I love the buffet at this place. I love it so much, it was the last place I ate before COVID hit. Yes, I braved a buffet because this place is that good. All the Southern favorites are here, and the staff are the epitome of Southern charm. No trip to Roanoke Rapids is complete without a stop here. read more

Worst bbq ever. We got the pulled pork, chicken and collard greens. Never ever will go back here. Pork was dry as a bone Chicken was undercooked and no sauce. Collard greens nothing in it to compliment. Awful read more

I placed an order a 11:30 when I picked up my order the chicken was dry and was uneatable.

We were traveling and trying to find a decent place to stop to eat that was a step above fast food. Somehow I discovered Ralph's online, what a delightful surprise! Delicious food, good selection, and a great price! read more

Maybe they were having a bad night but the buffet presentation wasn't good, food was average but the server was awesome.

A MUST for the Country Buffet crowd. Lots of vegetables, extra special mac and cheese, lightly crusted fried chicken and fresh rolls. The banana pudding was outstanding. Friendly service. read more

Ralph's Barbecue - Ready to dig in - Barbeque Near Me - Weldon, North Carolina

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Delicious your last real chance for real southern food if your heading north and your first taste of southern food if your heading south. The prices are very affordable read more

We stopped here because we were in the area on some business. I love barbeque and I had never heard of Ralph's Barbeque. The parking lot was slam full, so I though we could grab some lunch. The no.1 red flag about this place it doesn't smell like they served smoked meat that you would normally get in a barbeque joint. Turns out all of their meat is oven roasted, or brazed. No smoke flavor, and they just have the vinegar sauce on the table. They have all the BBQ sides brunswick stew, banana pudding etc... Just not any actual BBQ. I was so disappointed. We still ate, and it was good just not reflective on what the sign promises to be inside. So I feel like I got baited in and then switched when I entered. Food was actually excellent, 3 stars for the bait and switch. Nothin here but oven roasted meat and some sides. Hush puppies were also pretty bland, nothin special. Apparently the locals love this place, and why not, it is good food. Just not barbeque. read more

The reviews on here that claim this restaurant is really great, are not correct. It's a buffet and the barbecue is not actually barbecue. The only good thing on the buffet are the greens and even those might've beenfrom a can. It is a lot of food so if that's what you like then this is good but if you want quality Carolina barbecue, this is not it. Also, after we ate, by the checkout counter, we noticed that the cleanliness rating is a 93. That's just frightening. read more

Hush puppies the worst ever, the service needs some serious overhaul, technology should not be an issue, but they apparently do not answer phones and when I was there the credit card machine was having problems. However, what really got me was that they were having problems getting orders right. And I unfortunately was one of them. They need better management and need to decide they want to be a good restaurant. Go somewhere else. read more

Just sort of stumbled across Ralph's while traveling and delighted that I did. There isn't anything really special about it, sort of big cafeteria like buffet, but the food is good and the prices right. The BBQ pork is most typical to that of North Carolina being and pulled in longer strands instead of being kind of mushed up in a style more typical to that of South Carolina. Considering that it's a buffet, it still has a table service for eating utensils, coffee refills & etc. which I found polite, friendly and really on the ball in keeping up with customer needs as well as helpful suggestions as to which of the buffet foods are best. Another food thing about Ralph's is that it has a huge parking lot, one that you don't have to get cramped into wherein others tend to bang or chip the paint of your car when opening the doors of their cars. read more

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A great place to get authentic Eastern NC style barbecue. The service was great and they made sure that the buffet was replenished and tidy. I highly recommend. read more

Cat fish good but rest was blah for the price. Need to be updated inside. Needs different food on bar same stuff every time.

Due to all the good reviews we decided to give Ralph's a try. We drove over 30 minutes from Lake Gaston, after having called twice with no response trying to confirm they were open & inquire about the buffet price. We walked in to the eating area to which my boyfriend said reminded him of Haunted House by Disney. The tables & chairs were very sticky. The food wasn't "bad", but it definitely was not worth the drive or the hype from these other reviews. The only thing i genuinely liked was the banana pudding which by itself deserved 5 stars but everything else was basically a miss. Also, nothing was labeled so you kinda had to guess what some of the things being served were. read more

Food isn't as good as before,must be new owners.The chicken was dry,bland and crusty.The stew taste like it's from a can.The iced tea used to be perfect.....it tasted stale.The place is screaming for remodeling as it gives me 1970's vibes .....what's happened to this place? read more

Happened across this spot because the "chain restaurants" were over an hour wait and I am glad we did!!! Outstanding fried chicken, bbq, and damn the sweet potato casserole is a must have!!! I highly recommend getting the buffett for 11 dollars you can't go wrong. I will definitely stop here again on my travels. read more

This is not what bbq taste like. This is Ralph s Barbecue the way he makes it ............................

