Jim ‘n Nick’s Bar-B-Q

Great bbq and clean environment. My vendor took my here for lunch when I was in town and I had a great lunch. Catfish was excellent and the sauces were solid. The muffin biscuits they give are to die for. I’m glad I don’t like around here because I’d be eating this way too often.

Food was amazing! However I was not impressed with the service especially our waiter. We had a party of 7 and it appeared that the waiter might’ve been overwhelmed with a bigger group. All of our entrees came out at the same time except for one! And right after we were all done eating, the waiter brought the checks asap and I felt that we were getting kicked out!

Absolutely outstanding food and service. Best meal I have had in Alabama. I would highly recommend.

Waiter was absolutely the WORSE!!! DAMN DANIEL, he talked to the guest next to us, joking around, he was slow about the refills and biscuits. I was so excited about coming here but not sure if I will come back it’s been over 30 mins and NO food yet. I ordered the wedge salad with beef, dressing on the side, son had the kids rib plate with baked beans and other son ordered the pig on the bun with sweet potatoes and mac & cheese. He walked away with my sweet potato casserole 3 x the waiter passed by helped me more then Daniel… UGH! Food was good though

The food was good. The best part is the cheddar biscuits. Service was great. Thought drinks were pricey. Not a great place for happy hour

This will always be a great place to take your family! I love their Ribs, macaroni and cheese, and their collards. Oh yeah, and the biscuits are amazing! I’ve always had great service and great food at this location. They are always packed especially on the weekends. This is an awesome bbq spot with nice southern charm!

Josh is a great bartender. They have a full bar with a couple good local brews. I had the pulled pork and brisket very good. Lots of flavor. Green beans had huge chunks of bacon and ham
Awesome. Will definitely be back.

Love this place! We had a casual business dinner and received top notch service! We had the best server who really provides a great experience! She gets 6 STARS! The food was awesome! We had a mixture of small plates and appetizers. I see why this place is always buzzing!

Slightly above average barbecue and sides with WAY above average prices. If their prices were not so ridiculously high I’d probably go four stars. Mini cheese biscuits are great. Everything is pretty good. Atmosphere is ok. Seating can be a problem as I seem to be the only person in Birmingham that doesn’t mind paying more than the food is worth. Parking as well. The galleria location stays packed. If you are wealthy and pretentious doesn’t bug you then JnN’s could be your place.

So, I’ve heard a lot about Alabama barbecue, and how there’s this white sauce that they put on bird, and how it’s to die for. It’ll be totally unfair for me to base that sauce application on one restaurant, so I won’t comment on the sauce from a production standpoint. I will say, it just didn’t really work. But, more on that later.
This place is a chain, but it had a good local feel– regulars at the bar, people there clearly for the food. The bar had some great brews, and a ton of American whisky. I sat there, had a pint of the local Avondale seasonal, and waited for my takeout.
Let’s get this out of the way: I love American barbecue. I’m not a regional barbecue snob– I get how Czechs made brisket what it is, Spanish made pulled pork what it is, and they should both be appreciated for what they are. There is no archetypal American barbecue.
That said, JNN misses what all American barbecue require: smoke. I ordered sort of a sampler– brisket (yeah, I know, I’m not in Texas), pulled pork, and the chicken (with white sauce). The brisket was warm, cooked through, sans smoke ring, and without a lot of smoke flavor. No bark. I really thought it tasted like it was the product of a hotel pan, not a smoker. Ditto for the pulled pork. The bird was the best, although the white sauce was almost overwhelming, like the mayo-​based dipping sauce they give you at Benihana– no real complement to the dry breast meat that was plated along the other cue.
The slaw– man, the slaw– was fantastic (okay, snobbery, because all cue meat needs cabbage on the side, in my opinion). The Mac and cheese wasn’t cooked in the smoker (I don’t think there was one, frankly), but was great, with a sauce somewhere between a mornay and a bechamel. +1.
All in all, this place was okay for a chain ‘cue joint. It’s not a huge find, and it breaks the only rule of all good American barbecue joints: one meat, over wood, with fantastic sides. This place falls short just because it just didn’t do one particular protein particularly well.
TLDR: not a bad chain ‘cue joint if it’s a short walk from your business hotel.

