Service and ambiance were good. The food- not so much.... The food came out about 5 minutes after we ordered and was lukewarm. The meats were flavorless and drenched in sauce to overcompensate. And the Mac and cheese was mediocre. If you are looking for good food, I would stay away from here. read more

This place was interesting. If you're looking for a truly unique bar atmosphere with eardrum pummeling live music, this is the place for you. Everyone there seemed to be having a great time at 11 pm on a Saturday. Unfortunately, I just care about food, and this place offers every quality extreme you can experience in a meal. I'll break it down: Brisket: Fantastic. Order this. Juicy, hot with an enticing smoky flavor. Rib tips: Rubbery, floppy, dry, and over-seasoned. Sauce almost saved it. Almost. Pulled Pork: God-awful. Meat was old, and I could taste the oxidation. I advised everyone at my table to stop eating it just in case it had gone bad. Sides: Forgettable and pedestrian. Server: Spot-on and perfect on refills despite it being a busy night. Looking for a fun bar in Pilsen to hang out in? Yes. Quality BBQ? Find another place. read more

Great ribs, very meaty. Corn bread in the corn husk is both visually pleasing, and tasty. Great sauce.

Not a fan! Rib tips were over cooked to the point of being nearly charcoal. Cornbread muffins look cute baked in tamale husks but tasted heavy & dry. The restaurant also could use a good cleaning. read more

Updated review. Came here to see a friend's band and I recalled being here before. I went over my prior review from 2015 and had some concern about having dinner. Willing to give a second try, we ordered the Sampler Platter consisting of; Half rack of Ribs, half Smoked Chicken, two Dinky Dunkers (Pork/Brisket), two Hot Links, Cole Slaw, Vegetarian Beans and two Corn muffins. The chicken was excellent, very juicy and adequate smoke. The ribs, while not very think, were tasty. Sausage links were done well and not dry or too fatty. The meat in the Brisket Dinky was good as well. I liked that the corn muffins were cooked in the corn husk opposed to muffins paper. They had a very distinct corn flavor. I'm no slaw fan but my girl enjoyed it. Additionally the beans, which I rarely find edible, were really good. Service was a bit off but it was a busy evening and they looked short on wait staff so not docking them in this Era of difficult stagffing. Overall, i would have no issue returning to eat. Might even retry the rib tips. They might consider updating their menu/pricing on Google so it correctly reflects today. read more

We were watching a bbq show on YouTube Of course we had a taste for bbq. We ordered Honky Tonk BBQ. Called in and picked up. It was delicious. The brisket and baby back ribs. Coleslaw was very good side. The pretzel bun was used for a brisket sandwich. This was our first time ordering from them. We will be there again soon. Continue success with your business. You want a bbq place. This is a good one. read more

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This place was the bomb!!! Literally everything we ate was sooooo good. The sauces were amazing and no one at the table complained. Service was great. Great spot for some good BBQ!!! read more

Really not impressed with flavor of pulled pork. Brisket was ok. . Bbq sauces were meh. Mac n cheese was gritty. Coleslaw wasn't very good. read more

We loved this place in the past. Have not been in 5 years and was not the same. Service was sub-par and the food was just ok. I will say the smoked meats were good but the Mac & Cheese was terrible. read more

Soo disappointed. Wanted to love it and was excited to order dinner tonight, and huge waste of money. Pork platter was supposed to come with a pretzel roll (which swayed me to get it) and instead came with one teeny tiny 2 bite Hawaiian roll. Meat was dry, and 0 flavor not even salt. Chicago sweet sauce was really good, Memphis tangy was just too sour. Mac and cheese was terrible, floury taste no cheese taste. I don't get it when any restaurant gets Mac and cheese wrong like google a recipe and follow it and it'll come out great! Like what are you doing that you can't even make Mac and cheese taste good? Ughhh so disappointed. Food came fast and was hot at least. On GrubHub, $35 for dinner for one and not very filling. read more

The Tonk - Barbeque Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

I am ill and taking something as soon as I get home. I need a refund. The brisket was unlike any brisket I've ever eaten and not in a good way; there was more fat than meat and it was bland. I wasn't sure what the brisket was at first. The Mac and Cheese was ok, kinda bitter. The coleslaw was also ok. I wouldn't go back. The place is cute though and I can't complain about the service. read more

