JJ’s Meat Shak

I love me some JJ’s. This is the best restaurant in town hands down. I am a student here in the area and anytime someone visits and they ask for a good recommendation in town my recommendation has got to be JJs. The hog pen is THE item to get on the menu. Nacho cheese, fries, pulled pork, sauce. Oh man can’t say enough! Just go!

Very cool place. BBQ was good, but I guess I expected brisket for the ‘pit beef’ and is wasn’t that. My son got the pan fried tenderloin with gravy and it was delicious, but cold… colder than lukewarm. Sides were great, especially the collards. Love the atmosphere. Can’t wait to try the pizza which looks amazing coming out of the stone oven. If I had seen that oven on the way in, pizza would’ve been my choice. Probably no beers because it’s a Mormon town, but a local craft brew would’ve gone well with my food.

Stopped by after a morning of hiking. Place rules. Get the sandwich with every meat (I forget what its called, ha).

Great place to eat. Stopped in for lunch left fat and happy. Very fast to get your food easy to find would definitely go back again!

Stopped by here to pick up dinner to go, on the way back from our veterinarian, who is located in Buena Vista.
My wife and I both got the pulled pork, which was good enough, but pulled pork is kind of difficult to mess up.
Each of us got one other meat — she got turkey and I got beef. We were surprised to see that these were sliced and not shredded, and neither of us thought that they were particularly flavorful.
Between us we had four sides, and the potato salad was probably the best of the bunch, but they were rather unexceptional.
The restaurant also forgot to include any sauce in our order, so we can’t comment on the house sauces since we didn’t get any.
They had a register problem with my order, and after a wait, they were kind enough to comp most of our meal for the nominal dollars I’d already been charged. I very much appreciate this, and this is a plus for them. They also offer a 10% discount on your meal if you do a Unilocal checkin.
Also, I haven’t lived in West Central Virginia long enough to know this for sure, but two of the three Lexington/​Buena Vista BBQ joints, including this one, do not have ribs. Are ribs just not a thing here?
I certainly would be willing to upgrade my rating if a return visit proved better, but I also wouldn’t go out of my way for a return visit. So far Beameup BBQ is the clear winner to us of the three local establishments in the Lexington area.

What a pleasant surprise to run across this gem. Great collards and pulled pork barbecue! The owner was so kind and surprised us with a delicious banana nut bread for dessert :-)
I’m in heaven!

While visiting his parents in Lexington, VA, my boyfriend and I decided to pop over to Beuna Vista to check this place out. I like that the restaurant is an outdoor only place, and being as we were visiting in January the space heaters and fire pit were greatly appreciated. We both ordered the pork butt platter, mine with red sauce, beans and slaw and his with mustard sauce, beans and potato salad. All in, our meal was $ 17 with drinks. Not bad at all! We placed our order, paid for it and just a short while later our food was ready to go.
The meat was well cooked and both the red and mustard sauce were pretty good. The slaw was a bit bland in my opinion. I must say there were generous portions of bacon in the beans, which was good because they were pretty bland too. The potato salad was more like a mashed potato salad because the potatoes were not chunky, but pureed. They were delicious. All in all it was a decent meal, but just as I was about to polish off the slaw I discovered two hairs in my serving — ever diner’s worst nightmare. I pulled them out to verify the color, knowing they could easily have come from my own head. Alas, they were not. I’m a redhead and these hairs were blond. Oh dear…
I’m not one to make a fuss, so I simply didn’t finish the slaw and alerted the girl working the register that I found some hairs in my food, figuring that she would tell management and that hairnets or something would be required in the future. I didn’t ask for a refund, knowing that I would be writing a 2 star review due to the just-​ok food and the hair. A few minutes later my e-​receipt hits my inbox and I gave feedback through a prompt from Square. Not an hour later, I receive a note from management personally apologizing for the incident. Not only did they refund my money (which I did not ask for), they also gave my a $ 20 credit towards visiting the restaurant in the future. The excellent customer service is why I’m raising my review to 3 stars. I’ve had worse experiences with much more expensive restaurants where management has completely blown off my concerns/​comments. JJ’s made a simple mistake, but they handled the situation professionally and I truly felt as though my business was respected. To me, that’s more impressive than some good barbecue. We will definitely be going back to give them a second chance.

I can never come to VA and not visit JJ’s! The food is awesome and they are always coming up with new specials that never disappoint. Just tried their fried macaroni balls and they were killer. Can’t go wrong with their classics like the shack attack, hogs pen, or one of their pizzas. The best part about this place tho is Thurman! He is the nicest person you could ever «meat» haha he always goes out of his way to come meet me and my wife and friends when we come in and remembered our names after the first time! He cares about food and people and you experience that every time you eat here! It’s the best!

