We stopped in on a Saturday at noon after reading reviews on yelp, and were surprised that the place was empty, except for one other couple, standing and waiting for a takeout order. My husband ordered the ribs and okra, and I got a shrimp po boy sandwich with collard greens. The young man at the register was very helpful & efficient, and we quickly found a table. I needed to use the restroom while I waited for our order, but a sign on a door in the corner said 'out of order' so sadly, no bathroom. The young man from the register soon brought out our order, and we were happy! I grew up with peppery collards on the south side of Chicago, and man! I was surprised to have such a good cup in KS! They were hot, so tender & peppered, and the meat in them was lean & juicy. My po boy had 5 shrimp- almost too many to fit into the roll, but they were breaded & fried, hot & crispy. The roll was fresh & well- stocked with tomato, lettuce & mayo. There is a free 'sample' of coleslaw given on each order it seems, but I did not care for mine. My husband really enjoyed his ribs; they weee smoky & tender and the portion was good. The okra was kind of a bummer; clearly an out-of-the-frozen bag kind, but he said it was clear the kitchen had prioritized the ribs, which were awesome. We were sad to see a lack of variety in sauce, but what we did have was delightful. I highly recommend this place, and will likely be back soon, just for the collards! read more

Was downtown Topeka working and had seen reviews on JRock so wanted to try them out. I had 2 meat combo pulled pork and hot links with baked beans. They throw in a small sample of their coleslaw (teaser lol) the food was great all though I'd preferred the hot links to have more of a bite. Their house sauce had a great flavor again for me I like heat and they only had a bottle of Texas Pete hot sausage to spice it up. Now the baked beans had bacon and was not too sweet and definitely not bland I actually enjoyed them as normally beans can overpower one way or the other. For someone who normally will not eat coleslaw I tried it and polished the teaser off. Very good. Do wished they did brisket but they do have burnt ends. Staff were friendly and had suggestions which were helpful. They put their efforts into the food which I'll be back for but the facility could use a refresh but for me if it means shorting on the love n care they give the food they cook I'm good with the facility read more

J Rocks Smoke House - Backed beans and their coleslaw - Barbeque Near Me - Topeka, Kansas

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My son and I are on a cross country road trip and randomly stopped in at J Rocks. The food doesn't need a long "Foodie" type review: The smoked chicken tips (boneless thighs) and cheese steak sandwich were the best things I've put in my mouth this whole trip.......'nuff said! read more

J Rocks Smoke House - J Rocks rocks - Barbeque Near Me - Topeka, Kansas

We waited 45 minutes for two sandwiches and 3 wings. The pulled pork was saw dust dry and 2 of the 3 wings were burnt to a crisp. My Topeka cheesesteak was delicious. We've always loved JRocks, but the last couple times we've been there, have not been the best experience. I'm praying things get fixed so we can go back one day. read more

J Rocks Smoke House - Crispy chicken wings - Barbeque Near Me - Topeka, Kansas

I travel around for work and every time I try to find a new place to eat lunch. When I saw J Rocks I had high hopes that it would be a good little joint to try out. Unfortunately it's not what I had hoped. I got the burnt ends and collard greens. The burnt ends tasted ok but they were basically blended meat and so greasy it was almost like a burnt end soup. The collard greens with turkey was good but seemed microwaved. To top it off the burnt end meal with a drink was almost $30!!! If the prices were reasonable I would maybe go try something else there next time but with the combination of mediocre taste, poor presentation, and ridiculous pricing I would highly recommend you look for somewhere else to eat. read more

Stopped here for an early dinner and ordered the Shrimp po' boy and the Philly steak sandwich. The shrimp was heavily battered but had no flavor and the cheese steak was bland and dripping with grease. It actually looked like greasy stew on a bun. We paid over $30 for it and ended up going down the street to Sonic. read more

Def recommend J Rocks. Ribs and coleslaw are amazing. Huge portions. Friendly and welcoming service. No complaints!

The ribs are spent tacular.They have excellent French fries.Great atmosphere.They have entertainment.They have jazz Music.Yes, this service is excellent.They got great staff there.Everyone is nice and polite.Please come out and enjoy them read more

Man, man, man! If there was an option for 10 stars, I'd easily give it. Traveled in to Topkea on a work trip and I'm often times looking for the best food in the area, especially for a group. J Rocks did not disappoint. The location is a smaller one but there are talks of them getting a bigger location soon. I was immediately greeted by the smell of good smoke and I knew we were in for a treat. We visited them as a group of 6 for lunch at 11:35 am. They had just opened but we were warmly greeted and they weren't intimidated at all. There were already 2 people waiting inside. I ordered the smoked wings and burnt ends with mac and cheese, collard greens, and dirty rice. The combos come with one side while the dinners come with 2. The food was so flavorful and hot. The meat was perfectly smoked and crispy without being soggy. You can really tell the staff loves what they do and enjoys cooking. The food was so good, we went back a second time before the end of our visit. This time I got fried wings and they did not disappoint. If you're in the area J Rock is a must stop. In addition to great food, the people-staff and patrons make you feel like family. They come right up and strike up a conversation and treat you like you've know them your whole life. read more

Ordered the Topeka Steak Philly with fries and a side of mac & cheese Great atmosphere super chill vibes and great customer service! read more

J Rocks Smoke House - Topeka Steak Philly with fries and mac & cheese - Barbeque Near Me - Topeka, Kansas

The Rib tips are my favorite Well actually the only item I've had because they are delicious read more

J Rocks Smoke House - Rib tips Hot link Fried okra and collard greens - Barbeque Near Me - Topeka, Kansas

