I have eaten there for years and still get excited when I am in the area and get to enjoy it once again.

Food is awesome but attitude was trash. Will fry my own chicken livers from now on. Have been here multiple times since I moved. Won't be coming back. Guess I don't belong here. Thanks for the free lesson. read more

Service was friendly Place was clean Food was fabulous... pulled pork was yummy I'm fussy about my fries being crunchy forgot to ask but they came out hot and crunchy Mac and cheese and coleslaw both tasty read more

Gardner's Barbecue - Pulled pork,Mac and cheese, coleslaw and best ever fries! - Barbeque Near Me - Rocky Mount, North Carolina

I love Gardener's cuisine! The baked or fried chicken is perfect! The Collard Greens are second to none! The chicken pasty is heavenly and the fresh hush puppies you have to get a double order because I eat half before I get ho read more

I'm one of the weird ones that go into a BBQ place and order fried chicken, but every time I have the fried chicken is the best I've ever had. Not so at Gardner's. I think the secret to other places is they marinade the chicken (likely in buttermilk) so the chicken is fall off the bone tender. It wasn't here. It was chewy, greasy, and not worth stopping for. KFC makes better fried chicken. read more

Gardner's Barbecue - Barbeque Near Me - Rocky Mount, North Carolina

Stopped here on my way to South Carolina. Not very far of the hwy, this place opens at 11 am for a full buffet lunch. They have a special for $25 including two drinks and a buffet. That buffet includes items like chopped pork bbq, chopped turkey bbq, fried chicken, baked chicken, fish and baked fishy fried oysters, greens, cabbage, rice, hushpuppies, fries, boiled shrimp, and a whole host of desserts like peach cobbler, banana pudding, cakes, and ice cream. Yes, I said you have access to all of that for just $25 for two people! The chopped NC-style bbq was delicious. This is a vinegar-based, no sauce-style of bbq so be aware of that if it's your first time. The fried chicken was delicious. I only wish that they had replenished it while I was there bc I wanted more fried wings, but only large pieces were left. read more

Wow... I owe you guys an apology. I mistakenly expected soul food to taste like soul food not the infamous Walmart amish potato salad, Seasoned sweet potatoes but not enough to hide that can taste. I was so unsure about the greens I just changed my mind about tasting them. I was left salvaging what was left.. Mac & cheese, hush puppies; chicken livers Chicken livers was fried just right!! Should just a plate with no sides! Sadly I popped opened the quart of tea... sugar water with a hint of tea flavor... now I am sad... sure believed soul food was real "from scratch" kinda cooking. This must be one of those after the club spots when everything is good after alot of drinking. ... pork skinz should be the name of this joint. Please consider taking "soul food" out your headliner. Soul food is much much more than u portray & it's not fair to claim it if you're not about it. I'm a 60+ southern cook with blessed hands ... you made my heart hurt claiming "Soul food". read more

This place was great in the late 70's and early 80's. Someone forgot how to make BBQ. First time I ate eastern NC BBQ with sugar in it. The potatoes were canned and tasteless. This is my last visit to this BBQ joint. read more

Poor service, unfriendly people that don't seem to know what they're doing. BBQ sandwich was ok but hushpuppies and corn sticks were bland and tasteless. My wife's wrap was also not good and also bland. I will not be coming again. read more

Honestly, I think I would have been happier at Hardee's across the street. Why? You might think that is harsh. Hush puppies were soggy. Chicken meat was moist, but coating was so fried that I was chewing a brick. Bbq plate was okay, sides were over cooked by a lot. Potatoes were really, really, smushed. Texas Pete did not really help that much. Staff was nice. That is why two stars instead of one. read more

Gardner's Barbecue - Chicken, fried 4 of meal. - Barbeque Near Me - Rocky Mount, North Carolina

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Best bbq sandwich in the Carolina's!! Not sure of their recipe but the flavor is out of this world? A must stop!!

Looks like just another chain but food was delicious. Fried chicken so very crispy on outside and perfectly moist. Large menu offering bbq fish chicken burgers homemade desserts at reasonable pricing and nice waitstaff. read more

Stopped in Rocky Mount on my way back home to Virginia over the weekend I was excited to stop because this was where I grew up and I wanted to show off to my friend where I grew up. We stopped at Gardeners on Fall Road we ordered chicken livers with two sides + pork skins and peach cobbler to go. In the parking lot we torn into the food only to discover that the collar greens were definitely from a can the potato salad was Amish potato salad from Walmart and the peach cobbler had 2 peaches total. My friend bought two 1/2 gallon jugs of Lemonade and report it to me this morning that the lemonade was pure sugar water I'm so disappointed this is not true North Carolina cooking. while the service we received was impeccable the food was awful read more

Their barbecue and chicken are mediocre at best, and cannot even come near the quality found at Parker's BBQ in nearby Wilson, NC. Don't even bother with Gardner's BBQ, just keep right on driving til you get to Parker's ! read more

