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    Ray's Real Pit BBQ Shack

    4.2 (1.1k reviews)
    ModerateBarbeque, Southern
    Open 11:00 am - 8:00 pm
    Updated over 3 months ago

    Order Ray's Real Pit BBQ Shack Takeout or Delivery

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    Business Info

    RAY'S REAL PIT BBQ SHACK ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Casual
    Classy
    Moderate noise
    Good for kids

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    Two 2 Meat Plate with fried corn and Mac and cheese
    Rose N.

    We came around 5 pm. There was plenty of parking at the time. There is currently construction on the main road. We ordered at the counter. My husband ordered the brisket plate with beans and Mac and cheese. I ordered the two meat plate with brisket and ribs and Mac and cheese and fried corn. The meat was good! A very generous portion for a vary fair price. My husband liked the Mac and cheese, I preferred the fried corn but that's because I love corn. I loved the breading on the corn and the Mac and cheese hash a nice subtle kick. I think next time we'll try one of the sausages. Also the bread was perfectly buttered and toasted. Service was quick! We barely waited. Everyone was working so hard to keep customers happy and fed. I really loved the music they played. It was like old school R&B. We'll be back!

    The Front End
    Jason D.

    This place has been a round for a while, and I have been missing it! They have been here for many moons, and my brother has been a consistent customer. He finally got me out here this week, and it was sooo good! We came in around 11:15a, right before the lunch rush. I went with the brisket, pulled pork, and rib tips, with Mac n cheese and fried corn. The brisket was perfectly smoked out, fat to meat ratio was on-point, the pulled pork was not greasy, and and had a slightly sweet flavor. I would definitely get that again. The rib tips were juicy and had great smokey flavor. They are great, but I would go with the full ribs next time. I had a chance to try the sausage, and it was also really good. Not greasy at all, but moist, flavorful and tender. All very good. Side-wise, the mac n cheese was very tasty. Consistency was a little lighter than I would prefer. I like it a bit thicker and creamier than it was. Taste-wise,.on-point, just a personal preference. The fried corn was interesting, I liked it, and would get it again. First time having it. Overall I really enjoyed my meal. The place is really nice and clean. Service was fantastic. Everyone was very nice, and they checked in on us often. The experience was great! Highly recommend. Coming out and giving them a shot.

    Shermika H.

    This spacious restaurant was packed out!!!! I'm gonna say maybe six people in line ahead of me. My vision isn't what it used to be so had to pull up the menu on my phone. That didn't even matter after I had a good friendly conversation with the cashier that persuaded me to get the seafood gumbo. I came for a brisket sandwich and the lemonade so I got all the three for less than forty dollars. Gumbo: ouuuuuu the seasonings! Whole blue crabs, sausage and shrimp! It was very meaty! I could've shared with the portions I received but I was not! lol it also came with a side of white rice and crackers. 10/10 highly recommend Brisket sandwich: my son said it was good. I'm sure it was because he inhaled the sandwich so fast I didn't even get a chance to taste it.

    House Special - 4 Meat Plate
    Mahwish S.

    I ordered the 4 meat plate from DoorDash. The portion sizes are pretty good. It's enough that you can split the plate into two meals. I chose lean brisket, sausage, and white and dark meat chicken for my meats. For my sides I had potato salad and beans. The meat tasted good but was a little dry. The potato salad and beans were tasty. The plate also comes with two pieces of Texas toast. For the portions, I would order again, but I would hope that next time the meat isn't dry. They do give onions and pickles with your plate, but barely. It was a few little slivers of cooked onions and 5 little pickles. For the size of the plate, it should be more. The BBQ sauce is ok. It tasted good but nothing to rave over. The reason I gave 4 stars is for the value of the portion size. This amount of food for $28 is worth it.

