Willards BBQ Junction

Best pull pork, you can see a very nice smoke ring in the meat meaning they cook with fire. Best bbq around and I have tried about six different local places.

Decent but not great. I have friends who swear by this place, but I don’t get it. First up, meats are sliced and not chopped and the sides with exception to the green beans were, like many BBQ places — an afterthought. I would come back if I had to, but there are a lot of other BBQ places I would check out first.
So this is a little funny: I came with a buddy and after checking out the menu, I suggested we get the meal for two. When we ordered that, the young post-​high school waitress kind of looked at us funny and I think she thought we were gay and told her co-​workers. For me, no big deal, I am a proud progressive Californian though I was a little depressed that this kind of attitude still permeates Jacksonville’s Westside… whatevs.

Food is not bad once you get someone to acknowledge your presence. Average at best… and they got my order wrong. Just a bad experience overall.

We have eaten here many times and the food is absolutely awesome and very consistent. It has a nice old timey feel sitting down and they are extremely excited when you walk in! Service is great and my glass never went dry!!! Again awesome!

The waitress was very good. The swe ed the tea was excellent. I had the Carolina Hash it was very good as was the coleslaw. The sandwich was great on the bun. The green beans were good. Great place, I will be back.

The service here was horrible! They are overpriced for not even average food. They didn’t have any shrimp but still charged me full price for the meal I wanted. Even after I told her I did not want extra catfish. I would NEVER spend my money or eat here again NEVER!!! If you want to POUR your BBQ sauce on your meat then eat here.

I’m a long time Jacksonville resident who moved away 12 years ago and still manage to get back to town on a pretty regular basis. All that preamble to get to the point that I really don’t agree with the one star reviews on Willards that pine for the days when this was KC Barbecue. KC was not all that and I found WIllards to be an improvement overall.
I had a pulled pork lunch plate which came with two sides and some greasy (in a very good way) garlic bread. The pork was tasty, not fatty with a good smoke flavor, a good mix of bark and inner meat and there was a lot of it for the price. The crinkle cut fries were hot and crisp and the coleslaw, while a little sweet for my taste, was good with a fresh texture.
The service was friendly and the food came out quickly so, WIllards hit the marks you want hit for a place like this and I would definitely go back.

This place is a solid three stars.
Service was great I have no complaints except for one but no really a complaint, I’ll get to that in a few. The décor was simple, looks like a mom and pop restaurant.
I had corn nuggets as the appetizer and it was just okay. Not great nor bad and ranch had a creamy buttery taste to it. I like it a little runny! Weird I know but it’s great that way with corn nuggets.
They were out of beef so I got a double order of the sliced pork which is my favorite anyways. The slice pork here however was a bit dry. Sides were portioned really small and I ordered cole slaw not baked beans. I didn’t make a fuss out of it I figured I could have a little entertainment with my wife on the way home lol.
The ribs were good and so was the chicken. I also really liked the sweet bbq sauce and sweet tea was also on point.
Overall it was a decent experience and priced okay. Could of been better of course. Two stars better ;)

I had dinner here a couple weeks ago and I really liked it. The service was good and the food was also good, but the portion for my meal was rather small. I don’t want a bigger portion, just the right price for the right size. Otherwise the waitress was very attentive and I liked it enough to come back again and probably order something else. It’s not a 5 star Michelin rated restaurant, but it is a quality local BBQ joint that I’m glad is in the neighborhood.

I’ve been coming for Willard’s BBQ for years. When I saw they had opened a sit down place I knew I had to go. The pulled pork is always moist and flavorful, the slaw is the best I’ve had from any other establishment and the selection of sauces is nice and all good. The spicy sauce is my favorite, the perfect mix of BBQ and heat, but not too much heat. The place is clean and cute with a touch of practical.
The sweet tea is superb!

Awful. Ordered the pulled pork sandwich with BBQ beans. Pork was dry and tough and lacked flavor. Good BBQ should have a nice bark and there was none. The meat tasted like it was only seasoned with Lowry’s and black pepper.
Even the beans were tough. Van Camps seasoned with extra worchester and their tangy BBQ sauce. They do have have 5 different sauces to chose from. Tried all and cared for none. Much better BBQ can be found through out jac.

This place cannot even cast a shadow upon the former rib place that occupied this spot for many years. My wife and I thought that we would try this place since its last inception as a bakery of some sort or whatever it was. The food was cold. The ribs had the established smoke ring, but had little to no flavor. The meat was tough and dry. The brisket was tough, dry and tasteless. The sauces were tasty, but the overall experience was subpar. Cannot bring ourselves to return for more disappointment. So sad that they could not imitate the KC’s Barbeque of the past at that location.

Born and raised in the South, I am a BBQ lover from way back. I’ve been to the local chain spots and wouldn’t pass up a chance to chow down on some of their Ribs or Pulled Pork, but there is something about a privately owned joint that really brings me in to try them out.
So on my first visit to BBQ Junction I decided on the Pulled Pork as I often do. The nice selection of Mustard & Ketchup based sauces were a nice surprise as well. The meat was tender, juicy with a good mix of meat and outer bark for texture. The BBQ Beans were fantastic with great sweet and tangy flavor.
My only disappointment was the Mac & Cheese. Of course it could be a case of an off night for the cooks, but there wasn’t nearly enough cheese mixed in to call it by name. it was more like just a bland creamy Macaroni.
I will give them another shot of course because I can’t make my final decision without trying the Ribs.