My wife and I visited Scratch BBQ Saturday, early evening. The place was crowded, with a very long line queued up to order food. I gave them 2 out of 5 stars overall. That's because there are some good things, and there are a number of things that need improvement. I think all the things that knocked the score down are fixable. The counter service is a problem when there is a big crowd. The line moves too slowly. And once food has been put on the trays it sits too long getting cold while you wait to check out. They need to fix that. Here are our impressions of the food: Brisket - excellent. Smoky, flavorful. Pulled pork - was kind of soft and mushy in texture. Not as full flavored as the brisket. Pulled Turkey - simple. Smoky. Good flavor. Needs sauce. Pork ribs - underdone. Chewy. Kind of cold. I would not order them again unless they improve. Mac and cheese - delicious. Smoky cheese flavor was good. Could be a bit creamier. Green beans - inedible. A mix of undercooked beans mixed with shriveled up overcooked beans. No seasoning. It needs some pork and maybe some onions. Needs to be more tender. Cole slaw - more vinegar flavor. Not creamy. I prefer creamy slaw. So I wouldn't order it again. Corn bread - good taste and texture. Pieces were a little small for the price. Table sauce - not bad. Only one flavor. Bottle tips were plugged. They need more variety of sauces and better squeeze bottles. Price - prices for meats was by the pound. Order the quantity you want in 1/4 LB increments. Prices seemed a little high for the quality and self service. Temp - all the food needed to be hotter. The lag time it took to ring food up played a part in the heat loss. I think the food generally needs to be held at a higher temp. If management can fix the issues with sides, speed the process, get quality more consistent, and improve the table sauces, they could hit 4 stars. read more

I always try to get to Scratches BBQ whenever I am in Flint. I am never disappointed, and the food is always great!

Disappointed! Tried ribs, sweet potato casserole and cornbread. The ribs were so burnt that the meat crumbled in your mouth. Took them back to the counter for replacement. Replacements were not burnt, but not much flavor....well no flavor. The sweet potato casserole wasn't a "casserole", it was just stringy mashed sweet potatoes. Cornbread just okay. I felt like the the sides were overpriced. Husband tried the potato salad. He said the flavor was good, but the potatoes were under cooked. The restaurant was clean, and not busy at all. I definitely would not give them a second chance. read more

Brisket is not difficult to mess up. I've had the brisket sandwich, brisket nachos, and brisket mac&cheese at Scratch, and I've yet to be disappointed. The Texas-style barbecue, complete with ribs, chicken, and pulled pork and nicely rounded off with cornbread, giant desserts (that are delicious), and live music makes Scratch a unique environment in Flint. There are no other barbecue joints that offer up a variety of local talent (that I know of), and much of the talent (from whom I've seen) is top-notch, whether playing country hits on guitars and banjos or bluesy soul and oldies classics on a piano, this joint is not just great eatin; it's a great experience all around. Only thing that kept it from that fifth star is that some patrons complain about the music, and it is subsequently decreased in volume, which makes me wonder why they bother to dine out at a place that advertises live music? read more

The food was excellent, don't miss the Mac & Cheese or the sweet Potato Casserole. Service was executional as well. Really enjoyed our lunch here and will be back. read more

Scratch BBQ - Ribs, Brisket, Pulled Pork, Mac & Cheese, Sweet potato Casserole. - Barbeque Near Me - Flint, Michigan

I've been here a few times and the food is consistent and the staff is always friendly especially while dining in. great selection for drinks and good prices for food you receive. Also always clean read more

Scratch catered a work party today. We had pulled pork, pulled chicken, coleslaw, Mac & cheese, and cornbread. I can only speak on the pork, Mac & cornbread. Mac & Cheese was AWESOME. It's white cheddar and has big pepper bits in it, and garlic. It's not your typical "bbq" Mac & cheese (as I would always picture yellow cheddar Mac) but it was GREAT. The pork tasted great, but could've been a bit more flavorful- but it was super tender and juicy. The BBQ sauce they provided was a bit too thin and vinegary for my personal taste. Cornbread was odd to me, but everyone else at my table loved it. The top layer was sweet and moist, but the bottom portion was more dense and dry- but again everyone else said it was great so maybe I just don't know what a "good" Cornbread is. Heard the pulled chicken was excellent from a coworker. Overall, the food was good & I'd try the restaurant based off the Mac and Cheese alone. You're not a good bbq place without great sides. It's all about the SIDES!!!! read more

