Went to lunch here after church with our pastors. Had been awhile since we ate here.we all ordered the same thing. Sandwich with 2 sides i should of gotten more photos , but forgot. Tastes really good and the sauces were on point. Staff was friendly, and patient with us when we ordered. Very open seating area, bright lighting. Definietly better than other barbecue spots in the area. read more

See all

went there for dinner last night. The small rib plate was 21.99 plus tax, plus 2.00 tip brought it to right at 25.00. the service was good, place was fairly clean as I was the only customer there at the 5:00pm. The fries were fresh and very good, the baked beans were luke warm. my complaint is about the ribs. I got 3 ribs and you could not pick them up before they fell off the bone. I'm guessing they were held all day in warmer or maybe even leftover from previous day and reheated. They were very greasy and fat. For 25 bucks I would expect a lot mor. I won't be back. Sonny's all you can eat ribs for the same price. read more

Went there for breakfast. Food was fair, service was non-existent, coffee was ok. Paper plates and plastic forks. Place was kind of dirty but could have been worse. Small Styrofoam cup of coffee but no refills, had to ask for cream. Our bill for my wife and I was over 44 dollars. We had no meat. I had French toast and coffee, wife had a cheese omlet and large orange juice. We don't recommend this place for breakfast. read more

This place isn't the same since the new owners took over. The service is the worst and they are completely disorganized. Whatever you do don't go through the drive through. You will be there all day and probably get someone else's order. read more

Placed a large order for breakfast biscuits. The order was ready when I arrived and the service at the register was so helpful. Had an assortment of egg, sausage and cheese biscuits, egg, bacon, and cheese biscuits, and egg and cheese biscuits. They were delicious. I'm headed back there soon just for my wife and me. read more

Cashier/server was pleasant and professional. But this place is no longer David's BBQ. Nothing on the plate looked or tasted the same. Meat was average, sauce was just there. Sides were ready made or canned. Sad for Gainesville restaurant staples. read more

I have eaten at David's 100's of times and never had a bad meal until last night. We go to the drive through and order a large WP sandwich plate, pork no slaw on garlic with beans as both sides and a regular WP small pork sandwich with slaw on garlic with beans as the side. As we sit there waiting I make a comment to my boyfriend that the wait is definitely unusual. When we get home and get everything out to eat I am stunned by the beans! They are dried out and looked like they had been in the bottom of the pan all day. I take a first bite of the small sandwich and spit it out!! The meat, slaw and bread had a terrible taste as did the beans. Hope this isn't going to be the norm from now on. read more

David's BBQ & Catering - Dried beans and small WP sandwich. - Barbeque Near Me - Gainesville, Florida

I have been a regular at David's for many years now. I keep going back because of the Hot BBQ sauce. There is nothing else like it in Gainesville. I have an order I get over and over again, and another order I will go for occasionally. 1. Two Meat Combo: Ribs, Brisket, Brunswick Stew, Collard Greens, and Texas Toast with hot BBQ sauce. 2. Jumbo Brisket Sandwich with cheese, horseradish sauce, and hot BBQ sauce. Those two sauces taste like they are made to go together. read more

Prior to writing this review I called and left a message for the owner to return my call. He has yet to respond. I had the brisket LUNCH plate. It came with a side of beans and coleslaw and a small piece of corn bread. Total with an ice tea $19. No table service. Order and pick up at counter. Paper plates, styrofoam containers for the veggies and plastic utensils. Brisket was a mystery meat. Ate a bite and tossed the rest. Veggies were good. Small portions, but tasty. The bright spot was the ice tea. Will not be back. read more

I ordered on doordash and didn't receive some of the items. I called to inform the manager and he blamed the delivery driver for theft. Which I didn't agree with everybody not a thief just because of your mistake. They took no accountability and directed me straight to DoorDash as if that part wasn't already handled. I called and a few times and the manager pushed me off to one of the younger girls. I think maybe the cashier, she sounded like a little girl but she was more professional than the manager. I already knew nothing would get resolved so I just lectured on the phone for a while just to tick them off lol. yes it worked and they still don't care. Just hope this review helps someone else that gets overlooked just because we order online. read more

Two stars is generous but as it was only my second time coming to Dave's my sample size is small. The pound of pulled pork I ordered was drier than the Sahara desert. It was bland flavorless super dry. It tasted of smoke and nothing else. It needed salt and pepper as the absolute minimum. Probably the worst pulled pork I've ever eaten. The BBQ sauce couldn't even save it because it was so dry and flavorless. Might come back might not. read more

