If you're down to eat at a cash-only, no frills, red slaw, pours-tea-from-a-Rubbermaid-pitcher type of place, you've found the best barbecue joint for miles around. Whispering Pines is as good as it gets. Founded in 1945, they still cook their barbecue using real wood that you can smell before you see it stacked by the building. Inside, it's a mix of booths and countertop seating. As you walk in, you're reminded that you can't pay by credit or debit. You seat yourself, and are promptly greeted by a kind waitress. The food is fast to the table and delicious. You can pay at the register, or if you don't need change, you can leave your money on the table. We got a kids chicken tenders with tater tots, chopped barbecue sandwich, and chili cheese tots. The waitress asked me if I wanted slaw on my sandwich, to which I said yes, and she reminded me that they use red slaw, which is just fine. I know what side of the state I live on, and when in the western part, you eat red slaw. The barbecue wasn't dry and I didn't put any sauce on it. The chili cheese tots were expertly covered, and equally delicious. My littles enjoyed the chicken tenders and tots. Cash in hand, we will be back. This place rocks. read more

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This is honestly one the best BBQ spots in Albemarle. I can't stress enough how everyone should visit here. This is one of those local places where you have to go visit. Their food is amazing as well as their service. read more

The food is incredible and you truly cant beat the price anywhere else, all the staff is friendly. the only downside i can name is they dont take card so have cash ready read more

CASH & CHECKS ONLY! Clean and nice small town feel. Loved the sweet tea and option to sit outside with our dog. Waitress took our order, but brought our food in a to go bag, had us pay and didn't come back. That was interesting after tipping more than 20% before we ate. The baked beans were great, and the BBQ was as expected. It was dry without the dip, but we're had plenty to make it better. Waitstaff was nice and quick. We were pleased and glad we stopped for a quick bite after a long hike. read more

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Great bbq! The customer service is good and it is clean nice place to eat! Only thing is they only take cash. I do recommend this place through for bbq and great slaw too! read more

I hear this is dry bbq comment from some,, that is what the homemade hot sauce is for as it blends so well. My family is from albemarle and we always get it to bring back when visting. I miss that I can't get the healthy and tasty red slaw at the coast it blends with the bbq perfectly. Happy 80th anniversary! You don't stay around that long if you aren't good. Best BBQ sandwhich around. read more

BBQ was delicious, service excellent. Would recommend if you prefer a small hometown place to eat. read more

Whispering Pines B-B-Q - Barbeque Near Me - Albemarle, North Carolina

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The food was horrible I got a bbq plate the meat lacked flavor and was dry. I was in albemarle for work and needed lunch. The service was great friendly staff very nice. The ambiance gives a small town vibe which I love. The men's bathroom sink is disgusting though pack with lime and rust. Def a one and done spot read more

A local from the area brought me and some friends here after a Morrow Mountain State Park hike. I was quite pleased with the quality and flavor of the regular ol' pulled pork BBQ. Not to mention the prices weren't bad for it either. As another reviewer very reliably mentioned: they have ONLY eastern style, vinegar based sauce and red, vinegar based slaw. No tomato based sauce and no mayo based slaw. I ordered a tray with tots as my side. They all come with a few hushpuppies too, which was a nice surprise. As mentioned, the BBQ itself was stellar. It can often be cooked too dry and theirs was anything but. I much prefer western style, tomato-based sauce so it was a let down that they didn't have any. The sauce they did have was not bad though. I also don't care for mayo based slaw so I was looking forward to their red slaw. It was, unfortunately, not the best I had. They are cash only so make sure you bring some. Staff was friendly and nice for us know-nothings from out of town. We did get a little bit of staring from the locals though. Nevertheless it's worth checking out, but not my favorite back-road, hometown BBQ joint by far. read more

NOTICE: This BBQ pork is good, please know that they use vinegar-based BBQ sauce a la Lexington style or Eastern NC style. They do NOT have any western bbq sauce available on premises. We asked. If you like only the western sauce, you're out of luck here at Whispering Pines BBQ. Also, they have slaw on the menu, but it is bbq "red slaw." You may say, "Hey, that's cool they have that, but I'll take the white cole slaw." Well, sorry, they don't even have any white cole slaw here, unfortunately. Just wanted you all to know these things before you arrive. read more

Best barbecue and friendliest staff! Their sauce is amazing! Only bad thing I've had in my whole life of eating there, the ranch dressing. If they'd make their own, it'd be that much better, if that's possible! read more