$16 for buffet bar lunch, no senior discount except for Tuesdays (Golden Corral offers it every weekday). Very very limited selection, and poorly prepared. Everything cooked until it's dry and hard. Negligible flavor on anything I tried. The fried chicken consisted of a ton of batter (poorly prepared batter at that) hiding a bite or two of chicken deep inside. The BBQ pork took an effort even to cut. That may well have been the worst fried chicken I've ever had. I wouldn't feed this food to a dog! The desert bar was simply disgraceful, some mixed fruit that tasted like it was straight out of a can and two gooey and yet tasteless desserts. The following night I went to Parker's and found what BBQ is supposed to taste like. Yeah, it's all you can eat, but after sampling a little of most of the offerings, I quickly lost my appetite even though I hadn't had a bite to eat all day. In short, the prices are higher than Golden Corral, the food is even worse than GC, and the selection is infinitely inferior to GC. How do they stay open serving lousy food at high prices? read more

Stopped based on recommendation of lady at North Carolina welcome center. In a sea of chain places off I95 exit 173 wanted to support local business. The staff was outstanding attentive and sweet. Buffet was ok, barbecue could have been warmer smothered and fried chicken were adequate sides forgettable. Did not have dessert, but the kindness of the staff made up for the food read more

The pork came out extremely fatty and it looked like it had been sitting in water for hours. I was extremely disappointed with the atmosphere, cleanliness, and more importantly, the food. We immediately left without eating. This place needs a major overhaul. read more

Foods ok but service is terrible. I called-in my order and still had to wait 40 mins for pick-up. They have everyone in one line (those who called ahead and those who want to order at restaurant) which makes the food cold for those that order ahead. They could easily fix the problem by watching how Chick-fil-A does it or by letting the guy, whose only task appears to be opening the door, sort out the customers to appropriate windows indoors. There is no excuse at this point in the COVID times Ralph's hasn't figured out how to expeditiously get customers waited on. NOT WOTH THE WAST OF YOUR TIME! read more

As a California native I have never experienced a place like Ralph's. A few miles south of the Virginia/North Carolina border, Ralph's is a family owned business that has been around since 1941. There are three choices when eating at Ralph's; a walk-up take-out window, sit-down menu orders, and an all-you-can eat buffet. I can only speak to the buffet, although I suspect the take-out BBQ sandwich is pretty good judging from the amount ordered at the window while I was at the restaurant. When you walk in you are responsible for seating yourself. No one will tell you this and there is no sign...you are just supposed to know. Upon sitting your server will place a basket of first-rate hush puppies on your table. You give your drink order and then go to the buffet. I know what you're thinking...yuck...buffet sucks! Not here. There are two types of Barbeque (of course in this part of the country this means chopped pork) plain and with the vinegar sauce mixed in already. East Carolina barbeque is tangy with a heavy vinegar flavor. I like a milder vinegar taste, and if you are like me you will want get the plain and add the right amount of sauce yourself. Most people seemed to just pile on the pre-mixed barbeque...I guess that is what the locals like. The pulled pork was excellent and the slaw was good enough to eat by itself (generally I hate slaw by itself so this is saying something). There are two types of meatloaf, red and brown, both were good but the red meatloaf was a stand-out for me. Obviously the difference is the addition of ketchup, but I suspect there was more then that as a difference because the brown meatloaf didn't brighten up with the addition of ketchup. If you only try one I recommend the red. The biscuits are obviously scratch made and fresh. You would expect no less from an authentic southern restaurant. The highlight of the meal for me was the fried chicken. I think they put crack in the batter because after one bite it was all I wanted to eat. Yummy...I can't think of a more descriptive term. Not to greasy, fresh made, crunchy on the outside, moist on the inside. They have a pig on the building...but a chicken should share equal billing. The mashed potatoes were disappointing. They were the consistency and texture of boxed potatoes. Dessert was great. The banana pudding was better then mom used to make (you know the recipe on the Nilla Wafers box) and the apple cobbler was good. I ate so much food at this meal that my wife nearly sutured my mouth closed to stop. A return visit is on my to-do list if I ever make it back to Roanoke Rapids/Weldon in the future. I am told I missed the dish on the menu, brunswick stew. I hope you enjoy. read more

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This place has amazing food. Country delicious food. We try to plan our trips so that we can stop and eat here.

