Big portions and friendly staff are the highlights. Everyone is a critic on BBQ in Texas, I get that. With that information and knowing what we all know about our own taste buds... ... I liked the brisket, it was charred and cooked good, but it lacked any good smokey flavor a good pit master can bring ... I also had the pork, it was dry. I am not sure if it was because not many order it and sat there too long or it was simply overcooked. .... the deserts were good and the sides were great. I like the place overall, but it doesn't make it on my "gotta stop and eat" list. read more

So good... the End. :D This particular Saturday I needed to get out of town and get a dose of blue sky,(Spring)green rolling hills and some delicious Texas BBQ. (2 wks of cloudy, rainy weather in Houston will do it! I figure the good people of Washington County should benefit from this.) First I visited the wonderful, Antique Rose Emporium, just northwest of Hwy 290 & Nathan ' s on FM 50, almost to 390. The Details: It use to be, 'Big Daddy's', & Google still thinks it is, but greatfully, Google maps led me here through downtown Brenham. It's located on the west bound feeder of Hw 290. & wraps around a gas station. There were positive reviews, but one must prove this for him or herself, so off I go. The 1st good sign...the undeniable smell of smokey goodness before you even hit the door. Entering through the back of the bldg. Welcome signs Texas style. You'll order cafeteria style then sit down to custom made, bottle top table, (Texas brands mind you ;) Every bite ws scruptous. The ribs, the sides and the banana pudding, so good. Some 'claim' to be great, but Nathan ' s truly is! :) Signed...one happy (very stuffed ) camper. Safe travels now! read more

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Everything was very tasty. The sweet potato casserole was delish! And of course the BBQ was really good.

Ribs are awesome! Well seasoned and great smoke flavor. The burnt ends are great if you like fatty outside cut brisket. The potato salad, coleslaw, and broccoli salad is nails. read more

TL/DR: Mediocre at Best. To be fair to Nathan's, we were eating here at 6pm on a Monday so that should be taken into account. The sausage is horrible and easily the worst part of my experience, ribs were pretty average, and the brisket was probably the best part of my meal being that they were juicy and full of good smoky flavor. The staff seemed very uninterested and unwelcoming, especially for a southern bbq joint. My friend's burnt ends were more like pieces of brisket rolled in the bbq sauce(also not great) and served in a big pile. Not exactly the classic take on burnt ends. Sides are pretty average (twice baked potato being above average/mac'n'cheese below average). But the real criminal act is the pricing for such mediocre bbq. Was really hoping for a better experience. read more

Simply the best ribs, sausage and pork to be had. Don't pass up the sides. Everything is just like homemade read more

Nathan's did have the best ribs in Brenham, but went today and got 2 rib plates. Ribs were overcooked and one of the dinners had dried out ribs (all 4 of them), the other dinner wasn't much better but the ribs were fresher, still overcooked. The potato salad tasted like it was bought from HEB and the pinto beans weren't tasty either. Also the ribs were some what over seasoned. All of this for the lovely price of tax and all of $40.+ dollars. We won't be going there again. They need to get a cook who knows how to do BBQ. read more

I was there in town for a Pre-MS150 bike ride and ask a couple of locals "which is the best BBQ around?" Three of them said Nathan's BBQ. How could I pass this up?!?!?! Yeah, I could have passed it up. Everything was "Good" but not great. If you are in the area, it's worth a visit but it's definitely NOT worth the drive out there if you are from Houston or further. Prices were pretty good. Staff was friendly. Service was sparse but that's because they were SUPER busy. I guess the other BBQ joints out there just really suck. Mac & Cheese is definitely worth a try. The overall restaurant was pretty nice and clean. It was cute that it's connected to a gas station. If I lived in Brenham, I could see myself going there once a month. Please don't let the 3 stars fool you. I just know there is stellar BBQ out there and this place isn't top tier. Upper mid-tier is still good. Pork ribs were dry though, like almost fried. Sausage was good. I asked the lady behind the counter, "what kind of brisket do you have?" she looked at me like I was crazy and said, "brisket." Yah, they need a sign saying "this is NOT moist brisket." I love the country. read more

Have always stopped at Nathan's bbq on our way back home to austin. Have always loved the sliced brisket sandwiches until today. Let me begin with ordering wanted jalapeño sausage wrap was served a pound of jalapeño sausage ordered two sliced brisket sandwiches with fries . Had to wait for the fries was given the sandwiches waited at table for rest of order. When the fries arrived sandwiches, sausage was cold. The brisket sandwiches was all fat and the taste wasn't there. Took to bites and tossed it! Very disappointed, the restaurant was very disorganized today: no silverware at the door, order messed up, out of sweet tea. Sadly this will be the last time we stop here. Also important to add that the online menu and prices our not reflected the same in the restaurant, price was higher at the register! read more

