central bbq

this place was popular, and it's no wonder given thegoodbbq and the great atmosphere.

it was ok. i visited this place once so far. i didn't like the bbq sauce very much it seemed to be a little watered down. the meat tasted fine though, it had verygoodflavor. i would go again to give them another chance so as not to base my whole opinion on only one visit.

went to eat here tonight. the food tasted great but my bbq sandwich was poorly constructed and there was literally two bites of meat on it! and my side of mac n cheese came out 15+ minutes after my sandwich. that was disappointing.. plus my child's kids meal came out after we were done eating. so i ended up feeding him my side of mac n cheese while waiting on a hot dog. a hot dog! what in the world? i don't know if we will be back which is unfortunate because the food tastesgoodbut we were very saddened by our experience tonight.

we took them to central bbq for the nachos and ribs. that was definitely agoodchoice. seriously, so good.   i mean, look at those smiles. clearly they enjoyed it. ps. check out the rest of the list here . 

im so disappointed at the fact that i'm just now learning about this place. the food isgoodand most of the staff was very friendly!

the food and the staff was excellent. whenever i'm in memphis this place has been added to my list of places that i must go! the aroma ofgoodfood greets you at the door.

the ribs, though, my god. i’ve never had ribs so good. the ribs were big and meaty, heavily rubbed, and cooked to perfection. i got an absolutely perfect bite every time, and loved the rub. you hear people talk about sweet heat with barbecue rubs all the time, but this is the first one i’ve had that really pulled it off. the sauce was also reallygoodand balanced with the rib perfectly. if i had to choose, i’d say i preferred the dry ribs, but it’s really personal preference. i can say without hesitation that these were the best ribs i ever had, and the only thing i finished on my massive plate of food. these are ribs that i’m going to dream about.

our family was traveling through on vacation and we found this place through reviews. great bbq and tender. great service and handled the busy time well. i think everyone ordered something different on the menu and there were no complaints. i had the half rack of ribs and it was great with green beans and bbq beans. we ate outside and it wasgoodwith the fans they have and there were normal issues like flies and heat, but it was great. we will be back again.

nice place. large outdoor seating area.goodfood but on the pricey side for the quantity you receive. i was not impressed by the size of the portions. the quality was fantastic and i would return.

this was my second time eating here and not nearly asgoodas it was 2 years ago. we ordered the combo plate with pulled pork, turkey and chicken. french fries and green beans were the sides along with two dinner rolls. we own a bar- restaurant in north charleston, south carolina and i am a bbq pit master, after a 10 hour drive we were really hungry and were expecting agoodmeal. i was disappointed that all the meats were very dry and had very little smokey flavor. the french fries and green beans were cold. hopefully this bad meal was because we ordered it at 8:30 and they close at 9 but this is no excuse, your last order should be asgoodas the first order of the day. south carolina bbq is still better than what memphis has in my opinion.

i can't say enoughgoodthings about this place. i've never had a bad experience here. i've had the ribs, pulled pork, sausage, and a few sides. the ribs and pulled pork have the best smoke and bark of any place in memphis. it's very well seasoned and highly flavorful. ribs had great pull, tenderness, and color. their rub? best in memphis. it's worth buying and ive never said that. the sausage was just sausage. wasn't that great to me. bbq sauces? a nice variety that all pack great flavor. i use the vinegar sauce, which is absolutely great on its own, as a means to get the rub to stick to the meat then use another type of sauce. it's a heavenly combination. the mac n cheese, greens, and fries are also great. didn't care for the baked beans. they were ok but not something i've ordered since my first visit. i highly recommend this place. all the desserts are prettygoodas well that peanut butter cheesecake and banana pudding. be prepared for long lines and limited seating. food comes out fast though. beyond corky's off poplar and rendezvous, these are the only places in memphis i can recommend. this being number 1 and corky's number 2.

disappointed.. a disappointing visit. we ordered a sausage and cheese plate accompanied with ghost river "river bank red." the sausage plate was good. the ghost river beer was verygoodbut at $6.00 a glass is a bit steep in my opinion.
i changed from my normal and ordered the barbecued bologna sandwich with house made chips. the chips weregoodand fresh.the sandwich had potential but it was served cold. the bun was as if it were straight from the refrigerator and the meat, luke warm at best.
my companion ordered a pulled pork plate with onion ring and barbecued beans. the meat was cooked well but served cold with 4 small onion rings and beans from a can.i've been to central a couple o times before and enjoyed my visit but certainly not this time.
i've had much better in memphis.

pretty good!. i tried central bbq for the first time since i moved here in 2004. i love bbq and i love memphis for having such great bbq. my husband mo' is a huge fan of cozy corner bbq on north parkway and i must say that he has a reason to. i've often heard people say howgoodcentral bbq is and i must say i agree. central bbq has very tasty bbq. it is probably my 2nd favorite bbq in memphis. i think :)...... try it out!

great ribs, ok pulled pork. being a memphian born and bred i love somegoodhome-style memphis bbq, and just tried this original central location for the first time today (i usually go to the one on summer with friends). the food at this location is much better (fresher, better quality/taste) than the food at summer location for sure. this location is a little dirtier though (foor was sticky, they barely had time to clear tables before another group sat down), and smaller (less seating, there was a line when we got there at 11:30 on a sunday), but the staff are friendly and it has a family-style atmosphere.

i ordered the pulled pork plate (which comes with 2 sides and a roll or texas toast) for $9.99; my husband ordered a half-slab of wet ribs which also came with a roll, $13.99. the ribs were great; really well-done smokey flavor and agoodsauce. the only complaint was that the meat in both orders was a little dry. the pulled pork was ok (despite being a tad dry), though not the best i've had in memphis; the potato salad was some of the best i've had at a bbq place; the beans were ok.

i tried all three sauces (vinegar, hot, and mild). the mild sauce was nothing special, bottled sauce taste similar. the vinegar sauce was good, liked the unique flavor. the hot sauce was great, i will probably order the hot sauce if i return; it had a nice kick to it (could definitely taste the beer in it, if you're into that kind of thing).

i would recommend it to any memphian or bbq lover, thgouh now that i've gone i probably won't make the drive across town again to try it and will continue going to the one on summer if friends want to try central's.

wing convert. i've never really been that crazy about wings. i just watch my husband eat them. i've always thought they were too much trouble...that was until i ate the jerk wings at central a few weeks ago. now, i crave them. the wings are huge! i wonder what kind of chicken has wings that big. the meat just falls off of the bone. they have other "flavors," but i think it would be hard to beat the jerk. i don't think you will be disappointed, when you try them.


-----05 may, 2014-----

best in town!. we won't eat bbq at any place other than central. we even had our rehearsal dinner at central on summer and couldn't have asked for better service and accommodations. that was the first visit to central for many that night. they were blown away by howgoodit was. we are down town a lot and come in contact with a lot of out of town visitors and always tell them to go to central for the best bbq in memphis. we start with the sausage and cheese appetizer. the dipping sauce that comes with that is incredible...honey mustard, maybe, but not your ordinary honey mustard. i always get the pulled pork plate with fries and macaroni and cheese. my husband gets either the ribs or the bbq bologna sandwich with fries. the homemade chips with the blue cheese dressing are wonderful. we've always had great service, even when the place was packed, which it usually is after a ballgame. enjoy!