Traveling through Venice today and we stumbled upon Darrell's restaurant... so happy we did. I ordered the pullled pork sandwich dry. There were three sauces on the table to choose from a spicy, a sweet, and vinegar based. I opted for the vinegar base, very good. Portion sizes were huge and the barbecue itself was fantastic, nice smoky flavor. read more

Place was my least favorite BBQ I've been to in years. Service was horrible! Brisket came out dry and tough. I will not be back and encourage a different place if you want decent BBQ, this was sub-standard! read more

Even better than Phil's BBQ in San Diego. If they had trivia, it would be my favorite restaurant. Pulled pork, brisket, bbq chicken, and bbq ribs were EXCELLENT. Grits and sweet potato fries = fantastic! We'll definitely be back! read more

One of the best chicken and cornbread I've had in a long time! And they don't give you shit for not wearing a face mask!!!!!

First of all, Darrell is a warm and genuine people-person who cares deeply about the quality of your experience at Darrell's. His name is on the door for a reason: he's earned it. From the moment you walk in his door, you are treated like a member of the family - and it has been that way since the very first time I visited and met Darrell at his old location in 2013. Now he has relocated to the other side of the bridge, and is on the Island. I went there for the first time the other night, and I was not surprised: Same warm feeling, great food, exceptional service and, if he happens to be there - which is most of the time, same big smile. Thank you, Darrell! Do yourself a favor, and give Darrell's a try - I know you will be glad you did. read more

If you're looking for great BBQ, look no further! The BBQ is fantastic asking with their other foods. The fried green beans are one of my favorite appetizers! Delicious! Their pig wings are so juicy and meaty! Brisket is a no brainer. Had it as part of their loaded baked potatoe and was impressed! Haven't tried the ribs yet, but plan on it soon. The corn bread is actuality my favorite out of it all. Best I've had!! The process are a little high, but are in line with some other area BBQs, so that's the only semi negative thing I can say about it. Very roomy inside and wait staff has been very friendly on my visits (4). Can't wait to try the rest of the menu! read more

Coming from the Put family we received a very kind and generous greeting from the owner of Darrell's when delivering our food. Everyone was satisfied and the food tasted amazing. We got salads, mashed potato with gravy, mac & cheese, and two varieties of meat. They did not disappoint us at all and we easily fed a large crowd of people. It was very straight forward with nothing to worry about. For Darrell's wholesome hard work, everyone enjoyed a nice and peaceful meal. Thank you for your service! read more

Awesome BBQ! If you like BBQ you have to give this place a try. Great family owned restaurant!

Darrell and his staff are amazing! Their food is always phenomenal, the restaurant is beautiful and reminds me of being back home. The fact that Darrell personally greets every customer when he's there just puts it over the top! You guys rock read more

Thought that all of the positive reviews were absolutely right! Great wait staff, fantastic sauces and melt away n your mouth BBQ. One Hungry Heifer platter fed 3 of us with leftovers. We will be back. read more

Darrell's Restaurant - Southern Near Me - Venice, Florida

Excellent food and great service!!! We enjoy the owners as well!!! Great people and great place to be!!! Thank you, Darrell, for always making our experience a great one!!!! We always enjoy going there. Both Darrell and Lisa (the owners) have always been good too us and the service is impeccable. read more

Went here for lunch on a quick trip up to Oscar Sherer state park. Service was excellent. Mocha took care of me and was very attentive with other customers as well. Gina greeted me and got me a coke and a smile. Food was great especially the chicken dumpling soup. Thanks for a great lunch y'all. read more

Great spot for yummy bbq. Wish we could remember our server's name 2 nights ago because he was awesome.

the best food is delicious service is great I recommend DARRELL's

Fast service, good food, spot-on sweet potato fries! We had our starter (fried pickles), and as soon as we finished, our entrees were placed in front of us. Just a shame that we were too full to try a dessert! read more

Great food, amazing staff. Highly recommend stopping in. You will be glad you did. They also have a room for bigger parties.

Great crab cakes, they use real crabmeat and serve them on fried green tomatoes. so good! Their side are also excellent- had the fried okra & collard greens, every thing was so tasty. My husband had their special of the day - the chicken pot pie. He also enjoyed his dish. You also get their choice of cornbread or biscuit, we opted for the CB, which was like having cake. Too bad we didn't have room for their homemade deserts. read more

Stopped in for supper and was treated to the best BBQ meal ever. I have to admit it's better than mine .....I've been smoking BBQ for almost 20 years and it's the first restaurant that puts out better food than me. Our server Steve was top notch, was very knowledgeable with the menu and his recommendations on the Down the Keys Mac and Cheese as well as the smoked meatloaf were spot on. Clearly Darrell's knows how to do high end top quality BBQ!! read more

