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    Callahan Barbecue

    4.4 (150 reviews)
    InexpensiveBarbeque, Southern
    Closed 10:30 am - 9:00 pm

    Callahan Barbecue Photos

    Business Info

    CALLAHAN BARBECUE ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Casual
    Moderate noise
    Good for groups
    Dogs allowed

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    Recommended Reviews - Callahan Barbecue

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    Chicken Breast
    Tiffany C.

    We drive through the area on road trips often so I really wanted to love this place. However, the inside smelled of old oil so strongly that we ended up getting take out, thankfully there is drive thru so that was a huge plus. Service was very kind and food was fine. I would definitely choose giving it a second try over any other fast food option.

    Large chicken sandwich and fries

    2025-06-25 We are here for lunch today. Everything was cooked perfectly. Fries were cooked perfect. Onion Rings were thick and lightly golden just right. Chicken was perfect and the large chicken sandwich was huge. I suggest the small sandwich unless you are really really hungry. Service was very friendly.

    They do have good size pieces of chicken!
    David W.

    Saying that a type of food is "the best" can be a very tricky thing. I mean, what's one person's 'best' could be another person's 'meh.' Or perhaps even 'ugh.' And nobody wants an 'ugh.' I think that one of the toughest foods to classify as "the best," is fried chicken. I mean you have the bird, the breading, the grease, the spices, all coming together in that perfect storm of chicken goodness. "This is THE BEST fried chicken I've ever eaten!!" Strong words indeed. And definitely worth checking out. So, when a good friend of ours declared one time that, "Callahan BBQ has THE BEST FRIED CHICKEN I've ever had!" well, that place was added to our bucket list. Several years ago. I mean, Callahan isn't exactly a hop, skip and a jump from Jax Beach. But yesterday? Yesterday my wife and I decided to make the journey. The trek to taste what at least one person had deemed to be the best fried chicken. We headed out to Callahan with empty stomachs and a full tank of gas. The drive was pretty, but it did take a while to get there. Callahan's BBQ is located in a little strip mall in Callahan. I'm not sure if there is even any more to Callahan besides that little strip mall. The place isn't huge. You order at the counter and then take a seat. I'm not sure if they, like other places, are light on help, but many of the tables hadn't been bussed and the trash hadn't been taken out. That kind of bummed us out but as we had driven all this way we were not going to be deterred. The selection is large and there is indeed bbq on the menu. However we were there for the chicken! We each ordered 2 piece dinner. Comes with 2 pieces of chicken (obviously) and 2 sides. When my wife asked for 2 thighs the nice young girl at the counter told us to hold on while she checked behind her to see what chicken was available. Now, this would have made sense if a) we were at the end of the day and no more chicken was being made, or b) she immediately filled our order at the counter. But neither were true. We were there at 2 in the afternoon and after we ordered we sat down to wait to be served. And watched more chicken being dumped into the baskets. Yeah, I didn't get it. But the food arrived after a not very long wait and we dug in. Thoughts? The sides were ok. I got the collard greens and the coleslaw. The greens were fine. I've had worse but I've definitely had better. The slaw was actually really good. Seemed very fresh and tangy. My wife had the green beans and the mashed potatoes and gravy. The beans came out of a can. Again, they were fine but nothing special. She was also convinced that the potatoes were instant. I really have no idea. To me they tasted like mashed potatoes. I know, you're all thinking, "But how was the chicken?" Good. The chicken was good. Was it the best fried chicken I've eaten? No. I don't think that it was. But it was good. To me it had a bit too much breading. And it could have used just a bit more spice. However, the chicken itself was tasty and moist and hot. Look, it was good fried chicken. And if we lived maybe 10 minutes away, we would probably go there more often. But we don't. So, I'm just not sure that we will go back. But I encourage you all to go and try it and form your own opinion. Is it the best fried chicken you will ever have? Only you will know for sure. And hopefully it's not an ugh.

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    3 months ago

    The restaurant is small and always crowded. Good food and great prices. Locals favorite.

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    2 days ago

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    9 months ago

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    1 year ago

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    1 month ago

    Mom and pop country cooking at affordable price! Love the chicken sandwich and corn nuggets !

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    4 months ago

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    7 months ago

    The food is always great, prices are always fair, and the service is quick and very welcoming. Love this place!

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    1 year ago

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    1 year ago

    Good chicken, over cooked and dry pork. Fries are also OK. Will stick with Willies. The small fried okra was good but huge.

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    4 years ago

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    9 months ago

    Sometimes it's on point and sometimes it's dry and sucks just depends on what time you go, I guess.

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    1 year ago

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    3 years ago

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    2 years ago

    Everything is always amazing and delicious! The food is perfect and the ladies taking your order up front always get it just right

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    2 years ago

    Always good food. Pretty good burgers too! Fast service even during peak hours. Really like everything I've tried on the menu.

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    3 years ago

    Fantastic. It was recommended to me and I am glad I tried it. A must do for the locals and it's always packed. Loved the ribs.

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    3 years ago

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    3 years ago

    Great food at a great price ! Best fried chicken in Nassau County ! Definitely recommend this place if your in the area.

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    3 years ago

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    2 years ago

    Fried chicken was good! So was the potato salad. One girl behind the counter was rude. Looks like a good place to go.

