Rib tips. That's what I came here for and they were everything you want rib tips to be. Crunchy with the right amount of char and meaty. So good. Waited in line outside in the cold and I would do it again. This is a take out place only, there is no room to eat inside. The person in front of me recommended the hot links, which I probably wouldn't have ordered, but he said they were the best so I had to try them. They had a sweet breakfast sausage taste with a little heat, but not too spicy. I'd come back just for those hot links, he was right. read more

Lem's Bar-B-Q - Bucket of rib tips - Barbeque Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Yes, the only place I will eat rib tips from. You cannot find tips in Cali., especially in the Palm Desert area. I am Chicago Southside at heart and that means tips from Lem's and fried chicken from Harold's with hot sauce. read more

Lem's is one of the oldest and iconic places in Chicago and I haven't had any Lem's bbq since I was a kid but the memories that I have of it is just still like it was yesterday and im 42yrs old now.. that's how great it is read more

Ordered The special it's close to $20 I forgot what it's called but it has chicken one hotlink rib tips Fries And also a large order of ribs tips. First off the lady was rude as heck and almost made us want to turn around and go somewhere else but overall the rib tips were just OK they were full of bones not too much meat I'll skip here and definitely head to the Westside for my barbecue next time especially since the lady was so mean read more

A quality bbq shop that is legit old school Slap your mama Smokey goodness. Some of the best outside of Nashville and Austin. Give it a try, you won't be disappointed. read more

I have contacted you several times concerning the old food that I received, the fries were old and so dry that the sauce was stuck to the container, the hot links were hard and dry, and the tips and slabs were old and dry. As previously stated I have been a long-time buyer of Lems since the 1960s. I had a stroke and can no longer drive, it took me months to get someone to take me to Lems and I spent $115.00 for food that I could not eat. This is shabby customer service. Lems has not acted on my complaint. They asked on Facebook were did I complain. I complained on their website where it said contact us, 3 times and they never responded until I gave the review on Yelp. Always check your food before leaving to make sure it's fresh! A $115 is too much to pay for food you cannot eat! read more

The best BBQ on the south side! Always so tender and juicy. I love the light vinegar sauce. Ribs drowned in sauce are crap. But not these! FYI- they don't take call in orders, but relax! The line goes fast. read more

I've tried several places in an attempt to find the best rib tips, and I can comfortably say that Lem's takes top honors. The meat is tender, flavorful, and unlike anything else I've ever had. If you haven't been, do yourself a favor and give them a try. read more

Best BBQ I the south side!! Mark sure you check with the location for hours of operation, I do believe the are closed on day during the week. read more

Saw this on the food network. Decided to drive 1.5 hours out. Very satisfied with this place. Rib tips are very good, and the portions are great. Wife and I enjoyed the food. read more

Lems bar b que, is a hit or miss you never know what you are going to get. Sometime it's good sometime you need razor teeth for the tips. The line is always long, the parking is bad. so I'm giving Lem's Bar B Que 2 stars I would have gave 3 stars but the cashier's attitude is always so negative, no smile no customer service at all. read more

Lem's has some of the best hot links in the city so imagine my surprise when I saw the JBL special being offered with 2 wings, 2 ribs, 1 hot link, rib tips and fries for 22.15!! Sounded perfect, I ordered a JBL & a small rib tip for my fiancée. They repeated my order back to me at least 4 times & I got home to discover they had given me the small rib tip I ordered...and an order of fried shrimp, no JBL in sight. The fried shrimp is overly breaded & not that good to me, so I spent an extra $10 over what I ordered for subpar food and this was after standing in line for at least a half hour. MAKE SURE YOU CHECK YOUR ORDER BEFORE YOU LEAVE ESPECIALLY IF YOU LIVE FAR AWAY LIKE I DO. read more

I've been eating here since I was little. I usually just get the rib tips. The sauce and seasonings needs to be revamped & Eating it so much can get tiring BC the sauce is blah. I suggest adding a sauce menu with different varieties of bbq sauce to put on the meats. Similar to Buffalo Wild Wings expect its Lem's :) read more

Omgawd they have the best rib tips in the world .... They haven't changed since the 70's lol

You know the product is good when people are standing in line outside, in much of Chicago's worst weather! My only suggestion is that they wipe out the parking lot, in favor of expanding their space! (Keep the same grill ... it's seasoned)! Trust me, if we'll stand in 'the weather', we'll find a parking space and walk to your door!! How about it, Carmen? read more

A great choice in my opinion. Staff likes what they do. Food is always fresh tip and link combo is on point. read more

What a great bbq house! Definitely competes with the very best in chicago, I ordered rib tips and they were divine

Best BBQ Sauce, ribs and fries. I come just for the sauce and fries. Live in San Diego, but always stop by Lem's when I'm in town. Loved it growing up as a Kid in Chicago, and love getting it when I return... DA BEST like DA BEARS!!! read more

Real gem of a BBQ joint! We got the chicken and loved it. Bough some seasoning to get home too. I was impressed with how well organized the place is, letting 3 people in at a time (due to Covid), everyone had a mask, felt safe. Yet, folk were friendly and the food was great! read more

The wait is long but so worth it. Portions are huge and the pork is cooked just right. The potato salad isn't the best of the best but it is good. Definitely record if you want good barbecue in the city. read more

Great ribs good cuts very delicious also open during the pandemic great service fast and reliable very delicious food

Friday/Saturday evenings the Q is the "bomb". Rib tips are my favorite!!! Been going there for 55 years never disappointed!! Might wait in-line outside for a while but it is good and worth it!! Price reasonable. read more

Some of the best BBQ on the planet. Serving sizes are huge. I got the rib tip and spicy sausage combo. Extremely satisfied and will be coming back. Line is always long and they do take their time with working each order however it's well worth the wait read more

Love Lem's! They are open late and the food is pretty consistent. The sauce is awesome. This is my go to for late night food.

