Stubb’s Bar-B-Q

Their beef brisket was the best I have ever had! So tender that it falls apart when trying to pick it up with a fork! Phenomenal. Get the brisket!!!

Good Brisket
Good Selection of Draft Beers
Minced Beef left me wanting more.
Great Okra, rest of the sides where just ok.
BBQ Sauce is on point
Great location but I got the impression that this place was mostly hype.

I have always wanted to use this line, and I had planned to save it for the most perfect occasion; that occasion came sooner than I had expected. That line is, «If I could give this place zero stars, I would.»
Allow me to walk you through this experience. Husbae and I walked into this traditional looking bar, which we later discovered was actually a bar called «The Mean Eyed Cat». Looking back, the bar, itself, was a nice little wooden bar. However, not realizing what was happening, I immediately noticed that there was a very clear lack of barbecue smell. No one greeted us and there were no signs, so we grabbed a table.
The bar waitress came pretty quickly and answered my question of if they were serving barbecue. She let us know that Stubb’s was actually located, in Jennifer-​terms, the closet to the right of the door.
So, if you’re looking for this place, go into The Mean Eyed Cat and immediately go right. There will be a small, lightly lit sign that says «Stubb’s Barbecue This Way.» The closet is where you can find Austin’s worst barbecue. The rest of this review is just for Stubb’s.
** Service: ⁰⁄₁₀ **
I’m not even kidding you when I say that this experience was awkward. As soon as we walked into the room, it was as if we were unwanted. The cashier got up from one of the tables and slowly walked to the counter. I looked at him, he looked at me, and after a few seconds, I asked how the barbecue was served and if they did plates. As slowly and as careless as possible, he told me about the plates and about the menus on the counter that were not posted anywhere else. As he said that, I was reading that same menu, that was not posted anywhere else, on the wall behind him. His lack of wanting to be there made me not want to be there and then he, unnaturally fast, tossed our baskets of meat and sides, which in pre-​measured plastic tubs, onto the counter. We paid, and as soon as the transaction was over, he left from behind the counter, took out his phone, sat at a table, and started watching football. This was a man who did not care about anything. That worries me when my food is involved.
** The Food: ⁰⁄₁₀ **
We ordered brisket, pulled pork, mac and cheese, potato salad, and cole slaw.
Potato Salad: I love potato salad. I love it so much that I love all kinds of potato salad. The only time that I have never liked potato salad was tonight, when mine was unpleasantly flavored like nail polish remover. I don’t like nail polished flavored potato salad. I don’t know what it must have gone through to achieve such a flavor, but I didn’t take another bite to figure it out. I should have taken a hint from the caked on paprika. How long had this been in the cooler in this pre-​packaged container?
Cole Slaw: The same goes for cole slaw! I love creamy, sweet, and vinegar varieties. This had the flavor of strong dill pickle juice and miracle whip. The literally sitting in a pool of pickle juice and mayo. No, thanks, especially after acetone potato salad. This, too, was in a pre-​packaged container.
Macaroni and Cheese: Upon first glance, it looked like dumplings and cheese, but it was very large shells. The flavor was okay, sort of like a kraft shells and cheese flavor. I thought I could get by on this and at least feel a little better about the money we had just thrown away. NOPE! I picked up on shell from the cream sauce and the shell underneath it was crusted in dry cheese crust, forming the perfect impression of the shell that I had just peeled off. The thing was warm, so it wasn’t solidified cheese. It was literally old cheese dried onto the shell.
Brisket: How on earth do you smoke meat and it not have any flavor? It may as well have been boiled two days ago! It was awful! No flavor at all. Not even the sauce helped, and I’m cool with Stubb’s sauce. I was done at that point — what a waste of $ 23.
Pulled Pork: No flavor, and they give you one slice of Texas sliced bread. What the heck do you do with one slice of bread when you’ve got pulled pork?
I left it all on the table. It wasn’t even worth the unavoidable fight with the grumpy, jerk cashier. Husbae says he’ll never go to any other Stubb’s. I agree.
I finally know where the phrase «that leaves a bad taste in my mouth» comes from — Stubb’s.