    Elias P.

    ya ran out of ribs player. Other than that, my order was delayed. Dont talk to the guy in dreadlocks. He is non verbal.... and now I have to give you 5 stars

    Green beans, Turkey, Brisket and Fired Corn.
    Ben P.

    Kinda tight but ample parking ... road construction everywhere (thanks Houston). Warmly greeted at the door and folks behind the counter were fun and helpful. Was concerned about how big the menu was for a BBQ place, but we stuck to staples. All the meats did not disappoint along with the sides. Read other reviews as to what to avoid. Green beans, fried corn, Mac N Cheese are all worth a try - fries too. Meats we tried: Turkey, brisket, pulled pork, and pork ribs - all excellent in that order. Have paid more and got less flavor and portion size elsewhere - very, very good.

    4 meats (2 servings of brisket, sausage, and pulled pork), potato salad, and Dirty Rice
    Jewonda L.

    Food was just ok. They were out of ribs, which is what we really wanted to try. The brisket was on the salty side and there was too much meat in the dirty rice, so not really enjoyable. The smokiness on the meats had a hint of fuel taste. Potato salad was really good.

    Two meat plate (brisket and ribs) with smoked Mac n cheese and beans for my sides
    Olivia T.

    Fast service, tons of seating and space, bbq sauce on the tables and the strawberry lemonade was yummy (if you like sweet drinks)

    Cortesia M.

    Front counter customer service was top tier! The sitting areas was very clean. Food was amazing!

    Food was okay but Mac & Cheese was bland and bbq sauce had no character. Grade given is a C
    E M.

    Houston has a lot of BBQ restaurants. The service was good and the bbq shack was clean. The food was okay. We had sausage rib and a house cheese burger with fries. The food was okay but the BBQ sauce really had no character to it. The sauce seemed very bland. Ray's was okay but there are a lot of other BBQ places I would suggest you go before here unless you live down the street. Grade given C

    Oh my goodness I cannot believe the smoked flavor for the pork ribs - incredible! The smoked Mac-n-cheese very tasty. Now the dirty was tasty too. I ordered the two meat plate not knowing it came with two sides. All serving sizes were large. The jalapeño was very cheesy- I will go out of my way to come back! Super friendly staff and very clean restaurant!

    Combo plate
    Cheryl W.

    The food was amazing! The portions were generous. I can't say enough positive things about the employees. A kind person opened the door upon our arrival and when he was advised that we were dining in he placed a reserved sign on a table for our group. The music was pleasant and there were spots to take pictures. I am absolutely returning very soon.

    Brisket Plate Potato Salad Cucumber Salad
    James C.

    First time in Texas and had to get some local BBQ. Very different from what I am used to but it was all bad. Got the brisket plate and my brisket was perfect fatty and pulled apart easily but my mother in laws brisket was more solid still tender but different consistency. The flavor was good but would expect a little more bark and char than what I was tasting. Now for the sides these are top shelf the cucumber salad is very good and marinade in a sweet dressing. The flavors come to gather perfectly. Same for the potato salad perfectly creamy and delicious. I personally would add a crack of pepper but honestly not needed. Now overall it's a smaller BBQ place that has some seating but more for carry out. Has some TV's playing ESPN but nothing too fancy. Now service could be a little better. The staff is very nice but the lady we had taking our order talked incredibly fast and had to ask her to repeat a few times. This is more of a cultural thing though. Overall it's a BBQ place some good some bad but nothing that stands out to me yet.

    Fried Corn (2)

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    13 days ago

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    3 days ago

    The food was pretty good and quite satiating. Ray's is definitely a busy destination.

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    10 months ago

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    3 months ago

    Best ribs I have had in Houston. The brisket and service were both good. Will be going back.

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    6 months ago

    The atmosphere was casual and relaxed, staff attentive. The food was okay, just a standard three-star dinner.

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    Page 1 of 27

    Ask the Community - Ray's Real Pit BBQ Shack

    Is the catfish real catfish or swai fish or some other type of catfish substitutes?

