This Is It! BBQ & Seafood

«This Is It»… Maybe that is not the best name for this restaurant but over all it was good but nothing that I would crave. I ordered BBQ chicken which was superb !! The chicken was cold but the sauce is succulent. My side dishes consisted of Mac & cheese and collar greens. I enjoyed The greens which were very flavorful. Mac&cheese was good but not the best I had! My boy ordered the smother pork chops and it was to die for!!! The restaurant was clean with a classy décor The great thing is they will allow you to sample the food prior to ordering. The fried fish fry extra hard is one of my favorite dishes !

The good was decent. Good but nothing spectacular. Great service though. I had the salmon with rice, cabbage, and cornbread. Rice was a bit cool. Cornbread was not really that great. But everything else was good

This place is a cross between a cafeteria and a sit down restaurant. Strange, but very friendly. It was also very clean. They have all the food out like a buffet in a cafeteria, but after they made my plate, they threw it in the microwave for a second right in front of me. I thought the rib and chicken were very good but expensive. 2 ribs, 1 small thigh quarter & 2 sides $ 16. Then I felt obligated to leave tip for the guy that brought me my drink and cleared my tray. A slightly larger portion would probably have made me feel better about the place.

So I decided to stop here on my way home
From the airport. I was craving some BBQ. I ordered beef ribs, fried corn and Mac and cheese and potato salad. It came to $ 18. Yep… 18 bucks. I almost passed out. I didn’t question it I rolled with it. I slightly exceed the speed limit because the smell of the BBQ had me excited and hungrier by the minute so I was rushing to get home to eat. When I sat down and opened the box, my ribs looked dark brown. I was hoping they tasted better than they looked. After minutes of trying to separate the meat from the bone I tasted it and it tasted exactly like BBQ beef jerky… But beef jerky was more moist than these ribs. I was over done! $ 18 for jerky! That’s insane. Let’s talk about the corn they call fried corn. There is nothing fried about this corn. The texture is that of vomit and the taste was slightly better. (Don’t act like you never threw up in your mouth) The corn has a nasty gelatinous texture. Just nasty. I’m still mad I spent $ 18 on this. That explains the new sign they had that stated «no refunds». If I ever come back here I would stick to fried fish and green veggies only. Smh shame on you This is It. But the name says it all This is It meaning our one day relationship is over. This Is It should be called This Is Sh! t. You must do better… Your food is not delicious.

All naysayers need to go away! This Is It always hits the spot to this Northerner Implant. The rib tips and the sweet potato soufflé are all I need to make me float away to my childhood.

I used this location to cater my baby shower. The guests loved it. I ordered bbq chicken, collard greens, potatoe salad and Mac n cheese

Ok well I live in Oakland .ca and was visiting my sister, while driving around with a buddy from long beach, we got hungry, so stopped into the restaurant in lithonia, ga and BAM and it was on HIT at this is it!!! The employees made me feel VERY welcomed, the place was very clean, man the food was tasty, I had 2 piece Tilapia, mac and cheese, so I took the menu home and put it on my refigerator, to remind me of very tasty good experience, people in GA are very lucky to have Thisisitbbq at their reach. I will beeee back! Peace.

