I used DoorDash to order the Mother Load three days in advance of Christmas Eve for my 81 year old mother to be delivered at noon on the 24th. The driver never showed. DoorDash kept pushing the delivery time back and then I get an SMS saying that my order has been cancelled. I called City BBQ and was told on their recorded line that they had an overwhelming number of orders. I got the idea that the restaurant was overburdened and not going to be able to deliver. Door Dash has different tiers of service for restaurants including one plan that immediately notifies the restaurant of a pending order like mine so they can plan ahead for the load. But their normal tier of service notifies the restaurant only an hour and a half before the pickup so the restaurant cannot plan ahead. I wonder which one City Barbecue has. Because they sure didn't plan for me. Very unhappy customer. read more

Easy peasy with a quick pick up! We are Northerners so sure we'd be considered connoisseurs but tasted great and was reasonable in price!

The food is horrible I got the sandwich and it was dry af, I almost choked on it! I wasted $13 on that mess

In town for one day on a Sunday, looking for "local" Eastern NC BBQ. Well, I found this chain instead. Nothing was terrible (or bad), but nothing was exceptional. It was very average. This is chopped, while hog BBQ, so you have to weed through the fat and skin. The flavor of the meat was good. It was smoky and tender. The sauces were good too. The vinegar sauce was a little sweeter and thicker than I'm accustomed too. The cornbread was good too. The Cole slaw was average creamy slaw. The hush puppies were decent but nothing special. Service was great. Very courteous and helpful ordering process on the phone, and the staff was welcoming and helpful on pickup. Given that it was Sunday, I knew my options would be limited. Next time I'm in town I'll make sure BBQ day isn't a Sunday so I can hit up something a bit more local and authentic. I wouldn't recommend against City Barbecue, but would say that if you're looking for legit Eastern NC BBQ, try some other places. read more

Food was delicious and hot. I did take-out not dine-in, service up front was great. I'd definitely come back.

First impressions and Covid: Concept and menu reminiscent of another quick serve bbq restaurant we have been to. They do a great job at spacing tables at a safe distance and have sanitizer stations at the front counter as well as outside. They also have plexiglass at the front counter to create separation between the customers and staff. Masks are required to be worn at all times (both guests and staff) unless seated at your table. You are required to get a clean cup each time you want a refill which I really appreciated. Service: All staff were very friendly and while you don't have a server per se, they do a good job of checking on you once they have delivered food to another table. Food: We both did a pick 2 meat and our meat choices are below. Brisket - Very disappointed with the brisket as it was extremely dry and no amount of bbq helped it to be edible. Pulled Pork - You receive a nice serving size and the serving I had was a mixture of dry and moist. It lacked that smoked flavor (to me at least) that you expect from a bbq joint but overall it was okay. Ribs - The ribs were very moist and tender with a good amount of meat on the bone. They weren't fall of the bone tender but at least they weren't chewy and dry. Corn pudding - The corn pudding is both sweet and savory and was the perfect side dish to compliment the ribs. Mac n cheese - The mac n cheese was very creamy. It was good but not the best I've had. Final thoughts: Would we return here next time we are in town visiting? Probably not. It definitely wasn't memorable. I will give the staff credit though in making things right. I shared with them that the brisket was not edible and they were very apologetic and replaced it with additional ribs. This was not something they had to do as they could have easily said too bad, so sad but they went above and beyond. My husband also spoke to someone (wish I would have gotten a name) but he was very disappointed that we didn't have a good meal due to the brisket and brought us some that he carved for us. This is the kind of customer service that bumps the rating from a 3 to a 4. read more

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The location has the right looks, the right smell. I had high hopes for the barbecue there. But we were disappointed with the food. The pork ribs were not smoked but instead cooked on the smoker as they probably want to speed up the process. Same thing with the chicken. And the chicken was bland possibly due to them adding little or no seasoning or marinating in advance. Brisket and pulled pork were unremarkable. The barbecue sauces saved the day by adding the flavor the food was lacking. I can get much better barbecue in Florida. Good news is that these issues are easy to fix if they want to. And they should if they want more customers. read more

Hubby and I went yesterday for lunch. It has really changed in the past few years. I always get the salad, it no longer comes with nuts and cranberries which really elevated it. I think the nuts were spiced pecans. So for $8.99 I got spring lettuce, unripe tomatoes, parmesan cheese and cucumber. I asked for chicken tenders with it. I used to get 3 big ones on the side. Big, fat juicy ones. Instead on my salad 1 cold, small, flat burnt piece of fried chicken. I ordered hushpuppies, they forgot them and then they arrived cold. They replaced them with hot burnt ones. Hubbies ribs arrived cold. They replaced them and they were good. His sides were good, tea and lemonade were great. In my opinion they focus more on their brisk to go business than customers eating in the store. And they have lost some of the extra touches that made their menu special. read more