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    Page 1 of 4

    Ask the Community - Callahan Barbecue

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    Yet spending another Thanksgiving meal here at Ole Times. One thing is you never have any…read morecomplaints about the food. The turkey is always done to perfection, the ham yummy and plenty of sides and desserts. The salad bar was completely vacant, however...this was somewhat disheartening, considering how supposedly "health minded" American adults are these days. That was our first stop of the day. Cabbage slaw, carrot salad, macaroni salad, olives, huge delicious slices of beautiful tomatoes, gorgeous slices of cucumbers, nicely green lettuce, several types of peppers and ham. Cheese, salad dressing of every kind...best stop so far! Smoked pork, ribs, fried fish, yeast rolls, sliced roast beef, ham, turkey slices, meatloaf, fried chicken, baked chicken, green bean casserole, mac & cheese, cornbread dressing, turkey gravy, mashed potatoes, lima beans, black eyed peas, creamed corn, greens, rice, fried okra... Pumpkin pie, pecan pie, lemon meringue, peach cobbler, soft serve ice cream, chocolate cream pie, cookies, brownies...oh, I'm exhausted just from trying to list everything! There was so so so much more than what I even listed here, plus the absolute best waitress and Arnold Palmer maker! Why cook at home, burden yourself, spend HOURS cleaning up afterwards and hours more packing everything away? Take yourself and your loved ones out to Ole Times Country Buffet just one time for the holidays and you'll never go back to cooking again! (I sure haven't)

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    Steffens Restaurant - Chicken and waffles.

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    Real southern food and nice people!!…read more We will probably get the country fried steak again rather than the liver. But I'll likely be back once a week!! The amount of food for your money is great and it's all piping hot and fresh. I can see why it's a staple restaurant around here!

    Steffens Diner has been on my radar for a while. Living in Callahan, Friday date nights with my…read morewife can be challenging when restaurant options are scarce and repetitive. Opening Yelp, I check the list of saved restaurants, and my wife points out this place. I mean, 4.9 stars with 525 reviews, and the Google rating is 4.6 with 3450 contributions. One would think with all those stars, you'd be guaranteed a great experience. That, of course, may end the evening with "brown chicken, brown cow." We arrive, and immediate retro-dinner vibes set in. As we walk past the back door into the kitchen, we see two small, well-used smokers. My first thought was, "Whatever gets the job done." I know I have turned out many great cuts of meat from mine. Next, I notice an older woman struggling to smoke a cigarette, hacking away; it was a clear sign she should quit. We walk into the restaurant, and the retro vibe continues, from the old diner seats and tables to the music playing from the ceiling speakers. Being a car guy, I liked the row of model cars above the bar, but they could use a feather duster or a Swiffer. One word of caution: if you are heading to the restrooms, be aware of the sudden change in floor elevation; there is no warning, and a trip-and-fall is possible. The first waitress comes over after we're seated; she looks like she had a rough day, judging by the leftover food on her black shirt. At least the table was clean and well-designed. Turning to the reviews, the highlighted items are fried chicken, country fried steak, and a few others. The menu offers some unexpected options, like crab-stuffed cod and beef bourguignon, demonstrating nice variety. We started by asking what their top-selling items were; they mentioned fried chicken and country-fried steak. Feeling adventurous, I chose the beef bourguignon, and my wife went with the crab-stuffed cod. We began with jalapeño poppers, which looked great when they arrived. Ignoring the caution, I took the first bite and immediately realized how hot they were, temperature-wise, as the filling blistered my mouth. The flavors were good, and the fresh jalapeño peppers were crunchy rather than soft. If this were an indication of how the rest of the meal is going to go, the "made fresh every day" motto displayed would be a treat. Well, except for setting caution aside for the hot items. Our dishes arrived, and the presentation was decent. My wife's dish looked good, but my beef bourguignon seemed very old and overdone. We said grace and started eating; well, so much for that "it's made fresh every day" motto. If mine were made fresh, the chef would likely have killed it twice. The chew of the first bite was so dry and long that it could have made Wrigley's gum proud. It took me back to my high school days when Hubba Bubba bubble gum first appeared. (Yes, I am that old.) I tried to push through it, hoping for a moist bite and those seasonal flavor notes; alas, they never came. The flavor profile was missing Rosemary and bold red-wine notes. Julia Child would be rolling over in her grave. I grabbed a piece of the cornbread that came with our selection to dip into Aujour. Well, you would have to question whether anyone tastes the items before serving them? A box of Jiffy Cornbread mix has more moisture and texture. It was something with the biscuits. There was still flour on the putter surface of the biscuits. Our server came by to check on us, and we didn't hold back our disappointment. She went to the kitchen, apparently took a piece, and confirmed it wasn't good. She then said she would comp the meal and offered to replace it with anything I wanted. Just then, my wife reacted after her second bite of the crab-stuffed codfish. It turns out she had a piece of crab shell lodged between her gums and a tooth, which was very painful--way worse than biting into a popcorn shell. Once it was removed, she managed to get a few more bites in before CRUNCH!!--another shell. By this point, the experience had fallen short of what we had seen in the reviews. The server returned and asked if we were interested in dessert. We agreed on a slice of Limoncello cake. When it arrived, it looked amazing again, but the first bite told the story. This was supposed to be Limoncello, and it was clear that the lemon had left the chat... I was thankful for the extra lemon I ordered for my sweet tea; once a squeeze of lemon juice was added, the chat was revived. Before completely passing judgment, we would like to experience breakfast. As much as the reviews raved about the menu items, I'll keep my opinion until then

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    Callahan Barbecue - bbq - Updated September 2026

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