Very disappointed with the food, but especially the service. Two of my son's ordered burgers. One was the pub burger, but the cheese was missing. My third son ordered the crispy orange salmon. There was nothing crispy about it. My burnt ends were tasty, but cold. We would have spoken to the server about it, but she never came back to check on us after the last dish was delivered. We were sat next to their garage door which I imagine is great during the summer, but it was a cold, wintry night. It would have been nice to have been seated further away from such a large window. The restaurant was empty, so I don't understand why we were seated us there. I would not recommend Mendel's especially with what you are asked to pay per dish and such poor service. Not worth the high price tag! read more

Amazing food.... BUT! HoRRIBLE ambiance. 3 entries ordered, 2 arrived and 2rd waited 15 minutes and then came out wrong. Was seated where a swarm descended and got hit 3 times in back of head by other patrons. Kids running free creating a cacophony of noise and spilled water. Not once did staff mention to tables avout entire restaurant affecting disruptions. Apparently the zoo is okay and condoned. Take out only from now on ... horrible experience from start to finish. Xmas dinner ruined. Thanks for the awful experience. read more

Was there for lunch and they have a nice menu with bbq chicken and brisket. I ordered the brisket sandwich and it was very good. If I hadn't need to drive, I would have tried one of their bourbon offerings. The restaurant is decorated nicely and service was excellent. Food came out pretty quickly. Do recommend this place. read more

Mendel’s KC BBQ - Barbeque Near Me - Shaker Heights, Ohio

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If you want bad barbecue, lousy service and a depressing atmosphere...you've found your home here. My brisket was overcooked, got mashed potatoes when I ordered fries since they claimed they ran out. Tables had residue from prior diners. Midway through meal, the place was overrun with what appeared to be friends of owners with loud unruly kids that no one seemed to want to spend any effort explaining how to conduct themselves in the presence of others in shared public space. read more

To me, this place is a mix of good, bad, and ugly. The good: I went with my family a couple weeks ago and spent close to $200 on trying pretty much one of everything on their menu. We had a brisket sandwich, two of their burgers, a polish boy, fries, onion rings, and their bbq sundae. Safe to say their food is some of the best BBQ I've ever had the opportunity to try. The seasoning, temperature, and flavor were all on point. These people know what they're doing in the kitchen. The bad: Notice how I said they know what they're doing in the kitchen. In terms of customer service, it was a different story. They make it extremely hard for you to obtain a reservation and they are mostly full when they do decide to open. I had been trying to get a reservation at this place or even order online for weeks now and I could not manage to. I called every time I wanted to at least order some food to go and the phone went to voicemail every single time. Apple Maps has hours posted, as well as google and yelp, however none of them are consistent. They seem to open whenever they please and make the customer feel like they have to hunt for them, like the customer needs their brisket more than they need your money (it is a business, after all.) The ugly; I have managed to sit and eat at this place a total of two times out of an attempted estimated 15. When I picked up food, they said they replaced my mashed potatoes with fries because they did not have mashed potatoes. It was not the end of the night. The second time they were out of their mushroom Swiss burger for some reason. Lastly, their food is NOT cheap at all. One sandwich and fries costs $25-40. Their taste delivers and justifies such an expensive price point however the journey to get the dish you want from them in front of you is a horrible experience. read more

This is our second or third time at Mendel's and we were definitely not disappointed. Stopped by for lunch today and we each had a "BBQ salad" starter and shared the pico french fries. My wife had a quite fine Cabernet as I had one of the many beers on their list. Disappointingly, every one of the "Mendel's favorite" beers were out of stock, but I found one eventually! The Restaurant at lunch was not terribly busy, although we got there on the very early side. The service was outstanding and friendly. Parking was extremely easy to come by behind the building. The BBQ salad dish is really terrific and was more than sufficient as a lunch meal itself. The texture and taste of beans and barbecue and coleslaw and fried onions and pickles was a perfect blend. Really fine. The pico fries were so substantial that we ate some and took quite a few home. The taste was perfect. The ambience includes a funky blend of 1980s top 40 music and a big screen TV playing random international sports. Definitely will go back. read more

