Stopped in for a late lunch with my daughter before heading back to San Antonio, TX, and we're both glad we did. I always judge a BBQ place by their burnt ends, if they get those right, everything else usually follows. Well, Dead End BBQ absolutely nailed it. The burnt ends here are everything you want them to be: perfectly smoky, just the right amount of sweet, and melt-in-your-mouth tender. They tell the whole story of the pitmaster's craft in a single bite. I also tried the smoked bologna, and one bite took me straight back to my adolescence, rich, savory, and with that nostalgic flavor only real wood smoke can give. The Pimento Mac & Cheese was another standout: creamy, cheesy, and with that subtle pimento tang that keeps you going back for "just one more forkful." My daughter went for the brisket, and she raved about how juicy and flavorful it was, with just the right amount of bark. We both appreciated the variety of BBQ sauces available, each bringing its own personality to the table, sweet, tangy, spicy, you can mix and match to your heart's content. [[HIGHLIGHT]]Service was friendly and laid-back, and the atmosphere felt like a true BBQ joint should: warm, casual, and a place you want to linger.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] Dead End BBQ isn't just a meal, it's a reminder of why great barbecue is worth the stop. read more

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So...I used to love Dead End. In fact, had them cater 3-5 large events over the years, where the food and service were amazing. Today I picked up an order of food for my family. Though the food quality is fine, I have never in my life seen such small portions for the sides and the correlating prices. I paid $7 for maybe 1/2 a cup of Brussel sprouts. $5 for 1/4 cup of cole slaw and the same with potato salad. Something seems way off. I mean, what's going on?? read more

Dead End BBQ - Rocky Top Potato Salad - Regular - Barbeque Near Me - Knoxville, Tennessee

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Absolutely delicious! [[HIGHLIGHT]]Service was amazing, ambiance was great, everything was clean and nice.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] 10/10 recommend anything with the burnt ends! read more

Dead End BBQ - Barbeque Near Me - Knoxville, Tennessee

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Friendly service but not very fast. The burnt ends are great and so are the sides. Lots of options for sides. I like that there's such a variety. read more

1 Star My wife visited this restaurant on Sunday around 3:00 PM and what should have been a relaxing meal turned into a disturbing experience. While sitting alone at the bar enjoying a Bloody Mary and lunch, an employee (a man in his early 40s with a mustache) made an inappropriate comment to her, telling her he "would love to be sitting in her seat." She chose to ignore the remark and continue her meal, but the employee continued to walk behind her repeatedly, making her increasingly uncomfortable. The final straw came when he stood in a doorway and made a licking gesture directed at her. Feeling harassed and unsafe, she immediately left. It's unfortunate because she genuinely enjoyed the food, but no customer should have to tolerate inappropriate comments and suggestive behavior from an employee. A restaurant should be a place where patrons feel welcome and respected, not objectified or intimidated. Management needs to address this behavior immediately. We will not be returning. read more

Purchased Bar BQ sandwich to go (Chopped) - $14.00 with Chips - nice lady behind the bar - worst Bar BQ Brisket sandwich I have ever had - bar none - so over cooked it had a "Roast" taste - the Brisket flavor (that's why we eat Brisket and not Roast) was cooked out of it. I can not express enough - [[HIGHLIGHT]]cool looking place[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] HORRIBLE FOOD - second visit - last visit - Nice People, Cool Place, Horrible Bar BQ - I'm not an expert, but I was a KC Bar BQ judge at one time. read more

Dead End BBQ - I took the bun off so you can see how over cooked this Brisket is, it looks like a Roast, which is what happens when you over cook Brisket. - Barbeque Near Me - Knoxville, Tennessee

Food was decent. I feel like I need to try something else next time and it would be better. Service was mediocre at best. Our waiter did not seem thrilled at all and only checked on us once. [[HIGHLIGHT]]Ambiance was good for what it was.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] read more