I'm sad to write this, because I used to like davids, but the place has gone downhill. Last time I went was the last straw and I'm not going back. In my group of 6, nobody liked their meal. I got the brisket, and i doubt it was even the right cut of meat. It seemed like someone sliced the beef up and seared it on a pan or something. And then it was extremely chewy. The slices were also very extremely thin (like less than a quarter of an inch). The collared greens were fine, as were the beans, but that's not what I go to a bbq joint for. I hope they pull things together. read more

The best collard greens and mac and cheese!!! My Mom and I get their brisket when I bring her to Gainesville and she never ever passes up the fried okra. Everything is always fresh, and timely. Always delicious. The staff is nice and the service is very good. A friendly hello always accompanies our entry into their establishment. David's BBQ, locally owned and run, was one of our neighborhood restaurants that I made sure to frequent during the pandemic. Wanted to make sure we didn't lose such a treasure in our community. And they are still going strong, turning out excellent BBQ, great Southern sides and the best Sweet Tea you'll ever taste! read more

We used David's to cater and provide decor for our wedding in October 2024 and we could not have asked for a better experience. Bobby was fantastic to work with and he worked tirelessly to accommodate any food or decor needs we had. Nothing at our wedding got more compliments than the food. Our guests commented that it was the best prime rib they had ever had at a wedding, and all of our appetizers were a huge hit. As far as set up and clean up went, Bobby and his team were very efficient. It was such a relief not having to worry about things like setting up decor. Bobby is very thorough and made sure he knew exactly what we wanted during our wedding workshop. From that point on, he just worked his magic and everything turned out just how we imagined! Throughout the whole process he was very accessible and was always quick to answer any of our emails. We could not recommend them enough! read more

Very very good defiantly try this place out it's delicious the food was cooked perfectly

I've been going here for years. Always wonderful food. The ribs are out of sight! So good! The last few weeks, though, I have had the scrambler for breakfast. I am not sure I have seen anything like it before. I've tried it with the canyon cubes, gravy, ham, eggs and grits -- perfect mouthful. As for the veggies, the onion rings are AWESOME! read more

David's has one of the best breakfasts in town. When you factor in the price, it wins easily. My go to is the scrambler with potatoes, eggs over medium, both gravy and cheese, and sausage as the meat. Comes with a drink as well for 7.00. I get the kids the pancake breakfast with bacon to split. Easily feeds them both. I don't have them put margarine on it in the kitchen, because we are butter snobs and prefer the real thing. So, they serve it without and I add the butter to it at the table (they provide the butter packs). The staff is always super friendly as well. I can't say enough good things about how wonderful they are. They help make the dining experience. The patrons are always for whatever reason friendly than other restaurants. I don't know the reason behind this, but the patrons hold open doors, help get high chairs when needed, etc. it's so nice. read more

David's BBQ & Catering - Breakfast scrambler with canyon cubes, sausage, gravy and cheese. - Barbeque Near Me - Gainesville, Florida

Really good food. We tried several meats and sides. The sauces are also very good. The spicy has a nice amount of heat. And great service!

The cookies were okay, just a little overpriced. This is truly real barbecue in the flavor. Very good. But not the absolute best and a little overpriced in my opinion. The ribs could be meatier and softer. Pretty good though! The sides were very great read more

Loved it wish I lived closer I would be eating there several times a week. Great portions, delish food and nice people working there. Doesn't look like much but looks are deceiving. In these times it is hard to get great food at a great price this place made my day. read more

Fantastic BBQ earns a 3-4 Star review. So why a 5-Star? Let me tell you. Start with a 'Welcome' as we walked in the front door. Add a great menu, and friendly help with our questions. Then quick order delivery direct to our table from David - possibly the friendliest, most helpful server I have ever had! 'Do you need more sauce? How many? How about some corn bread? Is two each enough? How about butter? Hard or soft? Extra fries? Absolutely!' The service alone is worth the stop. Add a delicious menu, and you've got David's. Do you & your family/friends a favor. Dine-in at David's. read more

I have been coming here for years. Every local knows about David's bbq. It's still my favorite breakfast spot in town and they definitely do have the best tea. And their bbq is fantastic obviously, Brian hood the owner takes a lot of pride in his food and you can taste it. They do an awesome smoked turkey for thanksgiving and sometimes Brian does his special smoked meatloaf. And they have the best catering in town for prices, quality of food and quantity. They have done a couple of events that I've been at and there has always been tons of food for everyone. Bottom line is if you haven't tried David's bbq then you need too. read more