This "sister" restaurant to Log Cabin Barbecue back down the road serves some pretty good BBQ also. This place, which opened in 1945, is kind of frozen in time, in the way it looks, conducts business, and the pork BBQ it serves - pork still cook by wood. This is a small place, a few stools at a counter, and 6 or 8 booths - all a little worn and dated. They still provide curb service with real people coming out to take your order, and the inside has not changed in the 30+ years I've been coming here. The BBQ is hand chopped, tender & moist, with bits of the outside brown skin mixed in, a little on the salty side, and it is well sauced coming from the kitchen. The sauce, like that up the street, carries some heat., much more Eastern style than Lexington. The slaw is a very coarse chopped red BBQ slaw, with bits of green pepper in it, and it goes well on a sandwich, in particular. The hush puppies are nice, with a crusty exterior - the fries just ok. The hot dog here is good, but not great. The BBQ chicken is excellent, with some nice spice. The portion here are more than ample, so you get your money's worth. The tea here is also good, not too sweet. I enjoy the food here, there is both taste and value here, but all in all, this is just a notch or so below the place up the street. read more

Brisket is delicious and my favorite !! The white coleslaw is very good. Service very fast .

The sight of blue smoke drew me in as I was traveling north on US 52. The wood pile was a second confirmation and the smiling pig on the sign was the final "Go-Time" for activation of my "real BBQ joint-ometer" to go off. Real friendly folks, met the owner too. As you are reading this with your eyes it is too bad your nose could not smell the delicious hickory wood cooked bbq. They burn the wood down to coals and shovel spoon it into the pits. The fries/onion ring sides are cooked in what seems to be the exact grease used at any state fair and I could have sworn I was in Raleigh on the State Fairgrounds by smell. The bbq is lightly sauced while cooked and served with a peppery sauce as an optional accompaniment-should you choose. It was great to wash it down with a Cheerwine -a sorta local beverage. I cannot say enough how friendly the servers were and told me history of the place. There are tables outside behind the building in the area where "Whispering Pines" once shaded the Carolina landscape. This is closer to Lexington style but the let the meat sing more than the sauce. I will definitely return. read more

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I love this place. The food is great and the folks there are so very friendly. I live in Spartanburg, SC but WP is a must every time I'm in the area. It is definitely comfort food so if you are looking for a "health food" restaurant it is not your place. UNLESS you are taking a break and looking for a treat. read more

Whispering Pines is one of the best BBQ places in Albemarle. We moved to Stanly county 20 years ago. Being from the west, we were only used to sweet thick and smoky bbq sauces. When we first tried it we thought it would be like western style bbq. We learned that NC BBQ uses a different sauce that is vinegar based. This Vinegar based "sauce" is seasoned with a wonderful blend of spices and mild heat. It's more liquid and needs to be shaken up to blend. If you order to go, you will get a small container of this sauce that you are supposed to shake up a little then pour over your bbq as you like. The BBQ flavor of the meat is great! We like ours as a sandwich with the sauce. Many natives like their sandwiches "all-the-way". You can get the bbq chopped or sliced. We prefer sliced, but they are equally tasty. The restaurant offers other American food items if you're not into bbq. Someone mentioned that the server didn't return to their table outside. This restaurant has some outside seating but there is no waitress coming to check on you. If you need something you will have to go inside and ask. It's a very small casual place. The servers are very friendly. This BBQ meat can be ordered in an easy to take home container and used to make tacos or whatever at home. We highly recommend you give it a try. We love it and It's well worth it. read more

I hate leaving bad reviews cause I love to see everyone succeed but the food was terrible, the BBQ was very dry and they only have vinegar based sauce. The people were very friendly but I definitely will not be returning to this restaurant. read more

With typical diner interior, this place offer Southern Style BBQ that's cooked with wood fire instead of gas or electric. If you go around the back, there are piles and piles of wood. It tasted good but felt little too dry. "Chopped BBQ tray" is still satisfying with smaller portion. Price? Very reasonable. Very. read more

If you're looking for the best BBQ North Carolina has to offer, this is the spot. Serving since 1945, they've obviously been doing something right! Slow wood fire smoked pulled pork makes for a smoky and clean taste. What makes this bbq special is the red coleslaw and of course the vinegar based sauce. The sauce is savory, tart and spicy, the amount of flavor in just a little bit is uncanny! Put it all together and you've got the bast dang pulled pork sandwich in the world! Don't settle for less, have the best and then brag to your Yankee friends! I promise you'll be back for more! read more

