Sonny’s BBQ

We had lunch at Sonny’s in Gainesville today. Overall, I thought it was great. The food was awesome, the place was very clean and the staff is very helpful. Arguably, the best BBQ I’ve had.

This place is a hit or miss. I’ve been here when the ribs are fantastic, other times the the ribs and service so bad I just want my money back. If you like BBQ there are other places in Gainesville that are more consistent.

The worse service every time we go to this location. Waited to get my to go order no one came to the counter to say be right with you or nothing. When she finally came she started to tell the host that her money was stolen by a lady with dreads & that a customer called her and told her that and she was out confronting a customer. What the heck???

The food is great, but the service is horrible. My group had made reservations to eat lunch here and by the time we arrived, there were NO seats and the old lady at the front just stood there looking at us stupid as if it was our fault that they had no seats left. We were finally seated and the tables were filthy. The servers were rude and it was just an overall bad experience. This was my first time at this restaraunt as im not from the area and will NEVER come here again… I’ll go somewhere else…

I’ve come to this location quite a few times and have never been disappointed. I’m a creature of habit and hardly deviate from my sliced pork plate or sandwich with french fries & coleslaw or whatever side I feel like at that moment. Solid place for lunch and a great value for BBQ.

Really like the new updated look of this location. The smell of the wood smoked BBQ outside was amazing. We had friendly attentive service and the food was very good too. We had the baby-​back ribs and pulled pork sandwich. Both were tender and tasty. Best experience I have had at a Sonny’s in a while.

This location used to be decent. Not the best Sonny’s I’ve had, but certainly not the worst.
Last year, they had a new building built and knocked down their old one. And since getting their shiny new premises, the food quality has sharply decreased.
I like to get the salad bar when I go to this restaurant, or I used to. In this new restaurant, they seem to have taken several selections off the salad bar, particularly several fresh vegetables I like. I’ve been here three times in the new location, and it’s always (although, the third time, when I’d given up on the salad bar, they finally seemed to have fresh spinach again) lackluster.
One time, they even served me this burnt chili stew which was clearly scraped from the bottom of the pot. When I asked for a fresh serving, they informed me that no more was available.
I want to be fair to the restaurant, so I would like to point out that friends I’ve gone with have been perfectly happy with the food they’ve gotten, and the managers are generally (outside of the stew incident above) responsive to complaints.
Personally, I’m just irritated by the poor food quality and the incongruously high (for what it is) price.

This Sonny’s is just out of space then others Sonny’s we ever visited. Its new building but its not just the look. Even the taste is good. crew is good and fast. Kind of cold the A/​C run down too much but its all good. With jacket u are fine :). Pork, ribs, chicken … all delicious. Oh one minus !! They dont have tartar sauce anymore :((…

Lunch time.
I had the salad bar with a side of meat.
Sliced pork was perfect .
This location is a new building. Great design and they keep it clean .
Waitress did a good job.
Sonny’s meats are the best BBQ IMO.
I do enjoy 4Rs across the street, but the food is better here.

The food is good and the place is nice, but it is too cold in here. I can barely type. I won’t come back to this place, even with good food is is not worth it due to the A/​C, I feel I was eating in Buffalo during winter in a picnic.

UPDATE*** Sep 1, 2015.
We ordered take out again, each getting pulled pork dinners. Although our food tasted great, the female employee who was behind the take out counter did a TERRIBLE job. We waited for 45mins for our food after the 20mins she said it would take to be ready. We get there to pick up the food, tell her our name and she says it will be a min. We wait, wait and wait some more. While waiting, we watch two handfuls of people come in and get their food no issues. She then looks our way and ask, «What’s the name again?» We told her the name and she says, «Oh! That’s been done the whole time! I’m so sorry!» Then she grabs the bag that we have been staring at for the last 45mins.
The food was still awesome, but the service this go around was terrible.
****Original Review*****
Definitely satisfied our craving. This is our first time eating at this new rebuilt Sonny’s.
The interior is amazing. They did an amazing job on the construction and it is absolutely beautiful. There is nothing like the aroma of good BBQ cooking as well!
This visit, we decided to order take out. It was done in 10mins and we had zero issues picking up the food. We each got the spare ribs. Mine were St. Louis style and my wife’s were dry rub. They were both pretty darn tasty. I will say I have had better, but they did hit the mark. The fries were cooked well and the Mac and cheese was awesome. My wife said she didn’t really care for the BBQ beans as they were to vinegary. The garlic bread/​toast is always amazing. Next time, we will surely sit in and eat!
In past visits to the old building and the original off Waldo Rd, I usually stick with the pulled pork. Every time I get it I enjoy it. Although the last several years, it seems that the portions have gotten a little smaller and they smother it in sauce. Regardless, it’s still awesome pulled pork.
If you have a craving for real, good BBQ, you can never go wrong with Sonny’s!

