Perfect food truck experience - worth the wait. Delicious brisket over Mac'n cheese was tender, with perfect tangy sauce and creamy Mac 'n cheese. The chef had the perfect manner, huge smile, and booming voice to call out the orders. It was an experience worth the wait. (I was order 551.) read more

Dowd's BBQ - Southern Near Me - Tacoma, Washington

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Got the brisket Mac & cheese. Did NOT disappoint! Tender brisket with a fantastic bbq sauce on top of cheesy Mac! Will come again! read more

Dowd's BBQ - 112th street - Southern Near Me - Tacoma, Washington

the taste , the quanty , and the quality of the food ! the comforting attitude of the seller .

Martin Dowd just catered our company picnic on Saturday in Bellevue and it was fantastic!!! All the meats were great and the Mac n cheese was to die for. Highly recommend! read more

This is a family owned business in the "beginnings" of something GREAT!!! The location is a little hidden as it is in the back of the 76 gas station but they are expanding as we speak:) My first visit consisted of finally deciding on the famous ribs, with the mac and cheese that I hear is soooooo GOOD and fried okra. I got the Hubby the 5 piece chicken wing and his sides were greens and mac and cheese. I also added the fried chicken gizzards, it's been a while so I had to get them:) The food was OUTSTANDING!!! My husband took a bite of the mac and cheese and his first comment was "mmmm, I feel like I'm back home" (St. Louis) the greens were outstanding!!! and the rest of it was too! Unfortunately the sides filled me up so much that I only had room for 1 rib and 1 of the chicken wings.... I guess that tells you how deelicious the food is and how plentiful the portions are! The menu is RIDICULOUS!!! Martin pretty much makes every Southern dish you could think of, well for the most part:) I highly recommend this joint and as it expands I'm sure it will be a 5 star establishment! read more

Dowd's BBQ - Southern Near Me - Tacoma, Washington

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I went to Dowd's with my family last weekend after they appeared on King 5 news on an unrelated story. The food looked good in the story. Good enough to warrant a trip. The food was excellent. don't let the looks of the place fool you. The fried chicken, catfish, and pork chops were each individually perfectly seasoned and cooked. the sides were good too. They were out of all deserts but it happens. One of the dishes I had was a catfish bites snack with catfish pieces, fries and a drink for 4.95. the snacker was so much food that it was a complete meal within itself. The value along with the great southern cuisine make Dowd's worth the trip to the southern most tip of Tacoma. The prices are good but the food will make you come back. read more

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Yummy! I was here a year ago and I'm so happy we came back. We got the family meal for $24. The cashier/owner/cook was extremely nice. Chicken wings, ribs, hot links were all made to order. (Side of greens & potato salad). I would def recommend this place! read more

Dowd's BBQ - Southern Near Me - Tacoma, Washington

Lazy that's a good start. The bbq beans taste pickled. Seriously. Wtf. Their potato salad crap tastes heavily pickled as well! WTH GUYS. They we're out of bbq pork so they said they could use a couple of ribs. I was like ok. I figured since I said sandwich they would have a brain and rip the meat off the bones of a few ribs and put it on the Bread since its a sandwich. No they put 2 bone in ribs on 2 slices of regular white bread. Looks like something a 3yr old made. read more

Dowd's BBQ - 2 ribs on a couple slices of white bread. Lazy bastards. - Southern Near Me - Tacoma, Washington

Love their catfish!! I normally do not eat at places like this, but my boyfriend is from Texas and says it's as close to home as he can find. My first time ever eating catfish was from this place and I'm in love. It's always consistently good. Yes it's in a gas station, but whatever. You can always call your order in ahead of time. Sometimes the wait can be long because they are so busy, but who cares!? For food like this I would wait all day! P.S. The banana pudding is amazing! read more

