Went to Tom's in 1982. At that time it was the best bbq in the Valley. Today it remains the best bbq in the east Valley. I always get my take out bbq at Tom's. I like the bar. The atmosphere and people are very friendly. Had one of the best Manhattan's I ever. The bar tender had her own special recipe. A little more fruity.Yum! read more

Jon Taffer! Where are you!!! The vibe was WEIRD on 08/29/2026... when we walked in, you could feel the dark cloud within the restaurant. The busser would take orders, then work on cleaning task. Once the server realized we had been there a minute, she came and asked us. Did she get the drinks? Nope, she told him to do it....WITHOUT washing his hands after handling dirty dishes and cleaning equipment. A few tables did walk out. We could believe they were short staffed... bless their hearts for trying. This review is for management. The manager was too busy trying to "find" beer to sell. This is a service failure of the managers. The grey shirt manager showed his face one time while the server and busser tried. Umm... just plain said. Don't blame summer slow season... blame the leadership or lack there of. Huge and magnificent bar... empty. Huge patio with a band stand... eerily quiet. read more

Tom's BBQ - Money loosing seats and tables. - Barbeque Near Me - Mesa, Arizona

Last time I was here the brisket was great, and the food was yummy. I picked up an order to go tonight and it wasn't that good. Unfortunately, half of my brisket was fat and I couldn't eat it. The mashed potatoes tasted weird so I didn't eat that and then the peach cobbler was raw and it wasn't even cooked. The manager was explaining to me how I had to cook it at home, but I doubt that if I put it in the microwave and cooked it longer, the raw factor would change. I'm not impressed. I will give them another chance though because it has been good in the past. read more

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Toms BBQ is a Chicago based restaurant that serves great barbecue.This is my second time visiting this Tom's BBQ location and my first review. The inside has a sports bar theme with plenty of tv's for watching the latest games. During the day it's counter service and at night you will be waited on. Today I had the 3 rib lunch meal. The ribs were flavorful but a little disappointing. The meat did not fall off the bone like I expected. The beans were hot and delicious and the roll was just ok. All in all it was a pretty good meal anyway. read more

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I ate here recently at the bar because it was my sisters last week working there. She had recommended the food. I'm so glad I tried the brisket meal. The cheesecake dessert was delicious. Loved the live music and neighborhood good vibes. My sister no longer works there because she moved but she said the owners are wonderful people. She loved the food and worked there so that says a lot. read more

Tom's BBQ - My sister used to be a waitress here and she has great experiences and high remarks about ownership and management. - Barbeque Near Me - Mesa, Arizona

I have been a regular at this location. I bragged to 2 of my sons how great this place is and how it is better than Portillos. We went there and ordered 2 beef sandwiches and 2 Chicago hot dogs. When the food finally came to our table, there was hardly NO beef on the sandwiches, maybe a couple of slices. One hot dog came at the same time as the beef sandwiches. I waited about 5 minutes later for the other hot dog to arrive. The waitress was very apologetic stating that it was a new cook. Someone should teach their staff how to make a beef sandwich. There were three tables with guest in them. All three tables were messed up! Too bad, I wont be back nor will I refer them to anybody. read more

Good service Perfect breading on the fish Good tarter sauce and cocktail sauce They have a Horseradish that is delicious Large portions Couldn't be more happier with this place I'm glad I found some good fish for Fridays Will be going back many times until I find another good quality fish Friday, but even then I will continue to go to this location read more

Tom's BBQ - Barbeque Near Me - Mesa, Arizona

The food here is amazing!!! Definitely the top bbq here in Mesa!!! Good atmosphere to come and watch sports also!!! Definitely will fill your tummy at a great price and service was top notch read more

Tom's BBQ - Barbeque Near Me - Mesa, Arizona

The atmosphere was great and the staff was friendly. The food was not great, we got the sampler platter with 3 sides, the mashed potatoes tasted like box mashed potatoes, the ribs were tough and did not fall off the bone. The macaroni and cheese did not have a lot of flavor and was mushy. I would not recommend. read more

