maybe 3" long and sliced in half. Green beens were good. They should not have even have served me the baked beans. Have you ever accidentally left some baked beans in the pot set on low for too long? How all the moisture dries up and the beans are just this dried up lump of goop? That's what they sold me. I did like their sauce. If only they had decent food to eat it with it. read more

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I ordered online through their website since I didn't want to call or go order in person. I got the 9 smoked wings with 3 sides and a gallon of lemonade. The wings were amazing, we got the hot honey and mild sauces and they were perfect. The wings were big and juicy and Smokey with plenty of sauce and still a little crispy but the time I got home. The Mac n cheese was really good and cheesy creamy style, the sweet potato fries were good and crispy but did lack some salt but dipping them in the wing sauce in the tray was great. The raw fries were a bust tho, bland chips at all. Don't order unless you can ask them to season them. Definitely will be ordering again and not sure why they were so dead on a Saturday night but everywhere's been empty lately. read more

Stopped on a whim on our way through town headed back to Charlotte. Nice place. Everyone was practicing good Covid precautions except one of the server wearing her cheetah mask on her chin. (That doesn't really work...) Food was excellent and Randi took great care of us. I am a fan of smoked ribs and these did not disappoint. My wife and I split a combo plate. (Lunch, we needed a smaller portion). Hush puppies before the meal were great and the honey butter was delicious. If this place was closer to home we would have loved to try the burger, bologna sandwich etc. great menu. I always love a place with a simple one page menu. They do a spectacular job with their product. Highly recommend. read more

521 BBQ & Grill - Combo plate with brisket and sausage. - Barbeque Near Me - Lancaster, South Carolina

Ordered a chicken sandwich and two burgers. Sandwich was cold when delivered. This is basic kitchen organization at its poorest. To make matters worst, there was only one other customer in the restaurant at the time. Lancaster deserves better. read more

The barbecue was excellent! Great smoked flavor and you could tell it was freshly smoked the night before. The appearance on the outside would lead you to believe this is your run of the mill street side restaurant, but definitely give them a try and you won't be disappointed. The mustard sauce was excellent! Not too strong and just enough sweetness. Service was excellent, waitress was very nice and friendly. Portions were surprisingly large. Ordered a barbecue basket and a side and left stuffed. There was at least a pound of meat in the basket it seemed. read more

521 BBQ & Grill - Barbecue Basket - Barbeque Near Me - Lancaster, South Carolina

The ribs and pull pork was very well cooked . Service was attentive and friendly service

Food was delicious, the staff were kind and friendly, and the service was fabulous! Absolutely recommend the BBQ.

The original 521 BBQ was located up hwy 521 in Indian Land. A few years ago they moved across the street into the Harris Teeter shopping center. The original owner sold to a new owner. And things started to change. The food just was not as good. Ribs, especially, were neither well-cooked nor tender. Wait staff were the regulars from the original, but the quality of the food and quantities seemed to be not so good as we were used to; so we did not eat here but infrequently. We later were told that the original owner was opening another 521 in downtown Lancaster. People were saying it was better, so we tried it out. They were right. It is on Main Street and is fairly cozy with about 10 tables and an open kitchen area. An outdoor seating area is also available. The food is wonderful. It was what made the Indian Land 521 BBQ so darn popular and well known. Portions are great, table service personal and the owner roams around talking with customers. Very much home-town southern hospitality at its best. Owner did mention that every Thursday morning at 8am he hosts a veteran's breakfast. Usually simple pastries and occasionally biscuits and gravy, but the quarantine came about before I could try it out. I certainly will once we are allowed out. Once you can, get down to Lancaster to re-experience great BBQ 521 style. My wife and I are real fans. read more