What won me over was not so much what I had that was delish. It was the fried flounder my friend had that he could not finish and he had the small portion!!!!!! I had Brunswick stew which I had never had and boy was it tasty!!!!! I also went for the pulled pork sammie and hush puppies on the side. I felt like I was home again in VA !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Right off 95 on the way to FL!!! Can not be beat !!!! read more

This was my first time coming here and I was pretty disappointed. I was with a group of 12 and almost all of us were not very impressed by the selection, taste, or quality of the food. Definitely not worth the $12 charge per person. In addition, there weren't any signs to indicate what each dish was - Something I think every buffet should have! Although my stomach and taste buds left dissatisfied (after trying most of the food I ended up resorting to rice and salad to get full), I will say that the hush puppies were pretty tasty. The fried chicken (although a bit dry), Brunswick stew, baked beans, pulled pork, and dessert were okay but nothing to write home about. If you're looking for a decent BBQ buffet, I would try Carolina BBQ and Chicken (although I can only account for one located in the South Whitakers, NC area). read more

Ralph's Barbecue - Piglets - Barbeque Near Me - Weldon, North Carolina

Great small town bbq place, stew is awesome along with great pulled pork bbq. Everything has that hometown flavor, all the traditional sides. They only accept cash they have a atm. Service is good small town service. Good conversation and friendly. A must go to when in RR/Weldon area. read more

We've eaten here three times on our roadtrips north. Last night's visit will be our last! We arrived at 7:35, thinking they were open until at least 9:00 since it was a Friday night (we did not see hours posted). At 7:45, we asked if they closed at 8:00, since they were taking down the buffet (that costs $15.95 per person on Friday night). No, we close at 8:30. Well, after my first trip to the buffet for salad, I returned for the meal. The entrees were getting cold. Do you know how bad cold fried fish and shrimp are? Nothing on the bar was getting replenished. Listening to the clean up crew, we found out they turned off the steam tables at 7:45! (Health Department, are you watching??) On top of the buffet being closed, the entire restaurant was being torn down so they could leave. Floors being swept and tables being pulled out. We didn't get any service since she was more concerned in quitting time. Management couldn't have cared any less. He was more concerned we got all we wanted. No, we didn't want any more cold, fried seafood. I will end on a positive note, the restaurant will be clean for the next shift. read more

A Bar-B-Q buffet should have more BBQ in it. The price is reasonable, but you get what you pay for. The chicken was dry and overcooked. The only real good thing was the pulled pork. It was good enough to make up for the fact that I didn't like anything else. read more

My sister asked me to stop by this place on my way to Virginia. She asked me to get a quart of Chopped BBQ. The menu said $13.00 but the lady charged $28 bucks. When I disputed she told me that was the price. I think she knew I was an out of towner. It's sad but that's how my black people treat their own. I've never had a good experience with African American southerners. God help. I had another black owned business in NC cheat me out of $10. I gave her a $20 dollar bill she gave me no change back. That's why I deal with the other persuasion. I'm African American with a little native Indian in my blood but for some reason my African American folks don't like me. Go figure! read more

This really did not meet expectations. The waitress was very nice but the food quality was poor. The buffet is ok if you are an "all you can eat" kind or person and you don't really care what you are eating. We didn't try the BBQ (it wasn't appetizing) and the free hush puppies had no flavor and were greasy. Unfortunately, this isn't the little roadside gem we had hoped for during a long drive. read more

Ralph's Barbecue - Barbeque Near Me - Weldon, North Carolina

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First time here. I ordered chopped sandwich, scallop dinner and hush puppies. I'm an older guy and not picky and or fussy about food. I know what's good and am reasonable. First the good. The chopped bbq sandwich was good and I would order it again. The vinegar sauce was tangy. The coleslaw was ok. For 6 bucks it was not a great deal because it's hamburger bun size. For 5 bucks it would be a lot fairer. The Hush puppies. They are hands down the worst I ever had. They were 98% flour and not seasoned. I again have never had worse. The scallop dinner was served with fries. Scallops were 4 out of 10 rating with 10 being fresh and not over cooked. The fries were nothing really special. The cole slaw was a 2 out of 10. Not even as good as the kind you get out of a Food lion or Giant food store. It was grinded to almost a whipped state. If you took cabbage and stuck it in a blender and added cole slaw dressing that was unremarkable at best then blended it for a while then that's what it was like. It was a weird kind of "airy" and lacked any real southern comfort food. Would I come back? No. Would I recommend it. Oh no. People here forgot what's good. Even the sweet tea was not good. I would avoid this place and go to eat at the Waffle House a block down the road. Ralph's is not good eats. read more

This is my go to BBQ place in NC. My 8 year old son loves the selection. Highly recommend! read more

