My family and i ate ate at the Cary, NC location last weekend and the brisket was the worst brisket I have ever eaten and the sides were ok. I will never eat here again. My wife ordered turkey and no turkey had to sub for chicken. No place to sit and tables were not clean. How does this place stay in business ?? read more

Tasty food with amazing portions and great deals, definitely a spot to check out if ever in Raleigh

Amazing experience at this location! Quick service and friendly staff! Shoutout to the closing crew that worked on September 21st, definitely made my experience more enjoyable!! read more

I was visiting some friends in the area (I'm from the UK) and he suggested this place and I'm so glad he did. The food was probably some of the best I've had in a good few years, and definitely the best I had while I was over there. I believe the server that we had was called Jason, and he was wonderful. Really made the experience memorable (there's so many questions compared to the UK so I was so lost) but I think he enjoyed that to be fair haha! I'm sure I will be back here when I'm over next! read more

I bought two barbecue chicken breasts. When I got them home they were not cooked thoroughly and tasted horrible. I had to throw them out. I would not recommend eating there. The food is subpar. The chicken breast were Hugh which leads me to believe they were full of antibiotics. read more

I haven't been to this location in about a year or so and usually frequent the Durham location with no issue at all - tonight I wasn't so lucky. I ordered a pound of brisket, 3 sides and 3 bones =$30. I get home and almost 7.5oz of my brisket is nasty inedible fat. I weighed it. To make matters worse my sides (collards, were straight vinegar and 2 green beans that were completely saltless) were flavorless and sour. I call and the manager tells me that unless I ask for no fat it comes with fat. I have NEVER asked for no fat or lean, in the 3 years I have been eating at multiple City BBQs. The brisket comes with fat but not half a pound of fat, especially not when it's $18 a pound! Also, these geniuses manage to make the brisket dry with 2" of fat around it! I then asked if he'd tasted the sides because they had no salt and he responded that he tastes all the sides, everyday. Clearly this manager (Chris) knows everything and has tasted everything - my apologies for not agreeing with your assessment of the food sir. By all means, the inedible food I spent $30 on was perfection and you made my night. Maybe this is what I get for expecting good BBQ in Cary when I know it's better on Durham. read more

City Barbeque - $17.99 for almost 1/2lb of fat - Barbeque Near Me - Cary, North Carolina

We love city bbq and we were in the area and decided to stop and give this one a try! Parking was pretty easy, plenty of spots. Once entering the restaurant this place was packed! I mean packed!! Most city bbq's are but this one was seriously crazy. Well guess what they only had one register open which was really ridiculous!! Why in the world do all city bbq's only have ONE register open. Come on now!!! On a Saturday night, you know city bbq's is going to be busy!! Finally ordered and we bought the judges sampler. We usually purchase this and it's more than plenty. The dining area was full and dirty. Chairs scatter everywhere and it was crazy! We had to wait 45 mins for food which they told us when we ordered so that was to be expected. Idk this place seemed very disorganized and you could tell the employee were frustrated and needed more help! I felt bad for them! It was very overwhelming!! It was okay but City BBQ's are getting ridiculous. Here lately when we go to one they run out of food, the dining area dirty, they need more employees. I've gotten to the point where I don't like coming to here but my husband likes it so I give in. I don't want to come here anymore and recommend others to go elsewhere. read more

We have been twice. The food is the redeeming quality at this place. It's is good. Mac and cheese is great, corn casserole and baked beans are too! The place is otherwise sticky, dirty, unkept. The staff is low key rude, but not all out horrible. The menu board is confusing & staffs lacking responses/instructions on how to order, both times, make me want to simply walk out. There was hardly any silverware. The stacked plates offered were dirty. A good manager and serious cleaning would be my suggestion. I think I'm done with this place. Everyone in the establishment trying to eat just looked uncomfortable. read more

The scene was chaos just like last time we were there months ago. The workers look like someone just kidnapped them from somewhere else and forced them to come in and serve BBQ. The menu is up at ceiling height and hard to read, with trickery scam involved. The three meat and two meat plates are only for the cheap meats, if you want brisket or chicken, there is a $3 upcharge EACH. So now that $15 plate is $21. The brisket has not changed since last time, very marbled, nothing like the lean brisket shown in the picture on their website. Marbled and stringy with fat, tasteless. I guess the guy in the kitchen eats all the lean or takes it home. Briskets have one tiny layer of lean meat at the bottom, and three or more inches of fatty meat above, that keeps the bottom lean meat moist as it cooks for 12-24 hours. The tater salad was ok, the mac and cheese was lacking texture probably not very fresh. Too mushy. And just like last time, they were out of many items, had a whole list taped to the register. Now if that list was at the door we could have known before we were standing at the register breaking our necks at your too high menu searching for something else. The menu is very confusing--need to go look at Red Hot and Blue in Park West and see how to do a BBQ menu, but with those tricky upcharge items, not going to work anyhow. read more