This is the second year that Darrell's has handled our annual family gathering and we all enjoyed the results. Darrell takes care of the ordering and he is right on the mark as to how much we needed. Food hot and delicious and the favorite at our house is the pulled pork with Carolina Sauce, we also love the macaroni and cheese and collard greens. Attention to detail was noticeable with follow up after event. Will come back again for the family visit but will continue to enjoy just for the two of us. Thank you again Darrell, well done! read more

Darrells BBQ catered one of our events this past weekend. First off, the food was INCREDIBLE! Darrell showed up and did not only what he said he would accomplish but SO MUCH MORE! Every guest at our event raved not only about the food but the kindness of the catering company. I really don't have words to express how wonderful it was working with Darrells Restaurant - it was beyond a perfect experience from beginning to end! Darrell you made our event, we honestly mean that. Thank you so much! read more

This place is the real deal. The food is fresh made from scratch and amazing. I had pork rinds, okra, the Andy Dandy (beef brisket and pulled pork) and Mac and Cheese. The sweet peach tea was perfect. This was my second time ever eating pork rinds. The first time was from a bag, I was unimpressed and only ate one. These were fresh, hot, and delicious. The okra came with this amazing sweet chili sauce which the kids licked out of the cup. The pulled pork was ok. (There was nothing wrong with it, but it didn't "wow" me like everything else). The beef brisket was tender and almost didn't need BBQ sauce. The mac and cheese was amazing. I had stopped ordering mac and cheese from restaurants because it always disappoints. My daughter wanted some, and I'm glad she ordered it. It was divine! You could see the cheese on it, creamy and just the right amount of stringy. Five kinds of cheese and made with love. We topped off the evening by sharing a "Jar of Dirt": Chocolate pudding, Oreo cookies, and gummy worms. Perfect! This is our new favorite place to eat. A real winner. read more

I have literally never had a bad experience at Darrell's - their food is some of the very best in town and their sweet tea is the only legitimate sweet tea I've found since I've lived in Venice. They have an always clean, comfortable dining room, and even though it's always busy, I've never been forced to wait longer than maybe 10 minutes for a table. Try the chicken and waffles! read more

I was really surprised at at how high the ratings were for this restaurant. We went here with a group of 8. The atmosphere was nice, but the food was average, and in my opinion fair for bbq. Chicken and waffles with chicken tenders and not a fried chicken breast was really disappointing, unheard of, and in my opinion its lazy. The cornbread tasted more like a pound cake, it was definitely not made with coarse corn meal. All the meats were dry. The gumbo was very slimy. If you're looking for authentic bbq, this is definitely not the place. read more

We visited here while on vacation and went out of our way to come back before we left town! We had the chicken and waffles, mac and cheese with shrimp and crawfish tails, and pulled pork. Everything was so delicious including the corn bread. In addition, Darrell, the proprietor goes out of his way to make sure you are having a great experience! read more

Micha was an amazing server! The staff really went he extra mile to make sure we had a great experience. We loved the BBQ sauces too!

Fantastic BBQ - among some of the best I've ever had!! We tried this restaurant based on all the great yelp reviews, and we're so happy we did! Food is excellent, slow smoked meats prepared to perfection. We had the "Hungry Heifer" with a sampling of all their BBQ (ribs, chicken, pulled pork and brisket). Everything was AMAZING!! The meats are tender and juicy. Their homemade BBQ sauces are wonderful. We also tried their Fried Chicken - WOW, so yummy, crunchy, and perfectly seasoned. Also had their Mac & Cheese, Collard Greens, and THE BEST Cornbread we've ever had! Also want to mention the staff and owner Darrell are so friendly and welcoming. This is a great restaurant for casual dinners with the family or group parties. We LOVE it here and will be back SOON :) read more

Super good food, excellent service in a very comfortable environment. We got the ribs and chicken and side salad was a good quality with spring mix. Yeungling on tap and super accommodating to my elderly guest read more

We loved this place! Atmosphere is fun and tidy. The piggyback mac and cheese is out of this world. The Andy platter was awesome. Service was spectacular. We will be back very soon. read more

Brisket Sandwich...excellent! Make sure to sample all the sauces as you enjoy! The best Mac & Cheese I have had...Down the Keys Mas & CHEESE is the name. A must stop for locals and visitors alike! read more

Fantastic bbq, and the sides are the best I have ever had. Cornbread, baked beans, this place is a true gem.