Honestly good food and the service was real Southern hospitality. We ordered a pork and beef combination platter that hit it out of the park. The beef was pink but not too rare and the pork was tender and flavorful. This was our first visit and we will be coming back for sure.

We stopped for lunch at JJs during our trip home to SC. We drove about 10 minutes off Route 81 to get to it (we found it from Unilocal recommendations) which irritated my husband, who was anxious to get home. He was quickly pleased we did. The atmosphere is exactly what you want from a barbeque joint. It’s simple, friendly, and well maintained. They had a fire going since it was winter, but I have no doubt this is also fantastic in the summer. They had great smoked meats and baked beans. We even took a few pounds of pork home with us. Wish I could take the whole place with us.

Went over to Lexington to catch the VMI basketball game. After the game went on the hunt for BBQ. We had drove past J. J’s earlier in the day. My Son and I both had the meat platter with two meats. I had pulled pork and beef brisket. My Son opted for two orders of beef brisket. Sides were greens, baked beans, and mac & cheese. The shak is neat and clean. food came out in less than 5 min’s. Everything was home cooked and terrific. The sauce was excellent too. But then came the shocker. I noticed a stone oven over to the side. A guy was making a thin pizza and cooking it in the stone oven. Folks we got a meat special to go for later. By the campfire that night we ate the cold pizza and to my surprise even cold it was the best pizza I have ever had. Bar none! J. J’s will be our go to place from this point on in the Lexington/​Buena Vista area. It puts the other BBQ joints to shame.

Best brick oven pizza in VA! Amazing ice cream and best selection of meat! And, don’t miss trying fries!

Great Q!!!
On a road trip from the west coast. Found this on Unilocal and it held up to the rating

The pork and beef sampler was very well prepared, nothing fancy, just delicious food at a great value. Good frys, good mac and cheese. Give me more sauces!

Great Food and Even Better Prices!
This place isn’t half bad! It’s pretty good! I ordered the Hog Pen, which is basically fries covered with cheese, pork, bbq sauce and slaw. It’s was wonderful! Only complaint I would have is that the fries weren’t exactly super crispy, but other than that it was great! The atmosphere is great!
It was packed on a Friday night, which is always a good sign.
Took about 10 – 15 for the food to come out, which isn’t too bad, just goes to show they really do make their food to order! Either that or they’re just slow… But overall it was a wonderful experience!

Great portions for low prices and good quality food. I have yet to try something I haven’t liked. Just wish there was more room to sit.

I eat here at least once a month and it is my favorite place in the area and I love the environment as well. Like some of the other reviews said, this is the best food in Buena Vista.
The Hog Pen is my favorite dish and I always get it with hand squeezed lemonade. It is a pile of French fries with nacho cheese spread across and pulled pork on top. I gave JJ’s 4 stars since often times the pulled pork is poor quality, being mostly just chunks of fat, and is only lightly sprinkled on top of the Hog Pen. Other than that, I love this place!

A restaurant with edible food in Buena Vista. Could it be true? I take all of my out of town guests to JJ’s and they all love it. I hated the fact I had to drive to a different town just to get edible food, but JJ’s is a game changer. In fact I think I’ll go there for dinner tonight. :)

Incredible food. Great service. Mom ‘n pop style restaurant.
I’m a local college student and just wanted to try something different. The selection was incredible, and everything was great. BBQ definitely rivaled anything else I’ve ever had.
I loved the fireplace inside – made for a cozy atmosphere. Everything was relaxed, and it is clear that the business owners take pride in their restaurant. They were polite and helpful the entire time.
I will definitely return and bring friends with me. See my picture! Your mouth will be watering at first glance.

Simply stated, JJ’s is the best thing happening in BV. While I can’t vouch for the entire menu, this place provides a very casual experience that is best suited for good weather.
Patio furniture sits under a covered pavilion with a nice fireplace on one end. Appropriately enough, they had an elevated tv playing the Food Network. I was lucky enough to visit after 4pm on Saturday when crispy pizza is available from their wood-​fired brick oven. I also had a pulled pork platter and while I fries attempted to steal the show, I was pleased with the quality of the meat.
Having been to plenty of bbq places over the years, I would certainly appreciate bottles of sauce on the table (they serve you a few ounces in a plastic container with your meal in a styrofoam to go box), but I was glad to hear they had three options — sweet, vinegar or mustard. Also, it would have been nice to have a beer (only sodas and water available). That being said, I was pleased with the prices and the overall experience.
If you are passing through, consider getting an order to go and bring it by the taproom at the Devil’s Backbone Outpost Brewery just a few miles away in Lexington. I don’t know how their business model is geared for the winter months, but this place is getting it done. Check their Facebook page for updates.