The portions here are INSANE. I got ribs and sausage, and honestly preferred the sausage to the ribs, which were a little dry. For sides, you have to get the fries. Wild portions, great seasoning. Try all the sauces - I always surprise myself by having a new favorite each time. read more

First experience here and not the best.. No hairnets or gloves in sight even during the handling of food. They are grabbing all the food after touching everything else, haven't witnessed hand washing. Staff weren't polite to the other staff, could hear them being rude from our table. Food was good however, just lost my appetite half way through after seeing sweat all over their foreheads with nothing blocking it from the food they're handling with their bare hands. read more

Brisket is pot roast style: Sandwich - 3 Tacos - 4+ (dry slaw) Also had Mac and cheese: generous helping - 3.5 for taste; 5 for portion. Brisket is $30/lb but sandwich is $12 and 1/3 lb. Pork is $20/lb, $10 sandwich 1/3 lb. You do the math. Great service. read more

Old Armory BBQ - Brisket sandwich - Barbeque Near Me - Decorah, Iowa

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This was the worst BBQ I had in my entire life or even The fries were old and tasted microwaved or cooked in old oil not sure . The bbq sauces were terrible. Best way describe them if you take an okay sauce and make it old and delude it with water and make old bbq water you will get the idea of what it tastes like. The brisket was lukewarm , old, not seasoned, bland and dry, no smoke ring. It was like all the flavour was sucked out of the meat. Bun was okay not stale at least. Cheese curds had gross batter and some were still frozen inside . We ate it because we were traveling and had no other choice but I'm helping next person out passing by to make their choices wisely. I wouldn't not recommend this place. As far as atmosphere, not friendly towards us but seems more friendly to table next us so probably picks and chooses his " politeness " and it was hotter than the sun in there . We had to wait for a while for our food, they were not very busy. read more

open on the fourth so we stopped here. your standard bbq restaurant menu. the food was awesome. they had a variety of sauces to put on sandwiches. the sides were also amazing. overall good place. read more

The beef brisket was fair at best. Dry. Beans were the best part of the evening. Memphis sauce was disgusting! The cole slaw or whatever the heck that trash was, absolutely awful. Definitely the worst bbq I have ever had! read more

Fries were terrible tasting (overly salt/seasoned) and looked burned, like wth is that just extra dirty oil or I have no idea. Pulled chicken had no taste of smoked, nor any taste to it. My guy had pulled pork platter and the only things that seemed goos where two side- green beans and our corn bread which was small. read more

This was the best BBQ I've ever had! We had beef brisket and turkey, both wonderful. The sweet potato tots are delicious and a definite must try! The green beans with bacon were truly unique and outstanding, I would go back just for those! The baked beans were a smokey delicious flavor, good mac and cheese, and the cornbread muffins were yummy. If you are in Decorah, you need to stop at this place! I almost didn't eat here as the outside was underwhelming, but the inside was great, and the food was truly phenomenal! Great guys running the place too. read more

Far better than the first time we tried it. We avoided it for two years. The difference now I believe is that the owner was there this time, so everything was delicious, generous and worked smoothly! The new place is more comfortable than the he old place! If you didn't like it before, give them another chance. I'm glad I did! Here's my smoked cheese steak. read more

Old Armory BBQ - a man sitting at a table with a plate of food - Barbeque Near Me - Decorah, Iowa

Very good steak fries with a tasty prime rib sandwich made my lunch quite enjoyable. Don't be deterred by the drab exterior--this is a solid bbq joint with a creative menu! read more

Quick service, relaxed BBQ atmosphere, lots of sauce options. Meat is well prepared and the sides are slappin'. A great choice for the region if you need a BBQ fix. read more

OMG! This was an amazing place to stop for lunch. I'm not a huge BBQ person so after looking at tBarbquehe menu online I was going for the norwegian tacos. We got there and I ordered the Cuban sandwich instead. I was blown away! It was amazing! I have 0 complaints about this meal. I highly recommend you give it a try. read more

LOVE Old Armory. I have been going to Old Armory for years and the would never disappoints. When you come in, you go straight to the register to order your food and pay. I really enjoy this way of eating. I typically will sit in the big booths over by the window so I can people watxh. If you don't know what to order, I recommend any of the pulled chicken or pork sandwiches. I also recommend the mac and cheese. It is some of the best mac and cheese I have ever had. I am so glad Old Armory has stuck around all these years. They really have some amazing food. read more

Old Armory BBQ - Smoked Chicken Sandwich Potato Wedges Mac - n - Cheese - Barbeque Near Me - Decorah, Iowa