Sorry! hate to do this but have been waiting for this place to open for months and eagerly ordered the Ribs. small, dry, flavorless. Clearly this were not smoked at all, I think boiled and then baked? Bar-B-Q mandates smoke!! Staff was good although they stated that they don't take reservations, showed up with a party of 5, they stuck us at a table for four with extra chair while there was a larger table available. l wont be back. read more

Stopped in on a Thursday lunch and blown away. The reviews are spot on. Huge servings, perfectly cooked and excellent staff. Shout out to Micha (even if she is a Cubs fan) who was on top of everything during the busy lunch hour. Between the four of us we had the mac and cheese, chicken livers, pulled pork, fried chicken and brisket. Everything was spot on and we had plenty of leftovers to take with us on our road trip. I highly recommend the cucumber salad too... fresh with the perfect balance of sweet and tart read more

The food was great and the service was good pulled pork sandwich was excellent, chicken was good and the brisket was good overall a great place to eat and good service read more

Just left this establishment, as first time guests, would 100% return! SUCH flavorful made-in-house sauces, tender and juicy meat, and the nachos were KILLLER!! Macaroni left a little to be desired, as did the sweet tea, but these are just my opinion and personal tastes, nothing WRONG with either, just a little bland to me. Service was friendly and fast, and we were informed of the specials which I appreciate! Certainly the best barbecue I've had in the area thus far, and will make the drive from Port Charlotte next time we are craving some hot and fresh barbecue! read more

The service was very good. My wife had the crab cakes with fried green tomatoes and I had a full rack of ribs with collards and fried okra. The crab cakes were nothing special with a lot of cake and what seemed to be canned crab. The collards, fried okra and fried green tomatoes where very good. The ribs didn't seem to be smoked (maybe baked) were moist but very over done to the degree the bones were sooo soft that I had eaten some of them before I noticed it. I picked up a bone and mushed it with very little pressure with my fingers. I think it was a little pricey - $51.00. I don't think we will be back. read more

Cool environment and good food. Service was great, Micha was a fabulous server and super friendly! I had the ribs, fell right off the bone! My son had chicken sandwich which was huge and very tender! Happy hour drinks for $1.50! Sold! Banana pudding dessert special was sooo good, my son licked the spoon! Will be back soon!! read more

Darrell's BBQ is quite good. Average pricing. Prices range from $10-$22 for entrees. Large portions. Seafood entrees offer a reasonable amount for the cost. The new location is spacious. Darrell himself is extremely nice. New location has poor parking, which is a huge downside on busy days (snowbird season and vacation season is always busy). I would recommend for anyone that likes traditional southern BBQ, but with some options of BBQ seafood and other delectable meals. read more

This is my first ever Yelp review and I am writing it because I enjoyed my experience so much at Darrell's Restaurant. I ordered the brisket sandwich with bacon....WOW. The mixture I put on the sandwich of different BBQ sauces was awesome. It was honestly perfect, the meat was cooked perfectly and tasted phenomenal. The fries were delicious and they gave me my fountain soda to go on my way out. The customer service was definitely what other restaurants should strive to achieve...they made sure my friend and I were taken care of and happy. The atmosphere was clean, cozy and rustically chic! I am lucky that my workplace is only a mile away because this is my new go to spot but I have to say even if Darrell's was out of my way, I would still make trek! I hope they have gift certificates because this would make a perfect Christmas or Birthday present for anyone. read more

Visiting Venice for the day and found this place. GLAD WE DID, it was unbelievable from the service to the food. The owner "Darrell" and staff were top notch and made everyone feel like we were at home. We ordered an appetizer, 6 meals and desert........Best BBQ I've had in a long time. I HIGHLY recommend stopping here for a meal!! read more

Oh how I wish every chef that opened a restaurant had even half the passion that Darrell does about food!!!! Don't blink or you'll miss the restaurant sign. It's over powered by the large Mi Pueblo sign...please at all costs skip that place, but that's another review. This is about REAL FOOD! We went there twice this vacation trip and would have been there more had we found it earlier. The place is bright and cheery and clean. We were greeted as soon as we walked in and felt instantly welcomed----not like we were just 2 more tickets walking in. Our first visit we had a nice young man as our server. Very knowledgeable about the menu. He suggested we split the Hungry Heffer...ribs, pulled pork, brisket, bbq chicken corn bread and 2 sides. I got the mac & cheese WOW!!!My husband got the mashed potatoes and gravy...so good all made in house! The corn bread is brought in and it is delish...more like corn cake..yumm. Second visit I got the ribs again...they are so delicious...the house bbq sauces are awesome. LOVED the spicy one!!! Again fantastic, friendly, attentive service. This time we had a lovely lady...so great to talk with her (and I am totally embarrassed I forgot her name!!) She was awesome!! Darrell came over and sat with us and I have to tell you just after a few minutes of speaking with him and hearing his passion and love of food and people I was almost in tears!!! What a breathe of fresh air...loves cooking...loves making people happy with his food---what an awesome combination!!! I cannot say enough about him and wish him and his family the most success!!! We are telling everyone and YOU should not miss stopping in. read more