hands-down, the best barbecue joint in the city and being in the Kansas City area that's saying a lot It will not break the bank great price for great food And I love the inside it is way cool They do not play those people can definitely cook some barbecue read more

Yummy. Good barbecue sandwiches and nice sides. The service was attentive. The place was a mix of restaurant and bar.

In 2025, me and my family went here for Independence Day. We'd never heard of the place but we thought we might as well stop by and see how it was. The folks there were very welcoming the food was the best barbecue I've ever had, to this day I'm not sure I've had anything like that since. Very nice atmosphere with some good rock and roll playing on the speakers as well as an old jukebox in the corner. Very clean and well maintained, still the best barbecue I've ever had. read more

Inside and outside venue areas are nice and very nostalgic. The food is great and feel very Comfortable there. It's also Close to home.

The sides are amazing! I do not think the Burnt ends were fresh and they were very greasy. I still ate it , because the meat was flavorful, but it was almost like a beef jerky texture and very dry. The bbq sauce was good. I would go back read more

A Little BBQ Joint - Burnt Ends with 2 Sides - Barbeque Near Me - Independence, Missouri

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Food was excellent staff awesome and love the owner. Very sweet and accommodating for our family get together. Had a great time. Thank you, Karen! read more

We've been there twice. It was not good either time, yet they got busy as we stayed. Why? My wife said the burnt ends were inedible. My pulled pork was passable, but I've had many better. But maybe worse than the middling-to-bad food was the very poor service. I almost never tip poorly, but I did on our last visit. Let's see, if you're getting busy, do you diddle around and wait until all your tables are full to bring a check to the table that is finished? The server just didn't seem to care. Oh yeah, they made a mistake with our order, and she didn't seem to care about that either. I don't know what these other people see in the place, but I won't be going back. read more

Love love love it! me and the family had a great time. Everybody enjoyed the decor the ambience everything this little place had to offer was great. I brought Family from out of town Branson and they loved it. I can't wait to take more people there to see it. read more

It been a while since we ate at A Little BBQ Joint, but it was the best BBQ I have ever had. We stopped here on our way through the KC area on our trip to Rome Georgia. The BBQ chicken was amazing as were the sides. The atmosphere and service were also great. The owner came to our table and visited for a few minutes. I live in North Dakota so it may be a while before i visit again but next time in the KC area i will enjoy this restaurant again. read more

Trying a new place near the Truman home in Independence. Great classic vibe. All the booths are actual bench seats from classic cars. Two thumbs up. Great service and food! read more

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Me: Hey we're heading to A lil' BBQ Joint for dinner. Want to meet us? My friend: Sure, what's the name of the place? Me: A LIL' BBQ JOINT! A Little BBQ Joint displays decor that sets a down home tone for a barbecue outing. Don't come here looking for too many frills. The table tops were unique. Not something I had ever seen before, at least at our table. It was sort of a large shadow box with cars, sort of old school. The service was nice. Our servers were attentive and we didn't have to wait long for our order to be taken. While the food looked appetizing, flavors disappoint, save for standout fries. Overall, a mixed bag - with potential for improvement. read more

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It is pretty good. Service and ambiance are ok. I have had better & worse. Parking not so great when busy.

Visiting from IA, we have been to many, many BBQ joints and this place is the best bbq we have ever had, anywhere! The brisket wontons were delicious, the ribs fell off the bone and had so much flavor and the burnt ends melted in your mouth. Baked beans were as advertised too, scrumptious! We highly recommend visiting this little gem. FIVE STARS for service, quality & quantity of food, prices and ambiance. read more

The food was amazing. I loved the pulled pork and coleslaw and the fries were crispy and the ranch was delicious. Our server was attentive and I would come here again if I needed to! Also the chargers won, suck it Chiefs! read more

My husband had the Ribs,I had a pulled pork sandwich. The ribs had no flavor. The sauces were the worst we ever had. The sandwich also had no flavor and tasted old. The interior of the restaurant was very interesting...but I will never eat there again read more

First off the tables were sticky and looked like they havent been cleaned, ordered the bacon pretzel bite discussing pretzel bread cut into chunks with cheese and gross bacon that looked old. Then get the brisket and it didnt look nor taste of it more of roast beef tasting and texture. If I could would have gave no stars! The waitress was nice. Have a feeling most elderly come in to eat since they cant taste much anyways ..... gross place food disgusting and health department should look into it as well. read more

this place is below sub par the waitress took our drink order 3 waters and 2 cokes she brought 4 waters 1 coke I asked for the coke 3 times within a 20 min window still no coke so I asked for a beer and got the same response then came my order which the fries were cold and tasted like bad oil the sandwich I will just say never again read more

Food was excellent and service was very attentive. Traveling thru but would highly recommend this place with great ambiance!

