Places like this break my heart. With the location and traffic count, plus built-in local clientele, this could be a 5-star place garnering rave reviews. Instead, it's an example of a business missing its true potential as a "must stop" Texas BBQ joint between Austin and Houston. If you're an veteran BBQ diner accustomed to observing experienced cutters and cashiers operating in clean, efficient work environments with great attitudes (Rudys or Donn's BBQ in Austin, for example), then you'll note immediately that the crew at Peter's is no "A Team" of BBQ jockeys. I won't go into the blow by blow of what I observed, but it was a trainwreck. A complete disaster of an operation. The staff appears to be mainly family/friend quality, lethargic, unfocused, no "snap" or personality. They frankly seemed overwhelmed by what would be considered "slow" or "low volume" business. Throw in some flies and a long wait in a relatively short (6 people) line, and I was reminded why I stopped stopping here many years ago. I want to like this place, but it's just too hard. Peter's is ripe for a "make over". It needs an experienced consultant or manager to come in and rework the entire setup, including a retooling of the work space setup to current standards. At present, it's a C- or D+ operation occupying an A+ location, and it's really sad to see. It's a relic of the past, run the way it's been run, probably forever. That may be cute and folksy for some, but it makes for a poor customer experience and lousy food. It may be several more years before I try this place again. read more

Soon as I walked they, they kinda explained the menu and sounded genuine when they asked what kind of food I wanted. The brisket with the sauce was pure Texas. If you're looking for "one of those Texas outskirts country barbecue" places just go here! read more

Holy crap! I already wanna go back! This is one of the best BBQ joints I've ever been to. We were camping out near la grange and decided to pop into this place. The service was fast and friendly as well as patient with it being our first time. The have a crazy large selection of bottled tea, but skip it and go for their house made. The cobbler is great and even better if you put some ice cream on it. All the meets were amazing and their sausage was my favorite. It tasted real, without having all the extra commercial spices. Anyhoo, if you are in the area. check it out. You won't be disappointed. read more

Peters BBQ - Line up, look at the menu, try a sample and enjoy unlimited sides. - Barbeque Near Me - Ellinger, Texas

OK I have driven past Ellinger, TX regularly for the last 12 years. This is the tiny town on 71 where the speed limit changes to 55. BTW, don't worry about a speed trap here; I have only seen a couple of cops here over 15 years and they were all getting food. So after 12 years, I finally stopped by and checked out this Peter's BBQ. You can get a chopped BBQ sandwich for 1.99!!!! If course I had to try it out and a sausage link. All this for 3.50 or something. I didn't get sides b/c I arrived late in the night when most of the stuff was gone. Nice, delicious meal for 3.50. I gotta stop by here much more often again. BTW there are 2 gas stations in Ellinger. There is the large Chevron. This is the "tourist-y" gas station. The other one is Shell. The Shell one is where the locals and a bunch of construction or workers go and all pay cash. I like the Chevron much better. read more

I gave this only a four as I'm generally loathe to give anything a perfect rating. But this place is good!!! Almost a hole in the wall on the edge of town but we stop in every time we go to Austin. Their $2 chopped beef sandwich is a real value and comes with your choice of onions, pickles and/or jalapenos. Delicious! The most expensive thing on their menu is an all-you-can-eat plate for $10! read more

Good home cooking! Enjoyed ribs and brisket with three sides- sweet tangy sauce, plus free peach cobbler and ice cream for dessert. Family owned and friendly. read more

This is a perfect spot to get some eats while on a weekend jaunt on 71 East. The special is a "chop beef sandwich" which is succulent brisket cut up into smallish pieces with just a tiny bit of unique BBQ sauce spread on the top and bottom bun. The amazing sides include: potato salad, pea salad, green beans and don't forget to save room for vanilla pudding, peach cobbler or soft serve ice cream, too. Stop off at Peter's for a relaxing slice of Texas that includes great service and wonderful food. read more

This place has brisket that rivals most places. Their sausage is quite good as well. Their sides are better than they look but the sides and the ribs keeps them from getting 5 stars. The service is great and the people are nice. I've been a regular here for years and will continue doing so. read more

First thing I'd like to mention is that my 12 & 8 year old kids both told me, "Dad, the people here are really nice!" I agree, I can't say I've ever felt so welcomed at a restaurant, it felt like being welcomed into someone's house. They took all kinds of time helping me make the best order choices for us and showed us all they had to offer. The ribs were really good. My kids ordered more than they could handle, which meant more for dad! The brisket was extremely tender, just super, although not the most flavorful I've ever had. The red potato side was enjoyed by my daughter and I. Of course the kids loved the soft serve machine. I loved that the sides and dessert are inlucuded in the price of whatever you get from the menu. We have definitlely found a new traditional stopping place whenever passing through and it's anywhere close to meal time! read more

