Otto’s Bar B Que & Hamburgers Downtown

This is pretty dreadful stuff. Even if the staff are a lovely bunch, I’d avoid this place if I were you.

Delicious BBQ! The BBQ was great! The sauce was just perfect and the sides were incredible. Good Olé Texas BBQ for a Detroit girl!

Attached to our hotel, this was the first place we tried at the food court. I had the turkey burger with fries and it was absolutely delicious. We’ll definitely be back one more time before our trip is done.

Stupid me didn’t look up from the hot food bar to see they had more on the menu than what was on food line… I accidentally ordered the two meat and two sides plate thinking that’s all they had, but what I really wanted was a Philly cheesesteak. They allowed me to change my order and were so nice about it. I would say they could have spotted me a few more sweet potato fries, but the sandwich hit the spot for lunch. Five stars for super patient nice staff.

the food is great!
just wish i would get what i order.
ive been going for over 2 yrs for brkfast and have only gotten what i asked for, 3 times. they have gotten my order right three times! thats it. i go at least twice a week for 2 yrs plus! ridiculous.
again good food, but they give you what they want to.

This place has the best breakfast tacos around. They are made to order and cooked fresh right before your eyes. The tortillas are good and the price too. Because I do not eat eggs it is important to be able to order the taco exactly as I want it without eggs, without cheese but with bacon, sausage, or ham and yummy potatoes seasoned just right. Love them!

Solid when you *need* a bbq fix! I always eat lunch here at least once when I’m in Houston. I usually get the smoked chicken and beef and they’re both awesome! It’s definitely pricey but it’s downtown so…

Very low quality burgers. Ordered rare, got well done and it was that grey, weird textured, fast-​food like patty. Disgusting.

This is probably one of the best of the Allen Center eateries… but there are some menu items I would not recommend.
I had a BBQ turkey baked potato during one visit. Nothing special. The turkey did not have much taste to it… no smokey BBQ flavor. It looked like cubes of processed turkey. Without good meat, the meal was just a baked potato with sauce and cheese. Potatoes are much bigger and tastier at nearby Pappas BBQ.
The brisket tacos are incredible. I have had them multiple times in the past, and highly recommend this «not on the menu» item. Grab a container of BBQ sauce near the salad line and some jalapeños. Very tasty.
Unfortunately, Allen Center restaurants tend to get overcrowded at lunchtime, and you generally end-​up with subpar fast food at high prices. I occasionally find this at Otto’s.
I may try the catfish next time.

Stopped in for lunch, at 11:00 no line at all. I ordered a chopped beef potato and a drink. At $ 10 for a drink and potato it isn’t the greatest deal, but they had it ready in less than a minute. Service was friendly and the potato while less than «heaping» was plenty for a good lunch. The meat was tender, and the sauce pretty standard for Texas BBQ. All in all good for a quick BBQ fix. Also I’ve had their breakfast tacos previously, and they are quite good and fairly substantial. Certainly a hearty breakfast for when you need a «pick me up».

Update 5÷1÷2014:
I am bumping Otto’s to five stars since it has become one of my go-​to lunch places. I only get the BBQ. I have noticed a lot of bad reviews that were based on the hamburgers so I cannot speak to that. What I can say is that their sausage link and brisket are excellent. Highly recommend!
Original review:
The brisket tacos were very tasty. Good value for the money. The potato salad was also pretty good. Lose a star for the semi-​bland beans. They were OK, but nothing special. Good choice for a quick lunch if you are in the mood for bbq.

We had Otto’s catering for an Olympic watch party. Their first quantity point was 25 when others had a 50 person minimum AND the price point was great AND it was great BBQ. Personnel (Sammy) were very helpful and they delivered on time. Everyone raved about the food, but everyone thought Otto’s was no more!!! Hopefully we changed that and you will get more sales!!! Yum!!!

Downtown tunnel food can be shady and inconsistent, but Otto’s doesn’t disappoint.
I’m trying to eat better, so I haven’t had Otto’s barbecue in years. But on my last encounter, I got the Fabulous Baby Spinach salad with grilled chicken. And OH. MY. GOODNESS.
It’s usually hard to get excited about a salad, but WOW!
Here’s the description:
Baby spinach, mushrooms, shaved apples, smoked bacon, chopped egg and goat cheese tossed with honey balsamic vinaigrette. And I added the grilled chicken.
I mean, reading the description I knew that I would enjoy it, because those are some of my favorite things, all compiled in one bowl (or to-​go clamshell, in this case). But I had no idea just how awesomely they would all come together. And that dressing was to die for!
This is definitely a salad worth going back to Otto’s for!