Let me take the liberty to explain the difference between SOUL food and SOUTHERN food. «Southern» food (in my opinion) tends to be considerably blander. While Southern style food may LOOK the same as soul food, it just doesn’t have the same depth of flavor. Soul food on the other hand, doesn’t hold back on the seasoning. So when I walk into a «soul food» restaurant, if the seasonings aren’t bursting onto my taste buds immediately, they might as well take my plate back to the kitchen… or as one African-​American grandmother I once knew would say, «Throw that back in the river!»
This Is It is in my Top 3 list when looking for soul food around metro Atlanta. I must say not everything here is great, but their catfish fillets, chitterlings and sweet potato soufflé are second to none! Oxtails n’ gravy are also delicious and the creamed corn, mac n’ cheese, green beans and potato salad are well above average.
Sadly, what I would avoid here are the rib tips and ribs. Let me preface that by saying IF you can score their ribs or tip fresh off the grill, they are fantastic. The main problem with the ribs is their tendency to sit under warmers for hours becoming hardened and chewy. I also believe that the ribs you eat on your visit are probably not cooked the same day (just a hunch). I’ve had the pleasure of eating them freshly cooked before and they were truly delicious! But more often than not I’ve had the reheated chewy ones which inadvertently has caused me to stop ordering the ribs here altogether. You just never know which ribs you are getting.
My mom didn’t heed my warning today and ordered the rib tips anyway. She quickly discovered the tender rib tip she was allowed to sample was a far cry from the chewy mass she was served. She returned them for pork chops in gravy instead.
Today’s meal with my mom included:
— Chitterlings (5+ stars) | $ 32 for large
— Catfish Fillets (5+ stars) | $ 12.49
— Rib Tip Meal (2.5 stars) | $ 11.49
— Pork Chop & Gravy (3.5 stars) | No Charge
SIDES
— Sweet potato soufflé (5 stars) $ 3.29
— Cream Corn (4 stars) $ 3.29
**items below came with meal**
— Mac n’ Cheese (4.5 stars)
— Potato Salad (5 stars)
— Cabbage (5 stars)
— Rice & Gravy (3 stars)
— Corn bread (3.5 stars)
While I prefer my moms mac n’ cheese (which is baked with chunks of cheese in a blend of seasonings, milk and eggs cooked to perfection), I also appreciate the super cheesy mac n’ cheese versions. This Is It firmly sits in the cheesy mac n’ cheese camp, but it is very nicely seasoned.
FINAL THOUGHT
It disappoints me to see the overall rating averages at many of their stores considering how packed each location is on any given day. Their popularity is undeniable and if you always go by Unilocal ratings your gonna miss out on a gem of a restaurant! Some dishes are just ‘meh’ while others are outstanding; You just gotta know what to order. For example, the ‘whole’ catfish is terrible while the catfish fillets are the best in the city. I’m also not a fan of their fried chicken, but the baked & BBQ chicken are both excellent.
SIDE NOTE: My mom is a great cook! Every time she gets off the plane to visit me here in Atlanta she insists we go to This Is It. I’ve been taking her to the Memorial Drive location for years, but now that we’ve tried this location we’re hooked. Although finding the restaurant through the maze-​like parking lot is rather odd, it has a beautiful and welcoming interior, friendly staff and dare I say the food tastes better than other locations! Bonus, it’s just minutes from the airport.

My friends and I travel to Atlanta once a year to attend a music festival and we always go to eat to this place before getting on our way back to Miami. It is NEVER a disappointment. The food is just great! They have a large choice of meat and sides, my favorites are the ribs, the mac & cheese and the potatoes salad! Even if you are not hungry anymore you want to finish it all just to enjoy all those amazing flavors! Add to that a very friendly staff who greet you as you get inside, the servers are very attentive all meal long, it just makes your experience even better!
We will be back next year! Thanks!

The place is clean and nice. The people are nice. My favorite dish was the potato salad. I in my opinion didn’t like the food but the staff and what they are trying to do is good. The food just needs more seasoning or something…

I wasn’t expecting to enjoy this place as much as I did but THIS… a WAS… IT!!! I’m giving 4 out of five stars because EVERYTHING we ate was VERY GOOD, but nothing was exceptional. My barbecued chicken was tender, juicy, and flavorful with a great sauce. The Mac and cheese and steamed cabbage sides hit the spot and had great homemade southern flavor with perfect seasons and oooooh the candied yam casserole was so delicious. The cornbread was sweet and cooked perfectly soft with the right crunch. The service was great with attentiveness, great timing, and genuine friendliness. I’d return without question if I was in the area again. Although I wouldn’t say you should go out of your way for it, if you’re in the area check them out

I am STILL speechless how this place made the Steve Harvey/​Neighborhood Awards Best Barbecue list. It is all fresh out of a frozen package, or reconstituted from a powder mass produced and processed.
The ribs are oven boiled (not even a culinary term) in barbecue sauce. The macaroni and cheese is certainly not baked macaroni and cheese more like stirred in powdered cheese and elbow noodles. Yet the parking lot is always a waiting game and the lines inside are typically out of the door??? SMHOAOAOAOA. Are people really that desperate?
I’ve tried 3 different locations and I’m positive they don’t deserve the award. That’s like saying McDonald’s is the best burger place in any where…

The food was good, southern style cooking. I like the fact that you can see it before you get it and they offer take-​out without any issues.
They are friendly and they will let you sample anything if you have a question about it.