    Not sure. They have changed so many things on their menu. No more catfish and shrimp. You have to be SURE they hear you say shrimp or you won't get it.

    View All 2 Questions

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    Good Eats Southern Cuisine - Dessert

    Good Eats Southern Cuisine

    4.1(69 reviews)
    3.8 miCentral Southwest

    Food: The food was delicious! Every side, the main meal, and…read morethe cornbread were all on point. I tried a few other sides and they were good too. There was nothing that I had that I could say wasn't good. The portion sizes are plentiful. Come hungry and leave full! Wait time: Now it did take a long time to receive our food! A long time! Not sure if they take orders over the phone or online, but if they do, that is what I'd recommend doing if you don't want to sit there waiting because you will wait for a while if you order your food there.

    *WARNING- LONG WAIT** I unfortunately didn't read all the…read morereviews before arriving, and came here hungry. After looking around,seeing quite a few people here and most without food were the red flags. Then the news came we didn't wanna here ''Sorry to tell you, your food will be about 30-40 minutes delayed. " It was more of an hour. Most people that were waiting walked out. The young lady at the front did her best to accommodate us by apologizing, giving us a free cobbler and juice for the little one. We ordered a few different things: fried whole wings, dirty rice, yams, cabbage, mango habanero wings, fries, red beans and rice and Kool-aide. The fried wings, rice, fries and cabbage were well seasoned- you could taste the butter in them. My son wasn't crazy about the red beans n rice or mango habanero wings. He said it was more beans than rice and the wings lacked flavor. The Kool -aide was super sweet (as expected), but I added water to make it more palatable. While waiting we talked to some other guests Who decided to wait. Later the cook came out and chatted a bit- he was nice. Overall, food is good just come with patience.

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    Good Eats Southern Cuisine - Nice location

    Nice location

    Good Eats Southern Cuisine - Smothered Chicken

    Smothered Chicken

    Good Eats Southern Cuisine - Chicken Fried Steak With 2 Sides Sides: Fried corn and sweet potato fries  Okra in picture

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    Chicken Fried Steak With 2 Sides Sides: Fried corn and sweet potato fries Okra in picture

    Josephine's Gulf Coast Tradition - Marinated Crab Fingers ($16)

    Josephine's Gulf Coast Tradition

    4.4(301 reviews)
    3.6 miFourth Ward, Midtown, Montrose

    Chef Lucas McKinney and the team continue to deliver!…read more I have continued to enjoy visiting here with friends and family. The vibe is great, the decor is awesome, the food delivers consistently, and service rarely takes a day off -- it's just a solid place to go when you're up for some great southern comfort classics. Cocktails, delicious. The daily food specials make it refreshing. The oysters never disappoint. We've rarely had to wait long on any ordered items and servers are all top notch. My only minor complaint is some of the larger groups visiting can sometimes forget there are others in the restaurant. We don't need to hear your entire conversation about the latest office gossip.

    *this review is only for crawfish, not their regular menu (which is amazing) *…read more We went here during crawfish season because they've been advertising their $8/lb crawfish, and we trusted that it would be great given the quality of their regular menu. We went on a Saturday for lunch. Hopefully this was just a one-off, but if you're looking for good Cajun boiled crawfish, this is not it. We started off with 6 lbs (group of 4) of their regular crawfish. First off, they put the Cajun seasoning on outside/shell (!!), which is a cardinal sin for Cajuns. They also minimally seasoned the boil, so the meat was lacking salt and flavor. We ordered 3 more lbs with the "wet sauce" (garlic butter), thinking the lack of flavor may be attributed to this being the first-ish batch of the day. Nope, the second batch was even less seasoned than the first. The sauce was good, but it didn't make up for the unseasoned meat. The crawfish were a good size, at least... Come on guys, I expect more from a Gulf Coast seafood restaurant!

