When I visited a friend in Columbus, he asked where I wanted to go for lunch. I let him pick since he lives there and I don't.....my only request was no Applebees! City BBQ was great! The delicious smells hit us before we even headed inside. I ordered up a sandwich sampler which was loaded with delicious meat and sides (including hush puppies....yum!). All of the meat was very tender and tasty. They have a lot of sauces to choose from....a couple of which they keep on warmers at the condiment bar. Oh, and lots of interesting sodas. It's nice to see a variety besides just Pepsi & Coke products. The other great thing about this place is the staff was super cool and friendly. They genuinely seemed happy to be there. One of the servers came around and offered everyone fresh samples of fried pickles. They were surprisingly yummy! I'm afraid that I lived near one of these restaurants I would want to go every week. Not very good for my waistline! I will definitely seek out a City BBQ next time I'm in Cbus! read more

I love BBQ. I have traveled around eating barbeque. My firends and I smoked a whole hog last summer. I smoke various meats frequently. City Barbeque has been able to maintain its quality throughout it expansion. This is commendable as many restaurants experience the opposite. I had lunch on 1-19-11 at the Powell Rd. location. The full rack of ribs was perfect. They did not 'melt' off the bone. They shouldn't ! The brisket here is great as well. I have never had a bad experience at a City Barbeque. The side dishes are also all authentic and delicious. I had green beans and corn pudding. This is the best BBQ you will find in the city. Route 62 BBQ in Johnstown is a close second in my book. read more

last order was really bad. had curbside pickup and no one brought it out. after almost 30 minutes went inside to get it. waitress acted like no big deal. food was cold and meat was dry. they also forgot lemonade drink. whole family thought food was dry and bland. don't think we'll be back! read more

Visited for the first time last night and I was disappointed. The staff were quite friendly, the restaurant was clean but the food was not very good. The macaroni and cheese was bland. The corn pudding was good but the meat wasn't. I ordered the two meat platter with the brisket and pulled pork, my granddaughter ordered the two meat with brisket and ribs. The brisket and pulled pork"s outer "crust" was so salty that it made the meat inedible and the ribs were so tough that you couldn't get the meat off the bones. The bbq sauce was good as was the chicken leg on my grandson's meal. I love a good brisket and was really disappointed in City Barbecue's. read more

I love Barbeque and I love this place! They have wonderful BQ Ribs; pulled pork etc. etc. ... HOT greasy french fries ... seasoned green beans; seasoned turnip greens; many other sides. Much more food on the menu ... this is just manly what I tend to consume there in mass quantities. They have about six different styles of BQ sauce for one to try. The Sweet Sauce is well ... SWEET! The Fire Sauce is nice and HOT also. They even have REAL Southern Sweet Tea ... yeah Mama !!! The ambiance is like an old tavern with ESPN playing on a huge television. read more

This is one of my favorite restaurants in Columbus. Not necessarily this location (we usually eat at Henderson), but had exceptionally kind and friendly service today. Got a pound of brisket, always gotta go with the extra bark, and the bourbon and original bbq sauces. Asked upfront for a bigger container for pickles and onions and the gals upfront gladly gave them to me. Some of my favorite sides here include the greens, baked beans and OMG THE HUSHPUPPIES. If you like BBQ, City won't disappoint. read more

Haven't found any other place in Columbus that serves BBQ as good as them. All of their meat choices are great but if you get the briskly, ask them to cut it from the top as this has the most fat and taste! Corn pudding is almost a desert and the mac and cheese is excellent but my first choice in sides are the green beans. Even though this has become a chain locally, it's still a great place to eat with your family! read more

