There are several reasons for the 3 star review and none have to do with the wait staff or the cleanliness because both are great. I suppose if you call yourself #1 and have tons of plaques and trophies everywhere then your food better be damn good. The sides were not great and barely good. The baked beans with meat was the standout, the coleslaw (vinegar with lite mayo) was good and the potato salad was a bland, tasteless mayonnaise mess. Overall sides I tried were C-/D. The three meats: outstanding ribs, weird pulled brisket (not listed that way on the menu) has a flavoring that was nice for 2-3 bites but then I didn't want anymore, and the dry pulled pork, although not grizzly or fatty, was not great and barely good. In addition, there's only two sauces and one of them was very honey based, and you could taste it the other was hot, but not the kind of hot that hit your tongue right away but sort of last in your throat and lingers. All in all I wouldn't be rushing back here for anything that I had with the exception of the ribs, which again or the outstanding dish read more

See all

Not only is the bbq delicious, but the baked beans are wonderful! We can almost make a meal just off the baked beans.

The inside is cool! There's so much to look at and the music isn't loud. I loved the brisket nachos but asked for no Jalapeños or for them on the side. I don't remember it taking too long be served after selecting our table but there was only one person working the register and taking orders at the tables so you may have to go up to the counter to get drink refills. You can also call ahead and place an order for pick up. read more

See all

Food is awesome service is great love his employees and him his wife is a lovely lady great family

The baked beans were delicious, the smoked turkey was ok tasting and the pulled pork was not very good. Also, be prepared there is a $4 sharing charge and a $0.37 charge per cup of water. read more

Hank's # 1 Bbq - Bbq - Barbeque Near Me - Columbus, Mississippi

See all

The ribs, and brisket was absolutely delicious. My only complaint was the potato salad I found it average, but that's my preference. Service however was really good, fast, and friendly, despite that there was 14 of us eating there at once! The atmosphere was quiet, we all went right before dark it was fun, and very homey! Do absolutely recommend this pla e to dine in and enjoy!!!! read more

Food was terrible had the brisket sandwich. Bun was cold out of the refrigerator and meat no smoke flavor at all

I entered and was the only customer in the store(25 minutes before closing if that should matter?) Placed my order. Assumingely, that was what I was given. This was not the case. Susan, who was capable of entering the correct order was not capable of preparing or delivering to me the correct order. My experience with a self serve kiosk would have been as equally appreciative of my patronage of their business. Who knows maybe someone behind the wall can't read or assemble what's on the order and package correctly. $44.50 is a high side order for a single person meal,Especially for takeout in Columbus Mississippi. With the amount of people requiring service at this point during the business day, this is completely unacceptable. Especially with the warm ness and genuine interest in making sure my experience was good. By either being appreciative of my service or even better making sure my order was correct. Or Both! What a Concept‍ They sell "the addictive" potato salad that all the good restaurants in town sell. But the slaw that "is generic and sold everywhere to restaurants that don't give a what their slaw flavor profile tastes like. They are gambling on feeding the masses who normally don't have flavor profile expectations. Why get an addictive potato salad side and settle for "low rent" on the slaw. The beans are a little better than the "low rent" slaw. They are mediocre. Which is what every barbecue restaurant in town invests in their beans. Mediocrity. They have all these trophy's on the wall for barbecue, but , is what the owner getting an award for preparing, what we are eating as customers? I wish I had pictures to see the difference. Being famous leads to complacency. Hanks has become complacent. Especially with the high side pricing for with the antiquated 50's environment provided for dining in. Not sure about visiting again. Side bar.. If you order the family pack to go be ready to spend $4 dollars on styrofoam plates and plastic utensils. I Wish there were more options. read more

Hank's # 1 Bbq - This is my order. I ordered baked beans. Susan apparently cannot read because what I ordered vs what I got. They are not the same - Barbeque Near Me - Columbus, Mississippi

See all

Great Q as always! Pulled pork was as good as I remembered. Service was good...... Picked up some rub also read more

Love Hank love his food great service never dissapoints in his food great prices to me need to try it if u haven't Hank's #1 barbeque

The bbq was delicious, the meats were juicy, fresh and tender. The restaurant looked clean and the service was great. The food was served hot, cooked perfectly and tasted like fresh good quality ingredients are being used. The prices are fair and parking is easy. read more

Awesome Barbecue, awesome potato salad, good baked beans, barbecue sauce has more vinegar than my liking so take a bottle of sweet barbecue sauce or if you do takeout you may want some sweet barbecue sauce on hand. read more

