We saw the sign and looked at the reviews and it's a lie! After driving 8 hours we were looking for good BBQ and good food. Zarda must be German for NASTY! The food wasn't even room temperature. How are you a BBQ place selling cold food? The guy at the register bragged on the burnt ends and how many pounds of beef they cook a day, yet the food was underwhelming and cold and nasty!! .To pay $35 for lunch and to get the plate we received is unacceptable. Keep on driving and find another location. Disappointed and irritated! UPDATE: We sent the food back and told them it was cold and they served cold food twice. It came back just as lousy! The beef has NO TASTE, COLD, just awful x 20!! The best thing was the water. Damn, I wasted my money!! Please don't eat here! read more

Their BBQ sandwiches are delicious. They have a tasty menu selection of BBQ foods. Service is friendly and timely! They have a drive thru that is fast, too. Inside their is a large area for dining and parties. read more

I came here an hour before close and there was a rush for BBQ. I had the turkey plate and it feels like I got a sandwich in place. I was expecting thick cut turkey but it feels like I got served lunch meat with sauce spilled on it. The sweet potato fries were very dry as well. The service was great and fast, but there are better options in the area. Maybe I'll come back and try the ribs, I heard they are great. read more

Zarda - Zarda Bar-B-Q Sauce - Barbeque Near Me - Lenexa, Kansas

See all

Very good combo meat sandwiches, o-rings & wedge fries crispy. Variety of sauces, consider getting sandwich 'dry' to sample the other bbq sauces. read more

Absolutely horrible! Some of the worst BBQ IN TOWN! This place used to be good! Not anymore!! read more

Nope, not for us. We are from Texas and ate here Sunday for my husband's birthday. Food was cold. Mac-in-cheese looked like they had been warmed up too many times. I didn't even taste them. Lady at counter wasn't very friendly. We want be back, but we are from Texas and they do BBQ very different there and they serve it with a smile. One down and many more to try, hopefully the other places will be better than this. read more

Growing up in Kansas City this was my very favorite place to get true KC BBQ. The ribs were so tender they fell off the bone and the BBQ sauce was (and still is) the best ever made. But it was the baked beans that made me come back time and time again. They were mixed with chunks of beef and had the most full smoky taste. Sadly my past 2 experiences were a bit disappointing. The good news is the BBQ sauce is still outstanding and saved the day. The bad news is the ribs were chewy and they rack was much smaller than it used to be. I almost gave it a 3, but the baked beans were still outstanding and the incredible service forced me to give it a 4. I'm not sure if the cut of meat was cheaper or if they didn't smoke the meat long enough, but again, the BBQ sauce saved the day. read more

See all

LUNCH BBQ I have no idea how this one has escaped. I have eaten here a number of times and loved the food each time. This is one of those places that I go to for the sides and enjoy the BBQ. I call this pubsides... let me explain. Some places serve amazing beans (like here) and some do amazing cheesy corn stuff, and some have PubSides: specifically all the fried stuff... Fried cheese cubes (called something else and delicious), Fried Pickles, Fried Mushrooms, Fried other things, and my favourite in the world! Fried Sweet Corn Nuggets! Everything here is good. I have never had a bad sandwich. But now for the bad news... You have to eat hear multiple times and try the different combos to find the "right" meal for you. The different tastes of the individual lend to the different BBQs. And in light of other reviews I would say you really need to test what fits your taste. The sauce... BBQ in KC has many elements and one of the big ones is the sauce. I know some people that LOVE the Zarda BBQ sauces... I am not one of them. I enjoy how it comes and rarely add anything else to it as the sauces I like tend to be more on the Brown or Yellow sides. The redder the sauce the less I tend to enjoy. (There is no star bearing from this statement as it is only a preference of the taster. Love dry rub too!) Note to Zarda: Keep up the good work. The plate sizes are good the portion sizes are large and the majority you are doing it right. Beer selection could ALWAYS be bigger. And you saw my sauce comments. ~Thank you for reading and enjoy your food!~ read more

Went in for dinner on Wednesday kids eat free!! I had the hog wild sandwich for 9.99 that's cheap compare to other restaurants! Kids eat all their food , food was great , service was great too ,we definitely coming back ! Everything was great! read more