Surprised I never reviewed this place. I've been coming here on and off for many years. I don't dine at bbq place a lot since I smoke my own stuff. I can say this place is my favorite place for rib tips. They are always consistantly good, not like Famous Dave's Ordered some rib tips, pulled pork sandwich, fries, onion strings, and fried zucchini. Rib tip always good as usual, pretty tender and smokey. Pulled pork sandwich was also good, not too dry. I've had their coleslaw before and it is also pretty good. I do like their jalapeño Mac and cheese. Fries I ordered was big fail, they weren't crispy and it ended up big lump of semi soggy potatoes. Onion stings was pretty tasty, but the fried zucchini was also fail. First time ordering it from here. Huge slice and the corn meal batter did not go too well. Service was great as always, friendly staff. This is not my favorite BBQ place but never fails me on what I order. Hence why I've been coming here for years.. Forgot to take picture of the receipt but it was around $48 before tip. read more

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Great service and food. Nice sit down area. My husband tried the catfish and loved it. I will get back.

Service and food I have always come here spoke to owner several times came here a lot today's visit was soooooooo disappointing pulled pork sandwich full of fat taste was disgusting and the girl was not helpful at all Not sure if I will come back especially the way prices spiked everywhere I guess prices went up quality and service went way down read more

I ordered 0ver $250.00 worth of food I thought would be enough for 12 people but barely got enough for 4 people if they were not hungry. 2 complete sets of 6 both of meat and sides weren't enough to feed 4 people. I was to get two sets of pork 2 of chicken one brisket and one rib. the rib was so fat and boneie and was barely 2 T of so-called meat. I was so embarrassed I was to provide the dinner for 12 people, and it looked pathetic when I put it out of the bags. One small container of potato salad was supposed to be two, one small container of mac and cheese not enough of either to feed more than 4 people. Never again will I trust getting meals from this place. read more

For starters, you should be ready to take my order when I walk in. Not continue to organize the shop. I waited patiently and was ignored whilst others were served before me. I felt super disrespected, unwelcome, and left hungry. I wouldn't recommend this establishment as they do not treat everyone equally or properly. 1 star here. read more

The food and service is fantastic. With daily specials to boot. Tried the pulled pork sandwich and the chips with shredded beef . Both were excellent. Want to try the family pack ribs next time with the family. The Italian beef was really delicious with hot peppers. Real Chicago style. read more

Food sucks rude people probably the worst bbq I've ever tasted. No flavor dry and not fresh

Ordered a Brisket Dinner and a 1/2 slab rib dinner they came with 2 sides each. The Brisket dinner was HORRIBLE! Brisket was Barley edible the meat was dry and over loaded with garlic salt we tossed most of it! .. baked beans, green beens and bbq sauce were tossed out. I dont know know how you ruin green beans , the baked beans were mostly a cup of watery BBQ sauce with some beans bbq was overly vinegary and salty. Ribs were not trimmed very fatty and no flavor best part of the two dinners was the coleslaw potato salad, and the one yeast roll they tossed in with the brisket. I haven't been to Tom's in about 5 years and I remember a far superior experience. We were very disappointed felt like we wasted $50. The employees were friendly and cheerful but the food was sad. Toms is Not what it used to be. read more

Very disappointing. Don't know what's happening with with Toms, but they lost me as a customer. I stopped in for a Chicago dog on a Saturday morning. I'm looking at the menu on the counter and the price was $4.99. The young woman rang me up and said $6.50. I pointed to their menu and said should be closer to $5.50. She said we don't use that. Look above at the menu, it's $5.99. I told her lose the menu on the counter. She didn't. Then her point of sale machine asked for an 18% tip. The dog was brought out to me. No pickle spear, only 1 small pickle chip and 3 pieces of cucumber. Sorry, but a Chicago dog has a pickle spear, not sliced cucumbers. And it had way too much celery salt. You guys blew it. read more

Tom's BBQ - Tom's Chicago Style Hot Dog - Barbeque Near Me - Mesa, Arizona

I actually drove to this part of town by mistake and said Tom's BBQ looks fun. They have a good selection of food including a burnt end sandwich with mozzarella. The sandwich hit the spot, and the beer was cold. I have to admit that I really wanted to try the Italian beef sandwich as my favorite place has closed but it says BBQ in the name and Italian beef doesn't scream BBQ. They also serve fish dinners?? I have to say the best part about this place is the family run atmosphere. The server was super nice and it seems like they care about their customers. read more

I'm a big fan. Definitely stop in for their amazing food. Staff is wonderful and the food is fantastic! I asked Maddy to pick out her favorite sandwich but don't tell me so I could be surprised! And I loved it along with some other custom options. Great environment. Highly recommend read more