I would give them no starts if I could!!! They food poison us with a brisket that was spoil!!! The potato salad also tasted as if a chemical had fallen into it. My family didn't eat the potato salad after we tasted it. However, the brisket was hard to tell while it was hot so we had ate some. Within a short time after we ate we were throwing up and our stomach hurting bad!!!! When the brisket cook off, it gave out this awful rotten smell!!! That's when we realized what had got us sick. THE WORST EXPERIENCE EVER!!! read more

Went on a Thursday at 12:30 pm. There were perhaps 6 other diners. It took the waitress 15 min to get our drinks and order in. We were in a hurry so we ordered 2 cheeseburgers and a chili dog with fries. 20 minutes later there was no sign of the food nor update from the waitress so we left. The food is fairly pricey for BBQ---a standard tray with meet and 2 sides is $12.25; soft drinks over $2.00. Lancaster doesn't have many options when it comes to flavorful food, but 521 isn't so irresistible in that department that slow or bad service can be overcome by it. 2 stars simply because the food isn't bad if you can wait for it. read more

Got two takeout plates, over $30, was disappointed, the brisket was fatty, maybe 4 oz total, and no smoke taste at all, but the taste was fine and it was super tender. The beans were dry and tasted like canned baked beans, not horrible but not restaurant quality. Will likely not go back, which is a shame as I love bbq, but I don't love paying a premium for mediocre food. I will say when I called they offered to replace the order (as she told me they could have given me lean verses fatty brisket and that was her error as she should have asked when I placed the order) but since I am 20 mins away I told her that was OK. read more

521 BBQ & Grill - a tray of food - Barbeque Near Me - Lancaster, South Carolina

So Freaking good! This place was recommended by the proprietor of the Bed and Breakfast we were staying at. We ate in and were greeted by a friendly staff. Our server was attentive, when I ordered the hush puppies as one of my sides he told us he could just bring those to our table and suggested I chose another. Quite frankly the ribs were delicious, fries good but the hush puppies were the bomb! I could have had an entire meal of hush puppies. We highly recommend this place for awesome BBQ in the historic district of Lancaster. We also recommend attending a concert at the Lancaster Cultural Arts Center high quality professional music at an affordable price. http://www.lcshp.org/lancaster-cultural-arts-center read more

521 BBQ & Grill - Ribs Fries and Coleslaw - Barbeque Near Me - Lancaster, South Carolina

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Here I sit in a Bar-B-Que joint that has no Bar-B-Que, baked beans, or hush puppies. WTH? The waitress places an order for an "Adult beverage" for me, tells the bartender twice it should be a tall. What comes up??? That's right a short. So I guess they don't care about selling alcohol which as we all know is a business' highest profit margins. However, they probably do get the margins because both drinks had barely any alcohol contained within. Even after asking for more alcohol in the second because the first was weak. You would think it was busy and maybe 16 people is but with three servers, a bartender and a kitchen staff I wouldn't think so. 20 minutes later we finally got the hush puppies that evidently are the last ones. Food came out 47 minutes after being ordered. My ribs were cold, dry and just good ole fashion disgusting. I attempted to give them the benefit of doubt and tried each individual rack but they were all the same. It was as if they were cooked, reheated, sat in the window and got cold. Then reheated a second time and served. Here's a good one. Do you remember the bartender that didn't listen or didn't know how to make a TALL drink. Yup, she was the manager on duty. She came up and attempted to offer us a gift card to come back which was denied. I will not come back to this location. I very rarely am in Indian Land, but the few times I've gone to that location I've never had a problem. The LA location is plagued with problems as you can see. I am thinking 521 will be the next business to close on Main Street if something drastic is not done to correct this place. read more