My husband and I decided we were going to try a new place, and I thought BBQ sounded good. I noticed that City BBQ had pretty good reviews on Yelp so we went. We are from CT and have a favorite BBQ place where we used to live so we had high hopes for City. When we walked in we weren't sure what type of place it was because there wasn't a hostess station and people were seated with their food. We looked around a bit and realized it was like our favorite place back home! You order at a counter and then sit where you like and wait for your order to be called. As you walk up to place your order they have a big cooler type thing in the center with local brew type sodas and bottled beer type drinks you can buy. Above the register is the menu board. We let someone go before us because we didn't look at the menu before we got there. I think both of us ordered our "usual" at our CT favorite to see how City compares. Kevin got a pulled pork sandwich. He wanted to get the combo plate, but it didn't include the pulled pork. I got the "LoLo's pulled pork, but not a sandwich. My favorite BBQ is Carolina style. Probably because I grew up with that and I enjoy vinegar a lot! We also ordered a bunch of sides to try. We got: french fries, baked beans, cole slaw, and hush puppies. We got our cups for fountain drinks and wandered over to the drink bar section. They had dispensers with unsweetened tea, lemonade, and sweet tea. They also had a standard soda fountain too. I got the lemonade and Kevin got the tea. The lemonade was amazing. It tastes like fresh squeezed, so good! So we found a table set our stuff down and went to go find the sauces. There's a condiment bar where you get cups of sauce, packets of ketchup, etc. They had a warming buffet thing with their sauces in it. Kevin got the spicy and I got their signature. Their sauce is pretty sweet, but it was pretty good. I'm not really a fan of BBQ sauce anyway, as I said earlier I prefer vinegar sauce. But for BBQ sauce it was pretty good, just really sweet. They also had a beer 6 pack with other sauces for you to try at the table, which included a vinegar sauce!!!! And it was great! It had a little more spice to it than I'm used to which was really great! SO. Our order was called and it comes on a pizza round pan type thing. Really fun presentation ,I think. Brown paper in in the different paper carton things the sides come in. My pork had a scoop of cole slaw on top of the pulled pork. Kevin's sandwich looked good. He put a bit of the cole slaw that we got as a side on his sandwich. At our place in CT they call that gator style with cole slaw on the sandwich. Anyway, so he put his sauce on his sandwich and was on his way. I had to try a hush puppy first. SOOOO good! Just how I remember them from my childhood going to family reunions in NC. That was an awesome start. Then I took a bite of my pork. I didn't realize you had to dress your meat yourself. I felt pretty dumb. I thought mine already came with the vinegar sauce on it. So I put a healthy helping of the sauce on the meat and it was good stuff. My serving had quite a bit of fat in it, but that's sometimes how pulled pork is. Just pick it out and eat the rest, right? It was good. The cole slaw that came with the Lo Lo was a creamy slaw unlike their side of slaw which is a sweet vinegar slaw. We weren't really a fan of the side of slaw. The creamy slaw was okay, kind of bland. The french fries were really really good. Fresh cut fries, good stuff. The baked beans have brisket in them, they were okay too. A bit too sweet for us. If you like sweet beans you might love them. But we weren't a fan. Two out of four sides were great. And there are a lot more we can try next time. Over all Kevin and I were pleased with City BBQ. We both said it was okay. We still like Chester's in Groton CT better, but this is a good alternative for while we're living out here for sure. We were thinking maybe we'll like the other meat choices better than the pulled pork options the next time we go. We'll definitely be back though. So glad we tried it! read more

City Barbeque - I grabbed a take out menu. I took a picture of the plate I ordered, the Lo Lo's pulled pork. - Barbeque Near Me - Powell, Ohio

Rating City Barbeque is easier than predicting the weather but, like weather predictions, things can go wrong. I feel CBBQ gets it right almost all the time. Powell location was my stop this time (never rated CBBQ before so Powell wins). And it was for lunch. To my friends who are try to lower intake of bread as I try to do, order a 1/2 lbs. sandwich at CBBQ "NAKED". For lunch you get a huge helping of meat and 2 sides. My order was brisket "naked" with bacon/green beans and the vinegar coleslaw. Outta site, my friends. When I sit down there is a dilemma as CBBQ gives you a variety of BBQ sauces. I lean towards the sauce that looks like vinegar and pink who/knows/what. It's spicey hot and not a brown sauce. After that goes on I touch things up with CBBQ original sauce. I couldn't be happier. Of course, one hour later I'm in a food coma at the office but I am satiated. I have to say CBBQ's sour cream potato salad and their mac-n-cheese is very very good. And besides brisket, the pulled pork and smoked turkey meats are tasty treats. Ribs - never had 'em so I can't comment. I think Yay! is a rating I'm confortable giving because I'll be going back to City Barbeque. YAY! read more

