Pappas Bar-B-Q

Barbecue is big business here in Texas and Pappas BBQ is good as far as chains go. I’ve sampled all of the Houston staples which I won’t name for this review, but let’s just say I’m no rookie… That being said, I do not like their sauce. I have no problem with the quality of their meat, but I always get the sauce on the side and I use very little or none at all. I’ve been a dry rub man ever since my uncle introduced me to it some years ago, and I think the meat should be able to stand alone without sauce. Besides that, the rest of the menu is standard sides you’d expect from a barbecue joint, nothing spectacular. However, if you are in the mood for a burger, in my opinion their burgers and awesome, I usually get one or two a month with fries, and I can’t finish it all and I’m no little guy @ 6’2″ 240lbs. I know people like to hate on chain restaurants, but this place stays busy especially on weekends, so they must be doing something right…

I liked it. Good flavor. Much better than anything I get in Arizona. Not as good as some of the other Texas BBQ joints I’ve been to.

Quick note: this address is NOT on Eastex Freeway, but 59 and Hillcroft, at least according to the Pappas website. My review is for Hillcroft local. I have had mixed experience here, but when it is good, it IS GOOD! You must know what to order, however. You must always check your to go orders as they ALWAYS screw them up in some way. Often horribly, like the time I only got brisket crust due to my asking for top cut. Not kidding. It was only the hard outer scale and NO meat whatsoever. Great to find that out when I get all the way back to Sugar Land! Recently, they did the entire order wrong for a party, and again, hubby didn’t check first. Sigh. Knowing this upfront is half the battle. I love only tender, juicy brisket, so I order the top loose cut. This is almost always great, but does have some fat for all you people out there who hate that. I’d rather have the meat juicy, than lean and dry. Cut the fat off if you want. If you, like me, are sensitive to liquid smoke, I believe they use it in their sauce. Skip this and use your own. It upsets my stomach. I like to use Stubbs original when I do to go. Also, if you are buying more than one sandwich worth to go, ask for the meat NOT to be sliced. This assures it is juicy when you get home and slice it yourself. The half chickens are usually juicy, but I have had a few on the dry side. Again, ask for uncut on to go orders. The fries are large cut and nice, though not the crunchy kind. The sweet potatoes are nice, but other sides are not as good as they could be. I’d like a nice mayo potato salad with a tad of mustard, but they don’t have it. The sausage here is always good and almost never has gristle or bone chips in it like other places. It is ground very fine and is juicy with a nice spicy sting. One more warning, there is a real problem here with getting help that speaks English which leads to lots of misunderstandings, particularly on phoned in to go orders. Beware, check the order, and be patient. Don’t be too surprised if your order hasn’t even been started by the time you get there, which ticks me off. Are they afraid I won’t show? In short, because tender brisket is hard to find, it is worth the babysitting here to get a great meal.

This place has been here SOOO LONG! I cant believe it wasnt on Unilocal!Ive came here plenty of times to eat, the food was always decent. There are other better bbq spots other than Pappas but after this past week, i’ll never come back again.
11÷8÷12
I got food poisoning/​stomach flu from this place. Me and the wife both ordered sausage sandwiches, loaded baked potato, and a side salad with ranch. Had some pickles/​bbq sauce on the side. The only thing she didnt eat was the salad, maybe thats what got me sick. Regardless, I would be cautious when eating here, just my two cents.

I rather go to Pappas Downtown… eeeh
Since when does one have to order a chicken baked potato and tell them to hold the gristle. Every time I go here and try to give them a chance they just reconfirm what I already knew that this is nothing but olé Luther’s and not Pappa’s.
Their burgers and sandwiches are still really good but the chicken is just not right. They chop up so fast and in hurry that they toss in bone, and thankfully I am a slow eater and multiple chewer or I might choke. I’ve contacted management about this 3 times and they always say bring it back and we will make you a new one. I don’t want a new one I want to confidently order a baked potato with chicken and not expect bone matter. Aahhh!!!
Tonight was absolutely my last time going there, I will just drive to the Pappa’s on Crosstimbers or Downtown if I have an appetite for a baked potato. If you decide to go there and order a chicken potato, just remember chew slowly.

They have a great deal on the sign outside for specials. They change from week to week. That’s the best deal. I like to take it to go. Not as good as goode company or rudy’s but a strong showing. Generous side portions.