Excellent food--we had the ribs, brisket and sausage. The place was hoppin', but there was no wait. Being a native Texan, I have always been told Cooper's BBQ was the best...Peter's is better!! We didn't try and sides (didn't want to waste any space for BBQ) but they looked delicious. Only recommendation is to make those bathrooms a little cleaner. They weren't bad by any means, only could be cleaner. read more

Seriously regret not eating at Hruska's next door. And not just the kolaches. You certainly could've bought a better bbq sauce from one of their aisles. This place served ketchup and called it BBQ sauce. Embarrassing. I had the brisket and sausage, no ribs available. Brisket was very mediocre (at best), sausage was tasty, but I doubt it was done in-house. The sides were horrendous. Seriously, seriously bad. There was really no redeeming quality about this place other than the cost. I'd rather spend the extra 2 bucks and actually get some tasty BBQ. read more

I thought their Brisket while lean was very good and more moist than expected. Definitely their best meat of the day Lately so many BBQ joints I go to take little pride in their ribs which is a shame. I find it odd that so many places ribs taste the exact same - like the rub has lost its original spark and the warming drawer has put an unwanted outer texture / glaze on them - I don't know how to describe it and it's not that bad, it's just that so many places have ribs that come out like this that it makes me wonder. Mediocre ribs aside, I like this place, it is super cheap ($10 for all you can eat meat). I wish they had more meats to choose from and I wish the guy taking payments was a little friendlier but I would stop in again if I was hungry. Oh, the sauce. It looked like salsa, like a lumpy red ketchup sauce. I wasn't a fan and judging by all the ketchup boxes in the back I imagine it is the main ingredient. The brisket tasted better with just a dash of salt IMHO. The cobbler and pudding looked good, but I was saving room for my next BBQ stop up the road. read more

Stop by to use the restroom and get a barbecue sandwich at lunchtime today. Had to wait outside the men's room for seven minutes while an employee was inside the bathroom smoking and probably texting. Regardless to say I was pissed so I didn't even get my sandwich and I'm out of there. Peter fire the a****** that smokes in the bathroom and read more

Tonight is our 2nd time here. Wish I lived closer as I could ENJOY the BBQ regularly. Tonight is the Friday night fish and shrimp special. Absolutely great food. If that wasn't enough, the peach cobbler yesterday and the blackberry pie tonight were excellent. From what can see, this is a favorite of local folks. read more

Not the best BBQ place I've been to. The options are a bit limited but what turned me off the most was their chopped beef was soaked in water and they just put it on the bun and it makes the bread soggy. The meat wasn't very flavorful and the brisket wasn't very tasty. Overall it felt like a cheap place that didn't really make any quality stuff. They have a buffet but it's obvious that food is the canned variety (obvious too with all the cans in the other room), nothing fresh. read more

The customer service is great everytime I stop by here. It's a great pitstop between Houston and Austin if you go down i10. I'd post pics, but the food is gone! They weigh the meat and have some great sides. I like the fried fish along with the ribs. This is a Texas hole-in-the-wall and best kept secret. read more

The Sliced beef was really good friendly employees and reasonable prices and you can also help yourself to Ice Cream

We've stopped at Peters BBQ in Ettinger a couple of times and enjoyed the casual, down home atmosphere and plain country cooking. (There's no apostrophe after the r in "Peters" as that is Alan's last name.) The staff is friendly and the food is plentiful. I made the mistake of ordering the lunch buffet of all the fried catfish & fried chicken & sides I wanted - it was good, but WAY TOO MUCH food! Next time I want fried catfish AND fried chicken, I'll order one and make my husband order the other one. It was lunchtime. The parking lot and restaurant were packed with local business people, construction workers and what seemed to be families bringing their college kids home. Who I assumed to be one of the customers, saw me looking at the cobbler and suggested that I add some of the free ice cream. Even the locals are friendly! read more