Went for curbside. Got there 7 minutes early. Called and they said they'd be out with it in a few minutes. 8pm. Waited until 8:30. Left my child in the car to run in and see if they were busy or something. They weren't. Not even anyone in line. Gave me my order and went back to car. Opened to make sure everything was in there. It wasn't. They said "come on back in and we'll have it ready". I did. They didn't. Said it would be a "few" minutes. After the last 30 "few" minutes waiting. I said forget it. Personally I won't go back as this wasn't the first bad experience I've had there. It would have been different if it had been busy but like I said. Nobody was even in line. Only went Because it was a fund raiser night for a local organization. Will just donate money for sure next time. There's also a reason I do curbside-even before Covid. (Wheelchair users). So it's so nice to not ha e to get out of the car. Will just go to theHe Derain Rd location. They've got their act Together there! Oh and of course food was all cold by the time I got home as it had probably been sitting there half an hour. read more

This place has become consistently slow. The last 3 times I have been there, it has taken a half hour to get a small bulk meat take out order. I realize they are busy, but they need to figure out a better system to handle the large take out orders at the expense of small quick orders. read more

I ordered take out on line at the City Bbq on Powell rd. They had my food ready at my designated time and did a great job with my order. I appreciate how they followed covid guidelines giving an option of pick up curbside or inside. read more

Barbecue is one of my favorite things and while I would much rather make my own. This place provides a good option when I don't have the time and energy to do it myself. The positives - staff at this location is always friendly and even if there is a line, it moves quickly as they are set up well to fill orders quickly. Meats are very good as are the sides. Their strength is in the quality of the meats and the efficient set up for filling orders. It is a great bet for taking food back home to feed the family, or the neighborhood. The negatives- the indoor experience is not great. There is no wait staff and you must order and take your own food and drinks to the table yourself. If you want beer you either need to order a bucket with several on ice or go back through the line if you want to buy more. You are also expected to bus your own table including separating the utensils, plates and trash into separate containers. Not a great experience. For dining out and eating there the experience is not on par with places like Famous Daves. In summary good quality food but beyond that it has an equivalent service experience very much the same as fast food, but at a much higher price point. Order ahead and take I back home is the best bet. read more

I would say this place is the heaven of barbecue but it's not quite there. It's more like the waiting room outside the gates. The barbecue sauce certainly is about the best tasting and with the best aroma I've had. They serve it hot too, which makes a big difference. Though I don't like sweet or spicy barbecue sauce so I can only really comment fairly on the original. I did try the sweet and didn't like it but like I said I don't like sweet barbecue sauce so it's not fair to rate that. They have a good variety of southern style sides. I don't know of any other place that serves southern cooking so that's a plus. This is the first time I've ever been able to try that kind of cuisine. But the mixed greens were spicy. Why would you make greens spicy? Why would you make any vegetable spicy? The fries were fresh cut and perfectly delicious. They rank up there with the fries at Penn Station and 5 Guys. The meats were very good but not excellent. They were a little on the dry side and they didn't have that smoked, charred tasted that barbecue is supposed to have. It just tastes like it was cooked in the oven. For it to truly be barbecue, and to have that taste that we love so much, it's really got to be cooked on a barbecue. This place calls itself barbecue but there's no fire involved at all as far as I can tell. Isn't that a bit like a place calling itself an ice cream shop and then only serving popsicles? Another thing I don't like about this place is the way they serve the food. They put your sides on the tray and leave it sitting there on the counter while they take 10-15 minutes to get your "barbecued" meat out of the oven and cut it fresh. So by the time you get your food, the sides have gone cold. Then you have two choices: eat the meat first and let the sides get even more cold, or eat the cold sides first and let the meat get equally as cold. When I was ordering, the server gave me samples of the different kinds of meat. They were delicious, though still not really barbecued. But when I got my food, it was nothing like the samples. The meat was dry and lukewarm. The samples were fresh and juicy. Is that just a coincidence? I went to a Yelp Elite event at another City Barbecue location last year. I had pulled pork and some ribs. The meats were delicious, smokey and charred the way they should be. Why is this one not serving the same quality food? I will go back to this place, but I am disappointed and underwhelmed. If it was as good as I had expected it to be, I'd probably be a regular. Now I just might stop in when I leave the zoo. read more

Amazing food as always but what made this a not so great experience was them letting people walk in without a mask.