So after eating a lot of ice cream from the Bluebell Creameries tour, my family was not satisfied with just eating ice cream for lunch. I couldn't convince my wife for an extra drive towards Lockhart, so we settled for Nathan's. Yup, sure enough, it's attached to a Shell gas station. Oddly I've stopped by there for gas many times, but never noticed the BBQ restaurant attached to it for some reason. We smelled the sweet BBQ aroma from the parking lot. We got in line and saw the people in front of us ordering and eating almost all their food voraciously before they could even pay at the cashier. I thought "man this is going to be good!". My wife loves chicken fried steak and today happens to be the special. I ordered BBQ of course (brisket, sausage, ribs) with green beans, mac'n'cheese, potatoes. Chicken fried steak was ok. Gravy turned into instant jello quickly that Bill Cosby would be proud of. Sausage was meh (made me nauseous). Brisket was disappointingly dry for me, but my daughter gave it thumbs up. Ribs were a little more moist (still on dry side), but it was very flavorful and tasty. One thing my wife and I agreed upon, Nathan's has the best green beans we've ever tasted! I don't know if it's laced with crack or what not, but it was literally the best dang beans we ever had! They had some BBQ sauce on the side next to the Cokes. I don't know if they place prefer their BBQ au naturel or all sauced up, but the sauce didn't help much IMO. I would rate this about 2.9 stars. Would I drive all the way from Houston for the sole purpose to eat here again? No. But if I stopped by for gas on the way to Lockhart/Austin, I would definitely think about grabbing a rib and a bucket of green beans fosho! This visit was on 12/26/12. read more

Nathan's BBQ - Nathan's bbq - Barbeque Near Me - Brenham, Texas

Premium prices for junk BBQ. Dry gray brisket that you can barley choke down even with the tomato soup they call BBQ sauce. Pass on by and get the real Tx BBQ at LJs or Truth. read more

Brisket dry, way to much mayonnaise in the potato salad and prices so high. Will not go back.

Great place, true Texas BBQ! Won't be disappointed if you take the time to stop. Atmosphere is classic BBQ restaurant, clean and orderly. I will definitely be back and recommend to friends and family. Good job Nathan's!! read more

Food is less then ok and service is terrible. Picked up my order, drove 15 miles home and more then half my order was not there. I called, spoke to Julia, who said she was a manager, and she was so rude. She acted like it was my fault my food was missing or like I had the nerve to call. She didnt want to apologize at all. When I mentioned the fact that she had not even apologized she actually got mad and asked if I wanted her to hang up now so she could process my refund or not. Clearly Julia was never taught to apologize. Will never ever go back in that place. read more

Warning: Big Daddy's has been renamed Nathan's Original Big Daddy's, presumably for a trademark conflict. Don't look for "Big Daddy's." You'll have enough trouble finding it by its new name. Also, one reviewer said it is in the back of a Diamond Shamrock Station. It is actually behind a Shell Station. It is at the Blinn College Exit from 290, on Prairie Lea St right off 290 on the Eastbound side. Don't park in front of the Shell, go around the back of the Shell station. Look for the sign for Nathan's Parking. This place is hard to find but worth looking for. Nathan's has been extensively remodeled since its Big Daddy days. It now has a dining room seating at least 60 and a few outdoor tables. Meat is sold by the pound so you can buy as much or as little as you want and you can get a bit of this and a bit of that. Sides are sold by the portion. Don't miss the twice baked potatoes and the cole slaw, both excellent. If you are passing through Brenham on 290 at lunch time, this is a must visit. Expect to spend 8-10$/person Open for lunch 7 days/week and dinner 6 days (closed for dinner on Sunday.) read more

Nathan's BBQ - Nathan's BBQ - Barbeque Near Me - Brenham, Texas

Friendly staff!!! The food is well worth the stop, and the wait wasn't bad. The barbecue baked potato is delicious. This morning I had to make a stop while in town for their breakfast tacos. The bacon is crispy and crumbled up. They don't cook it with the eggs so it's fresh and crunchy unlike some places!!! This place gives you large amounts. Some places say they have big tacos which is a joke. Not here!!! You won't go away hungry!!! read more

Nathan's BBQ - Beans, regular potatoes (they also have seasoned), American cheese (cheddar is also available), bacon and eggs. - Barbeque Near Me - Brenham, Texas

