Famous Dave’s

May be a fluke, or maybe things have changed, but today’s meal was a far cry from Famous Dave’s as I used to know it. Entrees were barely warm and really just did not have much flavor (half slab of ribs and a brisket sandwich). I swear it seemed like we were eating someone’s leftovers. And what happened to the french fries? They used to be real french fries and not the lazy «let’s chop a few potatoes up in big wedges and throw them in the fryer» type… except they had obviously been sitting around a while and hadn’t seen the fryer in a few hours. Anyway, it just wasn’t all that good, and the service was just… weird. Didn’t even eat all of the food and bought a small can of Pringles on the way home.

This is our «go to» rib place in N’ville…we have always appreciated that the ribs are lean, lean, lean! This trip was on Christmas Eve (2015) and we were craving ribs! We put in our order for the extra large rack of ribs (12 bone) with the caveat to make sure that the ribs were very, very, very, very (4 very’s) lean. What came out was not what we ordered. There was a layer of fat just under the top – we sent it back and got a visit from the manager on duty with an apology and explanation of how it can’t be determined in the kitchen as to the «lean-​ness» of the rack. We got a second rack and it was perfection – what we always expect from Famous Dave’s. Our waiter told us that the manager, himself, prepared the second rack. Thank you… we’ll be back!

The best parts of this restaurant are the atmosphere, both in and out on their covered patio. Unfortunately, it’s not quite distracting enough to hide the numerous, tough pieces of meat in the entrees. It was as if the meat had been cooked twice as long as it should have been. I ordered the pulled pork sandwich, and I kept pulling strips of leather out of my mouth. My boyfriend ordered a half rack of ribs. There was almost no meat left to eat, as most appeared to had been dehydrated, and shriveled to near nothingness. The side items were ok, but nothing special. If this place were half the price it is, I still would t recommend it. It just wasn’t anything worth bragging about.

Been here often, just the first time after joining Unilocal.When we go for Barbaque we go to Famous Dave’s — love the selection! When family visits we stop by for a few feasts. Tonight we started with the Sweet Water Catfish, cooked to perfection. Then we had the feast for two, because we love the selection — ribs, chicken, and brisket. Great Tuesday night!

This is our favorite BBQ place to eat! The food is amazing and the staff is great as well. Austin is a great server and does a great job at suggesting different foods to try. He talked me into trying the collard greens which I thought would be NASTY, but I actually liked and if you sprinkle some of the cornbread it it is delish!!! Definitely try this place you will not be disappointed.

Famous Dave’s catered our wedding at Arrington Vineyards, and we couldn’t be happier. The food was seriously delicious, our guests kept raving about it. The pulled pork and mac n cheese were great, in particular. We loved working with Famous Dave’s throughout — they were professional and positive, despite our many requests to change the menu or update our guest count. They even accommodated our vegetarian guests with grace. Thank you, Famous Dave’s!

Always a great choice in Cool Springs! Working near here I frequent this place weekly. The staff knows me by name and I appreciate that. The burgers are surprisingly tasty for a BBQ joint bit the ribs and pulled pork are even better. The prices are good and they have a frequent guests tablet at the front. Simply enter your phone number and every sixth meal is free. For people that come often it is great.
On Fridays thru Sunday they also feature a steak special which is smoked and then grilled to order. Trust me you will want to make a special trip in just to give it a shot! I believe it was about sixteen dollars plus two sides included. Not a bad deal for steak.
The décor is a bit dated here and there but still a great place to visit and enjoy some good food! And they do have a drive thru in case you just need to pick something up to go.

I like famous Dave’s ribs — which comes with 2 sides. I am only giving two stars because they are really cheap with their sides. Sides that come with dinner are small portions and if you want a baked potato or green salad– my two favs– you have to pay $ 2.00 extra–
Not good!
I had brisket this time — which was dry, even with sauce (wouldn’t order again).

Great ambiance and food. The cornbread is good and the feast for one it was very good. Wife had the catfish which she didn’t care for but the waiter quickly replaced it with the pulled pork.

Friendly staff… Fast service… Good food … will be back each time I am in town.

I mean. It was all good! The tips, the chicken… you cant go wrong. The servers were friendly and it wasn’t crowded. Im definitely coming back.

The quantity was perfect. The sauce choices are good. The meat is pretty good. Nothing to write home about, but if I want BBQ in that area I will stop by again.

Love coming here except for today. It’s Easter, drove ½ hr to get here and they say no baby back ribs! That’s why I came here. Make sure you call a head if that is want.

I wasn’t impressed. I will not be going back. There are far too many establishments to make this one a repeat.

This place was convenient since it was close to the mall. I must agree service was slow but the server was friendly and apologetic. Food was just ok. Not a place I would revisit.

After a long day of shopping at the nearby mall all we wanted was a great meal for dinner. Famous Dave’s was very close by so we stopped in there even though we had never heard of it. Well it was a great choice! We were a party of 6 so we ordered the feast. The feast is a loaded meal for 4 – 6 (more like 6) with ribs, brisket, chicken, fries, corn, beans, cole slaw, and corn muffins all for only $ 60. All 6 of us are till we were full and still had a bit left. Great food great customer service!

The food here is very nice
Price is rather good,
I tried it on a monday night so it was pretty empty .
Service was so slow I have no idea what the waitress was doing but it was not serving tables.
the BBQ sauces are rather nice.
place would be great if you did not have to look at a menu for 15 min when you’re hungry and the staff never did bring my last drink.

After a long day at the client site and in town from Miami I decided to be bad and come here for dinner alone. It’s yucky and rainy and I’m from Miami so this weather made me hungry; food gives me a hug haha. I decided to sit at the bar and the bartender/​server was Andy who was very nice and provided excellent service to everyone equally. I was over hearing his convos with other guests. So welcoming, warm, and friendly. I proceeded to order the beef brisket with Mac & Cheese and greens. Can we say heaven in my mouth?!? The beef brisket was to die for. Andy suggested try adding Texas Pete’s Pepper Sauce to the greens and whew! What a great kick that gave it. I then had the bread pudding being greedy which I could not finish but it was also AMAZING !! I have zero complaints… Well, maybe only about the weather but not this place! Thanks to Andy!

I wavered between 2 and 3 stars here, this is like a 2.3 stars review. Service was entry level with some big time gaps between check ins, food was fine but not nearly as good as the one I used to frequent in Chicago. It’s not horrible but I was not blown away either. I will not make a special trip to come back. Near the Cool Springs mall.

A couple of weeks ago, I was having a hankerin’ for some ribs, and hubby and I headed to Famous Dave’s. I can’t think of the last time we had such an inclination, been years.
We have visited this location before, and randomly over the years also visited locations in Knoxville and elsewhere.
Way back when, I remember thinking Famous Dave’s was the bomb of BBQ and ribs… like ultra delicious awesome. And our dinner the other night was fine, don’t get me wrong, but the ultra delicious awesomeness just wasn’t there.
In their favor, the wait was not long at all, which for Cool Springs is great. The service was OK, but not especially speedy nor especially attentive.
Our entrees were good, but again that put-​their-​name-​in-​lights factor wasn’t coming across for me. The food wasn’t especially warm, which is OK for some things — but makes me think either our server was too overbooked or didn’t care. My baked sweet potato wouldn’t melt the butter because of temperature, that should tell you something.
Good cornbread, that almost got their name in lights once again, but now that I have Jim & Nick’s baby cheesy cornbread like muffins just down the road — my allegiances have changed a bit.
Will I give them a second chance? Sure, at some point. But it will probably be a while.