Great BBQ (make sure you order the baked beans and potato salad along with it), very attentive friendly service, and the perfect setting for some great award winning southern BBQ. A must visit when in the Columbus area! read more

Super yummy BBQ restaurant! Came here on a Thursday afternoon for some lunch with my husband and coworker. The service was very fast and amazing. Our waitress was so sweet & gave us great service. I got the 1/2 rack rib Plate & was satisfactorily stuffed! Ended the meal with a nice little pea on pie slice! Definitely coming back! & read more

See all

Hey man! Fin-ta' have a big tailgate or party, grab the Boston butt. I dare you to find a better one. Try it and prove me wrong. It disappeared before I could get a picture to post. Good stuff hank. This like the fourth one! Haha read more

Fast service, great food! Absolutely recommend their baked beans. I usually do not enjoy baked beans but these were to-die-for. Got 3 servings! Their braised brisket was amazing, and a great sauce to go with it! read more

Ordered a pulled pork plate with baked beans and cole slaw. Very small helpings. Had unsweetened tea. I was out of tea before the food was served. Food and drink was served on disposable plates, cups and fork. Pork had a big piece of tendon in it. Got a refill of tea on the way out (was sweetened). I went home and ate some dinner. The restaurant had a lot of children and an adult sitting at the bar with sound on his cell phone so loud you couldn't hear the background music. read more

BBQ spots- the Southern equivalent of the Pizzeria.... Usually, my rules for finding a good pizzeria hold true for this places- these rules include the following. 1. on a side of a 4 lane non-limited access US highway. 2. gavel/dirt/previously paved-now shitty/ sand parking lot 3. either very empty inside or very crowded 4. sweet tea 5. run down looking building- must be authentic- many new places attempt to simulate this style 6. kinda hot waitress who seems hotter with a plate of ribs 7. After passing bout 10 spots, this one won our patronage- it did not disappoint....ps look for my writing on the wall Got dry rub- smaller, but tender- meat slid off bone, but did not fall off when ribs was separated. sweet sauce- rub had a sweet flavor- sweet on sweet read more

See all

Stopped by here on a rainy cold day during lunch. Was a nice spot. Quick service and it was delicious

Best pulled pork bbq I've ever had!!!!! My heart hurts that I missed smoked chicken Thursday. We arrived shortly after 12PM and they were out. Someone I was working with picked hers up early and the smells...OMG. Sadly I was traveling with non-foodies who were not as excited as I was about the perfectly cooked smoked chicken and we missed out But back to the pulled pork sandwich that I did have. It was so moist and tender!!!! Everything about it was perfect. I'd also recommend their potato salad and baked beans. read more

Food is good but they are always closing earlier than hours of operation. I have been here twice around 5:30 and they have been closing. Very disappointed. Make enough food to stay open later!! read more

Simply amazing Food and great staff. Brisket was great. Ribs were awesome and the baked potato salad is off the charts. You're crazy not to go. read more

See all

The best BBQ on Mississippi. We had Dreamland BBQ the night before but they don't hold a candle to Hank's!

Good food but they take the phone off the hook when they're busy...once is a fluke but this has been a common trend every Friday

Very fast and friendly service. Very good food too! Highly recommend

Satisfying, yes. Best...? #1? I would have to disagree. Pulled pork & brisket were good, baked beans too. Cole slaw not great & I wasn't crazy about the potato salad. The place looks abandoned til you go inside. Overall it was good. Not the best I've ever had. read more

I've given this establishment more than a couple of tries and always find myself saying the same thing when I walk through the door, "I can't believe I'm eating here again." Normally find myself here because a group wants BBQ and there's not a closer alternative. I've tried brisket, ribs and the BBQ (Pulled pork).. I've always found the meat dry and needing sauce to finish my meal. My last visit, because the alternative down the road was closed, I ended up ordering the BBQ (pulled pork) plate. The pork ended up being more along the lines of dry chucked pork than pulled pork. Still looking for a good alternative. read more

Best bbq in the area by far. Memphis-style dry rub ribs. When the ribs are good, they are very very good. Sometimes they are not very meaty and they can be overcooked. Consistency is a problem. The pork butts are excellent. Perfectly cooked and moist. Take one home and make your own sandwiches. The beans are good. Not a lot of spice or onion (which would make them better), but there is lots of pulled pork in them. The pulled pork is sometimes dried out. Chicken is good, but only available on Thursdays. I don't care for his sauce, but that is because I only like Carolina-style vinegar sauce or no sauce at all. His slaw has mayo in it, so I do not eat it. The potato salad is better than average. The brisket is chopped, not sliced and best avoided. I do need to buy a whole brisket from him to see how it is that way. Do yourself a favor and get your Thanksgiving smoked turkey and dressing from him. Best I have ever had anywhere, anytime. read more