I had a very unpleasant experience at this place of business. The employee name is Veronica P. And her manager name is Cindy. It was my first time there and I thought I would give this place a shot to support the business. I asked Veronica P if I can have some extra chips with my burger her unprofessional response was it only comes as it goes now to remind you the chips are baked in house and they do have the capability of adding on on a few extra chips for the customers. My meal cost $12.18 you would think that I will get more for my buck but I didn't! Instead I got rude unprofessional Service Veronica P whispered and covered her mouth in front of me while she talk about me because I wanted a refund to another employee that was doing my refund she said she didn't know how to. I addressed the matter with Cindy today about my experience she was nonchalant and condescending and was no help at all she told me to call her back later because she was busy with a truck shipment and she want me to call back with a receipt I called back with the receipt she only told me that my refund would be back within a couple of days she could've told me that before! I will never eat here again and the public shouldn't either! I will be looking for the main office number to go further in my complaint! read more

Nathan's BBQ - Barbeque Near Me - Brenham, Texas

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Used to be my favorite bbq place until ai found Truth BBQ however I would still come in here because Truth is only opened Friday-Sunday. However after today I will never come back. Some of the rudest people working there I've ever seen at a restaurant. People that had placed phone orders seeing their food just sitting there and asking to get there order told to wait your turn. Yet people placing to go orders getting their names called and food first. I waited 20 minutes for my order and after I saw people getting their food that order after me I was told to sit and wait. All I ordered was 2 sides that are are pre made. And after all that I ended up leaving without anything. I will never go back again. read more

They have great food, but prices have gone up yet again for what feels like even less food, especially if you are doing a to-go order. Also, I waited 20+ minutes for my to-go order while at least 4 or 5 other people were helped and given their food. I finally had to go up and ask for my order (and very nearly cancelled), they had not even started on my two to-go plates. As I waited I also watched the guy behind the food area, while wearing his gloves, talking to his coworker and then pulled out his wallet and thumbed through the bills! With the gloves that he touches peoples food with. Talk about unsanitary. All and all a pretty bad experience for the prices they are asking. read more

You wouldn't believe it, but their food is amazing! The Mac and cheese is everything!!!!

I absolutely love their moist pork. Add a slice of bread and some barbecue sauce pickles and onions, mmmmmm. Their barbecue sauce is one of the best I have ever tasted. I have not found a side item that I don't like either. The staff is always friendly. read more

According to reviews and the billboards heading into Brenham, Nathan's is known for their ribs. Sure enough, it's tender, moist, juicy with a really great crust. The crust has the perfect saltiness and peppered just right. Next time I'll just go all ribs. Or even buy to-go all ribs. That's the only item worth noting though. The brisket was on the dry side and not much flavor. I had to compensate with a lot of sauce and pickles. The sides, just forget about it. Macaroni and cheese is not bad but nothing to write home about. The potato had no flavor and even an odd sweetness. The stuffing was downright icky. Cloyingly sweet and so mushy! It's more like an oatmeal texture but with really sweet cornmeal. And even the bread is all dried. A pass on everything else but the ribs. Good selection of beer. A lot of space for parking and seating. Clean place. Connects to a convenience store. read more

The brisket was okay - better than Buccees but not as good as some of the great moist brisket places we've been spoiled with in recent years. Truth BBQ was sold out, so we came here. It was still good brisket. The restaurant was super chaotic and the lady was rude to us when trying to deliver our kid's grilled cheese. It was fine for a roadside grub fix on our way out of town. It was clean and the food was good. But, they need to implement a number system when delivering food to the tables so we don't have to deal with employees cranky from having no system of finding people in a busy restaurant. And having some sauce at the table would be a big improvement as they ran out of sauce holders in the community sauce spout. All in all, it filled a need and welcomed us back to reality after a weekend getaway. LOL. read more

Brisket and ribs were tough and the "chopped" beef sandwich had a mushy texture, but decent flavor. There was an inflationary up-charge of $3 for the 2 meat platter. Beans were dry with no flavor. Very disappointed and will not return. read more

Stopped over on our way to San Marcos. Fried chicken was perfectly cooked and seasoned. Hubby had burnt end plate and it was more than he could finish. The sides were big portions and the cornbread was great. Definitely a place to stop for good BBQ! read more

Nathan's BBQ - Barbeque Near Me - Brenham, Texas

My husband and I really enjoy the food from here. He will always get the chicken and I will get the brisket. Never been disappointed. The sides are great as well. read more

When I go Houston, I stop by at Nathan's for the pork chop. This time pork chop was dry, like it had been under the light for days. The Mac and Cheese was good. Green beans were not canned, were delicious tasted very good. corn bread was dry. Not making this stop again. read more

We came here after a few other better rated bbq were closed. It was really good! The staff were friendly and welcoming and the decor of the place set a nice vibe. I got the shredded beef sandwich with baked beans. The sandwich had a good amount of sauce and I enjoyed the whole thing. The baked beans were a tad too sweet for me but I still ate them all. I would go back if I was in the area and mood for BBQ. read more

Yum, we had chop beef & home chips! Delish! Little on the pricey side....but that's BBQ in general! We'll be back next time we pass through! read more

Staff was rude. Cancelled our order and left. I would prefer not to spend my money where they can't be polite.