We stopped on a Sunday for dinner. Place is very neat with a kind of a garage feel in the bar. We elected to eat on the deck on a nice fall evening. We all ordered beers that were served with a cold glass I got the sausage and pulled pork. My wife got the brisket and our friend the burnt ends. We got the pea salad, hot potato salad, Cole slaw, corn, and Mac n cheese for sides. We all shared our sides. They had three homemade sauces on the table. I tried and enjoyed all three. I thought the burnt ends were a little dry along with the sausage. The pork and brisket were good. Our waitress was friendly and provided great service. Enjoy KC style BBQ. read more

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This is some of the best barbecue in the customer service is outstanding. Can't recommend it enough.

I stopped in on a Thursday night. When I pulled in, I should have known what I was going to experience the parking lot was almost empty at 6:30. Typically I when go to a barbecue spot in the Kansas City area, if the barbeque is going to be good, the lot will be packed and there is a wait. There were a few people at the bar and only two tables had anyone sitting at them. The interior is great. Very comfortable and has the feel of a good restaurant. The music was a little loud, but not such that I could not think. The waitress greeted me quickly and was very pleasant. After reviewing the menu, I had a few questions and in the end ordered a two-meat dinner with brisket and burnt ends with spicy coleslaw and baked beans. The meal was disappointing. I have had great barbecue and average barbecue and I wished my meal had at least been average. The burnt ends were dry, tuff, and very salty. Strangely this is a common comment with several of the reviews for the restaurant. With burnt ends, I expect to be able to cut them with a fork. My knife got a workout on the burnt ends. The brisket was some of the most thinly sliced brisket I have ever had. If you told me it was reheated in a microwave, I would believe you as it was tuff and without flavor. Finally the baked beans were not even to the level of Bush's bake beans. I should have paid more attention to the other reviews. They are either very good or very bad, with little in between. Hopefully this was a one-off experience and A Little Barbecue is typically much better, but I will never find out as this was my first and last trip here. read more

The ladies were funny, and the service was solid. Thanks! The environment was clean and eye candy with the trucks, trains and cars! FUN! The BBQ was good, and the sauces were fun. I had the Tuesday special, which was pulled pork and sausage sandwich with fries! Fun stop! Thanks! read more

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Coming from out of town this was some great KC BBQ! It is very much a whole in the wall vibe with lots of vehicle themed decor, and a casual setting. The service was great--we ended up adding a table 30 minutes in when the rest of our party arrived which was much easier than expected and our server did so without batting an eye. Great service! The food was great as well with plenty of flavor and good sauces on the table. My group loved our meal and it was a great experience that could have been much more chaotic at other restaurants with less accommodating staff! read more

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It's really easy to drive right past a little barbecue joint. But you shouldn't. On the east side of Kansas City. It's a family run barbecue restaurant with no frills no thrills just good barbecue situated in independence, Missouri. What you won't get is a lot of advertising a lot of bling and a lot of pizzazz. But what you will get is friendly service fantastic barbecue. The food is really good and the prices are more than reasonable. I flew in from Chattanooga tonight and drove to little barbecue joint because I think it's one of the best and undiscovered barbecue gems in Kansas City. If you want real Kansas City barbecue, and you want to go to place off the beaten path and undiscovered Jim, then a little barbecue joint is for you. read more

Excellent service. Fantastic food. Good price. Family owned. Where the locals go to eat. And atmosphere is just plain fun. It's what bbq should be. Rated #26 in the state! read more

Never order burnt ends. Grizzly & fat. Brisket, sandwiches are great. Ribs are reported good. Patio bar, check their website. They accommodate my group of 10 to 12 at 1pm on a weekday. Fun place. Decor includes car parts. If you are an old car fan, you may give it a try. Prices are reasonable last time I was there. read more

Stopped after the chiefs game and had a great experience . The place is decorated well and service was good . Food was a star in this review as the brisket and sides were delicious and better than most of the larger bbq places in the kc area. Decent prices ass well and good parking . read more

Food was good. Maybe a tad salty on the burnt ends. The Sweet Sister sauce was my favorite out of their 3 they offer, Mad Mother On Law and Mean House Wife. Hopefully I nailed those right. There was a deck party so service was a little slow and they made an error on the order but gave a great deal. They have indoor and outdoor seating both booths and chairs. Not the greatest but it's not the worst. I'd eat there again so there ya go. read more

A Little BBQ Joint - Burnt Ends with 2 Sides Fries & Cheesy Corn - Barbeque Near Me - Independence, Missouri

Cute little place, but the food was mediocre at best. The ribs tasted like they were braised, the beans came straight out of a can and the potato salad came straight out of a plastic tub. read more