Love the ribs and chicken wings. The cornbread is a winner. And mushrooms are good. My go to restaurant

I'm updating my review since I gave them a second chance! The brisket sandwich was delicious and lots Of yummy sauces to choose from. The mashed potatoes were a large portion and really good! The Mac n cheese was terrible in my opinion. It was watery and I could visually see the separation of cheese in liquid/solid form. It didn't have flavor. read more

I had a honky-tonk for take out on a few occasions. I have generally been happy, but there have been a couple of times that the meat has been a little bit dry. I usually am a pretty big fan of their seasoning. Some of their portions could be a little bit more generous, but I usually get pretty full from the food. If I am in the neighborhood, I would likely returned as it is a solid choice! read more

The Tonk - Hot Link Rib Tips Garlic Mashed Potatoes Corn Bread Muffins - Barbeque Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Do not eat here if there is live music. The sound man is terrible. The music should not be so loud that your ears are cracking. So loud we couldn't even order so we decided to leave. read more

HTBBQ Catering really came through to make the food and the presentation the talk of my party. Everything about the arrangements were professional in that they arrived on time, set up a beautiful table in a jiffy, and had everything really well organized. Beth helped me choose a knockout menu and had a handle on all the details. And the food...everybody raved. read more

I have been coming here for years. The food is good and reasonably priced. But tonight I received the best service! Nicole was lovely, informative, and lovely overall. Made the dining experience superb. Very good band tonight as well. All and all a great experience. read more

Nice hip place to come an listen to live music. The atmosphere was lively and the service was just ok. The waiter seemed overwhelmed and passed us up a few times when we made eye contact or signaled him. We had the brisket sandwich and the buffalo chicken sandwich and both were just average. The cocktails were pretty light and over priced. I elected to move on to a beer after my first drink. Overall, I think there are better places for food and drinks in the area. read more

Pulled pork sandwich: pretty good. Instead of sauce, they add seasoning on top of the meat. It was good, but I felt the meat was still lacking flavor. However, they have 2 types of BBQ sauce (a sweeter one and a vinegar one) and a mustard sauce to remedy that. Cornbread muffin: so-so. Service: solid. Ambience: not a fan of the really loud music in the bar area, which leaks into the dining area, but I acknowledge that's probably part of the atmosphere they're going for. Not sure if it was because I went on Cinco de Mayo or what, but there was this one song that they played super loud into the dining area as well. read more

The Tonk - Pulled pork sandwich and cornbread muffin - Barbeque Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

I love BBQ It's delicious hot link so good so is the bacon candy thanks for having me there (: read more

The Tonk - Barbeque Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Good luck parking, since it's in a super hip part of Pilsen. You might get lucky with the "loading area" if you are headed over there between 9 and 5. The ribs were very interesting and different. .... The meat was tender and yummy, yet the outside was extremely charred. Loaded with free radicals. I have never seen that before on my ribs. $27.00 was also extremely expensive for one little set of baby back ribs. I ordered "Baked beans" and they gave me vegetarian beans. Not the same, at all. They should have differentiated between the two. The corn bread muffins were burnt, and very blah. Tasted like your standard store mix of corn bread. The cole slaw was disgusting, and I spit it out. Loaded with vinegar, so idk who came up with that recipe. I also didn't know I was paying extra for the sauces. read more

Check this out- we've got some hearty BBQ all the way down here in Pilsen! Honky Tonk seemed like a great spot to check out. The name reminds me of an old 80s cartoon character getting chased by a roadrunner, and in this case, you're after some mean BBQ. I was excited to finally try this place after a few attempts and hitting them when closed, and we ordered take out to bring home. We ordered The Brisket Platter ($14.50) and a Half Slab of St. Louis Ribs ($13). Each came with some bread and sides, so we opted for their mashed potatoes and baked beans. I have to say that the brisket here was juicy and full of flavor. I didn't feel the need to lather it was any kind of sauce even though it was tempting. Our ribs were pretty spot on too with a great dry rub. Surprisingly, the mashed potatoes here were killer and a define yes in my books. Dip the meat into that creamy goodness and you've got yourself a great meal. All together, we really enjoyed our meal even though we couldn't dine in at the restaurant. It did look like a lot of fun inside so I'd definitely be interested in stopping by again at some point. read more