Wanted to check out this bbq spot. The service was amazing, the children are the host. The ambiance was nice. The order consisted of the red snapper dinner w two sides and Wings with 1 side. The total was reasonable for food,drinks and desserts (Kool aid pie and Strawberry pie). read more

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Disappointing. I like to try new BBQ places around the state and had high hopes for J Rocks. I came in for lunch and ordered the burnt ends combo- which included burnt ends, 4 pieces of white bread, and a side (I picked the baked beans). Adding a can of Diet Coke and a 15% tip made my lunch $30. The combo came in a small basket with a styrofoam quarter cup of beans. The small portion of burnt ends were okay, nothing I would be excited to have again. There was one BBQ sauce available, which was basic and lacked spice- nothing I would want to put on my food again. Too bad- I had hoped for another good BBQ place downtown! read more

This restaurant is clean, has great service and great food. A very polite and efficient young man took our order and brought us our food. I had the burnt ends sandwich, which came with fries. It was outstanding! The meat was tender with a great smoky flavor. The only downfall was the BBQ sauce. There is only one option, and I didn't care for it. It had a strong (maybe clove?) flavor. Thankfully, the meat was delicious on its own, and I didn't need sauce. Although the BBQ sauce wasn't needed for this sandwich, I'd definitely want some sauce for other options on the menu. Some other sauce options would be wonderful, but the food is outstanding. read more

We were looking for a good place to eat while driving home. J Rocks popped up in Topeka. Sounded great so we went! Good choice! Very tasty food. I had the wings 2 fried and 2 smoked with dirty rice and sweet potatoes. Hubby had smoking J sandwich with fries. Son had ribs with Mac and cheese. Everything was good. Nice folks and good service. Dining room was nice and clean. Minority family business. read more

Great quick service. Everything tastes uniquely homemade. Ribs were tender, greens perfectly seasoned melt in your mouth, dirty rice yes! Fantastic. Lemonade cake with truly lemony frosting on moist cake. read more

Holy cow! The food! The catfish was awesome as were the chicken tips and all the various sides we had. Everyone was quite friendly. Even some of the patrons asked if we liked our meals. Maybe it was the way we were wolfing it all down that made them ask. The sign was hard to see from the road but the directions were accurate from our mapping app. My reign as the Sovereign Yelp Savant of the Decade continues. Signed, Your Queen read more

Just passing through and found this place on Yelp. Excellent pulled pork and burnt ends! The sides were great too!!!

Very cozy, family-run business. Hubby and I split the rib dinner with baked beans and fried okra for the sides. Everything was delish. We ate in the restaurant, but it is small. Most folks did carry out and there was a constant stream of traffic picking up to-go orders. read more

Amazing food. Just stopped in on a business trip and was 100% satisfied. Very helpful staff did us right!

OMG! This place is amazing! Another truck driver and myself were offloading about a mile from this restaurant and were so hungry our stomachs were stuck to our backs and we could not leave shipper in our big rig. But as only GOD would have it I found this place on my dumb smart phone and called and the owner himself took our order and brought our hot, fresh, delicious food to us!! Anytime I am near Topeka, I will want food from this restaurant and can only hope that I am in my personal vehicle so I can dine in for I am sure that experience would be as wonderful!!! read more

Great food great service also had live music the day I was there, had a enjoyable evening, not fancy but clean and comfortable great place

Very small yet homey place. The employees were super friendly and attentive. AMAZINGLY DELICIOUS does not even describe the food. I will honestly say, I had the best pulled pork I've ever had in my life here, and we travel a lot! All the sides were soooo yummy. You must try out this little local place, it's the best! read more

My lady,Vergie and I were told that there is a really good Soul Food Restaurant called J Rocks Smoke House (1000 SE 21st. Street), so we tried it out last night! Terry and Ronie were right! We tried a lot of different things, so we could have leftovers, for another meal. We had wings, ribs, red snapper, baked beans, collard greens, Mac&Cheese, dirty rice, green beans, Cole slaw, and fries! And for desert we had strawberry lemon aid cake! Everything was outstanding! PS: The owners, Richard and Jasmaine were really nice, and very professional! read more

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I wish I could give this place a better rating, I was disappointed with the special that day which was a beef polish and fries. The beef polish tasted like it had been boiled and the fries were cold. The only good thing was the peach soda. This is my second time giving this restaurant a try and I don't know why but it has not been good. I see all the reviews on here about people really liking the food here and I wish I could say yeah the food is good but it hasn't been, I have a background in running a restaurant as well and so maybe that what makes it hard to give them a better score, because I know good food quality. I will say the reason for the 3 stars are for the good customer service and the ambiance of the restaurant was really nice. I really hope this place continues to grow and get better on the food. I am all for supporting small black owned business and I want them to stick around. read more

I got the catfish dinner with collard greens and elite corn and my husband got the rib tips with Mac and cheese and beans. Each of our meals came with a very small serving of coleslaw and a nice sized corn muffin. The catfish seasoning is so good it does not need any tarter or hot sauce. Enough said. Serving sizes are plentiful. The corn bread has just a hint of sweetness. Staff is super sweet. Definitely will be back. read more

The best bbq in town. Everything was cooked to perfection and will not disappoint. Pulled pork sandwich meat was smoked perfectly. Green beans and potatoes oh my. Okra out of this world and so are the beans read more

Family and I came from Fort Lauderdale, FL and googled good food in the area. Found this gem and truly enjoyed our experience. The owners and chef were so pleasent and accommodating. The young man at the register was so sweet and did a great job taking our order. The catfish and greens were 10/10 read more

Amazing food and service! The all the food I tasted was amazing good. I recommend this place if you're in Topeka, Ka

Not open during their posted open hours. We went to this restaurant specifically because it was one of the few open restaurants.