tom's bar-b-q & deli

more than expected.... best ribs ever - even without sauce! found this place on the drive-in, diners, and dives list. thought we'd try it. regular pork sandwich combo-sauce was great, meat- not greasy, fries were just ok. friend got bbq bologna. he said it was very good. recommend getting the cole slaw (best cole slaw i've ever had and i don't like cole slaw) as your side. we mentioned ddd and received a free sample plate that included ribs which were great!

it’s fitting that a large portion of the huge customer base for tom's bar-b-q works in logistics since the restaurant’s workers have to be experts in the field themselves to handle the crushing volume of their lunch business. tom’s sits at the corner of getwell and raines in the oakhaven section of memphis. memphis is a major distribution hub for the entire united states and that corner, directly in between the airport and the giant railroad switchyard at lamar and shelby drive, sits in the heart

first time i went was yesterday i ordered the bbq beef sandwich and they said slaw and i said yes! j thoughtvyhey meant as a side and i took a nite to try it and all i can say is wow i can not wait to go back i have been wanting another one ever since!!! the best bbq ever

tom's rib tips r good! but ribs are.... ok.. i'm not going to rip this place for the staff so let me start by saying the bbq is what i would expect it to be.. bbq. the rib tips are good and considering tom's cranks out over 100 orders a day they're rather meaty. you can tell that he purchases the cheapest bulk cuts he can get his hands on but hey in this economy who can blame him. onto the ribs.. the ribs were well charred and the sauce was sweet and smoked. a far cry from the typical memphis style sauce that always had a hint of tomato paste. though they do make a small mistake in preparation and that is wrapping the ribs in foil and sticking them in the warmer!!! this causes the ribs to kinda steam themselves and the textures results in a mushy overdone rib reminiscent of prechewed meat given to you when you didn't have a full set of teeth he chew with..mmm. now onto the staff. you'll sort of feel like it's a women's work release program but you'll be ok just don't come back to correct they're mistakes and make as little eye contact as posible. i had to go back 2 times as they forgot my sauce, then my ribs. once i went back the second time i had to wait for the order taker to finish her text to fix they're mistake. all in all this was just ok and i'm disappointed in guy fieri's recommendation

great rib tips!. i was introduced to tom's about a year ago by some colleagues at work. i was told to try the rib tips and was just wowed by them. sauce or no sauce, they have wonderful flavor and are oh so tender. i really should branch out and try other items on the menu, but the rib tips are so tempting!

liked it. but didn't love it. and i wanted to love this place. ive been to a guy fieri bbq pick in chicago (smoque) and it is phenomenal. was hoping for the same. the owner, adam, values the customer. very friendly. threw in rib tips, tn round steak and desserts for free. pulled pork sandwich was piled high. better than average. baby back ribs were okay. brisket is lean sides get it done but no standouts. rib tips were impressive, though a bit dry. it's no out of town destination, but if in the area and you need a bbq fix, this will hit the spot.

tom is my boyy. the rib tips are great (as advertised). the sandwiches are big. not wild about the sauce though; it is way too sweet.

the meat quantity of meat way exceeded the carrying capacity of the bun, and the sauce seeped from the sides of the sandwich like little rust-colored rivers.

this is by far the best bbq in memphis! i've been here several times and it always exceeds expectation. staff is great, it is frequently busy, but they know how to handle it. the bbq - pork and beef, use great quality of meat. bbq sauce is homemade and can't be beat. try the hot bbq sauce- so much flavor!! thank you tom's for being the best bbq

nations best bbq. i agree with the 5/5 commentary from yelp, "woohoo! as good as it gets." i can honestly say i have never had a dining experience quite like this. my wife and i had a layover at the memphis airport and had heard great review of toms and were impressed by the feature ran by food network. we took a 5-minute cab ride to tom's and were immediately welcomed by the friendly staff. it was apparent that we were in awe of the establishment and somewhat overwhelmed, as adam (the owner) and some of the other staff seemed to notice that we could use some recommendations. when we made it know that we were from seattle, adam gave another personal welcome and then announced to the rest of the staff that there were "people all the way from seattle." adam told the cooks to "give them the best" and when our food arrived he had graciously given us a sampler platter of magnificent (free) food. i have been to other places where the staff is friendly but the food mediocre, but this was not the case with tom's. though i am from the land of lattes, i consider myself a bbq consider, eating at classic establishments in texas, alabama, ms, louisiana, and some great places in the mid-atlantic. tom's was hands-down the best bbq i have ever eaten. we were packed to the gills with about $15 of food (+ the free specials), but as i made my way back from the bathroom adam insisted that we take some (free) desert. were we in heaven? the dessert was great and we hated to make our way back to the airport, we almost thoughts about spending christmas at toms. as i was phoning for a cab, adam insisted that i get off the phone, as they would bring us to the airport. despite my disagreement, he was persistent and said he would not accept no for an answer. while this is not customary (at least i think), this still shows that there are still good, wholesome people in our world. utter selflessness, great customer services, and awesome food! as we were exiting the car after being dropped off, we subtly dropped a $20 in the seat, but as she drove off the money exited the window as well. we were so blessed to be around such kind people and great food. please, if you are in memphis or the airport for that matter, your experience will be that much finer when visiting toms. we often think of making a special trip back to memphis just to visit the restaurant and our friends at toms.

really good bbq. adam is the owner and a nice guy. our first visit he took the time to talk about his appearance on guy's "diners, drive-ins and dives" he also gave us a free sampler platter, drinks, and desserts. the dry rub ribs were pretty dang tasty, my wife really liked the smoked bologna, and the beef sandwiches were delicious even though the hot bbq sauce could use more heat. tom's is well worth the stop and is in a reasonably safe industrial park area.

wow. we were only in memphis for a day and we picked tom's as our bbq joint after seeing it on diners, drive-ins and dives.

our party of four was greeted promptly and in the friendly manner consistent with what we had come to expect from the southern us. once they found out we were first-timers from canada we were rewarded with a load of complimentary samplers.

the rib tips were good, but the pulled pork simply blew me out of the water. it was simply the most moist and flavorful pork butt i have ever tasted. the brisket also was above average compared to many of the bbq places i have eaten. the serving sizes were huge and we all came away satisfied and with leftovers for the next day.

even our friends who were skeptical about bbq at first came away as converts. tom's does it right and if we're ever in memphis again we have no doubt where we'll be eating again.

old favorite. one of my favorite spots for pulled pork, it's been a while since my last visit to the city of my birth, but whenever i'm in town i make it a point to visit tom's.

nice baby back rib plate.