We arrived at A Little BBQ Joint just after opening on Sunday. We were greeted and told to have a seat anywhere. My husband was a big fan of the dim dive ambience. One of the servers immediately brought our menus and another server brought our drinks. I read a recent review that was pretty harsh regarding the service but we did not experience that at all. The service we received was great. It was the perfect ratio of friendly and efficient. We ordered a full slab, a pound of burnt ends, fries, beans, and spicy slaw. Both meats were excellent. The ribs were just the right amount of tender, with a little bite and not fall-off-the-bone. Perfect. The burnt ends had great flavor and were not too fatty or too salty (as other reviews had indicated). Of the 3 sauces (sister, wife, MIL) wife is the best balance of sweet and spicy, to me. But they were all good! The beans were fine. I've had better but I've also had way worse. The spicy slaw is a vinegar based red cabbage slaw that could use a little oomph. Good base but just ok. The fries were crispy and therefore approved. We have to go back and try more of the menu because this was a satisfying meal. But for now, let's not forget the leftovers...I'm already looking forward to those for dinner tonight! read more

A Little BBQ Joint - Full Slab Ribs & 1 lb. Burnt Ends - Barbeque Near Me - Independence, Missouri

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I love their baked beans! That's enough for a 5 review in my book. Oh, I also loved the interior decor (cars and stuff). Hubby liked his thick cut pork sandwich with thick pieces of bacon and the hot potato salad. I liked the Brisket and loved the baked beans. Neither of us could choose a favorite BBQ sauce so we used Sweet Sister BBQ, Mad Housewife and Mean Mother in Law. We took home some jerky which isn't super hot but it's well made. read more

A Little BBQ Joint - Entrance - Barbeque Near Me - Independence, Missouri

On my last visit to KC, while at a bbq joint, was chatting with the locals and was told I had to try this place. So made sure I stoped by on this visit and boy glad I did. Of all the bbq joints that I went to this weekend, this place had the best rib for sure. However, the meat is not smoked, did not taste that smoke flavor, looks like they cook their ribs over charcoal. I ordered the 4 rib meal with two sides - slaw and mac-n-cheese. I think they gave me the spicy slaw, I was expecting the creamy slaw, definitely skip the spicy slaw. The mac-n-cheese was ok, looked like kraft version, but a lot better. But their ribs was worth it and had this been my only meal, I would have gone with 1/2 slab. The ribs came out pipping hot, however you had to bite off the meat off the bones, but it was all worth it. I tried to use fork to eat them, yeah bad decision... that's when I dropped the fork and the knife and started to use my hands, a white decision. It's bit out of the KC area, but worth a visit if you are in town. read more

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I walked in late on a Saturday afternoon to find this 'cue stop moderately busy. An appetizer of bacon chips, a tray of burnt ends with sides of cheesy corn and french fries, and a refillable soft drink (Coke products) came to $36.23 plus tip. Portions were large enough to warrant the price. Both sides had good flavor, but it is telling that the fries were less salty than the meat. Maple syrup did not overwhelm the bacon, but this served only to emphasize its saltiness. I discarded the burnt ends after a few bites heavily doused with one of the three sauces on the table, but this could not conceal the extreme saltiness of the meat. Given the time of day and the seasoning, it is not surprising that the cubes were so dry and tough that I was tempted to ask for a steak knife. Individuals on a salt restricted diet should tread warily here. read more

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We stopped for Lunch and had sandwiches. The meats were tasty and service was friendly.

Definitely has the look of a cool bbq place! The ribs were amazing! The pulled pork was really good. But unfortunately the brisket was more like jerky than brisket. It was incredibly dry and tough - kind like old shoe leather. I kind of felt like I was chewing on my old baseball mitt. This three star review is riding on the ribs and the hot potato salad - which we call Dutch Oven Potatoes in the west and which were wonderful. If they could get the brisket issue worked out this would be a great place. read more

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Great food nice and atmosphere Wonderful bloody marry with brisket Brisket is fantastic read more

Sides were good. The bun was fresh. Counter service was cheerful and friendly. The chicken was OK. read more

A Little BBQ Joint - Chicken BBQ Sabdwuch + slaw and potato salad - Barbeque Near Me - Independence, Missouri

I have been here a few times and always had a good time. The food is good and the service is good. Usually they have sports on the TVs and if you would like a different game they will change it for you. read more

The food was amazing, the service quick and friendly, and the ambiance was fantastic. Got a private tour of their car memorabilia by the owner. Don't miss this place! read more

My wife and I decided to eat here again, and the burnt ends were so salty we couldn't finish them. I'm hoping it was a one time deal. But, they were so salty my wife doesn't want to go back. read more