BBQ 512

I really hate to write this but in the BBQ haven that is TX…
Meat: Brisket was under-​cooked, bland and chewy. The ribs were not any better. The sausage was just so so.
The sides: I had potato salad and cole slaw. The potato salad was bland but did not strike me as bad per se… just lacking some much needed flavor. The cole slaw was mushy and nasty. Flavor was not good.
After we had finished the (i presume) owner asks up to try his «parm and garlic mashed potatoes». All my companion and I could taste was salt.
I hope they can bring it together, but if the quality stays the same I don’t expect BBQ 512 to be around too long.

I was going to give here 5 stars, but now it’s 3.5 stars. The customer service was good, the brisket sandwich was good, as well as the potato salad and mac n’ cheese. However, fifteen minutes after the G/​F and I left, we got explosive diarrhea and a bit of a nauseous headache. I realize this just may be «on us,» since we don’t eat a lot of beef or greasy foods. However, I realize it could also be because the food wasn’t as fresh as perceived, or the prep area wasn’t clean enough. Again, I’m not 100% sure the place was at-​fault, but either way I now have diarrhea and feel a bit woozy. I’d still recommend trying this place out, but for me, I’m not sure I’ll return to eat their BBQ (maybe I’d get a beer there, though if I have a sober driver). Also, for a sandwich and side with a water, it’ll cost about $ 8, AFAIR.

We are new to the area and just happened onto this place and can say it was really very good! We got a little bit of everything and liked the brisket and sausage best, but really it was all yummy! Close to home good food at a fair price. Will go back for sure ! Green beans were so good too !!

Don’t let the bad reviews and change of management phase you from at least giving it a try. We got the turkey and sausage for a party and they were both great!

I went at 7:15pm on a Thursday and it was deserted. The guy behind the counter was pleasant enough, but I got a sense he was irritated to be pulled away from cleaning up to shut down. He appeared to be the only one there. I realized shortly afterwards they close at 8pm?! What kind of restaurant is open for dinner, but just til 8?
I probably can’t judge the food fairly since there was hardly anything to choose from. The sides I’ve seen people leave good reviews about were not there. The brisket had a good smoke flavor, but was a bit dry and sliced too thinly.
I might give it another try at lunchtime, but won’t go back for dinner.

This place is good. Brisket has a strong smoke flavor but they have delicious bbq sauce to offset. Ribs are delicious, coleslaw and potatoe salad is amazing.

I was torn between 3 and 4 stars but they have 3.5 stars and I enjoyed my lunch and didn’t want to lower their rating.
I got the two meat place with moist brisket and pork ribs. It came with two sides and a drink. I chose macaroni and cheese and slaw, and had sweet tea to drink. I spent $ 12 plus tip, which I thought was pretty good for the quality and quantity of meat.
The meat was really pretty good. It’s a dry rub place like most Texas barbecue. They served it with a side of sauce, which I didn’t really care for, but the meat was good enough that it wasn’t necessary.
The macaroni and cheese was really good, but the coleslaw was a little mushy. It needed to be replaced. The sweet tea was good but a little sweet so I cut it with unsweetened tea.
The place is dark and very plain looking, but the chairs are comfortable, and the staff is friendly. They’ll give you a styrofoam to-​go cup if you ask for it. It’s close to my work, so I’m sure I’ll eat here fairly often.

I just left this place and I’m very happy that I decided to go in. The restaurant is very clean and I’m giving it five stars based on value, food, promptness and cleanliness. Lots of bang for the buck! The people that helped me at the counter were very nice. I was greeted with a smile and a warm, friendly attitude. I had the brisket w/​two sides and a drink. It came out to be a little more than what it would cost to grab lunch at a fast food restaurant! The portions were excellent, the brisket was moist and they had all of the usual BBQ fixins to go with it. I ate like a king for less than $ 11.00! Here in Austin, BBQ prices are soaring. It’s nice to know I can walk in, get my BBQ fix and get back to work in no time at all. I think I just found my new spot! :D