The best items we sampled were the iced tea and the salad. Waste of time and money,$ 60. I have been trying to experience food places off the beaten path that are not major chains, but in this case I wished I would have played it safe. Greens tasted out of the can, like Glory greens, fried chicken was dry, rice was soggy. The okra was good. The pulled pork was cold. Our server was busy cleaning empty tables and not busing and servicing our table. She never picked up empty plates nor did she refill glasses of tea. Typically I thought this is what is done at buffets to justify the server's tip. She refilled all ketchup bottles and hot sauce bottles including ours though we were still sitting there eating. I would have prefer we she done every empty table around us and wait until we were gone to do tat. Bad form I hoped dessert would save the day. But unfortunately that did not break this underperforming trend. The cake was mushy, and the banana pudding cookies were soggy as well. read more

Ralph's is huge and there aren't a lot of choices in the area. It's a BBQ buffet and it is OK. It's not great, but probably better than the options in the area. On the buffet is pulled and chopped pork. Chopped was better than the pulled. The pork was probably braised or cooked in a stainless. No smoke was involved at all, so it's pig, but it's not really BBQ. Slaw was great. Cabbage was good. Fried chicken was overly breaded and not too great. Big supply of desserts that looked promising. Folks were friendly and it was an easy in and out. This place is fine, but it's nothing special. It's a place to go and eat too much decent food. Keep hunting. I'm sure there's some smoke about somewhere in this neck of the woods. read more

Hands down my favorite place for bbq. I love the vinegar based minced pork with slaw and Brunswick stew and hush puppies. Add sweet tea and I am in heaven. My Uncle Henry used to work here for years and years quite a while ago. He would never tell me the recipe for the slaw and I've tried many recipes and I cannot find one like it. So good. I think I liked it better before the buffet existed. Then there were leftovers I could take home. The restaurant is right off of I95. Big parking lot. Has little neon pigs running across the roof. Or at least it used to. Oh, and Will Ferrell eats here too. read more

5 stars for what it is - a small town NC style BBQ joint. Not fancy and little atmosphere. It's a big room and feels like a cafeteria, family oriented with a large buffet. Most people order from the buffet so you can have a bit of everything. The veggies are canned but that is to be expected on a all you can eat buffet that serves 100s of people a day. The minced BBQ is better that the pulled. This is vinegar based but they do offer some with sweet red BBQ sauce. Cole slaw is outstanding. The fried chicken is battered and fried - it is not rolled in flour so it can be over battered sometimes. Brunswick stew is flavorful but a bit thin (I'm a Brunswick stew snob and expect the spoon to stand upright in the bowl). Chicken livers in gravy - yum. Chicken and pastry is loaded with chicken and good. Lots of other options. The hushpuppies are average and I have to add pepper to give a bit of zip. Desserts on the buffet are limited. Banana puddling is good but not great. The chocolate cake is bland. There is a selection of desserts that are good but extra and after eating at the buffet, I seldom order dessert. Wait staff is wonderful but the counter people can be a bit surly (maybe because they are so busy). I prefer NC style but you are prefer your BBQ smothered in that sugary sweet red sauce, you may be disappointed. This is a place to eat lots of homestyle food, reasonable price, and down home attitude. Nothing fancy. read more

Stopped here on way south. I really enjoyed this fourth generation bbq restaurant. The vinegar based chopped pork was great. Every side we tried was better than the other. The chicken had great flavorful breading probably a little thick for some. Ribs were tender and sauce was sweet which the mention on the menu. Coleslaw was from a 70 year old recipe. Collards were perfect read more

Ralph's Barbecue - We ordered alittle bit of everything as you can see - Barbeque Near Me - Weldon, North Carolina

A northeastern NC classic and a legendary stop. The Brunswick Stew is just as good as it was in the 1970s & all the years prior. Even though the buffet line is currently unavailable, their menu service is up & running just fine. Vinegar-based barbecue is an acquired taste for some, but home base for many. So, don't be dissuaded by people who might not understand the specialty. Plus, they offer pulled pork & red sauce if you prefer, as well as numerous other protein & side options including some excellent seafood. Start with some of the best hush puppies you'll find anywhere, then enjoy some real-deal northeastern NC minced barbecue pork at its original finest. read more

If you like NC barbecue then Ralph's is the place to stop. Always busy but the service is fast and the food is good.

Personally, bbq is not my thing, but my Dad loves it and considers Ralph's the best bbq around. Every time we drive down to NC, we stop here. They also have the BEST hush puppies I've ever had. I don't care for hush puppies normally but the ones at Ralph's are amazing. read more