Dead End BBQ - Bbq Pulled Smoked Chicken Sandwich & Sweet Potato Waffle Fries - Regular - Barbeque Near Me - Knoxville, Tennessee

Everything was phenomenal. Brisket end mac and cheese was amazing. Fried okra perfect. Our waitress Allison was a queen. [[HIGHLIGHT]]Vibes were great and they played good old country music.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] 11/10 VISIT HERE!!! read more

Dead End BBQ - Barbeque Near Me - Knoxville, Tennessee

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I came here looking for barbecue, and barbecue is what I got. [[HIGHLIGHT]]I think the place must've been a muffler shop or gas station or something at one time, now it feels like a sports bar that happens to serve really good barbecue.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] [[HIGHLIGHT]]That's what I would say about its ambience, it has a sports bar field to it.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] My server was named Abby, and Abby took good care of me. She showed me the à la carte menu where I could create my own tasting plate. I ordered a quarter pound each of brisket, pulled pork, smoked sausage, two St. Louis style ribs, and of course, some burnt ends. I rounded out my plate with a jalapeño corn muffin, some of the mayors beans, and mixed greens. These are my go to sides for any barbecue joint. Let's talk about the barbecue. First, the pulled pork, it was good smoked pulled pork very juicy well done. It had enough fat to be good, but not so much as you feel like you're getting fat, it was a good Boston bud smoked well. Then there is the brisket, they do not ruin their brisket as the people in Texas do by over cooking it. It's easy to ruin a brisket, just ask any Texan he'll ruin every brisket he ever gets his hands on. These people did brisket like I would do brisket and it turned out to be good Not great but good. The sausage, it was a stand out link type sausage, it was very firm and not fatty, it was lean almost like a good kielbasa only much firmer. I believe they make these in house. It was delightful. And it comes with a little Horseradish sauce. Very good. The burn ends, these were the main event. They are greasy and delightful and everything you would want a burn in to be. This is a St. Louis or Kansas City style burnt, and only with the delicious juiciness that you only get from a pig in Tennessee or Georgia. Much better than any that I've had in the Midwest. The St. Louis style ribs were good St. Louis style ribs, nothing to ride home about, nothing bad. I've just had a lot of St. Louis style ribs in St. Louis, and these were really good, just not greasy good. As for the sides, the beans were incredible, who thought of adding pineapple to pinto beans? Whoever they were, they are a genius. The greens were a huge disappointment. They tasted like a paperback novel that had been left in the sun. Just not good greens. The cornmeal muffin with the jalapeños in it was excellent. read more

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We just catered our last event with Dead End BBQ and it was awesome! The folks were easy to work with and the food was absolutely delicious

We just had a great southern BBQ meal here. Wife, sil, daughter and grandson (2)! Came in from So. AZ to spend time together with them. I ordered a combo meal to cover some bases and was happy as a hog at the trough, ahem! All the other fam were very happy as well. Good local brews and cocktails available to wash it all down. Our server, now friend Brandon, did a great job taking care of our needs etc. [[HIGHLIGHT]]The restaurant is very clean and inviting.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] Thank you Dead End, we are coming back for more! Tom read more

