Basically like the homey bbq like you get out of trucks downtown complete with styrofoam plates. Except it's not a truck and has a few tables. The place is dingy and the bars on the windows certainly are not inviting. Really the only thing the place has going for it is the food but that's enough. read more

Willie's Bar-B-Que - Sausage plate. - Barbeque Near Me - Austin, Texas

The worst 'fatty brisket' . First warning was unwanted sauce on beef wrapped in foil. Then the beef was tough as shoe leather - no kidding. Disappointing, but there's always Micklethwaites and Franklin 's. Even HEB is better. read more

A few years, two barbecue joints in town were busted for buying stolen meat. Sam's Bar-B-Cue was one of them and the other was Willie's Bar-B-Que. I recently had the boudin sausage from Willie's and wanted some more of it. Willie's shares space with a barbershop and a gas station so you could easily miss it as you drive by. You can only order the meat by the half pound so I went with a three-meat plate that is not listed on the menu. The plate came with moist brisket, pork ribs, and Elgin sausage with sides of potato salad and beans. I also added a link of boudin sausage. When I got my food, I looked down and saw a lot of the meats covered in barbecue sauce and seasoned salt. I thought that was a weird touch. The brisket was thinly sliced into small rectangular cuts. I did find an unscathed piece from the sauce and salt. The brisket tasted like smoky roast beef. There was not a whole lot of flavor so the seasoning salt and sauce did come in handy. The ribs were gray on the outside and pink on the inside. It was void of any flavor. Without the pink, I would have guessed the ribs were cooked in an oven the day before. The meat was tender and coming off the bone. The sausage had a nice spicy bite, but the casing was really chewy. It was beefy and a good amount of fat. The smoked boudin was definitely the highlight. The casing was snappy and could barely hold in the filling. The richness of the sausage played nice with the Cajun spices. I would have liked to see a little bit more meat in it because it was very heavy on the rice. There was nothing to note about the sides. Plain, bland, and probably store bought. I do not know if I could trust a restaurant that would buy stolen meat. The word quality comes to mind. If you are taking a chance on your main product, what else are you willing to do? Willie's smoked boudin was solid, but I would rather go to Smokey Denmark for that. read more

This food is awesome. Seriously rivals many other well known places in town. Not fancy and no flash, just very, VERY good bar b que. the sauce is a perfect combo of sweet and little spice. Sausage, mutton, ribs and chicken were all perfectly cooked and delicious. Can't wait to go back and try the brisket! By the way the banana pudding was awesome too. read more

Favorite place to take kids before any type of UT game. Only place in town to get mutton. Yes, this whiteboy grew up.in the 23 and loves some mutton read more

this is the SOUL BBQ I was raised on as a kid. All the meats are great and in addition ALL THE SIDES are great too. Not too many places can say that! And the sauce is perfect! Again the SOUL style. They have been able to keep it simple and prices are reasonable. It takes me 3 days to make it like this when I BBQ at home. coming here lets me take it easy and have great BBQ too! read more

I happened upon Willie's while I was busy getting lost in Austin, and I am extremely glad I did. Willies is actually I bit more East Texas BBQ than I was expected, but the standout dish was BBQ Mutton, which I've never had outside the confines of the rodeo. I was perfectly prepared and not dry in the slightest. While you're never going to get anything but bare bones service and amenities, the quality of the meat more than makes up for it. read more

Willie's Bar-B-Que - Great BBQ inside - Barbeque Near Me - Austin, Texas

so far I have tried the ribs and sausage and brisket and let me tell you the brisket is amazing. Get the brisket. I will be back - about $10 for a two meat plate and you get bread, crackers, potato salad and beans. It is a dive of a spot but who cares - you are going for the good bbq not the ambiance. I will be back. read more

just a simple place with great friendly service and great BBQ. read more

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Thier prices might have gone up a tiny bit but Iam wondering if the super nationally publicized light blue/ green place on 11th behind the county federal credit union that I've never able to at least sample to Thier overnight and camp out crowd has anything to compare when I've had the awesome consolation of having the brisket and mullet without much and wait at this place. read more

Willie's is a locally owned and operated family business that has been proudly serving Austin since 1991.