Sorry City Barbeque.... Raising your prices.....$28.99 for a slab of ribs..... That's simply too much for this guy..... Bye..... read more

Right off the bat, for full disclosure, I am about 98% vegetarian for health reasons. I eat meat very, very rarely, once or twice a year, and tiny amounts at that (I guess "flexitarian" would be a more accurate term). I know, i know...what is a vegetarian doing reviewing a BBQ joint. While I am not 100% strict vegetarian, my family is definitely not. And I will always go to a BBQ if they have sides. Another thing - I just moved from Texas. I have a complicated relationship with bbq in the first place (I was not vegetarian until 4 years ago. I have a fair amount of experience with Texas BBQ). With that out of the way, here's a run down of everything. Ambiance - very nice and casual, clean, pleasant, music was not loud, and the outdoor patio was nice. Staff - again very nice and professional. Food - hubby got brisket on a Tx toast with fries. Kid got a kid's chicken sandwich + mac and cheese + drink. I got hush puppies, okra, and potato salad. The brisket sandwich was huge! The Tx toast was good and thick. I tried a tiny little nibble (like I said, not 100% veggie) and it was so tender and flavorful. I think it was priced very fairly. For the kid's meal, I like the fact that you can choose any one of their meats for the sandwich. My son loved the chicken sandwich, though he was still hungry afterwards. As for my sides, I really liked the hush puppies. The okra was...weird. It was definitely not what I am used to, and I don't know yet if that's a regional thing or just how City does it. It was not my thing. I'll say that. It felt very dry and flavorless to me. The potato salad was definitely different as well. But I think it was more a personal preference. I prefer sweeter, more mustard-y potato salad and this had more of some sort of bite to it, like vinegar or something similarly acidic. I liked the variety of sauces they offered. We tried the ginger, mustard, sweet, and bourbon sauces and we definitely preferred the sweet. Overall, I'd love to come back and try their other sides, mostly because I didn't like 2 out of the 3 I got. This is a place for carnivores for sure, so I don't think it's fair to dock their score too much for not liking 2 of their sides. read more

See all

I am a fan of good BBQ and they have it. Their ribs are quite delicious and I usually pair them with Brush Fire sauce and add texas toast. If I'm not ordering the ribs, I'm usually ordering of the More Cowbell sandwich. You can't go wrong with brisket, provolone cheese, grilled onions & peppers all on their texas toast. Last week, I couldn't make up my mind and ordered both. The price of the ribs aren't too bad, especially if you come on Tuesdays for Rib Bone Tuesdays. Ribs are $1.35 per bone. Also, note that this review is about the meat only. Besides their hush puppies and brunswick stew, I am not a big fan of their sides. read more

The brisket was so dry that it was inedible. No amount of sauce could resurrect this poor meat. The worst part is that the person cutting this meat knew that it was like shoe leather. Better to throw it away than to get a bad review. For $20 per pound, give me a good brisket. read more

The bbq is amazing but I went back for the roasted Brussels sprouts. They have a lot of good beer on tap. Perfect lunch spot.

So let me start by saying this may not be their fault.... but my son got violently ill after eating here. He threw up for 6 straight hours within 2 hours of eating their pork. He was the only one of us who had the pork. Since he doesn't eat pork much (except bacon) it may have just been his stomach unaccustomed to digesting pork. But since he has only thrown up twice in 14 years I don't think so. We won't risk it again! Too bad, cuz the rest of the food and the service was good. read more

It's good but I hear Prime BBQ is better. We'll see come Friday. Cobbler is just ok, I always get more breading that fruit. Potato salad is really good. Beans good, corn pudding good, green beans good. read more

Good food, fast. Collards and okra are delicious here. Variety of bbq sauces so you can dress your meat your way.

My favorite to order is the beef brisket and bbq half chicken, and their original sauce which is vinegar based is my go to sauce. The fries is good too. read more

My first time eating here and it was delicious. The collard greens were amazing, and the other sides too. read more

City Barbeque - Chicken, ribs, collard greens...mmm! - Barbeque Near Me - Cary, North Carolina

I was visiting the area and saw City Bar-B-Que. stopped in and really enjoyed the brisket, pulled chicken, and green beans. The sauce was ok, definitely not the best I ever had, but ok. Glad I stopped in and will go back when I am in the area. read more

Totally botched our Uber eats order with missing items and didn't send bbq sauce at all. When we called about it, they were uncaring and weren't worried how that impacted our night. read more