The Tonk - Barbeque Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Came here because of the reviews but I was a bit disappointed. As you can see by my $27 brisket that was brought out to me. It was as dry as could be. It was absolutely horrible. Of course I brought it to the attention of the waitress and she brought me another plate which was just fine. People do need to speak up if something's not right. And she fixed it. So that was good. But I also expected from a restaurant that serves barbecue called honky tonk To have more of a honky tonk bbq vibe. The 1st tip off should have been That I didn't even smell barbecue. The music they were playing was more house music than honky tonk music. It was just kind of like an old bar. That was it. So I was a bit disappointed. The only reason I'm giving them 2 stars instead of one is because the waitress did replace my meal. But that's about it. I wouldn't recommend this place to my friends. read more

The Tonk - Dry as a bone brisket - Barbeque Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Great music, live band and dancing while you dine. They also have great vegetarian options like the Mac and sandwich. Go here for a fun laid back night. read more

It was mediocre. First of all, the decorating was rather confusing. This is a BBQ restaurant, yet it has Mexican decorating and music. Although this doesn't directly affect the food that was served, it threw me off a little bit. Secondly, the service wasn't up to par. It took our waiter about 10-15 minutes to collect our money; we actually had to go up to him because he wasn't coming to collect the check. Thirdly, the food wasn't all that. Frankly, I was disappointed. Imma be honest- the food was so bad I had the runs when I got home. The only good think the restaurant carries is the Mac and Chesse- I recommend it! Everything else was blah! My dog likes it though... read more

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The Over priced Food sucked! Small portions no flavor dried out meat just Stay away! I usually don't leave reviews but I felt obligated!

12-13-2018 one of the first places we decided to eat while here in chicago. Before stepping in this place, I thought we were going to encounter chicago cowboy/cowgirls based on name of business. LOL Nope, just regular folks just like us looking for some good grub to settle on the bottom of our tummy. Atmosphere was calm and low lit which was perfect for us since flying cross country from Sacramento. Something which was soothing and relaxing. There was a large gathering in the back area for some sort of party. Also, many other couples and individuals sitting in the front area as we did. Our server sat us down and took our drink order. Yes, a perfect way to start dinner. Van received her cocktail in a cocktail glass with an initial "E" .... as we all know her name, right? All the cocktail glasses had a letter of the alphabet and she was delivered the letter "E" in which it put a smile on her face. I ordered wine which came in a regular glass wine.... and no letters.... urrrggggg It actually came with a letter "A" which was invisible and only I can see it ha ha ha We ordered the "Sampler" which was legit. Chicken, Sliders, sausage links, and ribs in conjunction with our drinks made our evening (which was walking distance from our airbnb) most enjoyable. I would recommend this place to chicago and non chicago residence. When we re-visit chicago again, we will surely be back to sample some of their other items from the menu review #4 in 2019 read more

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So the only reason they are getting a 1 star is our waitress was good. Unfortunately that's the only thing that was. Got the deluxe platter with pork and brisket, hot link, and corn bread. The corn bread is anything but moist. Maybe after a mouth full of water otherwise it's crumbly and somewhat dry. The hot link was burnt and without covering it in sauce was meh. The pork was nothing to write home about. Little burnt, little tough, not a lot of flavor. The brisket was dry. They cover it in some type of rub after it's been cooked to try to add flavor because it was lacking any flavor otherwise. It was also tough. Could barely cut it with a metal knife. I've had brisket you could cut with a plastic fork, this stuff was not it. Save your money! You could make better BBQ at home even if you've never tried to make bbq before. read more

First time Coming here. Didn't expect much as a vegetarian but the portobello mushroom sandwich (add the goat cheese) is fye!! It was chopped and marinated. So good! Most veggie options especially at bbq places are sub par. My friends and I shared some of the sides including the garlic mash (fye), yams(not overly sweet), greens, and Mac. Friends had the vinegar based coleslaw which they liked. 10 outta 10 recommend. I'll be back. Chill vibe and service was good. Oh the live band was hitting too! read more

The Tonk - Front of menu - Barbeque Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Ate here with the family while on vacation. We ate on a Thursday around 5:00 and practically had the place to ourselves. They have mostly pulled pork or brisket (especially on their platters), but there are a few other BBQ meat options. Be advised there is NO kid menu, but I shared a platter with my 8-year-old, he loves pulled pork. But if your kid's are not big meat eaters, there might not be much for them there, as even the Mac&Cheese has a kick (it was good though). Definitely try the candied bacon, it was yum! Staff was friendly and nice. There is limited street parking, but free street parking. read more