It's okay. Just Okay. The service was great. The food was a little off to me. I do like how they have the different customizable sauces on the table. The food is average. I was surprised that they didn't have "pulled pork Mac n cheese." That's like a southern CLASSIC. Also, everything is pimento cheese. INCLUDING the Mac n cheese. I don't know the flavor was kind of off. I was a bit disappointed with the Mac and cheese to be honest. To rule out the pimento flavor I had to order a side of pulled pork barbecue, and then drizzle it with the sauce on the table. (To create a pulled pork mac & cheese.) I was expecting so wild, blown away BBQ experience, but it wasn't really like that. The Cheese balls were a great Appetizer. I would recommend getting the mixed. The Food came out Hot. [[HIGHLIGHT]]They do have Kid Options and High Chairs. It is Kid friendly.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] [[HIGHLIGHT]]Very busy when we went.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] [[HIGHLIGHT]]The restaurant was clean and so were the bathrooms so that was a plus.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] I do feel as if it's a little overhyped a bit. I don't know if I would go back. I think I would try other BBQ joints before I go back. Also it is a little bit pricey. To be honest, in my opinion, it's not really worth what we paid. We paid $80.00+ for Two Meals, Appetizer and a PB&J sandwich for the little guy.... My Husband said it wasn't that great and the food was kind of dry. My recommendations: - park more towards the back, parking in the front can be kind of sketchy with all the people coming in and out. -get a variety of flavors for the cheeseballs if you're doing that as an appetizer. Pros: -Good Service - Parking -clean bathrooms -sauces on the table Cons: -loud and crowded -pimento cheese kind of ruins everything! -meat is not flavored -kind of expensive -my Husband said the food was kind of dry read more

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The service is great and so is the food! We love BBQ and this place nailed it! We ordered the Burnt Ends, BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwich, and the Brisket Burrito. The salsa tasted so fresh and I wanted more! The meat was cooked perfect and the BBQ was delicious! I definitely recommend this restaurant! read more

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We came here in June while on a roadtrip and today we found ourselves back in the area and had to make a stop. Again, this place knocked it out of the park. We came around 12:30 on a Sunday and it had a good crowd. We got seated super fast and our server came over and got our drink orders super fast. Branching out a little bit this time to try their Tennessee beef and cheddar sandwich, in addition to their burnt ends again and sweet potato fries. While our son got the kids grilled cheese and french fries. The food came out very fast, it was surprising given how busy they were. The sandwich was sooooo good. The bread was buttery and crunchy, the brisket super tender and juicy and with the cheddar and caramelized onions it was such a great combination. I did steal some of the pickled onions from the burnt ends plate and added it to the sandwich and it was even better because it added a little tang. It comes with bbq sauce already in it but I did add a little of the sliced one and it added nice heat. The burnt ends again were amazing, just very well done and tender but still retained some juiciness. Our kid got the grilled cheese and fries (we did try to get him to get some amazing bbq, but sometime you just have to roll with it ). He loved the fries and inhaled them, leaving no room for the grilled cheese. He did eat it later on in the day. It heated up fine but would have been better fresh but that is totally on him. We also did the banana pudding which was decadent and tasty. Super creamy and the cookies they added. Added a nice texture. I am so glad we came back here. The food was amazing and the service was awesome. Next time we are in the area definitely is a must do for us. read more

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This tasty little spot is located right next to one of my favorite veggies markets and it did not disappoint! I always try the ribs and they were rubbed and delicious! read more

Smoked bologna was fantastic- huge fan especially with the regular and mild sauce mixed together. Pulled pork is decent. Brussel sprouts were good except the (goat?) cheese on top??? Had to remove that. Not sure in what world they would consider this corn creamed but it lacked flavor and was hard to eat- literally would stick to your teeth and was extremely rubbery. Stay away from that!! Service was good especially on a busy night and had a cool atmosphere with all of the college football and sports memorabilia on the walls. read more

Dead End BBQ - Pulled Pork - 1/4 lb. Smoked Bologna - 1/4 lb. Creamed Corn - Taste Brussels Sprouts - Barbeque Near Me - Knoxville, Tennessee

Stopped by for lunch on a Friday afternoon. [[HIGHLIGHT]]The location was very nice inside and out.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] Our server was great but the food took quite a while to come out, which was surprising as the location wasn't packed at all. I ordered the Ribs 2 Bone and 1/4 Sliced Brisket. The ribs were decent a bit overcooked and decent flavor. The brisket was tender but was lacking in flavor. The okra was perfectly fried and really enjoyable. I plan to come back and give it another try sometime soon. read more