I got a brisket sandwich. Quick food, counter service, unassuming location. I hate to say it, but the sandwich was edible, but really, we're talking about brisket. That's an insult to brisket. Should have been delectable, juicy, not soft and mushy. Mild beef flavor, not intense. I tried all the sauces because the brisket didn't have much going for it. They were generally okay, but again, just not great. I feel like this place is missing two or three secret ingredients that an interested pit boss would have found. But hey, it's Iowa. The cheese curds were above the Wisconsin low average, which was nice. read more

The corn muffins, veggie salad, mac 'n cheese, ribs....everything was cold. I asked for warm muffins. He brought out one...even though I purchased two additional. Spent $50 and hated every moment. The coke drink was good though. read more

The Luther Basketball team loves Old Armory. Always friendly and the best BBQ place in town. Owner is always suggesting new sources and thing to try. One of the best food spots in tow read more

Old Armory BBQ - Barbeque Near Me - Decorah, Iowa

OMG! What a pleasant surprise this place is. We picked up some pulled pork sandwiches and sides of coleslaw, corn bread muffins and green beans. The sandwiches were packed full of delicious pulled pork! The coleslaw and green beans were amazingly great. And the corn bread muffin actually had real corn in it. I love that you can pick the style of BBQ sauce for your sandwich. I had the KC sauce which was wonderful and sweet. We also had some amazing pie for dessert. Old World Armory is a legit BBQ restaurant with nothing but great quality meats and sides...all at a reasonable price. Highly recommend this gem of a restaurant! The staff is friendly and they know how to make awesomely delicious BBQ! read more

You guys killed it! Awesome! Original flavor on the smoked baked beans! Wonderful flavors in the corn bread and the texture was perfect, wow. The green beans were done perfectly. Plenty of meat come with, no portion complaints at all! Wish I would've tried more sauces but the ones I did were perfect as expected. Thanks again! Best BBQ I've had in a long time. (I ordered during a Friday night, was very busy) read more

Having spent my formative years in Kansas City and many moons in Texas on numerous business trips I know BBQ. I know good BBQ. And while I consider myself a native of Kansas City, I prefer Texas style BBQ even over my beloved KC. The ironic thing is the best BBQ brisket I've ever had wasn't a product of Kansas City or Texas but rather the product of Marco Antonio, a fishing guide from Punta Herrero, Quintana Roo, Mexico. He slow smoked that bad boy for an unholy number of hours, with nothing but salt, pepper and I believe a touch of cumin. Damn thing was like butter. Add to that beer and eating it with sand between my toes and Nova in a bikini all adds up to the best BBQ I've ever had. But your chances of ever having that or even finding Marco are slim to none since he has relocated to Costa Rica so we'll stick to stateside this time around. I ended up in Decorah so I could help a couple of guys that work for me. Decorah is a 3 1/2 hour drive for me and it's a Monday. Mondays are generally my office days. That and Nova had kept me up half the night talking about how we need to communicate more all because she caught me watching a YouTube video about "How to tell if she's a psycho". I was not in the mood but being the boss sometimes you just do what you gotta do. I was pleasantly surprised/pissed when I arrived because my guys already had completed 90% of the job. On the one hand, I was happy that I'm smart enough to hire people better than me and on the other a bit pissed because I drove all that way but regardless I thanked them for a job well done and asked them to pick a place for lunch. The older of the 2 picked BBQ. The younger picked Old Armory. Fine, let's do it. The Old Armory is located downtown in an extremely cool old building and walking into it you are drowned in a smoky aroma that immediately causes your mouth to water. It smelled like a BBQ joint should smell. Each one of us ordered the Brisket platter. 1/2 lb of Brisket, jalapeno cornbread, pickles and 2 sides. The sides we got were coleslaw, smoked beans, house BBQ chips, sweet potato tots and red beans and rice. First up, the cornbread. The cornbread was the star of the show for two of use. It was more like a muffin. Sweet, moist and delicious. The sweet potato tots taste like you'd think sweet potato tots would taste like and in all honesty, weren't that bad but when I think sweet potato I think lots of butter and brown sugar which of course the tots lacked. The chips and were a bit weak on seasoning and the coleslaw was average at best. The red beans and rice were nothing like the red beans and rice I have had anywhere, ever, in my entire life. In my 50+ years on this planet, every time I have ever ordered red beans and rice it has always, ALWAYS been served wet and by wet I mean it has a gravy. This was more like refried beans mixed with rice. It was lifeless and pasty. I suspect that if rice a roni offered red beans and rice it would be like this, only better. I don't even think you can legally call it red beans and rice. Popeyes red beans and rice destroys whatever this stuff is. Lastly the brisket. Being the fan of Texas BBQ that I am I was excited to learn that their brisket is dry rubbed and smoked for 12 hours which in my mind is 3 hours short but I'll take the heat for the brisket because I ordered it wrong. I appreciate that they do not smother it sauce but rather let the meat speak for itself because to me that shows a level of confidence in the pit masters abilities, however, when I ordered I just said I'll have the brisket platter. What I should have said is I'll have the brisket platter and Id like my cuts to come from the fatty side. Don't get me wrong here. The brisket was alright but the cuts we all received were from the lean side and were, therefore, a bit on the dry side. Each of us had to use liberal amounts of sauce but again, this is on me. Great atmosphere. Great building. Great smell but overall it did not translate to the food this time around. I'll hit em up again next time I'm in Decorah and order the Brisket the right way and pray to the BBQ gods that whatever the bean smash with rice was was just a mistake. read more

