My family decided to try some NC BBQ and found this place online. The menu looked extensive and had a good amount of options for my mom, who doesn't eat meat. We didn't have a reservation on a Friday night, but we were seated right away. After ordering, they give you a basket of hush puppies and biscuits. They were both delicious! Nice and soft biscuits with good butter. I ordered the pulled pork plate with fries and fried okra. The sides were fantastic. Everyone at the table liked their food. This was maybe a little more expensive for a BBQ place, but they do give you hush puppies and biscuits. The servings were also huge! My dad also got the pulled pork plate, and we probably should have split one. The one thing I didn't like was the sauce. I don't like vinegar, so I didn't try that one. The other one didn't have a great flavor and was quite runny. The meat was still good without sauce though. read more

The Pit - Pulled pork plate with fries and fried okra - Barbeque Near Me - Raleigh, North Carolina

Refused to even sit us, even though there were at least 10 empty tables in the restaurant lady at the service counter was extremely rude. Said if we didn't have a reservation that we needed to leave. read more

The Pit has some amazing food and you wouldn't go wrong with getting some of that outstanding BBQ as well as those savory hushpupppies.....Definitely some great food that you don't want to miss...... read more

A few things: 1. I visited this restaurant with my wife and college aged daughter. 2. The service was quick, pleasant, and the server was very well informed about the menu. 3. The majority of my rating was about the food. And the food was NOT good, it felt like I was eating in a nursing home. I am from the Midwest. I grew up eat KC style barbecue and appreciate St. Louis , and Texas contributions to my palate. I like to eat and smoke meat. This experience pained me because I had such high hopes to learn why people liked North Carolina barbecue. When we arrived late in the evening, we were promptly seated and noticed that there were still several tables of people in the restaurant. Encouraged, we sat down and after pouring over the menu my family and I ordered the smokehouse sampler, sweet tea, followed by the Big Boy platter and the pulled pork meal, with macaroni and cheese. The waiters and staff were all very pleasant, they brought biscuits and refilled our glasses without hovering. When the smokehouse sampler arrived it was a collection of fried pimento cheese balls, smoked wings, pulled pork 'egg rolls.' While we like the idea and the pairing of sauces, we found the cheese balls tasted as if they'd been fried in burnt oil, the egg rolls were bland and the smoked wings lacked smoke flavor. The main entrees soon arrived, and while they were hot, they didn't taste good. I ordered the fried chicken instead of barbecue chicken to taste more of the menu. The fried chicken was salted, but wasn't seasoned; the brisket was gray and lifeless with something that was supposed to be barbecue sauce on it- neither were appealing or flavorful. The ribs while cooked, were also underwhelming. My ribs appeared boiled, and had no signature pink smoke ring on the meat. Additionally, the membrane was still on the bone, while not indicative of anything, I thought it was off for a professional barbecue restaurant, great would want the seasoning throughout the meat. The grey chopped pork was very full of vinegar and I could not enjoy the meat because of the strength of the flavor of the vinegar. The pulled pork meal was clearly pulled from the bone and had pieces of cartilage sticking into the meat. My family didn't appreciate it,and refused to eat it. I sampled it, but i was glad I didn't order it. Overall, my family won't go with me here because the food wasn't good, and I would be hard pressed to patronize this place again just for ambiance and nice people. Please fix whatever is happening in your kitchen, it's killing your restaurant. read more

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Had a great lunch- ambiance is nice and classy and spacious- service was attentive and quick- the food was delicious and portions are huge and reasonably priced- I wanted to try their banana pudding but was too full read more

The Pit - 2 combo with brisket and pulled pork - Barbeque Near Me - Raleigh, North Carolina

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Service was good.... Food was better the first time I visited. Today the collards were a little to salty and not enough salt in the potato salad. The pulled turkey was FANTASTIC. Moist and flavorful. Server was attentive and kind. Was not happy with my drink to start. We made a small adjustment and it was fabulous from there. read more