Zarda is true-to-form Kansas city barbecue - like it or not. You see, before barbecue was so hip and now, Kansas Citian's would quietly walk into one of a dozen or so establishments - each outfitted with their very own Budweiser Clydesdale model. That damned model always adorned a mantle, above a smoky dark window to a poorly lit kitchen. A formidable, overworked man was always shuffling past the window - never smiling. I remember the smoky silence, or if you're lucky a little honky-tonk music. Then it all changed. Now you have things like, good lighting, proper ventilation, OSHA, and spunky kids working in back - that somber man is nearly extinct. But beneath Zarda's still-standing Clydesdale's you can still smell, see, and taste a little bit of what KC Barbecue once was. To be sure, they have evolved with the times since 1976, but the fundamentals have always been the same. Consequently, I hired them to cater my wedding, and the service and quality of food was outstanding. Their brisket is smoky, very lean, and dry - probably my favorite; the sauce is required and spectacular - and their meat takes to that sauce very well; the beans are bolstered with chunks of meat then smoked, and are some of the best I've ever had. Their onion rings are everything you'd hope one to be - as much goes the fries. They're just good Ol' KC 'Que - probably the last of it's kind behind old Artha' Bryant. They have their faults, and their are other, fancier KC originals - but like Bryant's, Zarda's shirks off the shine of modernity, and sticks to the patina finish of over 40 years of smoke. This is KC Barbecue. read more

This place came highly recommended by one of my clients as a place that had some serious KC BBQ! He set it up for me and colleague to meet him here and as soon as we walked up to the door you could smell the hickory aroma floating in the air. The guy at the register was very helpful in helping us pick some good eats. I went with the Pulled Pork Sandwich along with fries. The pork was very tender and juicy and full of flavor. The sauce was tangy and went well with the meal. It came to no surprise that I was finished first as my meal was beyond delicious and I could not put that sandwich down. I was told that this is a small local chain, but it doesnt matter cuz that was some good stuff...finger lickin' good! read more

Had a new hire so we decided to try this for lunch since I don't like Jack Stacks (over-rated) and Joe's is a little too noisy for having conversations with someone who wants to know what they are getting into. Not impressed AT ALL! I ordered burnt ends, they were not crispy nor did they fall apart, they were tough. The coleslaw is a vinegar base and a little slimy. The pickle was good though! The two people with me ordered sandwiches and they looked terrible. Neither one complained but it looked like cheap bread and too much of it. The pork looked edible, IF I went back I may try that. The actual sauce is tasty enough but I always compare it to Joe's, which is just outstanding. Very pricey too, for what you get. I think for the 3 meals and 2 drinks it was $36. There wasn't much meat on my plate and the person who ordered the turkey sandwich didn't get much meat on their bread. read more

So, what happens when it's Sunday and OK Joe's is closed? Well, if you live in my neck of the woods, you call Zarda's, place an order, and 20 minutes or so later, drive through and pick up a delicious order. The cinnamon rolls are not as awesome as at Stroud's (which, by the way, makes better cinnamon rolls than they fry chicken). It's hard to find bad bbq in Kansas City. Here's another example of that. read more

Damn good, but I got a bone to pick. I came here because I wanted to try some midwest BBQ. The biggest disappointment about this place, is it's "order at counter" style restaurant. The food is fantastic, but having to order your food at a counter made it seem like a typical fast food joint. To make things worse, there's a self-serve salad bar in the middle of the seating area. The food was really tasty. I went with the rib plate with cheesy corn and salad bar. The ribs were smokey and had a lot of flavor. Cheesy corn was okay but the salad bar was fresh and had a good variety of stuff. Price was good and the service was friendly. Overall, I had a good experience here. A little about my credentials: I first got into cooking & food when I was in college. After being rejected by numerous girls and getting zero action, I decided it was time for a change. I needed a new makeover to boost my geeky image. I applied for a cooking position at a Mediterranean-Italian Restaurant near my home and learned to cook all sorts of dishes. I never became a professional chef, but I continue to enjoy & love food. 9 years later and 55 lbs heavier, I have a new passion for traveling and trying different foods around the world. read more

Holy cow! I had never been to Zarda until today! Fantastic! If you love burnt ends and great sauces, this is your place! I went for lunch and got the burnt end baked beans, burnt ends, brisket, sausage with cheese corn and cheesy potatoes.... Incredible! read more

Zarda's is definitely one of my favorite BBQ places! Their meat is delicious. The sauce is awesome. The onion rings are perfect. Oh! And the beans...so good. Really, just everything is great. I love it there. Also! The atmosphere is very old school and clean. read more

I have to start off by saying that this place has not changed in like twenty years down to the "old-school" TVs. LOL The service was good for a counter service restaurant. The food was a give and take. The dinning room was clean and pleasant. The over all experience was nice. The Billy Butler sandwich was on point with some pretty decent bbq sauce. It came on a bun with onion rings inside it. I got the "meal deal" so it came with a side and a drink. I chose cheesy corn... Thats what it was. Cheesy(not in the oozing goodness way, but the other way). I have to say that it did actually come with some little bitty crumbs of bacon though. lol I thought that it reminded me of some sort of cheep bland retirement-home cafeteria food. Its a FAR CRY from the baked beans that they offer. I can't mention the bland tasteless cheesy corn with out mentioning the pickles that were just as bland. I think next time I visit I will order the ribs and fries. Oh yeah and the beans. Love the baked beans. read more

Zarda - The Billy Butler - Barbeque Near Me - Lenexa, Kansas

Bluesprings location. Drive thru lady was not friendly. Food was cold. Sauce taste like water downed tasteless ketchup. Portion sizes were so small. Paid 20 bucks. Still hungry. Ugh. Going to plow boys next time. read more

It's very hard to find bad BBQ in KC. You won't find bad bbq here! Eat inside. Very nice ambiance.