I had been eating this food since I was a little kid, it right up the street, convenient and is alright bbq. The sausage is good but a little greasy for me and brisket is good. What I really go there for is the chop beef, i'm always a fan of chop brisket sandwiches. Alright BBQ read more

i love it i love it i love best bbq in texas.... mr willie can bbq... family owned and operated!!! best thing is the beef

I have been eating this bbq since a kid. It's decent due to the smoked flavor. Reasonably priced, decent portions, meat taste is great, service is okay. This place Comes the closest to home cooked bbq taste for me. read more

I'm not a BBQ aficionado but this place is awesome! The brisket moist and tender, the ribs flavorful and the chicken delicious too! I don't really eat sausage but my coworkers loved that as well. The beans and potato salad are a nice accompaniment but the star here is the meat. I'll be back and will tell all my friends! You should go! read more

The brisket was fatty on the end and had a good char on it, which is exactly how I like it. Boudin sausage was awesome. Beans were goid, potato salad was home made but too tart, not my style. The staff was extremely friendly. Well worth the time to stop. read more

Probably one of the least yelped/known bbq places in Austin, but there are always plenty of customers in Willie's. Some days you can't even park. That's because the barbecue is very good. As far as I'm concerned it's one of the better places in town, and the best place on the central East Side (I don't count Franklin's in that category - but Willie's is comparable to, although probably not quite as good as, Franklin's). It's a small place next to a gas station on MLK just west of Springdale across from the golf course. The sides are average to below average. The brisket is this restaurant's calling card, although all the meats I've had on probably four trips there have been very good. The brisket was very moist and tender, and they put just a bit of sauce on it for you. The sauce was tangier than most Central Texas sauces, which I like. The pork ribs and sausage (Elgin) were also very good, though not exactly memorable. Most of the workers there are friendly except for one woman who acts like you are bother to her and doesn't seem to care about doing anything quickly or properly. Probably a 3.5 place, but it gets 4 from me because no one knows about it. It's definitely in my in town barbecue rotation. read more

All the reviews about he ambiance are dead on. This is the real deal, terrible neighborhood, bars on the windows, wood paneling interior hasn't been touched since the 80's (70's?). It's definitely the type of place you would expect to find great BBQ. However, it is a little pricey for the portion size. Also, their BBQ sauce is sweeter than spicy and I prefer a more spicy sauce. It looks like their specialty is sausage though, and I didn't get that. I had the chopped beef brisket sandwich. I will try the sausage next time. read more

THE BEST SAUSAGE EVER! The brisket is too fatty for my taste but the peach cobbler def. make up for it.

I had begun thinking that local barbecue was beginning to take on a certain sameness from place to place. Chicken, brisket, ribs ... there was a definite sameness to it all. Until I tasted the choices at Willie's Bar-B-Cue. Certainly not the most attractive place to dine, with noisy children running around distracting my meal, in less-than attractive surroundings. But, as I've said, the food was good, relatively inexpensive, and generous. But, regardless, of the aforementioned downsides, it'll still remain on my Austin BBQ hot spots. Oh, and don't bother bringing your credit cards. They accept only cash. read more

oh. my. gosh!!!! i have no words to describe the pure ecstasy and the glorious, melty, intoxicating euphoria that i feel in my mouth right now; i'm delirious with rapturous delight!!!! this place has the world's best mutton. hands down!!! i gave them a $10 tip for making the best mutton that has ever caressed my taste buds! i met willie himself, and watched his son patrick pull the magical goodness off the smoker in the back behind the building. i have died and gone to heaven. read more

Fatty brisket, hideous potato salad, and banana pudding was something chemical out of a box. Yikes! I'll not darken their door again.

There was time I thought Willie's was a 3.5 star but over the years I have changed my rating to what you see above. I have lived in Texas all 51 yrs of my life and am familiar with what is and is not good BBQ. My business is located about 1.5 miles away and I want Willie's to be good but each time I try it, again, I am disappointed. Willie himself told me that he "boils" the briskets before they go on the pit. Yuck! I like chopped bbq sandwiches but here the grease is too much for me to tolerate. And the potato salad tastes like plastic. In all fairness, I have only tried a sprinkling of what there is on the menu but I have lost my willingness to go much further. But the one thing that brings me back is the banana pudding. read more