The smoke chicken leg and thigh is what I usually order. It's better if you get 2 sides for the special price. Their smoke chicken is smoked to perfection because it is not dry like other places. The chicken meat falls off the bone. The green beans cooked with bacon is the side item you should try. The corn pudding is the best here and I have never tasted anything like it before. I can never finish my food and there are boxes for you to take food home. The staff and manager is very nice and friendly. The manager checked up on us and asked if we need anything to please don't hesitate to ask. That is very great customer service. The brisket smells really good and it's another recommendation you should try! read more

See all

Excellent meal, all meats were cooked perfectly and the sides were all top notch. The judges sampler included brisket, ribs, chicken, Texas toast and pulled pork. It was enough for 2. Kids got brisket sandwich and a extra 1/4 lb of brisket, both high marks. We got 2 sides with it cole slaw and Mac and cheese. Highly recommended, nice family friendly vibe and they had an excellent local IPA too! read more

I wish they cared about customer satisfaction. Placed a $60 order through Door Dash ($85 with fees and tip) and the Decatur, Georgia restaurant left out the BBQ sauce, which is kind of big deal when ordering 3+ lbs of BBQ. Door Dash is of course no help, but I emailed the restaurant directly, expecting at least a cursory, "sorry about that" and 24+ hours later nothing from them. We still have 2 lbs of BBQ so if they'd sent some sauce or something they could easily have salvaged this experience, but again they must not feel customer satisfaction is any more important than supplying BBQ sauce...I've eaten there many times and would still be a regular if they had made even the most basic attempt to rectify the situation...if we had not had some supermarket sauce it would have pretty much ruined our dinner. ---edit--- They did reach out and make this right, thankfully, because they have great barbeque and it was just a shame we weren't able to enjoy it because of a mistake that they have reached out and corrected. Changed the rating to reflect that. Thanks again for taking care of this. read more

So, I've been to this location and the one in North Raleigh, and while I prefer this one because it's a bit more established, they are both pretty solid. Dog friendly area outside (thank you!) is actually more like dog-welcoming as they brought us extra water for him just because someone inside noticed The food is good the prices are reasonable and the people are friendly. It's a win! read more

I'm in town for a few days Very good bbq for a restaurant in an common area . Staff was great and the area was clean. The pork was a little dry but all other stuff was great read more

I love City. They've got great barbecue, and their family style meals are a great value. I highly, highly recommend their hot chicken sandwich. read more

Finally made it to Cary to try this restaurant. Ordered half rack of ribs. Ribs were way, way too salty. Won't be going back there a second time. read more

Went to this location for the first time and it was fantastic! I had the bbq beef brisket sandwich, Mac and cheese and potato salad and it was all great. The service was fast and the staff were very friendly. read more

Food: 4.5 Service: 4 Ambience: 4 Date/Time: 11/20/2016 7pm Order: Beef Brisket sandwich, Chicken plate It used to be pretty difficult to find good BBQ... I mean the red sauce stuff, not that vinegar pig stuff we call Carolina "BBQ". Don't get me wrong, Carolina "BBQ" is not bad, but it's not BBQ :-) (I can just feel the steam rising from Carolina "BBQ" fans' collars :-) ). This place definitely puts out a killer beef brisket! And, they offer it up with or without the surrounding BBQ'd fat. You get your choice of original BBQ, Sweet City Sauce (sweet BBQ), Brush Fire (on the hot side), Piedmont Pride (somewhere between BBQ and Carolina vinegar), Mustard BBQ and Swine Wine (V-I-N-E-G-A-R). And, you can get them at the fixin's bar warm, or at the table cold. The half point shy of a perfect 5 for the food was due to the fries, although tasty, needed a little more time in the fryer as they were limp. Other than that, the food was great! The person taking orders was all out helpful and friendly! Being a newbie to the restaurant, he took time to explain everything! Really great front man for the place! There's supposed to be another one coming up in Raleigh on Falls of the Neuse, so looking forward to that! If you really like good BBQ, this is a great place to get it. They offer Carolina pulled pork BBQ as well, so if you're in to that, and it's as good as the real stuff, you're in for a treat! read more

This place is one 9f our "Go-To" bbq joints. We do not like traditional NC bbq which is normally vinegar based which is why we love this place. The BBQ is smoked and they have a variety of sauces that you can add depending on your preference. I really enjoy their Baja Smoked Turkey salad however they did not add it to the menu this year which is disappointing. However I have many other foods I like here so I chose the Special, Street Tacos. My husband got the More Cowbell. The street tacos were very tasty, the bit of jalepeno really gives it a great kick. The mac & cheese is always a favorote as is the collards. The More Cowbell is very filling any my husbands favorite choice with grilled onions and peppers on top. The tea and lemonade make a great Arnold Palmer. Definitely need to try if you never have! Really hope they bring my salad back next summer though!! read more

City Barbeque - More Cowbell with Mac & Cheese & Collards - Barbeque Near Me - Cary, North Carolina