Really good barbecue. Tater tots and hushpuppies are tasty. Best baked beans I have ever had anywhere. Drove over an hour round trip and will do it again. Update.. Went back today and had a sliced B-B-Q sandwich with slaw. I've had a lot of B-B-Q sandwiches all over the place but this was the best. Period. read more

Great place to eat....I have visited this place a lot in the years past....I would recommend it to anyone.... since covid19 life is no the same.. read more

When you walk in to Whispering Pines B-B-Q, it's as if you're stepping in to a time warp. This is the kind of place that locals frequent and have been frequenting since the 1940s. Wood panel walls, old school booths, and a diner-style bar make up the interior of this establishment. They cook their BBQ Lexington-style (predominantly the whole shoulder) over a built-in brick pit using a combination of oak and hickory wood. Now on to the food... I came to a BBQ place, so I'm ordering BBQ. I decided on the chopped BBQ plate with onion rings and slaw, with sweet tea to drink. The pork BBQ was quite excellent. It was moist enough without being soggy, it possessed good flavor, and it had small pieces of bark sprinkled throughout. They do offer a dip at each table. It is a little different from the traditional Lexington-style BBQ dip in that there is a different predominant flavor. I'm not sure if it's chili powder, hot sauce, or what. It works well with the BBQ, but it doesn't take much. The dip is potent stuff! Now on to the slaw -- the slaw seems to be a point of contention among reviewers on here. However, I found it to be very flavorful. The slaw is a coarse-chopped slaw that uses their house dip as the dressing. It gives it that same spicy, tangy characteristic that the dip has. As for the onion rings... meh, really wasn't that impressed with them. Take it or leave it. The price point is very reasonable -- the chopped BBQ plate was $7.55, with the sweet tea adding an additional $1.30 to my bill. Service was nothing spectacular, but it was nothing terrible. They largely stayed out of my way and kept my tea refilled -- not much else to ask for there. To me, this was worth the 45 minute drive from Charlotte. read more

I have been eating at The Pines since I can remember. There have been a few times when the Q was not so good, but there are a lot of variables involved. I much prefer it to Log Cabin's gas-cooked version by a large margin. The Pines also has the best tea in town. Thumbs up. read more

You've got two choices for Q meat in Albemarle, and this place is the classic. As you pull up to the parking lot, there are some good signs: first, they are not ashamed of putting a pig on their signage. Second, there's a pile of seasoned hickory leaning against the side of the building. The interior: it's a q joint. Formica. Stainless steel. Cracked terra cotta set in concrete. Laminated menus. Family-friendly and plenty of locals at the counter or in what you have to assume is a favorite booth. The barbecue (and I should qualify- Eastern-style NC barbecue) is great here. Subtle wood smoke on pork. The sliced plate has a ton of good smoky bark to it, not too dry. The sides were a great pile of red slaw and fries. The eastern-style sauce was a tad salty, but the park didn't need it. The kids both got sandwiches with chopped on top, and were as happy as they could be. Bonus: the pitmaster was taking off meat while we were there, and invited me and the boys to see the pits and to see how the wood becomes coals and how the smoke hits the meat. Quite the treat. It's a great choice, and won't disappoint the barbecue purist. If you're in Stanly County, and hungry for Q, this is a great choice. read more

THE FOOD: I ordered the sliced pork bbq with onion rings and a drink. The pork came out quickly, but was not sliced, rather it was pulled. Which is fine, but I'd rather they were honest in their descriptions. The pork had no bark and I wouldn't have even known it was smoked if it wasn't for the smoke ring. There was no rub at all and it had very little flavor. Their only sauce was a typical Carolina vinegar sauce, with no choice for those of us that prefer a tomato based sauce. The onion rings are minced onions, much like Burger Kings... they were just OK. OHHH yah, one more thing, how is it that this place can call themselves a BBQ place if they don't offer any ribs or any type of beef (brisket, etc)? Yep, only pork. SERVICE: Service was pretty bad. Waitress' first words were "What do you want?" when we sat down. I had only looked at the menu for about 10seconds, so needless to say, I wasn't ready. I started to say "Can I get a minute?" but didn't even get it out before the waitress was walking away saying "I'll come back..." fast forward 10 minutes and I was finally able to flag her down. Paying was no better. I put the receipt down by the register and the same waitress didn't say a word when I handed her my credit card. The receipt printed and I signed it (leaving a 20% tip, as I was on business and feel the need to tip). She never said a word to me. I will never eat here again. read more

