College Barbecue has great food, low prices, and unbeatable southern charm! Throughout my childhood my dad has taken me to College Barbecue many times, as nothing says Salisbury more than this place. It has a retro theme, which also makes you feel a bit cozy and makes you feel like you belong. If you are a regular, you will see people you know and will build connections with the waiters. It is truly a small family at College Barbecue. Their hotdogs are great, and haven't changed the recipe one bit. They are footlong hot dogs (just so you know), and typically come with crinkle cut fries. Their fries are crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, and always are great quality (not hard). They come lightly seasoned with salt, but there is seasoned salt in the restaurant for you to get up and grab. You know you're in Salisbury when they have a dedicated pitcher for Cheerwine, just like tea and water. If you are coming with the church crowd or are stopping in for Saturday lunch, expect a wait. Even though they have a small parking lot, parking it generally not an issue. They also have a drive-thru if you prefer that instead. read more

TLDR: A true Carolina classic with great barbecue, retro diner vibes, friendly service, and prices that seem frozen in time. College Bar-B-Que in Salisbury, NC is one of those rare places that truly captures the heart and history of Carolina-style barbecue. This spot has been around for what feels like forever, and it's been dear to me since my college days at nearby Catawba College. Back then, my friends and I would come here often for lunch or bring our parents for a comforting Southern meal. It's a place that has something for everyone, and thankfully, it has stayed remarkably true to its roots. The look and feel of College Bar-B-Que haven't changed much in over 20 years, which adds to its charm. The black and white diner-style tile floors, retro booth seating, and cozy dining room make you feel like you've stepped back in time. Even the small quirks, like having to go outside and around the right side of the building to reach the bathrooms, remain the same. I also love that you still get your bill from your server but pay at the register up front--just like the old days. On my recent visit, I ordered the large chopped BBQ tray, which was just $10. I'm convinced that's the same price it was 15 years ago. I also got the chuckwagon sandwich with fries, which is basically a chicken-fried burger. Both were exactly as I remembered them, fantastic. The barbecue was tender and flavorful, the slaw was perfectly tangy, and the hushpuppies, still golf ball-sized, were crisp on the outside and slightly sweet inside. Even at 4 p.m. on a rainy Monday, the place had a steady stream of customers, which says a lot about its reputation and loyal following. Service was as warm and welcoming as ever, filled with that genuine Southern hospitality that makes you feel right at home. College Bar-B-Que isn't just a restaurant; it's a living piece of local history that continues to serve up comfort and nostalgia in every bite. If you ever find yourself passing through Salisbury, do yourself a favor and stop by for a delicious, affordable meal that embodies the best of Carolina barbecue tradition. Five stars from me. read more

College Bar-B-Que - Barbeque Near Me - Salisbury, North Carolina

This is truly a place where "everybody knows your name" I have been here for lunch, but breakfast was simple, southern, good, cheap and quick! Service was amazing, and everything was great! read more

College Bar-B-Que - Barbeque Near Me - Salisbury, North Carolina

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I love a good old fashioned hometown restaurant. Takes me back to the days when I was a teenager and we ate at such places. This place does not disappoint. I had to try two sandwiches. One was a Footlong hotdog all the way. This is becuase I love a good hot dog and wanted to try theirs out and see how good it was. The chili seemed homemade and it was a very good hotdog. The other s sandwich was a chuckwagon sandwich. I haven't had one of these since I was a kid and when I saw it on the menu I knew I had to try it. This sandwich was very good as well. Took me back to my childhood. The atmosphere is great here. And the people were so nice. I will be back to try some of their specialty sandwich's and burgers. Their menu looks exciting! Check out my pictures. read more

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Have been here a few times for breakfast and enjoyed it. Yes, as I read in a few other reviews, it can take a bit longer than some other places, but the food is hot, fresh, and not pre-cooked and sitting under a warming light. The atmosphere is welcoming, the staff is attentive, the food is good, and the prices are very reasonable. read more

Great food. Great service.. Try the home fries and you'll be a believer. Best barbecue in Salisbury/Rowan County and nearby counties! Not to mention the Brunswick stew and potato soup are great read more

Best BBQ anywhere I think. Burgers are great also. Always tasty. My go to for lunch when time permits. read more

My wife and I got breakfast here the morning of Dec 13. I ordered liver mush eggs and grits and my wife got eggs hashbrowns and toast. It was served promptly but that's about all I can say for the service. It's rare to not get much in the way of refills but that's the way it was this morning. It seemed to be a place that tailors to the locals as the coffee and tea seemed to be flowing freely at other tables. It's probably a great place for the locals but out of town guests not so much read more