Went close to closing and that's never a good idea, but I tried it anyway. No pulled chicken which is what I was going to get. Ended up getting tenders, fries, potato salad, greens. Tenders were ok, little over cooked, fries were bland no salt or paper, greens lacked flavor, potato salad was good. Texas toast taste like regular ole bread. Nice staff, clean as well. read more

It doesn't matter if you order 2 things or 10 they always forget to put something you order and payed for! In the bag, after numerous times I think I will take my business elsewhere, the food quality had gone down quite a bite as well read more

Lazy Saturday afternoon...of course I don't want to cook so I ordered food from City Barbeque. I am never disappointed when I get food from this restaurant...the ribs..the pulled pork..the brisket..the chicken..the cornbread..the baked beans..the mac and cheese...so good! I will recommend this bbq spot to anyone that may ask about a good place to eat. Overall the brisket is my favorite! read more

Placed an online order for two family meals and 1/2 bird. My son picked up the order. Missing 1/2 bird, missing Texas toast, no BBQ sauce was given at all. We used our own BBQ per picture. Pulled chicken nasty it was covered in a white creamy sauce unadable. Beach cobbler has only two slices of beach and is extremely dry see picture When called the manager their attitude was nonchalant. Never again. read more

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I hate how much I like this place. I know it's like the McDonald's of BBQ. But I don't care.. It's delicious and I can't get enough of it. I don't care about the ambiance at this place.. I go into my own world when I'm eating at CityBBQ. Please don't be skimpy with the brisket in the baked beans guys! LeAnn, I'm a rewards member. But I don't really see any benefits of it for the consumer. We only get a $5 reward for spending $100. And I very rarely ever see any "exclusive offers" in the app. Right now my screen says "NO OFFERS" and it's been like that for a while. read more

The brisket was dry, the pulled pork was very fatty, the pulled chicken tasted weird and no bbq sauce was given even though we asked for it. The prices keep going up but the portions are getting smaller. The cornbread that I loved was dry and has shrunk! We will be finding a different place for our bbq. One shining part were the sides . We had beans and potato salad. I was dissatisfied that they didn't have coleslaw . read more

Great bbq and brisket! Our new favorite bbq in Wilmington! Sides are good and service is quick!

I ordered from City Barbecue for the Super Bowl. Everything was delicious and the order was ready on time and delivered to our car. The website wasn't working and they left out the plates and utensils. read more

You know it's great when your son drinks the original sauce!

Food is good. Service is atrocious. Never picked up my order less than 20 minutes after they said it would be ready. Disorganized and unapologetic Go to Danny's read more

City Barbeque should be one of your restaurant destinations if you are in the Cary area. My Family and I stopped by here and were amazed at the incredible value of everything. I ordered the City Sampler with Vinegar Slaw and Green Beans with Bacon. I assumed that this entree could feed 2 but it in my opinion it could feed 3. At the price point and quality of the Barbeque (I've had plenty of Texas Barbeque and this place easily compares), you're in for a treat. All of the meats were smoked to perfection. Nothing was dry and everything was so tender and full of flavor. We had an assortment of BBQ sauces but I'd personally recommend the 'Swine Wine' to get the Eastern Carolina Barbeque experience. A little spice and plenty of tang from the vinegar base. Service was super friendly and we got our food in no time. They also have great take out boxes if you find yourself getting full! Stop by here if you're in the area, guaranteed you won't be disappointed. read more

City Barbeque - City Sampler with 2 Individual Sides and plenty of BBQ Sauce! - Barbeque Near Me - Cary, North Carolina

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Great BBQ! I love the service as well as the food. Very laid back atmosphere. Great food in restaurant as well as to go.

Decent meal, but I'll break it down: The employees were very nice, patient, and helpful. The would-get-again: -Sausage was great -Turkey was surprisingly good and had a good smoked flavor (not a huge turkey person generally) -Lemonade was excellent -Coleslaw was good (could have been a touch sweeter for my tastes) -Most of their BBQ sauces were great (and you can ask to try them all) -Husband said the garlic bread was good The meh: -Brisket was just okay -Same with the mac and cheese (looked better than it tasted) No: -Green beans were not good and had way too much black pepper -Corn casserole (we asked for a sample of it) was dry and overcooked -Pulled pork was horrendously dry and flavorless read more

City Barbeque - City Sampler with 2 Pint Sides + a side of Green Beans with Bacon - Barbeque Near Me - Cary, North Carolina

