whole hog cafe

oh my word this place is good! the potato salad is by far the best i've ever eaten! all the meats were very tender aside from the sausage...it was a bit dry and the only reason i didn't give 5 stars. my husband and i split thehogplatter and it was more than enough food!

being greeted by a wall of trophies upon entering a bbq restaurant is a good sign.. that's exactly what you get at the wholehogcafe. this is a family owned establishment with multiple generations working there, also a good sign. then there was the crowning glory, a 5ft tall memphis in may grand champion trophy. so, eating pork here is the exact right thing to do.

there is an order counter and menu board. the procedure is pay and retrieve your meal when your number is called. the ribs came highly recommended and i ordered a platter for myself as did my dinner companions.

there was good reason behind the rib recommendation.

the ribs were the second best i've ever eaten in my life. that's saying something because i live in the ark-la-tex where bbq is king. whole hog's glaze is the best i've ever had. there was a smoke ring almost a half inch thick on a rack of ribs, i've never seen that in my life. the bite, chew. and flavor are award winning, literally. easily the best bbq i've eaten in a restaurant.

the sides i chose were potato salad and cole slaw. the slaw was a little sweet and plenty crunchy, i really liked it. the potato salad was different, made mostly with sour cream. this suited me just fine, my dinner companions did not agree however. i tasted my companion's baked beans which were rich with delicious flavor, layered in while slow cooked.

there is a drink station offering a wide variety of thirst quenching options. there is a caddy tableside with a half dozen specialty sauces made by whole hog, and a flavor description of each.

to tell the truth, i didn't need any sauce on my ribs. the glaze was such a beautiful symphony of flavor that nothing extra was needed.

we returned for lunch the next day and i immensely enjoyed the pulled pork platter. i did sauce this pork with whole hog's sweet honey smoke sauce.

i can't rave about the food at wholehogenough. it isn't just eating bbq, this is a destination quality food experience. please go and enjoy award winning bbq at the wholehogcafe.

my friend hosted her baby shower at the wholehogcafe, and we were catered to in their private room. the staff was so nice! i had a pulled pork sandwich. i've never like pulled pork before, but they changed my mind. it was so delicious! 👍🏾☺️ i was too busy helping with the shower to get food photos 😣

world champion bbq. it’s no wonder wholehogcafé consistently wins awards every year. my favorite bbq tenfold. succulent pulled pork, tender beef brisket, smoked chicken, award winning ribs, all of the sides, specialties such as the loaded baked potato and the bbq nachos, wholehogsalads, smoked sausage, and of course the 7 bbq sauces to choose from. all mouth-watering, generous portions, reasonably priced. friendly staff, clean dining room, pleasant atmosphere. i love whole hog!!!

our family is so happy to be able to have lunch at wholehogon their first ever sunday to be open. long live sauce #6! thanks to jacqueline for her great customer service.


-----13 aug, 2009-----

love wholehogand sauce #6. i don't live in little rock anymore, but my aunt took my family to wholehoglast summer. the barbecue was really tasty, and we took home a six-pack of the various sauces. this summer, when we came to town for the 4th of july, we made sure to stop by wholehogand buy some more sauce. we got 2 more 6-packs plus 2 extra bottles of sauce #6. my husband and i love barbecued pork chops with sauce #6! if you're lucky enough to be near the whole hog, then please go check it out!

mixed bag. i've been to one other wholehoglocation and had a so-so lunch, but i wanted to try it again to see if it was a fluke so i came this one. i ordered the rib-meat special plate with beans and potato salad. apparently they weren't ready for the demand on the special because about a dozen people got served ahead of me while they got more rib meat together.
as seems to be customary, the meat and beans are served near room temp, which bothers me a bit from the sanitation standpoint. the potato salad is mayo based and i much prefer mustard based, so that didn't do much for me. the beans were ok, but nothing special. the rib meat was also ok, but very mild flavor, nothing i would call exciting.
bbq is kind of like pizza, everyone has their favorites and now that i've tried thehogand sims, i have to say i like sims a lot better--just my personal preference.
otherwise, wholehoghas plenty of room, it's clean, lots of windows, and seems fairly well run.


-----19 nov, 2009-----

good, but i'm nothogwild about it. i was driving around looking for a place for lunch and saw the sign for "world famous bbq" so i decided to give it a try. i ordered a pork loin sandwich with cole slaw and potato salad. the "regular" sandwich was a modest amount of flavorful, tender smoked meat on a plain bun. i tried the number 2 sauce which is a tangy tomato vinegar sauce. the sandwich was ok, but did not strike me as outstanding. the potato salad was heavy on the mayo and that wasn't as appealing to me. the cole slaw was in a light vinegar dressing and was good. if i go back i will probably try one of the platters and see if that's more interesting.
the place was very popular with the locals. i noticed about 98% of the patrons were men--only a few women dining there--wasn't sure what that was all about. prices seemed reasonable.