I find most BBQ in Birmingham to all taste the same. Something needs to draw me in other then the taste if its all the same. This is that place. Its the service/​environment. I really like the country feel. The servers are always super friendly and seem to be having a good time. Not like people that hate there job and try to throw on a smile as they walk up to your table. Once we ordered for 3 people. Drinks, appetizers, and entries. About 5 min after the waiter we got a call our dog had gotten out and we needed to go get him. I flagged down the waiter and told we had to go. He said no problem just give him a second. They brought out our food all wrapped up to go with fresh drinks ready to go about 3 min after that. they ran my card early so when the food came out we could just grab and go. They seemed more worried about our dog then we where to be honest. This a great place with great people and the food is A+ also. With so many options in the B’ham area it takes a lot to be considered a go to place for me.

This location of JNN is SUPER convenient for my family, so we eat here a bunch. That being said, we would probably eat here the same amount if it WASN’T convenient. They are consistently good and, contrary to some of the other reviews I read, we haven’t had a problem with the service. We are always greeted by a friendly host/​ess and seated promptly. Servers are prompt and friendly. There have been one or two times where they were slow to refill drinks, but it’s not a chronic problem with us. The ribs are delish, the pulled pork is really nice, with smoky flavor all the way through the meat and the turkey is phenomenal. I am personally not a fan of their beans… too much going on there, but I love their greens, mac and cheese, green beans and, of course, CHEESE CORNBREAD!!! NOM NOM NOM!!! Go here! Next adventure? Taco Tuesday… still trying to wrap my head around getting tacos at a barbecue place…

Great food but service needs to be improved… greatly! Twice I’ve been there and the drive thru people don’t listen to a word you say. It’s crazy how they screw up the simplest orders by merely not listening. Bad attitude from the lady as well… overcharged me for a drink I told her three times I didn’t order and didn’t even give my credit card back to me. I had to ask for it back. Probably won’t go back just because of the horrendously shitty service and attitude. On a high note their brisket and pulled pork nachos are EPIC!!!

Words can’t explain how good the BBQ is. The Mac and cheese was outstanding and cheese biscuits was straight out the oven fresh!!!

I was in Alabama for work and told to go to the nearby Jim n Nicks for bbq. I called it in ahead to pickup and food was ready quick within 10 – 15 minutes.
The portions are huge. I got the brisket and pulled pork and it came with 2 cheesebreads and 2 sides. I got collard greens and beans. The beans were fantastic, probably the best that I’ve had. Good sauce, texture, and taste. The collard greens were a little bland to me. And I know a lot of people love the cheesebread but I wasn’t impressed. It wasn’t very flavorful to me, just filling.
The meats were good, I couldn’t decide what I liked better between the brisket and pork. You also must use the tangy sauce. It adds a great element of taste and I found myself alternating between bites with or without sauce.
I forced myself to finish this meal but I could have stopped halfway. Great portion, great price, and the staff seemed nice from the limited interaction I had with them. I am happy that I was able to get some bbq while in AL and would come again if I was around.

One of the few consistently good BBQ places I have found while traveling throughout the Southeast.

One of my favorite places to eat.
Last month I tried the Friday night special — Prime rib and it was great .
Last night my wife and I ordered the prime rib again, we should have sent it back. The prime rib was cold, not tender and did not have the same flavor as before. You must have changed something! We have so much respect for you location we just did not have time to send it back.
Please bring back the prime rib that you used to serve.
Our server was great, her name was Emily.
Thanks,
Preston Lawley

Jim ‘n Nick’s has fantastic food and management (service tends to be superb, as well but I want to call special attention to the management). I had been regularly going here on Tuesdays for Taco Tuesday, and a server spilt tacos on my suit. The server was very apologetic, and the waitress came by and apologized and helped clean up. Everyone felt very bad. The manager, Marcie, stopped by and told me to get my clothes dry cleaned — so I did. She took care of the bill and wrote a nice card. She went above and beyond to make a bad situation better.
I don’t write reviews, but Marcie earned it.

Great service and the Carolina style pork was very good. Decent bloody Mary also. Cheese biscuits were outstanding and super fresh and warm. Try the collard greens, nice slow cooked taste. For a chain its top notch.

Let me first start by saying I am a longtime Jim ‘N Nick’s customer and will continue to be – just not at this location. The service has regularly been poor and the quality of the food is not up to that of other JNN locations. It’s a shame because they are located in a really convenient location.
Tonight they got 3 of 5 orders wrong. My order, while correct, came with mashed potatoes that lacked anything close to taste.
In the past, I have looked passed their issues because they were busy. Tonight they were half full at 6:30 at night. Probably because they’ve been found out.
If you have the time, you are better off going to the downtown location, where the food quality is better and the service is great.
This location is off limits for us going forward.