In from out of town. Wanted a quick meal that was tasty enough to tickle my fancy. This did the trick. Very yummy BBQ for a chain. Fun atmosphere with savory meats. If you are unsure what to get ask for a sample. Enjoy. read more

We have enjoyed City BBQ but today was different for sure(Powell). We were on a very tight schedule and would have gone to Plan B but were told, "no problem, we have orders at 1045am all the time". We were delivering to health care workers who begin lunch at 11am, in Delaware. Upon picking up (we arrived at 1040am) we were told "we don't open until 11am". True, but we were told we could pick up early, as we do it "all the time". Well, at 1105am, we walked in and the food for 12 was sitting inside the door- not sure why. "Is this ours?"- yes we were told and off to Delaware we ran. Likely a one time fluke, don't know, but disappointed enough to take time to write a review. We press on... read more

Great place for BBQ in the Columbus area! From pulled pork sandwiches, to ribs, to rotisserie chicken platters, this place has BBQ for everyone! The pulled pork and brisket are two of my personal favorites for entrees. They also have AMAZING side dishes, including their mac & cheese and especially their corn casserole. And let's not forget dessert. This place has the most wonderful fruit cobblers. My only complaint is that they tend to run out of it come dinner time :( Still such a great place to dine! read more

I love it - best BBQ in town - always good Food with great quality for the price. They are great with kids and save room for some ice cream next door! read more

Mmm City Barbeque, I always make it a point to drop in when I'm in Columbus. They have a couple different locations and this was my first time eating at the one in Powell. We don't get good barbeque in Los Angeles, so any time I'm in the middle of the country I need to get my fix. I did one round of brisket and then realized I wasn't full so went ahead and did round 2 with pulled pork. The brisket could've been better this time around, but the pulled pork was pretty good. I'm also a big fan of their beans and took a chance on the tater tots which came out really good. The person I was dining with sprang for the babyback ribs and did not seem very pleased, so I would say try and stick with the brisket and pulled pork. Service is good as always, and being in Ohio, you get that warmth and folky feeling that's non-existent in Los Angeles. I'll be back next time I'm in town! read more

City Barbeque - Beef brisket with beans and green beans with bacon. - Barbeque Near Me - Powell, Ohio

First let me preface this review that my wife is born and raised in Kansas City, and I lived there for several years. Our son was born there, so the roots run deep in world class BBQ. I was skeptical about enjoying this place, because my standards are pretty high. They have delivered. I like the menu, and have tried multiple items. I like the corn pudding, for sure. I love the brisket, sliced meats, pulled pork and ribs. On Tuesdays, they have rib bone Tuesdays. On that day, they sell ribs individually at a discount (something like $1 or $1.15 each). It is really convenient to purchase only as many ribs as you want (5-15, for example). I make this one of my go to places. read more

Went on a Tuesday night, ribs were on special. I had 2 full slabs. As you picked up the ribs the meat came off. The BEST BBQ I have ever had. read more

City Barbeque - Barbeque Near Me - Powell, Ohio

Food cold barbecue sauces heated all empty, layout bad outside eating fair cold sauce in ketchup squeeze bottles!! Restrooms messy and very small! Not good for handicap! Find better near by!! read more

Brisket was decent but had large, grey dry pieces which lowered the overall score. Mac and cheese was edible but undercooked. Collared greens were over salted. Delivery took too long and lowered the food quality. Price was ok. Decent value if you are not too concerned about eating delicious BBQ. read more

Nobody cooks better Brisket than City! I have cooked brisket over and over again and I can't even come close. read more

Food was decent, but over priced. The sides were average- the Mac n cheese tastes like powder, the fries were rubbery and not crispy. The entrees were good though! My husband and I love BBQ and we always try one when we travel, the City Barbeque was average- not something I would go out of my way for. read more

City Barbeque - 2 pulled pork sandwiches, regular fries, and cheesy bacon fries, along with Mac n cheese.comes on one platter with no plates. - Barbeque Near Me - Powell, Ohio

Good service but the ribs. Ribs meat should fall off the bone, this one is so rubbery and dry.