PLEASE put the bread on the bottom like you used to. Too much grease floating around in bag of tips. Otherwise it's all good. Thank you read more

Not normally a pork eater but the ribs were off the chain! The best part was my 7 year old son really enjoyed the BBQ chicken wings and French fries. Something about the sauce really brings out the flavor in all the food! read more

I was disappointed in my last visit. The rib tips were burnt dry and tasted of lighter fluid. Sorry to say, cause I live out of town and I really looked forward to your rib tips. Hope you'll be back on point for my next visit. It is important to put forward your best product for every customer every time. read more

Mannnn Lems bbq is the place to go for some bbq. The people were friendly. They had nice music while you wait in line. And yes you will practice patience in that line. Very worth it tho. I had short ribs and ate it with my red beans and rice. Talk about a meal!! read more

I've been going here for years. The lines are long but worth the wait. Generous portions.

Ordered large rip tips and cole slaw the last day, Monday, they were open for business before the Thanksgiving holiday. The quality of their food use to be pretty reliable but this time, YUCK, X10! The tips were dry, tough and chewy. Several pieces barely had any meat on them. The quality of the rest of the order really doesn't matter because people go to Lem's for their barbecue! I order from them for their TIPS. Lem's should not sell tips that bad! read more

Probably the best take out BBQ on the Southside! Never had a bad meal here ever! You'll also never wait for your food for more than 5-7 minutes tops! Really nice guys in there! Pro Tip: small space in there, so don't be rude and not scoot down when the door opens. Also, know your order when you arrive, don't waste their time or patrons waiting. Get your BBQ and get out! Again, small space. read more

I've been longing to try lems for some time now and ended up in the area, I've had some of the best rib tips in the past but this was supposed to be one of the greats! So the wait was super long as expected, we ordered a lot and they first gave us the tips with legit no sauce on them only water in the bucket, they gave us a bottle of there sauce after I told them which was fine, but then I found out that they didn't have hot bbq sauce! There's was on the sugar sweet side of sauces, but it lacked in a lot of other flavors that you want in a sauce, tips where cut largely and they weren't tender enough, but they where still good just not the ones I've heard of! The hot link was overly soft almost mush and it tasted more like breakfast sausage read more

My family and I have been going to Lems since I was a boy. It does not disappoint. I enjoy the rib tips and the ribs. I tell them to put the sauce on the side. The meat is savory, moist tender. The meat is good to the last morsel. They have a sauce a BBQ sauce called mild sauce! I have no clue what's in it but it's a hint of sweet not too sweet, a little vinegary taste and a little spice. They have fried chicken but excel with the ribs. There have been times when my mum has gotten shrimp but like I said before they excel with the ribs. The smoker is an aquarium style and they keep wood on site. There isn't a place to eat your food inside so you gotta take it to go. The lines can get long at times but it is so worth it!! read more

The bar-b-que sauce was so watery ran off meat into the bag, The employees was very rude. They didn't even know how to chop up the rib tips. Never go back again. read more

They give you a a lot of food and it's very good . The sauce is amazing and a little spicy . They do out the fries under the rib tips and the sauce so they are drenched , but they are so good. There's a big line so come early . read more

The cuts of meat that are given are great in comparison to other local bbq places. We got a combo that they were offering that was a sampler of sorts which was more food than two people could consume. There were wings, tips, links, and fries. I wish the sauce was less watery and tangy but still an enjoyable experience. read more

This place has stood the test of time oh, it's so famous it's on the map of a restaurant in New York Times Square acknowledging very good barbecue places. My father Drew artwork for Lem himself when he was still here with us. Our family has been visiting this restaurant for years read more

We were on a road trip headed to Milwaukee. We googled bbq in Chicago and Lems came up. We decided to give it a try, drove over and ordered a basket of tips/fries and coleslaw. We were not impressed at all. Tips had no smoke taste and too much of a vinegary taste. We all agreed that the taste was just average and nothing to write home about. On a different note, we had rib tips in Milwaukee that beat these tips hands down. We saw SwapWater BBQ food truck and decided to try and redeem the bad purchase we just made in Chicago. These tips were everything! They had the smoke, the sweet and the heat all in one. They were so good we were licking our fingers! Sorry Lems..we Won't be coming back! read more

Outstanding BBQ. Unique and completely delicious flavor. I've never had such tender tips.

I went Lem's Thursday evening after I got off work pickup a large combo and it was delicious. My only complaint was the guy in the back was mean to me but I figured he was having a bad day. read more