I have eaten here many times and always have had a great experience but if you can eat here on a Thursday and order the special which is a half smoked chicken I can assure you that you will come back again! The chicken is always nice and moist and has a great smoky flavor. The bbq sauce is very good and just adds a wonderful taste to the meat. The potato salad is really good but the baked beans are absolutely killer! The beans have meat cooked in them and you won't find any that are any better than they are here. Service is nice and friendly and drinks are kept filled. The only place you'll get better bbq is at my backyard grill! But then that's just for family! read more

I can not go with the five stars on this one... The potato salad was hands down the best I have ever had, and I will be back for more since I am very local. However, the girl we had serving us seemed absolutely miserable, and did not even introduce herself... When we first walked in there was no greeting just a fellow hung over his computer behind the counter, so we just assumed it was ok to go take our seats. The bbq sandwich was definitely good, but nothing out of the ordinary. Was I satisfied? yes. My expectations were not met after reading others reviews though. read more

The food was great. The pulled pork BBQ sandwich was delicious and so was the sauce. The people were very polite and the service was wonderful. I highly recommend! Will be back again for sure. read more

Best BBQ in town. Yes like other reviews mentioned it a a creepy looking place with little parking on a gravel lot but it is clean inside and the staff is friendly. The potato salad is delicious and like the meats you can buy it by the pint. Great to pick up and take home. They do sandwiches and plates at a decent price. I have tried their pulled pork, brisket, and chicken and have not been disappointed. Their BBQ nachos are also really good but when they say a side if bread they meal a slice of white wonder bread. Their desserts aren't good so I would skip on them but their main entries are top notch. read more

I am anxious to try the brisket. I've heard that it's even better than the ribs! :) read more

I LOVE Hanks! I don't eat beef or pork so finding a good BBQ place is rare and I'm from Atlanta. When I go to Hanks I order the turkey and it has a seasoning on it that I love so much. The BBQ sauce is amazing and I bought some to take home with me. I've gone to eat here many times when I've visited Columbus. The pilot community love this place and you will almost always see some guys in flight suits eating there. read more

The BBQ is 2nd to none and the staff was very friendly. Great Beans and slaw. This is in the site of a old building that was one time about 1945 or so, a thriving Juke Joint. If you are looking for fast, fresh BBQ I think it will fill the bill. Love the choice of sauce, either hot or mild. Since we are local, we visit it ofter and never leave without being full. read more

I second his remarks. Good BBQ only comes from buildings you think twice about going into, in fact this one is a little too clean. But this restaurant does follow the rule of a decent business/restaurant in Columbus: it is in an abandoned building (other two options are a trailer or a shed). ANYWAYS, best BBQ in town, great vinegar based sauce and attitude. Staff is very military friendly as are many locations in C-bus. read more

2 stars is a stretch, only because the potato salad was great. This was my second visit and will be my last. First time ordered brisket sandwich and was told it's chopped not sliced. Ordered it anyway to go and got to work to find it was a pork sandwich. Strike 1. Today, ordered ribs and either they are oven cooked or cooked the day prior and reheated in the oven. No smokey flavor. I miss Texas BBQ. read more

Delicious BBQ, fresh coleslaw, meaty baked beans & a friendly staff. A definite go-to! Great prices, too.

Plain & simple, Hank's is amazing! The guy is a pit renowned pitmaster, who has dominated the World Series of BBQ, Memphis in May for the past several years (and has the iron on display in the restaurant for viewing). I tried the brisket burnt ends, pork ribs, pulled pork, & sausage & cheese. Every serving was/is exceptional. If you fancy yourself someone who is serious about your BBQ, you have got to visit Hanks. Bottom line, the staff, food, & service are truly amazing. Hank makes his own potato chips and makes his own fried pickle slices too...amazing! Picked up a couple of Hank's tee shirts, a couple bottles of sauce they bottle, and some rubs for the road. read more

This was our first time and I was very pleased with the food; however, the service was as bad as the food was good. It took fifteen minutes to even get our drinks and one server was more worried about her child than her job. I have been a server so I know what is expected and we did not receive that. Good food though read more