The food was great! I got the beef brisket with hush puppies and red beans and rice. The sauce was awesome the cornbread was so good and it was really awesome to actually have REAL corn in it I mean literally there was corn! My boyfriend had the beef tips, greens and potato salad. DELICIOUS! Everything was so full of flavor making us sit there trying to figure out what the ingredients might be.. HA! We met Martin Dowd and his dad Charles Dowd, they were so kind and Charles told us about BBQ in Memphis and how him and Martin both have their certain recipes. "Martin is more of North Carolina BBQ" he said. Memphis or NC it was all good to me!!! read more

This place had some ups and a lot of downs but I definitely would come back here to try something else. My friend got the brisket meal with Mac and cheese and fries while I got the ribs (wanted rib tips but they didn't have) with potato salad and hushpuppies. PROS -The sauce. The BBQ sauce was amazing and plentiful on the meats we got. - The brisket was pretty good. It definitely wasn't juicy or tender as I think it should be though but it did taste delicious and my friend finished hers. - The hushpuppies! They were great and the only thing that I ordered that I finished completely. -Portion size. Although it was more expensive than I expected, they did give you A LOT of food. CONS -The sides. The Mac and cheese was BAD. It wasn't cheesy at all and tasted like Kraft Mac and cheese that's microwaved to death two days later. The potato salad wasn't horrible but it was mostly sauce with just a little bit of potato that I had to search for with my fork. -The meat in general just wasn't pull apart, juicy or tender like I think most people expect in bbq. I didn't finish my $17 ribs because it was so tough and difficult to eat. read more

I ordered take out from this BBQ restaurant via Foodgetters.com, and it was absolutely disgusting. Will NEVER use them again. The macaroni was old, probably made the day before and then tossed into the oven. The baked beans were more of a bean soup, totally disgusting. The centers of the beans were gritty as if microwaved then cooled and overcooked. There's so little fish in the fish sticks that there's no way to determine what type it is. They also fried it in corn meal - who does that??!! It tasted like sand. The french fries were brown and old, not made within the past few hours. Even the cake was soggy. Absolutely terrible! Would never recommend or use again. Disgusting. read more

Place is nice, clean and friendly staff. Food was good. Nothing to rave about but nothing to rant about as well. Brisket was my preference after trying the pulled pork and the ribs. Mac and cheese was ok, our kids liked it. The potato casserole (I think that's the name) was pretty good. They do give you free cone of ice cream to have as dessert the kids were happy about that! We had a family meal - pulled pork, brisket (sliced) 3 sides (potato casserole, Mac n cheese, waffle fries) and 1/2 of ribs. For all of us to eat and our drinks it was about $70. Would we Come back if that's what my husband wants why not. All in all it wasn't a horrible place to eat and the food was pretty good. The sauces were good too. We preferred the hot and spicy and my kids the other 2 which were sweet and the other original. I'd recommend someone to try it out read more

Wow...what can I say but fantastic food for a great price! Catfish sandwhich, super flavorful and packed with catfish. Fries which are simply awesome. Red beans and rice - simply great. Am I giving too much credit....in fact not enough. Simple food from the heart leads to a great dinner. Will be back! read more

It's located in the 76 gas station, and there's only a few tables so it's best to order to go..Go early to get fresh side dishes.. Other then that the catfish sandwich is excellent, and the portions are great for the price!! read more

Dowd's BBQ - Southern Near Me - Tacoma, Washington

I gave this place 3 tires thinking they would step up their game, but to no avail has this place improved whatsoever. We waited 20 min for old reheated chicken, they only food that was delicious was the bake beans.. the rest my food is better at home, it's because of this place I no longer eat BBQ from anyone but at home.. place deserve no star don't go here save your money go to McDonald, (mind you I don't eat McDonald) read more

Great food! Don't let the fact that its in a gas station keep you away. We will surly be back when we are in the area. Owners are super nice and friendly. read more