Preface: We are first time diners at this venue, first time in Cleveland. We were recommended by someone in Chicago to visit this restaurant. This was also the 4th of July and its very busy with only 5 staff and a line going down the hallway. Ambiance: Modern decor, pretty clean but the edge of the table wasn't cleaned off enough. Again, maybe in a regular day it wouldn't be an issue. New fixtures, small bar at the end, some light music which was nice and gave a nice atmosphere. Staff: Very overwhelmed. It seems there's no process for taking in walk-ins, no list or designated person to be a concierge and make sure the process of marking guests present in an organized way. The staff was very busy and clearing tables constantly. Ordering: The menu is out of date. Many items were unavailable or discontinued. It might be better to do an online menu and put a QR code at the tables so guests can see current offerings. Foods not available; Peach cobbler, hotdog, Meat balls, Peach summer drink, a couple meat dishes... Foods we ordered: Kansas City Burgers: Fries: Cole Claw: Burnt Tips: Sautéed mushrooms: All food is 5 stars. Absolutely amazing if you're willing to wait through the time it takes to do everything. After an hour of craziness, one waiter actually came by to ask us what we already received. James, you get 5 stars! Keep doing what you're doing! We appreciate you! Give this guy a raise. read more

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This is definitely NOT like Kansas BBQ places!!! Flavors has an after taste and does not taste like the traditional BBQ places and you're better off eating at Longhorn or Outbacks for ribs. We only did a take out because of our Resy credit otherwise it would've NOT been our choice. The flavors seem to cater to people from another part of the world. Unless you're into something like that but otherwise I would not recommend if you're looking compatible to rib places like Longhorn, Outbacks or rib places from Kansas. Also, I don't know why Resy has them as fine dining as this place is definitely not it and it baffles me as why you would need a reservation when there's barely anybody there, weird!! read more

I'm thrilled that there is now a kosher restaurant so close to me. If only Mendel's was open a year earlier when I literally lived two blocks away! But then again, maybe not, as the pricing and service left a bit to be desired. Granted, there were 20 of us yesterday afternoon, so we didn't expect perfect service, but we made the reservation ages ago, so management should have been prepared. Our lone waitress was fantastic, but she definitely needed another person to help. I'm not a fast eater at all, but half of our table only received their food long after I had finished mine. I suggest taking our food orders at the same time as our drink orders so there wouldn't have been such a long wait. The food was quite good, however! My KC burger, cooked medium rare, was delicious. My sweet potato fries were just okay. I was hoping they would have been crispier. This meal cost about $25 which is very high for the lunch hour pricing. I know very well kosher food has to be more expensive but if my burger and fries cost $25 for lunch, I can't even begin to comprehend how much it would cost during the dinner rush! I think that Mendel's has the capability to be popular and a great success, especially in this neighborhood. The interior is very classy and the food covers a niche needed for this area. But please, hire more waitstaff. read more

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Food was excellent but very expensive. Our server seemed overwhelmed and a little too busy and rushed. It was very nice to see happy families enjoying a tasty Kosher meal. read more

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The service was dismal. It was like we were inconveniencing the staff by spending money there, owner included. We walked into an empty restaurant and stood 5-10ft from multiple employees and the owner himself, waiting to be greeted and seated, and no one batted an eye. We also found the combo platter to be overpriced. So, it wasn't a good experience, sadly. Will not be back. read more

I am a native Kansas Citian. It was nice to see a few items of Kansas City memorabilia on the walls despite them also being covered with Texas longhorn cattle which are not Kansas City-like. This is an open concept with numerous tables, a bar up front, and two unisex bathrooms with a nice parking lot out back. Service = poor. We arrived for our 8pm reservation and the manager did not greet us, say his name, or anything. In fact, he ignored me when I waved and said goodbye just about three feet away from him upon leaving and was difficult to reach when we let him know our drinks had been ordered long ago and we were nearly done eating by the time they did finally arrive. We had to pester two other servers to get a single mojito and a single Tom Collins made before we paid the check! It took a long time to get water let alone our orders taken in the first place. Thus, service here leaves a lot to be desired. Our server was friendly however, unlike the manager with orangeish colored hair. Food = high quality! The price point was astronomical and even expensive for kosher meat let alone the fact that portions were probably the smallest I'd ever seen from a barbecue joint in my entire life. I think my friend got a total of 10 green beans! Each of our entrees was $32 per! Still, of the food we DID get, it was excellent in flavor. The brisket was super fatty and tender. The burnt ends were also fantastically juicy. The only thing lacking from this place is BARBECUE SAUCE. The "barbecue" here is actually smoked/grilled meat but not quite barbecue itself due to a total lack of barbecue sauce. I was actually floored that they did not have any on or even accompanying the meat! Kansas City is known for its sweet, thick, rich sauce! It's a staple of bbq! The cocktails available are your basic classics. They have various liquors as well. There was nothing on the menu I saw that indicated it was kosher but apparently all of it is? Would be nice to have that actually written somewhere or even an explanation to engage folks who aren't familiar with eating kosher would be nice too. read more