    Photos
    Josephine's Gulf Coast Tradition - Inside - back area seating

    Inside - back area seating

    Josephine's Gulf Coast Tradition - Banana Pudding-$10. Would've loved more cookies! Rich and filling!

    Banana Pudding-$10. Would've loved more cookies! Rich and filling!

    Josephine's Gulf Coast Tradition - Blue Crab Rice Bowl-$26. RICH!

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    Blue Crab Rice Bowl-$26. RICH!

    Kulture - On the house Buttermilk biscuits, whipped butter and strawberry jam... warm &

    Kulture

    4.1(522 reviews)
    3.6 miDowntown
    $$

    WOULD recommend (brunch). Came by on Sunday afternoon for brunch with a decent size group. They…read morehave a parking garage where you can get validated parking for 2 hours, just FYI. We were sat relatively quick, I would put reservation for this place if I were you, but when we came it wasn't too busy. We were sat and was greeted by our server, Fabian. The vibe was very nice, had the R&B jams in the background but wasn't overly loud to where you can't converse. It was a beautiful sunny day outside and it reflected all throughout the large windows of the restaurant. A+ for the ambiance. We started off with mimosa carafes for the table, great blend of juice and champagne. No complaints at all about the mimosas. He started us with a round of biscuits, with butter & jelly on the side. Would give it overall rating of 8.5/10, I actually liked them they weren't too sweetened like other biscuits. For food, I ordered the Buttermilk Waffles, turkey links, and side of Smoked Gouda Mac & Cheese. The food was good, above average in my opinion. The buttermilk waffles weren't overly crisp but still had nice warm flavor (8.7/10), turkey links were satisfactory (8.1/10), and the mac & cheese was above average as well, not out of this world but pretty good nonetheless (8.0/10). In my opinion, I give this restaurant a 5-stars, not just because of the food (4 stars), but just the overall experience. The ambiance was great, our server was hilarious, kept us entertained the entire time, and they were convenient nonetheless. They do 20% auto-gratuity as well. Was a calmer brunch with a good vibe, something that is very underrated in a city like Houston. I would recommend this place if you have older adult family in town or if you want an experience more... "demure" for a Sunday. I heavily recommend you ask for Fabian as well, very good server for us.

    After having a date, my boyfriend & I decided on eating here for brunch. If you're coming from the…read moregarage there is a side door entrance that you go into (we missed it and was lost for a split second lol). As soon as we walked in we were greeted with a smile and although we had reservations it was not packed. They had the old skool R&B jams playing, nice lighting, and a welcoming environment. All the people we encountered were amaaaazing! I wish I remembered the two men name who were helping us! They went above and beyond & the fact they didn't have to and it was so natural, speaks volumes. If y'all see this, shout out to y'all because y'all did y'all thang! I'd definitely come back and request the server that we had! I had ordered the fried lamb chops that came with grits & he ordered the pancakes with turkey sausage & eggs. The lamb chops were chefs kiss and the grits were my faaaav! They put their foot in em lol! His pancakes tasted like funnel cakes and were so yummy! I also ordered a mango lemon drop and once again, top tier!!! Oh & for parking, if you park in the garage they will validate your ticket for 2 hours. We paid prior, but they had asked and let us know.

    Photos
    Kulture - Interior

    Interior

    Kulture - Fluffy scrambled cheese eggs... buttermilk pancakes with bacon, syrup & butter...

    Fluffy scrambled cheese eggs... buttermilk pancakes with bacon, syrup & butter...

    Kulture - Pineapple lemon drop...Arnold Palmer... see Christina for the BOMB drink making... the l alcohol was alcoholin'...

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    Pineapple lemon drop...Arnold Palmer... see Christina for the BOMB drink making... the l alcohol was alcoholin'...