Great Sonny’s. Ok, so it is a chain, when it is good, it is really good BBQ. With a lot of other places, you never know what you will get. I have been to many other Sonny’s, and they were either dirty, run-​down, or staffed with people who seemed to care less if you came back — in fact, they acted like it was a bother having you there in the first place, because it means that they have to work. Our server, was nice, friendly, and did a pretty good job keeping our glasses filled. The greeter, was friendly, and found us a table (I mean, what more do you expect from a greeter?) The food was good, warm, and not bad at all. I had the brisquit, and it was nice, Smokey flavor, and very little fat. It was also a generous portion size. I was stuffed when I left. I will definitely be back, next time I am out looking for food, and don’t want to be too adventurous with an unknown place.

The upgrade is really nice! Such a different feel to the restaurant (though I didn’t really mind the older more classic look from before).
We went on a Friday night with three people at around seven pm. We waited for about 15 minutes. I got the all you can eat ribs (currently $ 14.99). It might have been me, but I think the ribs got smaller and smaller with each progressive plate that I ordered. The sliced pork is a bit dry, but I suppose that’s what the sauces are for…
Sonny’s used to have great coupons. I wish they would give those out more often.

The enlightenment of Sonnys.
First of all. It’s so cold in there I can hardly get my fingers to type this review.
I informed the lady who greeted my that I wanted a booth. She said. Well you will have to wait. I don’t have any clean ones. Then she came and led me to a dirty booth and said. Sorry. I just cannot get them cleaned and had the attitude of eeyore, my Mac and cheese seemed to be cooked in Chapstick it was so waxy. My baked beans were lukewarm like the Mac and cheese and my pork sandwhich was lukewarm and served on cold hard garlic bread.
Well done Sonnys. Thank you for reminding me to stick to 4 rivers across the street.
You do not deserve the beautiful building your restaurant is in.

The new building is pretty… And big and acoustically against a crowd! I ordered the fried shrimp plate. Meh. Menu claims fresh coastal shrimp. An ample portion of butterflied, breaded shrimp arrived piping hot. I doubt the freshness claim as they tasted like something out of a box. I could be wrong, but then again, this is a BBQ place, not a seafood restaurant. On to the sides: beans and fries. Crispy fries.
Every table taken, lots of kids. 6PM Friday night, so can’t really be too mad at that. Waiter was cute and friendly, but not especially attentive.

Sonny’s is always a good choice!
The salad bar is fresh and the BBQ is consistently great! Today I had the smokin’ sweet wings and salad bar

Nice inside, and friendly staff. I just wasn’t very impressed with the food. The appetizer we tried (redneck eggrolls) was the star of the meal, because the ribs were 3 star, fries 4 star, cole slaw was 2 star, and what is up with the cornbread that tasted like a birthday cake!!!
Blagh!!! The cornbread gets a 0!!!

Recently remodeled the exterior and interior architecture is beautiful. Very homey and southern. The food is awesome. I recommend the turkey with the sweet bbq sauce. My server was very nice, excellent service

We ordered ribs for two (rubbed, without sauce so we could add our own favorite), and a pulled pork dinner. This was enough food to feed all four of us. The ribs were our favorite-​just the right amount of rub, tender, and delicious. Sweet sauce was the unanimous favorite. The coleslaw is average, baked beans have a unique flavor (possibly flavored with the mild sauce ingredients?), mac and cheese was a little mushy and needed just a bit of salt, but was good, and the corn on the cob was the standard, overcooked version found in many bbq joints. Will come again if we’re passing through.

After a month of smelling Sonny’s food every evening while walking my dog, I decided it was time to get in there and give my nose the satisfaction of what it’s been begging me to try. I was met with food and flair that did not meet the expectations given to me by the savory aromas that filled the air.
The décor was extremely dated, but they are in the midst of construction, so I won’t harp on them for the ugliness. I ordered sweet tea. I asked the waiter if it was super sweet; I like my tea Georgia sweet. He assured me that it was. If that’s sweet sweet tea, then I’m the queen of England.
We ordered chicken wings for an appetizer. They arrived at the exact same time as the meal. Nothing pisses me off more than an appetizer that arrives at the same time as the meal. Does that not negate the definition of the appetizer?
I ordered the ribs. The sauce was tasty, but the ribs were very far from ‘fall of the bone’. My husband ordered sausage and ribs. The sausage wasn’t seared. It was cooked, but didn’t have that seared shell that makes it tastier, if I’m making any sense.
The baked beans were tasty. Mac n cheese was worse than that from a box. Corn bread was okay. My husband reports that the baked potato was good.
This is a fine place to eat if you are in the mood for okay barbecue in a run down environment with average service at a decent price. Far from the best ribs I’ve ever tasted. Maybe close to the ugliest place I’ve ever seen. Would I eat there again? Yes. Is it my first choice for a barbecue dinner out? No.