Good food! Got the bbq pork sandwich and a rib, mulligan stew , onion rings. And potato salad. All spot on. Rib was fabulous and mulligan stew great. Service through the drive thru was quick and friendly. All items ordered were delivered including a pretty good set of bbq sauce All in all it was a good meal. Good as it ever was read more

I really enjoyed their breakfast. I typically get the David scrambler, with eggs scrambled hard, ham, green peppers and onions canyon cubes, no cheese with gravy on the side. It's definitely my go to breakfast. For like $.12 more, I can upgrade to a large drink. I love their sweet tea. Sometimes I get their ham egg and cheese sandwich on white. It's always busy in the morning. The people at the front are good. There's one that works in the morning she's awesome. Has the best customer service. I see her Monday through Friday. She seems very familiar with me. And I'm very familiar with her and prefer to order my stuff through her. I would say that the weekday crowd is the one of the most familiar with and they are very on it when it comes to breakfast. Never had lunch there. I have had dinner once. I prefer their breakfast. read more

I am going to have to quit going to David's. My family and I have been frequent customers for decades, but over the last year or so the service at the NW 39th location drive up has been horrible. First, let me say that I hate Yelp and I despise people who give bad reviews simply out of spite and without any constructive criticism. This is the only Yelp review I have ever posted, as far as I can recall. But I sent an email to David's last year about a sorry experience I had at NW 39th and today was even worse, so obviously the email had no effect. Perhaps a negative Yelp review will stimulate improvement. The intercom you order over is simply horrible. The volume is okay but speech is so garbled I cannot understand what the cashier is saying. I have urged them to fix it every time I go there. Today I placed an order (turkey sandwhich, french fries and tea) over the speaker and in reply heard an unintelligible noise that sounded like a question. I advised the employee that I couldn't understand what he was asking so I would repeat my order, which I did. Again, an unintelligible reply that sounded like a question. I replied that I would repeat my order again because I had no idea what he was saying. I repeated the order and got a short, garbled reply. I pulled up the window and the nice young man sad he couldn't understand what I was saying! Then he said he was trying to confirm that I wanted onion rings. I said No and gave him my order a fourth time. He went away and came back and said that they had made an order of onion rings by mistake and I could have them free if I wanted. I said, yes, thanks. Why not, I could share them with my dog. I got my food and headed home. In the bag I found my sandwich and some really greasy onion rings but the french fries I ordered and paid for were missing. Also, there was no BBQ sauce on my sandwich, although I asked for hot sauce. For that and a small tea I paid almost $15 before the tip. The value is going down as well. This is the same nightmare of confusion and error that I have experienced the last three or four times I have been there over the course of about a year. The intercom is useless, my order is never correct and I always get charged for something I did not receive. I wasn't the only frustrated person in the drive up line today. The drivers of the two cars in front of me got into an argument about something and were insulting each other out their windows. I bet they were upset about the service and it spilled over into an argument with each other! I am done. There are better barbecue places anyway and I won't have to go through the agony that is the drive up service at David's. read more

Husband and his two friends (all seniors) worked all morning picking up debris from storm Debby. Took a break and headed to David's BBQ on 39th ave. Worker served friend a small bowl of beans and dogs (kid plate), he ordered a regular size, put my husbands FF on his plate, he told her he did not order a fry, my husband did, she told him to take fries off his plate and give to my husband, my husband told her no, I want a fresh fry, she said NO, WTH! Friend never got his two sides, charged 41.00 for lunch, husband never got his side, sandwich was pitiful portioned. Now mind you, we grew up here and always frequented this location, moved away for a few years and this place should be shut down! Three times this year dealing with pitiful portions, rude servers and food is no longer eatable. I called the store, left message for Brian and he never returned my call. (Thus reason I waited to post a review), I even emailed them the same day, no response. Where is the owner and why is he/she letting them rip us all off and does not take responsibility for taking our hard earned money and couldn't care less if their customers are happy or not. Lesson learned! read more

Staff was super friendly barbecue was awesome I came in right close to close and they didn't even blink and I took care of me

Overall great place for the value. The sauces are great - the original and hot are the best. We had the sliced turkey which was cooked very well...tender! For sides I had the green beans and collard beans which were made healthy and the way I like it!! The cornbread sealed the deal which was also made southern style! Overall great place for bbq! From the meat quality to the sauces...it's all good. Ambience - 3/5 - basic ambience and service Food- 5/5 great bbq that you would enjoy if you are in the area read more

The food is always really really good and a super decent price. At times the staff can be a little bit cold, but in general the staff are fairly nice and the food is delicious! read more