I am a fan of all of the Pappas stores
First time visit.
This is the equivalent of fast food BBQ: Quick. Fresh. Great value. Cafateria style.
Generous portion of BBQ Beef Brisket with two sides for $ 11
Indian colleague had menu choice too: the BBQ chicken sandwich

After going there a few times, and tried just about everything on the menu. I with I had saved the $$ and went somewhere else. The food is bland and dry for the most part, so if you go, dont expect anything memorable. I do like the fact that since this place is most empty you never have to wait.

I’ve been to a few locations for this chain and this one is pretty much the same. The Pappa’s brand name is pretty familiar to most in this areas. Like there other restaurants, they also make quality barbeque and have it ready pretty fast.
The décor is country/​antique (my personal description). There’s lots of old looking signs and antiques on the distressed looking walls. Distressed furniture pieces and fixtures give it a lived-​in, eccentric look.
The service at this location is not full wait service. You stand in line at a service counter and order cafeteria style. After you order you can add an assortment of usual barbeque condiments at the condiments bar. Even with that the staff was still pretty accomodating in asking if they could bring us things from the condiment bar or an «ice bucket» for yet to be opened beers and soft drinks.
I was with a large group for for a work function so our menu was set in advance. The chicken and ribs were both well cooked and seasoned but the way they cut them leaves some bone fragments so be careful biting down. The potato salad is just OK. It’s a mustard based that’s very edible but there just isn’t anything special about it. The barbeque sauce is pretty good. I’d say above-​average but not the best I’d ever had. It defintiely improved the potato salad though.
I think this place is fine as a local go-​to barbeque restaurant if it’s convenient for you but it’s definitely not a place that you think of where people come from «miles around» to have it.

the que here is always good.

My experience is constantly great. Granted, I order the same thing every time, but I’m never dissapointed. I get the sliced beef sandiwch with fries, 7 bucks.
The meet is really tender, very easy to chew, rarely ever fatty and they stuff a lot of it into the sandwich.
The sauce is also good, I like the taste. I’ve read in other reviews that it’s to watery, I’d agree to disagree. It’s a good consistency and the flavor is fantastic.
The fries are fries. They give a lot of em. That’s all you need to know.
The other stuff may not be good but I wouldn’t know, what I do know is that you can’t go wrong with the sandwich combo.

This location is close to my work, not that you cared to know that, I’m just sayin!
I am writing about the togo service even though I have eaten at the place.
I have not had the ribs at all, I can comment only on the things I tend to order, Stuffed baked potatoes beef and turkey both good and oh so filling. I also must rave about there Chefs salad, comes with your choice of turkey, ham and sausage. There is rumor of chicken optoin but have not had it. Lots of nice greens and purple onions, cucumbers nice amount of the meats and I love it with Honey mustard dressing. Sides, the rancho beans are tasty. Great «Fixins» bar, all the usual fare, Pico is simple, fresh and great !!
Service, Order takers understood me and did not have to repeat myfself, was accomidtaing with multiple orders. Order was correct and ready in 10 minutes. Generous with crackers and plasticware, and extra container for pico was given no problem.
Location, easy access on feeder of 59.
Parking always seem to get one close to the door.
Will update with future orders of brisket and ribs.

I was craving some really good BBQ so I pulled up my good buddy Unilocal for some advice. I consider Unilocal my trusty companion in almost every decision making process in where I want to go, or where I want to eat. We decided we’d try Pappas BBQ since we’ve never been there before and overall ratings of this establishment looked pretty fair. We picked the location closest to our Apartment and off we went.
We arrived and the décor was cute in the sense you felt you were about to get get some good ol’ BBQ. I ordered the combo where I could pick 2 meats. I got the BBQ Chicken and Baby Back Ribs, it came with a couple of sides. I dont normally eat sides, so I picked out 2 sides that i would just give to the Mister anyway. He ended up ordering a pulled pork sandwich and fries. We sat down, took our first bite expecting the clouds to part, the angels to start singing and we braced ourselves hoping to taste something glorious. Unfortunately we were immediately let down. The BBQ sauce had a flavor that tasted burnt and undesirable, there was hardly any meat on my ribs, the chicken looked pink and under cooked (which worried me), and I wasn’t into any of the side dishes. I ate my ribs, and sat at the table hungry since I wasn’t going to eat pink chicken, and dissapointment had already set in. I really dont know if this was a fluke, if I just needed to order something different, if it was just this particular location, or if all pappas locations are like this?
We want some damn good BBQ and this experience did not hit the mark. Does Anyone have any recommendations?

Just wanted to show this Pappas BBQ location some love, since it was missing from the site. Possibly the best BBQ in Houston. I took off one star because the side dishes could be better. Everything is fresh and the place is clean and decorated like an old west dance hall.
The loaded chopped beef potato is what I usually order. It is filling and delicious!