I was in Durham for a convention and wanted to find a good local place for barbecue. The reviews…read morefor The Original Q looked great, so I decided to stop in for lunch. I absolutely made the right choice. Parking was a little tricky when I arrived because there was an ambulance in the lot, but there were still plenty of nearby options, so it really wasn't a problem. When you walk inside, you're greeted by a line, but don't let that scare you off because it moved surprisingly fast. The staff was friendly from the start, and I really liked being able to watch the food being prepared as I moved down the line. The atmosphere was exactly what I want from a barbecue restaurant. Everything was clean, the staff was welcoming, and the inside had that classic local barbecue-joint feel. I even ended up sitting underneath the moose head, which only added to the experience. I ordered the pork barbecue plate with a baked potato and a Sun Drop. And if you're eating barbecue in North Carolina, you pretty much have to get a Sun Drop with it. The barbecue was excellent. It was tender, flavorful, and cooked perfectly. They had several sauce choices, and the one I tried paired really well with the pork. Normally, I like to take some of my barbecue and stuff it inside my baked potato, but the pork was so good that I didn't even want to slow myself down. I demolished the hush puppies first and then showed absolutely no mercy to the barbecue. The baked potato was also excellent--fresh, soft, moist, and loaded with all of my favorite toppings. This was one of those places where everything just came together: great food, friendly service, a fun atmosphere, and exactly the kind of barbecue experience I was hoping for. I honestly wish I lived closer because I could see myself eating here all the time. One thing is for sure: anytime I'm back in Durham, The Original Q will be on my list.

While visiting Durham, we stopped in for dinner!! So happy we did. I decided to try their Brisket…read moreplatter for just around $25. A VERY nice portion of brisket, onions, pickles and 2 sides (fries & side salad). The vibe is fun, a local BBQ place definitely everyone should give a try if you want some yummy BBQ while in NC! The staff is so friendly and "visitor" friendly, they were patient and answered my questions without hesitance! Thanks for a lovely experience!

We came on a Monday during a very quiet time. Since it was our first time, we appreciated the very…read morefriendly staff. The Pulled Pork and Burnt Ends were fresh and uniquely flavorful. But the Collard Greens were exceptional with a nice spicy touch. The only flaw was the potato soufflé side which was too creamy and mushy for our tastes. We really appreciated that the cook asked our opinion of our choices. We would definitely recommend a stop here.

Was walking around Durham with my girlfriend and decided to get some food. It was really good!…read moreWould come here again.

This place does barbecue right. It's no frills on the outside or the inside, but that's because…read moreit's the food that shines. The collards might be some of the best in the state.

My son and I stopped in for some dinner, clean lots of parking. Stood at the counter for a few…read moreminutes before we were acknowledged, seemed a bit unorganized but we placed our order. Rib tip dinner, with Baked beans and collard greens. The ribs were pretty good, the beans and collard also good. The star was the hush puppies. My son had the wings which was pretty generic, nothing much to write about, he wanted chicken but they were out! Overall it was decent but not sure I'd come back if in the area.

All of the BBQ is awesome, Smash Burger is superior though! All of the sides are good but nothing…read morebeats the seasoned fries. Service is friendly and always happy to give you recommendations. It can get a little loud inside with a full crowd but they have plenty of seating outside. Place deserves ALL THE STARS on food, service, and ambiance but I would give it a FATTY ZERO on parking. Go with the mindset of walking a block or two, parking is very limited. if you're handicap-there's two at the front

Best brisket I've ever had in my life. The owner is cool af…read more The chef is amazing. 10/10

Yes! A wonderful local joint for getting that legit Carolina BBQ. Their ribs are falling off the…read morebone tender, and their Pig Whistle BBQ sauce is known as "The Great Carolina Compromise" because it blends eastern and western North Carolina styles by combining a thin apple cider vinegar base with a spiced tomato component. Pulled Pork Sandwich and Brisket were both delicious as well! Skip the smoked wings though, they're rubbery for some reason.

TLDR: fried food done well…read more BBQ joint that has tons of variety on the sides front. From a BBQ standpoint it's brisket, chicken and pork. The sides though you can get fried green tomatoes, okra, oysters, a bunch of other fun things.

This is a decent four-star Southern bar near the Duke campus. We were driving through town, and we…read morestopped here before visiting the local botanical garden. There's plenty of paid street parking in the area. The interior is a bit dark inside, minimal ambient light from the outside, TVs around the bar. Lunch arrived quickly, I had the patty melt which was a bit over salted, but not too bad. Service from Makena was overall decent, nothing exceptionally bad or good. Pricing for lunch averaged just over $20 per person, including the "included gratuity." It's a fine Place to get standard bar food.