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The Pit was one of those places that were recommended and the recommendation HELD. This place was so good from the starter, to the drinks, to the main course. The hush puppies and biscuits came out as a free appetizer as well! The biscuits are paired with this light, whipped sweet butter cream and it was delectable! Food came out quick and easy. Our server Ty tended to our ever needs. I dropped a hush puppy and he brought out a whole new basket. I would definitely come back to eat here! read more

Drink Order: Pit Smoked Ol Fashion Food Order: Triple Order with ribs, chicken, & chopped pork sides: greens, mac n chz, and okra Pros: wooooo sh*** that Ol Fashion is good And strong!!!!! The greens were really good. They were seasoned well! The biscuits that they brought out were also delicious as well. Service was great and the ambiance was laid back. Cons: The meats were not good! The chicken was not seasoned at all. The ribs were dry. The chopped pork tasted very very different. The bbq sauce that was sweet has a vinegar taste that was off-putting. I simply wasnt happy with this meal today. read more

The Pit - The Pit Smoked Ol' Fashioned - Barbeque Near Me - Raleigh, North Carolina

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Alright now.. Here we go again . Food...was mid. Landing the experience right at a 3 . The ambiance matched the vibe. I'd suggest the fried catfish, baby back ribs, hush puppies and fried the chicken... I captured some pics to be helpful. Yelpers are fine Helpers! Remember to be kind to one another and tip. read more

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We were told The Pit was a must visit while traveling to Raleigh this weekend and had to make room for dinner as part of our agenda. Our server, Adam, was excellent. He gave us tips on what to eat, helped accommodate our dietary restrictions, and checked in on us frequently. The portions were VERY generous. Be sure to save room for dessert, as they are just as good as the entrees! The cocktails just missed the mark. We found the seasonal peach sangria to be watered down. I drank the Quarantine Dream and loved the coconut-pineapple-rum combo. We started with the fried green tomatoes and deviled eggs. We highly recommend both! We all had a hard time narrowing down our order. I ordered the Carolina Classic Combo so I could get a sampling of two Pit favorites. The sides are just as good as the main entrees. You can't go wrong with any! The carrot cake was mile high and we loved the caramel sauce and nuts to top it off. The banana pudding was abundant with fresh bananas and perfected with a meringue topping. We left with fully bellies and a real feel for great southern cooking! read more

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First and foremost, we will be returning because the food is good and it is a staple in the Triangle. Our visit recently though left much to be desired with regards to the service. We really enjoyed the appetizer sampler and the fried chicken is still some of the best. Surprise for me as not a big fan of mac and cheese, it was the best thing I had all night. Even with the great food and atmosphere, it was tough to get past the absence of any service. To be fair, it seemed like it may have been more of an issue with overloading our server with too many tables. read more

Went there for dinner with my friend during my visit to Durham. For app we ordered the Pit Sampler and Brunswick stew. The sampler consisted of 4 chicken wings, 4 veggie rolls, 3 deviled eggs and 3 pimento cheese balls. Definitely too much for 2 but would be great as app for 3-5. The soup had beans and veggie inside, with some meat. Both of us thought it was super flavorful. For entrée my friend got a half slab of pork rib and I got a FULL slab of Carolina Pork rib. We like them very much. Especially my full slab was phenomenal! The whole stuff was about 50cm long, and each rib was more than half the length of my forearm. It tasted not bad either. The restaurant was, unfortunately not clean enough. For example, there was lots of rubbish on the floor near the restroom. Also, our table was not cleaned when we arrived. OTOH service was good. Our waitress explained the size and taste of each dish in detail, and offered to clean both the table and floor under it for us. Will return the next time I visit the research triangle area (and hope the environment could be improved lol) read more

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What an incredibly delicious dinner spot. Came here with a few others and asked for recommendations. Tried the brisket which was super tender, the pulled pork which didn't have any sauce but didn't need it. It had a perfectly smoky taste to it. And the ribs which fell right off the bone. I opted for the sweet potato casserole which equated to mash sweet potatoes and their Brunswick stew which was tasty and flavorful. I'm not a fan of vinegar based BBQ so I steered away from the chopped BBQ but may look at it in the future. The place is quite large but food came out quickly and service was friendly. read more

