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    Gators BBQ

    4.4 (283 reviews)
    ModerateBarbeque
    Closed 11:00 am - 8:00 pm

    Gators BBQ Photos

    Business Info

    GATORS BBQ ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Moderate noise
    Casual
    Outdoor seating
    Good for kids

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    Recommended Reviews - Gators BBQ

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    All of the BBQ sauces were delicious!
    JaneAnne F.

    They say, eat where the locals eat! We stumbled upon their little BBQ joint yesterday after we dropped off a quilt to a friend. The parking lot was filled with work trucks and police vehicles. The restaurant was packed with people. The staff was friendly and the service was great. I had the smoked chicken plate with collards and green beans. I'm picky about collards and these were some of the best that I've had in a restaurant. As we were eating one of the employees was walking around handing out little servings of banana pudding. It was yummy and a really nice touch to an already delicious meal. We were worried we wouldn't get a table but the turnover was pretty quick and a lot of people were getting to go orders. I am sure we will eat here again!

    BBQ egg rolls
    Leigh L.

    All I can really say about the food is delicious! I ordered a Carolina pulled pork sandwich and my friend ordered a BBQ Salad, her husband had a BBQ Potato. Since we were going to spend a lot of time catching up we ordered three appetizers; fried pickles, fried green tomatoes and the BBQ egg rolls. Needless to say, as is normal our eyes were bigger than our bellies. All the mains came home with us. The appetizers were delicious, hot and not greasy. My BBQ Sandwich went into the air fryer many hours later to reheat it and was amazing. Not overly sweet as it seems they mixed the BBQ Sauce in the coleslaw. Definitely try this restaurant for your BBQ cravings. It's off the charts. Not much inside seating, but the ladies kept the tables clean and also came around with free banana pudding samples to try. Money well spent!

    Renea O.

    Best BBQ in town! Stop in and see for yourself. Even if you are not a fan of BBQ try the shrimp! Yummy!

    Dave M.

    Fast service, friendly staff, good Q. Went with the 2 meet combo. Burnt ends and sides are great. Brisket was so-so. Not much smoke, or flavor, sauce was really good and helped with the brisket. No frills, limited seating inside & out.

    2 meat plate - brisket and jalapeno sausage,  bbq beans and Mac n cheese
    Jeremy T.

    I visited this rrstaurant simply because I was in the area. It's a hole in the wall place and you're likely to see a chicken or two in the driveway when you pull in. The dining room is in the front and is small and crowded during lunchtime. The menu is good sized with several options, even seafood and a smoked burger. I decided on the 2 meat plate with brisket and jalapeno sausage, with baked beans and mac n cheese. The plate also comes with 2 pieces of toast, which are buttered and have some parsley on them. Brisket (3/5)- 2 slices, one small and one large, mostly lean with a smoke ring. No seasoning so I added two of their sauces on the table, Texas sauce and sweet sauce. Jalapeno and cheese sausage (2/5) - Was ok, I tasted mostly cheese and no jalapeno. Skin had a snap, juicy on the inside Beans (2/5) - tasted canned and pretty standard Mac n cheese (3/5) - decent, creamy, no exotic cheese used in this Banana pudding (1/5)- tastes like the boxed variety you can buy at the grocery store with artificial flavor, didnt have any real banana slices in the portion I got Overall. I didn't finish the sausage, toast or Banana pudding. This is a blue collar type of place serving average bbq at best, and I don't feel like they're trying to do anymore than that. Their lower prices reflect that too.

    Inside of the restaurant
    Deb N.

    Just had some delicious lunch at Gators. I ordered the baby back rib dinner and my husband had the pulled pork sandwich. My lunch came with two sides, fries and coleslaw and my husband just had the sandwich with no slides. The pulled pork sandwich was delicious as were the ribs. We both tried the sweet BBQ sauce and it was tasty. The fries were a tiny bit under cooked and the coleslaw was very vinegary. The ribs and pork made up for the lack of taste in the fries and coleslaw. I used the bathroom before we left and it was very clean, as was the whole place. We would definitely eat here again. $23 plus tip for lunch.

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    11 days ago

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    9 months ago

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    5 months ago

    Consistently good Bar B Que. Never had a bad meal there and always a pleasant and courteous staff. Well worth my 25-mile drive.