I was hoping for some really great BBQ but i was a little disappointed (I had the pulled pork sandwich, my sister had the ribs) mac and cheese was good, sweet potato fries just didn’t do it for me… also i wasn’t too impressed with the bbq sauce itself… bummer. Our queso was good though! The venue itself is nice… I could see how seeing a show here would be fun. They have local beers on tap and my margarita was pretty good. Decent, fast service, huge portions, but it was just a-​ok for me!

After spending over $ 200 on dinner and tickets for a show, I am very disappointed. The employees that work the corridor between the general audience area and the restroom are extremely rude. If walking slower to take a glimpse at a band you paid a significant amount of money to see is an issue, maybe they should remodel the area. I understand safety is a concern, but their attitude is unacceptable. I prefer not to be treated like cattle especially if it’s not a free show.
Their food is complete shit compared to every single BBQ restaurant within miles. The new Wendy’s BBQ items are actually better. They love claiming their food has history, but that’s exactly what it should be. It’s obvious the only reason they’re able to sling this garbage is because of the few decent acts they’re able to book.
Bottom line: I wouldn’t give the homeless people, who harass everyone walking to this establishment, Stubbs BBQ because they deserve much better, even if they’re malnourished.
It’s very obvious why Stubbs NEVER makes any list on decent BBQ restaurants, it’s because it’s AWFUL!

I’d been wanting to go to Stubb’s for a couple of years, ever since I read the label on my barbecue sauce. Mr. Stubbs did not disappoint. My first taste of fried green tomatoes happened here. They were a pleasure. Also not to be missed are the pies; I think I had rhubarb.

Freedom nachos. Enough said. Sausage, turkey, pulled pork and brisket layered with queso, beans, jalapeños and topped with fresh guac. What more could you want in nachos?

Not a warm welcome from the hostess when my husband and I walked in and were seated. However our waiter was good but at the end we felt rushed to leave since they were closing in 20 minutes. Food was just so so. Ribs and brisket were tender but lacked flavor and rib portions were small and not much meat on the bones. Brisket was very greasy! Mashed sweet potatoes were yummy as with the greens. Didn’t care for the BBQ sauce. Overall not worth the $$, nor returning to or recommending.

Went to Stubb’s because I LOVE their bbq sauce sold in Chicago! I wasn’t particularly impressed but I thought the food was about average. We might have caught the brisket on an off day (tad dry) but nothing to complain about.

Wow. Amazing experience. The BBQ is outstanding and the combo with the Mean Eyed Cat is brilliant. Super fun! Can’t wait to come back to Austin to experience again.

Not sure why this place isn’t rated higher.
Pros:
good barbecue
Good sides– try the Serrano cheese spinach
Good beer
Air conditioning
Friendly service
Food is counter service and beer is ordered at the bar. No lines, no ego, just good barbecue and beer.
I can personally vouch for: mean nachos with pulled beef, cheese and jalapeño sausage, Serrano cheese spinach, pork ribs (may be purchased as individual ribs), and barbecued turkey.
Even though it comes by the pound, you can order ¼ pound servings to experience the variety. It is probably best to bring a group to share. I would definitely come back.

Sunday Gospel Brunch — one of the special things you need to add to your «Must Do» list for Austin.
You have your choice of upstairs or downstairs — downstairs puts you right close to the stage. We sat upstairs and still enjoyed the music without it being too loud for the kiddos. (You can always walk downstairs and listen in to the songs for a bit).
The buffet was delish. Loved the brisket and all the southern-​style fixins. But I would say the best aspect of going to Stubbs for Gospel Brunch is just the experience of being there, taking it all in – the music, the people, the food.