The Pit - Pulled Pork & Baby Back Ribs & sweet potato casserole & Brunswick Stew - Barbeque Near Me - Raleigh, North Carolina

Let's keep this short. The Pit is the best BBQ I have ever had, period. Theirs ribs are tender and flavorful. Literally falling off the bone. The bbq sauce is not too sweet. It has a touch of smokiness. read more

This was our last lunch in Raleigh for this visit. The server was nice and kept on checking for our needs. The restaurant itself is also roomy and nicely decorated. It was quiet when we came. Unfortunately, my husband and I were so disappointed when we got what we ordered. My husband ordered bbq fries, I ordered brisket with side of mac & cheese and brunswick stew. I also ordered fried pimento cheese balls as starter and my sister in law ordered pulled pork with a side of beans and something else (I forgot the other sides). Bbq fries: this is hands down the worst fries ever made. Not only it was drenched in oil and tasted a bit like rancid oil, the meat was also dry and doesn't taste great. Brisket and sides: brisket was very soft, which is not bad, but it's heavily smothered in bbq sauce. I don't know if that's how they do it in the south, but I'd like to have the freedom of tasting my meat without the sauce. That being said, brisket was very fatty and has a bit of aftertaste to it. Mac and cheese was so dry and bland it's almost sad, and the brunswick stew was also bland and I have no idea what I was tasting in there. I tried a bit of my sis in law's pulled pork, my oh my that was the dryest pulled pork I've ever had. It has bitter aftertaste to it too. I don't know what they put in there! The cheese balls was ok, tasted very vinegar-y and the hush puppies tasted better than any other dishes that I had in this place. All in all, we both were disappointed by how it turned out. read more

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A pretty good barbeque restaurant centrally located in Raleigh. It offers a great variety of options, including all things barbeque, soups, side options and cocktails. I went for the chopped bbq sandwich with the bbq baked beans, an Arnold Palmer and the banana pudding. Everything was great! There is only street parking available at an affordable rate. I parked for an hour during lunch and paid $1.25. Overall, good stuff! read more

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I've been coming here since 2018, and it's very popular, and pretty spacious. If you sit at the bar, they have good service for both drinks and food. If you sit at a table, you also get good service, and there's plenty of room for friends. The food is pretty good, although they don't have their original pitmaster, and I feel like it doesn't stand out the way it used to. Still, I don't think you can go wrong with what they serve you. It's all solid. You'll get NC barbecue sauce and well flavored meat. And the sides are everything you'd ask for. The hush puppies are very nice, too. read more

The Pit - Barbeque Near Me - Raleigh, North Carolina

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Was here for my 80th Birthday celebration. The server went above and beyond to take orders from 10 different people. Outstanding food and service. Highly recommend if you like smoked meat and delicious sides. read more

I was in town for a work event and was told that it would be considered a SIN if I left without trying North Carolina's famous pit-cooked barbecue from The Pit where the owner, Greg Hatem, has been cooking hogs in his backyard since the 80's. Since I don't eat meat (pescatarian), the whole BBQ genre doesn't appeal to me...or at least I didn't so. Not exactly thrilled giving into peer pressure, I walked uncertainly through the doors and right into Frank McNally (manager) upon opening the door. It was as if he could sense my hesitation and started a conversation with me as he seated us at the bar. I gave him my full trust and allowed him to order for me. If it wasn't the meat I would try, it would be the "sauce and seasoning" he said. A huge Alaskan salmon (blackened and grilled to perfection) was placed in front of me with a side of an additional BBQ sauce to try and their side portions of both the potato salad and fired okra. Heaven. Every bite was SO good! You do not need to be a carnivore to take part in the savory flavors that The Pit has to offer! read more