Met a friend in Salisbury, who suggested this local barbecue restaurant. They have a small dining area, complete with table service. I order the chopped barbecue plate, with fries as a side. Didn't take long for the meal to be brought to the table. I did like that they had a bottle of a peppery vinegar sauce to give a flavor I preferred. Certainly an ample service, and good flavor. read more

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Great food with a good selection, friendly service and affordable prices - old style diner vibe

Walked in to order carryout. Ordered 2 foot long with just chili and ketchup, small fry and large tea without ice. The order was read back and confirmed. I paid at that time with cash, but held off tipping until I got my order. It took nearly 20 minutes to get a carry out and was starting to push on what little time I had to eat. The tea was full of ice. No one ever confirmed or checked with me to see if I needed a refill or my order status. I drove 2 miles to where I needed to be. The chili is so greasy that the buns on both hotdogs were soggy and chili running out of the wrapper. I ate a couple of the fries and could not eat more due to not having a way to heat them up. No ketchup on the hotdogs. No seasoning on the fries. 2 packs of ketchup in the bag with no salt or pepper. I have not been in the restaurant in a year before today. It was just like this a year ago. I hoped it had changed. I should have known better. It's nowhere near what it use to be years ago. It was a waste of $13. read more

Food and atmosphere is great! Amazing bbq and good cold Cheerwine. Best barbecue in Salisbury.

This was a great place to have true NC style Bar B Q. Was visiting family and wanted old style service and food and it didn't disappoint! Staff were friendly and tended to our needs while providing that hometown hospitality! Gotta go visit! read more

Cute little diner and even a little busy on a Thursday at 3 pm so I had high hopes but sadly was disappointed. I got the small plate, which comes with chopped pork, slaw, a bun, and 2 hush puppies. I asked for a side of BBQ sauce which was 70 cents (kind of a lot for some sauce). The portions were big but the taste just wasn't great. The sauce was basically water- no taste and extremely liquid. I know that's the style of NC BBQ but it didn't add any flavor. The pork itself didn't have a smoked flavor. The one shining star of the meal was the hush puppies. Sadly I don't think I'll be returning. read more

College Bar-B-Que - The "sauce" - Barbeque Near Me - Salisbury, North Carolina

Great consistent bar b que! I always get the 1lb chopped with red slaw. Otherwise, I get the large bar b que tray. Breakfast is also great.

Always great food. Breakfast great again this morning. Eggs cooked perfectly. Hash browns crispy on the edges. Coffee good and hot. Great service. read more

College Bar-B-Que - Western omelette - Barbeque Near Me - Salisbury, North Carolina

Slow window service but great BBQ. Definitely worth the wait! Big portions of bbq on the sandwich. Hush puppies are great!

Order the flounder plate and the flounder was salty and burnt. I ordered this before and was great but this day was bad

Thank goodness the beyond horrible server from my last review is no longer here. Like I said in that review, we love the barbeque and footlong hot dogs here and have been eating here for a very long time, so we hoped the terrible server we encountered would no longer be here the next time we went back and that appears to be the case. We have made quite a few visits since then and we have had very good to excellent service since that one bad day, including great service on our visit yesterday 4/2/22. Wife got a footlong hotdog and I a small chopped tray which has a generous amount of smoky, chopped barbeque, Carolina red slaw and comes with hush puppies and a hamburger bun. We even got a chopped half pound of barbeque and slaw to take home for another meal later in the week. We love the food here and with the service we received yesterday, we are already looking forward to our next visit. read more

Nice little place. Take out order and waited for 30 mins for BBQ sandwich and fries. They were busy but to wait this long its ridiculous.... read more

This was a classic Carolina barbecue spot. If you've never had Carolina style barbecue, or for that matter just experience good old down home Carolina hospitality, then this is your place! Had lunch here with my coworkers, one of whom has been coming for about 30 years. I probably went a little bit overboard, especially given the fact that I had a appointment immediately after lunch with Food Lion, but that couldn't stop the kid! I ordered the foot-long hotdog all the way, pimento cheese burger, and the small chopped barbecue plate. Oh yeah, I should've had a cheerwine but instead I stuck with water. Of the three things I tried, I have to say that my favorite was the foot-long hotdog. But the chopped bbq plate and the burger weren't far behind. Definitely a place I would recommend trying out if you are in the area. However, one thing to note. This place is extremely small so if you don't get here early you may have to wait a bit for a table. read more

Went here for breakfast. Went in and chose our seats. We got service right away and the waitress was great. The breakfast pretty good but I enjoy Hendrix breakfast more. The pancakes at Hendrix were better in my opinion. The grits were very good. I wish it was a little more clean there. The blinds at the table were filthy and the coffee mug had scratches all over it. I probably won't go back for breakfast. read more