I wish the side of sweet potato fries I ordered TOGO were not EXTREMELY burnt and inedible. Maybe they should be removed from the menu if they are that hard to cook correctly. The sandwich was decent, just wish I wasn't still hungry with the money spent and not enough edible food received. read more

See all

Convinced my family to do Zarda tonight instead of our usual Joes KC. Man, huge disappointment. Ordered pound of sliced brisket. It was so dry it choked us to swallow it and barely any smoke flavor. Sides of fries were tiny. Staff tried to charge us for pickles but ended us bringing us a few. Since we spent over $50 I would hope so! We won't be back. read more

Zarda is one of my favorite places for lunch to go. I wouldn't call myself a barbecue snob but there are places I just wont go for a plate, regardless of who is paying - I feel like it's my duty as a Kansas Citian to put a stop to BBQ Foolishness. That being said, there's no foolishness here. You get a great sized portion, fast service, and hot flavorful food. Meats here are just smokey enough to satisfy my craving. Same with their smoky beans. If you haven't tried Zarda, it isn't going to change your life, but it's certainly worth your time. Get the ribs! read more

Zarda is one of those barbecues like Wyandot (it's better than Wyandot) or Haywards that are in the second tier after Bryants or Jack's Stack: Zarda is an olld KC barbecue name but they haven't kept up with the quality of Barbecue of the newcomers like Q39 , Slaps or KC (Okla) Joes. The brisket is sliced thin and tastes like it's been dipped beef juice before served. It's not dry or unpalatable, it's just not full or smoked flavor and sliced thick like expertly cooked brisket. The fries are OK. It would be fine if the food were cheaper, but the prices are the same as better barbecues, so spend the same and go to some place better. read more

Love love love Zarda's BBQ! I always get a sandwich with different meats and the beef burnt ends are great. They have the absolute best cheesy corn. Yummy everything within a fair price. It definitely is wonderful that the have a convenient drive thru! I've lived in KC for years and just recently started tasting the menu. It's worth it and I recommend this bbq place over a lot of others.BBQ Sandwich read more

Great sandwiches and sliced sausage! Everything is good and great customer service!!!

I love their ribs!!! Also their baked beans and fries! I wouldn't recommend their Mac and cheese if you're used to baked macaroni. I think it comes out of a bag. Try their Apple bbq, hickory and spicy! read more

Zarda Q holds a special place in my heart since this is where I was initiated into the world of real BBQ (I'm from Canada). I remember driving around Lenexa wondering if there was a fire somewhere because there was this lingering smell of smoke in the air... As I got closer, the smell started to get stronger and stronger and that's when I saw the smoke coming out of the stack at Zarda Q. I immediately parked my vehicle and walked into BBQ heaven. I remember ordering a sampler platter with all the fixings and tried all of their different sauces. My first taste of burnt ends at Zarda Q was the start of what would be my never ending quest for the best BBQ in the country! Since that day, I've been to all of the major players in the world of KC BBQ. Zarda's kind of in the middle of that list since I'm not a big fan of their sliced meats, but nevertheless, their BBQ is better than anything I can get back home. You can buy their sauces for cheap at Walmart and Target, but I keep a stash of their sauce in the back of my cupboard back home so that nobody uses it but me! read more

Zarda - Barbeque Near Me - Lenexa, Kansas

I try to get to Zardas every time I am in town. Have not been there for two years. It was great to see not much has changed. Love their turkey and brisket. Huge soft drinks and a good salad bar. Sauce still good. Just nice to see some place that does not feel that they need to make big changes read more

Two coworkers and I spent a week looking for the best BBQ in KC. Zarda definitely has the best ribs. The sausage and burnt ends were on point, but the ribs were amazing. They have an excellent selection of sides and beer too. It was a nice cozy atmosphere to enjoy. read more

Zarda - I was traveling to KC with two coworkers and we spent a week looking for the best BBQ we could find. Zarda definitely has the best ribs. - Barbeque Near Me - Lenexa, Kansas