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Our first time at Mendel's will likely be our last. They missed quite a few marks for us. A Tuesday evening dinner with our 2 year old. Pros; our server was extremely nice and handled our food safety issue immediately Con; no kids menu, astronomical prices for what you receive, overall food quality. I ordered the chicken and waffles appetizer ($20) for dinner, this dish is usually one of my favorites.. not the case. I sliced into the undercooked; pink and rubbery chicken breast and immediately knew I had to send it back. The cornbread waffle was undersized for the dish, very dense and lacked any flavor. The entire dish tasted heavily of soy sauce, which was not mentioned anywhere on the menu. Our server had this remade at proper temps for me, and even then I could not eat more than 2 bites and left it on the table. My husband had a brisket sandwich, at $30 which he said was "just ok, nothing great" We actually went across the street and got dinner after this $50 "dinner" that we did not get to enjoy. read more

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Am I grading on a curve b/c it is a kosher restaurant? Yes, but I legitimately dig Mendel's KC BBQ. Friendly and helpful wait staff, a pleasant vibe (including having the front open for a nice breeze this evening), and good barbecue. The brisket on my sandwich was rocking good and so was the bbq sauce. My green beans on the side were fine. The chicken does not seem to rock anyone's world, but the burgers sure make everyone happy. It is a little loud for my tastes, but it has a sports bar affect. read more

Mendel’s KC BBQ - Barbeque Near Me - Shaker Heights, Ohio

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Mendel's is a terrific restaurant. The food is consistently delicious. They are efficient during busy and non-busy hours. The atmosphere is pleasant and professional whether I am bringing my wife or a business colleague. read more

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Service was terrible. Server came to our table bugging us for our order but never came by not even once after the food was delivered. We needed some drinks refilled and condiments but ended up eating without them. Food arrived at different times and by the time we all got food (family of five) half the plates were cold. Overall food quality was average at best but well below average for the price. Ambience was neutral, however we sat by the patio garage door in winter and was very cold. There are much better options nearby. read more

For a kosher restaurant, especially one in the Cleveland area, Mendel's KC BBQ is good; if you are looking for outstanding BBQ, I would look elsewhere. As this is a kosher restaurant, expect to pay at least $4-6 more for an appetizer and $8-12 more for a main dish than you would at a similar non-kosher place. I recently went on a weeknight with several people and we were seated immediately. Mendel's has plenty of KC memorabilia on the walls, including sunflowers and Kansas City Chiefs players. Our service was fine, nothing distinctive in any direction. I tried a couple of macho nachos, jalapeno poppers, and shishito peppers, all of which were mediocre. In particular, the macho nachos had virtually no beef chili on them. For my appetizer, I got the soup of the day, which was chicken soup with BBQ beef kreplach (dumplings). The soup was flavorful For my main, I shared a combo platter with a friend and it was more than enough food to feed two people, especially with an appetizer. The burnt ends were my favorite part of the platter-flavorful, ample BBQ sauce, and perfectly done. The smoked brisket and ribs needed more flavor and were a bit overcooked. We got the rustic mash (delicious) and green beans (fine) for the sides. Our table shared a chocolate chip cookie for dessert, which was just OK. I would go to Mendel's KC BBQ over any other kosher restaurant in Cleveland but wouldn't go out of my way otherwise. read more

What a complete waste of money. Had to order Kosher and was unpleasantly surprised to get such a small portion for the price paid. Never again. Don't waste your money. MilkyWay is better in every way. read more

Delicious, cooked to perfection, well seasoned and if it was smoked oh baby you will taste it. Everything was amazing!! Went with my aunt and son, everyone was more than satisfied! And I usually don't feel the need to say this but I read a few nasty comments so I would like to add that we are a black family, that will be back !! read more