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First off, I from Ohio, so North Carolina BBQ is a bit different from my usual. That being said, pretty good stuff here. Big fan of the old school finer and you can catch a whiff of the smoke through the joint. First time having NC BBQ and gotta say it was pretty solid. Definitely worth checking out. read more

I am a total Diners and dives type of guy. Yes I love the show on television diners ,and dives. I have eaten barbecue all the way from the midwest from Texas , and Kansas even way down to Miami Florida, and up as far as Pennsylvania when in the military. And even though I'm from the BBQ capital city which is Lexington, North Carolina. This is the gold standard for barbecue in this area.This place has all of the three C's of dinners and dives. Cost effectiveness, Cleanliness, and great Customer service. Most of the people are locals that come in here. They Serve a great breakfast ,and also are known for their hamburgers ,and footlong hot dogs. A lot of people don't know about their awesome hamburger steak ask for the onions ,and peppers, and mushrooms you won't be disappointed. Another secret favorite is the club sandwich here which has ham, and turkey. Jay and his crew have been doing it right since nineteen sixty five. God bless America. read more

I last ate here over 3 decades ago. The well-lit dining area with green and white checkered floor is both a throwback and very comforting. The clientele was noticeably older, locals who knew what they wanted for supper. College BBQ is a True 'Cue Certified restaurant, traditionally cooked. The BBQ is hickory smoked pork shoulders. It is some of the most consistent, finely chopped meat you will find in the Lexington region. There is a hint of smoke and just a little bark in the lean pork. It is just a touch moist, but can readily be doused in BBQ sauce. I had take out and did not sample the house sauce. Texas Pete for me. The meat could not have been more fresh tasting. I had baked beans and red slaw with my meat. The beans were nearly perfect, sweet, smokey without a bitter hint of too much molasses sometimes found in regional baked beans. Just a touch runny, but not unappetizing. The red slaw was fresh, tart with just enough sweetness and finely chopped. Not runny at all. It works perfectly on a sandwich as excess vinegar isn't making the bread soggy. Regular patrons enjoyed a variety of diner fare other than BBQ. The hamburgers looked plump and tasty. The drive-thru was quite busy at 4 pm. Neither staff nor patrons were following CDC health guidelines during the pandemic. BBQ sold by the pound and open on Sunday. Winner, winner BBQ dinner. read more

They have been here in my hometown since 1965, that speaks volumes! They are my favorite bbq place! They still do their own smoking with wood, you can see it stacked out back. So many places around town have gone to gas but not college, they still do it the traditional way and you can tell it. Its worth your time to try it out! Their traditional sandwich has 1/2 pound of meat on it. Nobody else does that. Go right now and check them out, you will be glad you did, they are the best in all of Salisbury. read more

Best BBQ in town , we always get the family meal and it last at least 3 days . Don't like the coleslaw though

The BBQ itself is good but the sauce is disgusting. It's very small. I wanted to sit my service dog on my lap and the waitress insist I place him on the filthy floor. I WILL NEVER BE BACK!!!!!! read more

I have been in Salisbury for 4 years and this restaurant has been a breakfast, lunch and dinner staple for out family. There is always great service and food. read more

Yet another of the really solid Lexington/Salisbury style BBQ restaurants in Salisbury, along with Hendrix, Wink's, Rick's, and Richard's. And like the others this place serves three meals a day, and does a good job with each. The barbecue here is moist, tender, and with some smokiness - they still cook with wood here. The sauce is the seemingly standard Salisbury version of the Lexington type sauce - much the same but with a little more zing. The chop here a bit finer than others in the area, and the barbecue is only lightly sauced out of the kitchen, but more is available, and probably is needed. Slaw and hush puppies are good, but not great. The fries here are pretty good, and the foot long hot dog is very, very, nice. Frankly, I come here more often for the dog than I do the barbecue - the barbecue comes in to play when we're doing a "BBQ Run" where we'll stop at 3 or more restaurants on the same day, splitting a single sandwich at each, sometimes not completely finishing before moving on to the next. We'll do the same with side, if they are really good ones, if not we pass. The Salisbury area BBQ restaurants lend themselves to this kind of pork raid. While not a destination BBQ restaurant (not sure that any in Salisbury are that) but as a point of opportunity place, especially coupled with a good chili dog, this place will do very well. read more

Absolutely amazing!!! Have never ever been here was dead set on Gary's bbq my entire life...... well holy cow College bbq is by far the best bbq I have ever had!!!! read more

Ordered takeout of a BBQ salad and a mesquite chicken salad. The BBQ salad had LOTS of BBQ, but my chicken salad had very small amount of cold hard chicken on it. Lesson learned stick with BBQ. read more

Kinda disappointed in the BBQ here. If you want BBQ in this area, Hendrix is where you need to go.