2xs in 1 week-Not a good experiences-1st time we had to move our seats as one employee sprayed air freshener near the bar and my husband has asthma so not good-our table was close enough to get fumes but we moved and server was very apologetic and nice. My ribs were not hot at all. A bit warm but we decided to give it another chance. 2nd chance (4days later) we took our kids, grandkids, mother and sister in-law to eat. The server said no potato salad, they were out of brisket, my daughter in law ordered Caesar Salad and they asked: what kind of dressing with that? They had no caesar dressing for their caesar salad. My son ordered fish n chips and they were not good. Unfortunately, my ribs were not hot, a bit warm and 2 ribs were hard, over cooked so it made me think that with everything they were out of did they just over reheat yesterday's ribs? Hmmm. I have to say, I'm newer here and the experience I had was not the best. I hope they are able to do better. We left there hungry and broke. If your wondering why I didn't complain while we were there because we would've had to send all our food back and they didn't have much from their menu anyway to replace. With an elderly mom and kids we just wanted to hurry up and get done and we ate what we could. read more

BBQ pork, brisket and and sauce was absolutely delicious! Meat was so tender and juicy. Pulled pork sandwich comes with a white, buttery delicious toasted bun. Will definitely be coming back. Prices a bit high, but worth it for some real smoked BBQ. read more

Great food & great service, from the time you walk in till the time you leave! The staff all works together which is a real pleasure to see.

It's SC, so you get that double take when you walk through the door...lol. The food is...delicious.

Never had an issue with the service here and the food is great. Certain items seem to sell out fast, so make sure you go early.

Great food Great Staff!! Love going there and love that they now have curbside pickup. CAN NOT go wrong here!

Great BBQ & sides! Love the honey butter and hush puppies! And good ol sweet tea! Sauces are great as well!

The food is great. Wish could say the same about the service. No refill on drinks, had to go the bar and ask for our ticket, both waitresses were seated and talking. Recommend take out only, the service Ruins the evening. read more

Wasn't bad and wasn't expensive but the food coulda been better and the workers were nice and helped me find something to eat

Great food and service! Fair prices!!! Nice owner! A great place to eat in Lancaster!!!

Giving it two stars just because I didn't even get to try the food. Sat down at the bar and the waitress tells me that she is going to go make tea for three minutes and then take my order. Well, I waited and didn't feel like waiting anymore. Not sure why you wouldn't just take a drink order and put it in before going to do something else but whatever I guess. I just ended up leaving instead of wasting any more of my night. read more

Had the pulled pork sandwich and fried okra. It was very good, great taste to the meat. Got the mustard sauce, just right. The Okra was made there, fresh, not from a frozen bad. I'm from Texas and I thought it was as good as anything I get there. read more

Pretty good BBQ place but they just charge a lot so I save this one for when I want to celebrate something. I know that good BBQ takes a while but there are other places like Famous Dave's that cost about 1/2 of what you charge. Get with the program. Pay attention to your prices and be competitive or you're not getting my dollars. read more

Good Barbecue in a small town. Service was a little bit slow but made up for it with their friendliness and courtesy. I would definitely go back to this restaurant because the portions were large read more

Such great food. The ribs are always mouth watering moist. So delicious. Several varieties of sauce to please everyone. The Mac and cheese is perfect! Also love the fried okra. Their hush puppies are perfect accompaniment. This is a family favorite. read more

We loved our meal! The staff was super nice and we have talked about our meal regularly after because of how good it was! Will definitely be back regularly read more

521 has friendly and attentive staff and they have excellent flavorful bbq. Love the hush puppies!

Everything I have ever tried here is amazing!!! Everything is very well seasoned. Pork chops are thick and spot on. The seasoning makes them finger licking. The ribs fall off the bones and are delicious. The brisket is soooo good and tender. Greens are perfect. Green beans are fresh and perfect also. I can not express how good their food is. Definitely one of my favs in the area. read more

Really good brisket, hush puppies and service. The prices were also very fair. I really enjoyed my dining experience there and look forward to going there again. read more

We had a nice lunch here today. The smoked chicken was tasty, the ribs were excellent, hush puppies acceptable, and brisket good. Portions we're filling and the waitstaff friendly and helpful. read more

Excellent BBQ. Rainy miserable night... worked late and walk out of job site and smelled something delicious! Ordered for take out. Everything fantastic and so was the help! read more