Gibson Big Bob Bar-B-Q

I’ve been eating at this location since I was a child! The interior is nostalgic for me & the food is always perfect. BBG is the ultimate comfort food.

The best smoked turkey in the World! I consider myself quite the bbq aficionado. I have had bbq from Chicago to KC, Texas, Atlanta and the Carolina’s. My brother even competes in bbq competitions and we have had our own competitions within our family. Big Bobs has been on my bucket list for years and I was excited to finally try this place. Whenever I go to a place like this, I want to try everything. I’m also a believer that no one does everything perfect but everyone has their specialties. So I ordered brisket, ribs, pulled pork, smoked chicken and turkey. The ribs were good as was the brisket. Not the best I have ever had, but they were good. The smoked chicken in their famous white bbq sauce was outstanding. Lightly smokey and moist. The smoked turkey was unbelievable. Easily one of the best meats I have ever had. I have tried smoked turkey at other bbq locations and tried to make it myself. No one does it like Big Bobs! You could argue my rating could be 4 stars but due to how amazing their chicken and turkey is, its a 5 star in my book. If I ever end up within a few hours of this place, I would drive their to get their turkey and chicken. The best smoked turkey in the world!

I was looking forward to eating here, while I was driving my wife gave me directions.
Unfortunately we ended up at this location, food was OK.
I am sure the main location would be better!

The BBQ is hit or miss. When its fresh Its good. I like the new sides. Their chicken is probably their best offering, its pretty good on a daily basis. The Danville Rd. Location has a unfriendly staff and really makes it hard to want to come back for average BBQ.

Excellent baked potatoes. Stuffed to the brim. Ordered pork potato all the way and an a loaded potato with no sour cream. If you order these and go away hungry, then something is wrong. Service was fast and courteous.

Just got through with lunch here.
Restaurant is a little dated, but very clean. We were seated right away, and the service was great.
I had the Big Bob Gibsons Combo plate, with ribs and pulled pork. The ribs were great, and the only thing holding back the pulled pork was it was a little dry.
One thing, I thought the beans could be better.
I do not rate BBQ places at 5 star, so I give Bob’s a solid 4 star.

Not impressed at all the meat has no favor. if I have to put sauce on it to make good. Why don’t I just drink the sauce.

This place was featured on Food Network for it’s Smoked Turkey. So, I decided to try the brisket and Turkey. The brisket was lean and tender and flavorful. Not much of a smoke ring or bark. The turkey was a little dry, but packed with flavor. Not a fan of the white sauce as it had too much acidity which took away from the flavor of the meat. The regular BBQ sauce was excellent and packed with flavor. The potato salad was good. The cole slaw was interesting, but I prefer the regular slaw and crunchiness that brings to a BBQ dinner.
Overall, not the best BBQ I have ever eaten, but I have had a lot worse.

I’ve had frozen BBQ that was better! It’s the McDonalds of BBQ. Even had a drive through window and the slaw looked like a green snow cone scooped by a scooper. The guy who recommended this place got me good! I thought that maybe I chose the wrong place, but when I went to the other location, I found it was the same thing! Next time I’ll skip BBQ when not in Texas, Memphis, St Louis or any other respectable place. I felt like I was served ALPO dog food!

I had such high hopes for this place. I’ve even read the Big Bob Gibson’s BBQ Book. Being from Los Angeles and constantly hearing how much bbq out there pales in comparison to true southern bbq, my fiancée and I went a few hundred miles out of our way while moving to Virginia just so I could get Big Bobs. Once we got to Decatur it was raining, and as we were in a moving truck had no access to a car. So we walked a mile each way in the rain just to get to what I had built up in my head (especially after hearing the rave reviews of bbq gurus) as a bbq shrine…
Boy was I disappointed. The chicken was dry, the pulled pork was bland, and the best part about it was the baked beans. I was absolutely crushed. The service was not very good either … so pretty much nothing saved this place for me. I made my own white sauce at home that was twice as good as the bottled that Big Bobs originated and served.
Again, I was just absolutely crushed. But I had heard just such great things that I wanted to give them another chance so I got back in line and got ribs to go. I wanted so badly to be able to love this place. They didn’t have any bags for me to carry the food in, so I had to wrap my container in newspaper so it would survive the mile plus walk back to the hotel in the pouring rain. When I got back to the hotel room and tried the ribs again I was yet again crestfallen.
The Memphis bbq I had was also far below my expectations… so maybe true southern bbq is a myth, or perhaps I’ve just been to all the wrong places so far, or at all the wrong times. I don’t know, all I know is I want some bbq on this side of the country that just blows me away with it’s quality.
Seeking bbq, willing to travel!

I tried the mayonnaise based bbq sauce, and it reminded me of a peppery ranch dressing. The cole slaw was not the creamy kind I prefer, but it was more like vinegary cole-​sawdust. I did not like their take on coleslaw. The brisket was lean, and the sauce was good — but my favorite bbq is still Cecil’s in Orlando. I’m sure this is blasphemy, but it’s just how my taste buds see it.
They did have most awesome pebbled ice, for that they get an extra star cause that is the best ice ever.

If this were the Gibson’s in Huntsville, it would be a 4 – 5 star review. I’ve been coming to Gibson’s as long as I can remember for the award winning BBQ. The pulled pork is outstanding, but their chicken with the white BBQ sauce is superb. People in Texas think white BBQ sauce sounds bizarre, but let me tell you… it is delish and should not be missed on your tour of N. Alabama! You can even buy a bottle to take home and share the goodness of white BBQ sauce from Gibson’s! YUM!
The sides and desserts are mediocre at this outpost of Gibson’s. The service was not very friendly and I didn’t think the restaurant looked particularly clean. Most disappointing was the Brunswick Stew. We used to buy it by the gallon in Huntsville, but the stuff here was a watery mess. Sad.
If you eat here, pretend you are on the Atkins diet and just eat the meat. It is the way to go!