    Butter Funk Kitchen - Mac & Cheese

    Butter Funk Kitchen

    3.8(128 reviews)
    2.4 miSunnyside

    Let's set the scene guys...It was a glorious Good Friday and I was on the hunt for some good…read morecatfish. After research I found myself at Butter Funk kitchen. Want to start by saying I loved the atmosphere. Loved being able to sit at a bar, loved the music, and service was superb. Staff was super friendly and helpful. Catfish was pretty good. It had the perfect crunch and a plentiful portion so no complaints. Sides were good but not something I'd rave about. The étouffée was pretty solid but the Brussels could've been better. Maybe seasoning them a little more, cutting them in halves, and charring them would've done the job. Peach cobbler was so yummy. I loveeeee how they have offer for preferences with the peach cobbler (more crust, more filling, or neutral) because I personally love more crust. Kool aid was good but could stand to be just a tad bit less sweet with more flavor. All in all if you have a catfish craving and want good vibes and service I'd 1000% endorse this spot.

    You have an online ordering system - why state one time if you aren't able to meet it. This is a…read moreself made issue. We waited more than an hour for something they said would take 15 min. This alone makes this a 2 star place. Yall have to do better. The food was ok. The sides really didn't shine. There was far too much rice in the gumbo, red beans, and etouffee not enough of anything else. My husband loved the etouffee and it was the most well balanced of the sides. The Mac and cheese reminded me of elevated box mix but the fried chicken, catfish, and shrimp were amazing. So crispy, insanely well fried. I liked the cornbread although it is quite sweet. I can't justify coming back with such a terrible wait time. It's a shame.

    Photos
    Butter Funk Kitchen - Inside wall

    Inside wall

    Butter Funk Kitchen - Greens 16 oz

    Greens 16 oz

    Butter Funk Kitchen - Interior

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    Interior

    Eunice - Chicken and sausage gumbo with added shrimp

    Eunice

    4.3(694 reviews)
    4.8 miUpper Kirby
    $$$

    I've been here a few times before, and being a sucker for second chances, I wanted to see if things…read morehad improved from my last visit, thankfully, they have. Feels good when an establishment takes pride in their customer's feedback and puts a plan into action. Honestly, part of me was hoping that last time was just a fluke or an off day. This time around, everything from the service to the food was great. We had a 12:30 Sunday reservation for two and opted to sit inside this time. We ordered the cast-iron cornbread, chargrilled oysters, and a cup of gumbo each to start. For entrées, I had the Gulf Fish, while my husband went with the crawfish Florentine. Everything came out beautifully timed, almost like a perfectly paced three-course meal, which obviously made the whole experience feel elevated and relaxed. Our waiter was knowledgeable, attentive, and on top of everything without being overbearing. I also tried the prickly pear aid (non-alcoholic), and it was super refreshing, definitely worth ordering if you like a little tartness to cleanse your palate. Overall, this visit felt like a completely different experience than last time. It delivered the elevated experience a place like Eunice promises and what I was used to originally. Looking forward to celebrating my birthday here in June!

    I visited yesterday with a few friends for the first time. The restaurant itself was very…read moreimpressive and clean, well decorated, and welcoming. Unfortunately, the overall dining experience was disappointing due to both the service and the food quality. Our server was very slow throughout the evening. After ordering cocktails, it took approximately 20 minutes for them to arrive. We then ordered our meals... I had the burger and fries, while my girlfriend ordered the shrimp and grits. Both dishes were noticeably over salted. After finishing our meals, we waited an additional 15-20 minutes just to receive a dessert menu. Eventually, we decided not to wait any longer and went to Dessert Gallery down the street instead. While the atmosphere and appearance of the restaurant were excellent, the slow service and food issues negatively impacted the experience. Based on this visit, I would likely not return.

    Photos
    Eunice - Private Event

    Private Event

    Eunice - Cajun Duck Poppers

    Cajun Duck Poppers

    Eunice - Main Dining Room

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    Main Dining Room

    Ray's Real Pit BBQ Shack - bbq - Updated May 2026

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