So I asked yelp to recommend a place for a birthday dinner. This was the first on the list. So…read moresince I couldn't get a reservation on my birthday to the place I originally wanted to go, we decided to come here. There is plenty of parking on the backside of the building, paid parking out front, and be careful not to park in the apartment spaces on the side...they sounded pretty serious about towing. I had made a reservation but it was probably unnecessary as it was pretty empty when we arrived (it was about 5pm on a Saturday.) The waitress brought a bottle of water to the table and took our drink order. And I know that this place is literally call it's a Southern thing but can I mention how much I dislike drinking out of mason jars? I ordered the chicken n biscuits, my husband got the country hamburger steak plate, my BiL got wings, and my SiL got the crabcakes. We also orders charred jalapeno & sweet corn hushpuppies and frickles as an appetizer. I was VERY excited about my food. Y'all...the only thing that impressed me were the Frickles. Everything else was distinctly underwhelming. I also ordered Blackberry Betta Have My Money which was not that great. My SiL ordered a espresso martini that they said didn't come from a mix but she said it tasted like it was. The bathrooms were very clean. The decor and the vibe were great. Cute even. I really enjoyed that part of it. After dropping off our food, we never saw our waitress again unless we flagged her down for drink refills. It was especially frustrating since there was automatic gratuity added. And since the place wasn't that busy, it felt like she didn't feel the need to earn her automatic tip. Overall I was disappointed in my birthday dinner. I won't be coming back here.

Their food and service has always been the best. We go out of our way to get their BBQ at their…read morePhillips Farm food truck. Of BBQ near me theirs is by far the best. Can't wait for their brick and mortar location, only wish it was closer!

Two buddies of mine talked about this place and I've been itching to go, Today 8/29/26 I came up…read moreand ordered their Carolina Trinity with the smoked Mac n cheese, jalapeño cream corn and butchers block beans, two polish sausages and an order of brisket... my gosh this food did not disappoint, EVERYTHING was immaculate, this spot is hands down THE BEST Bbq around! Worth every penny, definitely will be coming back to get more!

Hunter was awesome with helping us with our order!!!!! Very helpful!!!!…read more Thankyou We will definitely be back again

We've been coming here since day one and the quality of service and their food is still top notch!!…read more We usually make a point to come here on Tuesday's when it rib day, but tonight we felt like their pork sandwiches. I got the Lolo's pulled pork. The sandwich is so big. I swear it's at least a half pound of delicious pork. I also got the corn casserole and my spouse got a side salad that she enjoyed. Bottom line, they knock it out of the park every time.

We stopped in at 7pm on a Friday night and it was dead inside the food was pretty good though and…read moreservice was quick due to us being the literal only patrons there. Over all it was reminiscent of places we have in Texas but we had a great dinner so no complaints from us. I got the Fergie burger and husband got the brisket sandwich

This was our first trip to North Carolina and we wanted to try North Carolina BBQ. So, we ordered…read moretakeout while visiting Durham. I'm leaving 2 stars in case this may have been an off night, and for this review not to be dismissed as one of those "I only left one star because I couldn't leave zero" posts that even I usually ignore. But with the amount of issues, this could easily be justified as a one-star review. When I arrived around 6:45-7:00 p.m. on a weeknight, the restaurant was completely empty. I didn't think much of it at the time, but afterward this seemed unusual for a barbecue restaurant in a state known for its BBQ. The first real issue was that one of our two-meat dinners was missing one of the meats. Next was that the brisket was extremely dry, even when soaked in barbecue sauce by them, and even more sauce added by me. The ribs had an acrid smoke flavor and a smell that resembled the odor more of cigarette smoke than even liquid smoke. I'm not accusing the cooks of smoking in the kitchen. In fact, research tells me, "An unpleasant, ashtray-like smell can come from dirty smoke (a poorly managed fire), excessive creosote, or meat that sat too long." With how empty the restaurant was, it could very well have been the latter. Sides: My son's fries were also missing. The sweet potato fries were significantly undercooked. The hush puppies' outer layer was a bit more solid than I'm used to, and several of us could not take more than one bite. However, this could have been due to personal taste. The potato salad and mac and cheese were just okay, but that could also be personal taste. We're the type of people that try to convince ourselves something is better than it actually is, which is why I sat on writing this until the day after. This is also why I'm not even going to attempt to ask for a refund. I don't see us ever going back to that area, nor that restaurant. I'm generally not a picky eater, but this was one of the few times where I could not take more than a few bites of anything. We were really looking forward to trying NC BBQ in NC, so this was a disappointing experience.

I'm a little biased because I live down the way from Byrd's and I am not ashamed to say that when…read morelooking for a house in the area I decided to buy our house because Byrd's was down the street after trying their BBQ. I love watching this business grow since we have been in the neighborhood. The owners James and Kim and the nicest people you will ever meet. All of the staff are consistently friendly, and I have never had a bad interaction - even when they are packed... which is most of the time. When I moved to North Carolina, I was excited to explore the BBQ scene. Unfortunately, several places I tried were disappointing. I'm not going to get into the Eastern NC versus Texas-style debate because I enjoy them both. Simply some of the barbecue I tried was just not very good. Then I found Byrd's. I don't know what James is doing back there in the kitchen, but the brisket is excellent. The ribs are my other favorite, and, as an added bonus, they serve breakfast! I had the brisket omelet, and it was amazing. They have great food, genuinely kind people, and a neighborhood business worth supporting. Go check them out, you won't regret it.

Excellent BBQ spot. If you're in the area or traveling along I-85, it's a quick and easy stop just…read moreoff the highway. The restaurant has a modern fast-casual vibe, both inside and out, and the staff was friendly and welcoming. The food is what really steals the show. We ordered a burger with fries, a pork sandwich with fries, pulled pork with green beans and potato salad, and brisket with coleslaw and every single item was delicious. The standout was definitely the brisket. It had an incredible peppery rub and perfectly smoked flavor that kept you going back for bite after bite. Easily some of the best brisket we've had.