For those who live outside Alabama, Jim N Nicks has become a good size chain. Meanwhile, it’s one of the few chains that hasn’t lost quality as it continues to expand. While staying at the Courtyard (next-​door) we walked over to this location and enjoyed its typical go-​to BBQ. This location does what every Jim N Nick’s aims to do by delivering consistent, damn good BBQ every time you come in.
Unfortunately, we got the short end of the stick when it came to servers. The young man we had wasn’t attentive and didn’t check back often. In fact, every time we looked for him he was socializing with other staff members near the bar, rather than refilling our drinks. It was the first time I’ve been given a bill by a server before we finished our meal (without asking if we wanted one of their desserts or another beer, which we would have ordered both). In fact, he came and tried to take our two BBQ sauces while we were still eating our meats (he wanted to work towards getting off work — yet it didn’t close for another hour). The only other downfall here is the TVs that are scattered throughout the restaurant are smaller than most computer screens, which makes it tough to watch sporting events while you eat. Modernize those TVs and you’d have a thrilled customer base.
Fortunately, the BBQ made up for the lack of service (and please don’t take this the wrong way, there were two young ladies that were covering the area next to us that did a great job and weren’t lazy –they were awesome). We each ordered combos. Mine with turkey and brisket and my friend had the smoked chicken and pork links. Each of us enjoyed every bite. The brisket was awesome. It had lots of flavor without any fat. The turkey, unfortunately was much drier than at the other Birmingham locations we’ve been to, but still fair. The smoked chicken, on the other hand, wasn’t dry, rather tender, juicy and hits the spot. The pork links are packed with flavor and darn good, too.
One of the best qualities with Jim N Nicks food is they have far better sides than competitors. You’ll find very good beans and mac n cheese, in addition to quality side salads with what taste like homemade dressings. Not only are the salads good, they understand the importance of having cool, crisp fresh greens. For some reason I normally order the mashed potatoes and gravy. The brown gravy is darn good.
Another thing to consider is the sweet tea and lemonade is a must-​have, but many of my friends enjoy coming here because there’s always local beers on tap. It’s a great place for a solo meal, with a bunch of friends or family and even while there’s an endless amount of good BBQ in town, this place can hold its own with any of them.

Food was absolutely amazing. As always. But the service that I had today was heads above the rest! I was in a rush because I had a doctor appointment I forgot about and our server was so helpful and accommodating. Our food and drinks and biscuits were out within 7 minutes of being seated. Thank you, Valentin! You made an already enjoyable restaurant experience even more superb! I’m definitely a client for life! And this was my mom’s first time here, so you left a lasting impression. We’ll be back!

Had dinner here last night. As I was visiting Hoover from CA, I wanted some legit BBQ. Went with a group and had a great time. Crystal was our server and she couldn’t have been better.
I love food and have a difficult time steering away from Brisket or Pulled Pork. When I asked Crystal what her favorite was, and she said the Turkey, I was a little thrown off.
Taking her suggestion, I got the smoked turkey plate with collared greens and mac n cheese. That turkey with white sauce was damn amazing! My friends who had the brisket said the turkey was better.
The cheesy cornbread rolls were phenomenal as other’s have mentioned. Unilocal did me right again…
One star deducted for their sweet tea… it was pretty bad. It’s obvious they use their tap water to make the sweet tea. They both tasted pretty fowl. My recommendation is get a good filter for their water and I’m sure it’ll get better.

This is about as upscale as you can do BBQ and still have the down home feel of a «joint.» As was pointed out on House of Cards, people want the authentic feel without having to leave the suburbs. Well, it is not the all the way authentic feel, but for a chain with as many menu options as JnN has, I say it cant be beat. You wont leave from here smelling like you have been tending pit for hours but the meat has all of the flavor of that low and slow cooked goodness. The sides are always quality as well. My favorite sides are fried green tomatoes (only on Monday), collard greens, and mashed potatoes (the brown gravy is GREAT). The cheddar biscuits are free when you dine in and are worth the purchase if you are getting food to go. Ask for the honey butter and slather it on baby! When eating my meat, and eating my biscuits for that matter, I like a mix of the habanero sauce and the regular sauce and I ask for sauce to be brought to me from the kitchen so it is still warm. I stick with the BBQ favorites like pulled pork (if you get the sandwich get it on sourdough bread), brisket, and baby back ribs. My wife loves the turkey club. Many of my friends recommend tacos on Tuesday, pimento cheeseburger, pig in a potato patch, and pig in a garden. The bourbon selection is outstanding! This location has a pretty good selection of local beers on draft too — five or so. I recommend the chocolate pie for desert too