Dead End BBQ - Sliced Brisket - 1/4 lb. St. Louis Cut Ribs - 1/2 Rack Fried Okra - Regular Mixed Mustard & Turnip Greens - Regular - Barbeque Near Me - Knoxville, Tennessee

A good choice for BBQ... I love BBQ, so I am always on the hunt for good BBQ. Dead End BBQ is one of the better places for BBQ in Knoxville. The atmosphere is chill, so it is suitable for any kind of casual meal. The service is always good. The food is delicious. My only complaint is that they don't have a combo meal, so you have to order alacart. I had the pulled pork, beans, creamed corn, and corn bread. Very good, definitely worthy of a visit read more

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Got pulled chicken, mac n cheese, cornbread, and chocolate pudding dessert which were all pretty good. Big fan of the mac n cheese and cornbread. Chicken was a little cold. Good prices. Quick and kind service. read more

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The service and food is always outstanding at this particular restaurant!! I was pleasantly received and served by Ms. Bailey and her service was exceptional! She went above and beyond to make my dining experience a great one! She was an excellent conversationalist as well and I felt leaving her presence that I had gained a new friend! The manager on duty came by my table as well so that I could extend a kudos for her great service! I had the smoked wings with the mixed greens and Mac and Cheese and topped it off with a large helping of the banana pudding, which was tremendous! This will certainly not be my last time patronizing this culinary establishment!! Kudos to the entire staff!! read more

Dead End BBQ - Smoked Brisket Dry Rub Wings - One Pound and Homemade Banana Pudding - Large Enough to Share - Barbeque Near Me - Knoxville, Tennessee

A popular local spot that get's packed over the lunch hour.. service can slow down during this time so the wait for your food can be longer. There is a healthy order out/pick up business that seems to get a bit in the way of the kitchen hence the time issue. We preplanned and dropped in around 11:30 and the place had yet to explode. [[HIGHLIGHT]]Good seating in a booth and our wait staff was helpful and attentive.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] Your food typically comes on a metal tray with parchment paper down which seems to work fine. The table condiments include a trio of sauces to add to your meal if you so desire. We opted for the burnt ends, a 2 bone rib add, sides of potato salad, fries and the jalapino muffins. 1) Burnt ends - looked OK but were clearly over sauced and LOTS of fat, actually too much. We did use some of the table sauce on these to help the lack of flavor out - suggest you pass on this item pick, not a fan. 2) Ribs - these were the star of the meal, tender, dry rub and great taste. We would order these again in greater number, thumbs up ! 3) Potato salad - pretty bland overall, pickle was MIA, cayanne pepper was in it that did not help, heat with no flavor. Suggest you try an alternative to this one. 4) Fries - hot, crispy and plentyful, a good choice. They come HIGHLY seasoned so if that bothers you think twice. 5) Jalapeno muffins - sounded good but were small, dry and very average, suggest the Texas toast as the option. 6) Sweet tea - a good pick, not too sweet and nice taste. We do plan on coming back but with a learned menu education. Ribs for sure and do plan on trying other sides. read more

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Dead End BBQ is great and close in to town in the Pond Gap area off Sutherland. They have amazing BBQ and sides with a great atmosphere and excellent service. My one complaint is eating off of prison trays, with paper that doesn't stay in place while you eat. Plates would be better and would stay put when using a knife and fork. Prices are reasonable with meals about $8-$14. Our family of three ate for $32.00. read more

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Barbecue is top-notch, service was awesome, and prices are a little high but that's certainly to do with the quality of the meat and skill of grill masters. 10/10 would recommend getting the dead end mac attack as well as some of the pull pork. read more

Came from out of town and this was our first stop...INCREDIBLE! Amazing BBQ, the best Mac & cheese and delicious banana pudding! Been dreaming of this food since we left! It will always be our first stop when we visit!!! read more