It's too bad that this quirky looking mid-century diner is home to such abysmal barbecue. Neither eastern nor Lexington style, the smokeless, old oily-tasting, stringy, overly-dry chop is barely covered in the strangest (and awful-est) excuse for slaw I've ever had. It was a Lexington style red slaw but had green peppers in it. Somehow it tasted of sour pickles. Yuck. The hush puppies were either frozen or old and reheated. Or maybe all of the above. The sweet tea was reminiscent of stale coffee and ashtray. Perhaps Whispering Pines was once run by someone passionate about great NC barbecue, but those days are long gone. Sad. Instead go to Log Cabin; we tried their barbecue earlier today and it was simply fantastic. We left Whispering Pines and went back there for some takeout for dinner. read more

This place has the very best pulled pork BBQ around! The What-a-Chop BBQ sandwich is our family favorite. It is worth a trip there any day. read more

Whispering Pines has been around for decades. It is a small restaurant and literally sits just a few feet out of Hwy 52N, heading out of Albemarle. The menu has options other than Bar-B-Q, but that's all I ever order. Not ordering Bar-B-Q here is like ordering chicken at a steak house. I stop here about once every 2 or 3 months, so I guess I am just a semi-regular. Orders are taken immediately, and food is delivered lightening fast. No fast food restaurant serves as quickly as WP. The Bar-B-Q is pretty good. I believe wood is still used to cook the pork, and it does have a good flavor. For me, the meat is chopped much too fine, and it is dry. I prefer a little bark in my Q. The house sauce is unique, but I just cannot learn to love it. The slaw is unique too. It's a course chopped red slaw with larger than normal pieces of tomato and pickle. I have learned to like the slaw, but it had to grow on me. The waitresses work hard, and I have never seen a group move as quickly, except for one waitress. There is an older woman, with long stringy hair, that has been rude and arrogant to me on more than one occasion. She will come up to me to take my order and just look at me - no "hello", "make I take your order", nothing - just stares. In all the years that I have been coming to WP, she has never refilled a beverage glass. Another waitress would have to do it. These waitresses work as a team, and all tips go into a common tip jar. I tip very well, but this is one waitress that I would like to stiff! Her "attitude" has sometimes led me to dine at the Log Cabin down the road, instead of here. read more

Best BBQ in town. Still cooking it the old fashioned way - wonderful wood smoke flavor. Don't cheat yourself eating that electric cooked pork elsewhere. read more

Excellent BBQ. Typical BBQ restaurant for the south. Booths, sweet tea, and great food. Always busy when open so don't be upset when you show up and there aren't any tables. Or, get your's to-go. Also, check out Log Cabin up the road. Both places are great. read more

The wife and I stopped in for lunch on Saturday afternoon. They take cash only, so be ready. I usually get a coarse chop plate, but sliced is the closest I can get here and it is good. Large pieces of tender pulled pork with a nice smokey flavor was enjoyable. Sometimes smoked meat can be a little dry, especially in the winter time. Fortunately, there is a bottle of dip on the table. The meat soaked it up like a sponge. Tater tots were OK and the hush-puppies were a little more firm than I'm accustomed to. The only thing that I really didn't like was the baked beans. They are cooked with so many green peppers, they over power the beans. I couldn't stand to have them on my plate. My wife liked her chuck-wagon sandwich with fries. Some of the servers were wearing Whispering Pines BBQ t shirts, but they do not sell them. Overall, it is pretty good, just avoid the baked beans. read more

Excellent place to visit and enjoy pulled pork at its finest. The red slaw is awesome and unique! Definitely a place to add to your visit! They have their own sauce a unique treat or bonus to the experience! Try it you will return! read more

Let me just say this, if you want real barbecue then this is the place! The menu here is simple burgers, dogs, and BBQ along with a few other items and they are all great. The burgers and dogs remind me of when I was a kid around here and all the food was homemade not processed to death and the BBQ has the taste that only slow smoking can give it. If you don't have time for a sit down meal just pull around back and someone will come right out to take your order. read more

Just as good as any Lexington BBQ. Wood fired pit que.