Our experience ordering takeout from Tom's bbq for the first time fell short. We never dined here before so we thought we would give them a try and order take out. Food took a long time to be ready, chicken was undercooked and the brisket was dry and didn't have much flavor. Friday night, restaurant was very busy and the line was almost out the door after we ordered. We thought this must be a very good sign. We ordered 3 2 meat plates, brisket and chicken, upgraded one meal to corn bread, and got Mac and cheese, coleslaw, fries, potato salad for sides. Food took close to 40 min to be out. By the time the food got home, it was less than warm. We immediately noticed that the corn bread was not there despite paying more for it. Brisket was dry and had very little flavor. It was ok with the warm bbq sauce. Chicken as seen in the picture was all undercooked in all 3 plates so we ended up tossing it. Also, they don't have sauces other than bbq. We were hoping for a mustard based sauce for the chicken, as it goes really well with it. As for the sides, none were impressive but slaw was good. Fries were just ok, Mac and cheese was fine and the potato salad was nothing special. The dinner roll was store bought quality. Prices are somewhat similar to other bbq places but we were not happy with the food and the flavors were underwhelming. I'm sure it's still a favorite for many but it is not ours. read more

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Walked in and they told us to sit down they would take our order. Waiting almost ten minutes before I made eye contact with the guy and he's like "oh she didn't get you? I'll be right there" he came over, started talking to another customer instead. THEN came and only took our drink order and said the other girl will come take our order soon. Waited another few minutes and she started taking a family of 5s order that just walked in. We ended up leaving. Was a safe food place for me and I'll never come back. It was crazy to be ignored like we were. Went to Waldo's BBQ down the street. BETTER FOOD BETTER SERVICE BETTER PRICES read more

I ordered only one thing: a baked potato with no cheese and no butter. And they gave me a baked potato with cheese and butter. If you cannot get a simple order correct how do you stay in business? read more

1/31/26..Not sure how this place stays in business, food was awful! Portion size is big but no one wants big portions of Luke warm garbage. 1/8 inch patty with whole tomato, whole pickle, 1/4 head of lettuce and a massive bun, fries dripping with grease and soggy. Even messed up the soda, all syrup flat tasting. Lock the doors please read more

Ate here do the first time and it was terrible. The fries and onion straws were cold, flavorless and mushy. There was zero salt or seasoning on anything and the fried veggies are battered in a hush puppy type batter that is so thick and excessive that the veggies aren't cooked. Have you ever had a breaded mushroom that was the size of your fist? No, probably not, because no one breads and fries full sized vegetables. We feel so overloaded with grease I don't think I'll even be able to eat anything tomorrow. Such a waste. There seemed to be a bunch of employees but I'm not sure why they need them all when there was only one person waiting tables. read more

I was so disappointed with my order today, 2/28/26, from the Chandler location. I ordered Catfish dinner and 1/2 slab of ribs. First, they did not give me catfish, they gave me a white fish. Just tell me if your out of catfish and I will make a different selection. The ribs had a very strong pork smell that was not pleasant with absolutely no sauce. I had to bring the ribs home and put them in the over with sauce and "doctored" them up. My son at them, I still did not want them. Also, they did not give me my hush puppies, the fries were not fresh and the container the tarter sauce came in was half melted. Needless to say, I will not return. read more

A friend of mine and myself went here to crave our brisket craving. We sat outside after we ordered. The misters were going so it was nice in the shade with the moisture. It was made quickly - about 15-20 minutes. I ordered the brisket. It was good but a little dry and flavorless but the sauces they provided did help. The sides were okay too. I got the beans and mac n cheese. It was on the verge of tasting like velveeta, which I don't love but I ate it. Bacon was a good touch though. My friend felt the same. The cornbread was good. We ordered the peach cobbler and it was okay. We split because everyone's version of peach cobbler is different. read more

Tom's BBQ - Beef, Beef Brisket Dinner - Barbeque Near Me - Mesa, Arizona

Don't purchase gift cards because they won't honor them. Tried using gift cards from revived at Christmas, denied twice at McKellips Rd, lady was rude. read more

Wednesday $2.00 off loaded potato, I had the brisket sliced sandwich with a side and a drink. So delicious read more