I would rate David's as just ok. It is definitely a step up from Sonny's, but is not the best in town. I thought the ribs were pretty darn good, and their mustard sauce I would give 4 stars. I did not think their collard greens were that good. Their portions are not as large as some of the other places I have been to around Gainesville. I really do like their breakfasts though, it is worth it to stop by for a breakfast sandwich. The drive-thru is open till 9:30 everyday. read more

David's BBQ & Catering - Barbeque Near Me - Gainesville, Florida

My list of cons from my visits over the years: -Food poisoning after eating some funky pulled pork. -Meat that is usually so dry it needs major BBQ sauce CPR. -One note boring BBQ sauces -Pricey for what's being served. -Sometimes microwaved cornbread (just don't even serve it please). Obviously getting sick from the food was the largest offense from my visits here, but I've had more visits where I didn't get sick than did, so there's that. After waiting a year or so, I began braving going back to see if things had changed much. They are pretty consistent about being inconsistent. I'd say for one out every six times I've been here, the meat has been okay (as in bland but at least not dry). The sides are much better than the meats, so if you absolutely have to come here just stick with a veggie plate. Looking past the food, the people that work here have always been great. They get the food out quickly even with a long line, and are professional and courteous. The dining room is kept clean and the tables stocked with paper towels. I just wish the food matched their quality of service. read more

David's BBQ & Catering - Barbeque Near Me - Gainesville, Florida

Breakfast was tasty & with large coffee $7 Nice selection if u like pancakes, omelets eggs or grits. Friendly Staff & Quick for our visit from WPB FL to attend Gatornational 50th Race weekend read more

In my opinion it was a waste of my time. Not as good as others. Not reAlly hot. Beans were less than satisfactory. Although Brunswick stew had good taste the crunchy large pieces of onions killed it for me. The peanut butter cookie was good but def not fresh. read more

David's offers your basic BBQ setup -- beans, slaw, pulled pork, chicken, corn nuggets, garlic bread, etc. Everything tastes just fine. The fried corn nuggets don't really travel well. I also found myself using a lot of sauce to level out the dryness of the meat. I wasn't disappointed yet I wasn't impressed either. read more

David's BBQ & Catering - BBQ! - Barbeque Near Me - Gainesville, Florida

Kind of bland and slightly expensive BBQ served up on a Styrofoam plate. The sauce tasted like ketchup with some black pepper in it. You kind of feel like you just ordered from a streetside vendor, but the picnic table is located in an air conditioned facility. The location is odd, in a small shopping center off of 39th Ave. I don't understand how they have managed to stay in business so long. There is a Sonny's right down the road, give that a try. read more

Its smelled great insidebut things quickly took a turn south.Food was very subpar, bbq didnt even taste authentic. Turkey looked like thick sliced lunch meat, mac and cheese tasted like it was boil in a bag miltary/buffett style. Cornbread was water needing dry. I felt like a fish out of water after my first bite. Only thing that made me give this place 2 stars is the staff was friendly, zero complaints there. Too bad its crappy food, it really took away from the service. read more

The pork sandwich on garlic toast is really good. Will be back to try other stuff on the menu. Wish a small side of fries wasn't $3.

Put in a to-go order, because we are avoiding eating in restaurants during the Delta variant. Told me on the phone it would be 10 minutes. Got there, and they gave me a hard time because " it had not been 30 minutes yet." I had to wait with at least a dozen unmasked college students. At the 25 minute mark, I asked about my order, and they had not even started it. At that point, more unmasked people had walked in, and most of them had their food before I left. I understand that restaurants get busy, but that was not the problem. The problems are not requiring masks in a city that has a mask mandate, and making people wait 30 minutes "just because" they wanted me to wait 30 minutes. read more

I stopped here on my way back to Georiga. I didn't want the chain bbq restaurant that is just a stones throw away, I wanted to try something different. WORST mistake ever.. Everything was seasoned well but the Ribs. I had the Rib lunch special with baked beans and fries. The ribs were fatty and unseasoned. The membrane was still attached to the ribs, they were not cleaned properly and it was so much fat at the tip of the ribs we ate the sides and through the ribs away. It was awful. People that love these ribs apparently don't know how to prepare ribs. read more

Wow. I had high hopes for this place that were thoroughly dashed. The pork and chicken were insanely dry, the brisket tasted like it was about to turn and the macaroni and texas toast both tasted like they were purchased frozen at Publix. One extra star for friendly staff. read more

David's BBQ & Catering - Sadly did not taste nearly as good as it looked. - Barbeque Near Me - Gainesville, Florida

See all