When I had your BBQ it was pulley and fatty and different flavor and it wasn't the same as a you always did it and I've been eating there for years and the sauce was different I'll be there but it was not good you need to go back with the old guy or something or get his recipe for it read more

I grew up in Albemarle. I live in Seminole, FL now. But boy I want to tell ya....I MISS PINES BBQ!!!.. The sauce is tangy not sweet, the BBQ is smoked on a wood fire right on the premisis. You cant beat it. Even down East on the Outer Banks can't touch Pines. For years I have tried to copy their sauce recipe but just cant do it. Its a well kept "family secret." All I can tell you is this the slaw, BBQ and Sauce are worth a trip from Florida to Albemarle. Here in Florida...They just dont know what they are missing. Sure wish Pines could ship me some! read more

Service was good. I got the pulled pork, and it was way too dry for me. I even put the sauce on there and it didn't even help that much. It's been here forever but I wouldn't say it's the best... read more

I like the BBQ and hot dogs I haven't found anything in there I didn't know I loved it.

Cold waitress, cold food. They do not wash their hands handling register and serving the food. Cash only. read more

For 65 years Whispering Pines has served up generous portions of the best Lexington style chopped or sliced/pulled barbecue outside of Lexington at a reasonable price. All the while it has been owned by the Doby family with Neal Doby now the barbecue master. The barbecue here is cooked on an all hickory wood fire with no gas or electricity used in the entire cooking process. The Log Cabin barbecue place a bit further north on US 52 cooks with gas and it just isn't the same, If you want real old-time barbecue that is the real deal then The Pines is the place in Albemarle. The atmosphere is quaint and rustic. I often use the curb service on the way to work, but truly love eating in and watching the patrons who come from all walks of life. There are truckers, farmers, businessmen, retirees, teens on dates, professionals and assorted good-old-boy and good-old-girl characters that you could write a book about if you were so inclined. Most of the regulars have been eating at The Pines since they were children and are now middle-aged or older. For some of them this is the only place where they eat out as the rest of their weekly meals are home cooking. This is the kind of place, like the now gone COFFEE CUP in Charlotte where you actually feel at home and at ease. There have been upgrades to the interior since 1980 when I first ate there, but not lately. Other than the barbecue, another thing I like about The Pines is the slaw. Without a doubt their slaw is a cut above any other around including the once highly esteemed Stony Gap slaw. A few tips about eating at Whispering Pines. Cheerwine goes better with barbecue than sweet tea. The TATER TOTS are better than the fries and so are the onion rings. The barbecue salad on the menu is a big tossed salad with a good portion of chopped barbecue plunked on top and it tastes better than it sounds and is very satisfying for lunch with either your favorite salad dressing or you can do what I do and just put the house barbecue sauce on it skipping salad dressing completely. The house sauce is pretty spicy but consistent so once you learn how much is enough it works the same every time. There is a SIDE DINING ROOM with thickly padded booths that were made in the late 50's or early 60's that is separate from the main dining area. Often you can get a booth in there and it is super comfortable, but the service in this side room seems a bit more relaxed and unhurried. If I had one criticism of the Pines barbecue it would be that it can be a bit inconsistent due to being all wood fired, so the flavor and moisture content can vary slightly from visit to visit. But at it's very worst, The Pines is still better to me and more genuine old-school tasting than the ultra-consistent but less smoky tasting Log Cabin. Recently Whispering Pines did away with the SMALL barbecue plate offering so now there is only one size plate. My pick for the perfect barbecue plate? A Whispering Pines Chopped Barbecue Plate with an extra sauce portion, tater tots with ketchup, that incredible slaw and a big Cheerwine. Plates come with two sides and a bun. If you are not that hungry then the TRAYS come with slightly less meat plus one side and I suggest you make that one side the slaw. Both plates and trays come with preformed factory made hush-puppies which are nothing to really write home about. The homemade style round hush-puppies at Log Cabin up the street are much better puppies but these places are not Hush-Puppy restaurants, they are barbecue restaurants and The Pines is the best at the barbecue thing. Whispering Pines is like a time warp and a treasure of Southern Piedmont casual dining. Check it out. It is the best barbecue chopped or sliced/pulled I've ever had including Lexington. Lots of people also name the BIG PINES CHEESEBURGER as one of the best burgers in Albemarle, but I hardly ever eat burgers at a barbecue place. I give the barbecue, sauce, slaw and service at The Pines FIVE stars, everything else gets 3 to 4 stars for an overall average of FOUR STARS. read more