Dowd's BBQ - Awesome as always :) - Southern Near Me - Tacoma, Washington

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This is a very small restaurant inside of a gas station, and though I had passed it several times, I would never have tried the food if my friend didn't share some catfish with me. Since then their catfish is one of the things that I get a taste for and have to go get. I get my food to go, although there is a small area where you can sit down and eat. Since the food is made fresh to order, it can take a little time, so if you don't have time to wait and have a friendly chat while your food is in the fryer, it helps to call ahead. read more

Ive been a regular for the past 4 months since i moved into the area. After having sampled all the BBQ places around the area, this is the best around. Truly Genuine BBQ. and after being to countless BBQ places across the country, This is the BEST BBQ sauce ive tasted,.. along with the best baked beans and potato salad. This is coming from someone who was raised on southern BBQ. read more

So we went to the address, and they have moved. Was looking forward to trying this place. Hopefully they update their address soon.

Had a graduation party of 40 catered by these guys. The food was way more than we expected (we ordered for 30 people) and delicious - we got the pulled pork and beef brisket, both of which were fantastic. The mac and cheese was a favorite of many, and they upgraded our dessert for free (sweet potato pie and pound cake). The owner (Martin) was very friendly - I would definitely recommend them if you need to feed a large group of people, I'm looking forward to pulled pork sandwiches for the rest of the week! read more

Catfish bites snack box with fries and a Coke only $5. Served hot and crispy, fish was mild and flavorful. Fries are fresh cut. Tastes like home Mizzou! read more

Brisket is amazing, yhe bbq sauce is so delicious. The bbq bake beans are very good, greens are yummy.

Pulled pork was great. Has good flavor and nice smoke ring. Had beans and Mac and cheese both had good flavors. Corn bread was dry though and the beans were put in the same container as the sandwich and made the bread soggy. Pretty good for gas station food Lol. read more

My southern husband and I are constantly looking for BBQ joints and southern food that comes anywhere near making him happy. Finally found a place! We had the catfish, brisket, BBQ chicken and the greens, cornbread and coleslaw. Super good! Only down side is the meat was drenched in BBQ sauce. Now I love BBQ sauce but was still a lot. Next time I'll just ask for it to be applied lightly. Awesome good. Gas station BBQ?? Hell Ya! Totally worth a stop... Do it! Can't wait to go again... read more

Fantastic food and very friendly staff. You have got to try brisket and candied yams, they are out of this world. Don't let the location fool you on this hidden gem. Worth every penny. Looking forward to coming back!! read more

It was alright. The mac and cheese is not made fresh- it's reheated in the microwave, but it is from scratch. If it was done fresh it would be amazing. Potato salad was terrible. My pulled pork was alright- a little fatty, and literally swimming in watery sauce and grease, but the flavor was spot on once I drained out the grease and watered down sauce. Cornbread was really good. I think it depends on the day of the week and the time of day you go- if you can get everything fresh and not at the end of the day, you're probably better off. read more

Hands down best BBQ place I have ever been to. So delicious! The employees are very kind as well. Thursdays seem to be their freshest time since they fire up the grill outside - call ahead. They get busy. Try the apple pie, too! read more

Its hard to find a true BBQ with out making it your self. They definitely have the best BBQ I've ever bought. The food is amazing. Its unfortunate some of the poor reviews that some people have wrote. No restaurant can be all things to all people, but if you dont want fast food and you want it truly home cooked.... you need to understand as a small business, they may not have EVERY single menu item all the time. Owning and operating a small business in this economy is very tough. I take my hat off to their effort and I certainly support their business. Also, compared to most places... their prices are LOW for the amount you get. -TC read more

Here's a good place to stop when you've been on the road for a while and need you're soul food fix in a place that you wouldn't expect to find one. Tucked next to a Mini-golf course and a "caffeine hut", you might miss it if you don't know where you're @; but if you fill-up @ 76 stations, you'll find it. The links are hot, the burgers are fair; but the "jewel of joint" is the fried catfish. Might come if the wife gets hungry. read more