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    2 years ago

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    5 years ago

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    1 year ago

    Good BBQ and the best option in the area. Good portions, although maybe a bit higher priced on some items. Friendly service.

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    1 year ago

    Tasty food and great people behind the counter. Having Sunday morning breakfast today.

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    2 years ago

    Small locals place. Maybe seating for 16. Please don't ruin it. Great portions. Sorry no photos. Are too much too fast.

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    2 years ago

    Really good bbq! Service is slow because of the amount of people eating here so not their fault. It's a whole in the wall but I like that.

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    Ask the Community - Gators BBQ

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    The Bearded Pig - Beach vibes-- 1/2# fatty Brisket-- 04-17-2025

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    4.4(1.7k reviews)
    8.1 miSan Marco, St. Nicholas
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    I have been to spend the night in Jacksonville and decided to try the Bearded Pig. Best barbecue,…read moreribs, burnt ends and great baked beans and macaroni and cheese. Anytime I'm near Jacksonville. I automatically go there. It is always very busy, if you want to take our call ahead and almost impossible to park, but worth it. Indoor and outdoor seating.

    Came in to The Bearded Pig in Jacksonville looking for some solid BBQ and it ended up being one of…read morethe better meals we had on the trip. Right away the place had a great vibe, busy but still comfortable, and you could tell they take their food seriously. Marcus took care of us and his service really stood out. He was friendly, attentive, and made sure everything came out right without us having to ask. It's always a plus when the service matches the quality of the food, and he definitely made the experience even better. The brisket sandwich was excellent, full of flavor with that perfect smoky taste and really tender meat. You can tell it's done right. The pulled pork sandwich was just as impressive, juicy and packed with flavor in every bite. Both sandwiches were filling and hit the spot. The mac and cheese was great as well, creamy and rich and paired perfectly with the BBQ. It's one of those sides you don't think much about at first but end up finishing completely. Overall this place delivers on both food and service. Definitely a spot worth checking out if you're in Jacksonville and want some legit BBQ.

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    4 Rivers Smokehouse

    4 Rivers Smokehouse

    4.0(785 reviews)
    14.8 miSouthside
    $$

    First time I have visited 4 rivers smokehouse. I ordered the brisket and burnt-ends. Excellent…read moretaste and I will be back!

    I ordered 4 Rivers for catering for the first time yesterday. The driver brought the food on time…read moreand in a hot box. He unloaded the trays and set them up for me. The food smelled amazing. People kept poking their heads in the room saying they could smell it when they got off the elevator. All of the food looked good. I made my own little food name cards to go in front so people knew what they were looking at. I do prefer when caterers provide those name cards. I will say that 4R did write what each thing was on the top of the lids, so I knew what it was prior to opening them. We got: salad, cornbread, pulled pork, Texas sausage, beef brisket, vegan burnt ends, mac and cheese, baked beans, and banana dream pudding. Salad looked good and came with all the toppings and 2 dressings. The cornbread looked and tasted amazing. 10/10 Everyone loved the pulled pork. By far the favorite. The Texas sausage smelled amazing. The beef brisket wasn't how I expected. The top layer looked fine, but the layers underneath were sitting in grease and looked to have a ton of fat on them. I've never had beef brisket before, so I'm unsure if that's normal. But to me, it didn't look good. The vegan burnt ends were so good. I actually questioned if it was actually meat (I don't eat pork anymore). I even had someone try it and only told them it was burnt ends and they didn't notice it wasn't meat. 10/10 Mac and cheese was good. Baked beans looked and smelled amazing. The banana dream pudding was 10/10 on appearance. Literally perfection; however, I tried it thinking it was regular banana pudding with extra toppings on it, but I was wrong. It almost had a lemony taste to it. I, personally, did not care for it and only had one bite. I went back and looked and it doesn't mention lemon, but it did not taste like regular banana pudding. There's something else in there, just not sure what it is. Overall, I would definitely order 4 Rivers again. They had excellent delivery, food had excellent presentation, and most of it was really good.

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    4 Rivers Smokehouse - WOOOOHHHOOOOO!! Back at 4 Rivers! It was AWESOME!

    WOOOOHHHOOOOO!! Back at 4 Rivers! It was AWESOME!