The BBQ was some of the worst I've ever had! Look at the picture of the brisket. It was disgusting. I try and cut red meat out of my diet and if I ate here, it would be much easier to do. When I do splurge and get red meat, I love me a delicious brisket and this ain't it. The rest of my 2 meat meal was pretty good. The fried chicken was delicious, the Mac & Cheese was good, and the sweet potato casserole was like dessert! Co-workers agreed the BBQ meats were not that great. The portions also sucked. I figured I'd get some Southern hospitality sized servings, but it was a disappointment and I left hungry. The waitress was friendly and and attentive which was a plus. I wouldn't come back, but if you give it a try, maybe just treat it as a fried chicken and sides restaurant. But when you're billed as a BBQ joint, the Brisket must be on point (Johnny Cochran said that I think). read more

The Pit - Beef Brisket, Fried Chicken, Mac & Cheese and Sweet Potato Casserole - Brisket was terrible, rest was good - Barbeque Near Me - Raleigh, North Carolina

We came here on a Sunday night, it was our first time here. So we started with the cornbread and the bbq soul rolls. The cornbread was hit but the soul rolls were ok. I expected more flavor! It tasted bland to me. For dinner we order the bbq fried chicken combination, pit salad and the baby back ribs! The fried chicken was perfectly crispy and moist! The salad was good with the pulled pork and the husband like the baby back ribs, he said it was moist and the sauce just right. The service was ok, we weren't offered a drink menu we had to ask for one and never tried to offer us dessert after we finished our dinner. The front of the restaurant seems to have a nice bar and a wall with wines! The back where we sat was more like a cafeteria style area. Expected more decor representing the barbecue spot! It was good but I doubt I will come back. read more

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The sever was all smiles & genuinely enjoy one of the babies in the group. Now the room is cobbled as areas have been added - some uneven walkways lead us to our long table. A bit noisy but remember the babies, who managed to nap thru most of lunch. The menu features wide choices but Smoked Ribs & Brisket are the flagship of the house. I opted for a half slab of Baby Backs along with a cup of their featured soup of the day. Damn if I can remember what I ordered, but had to ask for oyster crackers twice! Minor glich but with a chowder based broth they are an automatic partner. The ribs were a bit dried out, tender as they cleared the chalky white bones. Found several choices of southern BBQ sauces to grab. Classic NC Vinegar based, but picked my old fashioned favorite Q - similar to Sweet Baby Ray's. Now it's a 2:15 drive to Raleigh from Pinehurst - no big deal as we enjoyed seeing part of my dear wife's family. Would I do it again, sure if you spend the night in town! Long haul back home. Hey give the Pit a try - great & buzzy commercial strip. read more

Overall I feel like it's not a bad BBQ restaurant, but definitely not the best that I've had. I had a pretty big party so do take that into consideration of my review. The food was just... whelming. Especially with the sides. Both the mac n cheese and Brussels sprouts were soggy and did not have much flavor. The combination of poor texture and taste was not incredible. The meats thankfully were slightly redeeming and picked it up in the taste department, but still was not a home run. The brisket was a bit too salty and really need some carbs to soak it up. My favorite was the ribs so consider getting those! Desserts were really a hit or a miss. Banana cream pie was great, but the double chocolate cake was a dud. The amount of just mediocre experiences surprised me and just didn't add up to the great restaurant that it could have been. read more

The Pit - Barbeque Near Me - Raleigh, North Carolina

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The food was overall good but pack some patience with you because service is sooo slooooow. We came here on Wednesday around 7pm and to my surprise the wait for a table was over an hour. They do have quite large bar area where you can grab any available seat/table (a U-shape bar and several bar height tables). Anyway, we were lucky and someone was just leaving bar table so we took it. It took them 20 minutes to clean the table and bring the menus, that's only after we literally started staring the waitress down. After they finally checked in with us and we put in a round of drinks, it was another 15 minutes until we got the drinks and they finally put an order for food. After we got it, no one checked in on us a single time, not even to refill water. We probably sat there with our empty plates for another 20 min until they finally realized we're ready for a check. All in all we were stuck (that's exactly how it felt) at this place for almost two hours. My friend ordered a Negroni cocktail, it was served to him in a wine glass for some reason (that's a first, it is supposed to be served in a short glass) and with no ice which we thought was, um, interesting. For main course we all went for a double combo, I had mine with BBQ chicken and smoked brisket with a side of stew and slaw. Stew was probably what I loved the most, so flavorful. Brisket was very soft and sauce was very tasty. Chicken also tasted great but was dry. Overall I didn't quite understand what the rave is about. Decent place but definitely not impressed with service. read more