Awesome food!!! It was everything I heard it would be. I loved it! Good Christian based restaurant. I love that they are giving back to the community by feeding the homeless. Great people and the service was great too!!! I'm going back today lol!!!! read more

I ordered dowds for our month end lunch at work. It was absolutely amazing! One of the best month end lunches we've gotten! I got compliments from all of my co workers one said it's the best bbq place he's had in washington, another emailed me and said this was one of the BEST month end lunches she's had! I'd highly recommend this resturant! If you haven't tried the food or wondering if it's any good I'd decimated recommend going there! :) read more

We used Dowds BBQ for an employee party and it was awesome! The chicken and ribs were delicious! The potato salad and beans were wonderful-also the mandarin orange salad was delectable! They accomodated us on short notice and everything was perfect! I would highly recommend using them for your next event! read more

This is to say that I have been enjoying Dowds forover a year now since my former food person Mr Porter passed away about 2 yrs ago. His wife and family members where great and honest people from Louisiana. But now Mr Dowds is the funny man great service kind people always give loves and tells you how much they have missed you. The food is great with his mom back in the kitchen cooking and you know it is great when Mom's is holding down the cooking. Thanks!!! read more

i went in trying to support our small business owners but with this guy i just can't. so i arrive11:45 wait 8minutes(patiently) so long that the guys from the svc station ask "is he helping you?" i replied no !then he goes out back tells me a few mlre moments. ok he walks in talking with the guy.so i explain to him i don't want no repeats from last time when i they grey & burned meat..ijs. so i order a 1lb of catfish & fries & a small gumbo. well i placed my order 11:54 .then he go make the food he get on speaker phone calls tone to talk talking shit about me complaining by the way ididn't get my food till 12:24 . yes it was lukewarm. yes i tried to you the benefit of the doubt but then he goes on about it's award winning bbq i said it must be someone else cooking. cause what you served me wasn't award winning it was hazardous. the trash hasn't been taken out ovr the wknd.they are closed sunday no way the trash was that filled @11:45 on monday when you hadn't had that many people come in that morning. i brought his food monday january 7th.went the next day to buy my own fish to cook. cause im about flavor & he's missing the mark my fish was good but my gumbo was salty& lukewarm you served that shit & now i'm leaving you a shitty review. fool me once shame on you fool me twice shame on me. get rid of all the other stuff focus on what you're good at that's fish & quit with the nasty ass tarter. read more

Dowd's BBQ - SALTY. I TRIED IT IN DEC & JAN 7th. This REALLY PISSED ME OFF. GAVE ME A DAMN HEADACHE.HE WAS MAD I COMPLAINED. WASTE OF TIME - Southern Near Me - Tacoma, Washington

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AVOID THIS PLACE LIKE THE PLAGUE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!My dad had eaten here a while back and said it was great! So we decided to try it and thought that it would be great. They are "award winning" BBQ right. I don't know who gave them an award or when or if it is a good marketing story this place is half-assed at best. My dad is from North Carolina and my mom from Louisiana. So I am very very versed in "southern bbq" and southern food in general. Let's start with the the fact that everything was cold. I mean piss is hotter. Then we will move on to the chicken which he ordered a half fried chicken we got a couple chicken wings and some chicken strips that could have been bought pre-battered and then dropped in old and I mean OLD fryer grease. You could taste last months menu on it. Hell you could smell it. Next we will move on to the "hot links" they were cut into kid size pieces and resembled the cheap ones you get that are on sale. Next we will move on to the horribly covered in Kc masterpiece bbq sauce they were tender but no flavor except crappy bbq sauce. Now that their horrible display of meat has been gone through. I will start on sides. The "baked beans" are not baked beans at all they are crappy canned ones. I have made the mistake of buying them at the store once to take a short cut I know what they taste like GROSS! Now the poor very poor very sad excuse for Mac and cheese. Was so greasy I thought that they dumped some of the fryer grease in the bottom of the styrofoam container they gave me and shook it up to give it some flavor. The soggy noodles had random chunks stuck to random noodles. The coleslaw was chopped cabbage and carrots with I don't know what dressing. I almost forgot about my "favorite" part of the meal. The catfish. It was a good size piece but like everything else it was COLD AS COLD COULD GET! And had zero flavor. It was the crunchiest fried thing they served us. Needless to say. Someone before me wrote that they were lazy poor excuse for a bbq place. Well I gave them the benefit of the doubt and got slapped in the face I WILL MAKE SURE EVERYONE I KNOW AVOIDS THIS PLACE LIKE THE PLAGUE like I said before. Absolutely horrible. read more