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Came highly recommended but highly disappointing. Long wait time to order, apparently credit card processing/machine was slow and there were large groups ahead of us. They seemed to be very understaffed for dinner time. One gentlemen delivering food was very friendly but got orders wrong. Tables were all sticky and not clean. Waited 30 mins for food and when it came to us in the order chain, they let me know that they ran out of beef brisket. Didn't offer any other options but on the menu. My girlfriend and I ordered sweet potato tots that were cold and soggy. Her wrap tasted good but very soggy and wet. The bbq sauces offered were not satisfying as well. Overall it was very tough to give this establishment a 2, but I weighed all factors. read more

We walked it and it smelled so good! I'm a huge bbq fan and I've been dying to go to this place. The price was just as good as the food. Can't wait to go back read more

My burger didn't even resemble beef. Staff was extremely stupid and had no idea how to take care of guests. For $7.50 I got a bun and circle of semi warm grey 'meat'.. No lettuce, tomato, onion, or pickles. After 2 small bites I gave up. Not a single member of the poorly trained staff asked me why I wasn't eating my food. I wish I could include a picture of how ugly this sandwich was. 10/10 don't recommend. read more

Was great when I went before but website and phone number didn't indicate it was closed. So I drove 15 minutes one-way to find out something I should have been able to see online or listen to a pre-recorded message. I found a great place called Don Jose's down the street a ways. Hopefully this BBQ place reopens. When I visited before it was excellent. read more

We read pretty good reviews so decided to try this place. This isn't actually BBQ. BBQ has flavor. The meat tasted like it was cooked in a Crock-Pot. The food was not hot. Sauces were bland read more

I stopped in after reading a few reviews; from out of town and hungry from full day of travel. The service was outstanding and the food was incredible! Loved the pickles, cat fish and tots, green beans with bacon very supper yummy. Can't say enough good things but that I'll be back. read more

Old Armory BBQ - Barbeque Near Me - Decorah, Iowa

Doesn't look like much from the outside. But was really a peasant surprise! The food was really good and had great flavor. The two people working were very nice and attentive. Would recommend! read more

This place is legit. Quality and quantity is the theme here. My only knock is that I wish it was closer to home... the 5 at table bbq sauce options were spot on to the experience. read more

Old Armory BBQ - Barbeque Near Me - Decorah, Iowa

It is only getting an extra-star because of the sides. Otherwise, it was some of the worst brisket and pulled pork I think I have ever had to be honest. Though I know smoked food does not typically come out "fresh" due to the intense amount of time it takes to smoke foods, the method of keeping things "fresh" soaked in a combination of water, its own juices, and in a lunchroom cafeteria style holding system, absolutely did the meat no justice. Between the texture and taste of the brisket, it was just plain gross and was slightly worse than an Arby's roast beef sandwich. My wife's pulled pork's only flavor was no more than a watery soggy mess. Two other caveats...they guy looking like a manager complaining about his wife being "hormonal" while pregnant and it is possible because she could be pregnant with a girl, may need to be talked in the context of offending customers on his gendered commentary. Also, they have a tip jar but it is the expectation of you to walk up, order, get your own silverware/napkins/drinks, and bus your own table leaves one to wonder what exactly they are tipping the business for. read more