I am not a big BBQ lover, but the fam bam is, so of course we had to sample some local grub during their visit. We stopped in on Saturday evening and were seated immediately — it was pretty crowded and the vibe was good. Tables and booths are packed into the space — there is also a patio and several bar stools. Our waitress was really awesome — super personable, knew the menu really well and provided us with great service even when we became a bit high maintenance (ie, asked for more napkins, unsweetend lemonade and just had a ton of questions. lol). The cheese biscuits to start are delish… they are warm and yummy, no butter needed! I probably could just eat these as my meal. Ladies ordered margaritas and they were just okay and the men sipped on iced-​tea and lemonade.
We then shared two 3-​meat plates so we could essentially try all the meat they were offering. They were out of brisket so that was a bummer, but we were able to try everything else. My favs were the sausage and the smoked chicken. Everything was cooked well, not greasy and not as smoky as some other BBQ I have had. The ribs were a little too messy for me, but they had good flavor. Homemade pickles are also included on the plate and they were so good — crunchy and tangy; a perfect add to the smoked meat. We chose mac & cheese, coleslaw, potato salad, and BBQ chips for our sides. Everything was freshly prepared and worth every bite! I am obsessed with baked potatoes so my dad and I shared… the skin was crunchy and perfectly salted… add some chicken on top with BBQ sauce and wa-​la. a perfect meal for me!
The menu offers many things such as salads, sandwiches, a handful of apps & small plates, etc. There is certainly something for everyone here including non BBQ lovers.

Dinner June 9
I have eaten now at 6 Jim’n Nicks and have eaten at this regional chain at least 50 times in past 18 years and I have never had a bad meal.
This is my all around favorite BBQ restaurant period.
Why?
1) they raise their own hogs that they serve — who does that?
2) they make all their sides, no one makes better baked beans
3) homemade cheese biscuits
4) homemade desserts
5) they even make their own pickles
Nothing frozen or microwaved here folks!
Don’t believe fat olé me, Ask to see the mgr and have them tell you how honest their kitchen is.

Stopped by Jim N Nicks while visiting family in Hoover. Even as a vegetarian I’ve been to the one on South Cobb drive in Smyrna several times in the past and usually found myself eating side dishes for a meal. But I was a bit surprised by my visit to this Jim N Nicks… I wasn’t sure how much the menu had changed, but some of the side dishes I use to order were no longer there.
Anyway we were immediately sat on a Sunday evening. They weren’t super busy, but it wasn’t slow either. Our server was fast, courteous, and very nice… he definitely helped bump the experience to a three… and could’ve been a four if everyone’s food hadn’t been so mediocre.
My aunt only ordered coconut pie and she said it was just okay… My mom and sister both ordered pulled chicken sandwiches and this is the fun part… Neither one liked the bbq sauces. The sauces that came with the food were rather blah… The white sauce, being a vinegar based sauce was just too vinegary and had no other flavor to speak of and no one cared for it. The regular bbq sauce couldn’t have stopped traffic even if I had thrown it in the middle of the street… it just seemed like a thinner version of a better sauce it could’ve been. Also the sauces that were sitting on the table were definitely not liked either… the habernero bbq sauce and the other red sauce were tasted and put back on the end of the table.
Which brings me back to the pulled chicken sandwiches… My mom ate the chicken off her sandwich buns and stated she would’ve enjoyed it better if she had actual bbq sauce to put on it (she did like her side of collard greens) and my sister only ate half her sandwich and would’ve preferred bbq sauce as well, as the only part of her meal she enjoyed were her fries…
I ended up choosing the bbq nachos appetizer with no meat, our server was funny when I said no meat… He looked at me and was like no meat and I said no meat… He said none at all and I was like yes no meat at all… I bet that was the first time anyone had said that to him.
Anyway, it didn’t take long for anyone to get their food as what everyone had ordered was already prepped I’m sure. My nachos were okay… They weren’t anything to cheer about but it just opened my eyes to the fact that bbq sauce on nachos could be good if the sauce actually had a taste to it. The chips were on the bottom of a small amount of queso, topped with a small amount of bbq sauce, lettuce, shredded cheddar cheese, and a small amount of «smoked salsa»… which didn’t taste smokey at all. In all… I can assume meat is what actually makes the nachos worth anything…
Overall… everything was just meh… Even the lemonade was too sweet and barely tasted like lemons… I had to squeeze more lemons into it… sad ain’t it. Oh well, maybe it was just a really off night, I’m just glad the service was great… I don’t darken the doors of bbq joints often as there aren’t many options for non-​meat-​eating folks… But I would atleast like my family to enjoy their meals.