As a former employee and true lover of all things bbq, it grieves me to write this review. I know it's under new ownership and most things have remained the same but clearly a few and very important ones have changed. Also, Covid has done no one any favors. But we were here a little after 6 on Saturday night, normally a very busy time but it was dead, there were 2 other tables besides us and there were several to go orders being put together. The young man doing meat was nice but I guess you have to request bread now because we were not offered any, I got my usual that I ate almost every day I worked of 1/4 lb juicy brisket and I must have said lean because he started slicing lean meat so I stopped him and he pulled out juicy aka fatty meat. I go over to get my sauce and pickles and onions and there no where to be found. The cashier was extremely rude, really was put upon to have to hand us condiments and WHY the one woman thought it was a good time to sweep down the place, I'm not sure. Nathan's had a fun vibe when I worked there with top notch customer service..customers were greeted with a smile and THANKED for coming by. None of that this evening..I had to check my watch because I thought it must be close to quitting time the way clean up was going..my brisket lacked flavor (I shouldn't have to use sauce) and it wasn't even warm. My daughter got a chopped beef and raved about hers. Granddaughter got the brisket and she should have ordered lean, her mistake. Grandson got ribs, brisket, and burnt ends with sides of potato casserole and Mac and cheese,, he ate it all but praised the sides. Will we be back, for old time sake yes read more

The Dr Pepper was cold and tasty! The pork rib and chicken was good, the moist brisket was undercooked, chewy and the fat was rendered. We were the 2nd customers of the day. Not a great start for our Texas bbq tour. read more

The brisket was fatty and greasy. The broccoli salad and green beans were tasteless. My husband ate the chicken and then we agreed it was the worst bbq we ever had. We didn't attempt to finish, just left it read more

Heard good things about this place. My friends and I travel to various bbq joints in Texas. We happen to be in town so we stopped by Nathan's. Not sure who the white hair guy was maybe the owner? Needs an ego check for sure he was pretty rude. Talked up his bbq like it was the best in the land. Spent $30 because I like to try a little bit of everything. Brisket was flavorless, ribs dry, sausage was decent. All sides and desserts were pretty terrible. People in our group couldn't even finish their meals it was so terrible. Felt bad for those who couldn't stomach it. Will not return. read more

My husband and I stopped here on our way to Houston and we are so glad we did! The BBQ is very good. I was skeptical at first with it being attached to a gas station, but I'm so glad we stopped. It was a pleasant surprise! Highly recommend. Staff was also wonderful and gave us samples of all the meats before choosing! read more

I was REALLY disappointed with my experience today at Nathan's. (5 PMish) I got there the same time a large group (several families) got there, and they COULD have let me go first, since I was alone, but they barged right in ahead of me. (Not Nathan's fault) That, however, caused me to wait a long time in line - in excess of 15 minutes - before I could even give the guy my order. I just wanted a cheeseburger basket. He matter-of-factly informed me "you need to talk to my cashier". So, ANOTHER 5 minutes or so in line waiting for everybody ahead of me to pay, then I was told "Sorry, our kitchen is closed". Why on earth can't the guy taking orders notify "the kitchen" to start a hamburger, instead of making a person wait til they get all the way up to the cashier. This is the most inefficient "ordering system" if you want something other than what's "on the line". If somebody wants a hamburger and fries, and they're with another person who wants a BBQ plate, why wait to start cooking the burger until you pay for the other person's meal? That's just dumb. Meanwhile, the Burger King Whoppers were great! read more

What a great experience today! Actually met the owner, Nathan. He loves what he does and has been doing so for a very long time. The food was fantastic! The pork was insanely good. The chicken breast was so moist! And the sides were all great. I recommend it highly. read more

Food is good. Check out is a real problem because you are competing with people making takeout orders.

Brisket was juicy but no flavor, chicken was juicy with mild flavor, macaroni was very very bland, baked beans were decent and the bbq sauce tasted like sweet baby ray's. 3/5 for my first experience. read more

This is probably the biggest joke of Texas barbecue. Asked if they had burnt ends and watched the guy chop fresh fatty brisket and asked if o wanted it caramelized. Disgraceful. Zero smoke, zero flavor. Only thing they have going is the freeway. read more