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There are three components to good barbecue; meat, smoke, and sauce. The meat varies from region to region. The smoke is usually generated by wood local to the region. The sauce can vary from sweet to tart, mild to spicy, tomato to mustard, dry to drowning. If any of the three components is subpar, the whole thing is subpar. Tom's gets it right on all three. My wife and I came here for the first time for lunch on a Saturday. I took a few minutes to look at the many items on the menu. There are things you would never expect to find at a BBQ joint. Chicago hot dogs, for example. They even have fish and chips. So, for me to get a good comparison to other places, I ordered 2 things generally found at BBQ joints. Pulled pork, and my favorite side, Mac & cheese. Lo and behold, they have a dish that incorporates both. It's called the Mac Daddy. The Mac Daddy is a bowl of macaroni and cheese topped with pulled pork with a drizzle of barbecue sauce. I opted for the jalapeño Mac Daddy. It's the former with chopped jalapeños in it. The first bite was just the pork. It had a nice sweet smoky flavor. The meat was tender and juicy. The macaroni and cheese was like something you'd find in comfort food heaven. The macaroni was soft, not mushy. It was swimming in a tasty cheese sauce. I added some hot BBQ sauce. This sweet spicy sauce added just the pop needed to complete this BBQ dish. My wife's order came with coleslaw, which she doesn't like. She gave it to me. The slaw was coarse chopped, not sweet like some are. The only reason I mentioned it is because I think it would be good on a pulled pork sandwich. The indoor dining room is small, but we were the only ones there. There is a patio for dining on nice weather days. The parking lot appears to be shared with another business, but then again, there weren't many customers. The background music was a jazzy blues combo, giving the place a roadhouse ambiance. My experience was a solid 4 out of 5 stars guaranteeing a return trip. read more

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My wife and I have been going to Tom's BBQ for many years. My favorite is the fish dinner. It is delicious every time I order it. Consistency is hard to find nowadays and it's amazing that it's awesome every time. My wife loves the pulled pork sandwich. Again, good every time. The staff is so friendly and they make you feel at home. If you have not tried Tom's BBQ treat yourself to a great meal. Just ate there tonight again and will be back very soon. Thank you! Mark J read more

My first out-of-state review. My hubby and I were in the mood for some BBQ. Our resort is about 2 minutes away. So instead of driving to another BBQ place over 10 minutes, we seen this bbq restaurant. Inside...the restaurant is spotless. 1 star The friendly service in the restaurant 1 star The sausage link. 1 star My first impression without tasting the food was "omg this looks delicious" feeling. Unfortunately when I tasted the food it wasn't what I had expected. I ordered a sampler because usually I like to try all the meats when trying a new place. The only thing I loved was the link. The other meats were to bland but yet soft and fall off the bone. I also ordered the beans, potato salad, Mac and Cheese and cornbread as my extra side. The beans were just beans with bbq sauce The potato salad was sweet and bland The cornbread was ok. My husband said he just warmed it up and put more butter on it I ordered Mac and Cheese BUT THEY GAVE ME COLESLAW! MY RECEIPT SAYS MAC AND CHEESE. Ugh Will i return to this BBQ place? If I ever come back to Arizona, I will not come back. I think spending this much money $40+ on food this mediocre is not worth going. 2 star rating read more

Tom's BBQ - All - In BBQ Sampler Not pictured Coleslaw, potato salad, beans and cornbread - Barbeque Near Me - Mesa, Arizona

Okay, okay, I know this is a bbq place, and I should have ordered bbq. Well, I didn't. Maybe if I did, my experience may have been better. We stopped in for lunch. After reviewing the menu, I decided on the shrimp dinner. We ordered at the counter and then found a place to sit. There is a large outdoor patio, but we opted to sit inside. After a while, our food came out, and right away, I noticed the paper plates and plastic utensils. Is this really a big deal? I guess not... Anyways, on my plate, there were 6 big shrimp, 2 hushpuppies, fries, and coleslaw. I felt the hushpuppies were dry, the fries I felt tasted like old grease. The shrimp was crispy and good. I am not a fan of Coleslaw, so my husband ate that. Overall, I was disappointed in this particular meal. Will this deter me from coming back and trying again? No. I did have a bite of my husband's macdaddy that he ordered and that was good! The restaurant is clean, the staff was friendly and I will come back to give Tom's another try! read more

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We tried to experience the food here but phone line was on busy and we tried from three different phones several times and their website didn't even work. We just needed an order to go but there was no way to contact them to order ahead of time read more

