We needed lunch before heading over to Chiricahua NM yesterday, and the four of us stopped in. I've driven by this place for years and was looking forward to finally trying it. The front dining room is in an old rail car (see photos), very nice! They also have two other spacious rooms, so they can handle large crowds. It was "seat yourself" when we were there. I had to use the restroom before sitting down - check out the Texas sinks!! The menu is not huge, but has all the typical BBQ entrees, combo platters, etc. One item that caught my eye was the green bean fried in onion batter, so we gave these a shot (see photo). They are fantastic, I highly recommend them!! The waitress warned us our meals would "not be long", and boy was she right - they arrived in minutes!! I ordered sausage + ribs combo plate, but when she brought my meal she had mixed up brisket for the ribs. She nicely brought an order of ribs for me and told me to keep the brisket, which was great customer service!! Here's our collective votes on the BBQ: Sausage - wonderful - the skin has a really nice "pop" when you bite into it. Ribs - excellent, but just a little dry Brisket - it was a slice containing both flat and point, so a bit fatty and not as tender as I like. I'd avoid it. We did not have either the chicken nor the pulled pork so can't comment on those. The sides were all wonderful - everyone really liked the beans. The "roll" that came with the meal was basically a big hamburger bun - not very good. The service was wonderful - she was very helpful and stopped by to check on us just often enough. Would I come back? I will, but I will avoid the brisket next time around. Overall we had a great time at Big Tex!! read more

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We stopped by for lunch after visiting Chiricahua National Monument. Fast, friendly service, excellent salad bar and good food. We had the brisket platter and brisket sandwich. Both were excellent! We got some cookies at checkout for the road, and they were very good. read more

This is a really cool place. Has a train carriage as part of the restaurant. They have a nice salad bar with just about everything you need. The service was great and the food portion are huge. We shared a plate with the variety meet and still took home left overs. I only gave it a 4 star cause it could of had better smoke flavor. Brisket was decent and the ribs were decent as well. The sausage was pretty good. The potato salad was made differently?? Kinda tasted like nut Meg or cinnamon??? Not sure just something was different and we didn't like it. And don't forget to take a picture of your self with the bull. read more

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Love this little spot in an old train car. The staff is always super friendly and helpful. So many options on the menu with large portions. Great if you are hungry or want to share a plate with your other half. The salad bar has many options with nice choice of salad dressings. If you are in the mood for BBQ you should stop in there and give them a try. read more

waitress complained that we sat at a dirty table, then brushed a crumb (singular!) to the floor. Brisket was dry and tough. Ribs were dry. Thimbleful of barbque sauce tasted like store bought. overpriced. Disappointing. read more

The food was just amazing. We ordered the five meat platter with three sides was for two adults and two kids. We had massive amounts of food. Plenty to come home for the next day and the taste of the food was just fabulous. The the waitress was very attentive. read more

I am surprised this place is rated so poorly. I honestly drool over their ribs and think about them all week. If I could drive to Wilcox everyday just to have them, I would. Came here for my birthday because I wanted to eat on "the Train" and I am so glad I did. The waitress told us a huge party had just come in and if we had wanted to order quickly so we could get our food before they did. She also recommended the rib special. It was only $24 for a full stack and two sides. That's a steal! The food was falling off the bone delicious. We were fighting over the fries and onion rings and chef kissing everything. Super pleasant and awesome experience. Will never stop coming here. read more

I'm from Texas. I've eaten a lot of barbecue. This was the worst brisket I've ever had. Fatty and tough.

Brisket was dry and chewy. Looked and tasted like it was from days ago fries were flavorless and Cole slaw did not even taste like cabbage. Overall food was almost inedible. Service was good but checking out found out there was a fee to use a credit card. That is a standard cost of doing business and will always keep me from ever going back or recommending a place. We have wanted to try this place for years and after this experience will not be returning. read more

Super quick and good service. The bbq was great and the pulled pork was my favorite. For sure will be coming back.