I am not a fan of barbecue myself but friends wanted to go and I can almost always find something without barbecue sauce on it at a barbecue place. My brisket potato tasted good although for $2.50 for one I thought it should have been bigger. The smoked sausage and cheese with little jalapeños was good. I made mini open faced sandwiches and they give you the same amount of each (pita, cheese slices, jalapeño slices and sausage slices) so you can eat it with perfect portions of each for each bite. The thing that ready sealed the 5 star rating though was the peanut butter pie. It was rich and delicious. I saved 2/3 of it for my kids and they loved it when I brought it home for them. Even though I am not a barbecue sauce fan, I would come back to Dead End and I know I would find food I could still enjoy. read more

Dead End BBQ - Peanut butter pie - Barbeque Near Me - Knoxville, Tennessee

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During our trip to Knoxville for business we wanted to try the best BBQ in the city. After searching for the highest rated restaurants in the area we settled on Dead End BBQ. Let me tell you, I thank God we did. It was some of the most incredibly flavorful and juicy BBQ I have ever had, anywhere, let alone in the great state of Tennessee. We decided to order a sampling of everything including Smoked Pulled Chicken, Pulled Pork, Ribs, Competition Chicken Thighs, Smoked Sausage, Smoked Bologna, along with Mixed greens (Mustard and Turnip), Beans and Smoked Sausage, and Mac and Cheese. We also opted for both jalapeño and regular cornbread. Honestly it was all incredible, but the big standouts were the Burnt Ends, those heavenly morsels melted in your mouth into a literal puddle of deliciousness. Next up I want to mention 2 things that were nothing short of amazing, the Competition Chicken Thighs and the Smoked Bologna. The chicken was literal perfection, juicy, sweet and bursting with flavor. The Smoked Bologna is award winning, I mean out of this world good. Even world champion competitive eater Joey Chestnut consumed 14lbs of it (that's right Fourteen Pounds) for his win at the 2024 Bologna Eating Championship! You have to order it it's friggin incredible! The Mac and Cheese, Beans and Smoked Sausage and Greens need their own mention they literally tasted as close to homemade as you can possibly imagine. They are serious with a serious portion size. We were quite pleased with our whole meal and experience, our service was fantastic, the bartender was fun and knowledgeable, we loved engaging in some insightful conversation while sitting at the bar with a few folks, one of those great people was Dave, he even treated us to servings of Dead End BBQ's World Famous Banana Pudding and Peanut Butter Pie. OMG stop what you're doing and get some of the Banana Pudding it's outstanding, one of the best iterations I've ever had, smooth and full of real banana flavor with a really nice twist! After we finished we opted for the $5 Wheelbarrow Roll Out to our vehicle so we didn't have to struggle to walk back to the parking lot! read more

Nice place to go if your looking for some fall off the bone chicken and ribs. The menu allows you to order small portions of everything or large portions and add some favorite sides to your choice of meats... nice to be able to order a small tempting side of Mac and cheese and get that craving filled! Menu is good, service was good, prices were good. if you are a person looking for barbecue and great side accompaniments especially if you're not one to barbecue much at home, this is worth a try! They have also taken their barbecued meats and added them to nachos and a kitchen sink burrito which looks tempting!!!! read more

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Food 3/5 - The house salad was fresh and tasty. The brisket and burnt ends were disappointing. The brisket was dry and lacking flavor. (We are picky about our smoked meats) Service / Ambiance 4/5 - This is a great local Tennessee BBQ joint. It has Tennessee/sports memorabilia on the walls and a rustic garage vibe feel to it. Our service from our waitress was pleasant and we got our food/drinks quickly. read more

Dead End BBQ - House Salad with chicken - Barbeque Near Me - Knoxville, Tennessee

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Sorry to say that Dead End BBQ is no longer on our list of go to restaurants in Knoxville. During our most recent visit on Saturday 9/27, we experienced a disinterested staff, including our server, who smelled like cigarettes, and cold, slopped on food. When we asked for fresh chips to replace old and cold chips, we were told, " they are kept in a warmer and are always that way". I reached out to the management and received no response. Avoid disappointment and go elsewhere. read more

Try the brisket chili. On a rainy day it hits the spot. The pull pork nachos are very good too. Service was excellent.