See all

Best BBQ in NC. Staff is fast and helpful. Big portions and real flavor. Desserts are good too. Nice ambiance and decoration. Highly recommend read more

This review is based on a Door Dash order. Ordered ribs, a sandwich, some sides and a dessert. Two items were missing - the sandwich, and the dessert. The ribs were cold, overcooked and tough. It felt like they said "oh, this is a Door Dash order, let's grab this rack of ribs over here that have been sitting around since Tuesday". I tried calling the restaurant, but was unable to get a human on the phone. Either they were crazy busy, or know better than to pick up the phone. Never again. Ever. read more

Enjoyed the beef brisket and smoked turkey. I'm usually not even a fan of turkey, but I'd say that it was as good as the brisket! There were a lot of choices in meats, sides and (table) sauces. I liked the fact I could make my own blend of ice tea-lemonade as well. Food was somewhat on the pricier side for a casual chain, but the service and ambience were terrific. The vinegar slaw was good and I liked my corn pudding (although it was greasy/heavy and a bit on the sugary side). My favorite table sauce was the "swine wine", which was a mix of vinegar and spices; none of the sauces were all that hot, but they were tasty. Both meats were definitely smoked and fairly juicy - just maybe a little dry on the brisket except for the fattier pieces. The sauces upped the flavor. --- Vinegar slaw - very good Gumbo - gloopy and too thick. Not the best flavor and rice didn't absorb any gumbo flavor. Mediocre sausage. Hush puppies - good, but pretty much fried corn bread in a ball shape Pulled pork - quality of meat OK but better elsewhere (e.g., brew n que) read more

City Barbeque - Beef brisket, vinegar slaw and corn pudding - Barbeque Near Me - Cary, North Carolina

First time here, Great spot! Really enjoyed some first class BBQ. Pulled pork was nice and tender, plentiful portions, and the collard greens are to die for! This will become a go to spot for sure! read more

City Barbeque - BBQ on the patio. - Barbeque Near Me - Cary, North Carolina

My friends had food from City BBQ catered for their wedding and everything was amazing. The brisket was fall-apart tender, and each of the four BBQ sauce options provided was unique and delicious. The corn pudding and potato salad were also both great. The staff from City BBQ managing the catering were friendly and professional, and overall, the whole experience was top-notch. I'd definitely want to pay the restaurant a visit in the future for more BBQ. read more

My kind of corn bread... LOVED the slight sweetness and bit of crunch. The brisket was on the dry side but very tender and smoky. Loved the swine wine and the original sauce was very good too. This is a great casual bbq go to place with great ambiance. Parking was easy and service was good. read more

See all

City Barbecue in Garner NC three people in line and it took over 30 minutes to take order. 92 on health rating. buckets on floor dirty counter tops with dried up cole slaw. once order was taken i was first told of SEVERAL items they were out of. unfriendly dry staff. I felt like i was bothering them. horrible horrible horrible experience. been to this city barbecue a couple of times and only one okay experience. Great experince at City Barbecue off Lke Boone Trl. read more

We had City Barbeque catered today at work for lunch. Everything was phenomenal. The BBQ was super juicy, and even though this is probably blasphemous to North Carolinians, but I like my BBQ smothered in BBQ sauce. If you like your's the same way, the brushfire sauce is the way to go. It's not really spicy, just a little tangy. I'm not a huge fan of the coleslaw, as they do theirs grated with a vinegar base, and I prefer country style with a mayonnaise base. Either way, it tasted delicious in the middle of a BBQ sandwich. I haven't had a chance to visit the actual restaurant, but I'm hoping I can dine there soon. read more

City Barbeque - Barbeque Near Me - Cary, North Carolina

Nothing special here and pretty hit or miss. Sometimes it's above par chain BBQ, sometimes it's "why the heck did I just spend this much money?" Ribs - When you get a good batch, they're pretty decent thanks to the sauce selections. When you get a bad batch, they're tough, dry and taste old. Brisket - Sometimes there's flavor, sometimes there's not. Sometimes it's a little dry, sometimes it's not. Never really any smoke ring on it and if you do get some fat, it's not much. Sauce helps. Pulled Pork- Probably the most consistent of their meats, but still fluctuates a bit. When it's good, it's really good. When it's not, it's edible. Once again, their sauces help. Sides - Same thing. With the exception of the potato salad (which is 5-star quality), the sides can be packed with flavor or bland. Collards are sometimes fibrous, sometimes melt-in-your-mouth. Mac n cheese is pretty good. Texas Toast and cornbread are typically spot on. I could go on with each item I've eaten from here (had most of the menu - chicken is a real standout) but you get the picture. If this place was consistent, it'd be a four or five star review for sure (maybe not 5 because it's a little pricey). But in a pinch for BBQ (especially delivery), it'll do. Meh. read more