Incredible. We came from Pittsburgh, mostly to eat here, and we were not disappointed. Started with poutine brisket fries, and they were delicious. My son and I shared the bbq sampler for two: burnt ends, ribs, smoked brisket. All of it was excellent, although I think we personally like the burnt ends the most. This is the first time in my life that we couldn't finish a dish so we took leftovers home and three hours later had them for dessert. Service was *excellent* - I've been going to kosher restaurants my whole life, and usually the service is awful (because, I suppose the theory is, there are so few alternatives), so that was a welcome surprise. Dessert was only so so, but I didn't expect it to be great because making parve desserts is hard. We look forward to going back. Like, I'm thinking about it right now. read more

Making a reservation can be challenging as it ended up for the wrong day! Hopefully we will not be charged. The food was great! One of the best steaks we've ever had. Onion rings were amazing but the portion was a bit small. Terrific chicken wings . Had the Bbq sundae which was fun! ( beans vegetables meat pickles )Yes we would come back! read more

Thoroughly enjoyed our dinner tonight. Lots of the same items that we enjoyed in Florida but we also got to try some new offerings. Especially tasty were the Miami fries. The combo platter with sides of slaw and beans were, as expected, yummy. Unfortunately, I don't share everyone's enthusiasm for the pecan pie. Our server, James, was delightful in addition to being good at his job. He deserves a raise, Mendel. Parking lot in back. Clean and spacious dining room. Bar to dine at or drink from the liquid offerings. Non-gender specific bathrooms, if you care. read more

Mendel’s KC BBQ - Combo platter & Miami fries - Barbeque Near Me - Shaker Heights, Ohio

Food surprisingly good, no pork which is fine, beef brisket tender enough to cut with a butter knife, au jus for dipping was great, I didn't get the sides. Only 4 stars because the menu is very pricey for what you get, the wings were a tad over cooked and there was no bbq sauce. However, I will be going back for another try. read more

We came here on the second night I believe Mendel's was open. We had made a reservation online a few days before. When we walked in the place was pretty busy even after 8pm when we got seated. So, I would recommend making a reservation before coming. Parking is a bit hard to find as you need to drive around to the back of the building, but there is an entrance in the back of the building you can go through to easily enter the restaurant. The host was friendly and quickly seated us. We looked at the menu with the QR code and placed out order with the server. The food came out quickly and hot. Everything was over all fine with presentation, proportions, and timing. The pecan pie was my favorite of everything we tried which I forgot to take a picture of. The new owner came over and said hello to us, which was very nice and we enjoyed the warm atmosphere. This is a nice date night place, or dinner with coworkers. They have a bar but there weren't any stools to sit at yet. Come check it out and see what you think! read more

Food: good. Portion was decent and food was tasty. Get the brisket poutine. Skip the burnt ends (even if it's their speciality) ribs were fall off the bone good brisket was very tender and juicy. Pro tip - ask for extra bbq sauce on the side. You probably can't go wrong with any of the sides except for the grilled corn. Which is on the ear. Kind of hard to eat. Prices are what I'd imagine kosher bbq to go for so it's no surprise about the higher prices. Service is where Mendels falls apart. We were seated pretty quickly but it it took the server 10 min to come over. He seemed To be the only server with a full dining room and a roster of other employees just standing around. Felt like poor deployment of staff. Food came out very quickly. And so we were done eating within 30 min of arriving. He didn't come check up on us and so we sat around waiting for someone to approach so we could inquire about box and check. Finally we were able to get someone else's attention and they brought us the box and the server came Over to close us out. Judging from the reviews this seems to be common place. Hopefully it's just recent opening jitters and they can figure out their labor deployment better. read more

Mendel’s KC BBQ - Combo platter - burnt ends, ribs and brisket. Coleslaw by default. Chose the mash and grilled corn. - Barbeque Near Me - Shaker Heights, Ohio

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They cancelled my reservation without notifying me - they booked a private event and just bounced me out with no explanation. I got an email from Resy just saying my reservation was cancelled. Pretty crappy business practice - at least have the courtesy to tell me i nsone apologetic way. After all, if I were a no-show, you would charge me per your reservation policy. Terrible customer service. Shame on you. read more

Food was extremely good, I ordered the double smash burger for lunch, delicious! Service was great, polite and extremely friendly. Ambiance was country and clean with a nice fresh breeze throughout the restaurant. Great little spot. read more

