Mama Lou’s BBQ and Gifts

There is a reason this place is rated 5 stars on nearly every review. Now I’ll add a another. Most tender and flavorful BBQ you will ever encounter. The brisket platter was awesome. Sauces, hot and mild, were delicious as well. Too well-​fed to order any of their home-​made desserts.
Friendly staff makes this a ‘do again, soon’. Only next time, we’ll split a sampler platter and save room for some pie!

We stopped into Mamma Lous on the way back from a Nashville trip headed back to Kentucky. We have dined at lots of barbeque places but this one beat every one of them hands down! Diners drive-​in and dives needs to go to this place! The service was fantastic .A beautiful drive in the country!

We drove from Chicago to Mammoth Cave for the spring break, and a staff at the Down and Under Adventure Zoo recommended this place to us when we asked for food choices. Best decision ever! Highly recommend this if you are also from out of town and visiting. We loved the briskets and ribs, baked potato with pulled pork was absolutely delicious but we couldn’t finish because there was so much food for even four of us! Packed them to go with lots of love!
WARNING: CASH ONLY! This might not be an issue to cautious tourists (but apparently we didn’t do good) We were so embarrassed when we were ready to pay for our order and discovered that we need to drive out to get cash 10 minutes before the place closes. A real nice lady and another gentlemen dining in the restaurant overheard our conversations and offered to pay for our dinner! We were really grateful to be helped but wanted to pay back after we get the cash (we were only about $ 30 short and it’s def not a pricy place!). They simply asked us to do the same for others in the future. What nice people they have there in Uno!!! We are sending them cards to say thank you. Nice town and nice restaurant!

I’m from Chicago and I eat a lot. This place is great. Awesome food and very friendly people.

Yum! We got the BBQ sampler, which was plenty of food for two! Didn’t care for the pork shoulder, but loved the brisket, pulled pork, and ribs. Cole slaw and cornbread were great!

On vacation & looking for someplace local to eat. We came across Mama Lou’s, read the reviews & thought we’d give it a try; so glad that we did.
The service to start, was super friendly & welcoming; true southern hospitality. The food, OH MY GOODNESS! The food was amazing & the portions were so generous. Our party ordered their BBQ sampler, pulled pork sandwich & loaded baked potato pulled pork. You can’t go wrong with any of those items. Those cornbread is ginormous & delicious. We shared some lemon pie & double chocolate cake which were equally amazing.
Between the hospitality, food & price this place is a no brainier & a must visit. If we’re ever out this way again we’ll definitely go back.

This place is the best. We were referred by a local in cave city and promptly made the short trip here. It’s really cheap and the barbecue is top notch. You get so much awesome food for your money. Ask for the bad boy sauce.

Was just passing through and happened upon this place. So glad I did. Everything we ate was excellent. The ribs and pulled pork are worth an extra mention. Very smokey flavor and. not greasy.
Our waitress, Merileigh, was kind and helpful and you should ask for her.
The portion size is huge, so order less. It’s enough.
Highly recommended. Delicious, and authentic.

Authentic barbecue — excellent meat, sides, and sauce. Would definitely go back and recommend. It is not fancy in side but has character

Well I declare… if you are anywhere near Horse Cave and are a fan od BBQ… Mama Lou’s is a must… they are the real deal… great food… great service… great atmosphere! Couple sample photos attached. Baked Beans and Potato Salad great sides and the brisket was maybe the best of the meats… but really… all were good!

Loved Mama Lou’s. Great BBQ, very reasonably priced, friendly service. Highly recommend!

They have Pulled pork on baked potatoes… pan fried con bread… and hog wings which are absolutely delicious… the BBQ sauce was excellent as well which really is critical on a BBQ place.
I ate until I was about to burst.
I got a BBQ sampler, the baked potato, the hog wings, and I think ribs… to split with the wife… and the portions were gigantic… this was 4 meals for 2 people… because I just wanted to try stuff and it was fairly cheap… well I tried it and I liked it a tad too much and I am no competition eater.
My daughter got the pulled pork potato and also loved it.
If I lived closer I would go back… my ex-​wife went back down to that area recently and my daughter forced her to take her back… if she was going back to Mammoth Caves… in her head, Mamma Lou’s was not optional… it was mandatory.

We stumbled upon Mama Lou’s on a road trip a couple weeks ago and stopped for lunch. If you can overlook the appearance of the place and the less-​than-​stellar cleanliness, you should definitely give it a try. Impressively good food, crazy affordable, and huge portions. I had the pulled pork meal and couldn’t even finish half of it. The cornbread looks like a very large pancake, and I assume it was cooked in a cast iron skillet. The cole slaw was the best I’ve EVER eaten.

A friend and I were traveling around the area this week and stopped to ask one of the locals where to have lunch. I am so glad they recommended we go to Mamma Lou’s! The dining area was clean and neat, the wait staff were friendly and helpful and the food was awesome. We both had the pulled pork sandwich. It was piled 3 inches high on the bun and falling off the sides of the bun. I had the potato salad, but the baked beans looked incredible with huge hunks of smoked meat. We even got a piece of butterscotch pie to share! Definitely a great addition to an area with few non-​chain restaurants.

This place has the best bbq in Kentucky. I have eaten at many bbq joints and this one is the best. I had the pulled pork. It was moist with a great smoke flavor. The hot bbq sauce is about the best that I’ve had in Kentucky. I also had the green beans and the fried potatoes. They were excellent, just like my mother and grandmother used to cook. Three of us ate for under $ 25. They don’t take credit cards. That is the only drawback to this great restaurant.

Great hole-​in-​the-​wall place with amazing and affordable food. We stumbled on it during vacation after our first choice, a bbq joint down the street, had been closed due to a fire. The staff was extremely friendly and helpful (although they didn’t know the difference between prime rib and spare ribs). Service was quick and the best southern food we’ve had him a long time!

Mama Lou’s is a wonderful eating establishment, love when I come to visit Horse Cave, KY

This is an amazing little place… Staff very friendly the BBQ was awesome! Try the loaded baked potato, with pulled pork as a topping. Coleslaw and cornbread were also very good… Also on the menu smoked turkey, chicken.
Definitely worth a detour from I65 and fast food options!

My wife and I were on a tour of Kentucky and trying to stay off the interstate when, as we took the two-​lane blacktop, we came to Uno, Kentucky, which I guess has a mailing address of Horse Cave, KY.
We had wanted to get some authentic BBQ, and the smoker was out on the sidewalk in front of Mama Lou’s!
Casual is an understatement. We were served on styrofoam plates and cups, but it was the best BBQ we’d ever had, and the prices were so low we felt guilty. I had the brisket and my wife had the ribs. Sides were great too, but we didn’t have room left for the pie! BTW, these dinner were only about $ 7 each.
We found the local patrons to be friendly and got a good tip on the local lodging situation from one. Service is quick and friendly too. As long as you don’t need a white tablecloth and china, this is the place to stop in Uno.

This was my first trip to Mama lou’s. The service was great. That food was fresh made. I had pulled pork, corn cake, baked beans, potato salad, and a piece of the pecan pie. The pork could use a bit more smoke, but the baked beans are wonderfully home made.