The Pit - Double Combo - Barbeque Near Me - Raleigh, North Carolina

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My girlfriend and I have been talking about going here when I visit for ages. We finally made it last week. We Uber down there, go inside, walk past an empty booth. When we spoke to the hostess, she was rude and would not even make eye contact. Since we did not have reservations, she wanted to stick us at a tiny table next to the kitchen entrance. My girl asked if we could sit in the booth that was open. She said no. My girl explained that it was open and we just walked past it. Again, no. Another hostess comes over and they whisper, and she says, without a reservation, we just can't do it. Then the second hostess says, we just sat those people at the next booth. Then she says, in the same breathe, ok, we'll do it. then the people that were just sat, leave, opening up the other booth. The server, Lauren, came over. Super pleasant, super friendly, super knowledgeable. We ordered some appetizers and drinks and then the meal. Her service was awesome, in contrast to the hostesses who has such attitudes. Definitely won't be back because of those two. My girl is new to eating meat after many years away from it, so we each had 3 meats to share. Everything was "not bad, but not great". the brisket was super fatty, the chop was so, so. All in all the food was a C-. Atmosphere was great, the place was clean, restrooms were spotless, Lauren was amazing, but the gatekeepers were an F and the food was meh, at best ... going to try the BBQ Lab next time. read more

If you are in North Carolina and want to try authentic BBQ, you must visit this place. Delicious food, perfect portions, awsome service, vibrant ambiance. read more

Really good spot for BBQ. The appetizers are really delicious. The biscuits and hush puppies are fantastic. We had the potatoe skins and I can tell ya, they are hearty.The fried green tomatoes had a great crispy breading and a wonderful red pepper sauce. The brisket was outstanding as was the mac and cheese and creamy coleslaw. I was really happy with the service as well. Come hungry because the portions are big. read more

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I came here with my cousin on a Friday afternoon for lunch. The restaurant is huge, so despite how well-known the Pit is, we had no trouble getting a seat. We ordered the Pimento cheese balls, which were served with a spicy pepper jelly. We also received complementary hush puppies and biscuits with honey butter. I ordered the double combo with pulled pork and brisket. For my sides, I chose the Brussels sprouts and fried okra. The pulled pork was fantastic, especially with the vinegar-based BBQ sauce. I had never tried okra before, but I really liked that, too. The servings are generous and I took home a second meal of leftovers. Being from the Northeast, I don't get to have BBQ a lot. This was a fantastic place to try so many different dishes. read more

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Nice place. Food was good and they definitely give you plenty. Service was ok. You get a huge amount of meat with your meal.

Overall disappointing visit. Little street parking and paid lot across the street. Service at the bar was overall slow, but friendly. Old Fashioned was not good. A large entree consisting of meatloaf, corn & collards only average with collards best thing on plate. They offer cornbread with entree and it was not great. Too long to get check. 2.5 rounding down. My assumption is things have changed with the pandemic. read more

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Went during March Madness weekend. Service was great. Food was amazing. Best brisket I've had in a long time. The free biscuits maybe the best biscuits I've ever had. Well worth the visit. read more

Our last meal before leaving North Carolina. This was our first time trying bbq in NC and it did not disappoint!! The skillet corn bread is a MUST TRY. The ambiance of the restaurant was a little more than just casual, but with bbq, you can get away with going casual. The service was not bad, we were pretty much left alone to talk amongst each other and eat. The food on the other hand, BEAUTIFUL! I would definitely recommend to try this bbq spot read more

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It's as southern as it gets. They've proven to be true pit masters. The food is well seasoned and the vegetables are cooked with lots of flavor. read more