This is a rename of the old bbq that used to be here. (The Ponderosa — maybe?)
The recipes have not changed.
If this was Hartford Connecticut, this would be the most awesome barbecue in town —
and I would eat here all the time.
However, this is Austin — and the competition is pretty tough.
Half of what is here is really good. Half is «that’s nice dear» but certainly okay for lunch.
The brisket is bland without much smoke taste.
They do serve a homemade BBQ sauce — which helps the brisket a lot.
(They cheat and add sugar — but the final result is tasty enough that I will tell the BBQ referees to look the other way on that one.)
The sauce is a fine insurance policy.
The actual star of the menu is another cheat — that works out to be quite beneficent.
Their «chopped beef» is not really chopped beef.
It is a mix of whatever they had left in the house thrown together —
beef and turkey and pork altogether.
There is some beef in there — so I guess it is chopped beef.
Surprise, surprise.
Three meats are tastier than one.
This needed no sauce at all and was the star of the show.
I would order that one again happily.
Sides are okay.
Overall — a good place for lunch —
and heaven if you were not lucky enough to be born in Texas, North Carolina, Memphis or Kansas City.
Since the last sentence refers to a huge proportion of the world’s population — the stock of this place rises.
Of course, visitors could also go to Stiles Switch, Micklethwait, or wait in line thirty hours you-​know-​where and get legendary barbecue.
But this place will do.

Wish I could add a half star. I want to give it 3 and ½ stars. The food is good but the items I had (brisket, sausage, chopped beef) were all slightly on the dry side.
The seasoning is right on and the sauces do stand on their own. One has an interesting tang to it, while the other is sweet and smoky.
The green beans are actually the best I’ve had. Not too heavily seasoned so you can actually taste the string bean and the Cole slaw is mild as well. Which gives a nice cleansing effect while enjoying the heavily seasoned chopped beef.
All-​n-​all, Its a place that I would return to see if the dryness was a one time «miss». Don’t skip it.

I really wanted to love it, but it’s just not where it needs to be to thrive in BBQ land. The location isn’t close enough for me to try it again and again, as I’d like to. Both times I’ve been have truly been like «Meh. I’ve experienced better.» On Unilocal,that means 2 stars. Seems harsh for a local place. Sorry.
In Colorado, this place would be PACKED. In Austin, though? It’s just too saturated for decent BBQ to survive. You’ve got to bring something exceptional, and notable sides ain’t enough.

This place used to be way better
The sauce is runny and the BBQ brisket has a slight artificial smoke flavor
It’s okay in a pinch but I would not make a special trip to eat here

We went to BBQ 512 for lunch, we should have walked out when we only saw 1 customer in the dinning room. The brisket is dried out and requires lots of BBQ sauce to choke down. The BBQ sauce taste strange, not sure if it was vinegar but ewwww. The spicy potatoes looked old and discolored, and were bland tasting. The squash had this old melted cheese on it that looked like it was prepared several hours before lunch. The sausage and pork rib were more palatable because of the high fat content they were not completely dried out.

It’s hard to write a bad review for this restaurant but, I guess I will. I came here at lunch during the week and the place was virtually deserted. after eating here I understand why. It’s not so much that the food isn’t good, it is good. but, in a town full of barbecue restaurants, in a state known for its barbecue, this place just doesn’t stand out. The Carver at the counter carved up my brisket and didn’t bother to trim it. She seemed like she was in a real hurry, when there was no one in the restaurant but me and one other guy. What’s your hurry? Nobody talked to me during my visit and obviously they had plenty of time. It seems like the owner if there is one on site, doesn’t really care about the clientele.
I tried the potato salad, on the recommendation of another Unilocal reviewer. I found it to have too much mayonnaise. Otherwise it was tasty. The price is right however, if what you want is a bargain lunch. It was quick, the restaurant is clean, and they have plenty of TVs playing sports programs during the day. With just a few tweaks, this restaurant could really stand out. I suggest the owner review his cooking techniques for his brisket, because I saw no smoke ring on the meat, which, while obviously smoked, also was not very tender.
Thanks for an average lunch BB Q 512. I would have given it 3 stars had anybody bother to speak to me other than the cashier to ask for money. You have a lot of potential here, don’t squander it. Get busy and engage your clientele get your brisket back up to high standards, and let people know you care.
You might also put some barbecue sauce around on the tables. I noticed that right away. You can’t add sauce other than what they give you at the carving station. It looked like there were no other sauces available either, like Tabasco or any type of hot sauce. Remember this is Texas, we like our hot sauce.
Best of luck BB Q 512, get busy and get better.