The beans! Oh man I still can't get those out of my head, I know this is a bbq place BUT THE BEANS!? All the food was great, service was fantastic, [[HIGHLIGHT]]clean and great service[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]]. read more

I just want to say what a great experience I had at Dead End BBQ! Such great food at such reasonable prices, especially the banana pudding.... !! read more

Great food and service. [[HIGHLIGHT]]Hip Casual vibe not your grampas BBQ spot.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] Creative menu with variety of delicious items. read more

Dead End BBQ - Burny Mac and cheese with burnt ends - Barbeque Near Me - Knoxville, Tennessee

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We drove an hour out of the way for this amazing BBQ. Not our first time here but tonight we tried something new - The Totchos with brisket . Even the small was too big. The tots were loaded and somehow managed to stay crispy . We also tried the half bologna with the sweet potato waffle fries. The horseradish mustard was perfect and the fries were crispy and sweet. We couldn't leave without having our old favorite the chicken slider and the highlight as always the Burney Mac. All of the food is expertly prepared and Allison provided excellent service . She made sure our soda glasses were never empty. We were so full we had to take the banana pudding to go. Sorry we don't live closer but maybe it's better for our waistline. read more

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It was the worst BBQ joint we've ever been to. All the meat was dry and there was ZERO smoke flavor to any of the meat, it could have been microwaved for all we know. BBQ sauce was runny and odd tasting. I am really trying to not throw unnecessary shade at this establishment but my wife and I STILL talk about "that place in Knoxville that had the worst BBQ in the world". It was Dead End. Skip it. read more

One of my favorite spots here in Knoxville! The chicken is tender and the flavor of the ribs are perfect! The sauces are good too! Great service ! read more

arrived there at 7:30 pm. service was absolutely great!! the girls that work there are great with customer service. however the brisket was dry and old and the pieces were loaded with fat. they used beef broth to soften it up, a trick used to revive meat when they don't have anything fresh coming out. read more

Wish I could give a higher ranking because I use to absolutely LOVE Dead End BBQ. Our past 2 trips especially our last one just the other day made me realize I have to start looking for a better BBQ restaurant. We ordered 1/2 rack of ribs, burnt ends, red/white/bleu slaw, potato salad, Mac/cheese, and the beans/sausage to split between us. Let's start by saying the ribs and burnt ends use to be my absolute favorite. This time we ordered them the ribs were just as thick as the bones and had no distinct seasoning and seemed a little dry inside. Burnt Ends we're exactly that-BURNT. They were like chewing leather. Slaw was good but wasn't as creamy as they use to be. Potato Salad was absolutely bland with no flavors at all. Mac was overcooked and almost was like eating jelly. Beans were the highlight. Toast tasted like old sourdough and didn't get an option for cornbread. As someone who does BBQ at home but like to be able to enjoy food without the hassle of cleanup and cooking sometimes we won't make that mistake again here. $60 later to eat BBQ that would place last if in a competition and if someone who does it for their job like Myron Mixon or Robby Royal or Johnny Trigg was to eat it they would probably throw it at the kitchen or the garbage. Place and flavors are nothing like they use to be and they need to go back to way they was when they even opened the store in Maryville. read more

Dead End BBQ - Very disappointing high priced food that was either lacking flavor or like eating leather - Barbeque Near Me - Knoxville, Tennessee

Okay, this is not the best bbq I've ever eaten...but it is easily the cheapest that still tasted good. I had the bbq 1 tray with 1/4 lb of bbq and a side of green beans with tea...for $$7.10. read more

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My coworker ordered this for a group lunch today. This is hands down the most dry and over cooked brisket, pork and chicken. The sauce couldn't even save it. I didn't try the sides because they didn't look appealing either. There's better out there in Knoxville. read more