I have never had anything besides the pulled pork, but it's always on point. Highly recommend the corn bread side (corn bread pudding is also pretty good) read more

I preview the comments on Yelp before ever trying a new restaurant and it always boggles my mind when the ratings are either very high or very low for the same location. What's going on? People just have that much difference in taste or no taste at all? Was the restaurant just having a rare bad day? But on previous visits, I had pretty good experiences and would have rated this location pretty highly. So I am answering my own questions by admitting that now I understand. Wednesday night's Door Dash delivery was just awful. It was not the delivery at all which arrived faster than expected and the driver was so nice. It was no fault of theirs which I thought originally. I had just read an article which claimed 25% of food delivery drivers admitted that they have eaten some of peoples' food before arrival. EWWW. But soon it was apparent that City BBQ just didn't care. Here goes: the worst was the side of baked beans, my favorite. The appearance of the container made me gag and led to my first suspicion the delivery guy had gotten into it. A dog getting into it would have eaten more cleanly. No, this was the fault of someone who scooped it, spilled it, pressed the lid down on the container trapping the beans in the rim. I will attach a photo of how it looked when it showed up. There were very little beans because of the spillage plus there was a huge chunk of gristled, fatty pork lying across the entire bottom. They were cold. In fact, the green beans were piping hot and delicious, yet the sweet potatoes, which were also sparse, were cold as well. The flavors were fine. I also ordered sweet tea which was really too strong to drink. And not cold. Usually it's very good. I'm still confused. From my perspective, this location has gone downhill. Or maybe there is just an employee who doesn't want to be there. I went to Old Canal Smokehouse In Chillicothe which is, to me, what I wish City BBQ was. The bbq is picked over and cleaned every morning - no fat, no gristle. Their sides like the coconut onion rings are fresh and awesome. Maybe it wouldn't hurt for the manager to take this crew on a field trip to show what pride in product, workmanship and a little caring can accomplish. read more

I love this location. Have not had any issues with any of my orders, and they have THE best customer service . . . like anywhere, ever.

I just don't think this place is much of a value. The barbecue is mediocre and you don't get a whole lot of food for the price. The cleanliness of this location is also hit-or-miss. They often don't get around to cleaning the tables. I'd take Dickey's Barbecue over this any day. read more

I was planning a nice night with potatoes and ribs, but when I drove to City BBQ, they had a sign on the door that there were no ribs and a few other items. I thought it was a typo, but when walking inside, i found it was true. I would be more understanding if it was 9 or 10pm, however this was a little after 6pm on Friday night. read more

Average at best, corn bread pudding is awesome but ribs are inconsistent and sometimes come out not very good. We make the trip to Ray Rays if we have the time. read more

If you know the best combos the food is affordable. Brisket is almost always delicious but often depends on the chef, Mac n cheese and the beans are also delicious. Mac n cheese is home style with thicker elbow noodles, while the baked beans are sweet with pieces of brisket in it. They offer an extremely decadent chocolate cake, and a serve a wide variety of drinks. Takeout is a great option here. read more

Great simple bbq. Friendly staff, and good atmosphere. I recommend the pulled chicken. It may seem weird, but the flavor is great. The hush puppies are amazing! Not a huge fan of the potato salad. read more

Ribs are good...not as smoked as I would have thought which is actually a nice change of pace. I did not think the pulled pork was all that good. No smokiness at all but it was tender. The baked beans are INCREDIBLE as are the hush puppies and green beans. Mac and cheese sauce is too thin and a bit grainy. BrushFire BBQ sauce is great. read more

Worst food ever. This is the third time here and still horrible. The potato salad tastes freezer burnt!!!! Everything else is just bland. They should close this dump read more

I always love going to city barbecue. I've been to several different ones in different cities in Ohio. This one, however, could use some improvement. The food I would rate as 4 stars as I would rate any City Barbecue but my experience with the staff would be 2. This I average out to be a 3. I felt the staff was rather condescending and there seemed to be problems with lack of stock and ingredients. read more

Delicious and big servings. Pretty much everything is great, but favorites include the beef brisket (ask for "Extra bark"), the smoked turkey, the hush puppies and fries. The latter two items are always made to order so they're deliciously burning hot. The salads are also tasty, if a little pricey. read more

Love this place! This location is one of there best! Friendly and Fast Service. Food is always great! Pulled Pork Sandwich is what I got this past weekend. This place is so good, it is hard to know what to pick on the menu, because it all very good. read more