I don’t want to give this place a bad review. But in a town where BBQ is serious business, you have to compete. It’s not a bad place. The sausage here is actually very good. Ribs are weak on the meat but aren’t bad. The rest, well, I’d say stay away from it. Just my opinion.
I wish this place luck. They have a long way to go.

Came here on my lunch break last week. It wasn’t very busy which is a good thing on a hurried lunch break. I ordered the chopped beef sand which, potato salad and mac and cheese as my sides. Everything was delicious. The TVs gave me some entertainment while having a quick bite.
Moral of the story: Stop in get your bbq fix with little fuss and some entertainment to bust! (Did that one make sense? not sure).

Ate here a second time. Food was still really good. Love their brisket and sausage (very moist and flavorful) and the sides were very good, too. This time, someone served us immediately. Yes, this place has been pretty empty both times we’ve gone, but it’s just trying to establish itself after being taken over by new owners plus, it is tucked next to the Big Lots in a strip mall so people might not notice it. Definitely give it the benefit of the doubt. The food is really good and the prices are very reasonable!

Got a Groupon and went today for around 2pm and that place was empty. First bad sign among many, next we ordered: two one meat plate and two sides. I got pork ribs, potato salad and pinto beans, boyfriend got turkey, spicy potatoes and mac & cheese.
My plate: just three barely cooked pork ribs, and barely any meat, not even with the fork it will come off the bone… yeah that bad; potato salad was decent and beans tasted just right out of the can.
Boyfriend’s plate: about and ounce of turkey that was so-​so, mac & cheese was VERY dry and bland, forget the spicy potatoes, besides the yucky look they had also a yucky taste… didn’t even touch them after trying one.
Nope, not coming back to this place again. Owners were friendly but definitely not real worth nor delicious BBQ place for the prices. I personally would not recommend it to any of my friends. :(
P. S. The way the put the bread out for people to serve themselves is just nasty. Bread is IN the plastic bags so anyone that didn’t wash their hands before getting in that place can stick their hands in it and grab their bread or… just at the last minute change their minds and just leave their germs!

You know how at most barbecue places, (and…this seems to be a common joke among most of my friends in Austin) either the sides are good and the barbecue sucks, or the barbecue is fantastic and the sides are just meh? Well, 512 is doing both the sides and the barbecue fairly decently.
My husband bought a Groupon for 512. We each got different plates, he had the brisket, and I got a turkey and pork loin combo. It was good… not as great as say, Black’s but definitely as good as Rudy’s which is one of our go to quick barbecue favs. The potato salad was really nice — tasty, savory herbs… good. I got the squash as well with my plate and while it looked a little funky, (it was like a squash cheese casserole) I actually liked it quite a bit. My turkey was just ok — it lacked flavor and was a bit dry. The pork loin, however, which had a thick visible smoke ring was really good.
So, four stars… I like what 512 is doing here. I’d like to come back and try more stuff, both sides and barbecue.

Just picked lunch shop with my little boys and was so surprised by this unsuspecting place.
First, the food was great. Portions were very generous for the price.
Inquired about the turkey and was promptly handed a sample. Side orders were really good too.
The man behind the counter was very friendly. I felt certain he must be the owner but was also surprised to find out he was just an employee there.
I will definitely return and would recommend it.