I recently had the rib tips, fries and corn bread from this establishment. I found the rib tips and corn bread edible. You will find better ribs and corn bread in a microwavable dinner. There are much better BBQ places in Tacoma which serve quality food. This establishment is in a gas station, has very little seating and a less than welcoming staff. I was optimistic and expected the negative feedback found on yelp for this establishment might be harsh. My optimism was crushed by this establishment. I would NOT recommend this chow shack to anyone, the food and service are both mediocre and not worth the trip nor your money. read more

Looked at all of the yelp reviews on this joint. So yesterday was my youngest son's birthday and he wanted ribs for dinner and we decided to try it out. Upon arriving the staff looked grouchy and unhappy but we ordered food anyways 3 racks of ribs 2 large mac n cheese and 1 large collard greens. First of all the price for the sides are expensive as hell! And the taste is quite bland and the mac n cheese didn't have enough cheese I was appalled at the price of $7.50 per allegedly 16 ounce size it was more like 10 ounces. Considering we are in the great northwest the ribs were ok but nothing to write home about just a little but on the tough side ( ribs are supposed to be fall off of the bone tender ) and they also didn't pull off the disgusting membrane before smoking them so after spending 90.60 on mediocre ribs and nasty side dishes I'm a bit sour towards this place! I believe in supporting local businesses but when you cut corners like this it's just insane! And unnecessary. I'm willing to give this place 1 more try but will not buy side dishes just meat only. The staff could have better manners and customer service read more

Don't let looks or location fool you. This place is fantastic! It's located inside a gas station with drive thru available. We ordered and sat inside at the few tables available. I grew up in Alabama and being stationed in WA its difficult to get good authentic BBQ or southern cuisine here. We went to Dowd's around 1930 on 23 June; and were unsure of exactly what we wanted. The owner cooked us up a few fried catfish nuggets to try and some BBQ pulled pork to sample. The fried catfish brought back home cooked memories. The BBQ was fresh tender and tasty. My wife ordered the pulled pork dinner with a side of fries and pasta salad 5 stars! I ordered 2 meals, a large catfish sandwich and the 4 meat combo. The catfish was the best I've had in years! BBQ was also pretty solid. Price was reasonable, food was great, customer service was awesome and the owner was super friendly! Ill definitely bring my business back here. read more

I had went to Dowd's on 7/11/15 and to try this place as I have been hearing how good the food is from some friends. For some reason I was fiending for some real authentic bbq, as normally I dont eat at any of the bbq places in the west, unless I am cooking it or I am down south! However even though Dowd's was in a gas station and nowadays there are several restaurant franchises in gas stations that it seems to be the norm. I had purchased several items on their menu and let me tell you everything was as good as some of my friends had described. I had ordered the catfish, a family combo, gizzards, fried okra and the portions were of a generous size that you defintiely were not cheated out of your money, like some places that may give you small portions. All of the food was excellent/Superb and this place definitely caught me by surprise. This was my 1st time going here and definitely not my last time. 1 of the things I really liked was how fresh all the food was, moist, tender, seasoned to perfection, not over powering and cooked on the spot, unlike some places that have food pre-cooked, sitting out all day and dried up. Dowd's is definitely a place to try!!! read more