This was my first time here and I really liked it!! I know it's not bbq, but I really enjoyed the fried pickles and fried mushrooms. My boyfriend enjoyed the brisket. It smelled great and the two guys that welcomed us in were sooooo nice! I really enjoyed this and I definitely will go back! read more

Hello to all, I write this review with great confusion, I have been a customer of this business for several years and I have never....ever....never faced any negative contact with the owner, manager or any of the employees during my interactions. I think that it is so unfair that a person would take the time to write such a negative 9 paragraph review on a issue that is totally unfair to this business, anyone that is a regular patron to this establishment should be offended and all should write reviews regarding their past and present interaction with this business, these allegations are totally unfair. As a BLACK MAN I must come in defense of this business, this business is a constant contributer to community causes, charities and employee people that live in the area where they are located. Please understand that we have and continue to try to overcome a very dangerous health scare and many people suffered and many lost loved ones, businesses had to to close their doors due to the epidemic, and this person had the time to actually sit down a write an unworthy review to such a great establishment. WOW!!!! In closing I would just like to say..... SHAME ON YOU YELPER OF 2 DAYS AGO. read more

Tom's BBQ - This menu has something for everyone, I have not had any thing bad here, this us my goto place. - Barbeque Near Me - Mesa, Arizona

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Updating my review because there is now a new owner. Food and menu are the same for now (this was a few weeks ago) and the owner was the nicest gentleman. He walked around, introduced himself to the tables and spent time answering questions. I hope he is successful with taking this business over. I wasn't planning on going back after our last experience but with new owners, I hope to see a positive change in treating everyone fairly and equally. The new owner did mention adding salmon to the menu so I'm looking forward to that. Best wishes! read more

Giving this a solid 4 tonight. We've been here couple times in the past. Solid place in northeast Mesa, especially if it's too late to get Jalapeño Bucks. Hand cut fries and the Mac n cheese are a MUST!!! Please get a side of these if they don't come with what you order. You won't be disappointed! Fried pickles and onion strings are a great starter or side-we get these every time. Dare we say these fried pickles are on the same level as Gus' Fried Chickens' pickles!?!? Blasphemy I know, but they have a GOOD fried pickle here. Only miss was the side of burnt beans...I mean baked beans. Definitely past their prime. Not horrible, but I'm pretty sure they have been in the 'roaster' sitting for a while. We didn't eat them. So if you get a fresh batch of beans-you may be in business!!! Hubby liked the brisket, and a tip for families--our kids prefer to get large sides and share them here instead of the kids meals! And I think it's a little less pricey this way! Another win is the atmosphere-diner meets bbq joint! Come try this place out. read more

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Oh boy, where to start. Not sure what the quality use to be like, but the meal I had here last week was awful. I ordered the three meat dinner and it came with sausage link, ribs and brisket. The two sides where slaw and mac and cheese. First the sausage looked and tasted like it was heated up in a microwave. It was void of any moisture, and was tougher then Mike Tyson. The few ribs where very fatty and had hardly any meat on them. The brisket was also two pieces of fat with an after thought of meat on them. Flavor on the ribs and brisket was just meh. The slaw was a massed produce variety and the Mac and cheese was straight out of a box. The cheese sauce was in desperate need of some seasoning. Won't go back. read more

I went here for dinner because I liked the menu I saw online. When I went there, the indistinct lack of scent of a smoker should have tipped me off, but I was hungry and decided to give it a go. Since I was ordering for several people, I decided to go with 1lb of burnt ends, 1lb of brisket, a couple sides and a sandwich. The check came to around $110, which wouldn't have been a problem if it were good BBQ. What I got was this: Burnt ends that weren't burnt. They seemed more boiled than anything. They were chewy nuggets of salty sadness, because I am a big fan of burnt ends. The brisket was no better. Thin slices of meat with no smoke ring, no signs of juiciness, no flavor other than a lot of salt. If they do smoke their meats there, I see absolutely no signs of it. I will say this though: The sandwich was actually really good, and the price was more than fair. If you are going to get anything, go for the sandwiches and at all costs avoid the overpriced and underflavored BBQ plates. I do understand BBQ is a science and there is very little margin for error when it comes to brisket, but the brisket here was abysmal. I would have an issue paying 1/4 of what they charged for theirs. The place was clean, has a nice bar, and the staff was very courteous. Scan the menu closely and choose wisely. There is a good meal to be had if you do your due diligence. read more