got the wholehogplatter. came from michigan , and the pulled pork was the best i have ever had i cater many graduation partys who all tell me mine is the best , well it is not theres is fantastic!!!!! the brisket was ok mine is better loved sauce numer 3 the evil brother was a fun place with great food loved the potato salad excellent food

the brisket was so tender that you didn’t really need teeth to enjoy it. their slaw, which rests on every sandwich, provided a nice counterbalance in flavor. my wife loved her ribs. while smoked thoroughly, they were very moist. to accent it, wholehogmakes six differe

yummy :). i'm not really a meat fan, though i do love my mom's barbecue. anyway, i was surprised to discover wholehogcafe is almost as good as mom's house, and even i will happy chow down on their pork or chicken despite the fact that i eat vegetarian food for the most part. this is one of the few places i keep returning to time and again. the staff is awesome, and the restaurant is always clean. wholehogis the tops in barbecue here in arkansas.

best beef brisket, pulled pork. makes me hungry to think of wholehogoriginal location on cantrell road. buy meats by the pound. best beef brisket ever. pulled pork delicious. ribs great too, although we prefer sim's ribs. bbq is a very personal decision. anyway, we love wholehogand would never, ever consider corky's for real bbq.

best bbq ever!. i am an ex employee of the original wholehogcafe on cantrell road. i do not have an axe to grind,although i was fired for b.s. reasons a few years ago,and i have moved on with my life....so i'm no longer full of resentment.

they have the best ribs, pork,beef and chicken ever. whenever i want bbq......that is where i go. whenever we have out if town visitors, either family or friends, i always take them to wholehogcafe and they have never been disappointed. i have even shipped the ribs out of state fed ex overnight to family craving the real bbq deal.

i will let you know in on a couple little secrets though.....all of their smoked meats are seasoned to perfection and cooked on site. even though their sauces' are delicious, all their sauces are another known brand name that you yourself can find at some of your local grocers and all i will say is that brand starts with the letter "c".#1 sauce is regular mild/molasses,traditional, #2 sauce is hot and spicy,#5 is heavy sweet molasses style sauce.the other sauces....#3 is hot and spicy with an added ingredient, #4 sauce is a blend of two different brands of bbq sauces, plus another ingredient, #6 sauce is gold sauce, some sweet and sour sauce and another ingredient, and last, but not least, volcano sauce, which is a hot and spicy sauce, with an added certain hot sauce . i can't let the cat completely out of the bag, so some of the ingredients are secret and some of which i will not say.

as far as their side items go, they only make their beans and coleslaw. the potato salad, which is actually one of my favorites, is a pre-made loaded baked potato style potato salad from a known food restaurant distribution warehouse.

my point is, that i don't continue to patronize them for their side items or even sauces. i continue to go there because they are the king of all smoked meats. everything at wholehogcafe is delicious...bottom line...the ribs are my personal favorite. they taste so good...just like candy in my mouth. if you want to try the best, go to wholehogcafe...you will not be disappointed.

whole lotta hog. whole lotta flavor.. wholehogcafe serves up the best pulled pork i've ever eaten. period. i've never had better in memphis, texas, lr, or anywhere else. can't comment on the ribs, because i've never had them. reviewers seem to be divided on the quality of the ribs here, but who needs ribs when their pulled pork is so heavenly?

i am not a big fan of standing in lines to order, and really wish that wholehogwould hire a waitstaff. i also wish that wholehogwere open later, as the restaurant closes at 8 pm daily. those are my two main gripes. wholehoghas won many first place trophies at bbq competitions around the country, and they are displayed proudly at the riverdale location. pictures of bill clinton dining at wholehoghang on the wall, and i think it's cool that a former us president has eaten here.

some reviewers insist that wholehogfails to provide the best pulled pork in town, but i must respectfully disagree. the first time i had this amazing bbq, i realized it was special. this bbq melts in your mouth. their sauces are tantalizing, especially the volcano, but as one reviewer stated, you only need a dollop. this barbecue does not require masking agents. this bbq is like a fine steak; the flavor does not need to be augmented with sauce. the meat does just fine on its own, and excessive sauce detracts you from enjoying it properly. the pulled pork is truly phenomenal, and i strongly encourage you to try it.

wholehogcafe serves the best bbq in arkansas. i guarantee you'll agree.

try it once... you will be back.... their pulled pork is a thing of beauty! their ribs are also works of art. i love bbq and they have the best in town. everything else there is great as well. the beans and potato salad are also favorites of mine. everyone has an opinion about bbq, but the wholehogdeserves their great reputation.

wow - the best??? i don't think so. i am always confused about how much people love this place. the pulled pork sandwich is decent. the six different sauces are pretty good. but they don't warrant anything special in my opinion. i generally come here because it's close and it scratches my bbq itch, when i get one.

i've ordered the ribs and they were awful. they were tough and lacked any trace of smoky flavor. drowning it in sauce didn't really help matters much.

i can't stand the potato salad. it's made with waxy potatoes so it has an odd texture but what makes it truly awful is the ranch dressing that it's mixed with.

there are much better places in little rock to go for barbecue. wholehogjust ain't one of those places.