For folks making a trip from Houston to Austin down I-10 and 71, Ellinger is usually only noticed for the 55 mph speed limit. After doing some field work near La Grange, I was heading back towards Houston about noon with some time to spare so I opted for a sit down lunch at Peters BBQ. My father had previously recommended it on a motorcycle ride in the area, and it's a popular place with locals and folks working at the nearby generating station. Blue collar hole in the wall BBQ for sure. The place was pretty packed when I pulled in, but the line inside (about 10 deep) moved quickly. Most folks were opting for a buffet, and I figured it'd be a good way to sample a variety of fare. Entrees included chicken fried steak, beef ribs, and beef liver and onions (which I hadn't had since I was a kid). The chicken fried steak was better than I anticipated, higher quality than some places serving it as a standalone entree. While pork ribs hold a special place in my heart, the beef ribs were cooked well enough and tender but lacked seasoning (I generally eschew sauce). The liver and onions were exactly as I remembered them from my youth; if you're a fan of the dish, you'll like them here. Sides on the buffet were quite varied, but I choose a warm potato salad dish, carrots, and corn bread. All were pretty good, but lacked seasoning again. I think this recurring theme may stem from the high percent of senior citizens eating there, perhaps watching their sodium intake so the proprietor adjusts seasonings accordingly. The high point of the meal was dessert. I'm a sucker for some cobbler, and they had a peach cobbler on display quite like my grandma's. It was pretty darn great, and I went back for a second helping (with vanilla softserve on top of course). Overall, it was a pretty solid meal. Nothing too high, nothing too low. I'd go back. read more

On a Friday afternoon, it's crowded! But the food is just outstanding!! The prices are reasonable and they have a lunch buffet from 11:00am to 1:30pm Monday-Friday and it has a very good variety to choose from! And everybody who runs the place is Texas Friendly! read more

Very good food! I had the chopped beef sandwich and coleslaw. The BBQ was moist and full of a rich smoky flavor. We will come back.

This isn't a city style BBQ joint. You know you're out in the country when you walk into this place. You have options here to get a meal or have a buffet. I chose the buffet w/ drink which was expensive IMO ($15) but I wanted to try everything. They sliced up some ribs which were HUGE. They gave me three which I could not finish and left little room for the buffet. Fried shrimp / catfish / squash / potato salad and various other items were good enough for me. Much better than say, a Chinese buffet. Staff was friendly, and gave me a to-go box. I would go back, esp since I know where the front door is now. read more

I've been here several times on the way to and from Austin and Houston. First of all, just plan on skipping the "sauce" altogether. It is NOT sauce, it is ketchup. I consider it a crime to put ketchup on any meat other than hot dogs, so to have that as your main condiment for brisket is downright barbaric. The lack of proper sauce could be forgiven - after all, a sign of good barbecue is that you don't need sauce on it at all. Unfortunately, the quality of beef is inconsistent. The first time I came here it was great - the brisket was juicy and flavorful, and fell apart easily. I was excited to come back again the next week but was sadly disappointed. The flavor I enjoyed from the last week's experience was missing, and the meat was chewy. The service is not great. The guy at the front doesn't greet you when you walk in, doesn't smile or say thank you, and generally just does not seem like he wants to be there. I will say, it is cheap - I think around $9 or $10 for a pound of brisket. Despite my problems with the quality of food from Peters, I still stop here whenever I'm hungry but I don't want to load up on carbs from the kolaches next door at Hruskas. Four stars on a good day, one star on a bad day. If they come up with better sauce to make up for the inconsistent quality of meat I will bump it up to three stars. read more

We decided to stop here instead of Hruska's to get a meal. I was REALLY disappointed. I had a chopped beef sandwich with 'fries' and a drink. It seemed like a good deal. The chopped beef is sitting there in a bin waiting to be served, and my sandwich had a lot of fat in it. It tasted ok, and as someone else said the 'BBQ sauce' looked very much like crushed tomatoes and had little flavor. As for the fries, the gentleman at the register (who was about as cheerful as a sloth) told me to get them from the buffet. When I got there, they were hard and lukewarm, sitting under a light. They most resembled the fry pieces you find at the bottom of a bag of frozen fries from a grocery store. To be honest, it was food and I was hungry. My fiancé got the buffet and most of the stuff was ok, nothing to write home about. read more

Someone did me a favor and brought some brisket sandwiches home coming back from Houston. I really liked the brisket even after putting it in the fridge and microwaving it the next day. It was nicely cut, well trimmed, tender and juicy. What I especially liked was the prominent smoke taste. Oh and the sandwiches are man witches piled high and set you back only $6 something each. Hope to have some more of this cue delivered to me in the near future. read more

This a local mom and pop place. We came for some good Texas BBQ and that is what we got. You knew you were in the right place when the parking lot was full of trucks at lunch. Found out they have fried fish and shrimp buffet on Friday night so we came back for that. It was worth the trip back. read more