I'll start the review off with I'll definitely come back! The customer service was amazing and I felt like I was home (not to mention the food was sooo good). My brother hadn't been here before so they let us sample some of the delicious smoked meats. The cashier, I forgot his name, was so friendly and even gave my brother a free drink since it was his first time. We ended up splitting the city sampler. Since they were out of turkey, we able to replace it with ribs and no up charge #winning. The sampler was sooo good with the rib and pulled park being my favorite (I'm a pork girl). As far as the sides, I tried the mac and cheese which was ok and potato salad. They have the BEST potato salad!! The potatoe salad is simple but so flavorful! read more

City Barbeque - City sampler with ribs instead of Turkey - Barbeque Near Me - Cary, North Carolina

I ordered the brisket. It was very dry. Tasted like it was smoked the day before. It was 11:10 am. For service, they were very focused on completing their delivery service orders rather than taking care of the customers physically eating at the establishment. read more

We placed an order online at noon for 30 people to be picked up at 7pm. Upon arrival our order was not ready and we were told they were out of stock in food we placed . We were never called to be told that our massive order could not be completed. So we had to find another place to eat for a large party last minute. read more

Birthday BBQ request from my teen! Before going, I checked out the menu and enrolled in their rewards program. Party of 5 so we opted for the Judge sampler with two pints (Mac n cheese & potato salad) plus fries. We were the only dine in customers and they had lots of to go orders. The platter was enough for us! Meal comes with a quarter chicken, half slab of ribs, pulled pork, beef brisket, two sides, two pieces of cornbread, and Texas toast. I liked the chicken and the brisket. We also tried a few of their sauces- my favorite was the sweet city. I'm a sucker for corn bread but the bread was too dry for me. I was excited to try the mac n cheese but it was cold and not flavorful. Overall - I think the bbq flavor was great. I would encourage the staff to ask if the guest is a member of their rewards- they didn't ask and I forgot I had enrolled. Luckily I kept my receipt and added my points manually. read more

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City BBQ makes it right! So after my last review, someone issues me 20$ to my acct. For the mistakes. I have to say. This is an upstanding way for this business to get people to return. We did yesterday, for lunch. Because there was a long line, I sat at a table and ordered to go, pick up inside. It worked fantastic. Just as the line was starting to shorten, we got our food. We were there about 1:00 pm. Many service companies were coming by to eat. Like 5 trucks from Michael & son. And more just like them. Our food was perfect. We were able to get our own drinks, Sauces etc. We did notice they put plastic utensils and napkin, salt&pepper in our sack. Way to go. read more

Get the baked beans!!! Not for the vegetarians in your crew but we don't go there for our vegetarians!

I frequent city barbeque throughout the triangle and this is by far the best one. They always make sure I feel welcome, and my plate is full. I am always walking away feeling like I got more for my money. read more

In town on business from Texas and being a true southerner we look for bbq. City Bbq was the closest to my meeting location in Cary so I decided to try it out. Being from Texas we are true connoisseurs of bbq so I'll say I didn't go in with high expectation. To my surprise the brisket was moist and the texture and pull was just right, it was just lacking that good bark and fell short in the smokiness dept. There were lots of choices for sauces but I had to try the brush fire sauce that paid homage to Texas bbq, it had good flavor, almost enough heat, but was a tad too sweet for me. The atmosphere and service were great, so overall I would say this chain restaurant was good and hit the spot. read more

I ordered the smoked chicken salad. Everything was fresh, the chicken was most & had a good smokey taste. I asked for some sauce & was given a few to try. As a person who loves sauce & being from out of town, that was cool to be able to taste a few of the sauces. 5 stars for the customer service, which I feel a lot of places are lacking these days. read more

Came by because of the good reviews. We got take out so maybe that may have impacted the quality. We got pulled pork, brisket, sausage, and turkey with few sides. The bbq smoke flavor was lacking in all the meats. The pulled pork doesn't seem to be whole hog style and was dry. Everything was too salty. The potato salad is more a mashed potato salad rather than intact pieces of potato. The peach cobbler tasted wrong. The cobbler texture was very bready and the cobbler was too oily. The recommended item here is the banana pudding but not the best that I have had. read more

We are all entitled to our own opinions, right? Well... here is mines: Parking: 5 Location: 5 Customer Service: 5 Facility décor/cleanliness: 5 Freaking LOVE City BBQ! I believe its a step above the rest in the area. The food seems so authentic and real. Almost as if the veggies and meats are fresh daily. This location has 5 stars for everything. A little busy but its worth the wait! read more

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Ordered for curb side takeout. Got there at the scheduled time. Waited over 30 minutes. Finally went in. Found the one competent worker who was able to find my food. Got home. Food was cold, and half the order was missing. Not the first time this has happened. Don't go here. read more