Drive Thru BBQ! I almost gave this place 4 stars because it has a Drive Thru and for BBQ that is rare -- not sure any other place offers that? But, if there was no Drive Thru it would get 3 stars from me, so I can't give it 4 stars as the BBQ wasn't up there with some of the best ones I've had in KC. Doing BBQ in KC is like getting a 3.50 GPA in the Olympics, if you weren't in the Olympics but around the average experience it would be good. But, in KC BBQ good is not great. This isn't bad BBQ, and if you don't want to get out of your car and want BBQ, this place is the best you will find in the area. But, if great BBQ will get you out of your car to walk inside for carry out there are other BBQ spots with better BBQ. KC Joes (used to be Oklahoma Joes) or Jack Stack have better BBQ, or even Smokehouse (they have the best beans) all are better BBQ in my opinion. This isn't bad BBQ, but it is more spicy than I prefer and I felt more heartburn after. But, I don't ever have that at other BBQ spots. This is more like Gates BBQ or Arthur Bryant's style of BBQ, neither of which I really care for and just doesn't go well with me. But, some love them and that is more their style. May be they have more vinegar in the sauce or something, I am not really sure. But, I do love the Drive Thru BBQ here and I hope others catch on to it and do it. Though, it may not be possible at other locations where they have more customers and lines to long. That may also be telling of why there are long lines at Joes, Jackstack and Smokehouse. Although the times I have been at Arthur Bryant's there was a line, but I think that is more from the tradition and famous location with it having so many famous people and Presidents stopping there. I did hear that when President Obama was in Kansas City he got BBQ from Arthur Bryant's, but when they left they ordered a large order of BBQ to go from KC Joes for Air Force One. If you are hungry for BBQ and in the area with limited time, I don't think this is a bad spot to go for BBQ. If you have time and don't mind the drive, there are other BBQ spots I myself would make the drive to for BBQ. read more

Can't say enough about how great this place is! From the amazing food to the great and caring manager and staff! I will never stop supporting this place. You e gotta try it! read more

I really enjoyed this place. I ordered the burnt end sandwich. The flavor was good and I enjoyed the bbq sauces that were on the table. I also had a side of fried okra which was very good. I would highly recommend this restaurant. read more

Got the pork reserve burnt ends sandwich with sweet potato fries, 8/10. Thought it would be a bigger sandwich but nonetheless was still pretty good. Definitely will go again read more

Great place very consistent food and service. Great place for lunch. I am surprised it is not ranked higher

We went through the drive thru a few weeks ago. When we got home the portions were very skimpy. They also got my order wrong. I emailed the manager and never heard back. So I guess they don't care about their cup. We won't be back. read more

First time coming here and I was amazed! Food was cooked to perfection and I was offered so many types of bbq sauce! The person taking my order recommended one of the spicy ones and the taste was flavorful! It had a nice great blend of sweet, smoky, and spicy! I truly wasn't ready for such a great taste. We ordered the pulled pork sandwich and the rib plate. The sandwich was so so soooooo tasty I can't wait to order it again. Also the ribs were so perfect! Marvelous! Yummy! Just so so gooooooood. Tender, sweet, smoky taste! Fall off the bone perfection! We also ordered fries and Mac n cheese for sides which of course were perfect! I can't wait to go back! read more

Amazing food ! Great customer service ! From Vegas and figured we'd stop and try some bbq while driving through and not disappointed one bit . definitely recommend! read more

If you like McDonalds, you'll like Zarda BBQ. Edible but boring. It resembles BBQ, it tastes a little like BBQ, but is boring to the max. KC Is famous for BBQ but Zarda didn't contribute to the city's reputation. Look around and you'll find something better. read more

Zarda BBQ has long been a Lenexa staple. It's been years since I have been because we live so far south. We went on a Wednesday night which ended up being kids eat free which was a nice surprise. Their bbq meats are still as good as I remember. I strongly suggest their turkey and pulled pork... they are delicious, tender, and moist. The customer service was lacking to say the least. The people working the counter were not friendly or helpful and came off rude at times. Our kids loves the cheesy corn nuggets and the wide cut fries. I would not recommend the twice baked potato casserole or the chicken strips for kids. read more

See all

I've been to location in Blue Springs already so I already knew what to expect. Service was nice enough, no problems there. I had burnt ends and beans at the other location, but I opted for a sandwich and fries this time. They had a special on the Big Joe I believe? Don't remember what it's called but it's basically Zarda's version of the Z-man at Joe's KC BBQ. It was a decent sandwich, but it doesn't compare the Z-man. It wasn't quite moist and the brisket felt dry, maybe partly because I requested the larger size. Even dousing the burger in sauce didn't completely remedy the problem. The fries are good as far as quality of potatoes, but they have no seasoning which could be a good thing depending on your preferences. I would definitely opt for the beans here if you are going for a side though. My favorite thing about this place is the selection of sauces. The lil' ghost is my favorite and the apple flavored sauce is very interesting. Overall though, I just think there are much better places to go to in the KC area. read more