We had the brisket. Super good and the spinach cheese side dish was amazing! The brisket could of been a little warmer. The sweet tea drink was delish! The service was great. We went around 430pm and were seated right away.

BBQ here is good but pretty mediocre for what I expect to get in Austin. You can tell the BBQ is not slow-​cooked for a long time. Ordered the beef brisket, pork ribs, mac n’ cheese and Serrano creamed spinach. The spinach was awesome and my favorite part of the meal. I would come back just for this! I liked the ribs but the brisket was just ok. Service was super quick and I really enjoyed eating on the patio of the Mean Eyed Cat.

I love this place! The Easter gospel brunch was perfect! As we entered, the door person told us the band had not arrived and there would be no live music, it was fine by me, we were there for the food and the enjoyment of being together on Easter. They have the most amazing buffet! The spinach enchiladas were delish and the options offered something for everyone. They lowered the price of the buffet because of the lack of live music, which was a wonderful surprise for us. We enjoyed an amazing meal, great company and at a great price. Will def go back, band or no band, we loved it !!! They could not have been more accommodating.

Extremely rude reception when we stopped by on a Sunday at noon looking for a table. First hostess said they were sold out of food (?). When we questioned this she then said they just didn’t have any tables. Whatever! It was clear the reception staff was unmotivated and unfriendly. Happy to take our business elsewhere & with all the great BBQ options in Austin, why would we bother to come back?

I enjoyed Stubbs BBQ at The Mean Eyed Cat and they represented Texas BBQ at it’s finest!
This location is in the back area of The Mean Eyed Cat and there is also some tables and a soda fountain! The guys behind the counter were funny and apologetic that they were having issues printing receipts; of course it worked for me and printed my receipt because I am magical!
I ordered a ½ pound of brisket, 1 jalapeño cheddar sausage link and a side of their serrano cheese spinach. It was a bit on the pricey side at $ 25.00 but, I thought it was well worth it.
They served our food just as fast as we ordered so, I consider this a quick counter service. The brisket had a well smoked flavor and was juicy, the BBQ sauce was thick and well flavored, the jalapeño cheddar sausage had the perfect amount of spice and you could actually taste the high quality of the cheddar cheese inside, a very small amount of pickles and onions (would like to see more) and the spinach was a different type side for a BBQ place and was delish.
Overall I would definitely order from them again whether I am going to The Mean Eyed Cat or not!

I see a lot of bad reviews about this place, but I loved it. We went around 5:30pm on a Friday, so we were one of four tables eating at this time. No bar crowd, etc.
Started with stuffed jalapeños and potato skins. The jalapeños were way too spicy for my liking (but they’re supposed to be)… The hubby loved them. I loved! the potato skins. They had more of a queso cheese sauce on them instead of just a piece of melted cheese. The hubs had the brisket and I had turkey breast. We got the asiago spinach and french fries. Both delicious. The fries are made in house. Nom nom nom. Oh and their bread was super good.
Our server was attentive and very quick on refills and taking care of us. Awesome place!

This place was pretty bad. I didn’t expect much from other reviews but it was worse than expected. Not sure how it can stay in business with all the other good BBQ in the area. Overpriced, dry brisket, sausage was very firm and tough, rib was just OK. Cole slaw was basically just cabbage with nothing else. Some of the worst I have had to date.
Definitely will not return.

Since we had limited time in downtown Austin we decided to stop in at Stubbs to try some Austin BBQ. I had the pork spare ribs and my dining partner had the pulled pork. I ordered a side of Mac and Cheese and Mashed Potatoes with gravy.
The ribs where really a healthy portion and I couldn’t even finish them but I didn’t like them as much I wanted too. Maybe its because I’m“m not a big fan of dry rub BBQ but I found the rub really dry and basically i ended up drowning the meat in their BBQ sauce which was good. I also found the mac and cheese very watery. The mashed potatoes on the other hand were excellent and I loved the gravy it came with it. I also had their home made tea which was really good and we had the jalapeño poppers which were great as well.