I ordered the two meat combo plate with potato salad and pinto beans. The beans tasted dry and powdery somehow even though they were sitting in liquid (??), the potato salad had too much mayo with not much else for seasoning, and now the strange meat - pulled pork that was wet and soupy, and brisket (??) that looked almost like the pulled pork. And that was literally all that was in the container. Just a sloppy gross pile of wet meat with no toast or anything, even a decent side to make it palatable. I will not be back. read more

I am a bit floored by the comments that other patrons have left. This place has lots of character and absolutely delicious food. We had the barbecue brisket, which was recommended by the very nice and attentive waitress. Our sides were mac and cheese and sweet potato fries. Our friends had barbecue along with the salad bar and everybody had a great experience. Highly recommend this place. We're talking Willcox, people! There are not a lot of choices, and this was a great one. read more

Big Tex Bar-B-Que - Great BBQ! - Barbeque Near Me - Willcox, Arizona

Place has a lot of potential, great service...we were passing through the area and my husband had a good brisket and chicken (not compared to Texas food) however I recommend not ordering the Nachos unless you are hoping for a less than desirable ball park nachos with fake cheese...could hardly eat them. We wont be returning to this place. read more

Big Tex Bar-B-Que - Plain nachos - Barbeque Near Me - Willcox, Arizona

More pictures of the location then the food itself. Stick to the salad bar lol no cap read more

Great food and great service. We had a group of 20+ people and frankly I couldn't believe how well they handled such a large group. Brisket sandwich was fantastic. Perfect flavor on its own. Didn't even need any sauce or anything. Cool southern AZ vibe inside. Rodeo on the TV's. Lots of locals that seemed to be enjoying the place. Super professional and friendly staff. A+++. Looking forward to returning. Highly recommend. read more

No to the barbecue... just, no. We both ordered a beef brisket plate, and there was nothing Tex about it. Bland, rubbery, no hint of a rub or a smoke. I strongly suspect it was "yesterday's meat" given its silvery reheated sheen. For a Friday night dinner, we expected beef smoked that day with a decent - or even discernible - smoke ring. The sides were OK, but who goes to a bbq place for the sides? If you like barbecue, avoid the disappointment and order a burger. read more

Stopped in and enjoyed the classic hamburger and potato salad while visiting for the Rex Allen Days for the gun show, rodeo, and the The Wild Bunch Film Festival this last Saturday. The wait staff are polite and friendly. It's a classic place to visit for bar-b-que. It's very busy during this eventful weekend. This is also one of the local favorites. I do recommend it. The food is good and tasty. read more

Delightful. We came by here on New Year's day as we were traveling back home, so on this trip we made sure to stop here again. We ordered the 3 meat combo platter to share and it was enough for the two of us and they even split up our appetizers in 1/2 since we couldn't make up our minds between the jalapeno bottle caps and the corn nuggets. I enjoyed the cole slaw, it was your typical mayonnaise based slaw, and the potato salad tasted fresh. food came out QUICK and hot. The place is adorable, not very big but big enough that you won't be surrounded by a lot of noise. The staff was nice and friendly, made you feel welcomed. We were pleased with it all. read more

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The exterior of the restaurant was intriguing with the railroad car, signage and iron work on the railing. We sat in the railroad car and shared a 3 meat BBQ meal which would have been too much for one person. It was delicious! The staff was very friendly and the restaurant was clean- and had a nice local feeling. The prices were fair. If we pass this way again it will definitely be a destination meal. read more

I visited this beautiful restaurant Memorial Day weekend this year. My mom had mentioned it and im from Texas so I was excited about small town BBQ. I'm highly disappointed. I ordered the loaded baked potato with brisket. The potato was cooked just right, the brisket was delicious, very tender and just fell apart. The disappointment was the sauce. The basic flavor and ingredient factor was ketchup and vinegar. No other flavors came out in the sauce. It was terrible. I'm aware most homemade BBQ sauce starts with tomato base and has vinegar. This was just that. You didn't get any seasonings or sweetness. It was sour and almost fermented. I travel alot and I'm a big foodie. I have had this style of stuff potato before and thoroughly enjoyed it. The coleslaw is basic shredded cabbage and vinegar with salt and pepper. Thats it. Literally. Just plain nasty. read more

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Really enjoyed the brisket here and couldn't stop eating my friend's fries lol. We were a huge group, but the waitresses were friendly, attentive, and accommodating! The building itself is really interesting and a great atmosphere. read more

Big Tex Bar-B-Que - exterior entrance - Barbeque Near Me - Willcox, Arizona

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Looked like a great place in a little hole in the wall spot off the interstate. Decorated nicely, clean bathrooms, friendly staff but SOOO Overpriced and not great food. We ordered take out and it was ready to go very quickly sadly we would have waited longer if the food were better. He got the 2 piece bbq plate -chicken super dry and sausage was just ok. The potato salad was the best thing on this $20 plate TWENTY DOLLARS I got the pulled pork sandwich. The meat was ok, one little blob of sauce on it thankfully because the bun was so soggy you could not pick the sandwich up to eat. Beans were my side of choice and I think they would have been very good had they been completely cooked, they still had a little too much firmness to them to even be edible Based on our first experience at this restaurant , I don't see us ever returning. Which is a shame because there aren't many choices on this little tiny town. read more

