Social BBQ

Haven’t been there for drinks yet but this place kinda sucks as far as food goes. If
you go for taco Tuesday though tacos are $ 1 which is pretty sweet

Been to social about 5 times since they opened a few months ago and they have improved tremendously. The first two times the food was cold and menu was poor but that was the first day and second week they were open. The past three times we have been it has been great. Food is delicious and unique, they definitely nail that southern feel and taste. The prices are lower than expected ($ 10 or less for almost every meal) and they have a large beer/​drink selection. The view and atmosphere throughout are refreshing for harrisonburgs small downtown scene. There is nothing better than the roof which includes it’s own bar and the music is perfect, not your typical top 40 but a great mix of 70s 80s 90s and early 2000s. Overall amazing restaurant and spot. I’ve lived In Harrisonburg for 7 years and it’s exactly the type of variety we need!

Loved this place! Great music, great food and great waiters. Siracusa ranch, firecracker shrimp and the southern friend chicken wings were to die for! Go here!!!

Loved the food. Loved the service. Sat on the roof top and loved the view! I would highly recommend this restaurant!

Okay… So I didn’t read any reviews about this place, but they redid their menu and it’s AMAZING.
First off, rail drinks are $ 3.50 all the time… Awesome. Their beer selection is really good as well.
We had the «firecracker shrimp» as an appetizer, and they were very good. If you like spicy, get this. We also got the appetizer wings, and I would HIGHLY recommend these. They are very smoky, and I don’t even think they need sauce. With that being said, the siracha ranch it came with was BOMB.
For my meal, I got the «Raph Burger.» It was a very wholesome burger, also very unique. I got sweet potato tots with that, which were also delicious. Wasn’t a huge fan of the honey butter dipping sauce, so I just ate them plain (which was great).If you love local food, come here. You will not be disappointed.
On a side note, the music is epic. It’s a mix of classic songs you grew up with in the 90’s, and mega awesome rock jams. This place needs to stay in Harrisonburg, so please support it! I’ll be back for sure.
We had a server named Megan, who was EXCELLENT. If you want an awesome experience, go with her. She made her way up to check on us on the roof at least 15 times (in the rain), and she gave us some amazing suggestions, all of (obviously) were amazing. A++++ server!
I wouldn’t be writing this review if I wasn’t extremely impressed, so come here and please find out for yourself!!!

Excellent collard greens! We liked them so much we ordered a 2^nd helping. Fried pickles were also awesome! Really enjoyed the ribs and great BBQ sauces to put on it. Beans were OK; either they picked a recipe to be just like Heinz beans or they are using Heinz beans. Would definitely recommend. Prices were very reasonable, and good ambience. Very attentive service

Got roped into a bar crawl and heard that things in the kitchen changed… So I thought I would try out the Mac and cheese I was previously super disappointed by (1^st time there it was chalky and flavorless) and the new do is AWESOME MAC. And it has pepper that makes it flavory but not too much. Banging.
Also, no weird drink/​service issues as before.
Totally wanna come back and eat the wings and ribs. I think when I come back for the full experience this joint would totally get 4 at minimum based on the amazing sauce tasting I got in on.

The Q chicken bLT is unbelievable!!! The meat is fresh and nicely smoked. Waiter was amazing and well informed. Great place for a nice lunch

While visiting family in Harrisonburg, we were directed to Social BBQ as it was fairly new and we wanted something other than a chain restaurant. It is recognizable and easy to spot when you are downtown as you can see the tables and umbrellas on top of the roof. Since it was a nice day out we decided to eat outside up there.
It was a Friday evening about 6:30 and we were seated immediately. The waiter was great and he kept checking up on us every so often. Unfortunately, it took us nearly an hour to get our food (there was 4 of us). It wasn’t a huge deal to us as we just sat their talking and enjoying our time together, but we were definitely hungry. That was my first complaint. My second complaint was the beer. It was mildly chilly at best. The mountains weren’t even blue!
What saved this review from getting 2-​stars was indeed the food. I ordered the riblet sandwich and mac ‘n cheese. It also came with cole slaw. It was very tasty and tender. I enjoyed trying out the different sauces on the table (there were 6). My favorite was the root beer infused sauce.
Honestly, my favorite thing about the place was the atmosphere and the view from the roof. The nearly room temperature beer really put me off. If I lived in the area I don’t think I would return any time soon. I would likely wait a while and see if they can get any of the kinks worked out. Hopefully your experience will be better if you decide to go!

Curious travelers exploring Harrisonburg and thirsty. Very pleased with the social platter. An excellent mid-​afternoon break for the three of us to share.

Do yourself a favor and pass on this place in favor of either restaurant flanking them. Beer and food were served mildly warm. Taste was bland and unappealing We ordered pork nachos, mac&cheese, grilled veg sandwich. Maybe we ordered the worst things on the menu? No excuse for tepid beer though.