Pretty good.
Pinto beans were excellent
BBQ chicken was very good
Nice open atmosphere
Staff friendly and efficient

This restaurant was simply wonderful. I had a taste for some soul food and this restaurant satisfied my taste buds. I had to whiting, mac & cheese, and greens. I would definitely go there again.

This wasn’t it for me (insert multiple cheesy name plays here if I had more time).
I went in really wanting to like this place, like really and truly wanting to love it.
I visited This is It on a Saturday afternoon with a group of 12 ppl. No problem, this place is buffet style right? Should be easy enough.
I ordered fried chicken, which took 35 minutes to make. Salty as hell! Strike one.
Mac n Cheese was cold and greasy. Strike two.
Bland collards, strike three.
Basically I was sol on this meal.

This place was a hit with our group! So it’s Monday afternoon and in walks our group of almost 20 adults & kiddos. To most places this would be utter chaos, but much to our delight we were greeted with warm smiles & hellos. One thing that stood out was how clean they were. Tables, floors, fountain drink area and ladies room were all kept up well.
There are a variety of meal options from bbq, seafood, chicken, and various southern style sides. I like the fact they have postings of dishes which will require additional wait time to allow for fresh cooking of the meal.
Since we were so large, we were seated in the banquet room which had plenty space. We had a variety of meals on the table and all were pleased with their selections. I personally went for the rib tips w/​spicy bbq sauce, potato salad, cole slaw. The rib tips were tender & the spicy sauce was good. Slaw & potato salad were ok, but nothing to write home about. The portion of rib tips given was so much, I had plenty to take home.
I also had a sampling of their grilled shrimp & oooooh man those suckers were good! Wish I’d ordered some to go. Tasted the fried chicken & it was legit southern fried chiken. Not too salty, fresh crunchy crust. And I LOOOOOVED their Georgia Peach punch! It was sweet without being over done like many places will do. Our waitress recommened mixing the punch w/​lemonade & man oh man was it killer!
The service here was great! From ordering to seating to checking in on us periodically for refills & to –go boxes/​orders. I really wish I could remember our waitresses name because she was awesome!!! She worked that room so effortlessly & with the Southern hospitality that makes me love being from the South :-) Great place to visit while in ATL.

Oh This Is It! Yes, it is!!! There is NO other like YOU! Lalalalalalalallalala! Hallelujah! All praises to whoever is back there cooking this HEAVENLY goodness! The mac n cheese is the BESTEST in the WORLD– yes, better than YOURS and your mama’s. The green beans are perfect, the potato salad isn’t crunchy, the broccoli rice casserole is cheeses and as it SHOULD be, and the CHOPPED BBQ PORK– why, hush your mouth!!! Hush it, and put a bite of this on perfectly buttered Texas toast in it!
Customer service is friendly and should be followed by every establishment in town!
Oh, I could gush on and on! You NEED to be HERE!!! Consistently the same for the 18 years I’ve been eating here!

Wow, and to think of ALL the times I drove past this place around the city! Where to begin?
Staff:
They were very friendly and helpful! You walk through this line to what looks like a buffet sort of like Subway but you don’t touch the food only the chef does! You then pay for the food after telling them what you want and find a seat where they will bring anything else out to you that you may have ordered (for me this was the whiting which was cooked-​to-​order).
Food:
Absolutely delicious! All black people love chicken, lol, okay MOST black ppl love chicken and I appreciated the fact that this place had options! You could choose between smoked, fried, and they might have baked (I’ll get back to you in that). Everything was delicious. I ordered the whiting, macaroni and cheese, cornbread, and cabbage! The cabbage was so awesome! Almost had a slight sweetness to it but not too much! The Mac was on point as well! Baked and very cheesy! The wings which belonged to my son were sooooo good! I felt bad for originally only asking for one which ended up being 2, then 3, and it went bad from there! LOL
The restaurant was very clean and welcoming. Great location right outside of two major hotels. Why don’t I ever have nice places to eat by hotels that I stay in when out of town?!
Higghhhhhlllly recommend !!!

Rib tips were excellent! I’ve never had grits with corn but these grits were sooooo good. Yummy baked beans & cornbread. The food is on point!