Definitely huge portions - but that's not why it's rated at a 4. I thought the ribs were fantastic! I wouldn't say entirely fall off the bone but it had a smoked dry rub texture that wasn't overly seasoned or smothered in bbq sauce, just the way I like them. We also ordered the pork belly crisp appetizer that was super crispy and the mildly spicy bbq sauce that came with it was spot on. I asked for an extra sauce for my ribs. The hubby ordered a combo brisket and smoked sausage - both tender and sausage mildly spiced and juicy! We dined in the train side which had the heaters going on a cold winter evening. Service was kind and quick. Bathrooms immaculate. Price by portion extremely reasonable. I don't know why the negative reviews but for a town this small, the bbq joint was legit where many other big cities fall way shorter. So glad we stopped in despite the reviews. Would definitely return to try their other daily specials. read more

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Nice to see they offer a ribeye steak. Service was ok. I had to ask for more water and then got impatient waiting for my server to come back to pay for my large order. read more

Just isn't that good. Philly steak and swiss sandwich was blah. Steak was dried out and they have no sauce on sandwich. Homemade buns are tasteless and dry. Homemade fries were just ok. Felt like they weren't cooked long enough. BBQ chicken on bone was over cooked. The sausage was ok. BBQ Sauce is vinegar style and I didn't like it. Coleslaw was vinegar style and not creamy. Didn't like it. We went with other couple and they agreed that it was maybe a two star. They had a hamburger and fries and ribs and pulled pork. He didn't eat it cuz he hated the BBQ sauce. Plus the cost is really high for such small portions of BBQ meat. Not gonna go again. read more

Okay, out sightseeing at Chiricahua National Monument (Go see it) and passed through Willcox. Could not pass on the Barbeque joint inside a real train car next to an active Train Tracks. It pulled us in with the train & giant steer outside the door like a magnet. Friendly Texas/Az greeting as we walked through the door, everyone is spread out due to Covid which was great. We sat in the train section & enjoyed view of Memorial Park & passing trains (Nice). Great Texas motifs on top of being in a Train complete with Texas Sinks. I was traveling with Mom-in-Law and she was impressed with cleanliness of the restaurant, especially restrooms which is quite a complement. We were not starving so we ordered a platter with chicken & ribs with potato salad/beans to share along with brisket sandwich w/fries. Appetizer was corn nuggets, which were amazing & disappeared fast. They was delicious & the favorite of all the food. I enjoyed the Potato salad, the beans were okay (no real taste until loaded with pepper). The Ribs were decent, sauce a little vinegary for us, but not bad. The platter came with two, the chicken did not get eaten until next day so was dry (maybe better if eaten right away). The Brisket sandwich was decent, not the best or the worse we had. The food for most part did get eaten so that is good, had better, had worse. Definitely worth a stop for the train ambience and corn nuggets. The Sweet Tea was done with Splenda (leave it at that), I went with 4 Stars based on customer service, and cleanliness as the food was a solid 3 as far as Barbecue is concerned, it was kind of dry and for the price a little slim. read more

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I was optimistic as the reviews are generally good. I love bbq and will have it if I can. Came in last night, there was exactly 4 tables of customers, we were the 5th. The salad bar was solid, the food was delivered very fast which was nice. However, the bbq was bland, very little rub on brisket or ribs. The sausage was ok, but just ok. I think they expect sauce use, but I generally never sauce bbq unless it's bad bbq...this I sauced this heavy. Portions are generous, the facilities & ambiance was very nice. But mediocre bbq and half hearted staff that was extremely hard to find really killed the experience. read more

Food is decent. I had ribs, coleslaw and beans. Think I'd get the pulled pork next time. Large portions. Disappointed they were out of peach and blackberry pie. Food came pretty quickly on a Saturday night but servers never stopped to check on us. Lots of seating and liked the big screen TVs. read more

My husband and I had the ribs. The food was great. I really liked their coleslaw. The services was average. We sat in the train car which was neat, but there were a few flies that wouldn't leave us alone. read more