One of the best places for miles. They squeezed us in at closing time and we were thankful. First the bad -sauce could use some help and like may BBQ places during later hours they had run out of some staples. Our options were brisket or chopped beef (brisket). So we went for the brisket and one chopped beef sandwich. Great prices good food, nice stop in between Houston and Austin. read more

We really like places that are not chains. The people and servers are super friendly. We had the brisket, not a strong flavor but very delicious and moist. Husband had fried potatoes and mac-n-cheese, I had potato salad and peach cobbler, all was delicious. They even give you soft serve ice cream if you want. It was a busy lunch only one or two tables available with lots of men sitting at the six seated tables. We would definitely go back. read more

I've tried this place twice now, and both time came away wishing i'd eaten somewhere else... anywhere else. Overall the prices are way too high, the food underwhelms, and the accommodations are rather sketchy. Both times, i have the worst possible case of heartburn and digestive track issues following eating here. There are so many great BBQ places in the general area which exceed expectations.. this is NOT one of them. read more

Damn good brisket! Some of the reviews here said it was dry... Maybe they made the mistake of getting the lean cuts, because fatty, moist ends covered in bark were an A+. I agree the BBQ sauce is not so good, but BBQ is about the meat, not the sauce, right? Sides were ok, I really liked the slaw. Definitely has replaced Hruskas as my stopping point on 71! read more

Perhaps it's because I have been spoiled by the bbq in other parts of Texas, namely Lockhart & Lulling, but the couple of times I have eaten here had me wondering how they make such bbq with almost no taste. Lots of folks stopping by for lunch so I must have missed something. Perhaps it's just that they are conveniently located 20 ft off of a busy highway between Austin & Houston. Never again. read more

Hole in the wall on the way from Austin to Houston with a billboard every mile. I was excited! I was like HOT DAMN THIS IS GONNA BE THE SHIT GOOD OLD PETERS! My brother and I walked in and looked around and he asked me you sure you wanna eat here? I said might as well we are here. This place is a dump. They have billboard up and down 71 like its the best BBQ in Texas. I didn't see a single smoker on their property maybe I wasn't looking too close as I had to park in the gravel as they only have 6 paved parking spots. They keep their fine meats under the same type of food warmer you would find at luby's. I felt as if the cashier left her register to cut my meat and then went to ring me up. For such a shithole running a shady operation their prices sure are up their with nice BBQ places in NICE places in Austin. You know where rent is high! Biggest joke of the day is you can only get tea or water no soda's nothing. Yet your prices are through the roof and to top it off there are fly's everywhere. I literally just changed my rating at the end of this review from 2 stars to 1 star after thinking about everything. This place has shitty parking shitty food and shitty prices. I hate you Peter! read more

Walked in and where you order there were so many flies on the pole by the chipped beef. It was so gross. The ladies bathroom was out and the men's bathroom was so smelly. Brisket sandwiches were expensive. read more

Very hard for me to see rating so high for this place! My wife and i ate here a couple of weeks ago. Nothing special at all. It was expensive, plain, & nothing special at all. The sides are a joke at best! Keep driving it's not worth your time. There is to many awesome BarBQue places in Tx to waste your time anat this one. read more

I had a really lovely experience stopping here on the way from Houston to Austin. Jason, one of the managers there was so incredible kind and gracious. We went with the lean brisket and ribs. Both were really delicious! Lean can usually tend to err on the dry side but this was nice and moist. I highly recommend the beans, potato salad and green beans. You can tell the green beans are made fresh, not canned which is great! He wanted us to try the moist so he brought out a slice on the house. IT was sooooo good. If you cut off any excess fat, the meat just melts in your mouth. Really loved the hospitality and will def stop by again! read more

Very so so BBQ brisket sandwich. BBQ sauce had very little flavor and the brisket was dry and over salted

We were craving bbq on the way from Austin and saw Peter's BBQ. It's doesn't look like much on the outside but the food was delicious. We had the brisket plate which comes with 3 sides. Not too many options in sides but we had the potato salad which was good and for dessert we had the peach cobbler. I would definitely recommend the cobbler over the pudding. Overall, this is a great spot and help satisfy our bbq craving. read more

Great little BBQ restaurant. Incredible service and amazing food. If you have time, stop for the daily buffet.

I have never been disappointed with this place. I travel to Houston from Austin on a regular basis and stop here frequently. Excellent brisket and sides. I recommend. read more

Really convenient place to stop for lunch on the trip from Austin to Houston. We had the brisket sandwiches and they were good enough. BBQ sauce wasn't great but not terrible either. read more