Otto’s is my go to place in the park shops for a protein heavy meal. I typically get the BBQ western salad, which comes standard with brisket, ham and turkey. You can request different meats on the salad and my favorite combination right now is brisket and roast pork. The amount of meat they give you is fairly substantial and I don’t have to order double meat like at Salata. In addition to the bbq, they have some decent specials everyday (catfish basket, chicken fried steak, etc) and a good chicken avocado sandwich. Really, I wouldn’t go out of my way for this, but working downtown leaves this as a strong regular option for lunch.

I had the western «Salad», BBQ meat and iceberg lettuce, with the cilantro dressing. It was tasty, and I will probably go back and get it again sometime as a good alternative to a real salad.

Opens at 6:30AM (weekdays) with fresh breakfast options. Very fresh! Do wish they had beans for their breakfast tacos, but the eggs tasted great!

Okay any place downtown that stays open past 2 PM, automatically deserves a star just for that. Especially for those of us who prefer to take a late lunch. But… I’m sorry to report that this place has put a major bad taste in my pallet. My earlier experience on going here was successful as I ordered their half chicken. It was very flavorful and delicious and their sauce pretty okay. Now I must insert here that If you fail on BBQ Chicken or Ribs, you don’t deserve to be a BBQ spot, in my book. I’ve tried the Ribs, and they are an absolute FAIL. But, they still have the chicken from my first experience to fall on. Now to the chicken. On 2^nd return, I bit into what I expected some tasty deliciousness and behold, blood seeping from the bone. I took a fork and peeled through and the whole inside was red and unfortunately, I didn’t feel much like Dracula that day or an alien wishing to dissect animals from Earth. So take 1 star away from being consistent, 1 star from bloody chicken, and 1 star from the bad memory of the blood oozing from a fresh bite. I’m just glad I didn’t dip it in sauce as I would have not seen the blood. I will never return here again. Doesn’t take but one bloody adventure to steer me away for good. Eat well and prosper.

Otto’s is a good option when you’re not feeling Papa’s. Plus, most of the menu is a tad cheaper.
Otto’s offers a single daily special each day. The most recent daily special I have had was chicken fried steak with mashed potatoes and «green beans» (think they were actually lima beans, which is close, I guess). I dressed up my gravy with jalapenos from the condiment bar. Tasted like southern comfort.
They had a smothered chicken special last I was there, but went with the pork po boy. Holy smokes, that was some good pork! Sometimes when the meat sits for a few you’ll wind up with a dry piece, but the rest is a good ration of tender, meaty and fatty. (This is what my dad usually gets; he can vouch.) My dad got the dry piece this time, so mine was entirely delectable. The bbq sauce is pretty good. Opt to get it on the side if you ain’t man enough to finish the huge sandwich, like me. (I hate soggy bread!) Potato salad is ok. A bit too sweet for my taste. Like, a combo of really sweet pickles and apple cider mixed in there.
Came here once for breakfast a few years ago and I still remember that the biscuits and gravy were good. Not sure if they still have that, though. The burgers, on the other hand, have eluded my memory. I recall coming here a couple times for burgers, but can not remember anything else about them. (Could be Fuddrucker’s fault.) One downside is that you’re probably better off getting ribs at Papa’s since there’s only one choice at Otto’s.
The burger/​sandwich line is separate from the bbq one. Also, note the daily special lunch is ordered in the bbq line. Plenty of newly remodeled shared seating just outside the restaurant.

Because of the breakfast tacos, Otto’s remains at a solid 3-​stars. I went back for lunch recently, and the experience was meh!
I ordered a fried shrimp platter with a side of onion rings. You receive six pieces of butterflied, fried chicken battered shrimp. I describe it as fried chicken battered because the shrimp was overwhelmed with an amount of batter that was meant and probably used for their fried chicken or chicken fried steak dishes, since I don’t eat that stuff, I don’t remember if it’s actually even on the menu.
What I do recall is these crustaceans were overwhelmed by the batter, that one couldn’t get past it to appreciate the shrimp. Batter with some filler is what this was. The dish is accompanied by french fries (pretty good) and three hush puppies, in case you didn’t feel like you ate enough batter, here’s some variety with some deep fried cornmeal balls.
I had no idea that I would be participating in Batterfest 2011, so I ordered onion rings. I also thought they’d replace the fries with onion rings, but no, they charged me for an order of onion rings and kept the fries. The onion rings were also, can you imagine? Over-​battered! And soggy to boot.
So no more lunch ventures at Otto’s for me, unless it’s absolute desperation or morbid curiosity. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day anyway, and Otto seems to excel where that’s concerned.

I’m going to miss this place since I no longer work downtown.
As strange as this sounds, the best thing on the menu is their sweet tea. Can’t get enough of it. :-)
But food wise, their burgers are your run-​of-​the-​mill. Perfectly cooked to a juicy center on a poppyseed bun. Fries can be a bit wimpy sometimes; I prefer my fries crispy.
If you want a good burger and fries, can’t go wrong here.