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Honky Tonk BBQ is a neat place, but bottom line from our visit is that the food is so-so. From a non-descript entrance at corner of 18th and Racine, one surprisingly finds inside a western saloon bar, and a couple of nicely and interestingly decorated dining rooms (numerous paintings and western paraphernalia). We had a half slab of St Louis ribs, a couple of Dinky Dunkers (half-sized pulled pork and beef bnsket sandwiches), hot link, and mac n cheese. The bread was cold and hard. The ribs were fatty and a bit undercooked, and lacked flavor, except for what BBQ sauce you wanted to put on it. The sandwich meat was ok, with the pulled pork more flavorful and juicy than the brisket. All portions were on smaller size also. Server and others were friendly and attentive. All told, I'd say 2.5-3 stars, and I wouldn't go out of my way to come here for the food. I would say it's worth at least one visit for the quaint dining environment, and I would return if we happened to be nearby and wanted BBQ. Some have compared this place to Smoque, which picqued my interest, but Smoque is in a league of it's own on the BBQ food quality. There's no BYOB anymore here, and they do now accept credit cards. read more

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From Chicago's Magnificent Mile to Honky Tonk's magnificent meat! Get your butt to Pilsen NOW! Our party of eight arrived on a Friday evening slightly before 8pm for a friend's birthday. Long and behold, a large table was ready for us despite not having reservations. We were meant to be! We ordered the bacon candy, Texas brisket chili, and THREE sampler platters. The bacon candy came in three strips. Very tasty but it was a wee bit tough. The brisket chili was hearty and delicious with plenty of brisket and beans to go around. As for the sampler platter, we downed everything: spread of ribs, smoked chicken, pork dinky dunkers, brisket dinky dunkers, hot links, fresh slaw, beans, and corn muffins. The ribs were a bit dry but everything else got our table of Asians licking plates and fingers! Excuse us, but it was that good. Our waitress was also a sweetheart and played along with our surprise. She brought out a generous slice of chocolate mousse cake with a lit candy for our birthday girl. Parking was less than difficult. We were able to find a spot two blocks away after circling the area for 10 minutes. Will I be back? DUH! OF COURSE! read more

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Full disclosure - as my profile states, I'm a transplanted Southern boy, raised 40+ years on pork barbecue, Carolina collards and Momma's 'nanna pudding. So, like a true North Carolina pig pickin', this might get a bit sloppy. The menu is pretty simple: an selection of sandwiches featuring pork, brisket or smoked chicken, or try a combination platter of the same, ranging from $14 -$33, depending on additional sides. There was a token, albeit very tasty, portobello mushroom sandwich topped with collard greens. Upon arrival, my beef brisket Delux Platter ($16) sent off as many mixed signals as the restaurant's décor - despite no visible smoke ring on the large mound of meat, the two top pieces were perfectly succulent and tender, glistening with just a touch of grease, and sprinkled with a dash of paprika-tinted rub. Unfortunately, the meat tucked below the trophy peak of goodness was gray and lifeless, impossible to tug apart and void of any discernible flavor, good or bad. The meat on the brisket sandwich our friend ordered looked much nicer, and was, enviously, more juicy. The pulled pork sandwich has subtle smoke flavors, a distinctive smoke ring, but the rock-hard roll was a simple throwaway. Unfortunately, not even the barbecue sauces could revive the monotone meats; a hat tip to South Carolina, the mustard-based sauce was tangy with a hint of honey, white vinegar and a queer note of raw garlic. The two ketchup-based sauces, while described by the waitress as "one hot, one not", tasted almost identical. I would guess the large squeeze bottle was a tad sweeter, maybe from a dollop of molasses - the second featured more vinegar and maybe a pinch of red pepper. The side dishes were also a conundrum - both bowls of macaroni and cheese were ice cold on the top, yet steaming hot on the bottom. I not sure what linear shift in the space-time continuum causes such a temperature inversion, but it made for a lively discussion at our table. Sadly, the béchamel cheese sauce was flour-y and bland. The coleslaw, however, had a definite tang and crispness. The bowl of collard greens brought the meal to a complete halt. The green's "pot liquor" had a distinct taste of tobacco, or "bong water", as described by one taster. And while a tobacco leaf in collard pot isn't completely unheard of, I seriously doubt that was the case. The service was unremarkable; our food was delivered in less than 20 minutes and the dirty utensils and half-eaten plates of barbecue were cleared without comment. We'll give the place another try just to make sure it simply wasn't an off night for the pit master. read more