Got into town late and looked up BBQ places on Yelp. Old Armory was the only place open past 9:00. I arrived just past nine and there was only one other couple in the restaurant. They left after about 10 minutes and I had the place to myself. The food was good, but the two employees were already closing down the place. They were not friendly. The fryer had already been shut down - no fries. If a place is going to be open until 10, don't start shutting down at 9! I'm guessing my less than warm welcome was because I was interfering with an early close. I'd go back for the food , but only giving 3-stars due to the service. read more

The smell when you walk-in...amazing. The Old Armory Club is one of the best sandwiches I've had in awhile. Also tried the brisket which was a smidge dry but really tender and smoky. Quick service. Wished they served beer. read more

This place is pretty good for NE Iowa. The sides I had were all great. Coleslaw, baked beans and the jalapeño corn bread all delicious. The brisket was too dry, maybe late in the day?? Cobbler with ice cream is great, nice little dessert. read more

Love it! The service is always amazing! And the owner is great about helping everyone, he will answer and questions you have, or help you in deciding what you want! The food is made to order and ready quite quickly! My husband recently had the steak, and he said it's the best he has had in a long time! One of my favorites are their Asian Salmon! read more

Nice menu with everything you would expect from a good BBQ joint. I had the smoked prime rib sandwich, cole slaw, and smoked beans. Very good. Other things on the menu looked interesting - like Asian BBQ Salmon & Blacked Catfish. read more

Old Armory BBQ - Barbeque Near Me - Decorah, Iowa

I've been to numerous bbq joints in Tennessee, the Carolinas and Kansas City, and in my opinion, Old Armory is just as good as any of those! And in northern, small town Iowa no-less! The meat is fall apart tender, with awesome seasonings and flavors. The blueberry BBQ sauce was something different than any other sauce I've tasted, in a good way! The baked beans are perfectly smoky and the mac and cheese is deliciously cheesy.The only thing that didn't completely "WOW" me was the jalapeno corn bread. Don't get me wrong, it was still good, but not the best corn bread ever. A nice touch is that the owner, who I think is also the lead chef, doesn't hide in the back, and instead will come out of the kitchen every so often mingle in the front of the house and check with customers to make sure everything is satisfactory. While we were there, he got tons of compliments! He should be very proud of his business! I'll definitely be back, and I'll bring friends!! read more

Best brisket (so tender) and tasty sides. Especially the corn bread. Only took off one star because I wish the food was warmer (a bit luke warm temp) but still great. read more

Stopped by on a Monday evening on our way back from a trip to Duluth. Decent crowd, nice quick service. Struck up a conversation with Matt the owner who told us they had only been open for about 4-6 weeks at that point (about a month ago). We had the pulled pork and I believe the turkey. The good - the sauce and the sides. Not so good, the pulled pork was dried out. Clearly on the warmer for too long. When the owner asked how it was I told him. To his credit he agreed and went and got a fresher piece of pork. He also let us taste a new sauce he was working on kind of a Carolina / KC combo. It showed a lot of potential . I am veteran BBQ fan having toured Memphis, KC and St. Louis among others. 3 stars for effort and execution. Great potential. read more

We were visiting Decorah and wanted some good food that would fit two distinctively different diets. The vegetarian and the two non-vegetarians. This place fit the bill. The staff was nice, the food was great. We went here twice in the three days we were in town. We'll be back again next year when we are in town again! read more

Excellent meals! We called ahead for a group of 12. They gave us the back room. Perfect for conversation. We could have ordered @ the counter, like the rest of the customers, but were served. She was sweet & conversational & made sure everything was just right. Hit The Cellar & bring in your drinks. The old Cafe Deluxe has nothing on this place! Ha! Amazing BBQ - ribs, brisket & pork were fabulous. Even had the veggie platter with wonderful portabellas. Share a platter meal, unless you are really hungry. We will be back! read more

I have never liked the self-serve approach, even if it's cheaper. Not active child friendly. The Mac and cheese was good with a touch of nutmeg. The Cuban was the worst I've ever had with blah, fatty brisket and it wasn't pressed. Bun was stale. My husband had the brisket sandwich with the home fries. It was decent for the price, but having been in Texas, even the least fancy BBQ joint was better than this one. They don't serve beer, but you can stumble downstairs for one and bring it up. Was so disappointed, but I'd come back for just the sides. read more

Baby back ribs seemed a little dry honestly. The cole slaw and the seasonal veggies were very tasty. I was a bit surprised when I paid via credit card, that the lowest % for tip was 15%, especially since you order on your own at the counter, no table service. Plus I ordered take out, might want to change the settings. read more

Old Armory BBQ - Sign on the building - Barbeque Near Me - Decorah, Iowa

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