The food is amazing and the restaurant has such a cool atmosphere. The service was quick and after we got our food we tried the Margarita Sampler, 10-10! Coming from Lansing it's 100% worth the drive. read more

Scratch BBQ was a sponsor at the Resource Rally held by the Genesee County Veteran's Affairs on Saturday, Sept 14 at Riverview Park in Flushing. They provided an incredibly delicious pulled pork sandwich, with the option of chicken, a very large assortment of BBQ sauce + chips and a beverage. A sweet treat was also included. Thank you, Scratch BBQ, for being there, for supporting such a special event and offering a wonderful meal to the attendees. The pulled pork was amazing and now we plan to swing by the restaurant for the full experience. You were busy yet so engaging with everyone who stopped by. Well done! read more

Scratch BBQ - Barbeque Near Me - Flint, Michigan

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Great brisket, excellent collard greens. We'll be back for more sides and meat! The mocktails are fun. The pickles are tasty, not much was happening but it was 2pm on a Tuesday. Friendly staff and big TVs! read more

Everyone was Very friendly from the moment we walked in the door. The atmosphere inside is really nice and the food is Amazing!! We will definitely be coming back! read more

I think this is my first review ever. Rely on yelp reviews a lot. I would note the small sample size here for anyone considering not going because of the low rating. It is a good BBQ place and they actually appear to use real wood and smoke. Better than Bad Brads in my opinion. Not Franklin Barbeque but it's good and well worth going to. Not in love with the location but the quality makes it so I will return. read more

Best bbq in Michigan. Amazing Mac and cheese, as well as corn bread. Would definitely recommend.

Overall the place is ok, the brisket we got was top notch no complaints. The potato salad was ok just not to our liking. We tried the chili which was pretty good along with corn bread ( very sweet corn bread sweetened with honey). The pizza on the other hand was a huge disappointment see the pic. This was the Lateralus pizza. House made bbq sauce, pulled pork, pickled onions and caramelized pineapple, no pickled onions as you can see, about 6 small pieces of pineapple and very very little pork. When we told them it was supposed to have pickled onions they brought us a small container with a few onions in it. I can't say that I won't go back but definitely not for the pizza. See both pics one from their menu on the internet and the other of what we received. Needed to edit the review as I forgot about to add the menu says caramelized pineapple, clearly it went from the can to the pizza, nothing caramelized about it. My only point is if you advertise it then do it. If you can't or won't do it then don't advertise it. read more

Scratch BBQ - Barbeque Near Me - Flint, Michigan

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Me and my friend have eaten there three times now. First we ate inside and the second and third time did take out. Food is good and consistent quality but the size of portions seemed to have changed.. not sure if this was due to not having the right containers from the beginning or what but it was disappointing that our sides were much smaller than expected this time. I do like for the nachos how they separate the toppings and you can build it yourself at home. We had the brisket nachos with Mac and cheese and sweet potatoes with corn bread each time. Our first time tried the greens and mashed potatoes but didn't get those again the second or third time. Key lime pie was also really good read more

Very good food!! And the service was great and helpful. And the building outside and in was absolutely beautiful! read more

Scratch BBQ - Brisket green beans, broccoli salad so good and staff very helpful! - Barbeque Near Me - Flint, Michigan

Go elsewhere, because this place is not it. Sauce is pure vinegar and just pours out like water, it was gross. The mac was just a glob and heavy on the garlic, more like a steakhouse flavor than a bbq joint. The coleslaw was soaked in vinegar. Cornbread was okay, beans are just canned Bush's beans. Husband said all of the meat was dry and almost jerky like. It was like the food had just been sitting. Service is slow when ordering and waiting - it is set up like a school lunch line. Soda is off brand, flavor is blah. Will not return, this is not true bbq whatsoever. read more

Food was excellent. Ordered pulled pork, coleslaw, potato salad and Mac & cheese. Cornbread was the best I have ever had. read more

Scratch BBQ - The food was excellent. We ordered 1# of pulled pork. Our sides were potato salad, coleslaw and Mac & cheese. - Barbeque Near Me - Flint, Michigan

Visited twice in first 10 days. Cafeteria style. Much better service on 2nd visit. Had spare ribs baked beans and slaw. Ribs are good. Alot of bark for ribs. That bark is very pepper forward. Maybe too much. Nevertheless several great bites in the 9 bones I ate. Some end bones were dry and slightly over cooked. I dont think they wrap them. Maybe they should. I'll get ribs again. Beans excellent. Slaw is vinegar based with red cabbage. Above average in my opinion. Corn bread is sweet. Very good. Sauce is good. I used alot and I'm not a sauce guy. Nice beer selection at bar. Overall. Best 'Cue' in Flint. I'll be back! read more