Good meat and the pulled pork sandwich is incredible. Limited menu and the pulled pork nachos are terrible with a funky cheese sauce. Rooftop seating is sooo nice up top

Went on a Sunday, and got the brunch menu (which stops at 3). The rooftop was breezy, and the smoke came up to our area as well. Plenty of people still eating at 2:30 ish. Took a while to get food after we ordered, and some parts didn’t come out at the same time.
Cornmeal griddle cakes are not as corn-​flavored as I’m used to and slightly burnt, but still good. The waiter had to go back to retrieve the honey butter, and that took a little while. It’s sweet, and was warm. The beef brisket sandwich was tender, but many of the sauces were too watered-​down. Potato salad was so-​so, and the coleslaw was bad. Also, the sides are not listed on the menu, but the waiter went thorough the options for us. Drinks were so-​so as well.
I might try again while sitting inside.

Tried this place on a whim with my boyfriend tonight. Drinks took 15 minutes to get to the table. The food was very very mediocre. I had the chicken sandwich which nicely came with pieces of bone/​tendons in it. And a choice of one side. I chose the sweet potato tots which may have been the only good thing there. The cole slaw is served in a 2oz sauce tasting dish which I guess was good? Cause that also tasted like a waste of my money. My boyfriend had the brisket sandwich but he eats anything… anyway, I don’t recommend this place. Such a waste of an awesome location. The rooftop bar is amazing. Food is not.

Went there with friends earlier this week and the service was okay, but the food was below average. However, we went again last night and we will not be going back. The service was horrible and the food was worse than before. The waitress took our drink order and my friend ordered a ginger ale. She said they didn’t have ginger ale «upstairs». I’m assuming she means that if you want ginger ale you have to go to the bar downstairs, but that doesn’t seem fair since we ordered beer and mixed drinks that she had to go to the bar to get anyways. Then she gave us two menus for four people and asked us three times in five minutes if we were «ready to order yet». We mentioned the lack of menus, but she didn’t bother bringing more. The place was not that busy, there were several open tables, but it really seemed like she wanted us in and out. Also, she brought me the wrong beer and when I told her she said they were out of the one I ordered. Then she sat the substitute beer down and left… guess I don’t get a choice. My husband ordered cole slaw and mac and cheese, but got baked beans instead of slaw. Our friends sides were wrong, too, and they found part of a receipt in the bbq and a piece of plastic in the mac and cheese. The waitress said she would let the manager know. The manager did not bother coming by, they just told the waitress to give them half off. Poor service, poor management, and the food was just not good. The pulled pork was dry, the collards are sugary sweet, and the potato salad and mac and cheese were bland. The brisket was okay, but they only had shredded and not sliced. The prices are far too high for the quality of food and service provided and their menu options are slim.
I absolutely would not recommend wasting your money here!

Absolutely phenomenal eats! We had family in town so we ordered 2 appetizers – the hush puppies and the pork nachos. Everything was perfectly cooked and seasoned. Normally hush puppies are dripping in grease but not here. They were crunchy yet melted in your mouth. The nachos were also a crowd favorite! The delicious flavors of smoked pork, fresh tomatoes and jalapeños danced on your taste buds! For our meals we had the pulled pork and brisket sandwiches. Again all of the meat was cooked and seasoned perfectly. The boardwalk fries, baked beans and mac and cheese were excellent side dishes. Overall this was one of the best meals around. True southern BBQ with a great atmosphere and staff !

Definitely welcoming the change as I wasn’t a fan of Rick’s Cantina. I stopped by on opening night and was impressed by their awesome beer selection. The atmosphere was a little hectic and the employees clearly weren’t settled in yet but I wouldn’t expect much different the first week. The food was pretty good although the menu was somewhat lacking.
EDIT:
Dropped 2 stars for visit #2. No cans/​bottles were available from the beer list. EVERYTHING was cold. Hostess told us to seat ourselves? The heck? HOP HUNTER WAS $ 7 ON DRAFT — ARE YOU JOKING??? I can make better BBQ at home and it will actually be warm. Also, do not get your hopes up with the sides. Not only do they suck but they’re VERY small servings.
I expect this place to be out of business by 2016.

Liked: Friendly staff, vegetarian options (at a BBQ place!), reasonable prices
Loved: fried pickles not too breaded, sweet potato tots were awesome
Needs improvement: hush puppies were a huge overbreaded mess and tasted bitter, vegetarian tacos were too juicy and need more tofu, chicken bbq nachos were fatty and served cold
Verdict: will definitely go back to try out more of their menu and to enjoy the rooftop ambiance

I went to Social BBQ yesterday, and I was beyond impressed. The service from Bethel, Cassie, and Manager Bobby was absolutely impeccable. The owner stopped by to make sure everything was perfect, and I told him that it was. Bartender Megan had just gotten off, and she definitely enhanced the experience with her witty jokes and awesome conversation. The Pulled Chicken Sandwich with the Southern Mac N’ Cheese will definitely be ordered by me again. The Rye Barbecue sauce really topped the sandwich off! Prices are great, beer selection is great, the experience is great. Make sure you hit the rooftop bar for an excellent view of downtown Harrisonburg during the summer!