I'm sorry to say, this place missed the mark on flavor for us. The protein was decent, but all the sides just were not very good. The reviews pointed here, but we just didn't leave with a good taste in our mouths. Decor-very plain decor, you definitely get the country vibes, but very bland interior. Service-good service, our server was nice and so was the rest of the staff. Food-this is we're we were left wanting more flavor. The Carolina ribs were good, and the pulled pork was tender and with the bbq sauce, it was good. But the ribs and pulled pork were only good at best, nothing overt special about either one. Brussel sprouts-far below par. They were mushy, and had no flavor. Cream corn-was also very bland and just was not good. Fries-had a ton of salt. The prices were fair, the service friendly, but the food missed the mark. read more

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I really wanted to like this place but the flavor just wasn't there for me. We ordered a sampler platter and the wings and soul rolls were pretty good but everything else was just ok. We had the catfish, brisket, and pulled pork. Catfish - definitely hand breaded but lacked any kind of flavor or seasoning. The Brussels sprouts and greens tasted like they were cooked in the same juice so no distinct tastes. Brisket - very tender. Bbq sauce was ok. Macaroni and cheese was dry and potato salad wasn't very flavorful. Pulled pork - it was ok. It comes naked and you can pick your sauce. The meat by itself isn't flavorful but adding the sauce definitely helps. read more

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A definite must when you travel to Raleigh, NC. First and foremost, our experience would not have been a 5 star if it wasn't for our awesome waitress, Tsu. From the beginning, she made us feel so super welcomed at The Pit. She presented us with excellent suggestions on food choices. When she found out that we were from out of town, Tsu created a list of things to do while in Raleigh. She provided us with a mini tour of the kitchen, where my family got to a chance to see how authentic NC BBQ is prepared. Tsu made us feel like lifelong friends. Now for the food. It was amazing. The brisket was unbelievable. The BBQ chicken was so tender and juicy. And the pulled pork sandwich was awesome. The Pit is a must when in Raleigh. The food was delicious, the atmosphere was great, and the service was superb. Tsu made our visit and incredible one. read more

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Came back and got the fried Mac and cheese and skillet cornbread with the same entrees, and the skillet core bread was sooooo good. Fried Mac and cheese was also surprisingly great! read more

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I emailed the email address given by the manager a week ago but have not received a response. First time at The Pit and we were seated quickly. I had their chopped pork at a work event a few weeks ago and didn't love it -- it had an overpowering smoky flavor and wasn't very tender. Therefore, at this visit I decided to go with the double platter of pulled pork and chopped turkey. Turkey was lean and finely chopped. There were two sauces on the table you could spice it up with -- a vinegar based and a tomato based. Pulled pork was tender but there were several fat chunks in it. Collards and baked beans both had a lot of flavor. So overall food was okay and we had a good experience until our waiter took our plates and asked if we wanted desserts to which we replied "no". He then disappeared for a very long time. He finally brought our check and disappeared again for another long time. We began to wonder if we were supposed to pay at the hostess stand so husband went up to ask and they said we paid our waiter. Finally he returned. It was at least 25 minutes from the time he took our plates until we were able to pay. Again, the food isn't bad but I probably would not return considering I really like some of the other barbecue joints in town. read more

The Pit - Pulled pork, chopped turkey, baked beans and collards - Barbeque Near Me - Raleigh, North Carolina

Had lunch at the Pit again recently with one of my best friends. We had tacos and they were so tasty. I loved seeing the meat cooking through the window. The place has so much character and has a lot of history in downtown. I plan to make a monthly trip for lunch. Since retiring I love to go downtown for lunch. read more

As far as barbecue places go, the Pit is probably the nicest ambiance. It's not like most of the other barbecue places and that it feels like an actual sit down restaurant. The food is really good too, I don't have any complaints about that or the service. The only thing in my mind keeping it from being a five-star experience is the price. It's definitely on the high end for the kind of food that they serve. read more

The Pit - Barbeque Near Me - Raleigh, North Carolina