We decided to try the new restaurant near us. We saw it was pretty packed and sat at the bar. We asked the bartender for requests and she just told us about one item that was a dinner. We wanted to start with an app and got ordered the chicken and waffles. That was our first mistake, the waffle was not fresh and the chicken tasted like it was from a frozen box. Sadly, we won't be back, when we told the bartender our concern she said we ordered the wrong thing. read more

Mendel’s KC BBQ - Chicken & Waffles - Barbeque Near Me - Shaker Heights, Ohio

Liked this place a lot, would definitely go back. 1/2 Chicken and side of mushrooms were excellent. Sauce extremely tasty. The menu has great options including different varieties of fries and beef versions of Polish dog and baby back ribs. Yes you pay a kosher tax, and yes, most of the patrons are haredi, but I would like to see a lot more of my fellow less observant brethren there - throw them some support and don't be intimidated. I wish we had one of these where I live, that's for sure. It's really excellent barbeque. read more

My wife and I enjoy going here whether its for a mid day lunch or a date night dinner. We prefer to sit at the bar Teresa is an excellent bar tender and goes above and beyond . Josh the manager is caring and really runs the place well. read more

Came here for the first time during lunch time and I can say I would never be back. My friend's chicken sandwich was raw and they asked us "what would you guys want us to do about it?" FYI REFILLS ARE NOT FREE, unlike any other restaurant. Just bad all overall, didn't take pictures because it didn't look appetizing. read more

Went here on a road trip and was the BEST barbecue ive ever had in my life. Chicken was juicy and tender, brisket burnt ends were the best thing ive ever eaten and the mushrooms were amazing. People were really nice and it is in a very nice area. easy 5 stars read more

I would only come here if you're looking for kosher options. Otherwise, the food is really expensive and not very good. Unfortunately nothing stood out, and there are other better local BBQ places. read more

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We ordered the platter that feeds 1-2 and for us it was huge and we still had plenty to take home. The food was spectacular. Everything a 10 in my opinion. I would say though that they need to re-think their menu & pricing. It was $90 for the platter and while we would happily pay it again, the surrounding community tends to demand lower price points. At their prices they are competing with Giovanni's and Cru Uncorked and in no way is their interior ambiance or menu in the same ballpark. They can't call themselves fine dining given their tables, chairs, plates etc and interior, yet they are charging fine dining prices. I hope they figure it out and stay in business, but they must come up with other menu options and price points that will appeal to more. read more

Mendel’s KC BBQ - Platter that feeds 1-2 people. - Barbeque Near Me - Shaker Heights, Ohio

The flavor was excellent. The value was extremely poor. I willingly pay good money for good food. I have never been charged so much money for so little food! We ordered takeout- a burger, short ribs and grits with a caesar salad side and beans side. This cost more than $70! Takeout barbecue fir 2 should not cost that much. The overcooked, dry burger with beans for $26 OMG. BUT..the worst was 3 small pieces of short ribs on bland mealy grits for $20 with no side. There are plenty of other options for tasty food at a fair price. If I got twice the meat at this price then fine. The caesar side salad was tasteless, had mushy bread instead of croutons. The beans were delicious. read more

Mendel’s KC BBQ - This is 2 of 3 pieces of short ribs for $20!! This is the serving size. Unacceptable - Barbeque Near Me - Shaker Heights, Ohio

Service is non-existent. Came in to an empty store at lunch and had to chase server for a seat, for an order, and for a check. Portions were minuscule and completely out of proportion with the prices. Went to the manager afterwards to politely express disappointment and he made it abundantly clear that he could not care less about my feedback. read more

Mendels does not disappoint. I've been here multiple times and while it's not cheap, it's worth every penny. The brisket truffle poutine fries are a meal on their own and they're just an appetizer. Service is decent, drinks are good and the meat is top notch, I would highly recommend. read more

I really enjoyed Mendel's the food was Great the service was Awesome. Our boss took the staff here and we all enjoyed it. And also that pecan pie was soooo good....please don't forget to get a piece. It's worth the calories read more

Mendel’s KC BBQ - Barbeque Near Me - Shaker Heights, Ohio

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This is the best kosher restaurant I have ever been to. The food here is the best, and so is the service. The waiters here are so polite, and I got my food so fast. The ambiance here is also very great, and I definitely recommend going here. read more

I savored every bite of food as it took me back to my childhood and growing up on this food. I had the smoked brisket, coleslaw and french fries. My hat's off to the chef. Ambiance was great and the servers were awesome. read more