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    Woodpeckers Backyard BBQ - 3 meat combo (brisket, sausage, and turkey) with beans, collard greens, and cream corn.

    Woodpeckers Backyard BBQ

    4.6(688 reviews)
    24.0 mi
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    Up date March 2006. Woodpecker's is still fantastic!…read moreNice BBQ joint atmosphere, great service, and supreme barbecue. Prices are good. My family, the six of us, most who live very close, my wife and I, visiting from CA, made our usual visit to Woodpecker's during an "around Florida" vacation. We visited many spots of my youth between Jax & St. Petersburg while dining at old favorites and several BBQ joints along the way. Without a doubt, Woodpecker's Backyard Barbecue was the best by far. The last time we were there, the turkey stole a show as it was the best turkey I have ever eaten in a barbecue restaurant. This time the brisket was the number one meat, equalling or bypassing any I have had anywhere, even in the many Texas joints we have tried. It was right up there with Franklin's and other top Texas offerings. All of their meats were extremely good. Their sides are very interesting as well as good tasting utilizing a lot of dátil pepper to flavor several and add a little bite of spice. My only wish is that it was closer than the 2547 miles away that it is. If you are anywhere near woodpecker's backyard, barbecue, go. Go. Go. You will not regret it.

    Holy smokes, now this is barbecue! I showed up randomly with a group of 14 other others for lunch…read moreafter a kayaking trip. We opted to eat outside because inside it is a little tight, and they were quite full already. Everything is quite casual, including the hostess stand on the outside and the walk up window on the other. Food is served in a to-go bag from the walk up window and comes with everything you need to land a happy belly and a messy face. I have lived around here for years and wondered if there was a reason why this place is always bursting at the seams on nice days. Now I know, this is some legit bbq. The portions are generous, the chicken was tender, the beef ribs were huge, and the coleslaw is very similar to a fried chicken place (with only three letter letters in its name)... Which was my most favorite coleslaw in the whole wide world. No french fries though. But the coleslaw makes up for it. I told my BF that I would absolutely travel down there (30 min) just to pick up some to-go chicken and coleslaw. He also told me that the datil pepper cornbread was deliciously spicy with a real pepper kick.

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    Woodpeckers Backyard BBQ - Ribs that were part 1 of 2 different meats.  The pieces were huge and delicious!

    Ribs that were part 1 of 2 different meats. The pieces were huge and delicious!

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    Backwood Meat Smokers - Great bbq

    Backwood Meat Smokers

    4.1(14 reviews)
    7.8 miDowntown

    Brisket and pulled pork were very good, and I really liked the baked beans and mac and cheese. Good…read moreseasoning on everything. I really wish they had the sauce bottles on the side so I can mix and match what I wanted, instead they just give you one cup for the whole meal. Also a bit disappointed that they sent us a menu ahead of time but the prices went up when they got here. Still, the food was great and the service was friendly, so if they came back I would probably get them again.

    Backwood Meat Smokerz came to my neighborhood this evening and boy am I glad they did! I received…read morean email this afternoon from the homeowners association so I Googled Backwood and found a Facebook page. There were several five-star reviews on FB but nothing on Yelp. As soon as I walked out of my house I smelled the smoker. As soon as I saw brisket on the menu it was a no-brainer. The sides can change daily. Today featured baked beans and three cheese mac and cheese, yes please! My order was served quickly and the owner was friendly. As soon as I was handed my food I was overwhelmed by the yummy aroma. When I came in the house my dog and doggy guests were super excited to see me, aka, they wanted my dinner lol! The brisket was tender and juicy with a nice smoky flavor. I also loved dipping in the Carolina style sauce. The baked beans were tangy and delicious with a little kick. And the mac and cheese was cheesy. My only complaint was I'm use to larger portions of meat. Although, I do understand meat prices have raised in the past year or so. I will absolutely stop by Backwood again so I can try a different protein. Thanks for serving our neighborhood!

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    Backwood Meat Smokers
    Backwood Meat Smokers - Beef brisket & smoked turkey, $19. Meats had good flavor. I didn't like the Mac & chs. Portion is small for the price.

    Beef brisket & smoked turkey, $19. Meats had good flavor. I didn't like the Mac & chs. Portion is small for the price.

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    Gators BBQ - bbq - Updated May 2026

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