Generally palatable but uninspired food. Service varies from average/passable to deplorable. Save your tips for servers who actually work and don't just roll their eyes if you have a request. I'm done. Not planning to return. read more

Our review is a 3 1/2, which YELP won't allow. We're from out-of-town where BBQ has a completely different meaning, so we'll try to evaluate from a local perspective. BBQ is only pulled pork. It has some smokiness to it, so it's been cooked on a pit. All cuts are combined together. This is vinegar country, so the sauce and slaw are heavily vinegar-based, and that is the pre-dominant flavor. Potato soup was delicious; generous portions as it only comes in a large bowl. Fabulous hushpuppies. (Thank the Lord, they don't cook theirs with onions!!) Crinkle French fries were fantastic--flavorful but not greasy. Perfectly brewed unsweetened iced tea. Superbly outstanding customer service--from the phone call, which didn't even ring twice before being answered, to walking in the door. Kind, courteous waitstaff, and cooks obviously care about their jobs and the customers read more

College Bar-B-Que - Large BBQ Tray w/ fries and hushpuppies, Bowl of Potato Soup, Chopped Bar-B-Cue Sandwich, sauce, and slaw - Barbeque Near Me - Salisbury, North Carolina

As a Rowan County teenager in the late 60s I spent a lot of time here after football games on Friday nights. My apologies to the patient servers who would wait on a table of teenagers who split an order of French fries! I now live in Charlotte, but visited last week for a family gathering. We were a group of 6, so my brothers got there early to snag a coveted corner booth. Most of us ordered the small tray. Mine was sliced with brown. Hush puppies, bun, red slaw. Goes without saying, Cheerwine. I'll have to say this was about the best BBQ I've ever had. SO much better than I remembered, and the hush puppies were perfection, fresh, hot and crisp, right out of the fryer, only a little onion to sweeten them. I now live in Charlotte, and we have "corporate" BBQ here, Mac's Speed Shop, Midwood Smokehouse, etc. No one comes CLOSE to the good old BBQ joints in Salisbury. Please never never change. Can't wait to come back. PS. We stayed about 2 hours and our fantastic waitress never complained. Still great service! read more

I thought this place was good. The food was pretty on bar with a basic bbq place. The portions were big. I thought that the sauce could have used some more flavor to it. It was small but quaint inside. The service was good and they seemed to know people by name and order which was cool. read more

It's funny reading reviews of College Bar-B-Que from folks who don't quite know N.C. BBQ. Every aspect of College Bar-B-Que upholds Carolina BBQ tradition, including the style of pork, sauces, and hush puppies. Non-Carolinians should know what they're getting into first. That being said, I've grew up in Salisbury and hadn't been to College Bar-B-Que in 15 years. It was exactly how I remembered it and what I expected. My mom just a foot long hot dog and a small fry. I got a small BBQ tray. A few tips: a small fry is plenty for two people. I do recommend the small bbq tray. It's perfectly filling. For the BBQ, there was only Carolina vinegar sauce and Texas Pete on the table - that's normal. I bet they have more stuff behind the bar. But if they don't, that's just how we do it in Carolina. Wait staff is friendly and helpful. The patron crowd was definitely an older group. They've probably been coming here since it opened. Enjoy a taste of real Carolina BBQ. read more

My go to bbq joint whenever we're in Salisbury NC! Go to items: chili cheese fries, cheeseburger all the way, foot long all the way, barbecue sandwich (extra sauce on the side), and of course Cheerwine!! All melt in the mouth five-star delicious!! read more

A solid Lexington style bbq joint. Breakfast, lunch or dinner, they do it well. Their bbq is smoky and flavorful with red slaw on the side and white bread rolls. It is chopped finer than what you might find elsewhere in the area. Sauce is a vinegar base with a bit of spice. Hush puppies are good, but not the best in town. Making up for that are the foot long hot dog and burgers. And fountain cheerwine. Yum. Breakfast may be my favorite meal here. Then again, I love crispy livermush covered in Texas Pete. If you're not from the western piedmont, you may not know what that is. It's similar to scrapple in Pennsylvania, just go ahead and give it a try. Omelets are massive and filled with whatever you'd like them to stuff in there. Hashbrowns are crunchy and similarly large. I like their home fries more, but often feel torn by the choice. You can't beat their price on a two egg breakfast, either. read more