Big Tex Bar-B-Que - Looking out to the deck. - Barbeque Near Me - Willcox, Arizona

Very few people were eating so that may be why the food was not that great, I just had an appetizer cheese sticks and there was more breading then cheese, my husband had the bbq brisket which was average nothing over the top and this morning he is suffering food poisoning. Not a fun day ahead of him read more

For TX Style BBQ outside of the republic of TX, I'll give it a B+. The atmosphere is great, the meat was tender, the sides were tasty & the staff was friendly. The fried okra was hands down delicious, but $10 is pretty steep for a little more than a single serving. The meat was high quality, tender, & moist but really light on the smoke, just not much mesquite flavor penetrated the meat (I had brisket & pork ribs). Don't expect any craft beer but they do sell local wine. The coleslaw was not traditional, but I really liked it. It doesn't have any mayo & is vinegar forward with a nice sweetness. The beans are savory, not sweet, which is how beans are supposed to be IMHO. This place wouldn't last long in TX, but for small town AZ, it was a good belly filler after a long day in the Chiricahua mountains. read more

Big Tex Bar-B-Que - Combo Dinner - brisket, ribs, coleslaw, beans with a side of fried okra. - Barbeque Near Me - Willcox, Arizona

Looking for a place to grab a bite after hiking the Ft. Bowie Historic Trail, we found Big Tex's, a.k.a. The Dining Car. It's always a kick to eat in a railroad car and this was no exception. We loved the mesquite-fired chicken....the ranch beans and the freshly cut French Fries. A great meal at a fair price with a cozy atmosphere. This is currently the only restaurant open in Willcox but it's a good one. Be sure to walk across the street to the pink building on the corner. It's the old Headquarters Saloon where Wyatt Earp's youngest brother was shot dead. read more

Big Tex Bar-B-Que - Barbeque Near Me - Willcox, Arizona

Absolute Top Dawg for a small diner! Wife had the brisket and a couple of ribs. Fall off the bone ribs and ridiculously tender brisket slices. I had the fried catfish (two very healthy portions!) and a pile of fried okra...Yes I requested a PILE!). Waitress lady took care of us. Thank you. Worth the drive from Vail (yes, AZ). read more

My ribeye steak was so tough I could not cut it with a serrated steak knife. I ordered it medium rare and it came blood rare, which didn't really matter because I couldn't eat it anyway. The waitress was nowhere to be found for 20 to 30 minutes, I had asked for steak sauce I was told they had none. I wanted to order another beer but she never got within distance that I could even wave her down. There has to be many many other better choices in Willcox than this place. Never again. read more

Don't let the attractive outside appearance deceive you, eat somewhere else. I had the catfish special and my mate had the rib combo. His ribs were cold when they arrived at the table & had no smoked flavor and were overcooked. The slaw was not flavorful or anything really tasteful - just soggy cabbage. Some of his fries were still frozen. My catfish was under cooked, soft and off flavor. The server tried to give us a discount but no one was around to authorize. Didn't mind paying, as it was a sweet gesture... it wasn't her fault! My fault for not Yelping first! Honestly, it just felt like whoever was managing the place didn't care. Such a shame cause the decor is "fun" read more

Big Tex Bar-B-Que - Catfish Special - Barbeque Near Me - Willcox, Arizona

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Service was good. Food was awful. Everything tasted as if it was pre made and then reheated. Ambiance was cool and the setting is what drew us in. Just wish the food was matching the vibe. read more

Food was great! We had the brisket, ribs, chicken and pulled pork! All delicious! The beans were excellent! They delivered on time!!

Disappointing. The two of us sat down and eventually got menus and ordered. A short time later, some locals came in and got the full description of that day's specials, from the same server! She mentioned absolutely nothing to us. So we ended up ordering a BBQ sandwich and a pastrami sandwich. Neither was very good, especially the pastrami, which didn't taste like pastrami and it was nothing but fat and tough gristle. A short while later that sandwich produced a most unpleasant digestive reaction and with no Imodium available caused our next day at the Chiricahua National Monument to be a bust. Willcox has few choices. This looked good at first but wasn't. read more

This place was awesome. Fresh salad bar and BLT was so good with plenty of bacon and homemade bun. Atmosphere was great and waitress (Felicia) was super nice read more

Brisket was burnt. Beans were literally pinto beans in water. Potato salad should NOT be put in with warm food. Food literally looked like it should have been in wet dog food read more