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My friends picked this place over Tuscany on Taylor. Although I'm glad I got to say I checked this off my list of new restaurants that I haven't explored yet, I likely wouldn't come back unless I realllllly had to (i.e. birthday, bachelorette party, bar crawl, etc). Note - if anyone is thinking to have a birthday dinner or bachelorette party here, I would need to try to convince him or her otherwise given the many other better restaurant choices in Chicago. It's a fairly large restaurant with live music that plays at certain times. If you go to the very back of the restaurant, there's a different dining area that is more conducive to conversation. We ordered ribs, wings, mashed potatoes, corn bread muffins, and mac and cheese. A couple of my friends ordered a cup of beer that came with a thick stick of candied bacon, which was pretty cool. The corn bread muffin and mashed potatoes were fine (nothing special). The ribs and wings should be great given that this restaurant specializes in BBQ, but they were mediocre. The wings really didn't have much flavor, and the ribs tasted a bit dry. There are other BBQ places in Chicago. I'd recommend checking out other restaurants first. read more

We had a 5-star experience at Honky Tonk. Candied bacon with a tapper, 5-stars. Sampler platter, 5-stars Brisket sandwich, chicken (I don't enjoy chicken), & ribs were top notch. Hot links, pulled pork, slaw were okay. Live Delta Blues Musicians knocked it out of the park, 5-stars. read more

The Tonk - Live Blues Musicians at Honky Tonk - Barbeque Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Cool place. It's a BBQ place but with a full bar and they have live music as well. Hadn't eaten here in a while. Got some ribtips with macaroni and cheese. I'm forever judging everyone's rib tips by how well they compare to Lems. These tips weren't LEMs status because some were a little rough, most were tender. They're seasoned well. They offer a mustard garlic sauce, a sweeter sauce and I forget what the 3rd sauce was like. The wait staff/ folks behind the bar were super attentive asking multiple times If I needed something. Got a lone Star as well. It's a beer that's not a craft beer. It's a Joe Six-pack beer. Sometimes you just want a straightforward not special beer to eat with BBQ. read more

The Tonk - Barbeque Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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I came here with my roommate for my birthday and it was the best restaurant I had gone to for my birthday! I recommend the rib tips, they are juicy and so soft, got a big portion for only $11! Their sauces are super delicious! The drinks were great too! My waitress was so kind and attentive, the whole staff were friendly! Also they had live bands that plays every weekend there! I had seen the same jazz players before at the Green Mill and had to pay cover for it, but we were able to enjoy their talented music included while enjoying great food! The band we saw plays there every Sunday. The ambiance and artwork of the place is great also! read more

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Food was excellent. Like melt in your mouth good. We live In Florida and I would totally come back here again.

We had the food delivered Brisket and smoked chicken excellent Love the choice of barbecue sauces Wedge salad OMG best I have ever had Homemade Garlic dressing was just delicious Garlic mash potatoes a win also Good prices , delicious food and generous servings Oh and I can't even tell you how good the candied bacon was. Thanks for a delicious experience. Well done read more

This place just seemed too surreal to be in Pilsen. It was like walking into another world - a pretty awesome world. I shared The Sampler with a friend. It consisted of two sausage links, two dinky dunkers (one pork and one beef brisket), side of cole slaw, side of beans, half smoked chicken, two corn muffins and half a rack of ribs. The chicken was so moist. The rib meat came off of the bones. The beef brisket came apart nicely. The sausages were a bit spicy and grilled nicely. I'm not the biggest fan of beans, but these beans were good. I wasn't a big fan of the cole slaw though. It seemed like they got a bag of lettuce that you get in salad bags and added too much vinegar to it. It wasn't my cup of tea. I think aside from the food being awesome, the thing that made Honky Tonk BBQ seem surreal was the live country/folk music. The dim lighting helped to set the mood. Overall, it was a pretty good dining experience. read more

The Tonk - The Sampler - Barbeque Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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