We stopped for lunch on the way home from the coast. My husband was in the mood for barbecue as he loves good eastern NC BBQ though we had never tried this particular restaurant. The food was excellent and I especially liked the style of barbecue served. The hush puppies were also on point as was the slaw. The food (my two other sides were yams and green beans) is southern style but not too sugary or salty. This location is quick serve (fast food style ordering and dining) with good prices for the food quality. read more

We stopped here when passing through on a road trip. We wanted to eat somewhere besides fast food, but needed food fast! The fried chicken was good, barbecue spicy and tangy. The staff was friendly and the bathrooms were very clean! read more

We loved loved loved this place. The food was so good. I especially liked the turkey and gravy with the stuffing. The fried chicken might be the best I have ever had! The lemonade was so refreshing. The food worth the value. The ladies working the buffet were very nice but our waitress was not attentive at all. Maybe she was new or distracted, either way we still enjoyed our delicious dinner. read more

My family and I were passing through on a driving trip from NJ to the GA coast, and pulled this place up on the GPS after seeing a number of encouraging signs on the highway ('voted best BBQ...,' 'serving NC for 25 (or whatever it was, I forget) years, etc.). We were thrilled that we stopped here. 1. Great fried chicken and cabbage 2. Very fine pulled pork BBQ sandwich, as far as I could tell (I confess to being less familiar with the NC approach to this staple than to the midwestern version) 3. The place was homey but clean and professional - it felt like one of those old, hole in the wall places that gets an infusion of funds (urban enterprise zone funds, downtown revitalization grant, etc) and improves the production values without losing its soul. I don't know the local politics and so can't say if that's the right explanation, but it should convey some sense of what the place is like. 4. Professional, helpful staff, if in a somewhat world-weary way. 5. I would definitely return for more. read more

In a word yuck! Chicken liver had no seasoning, green beans straight out of a can and cole slaw was just weird. Now I know why the parking lot was empty! read more

Stopped here on a road trip from the Outer Banks and enjoyed the meal. Good prices and quality BBQ. Much better than standard fast food.

Finger licken good. Holy bat balls get off the highway and go here now. Had the BBQ sandwich and fried chicken. Get coleslaw on the sandwich. read more

While traveling on vacation we wanted to hit up a traditional Carolina bbq place. Gardner's was close by and had decent reviews from other Yelpers. We were disappointed. The food was ok, but the atmosphere was well below par. It looked and felt very dirty. The bbq itself was alright. The cole slaw was bland. The hushpuppies were so stale. Perhaps we caught the food on a bad night? Not sure, but if you're looking for a bbq place around Rocky Mount I'd skip Gardner's. read more

We are are in North Carolina my husband had a taste for barbecue so he sees a sign for Gardner's he wants to try them . So we go into the take out area he requested ribs the cashier said let me check to see if they have some. The guy in the back said yeah we have some my husband order two sides of ribs with collar greens . I wanted 3 fried chicken wings. They called our number. My husband is sitting in the truck ready to dig in he looks observers the ribs are wrapped in aluminium foil and they are cold. I guess someone should have explained to us you will have to warm the ribs up and put barbecue sauce on ribs before eating them so he brings the cold ribs back had to get chicken from buffet now I guess it must be different cooks preparing the food . I will say my chicken wings were delicious my husband chicken was not seasoned not good I asked where did you get that from I thought I was going to get another delicious chicken wing boy was I disappointed. Hubby did say collar greens was good. I guess we missed the good experience of Gardner's I guess we will just have to keep it moving . Hubby says make sure you see smoke ,you can smell the smoke he said he should have know something was not right. He did not smell or see smoke. Oh and they will have ribs on Saturday. This is our honest opinion review written by Andrea Wing read more

Food is good, service is solidly meh. Would give slightly less than three stars if Yelp supported it. But better than two.

I ordered 1 dozen Chicken Livers, cooked soft. I explained I needed them soft, because of dental issues. Out of the "9" Livers I got, every one was so hard they went straight to the trash. Due to the fact that they were extremely hard and very dark, it appeared they had been reheated. The 1 star I am giving is because even though the Hush puppies were cold, they had a good flavor. I have had the exact same issue from the 301 location twice. Thought the Fairview Road location might be better, they were not. read more

I eat at this Gardner's at least twice per month, and visit the other restaurants in town too. Just depends on which side of town I'm running errands. Food is always great! Friendly staff, great prices, and the best barbecue in town. I'm heading back today, not running errands, just in the mood for some good food. read more

Very good bbq and hushpuppies, but staff was not friendly at all. The girl who rang me out in the drive thru was very rude

Everytime I ordered from this place, I have enjoyed every meal. The baked chicken is tender and sweet. The veggies need no salt. Customer service is decent. read more