While visiting Wendell NC, we tried City Barbecue for takeout. This was the first time trying this chain and I have to say, it was really good and the staff was such a pleasure! Highly recommend the brisket sandwich and Mac & Cheese side ... both were simply outstanding! I don't know if I will be back to Wendell anytime soon, but if I were local ... I would be a regular. read more

I just visited the Cary location, ordered the Carolina Goldmine. It's BBQ pork with a sausage and pickles. This was the most flavorful sandwich I've ever eaten. My wife got a pork sandwich with coleslaw and it was delicious. They have a great and varied menu, always something to satisfy your hunger. read more

We were in town for a baseball tournament and came to City BBQ. We are big Bbq lovers. Everything we had was amazing. I loved the brisket, corn bread, corn pudding and ribs. I highly recommend this place. read more

I'm in love with their brisket taqos. This location is always so busy, so I recommend to-go. Also, highly commend their management who is so patient and kind even when they are completely slammed with a 45min wait for hungry patrons! read more

Amazing!!! I just went yesterday and already am wanting that for dinner again! I got the brisket sandwich .. the meat was fall a part tender. I added malt vinegar to mine and one of their other toppings. The sides were all amazing! Best potato salad I've ever had. I wish their entrees came with sides - they do not. Unless you're buying a party pack or family meal. Employees were nice. Interior was clean. Love, love, love! Last but not least - be prepared to wait, long line the whole time visited. read more

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Possibly the worst BBQ experience we've had anywhere. We decided to stop by on our way home from the USA Baseball training complex after a long day, craving some fine NC-BBQ and this place was on the way and had good reviews. Unfortunately, our entire experience from ordering to the food was terrible. Let me preface this by saying we dined in on a Thursday at 5:40pm which we thought would be prime dinner time and there was barely a person in the joint. This should have been our first sign to leave. I've never been to a truly good BBQ restaurant that didn't have a significant wait. And most of the times it's worth it. The girl who took our order either couldn't be bothered to answer our questions, or didn't know enough about the restaurant's menu to be helpful. Being our first time here, we asked if we could order just a single sausage link in addition to the two combos we were ordering. We were greeted with a blank stare and no answer. We tried asking again. Same. This should have been our second sign to leave. We then took another route and asked if we could order the sausage sandwich without bread since we weren't successful in communicating to her that we wanted to order a single sausage as a side to our meal. Finally, she seemed to get it and we finished our order. Suspiciously, our food was ready in less than 5 minutes. Another bad sign in my opinion for a BBQ place that isn't set up for dealing large quantities of meat. When we picked up the order, one of our combos (which we order two identical combos of previously) wasn't what we ordered. It wasn't confused with another guest, the girl with the blank stare simply messed it up. It happens so we shrugged it off. The one bright spot of our visit was the friendly lady expediting orders who apologized profusely and helped correct the order. We brought the food back to our table and I could tell right away that the food wasn't right. It was absolutely freezing in the restaurant (actually a high note since it was hot outside) yet there was not a single bit of steam coming off the supposedly warm food in a very cold place. As it turns out, the only thing warm on it plates was the texas toast which clearly had to be grilled on the spot. Everything else was lukewarm or colder. The baked beans tasted like they just came out of the refrigerator. The brisket and pork were both lukewarm, as was the sausage link. We decided to ask for our money back because at this point appetite was completely lost. The manager or person in charge could not have been any less accommodating. He was openly in disbelief that we would not be happy and was entirely dismissive of our concerns. Moreover, he was clearly and overtly suspicious of us, as if we flew 3,000 miles across the country to represent his region with USA Baseball just to scam this place. He came out to speak with us to feign an apology and make excuses that this "never happens" (well it did, to us, and he clearly didn't care) but it was also clear that he was much more interested in evaluating how much we had actually eaten, which a) shouldn't have mattered and b) was everything we ordered minus 1-2 bites from each item, all we cared to experience from this place. To add insult to injury, he was SO cheap that he refused to refund the entire order and made us pay for the drinks which we had just filled once because "their errors didn't influence the drink machine" and that the drinks should have been fine for us. I've never in my life even heard of this. I mean, I didn't actually have a problem paying for them but it really was the principle of the matter and just a clear snapshot of the type of establishment this is. I guess they really need to make those margins on a $3 fountain drink. Seriously?!? All in all, a terrible experience. Would give ZERO stars if possible. Maybe if you didn't know any better this food would be fine, but if you've had even slightly good BBQ elsewhere you will likely be disappointed. read more

Best brisket sandwich ever. So tender, melts in your mouth. And large portions. Plenty of sauces to choose from.