Scratch BBQ - a plate of ribs, coleslaw, and sides - Barbeque Near Me - Flint, Michigan

Such good food! Such great staff! And for those with gluten or dairy issues, everything is clearly marked. Looking to save some $$? My husband and I often split the massive tray of nachos and add a side or two. They also run great sandwich specials and have a really fun drinks selection. read more

just stopped in while driving through. had a juicy and flavorful brisket and decent sides. got to order exactly the amount I wanted. staff was friendly and polite. read more

The food is amazing - I LOVE That I can purchase exactly how much food you want as you pay by weight. The side dishes are amazing also - always a good selection and always hot and fresh. read more

Love the decor, service, and food! Beer selection was exceptional as well! Going to bring friends and family!

Great place to relax and enjoy some great BBQ. Full bar and wide beer selection. Friendly staff.

We really enjoyed our meal! We love the Mac and cheese and sweet potato casserole, I got the pulled pork and loved it! The staff is so friendly and the owners stopped by the table which was so nice! New establishment and they advised us they were working out some kinks but we didn't notice the kinks! Give it a try! read more

Really solid barbecue, better than expected. The format is typical of what you see in Texas. Quality is top-notch. Good flavors. Recommendation would be to offer a couple of sauce options, maybe a Carolina vinegar sauce and a spicy sauce. read more

The staff was amazing! We were greeted when we arrived and a manager came out to explain the menu to us. The turkey nachos were delicious, the pulled pork sandwich was also. And we got the Mac and cheese to go. Great spot! We will be back read more

My family visited and tried the brisket, pulled pork, ribs and a pizza. The brisket and pulled pork were our favorites - delicious. We also enjoyed the side dishes. There are better local spots for pizza and ribs in our opinion but they were still tasty.The convenient hours, location, large party seating and drink menu give this place a leg up in the local barbecue restaurant scene. Service was great too. We will definitely be back. read more

stuff was complete bad i ate here and i got mac n cheese and it cost me 18 fliping dollars for some mac n cheese the size of my fist and it tasted like gordon ramsey poopef in my fliping food will not be eating here again also got brisket for 24 dollars and it was worse than the mac n cheese then my child ordered their nachos and what the heck why was the cheese flimsy i could literally pick it up and throw it and it wouldve stayed in tact then my son got 14 flipping chips for 15 bucks what the heck scratch bbq worse restaurant ever in the world read more

Just opened and I'm impressed. Some of the best brisket that I have ever had. Sides were very solid as well. Served in an order from the counter style which was great as it was fast. I will definitely be a regular. read more

Loved it!! I don't usually like my ribs without adding sauce, but these ribs were delicious. No need to add anything extra, and the baked beans were perfect. Also tried the brisket, and we will be back for more. read more

Great food and great atmosphere. Staff was very nice and attentive. The owners made a stop at our table to thank us for coming...(nice touch). They were sold out of pulled pork I had the ribs and wife had the brisket. Both very good great smoke flavor and rub. Mac and cheese was on point , but wasn't impressed with collard greens. All in all we will be back to enjoy the food. Ps great tap selections if you like craft beer! read more

What bbq place is out of ribs, chicken and cornbread. They didn't let us know about all of the items not absolve so they made my boyfriends nachos and I went to order chicken and they said they were out and I had to pay for my boyfriends nachos and watch him eat them while I ate nothing because I have a red meat allergy. They should have left us know prior to ordering and making my boyfriends meal read more

Extremely Lloud, mediocre food, and you have to stand in line to order. Yuck. Maybe okay for young families with kids, but no one else.

Great service and great food!! The MAC & cheese is to die for the brisket is season to perfection

Wonderful food, wonderful people, and a great set up for families to order all the things each person wants. Love it!

we went there for the first time and had pulled pork nachos they were the worst i have ever had, the pulled pork was tough and over done and there wasn't hardly any pulled pork on the nachos it was $18.00 the M D's resturant puts them to shame and cost less and you get a lot more, my son had brisket and he said it wasn't very good, we won't ever be going back there, if they want to stay in business they need to change the way they do their meals and quit being so stingy read more

terrible food, the Mac with Alfredo sauce instead of cheese wasn't good at all. the brisket was over smoked and seasoned poorly. the pizza isn't worth calling pizza and what is brix soda . I don't see this place making it. read more