Johnny’s-Bar-B Q and Catering

Went for a second time to see if any improvements! To say the least I was very impressed by our server Savanah and the food is off the hook good! I’m not in the area to much but when I do come back I will eat here again. Thank you to the owner Johnny for personally contacting me and correcting what happened the last time!

Best to arrive before 12 Noon as Johnny’s fills up quickly at this popular BBQ in Keystone Heights, Florida. The customer friendly «wait-​staff» is kept busy preparing their tables for the next waiting dinners (while the seats are still «warm»). Offering Eat-​In, Take-​Out and Drive-​Thru options from their menu of Sandwiches, Salads, Soups, Flame Broiled Burgers, Signature Riders & Wraps, Steak & Seafood, and of course Barbeque. They have Ribs & Combo Platters, Lunch (served till 4pm) & Dinner Favorites, Desserts, and also offer a Kids Menu. Catering is available. For lunch I had the Geneva Springs Chicken which is Mesquite with mozzarella (American cheese as an option), mushrooms and smoked bacon. Served with chipotle ranch sauce.

We love to camp at the state park here. We are so glad we stopped here today. The staff was very friendly. We both got the David’s Deal pulled pork on Texas toast with curly fries. I tried all the sauces and they were all good but my favorite was the Carolina Q, which is our waitress’s favorite. The salad bar was good, very fresh. Sweat tea good too. All around good.

The first thing I noticed while stepping into this dining establishment is the artwork on the walls– it’s homey and reminded me of simpler times. The music… All country. Just as God intended. As I sat down, I was greeted with enthusiasm and charisma from our waitress. Her name is Kim and we talked about Gator football and her recently single daughter (whom she offered to set me up with). I couldn’t have asked for a better dining experience. Oh, and the food? Two thumbs up! A bargain and just great barbecue overall. Try the pulled pork. And the cornbread. And the ribs. And the garlic bread. And the curly fries. And the wings. Peace, love… David, out.

Excellent service, clean restrooms, good food. Everything was cooked well and tasted great. Ribs were on the lean side as they had little meat on them. Good value for your money!

When I want Bar B que I come here. The food is always good it could be a little less dry. The only downside I feel that they have is the salad bar is a little small but other than that I love the place.

We’ve been eating at this fine institution for many years.
I picked up a couple of Georges salads tonight at the carryout and was very disappointed with the quality. Wilted lettuce does not make for good eating… time to give Johnnys a six months vacation and hopefully things will improve.

First time here. Read the other reviews on Unilocal and can’t say I disagree. Joe and I shared the combo platter that came with 2 saint Louis ribs, chicken, sliced pork and sliced beef, 2 slices of garlic toast and 2 sides (we got crinkle fries and Lima beans). All of that for $ 12.95! The ribs were delightful. Smokey, tender and juicy. I was surprised how good the chicken was too as I don’t usually like smoked chicken, although the pieces of chicken were really small. The sliced pork was good and certainly better than the sliced beef which to me had very little flavor. The prices are fantastic and I will most definitely come back whenever in the area.
Our server, John was pleasant and knowledgeable. He explained they smoke all their own meats. You could taste the love in the food. Got peanut butter pie to go. Looks great but not sure worth $ 4 for a slice. Will update once we try the pie tonight.

Been eating here for many years great food and great people never had a bad experience sliced and pulled pork is really good and they have a pretty good variety of food not just barbecue

Good food, nice place to go with family! Would have given 5 stars but again service sometimes lacks.

Without a doubt, this the best rib place I have ever been to. It has a warm and friendly feel to it and would be great for any family. The great service and delectable food makes this an ideal spot for lunch. Come here hungry and be prepared for a perfect and humongous meal. I highly recommend pulled pork, slathered with the sweet BBQ sauce. To conclude, friendly staff, perfect food and a nice environment make this perfect.

Well, that was good. I had the carolina q, fries, and mac n cheese. I’m not a fan of BBQ but the selections around the town are slim. The service was fantastic, the place is clean, and the food was great… for BBQ. The ranch dressing was really good, they might even make it, im pretty sure they do.

My family and I moved to Keystone Heights when I was in 6^th grade and Johnny’s BBQ was a very small locally owned (non-​corp) restaurant in town. It is still locally owned but has grown into a need building right next door. I live out of state now but returned for a wedding last month and went back to Johnny’s!
I took my wife after telling her about the local BBQ I grew up on and we had an OK meal! The couple issues we had were they claimed to be out of bacon!!! Tragedy I agree:-/
The server asked if we wanted anything other than water… Beer? «No we are a family restaurant» (I drink beer around my family all the time!) How bout a Coke? «our soda is broken!» I asked if they had checked the Co2 line… she said she would check for me… sure enough she came back with the Coke as requested:-)
The one issue you may want to watch for is where they go to seat you… I understand table sections for servers and fair seating but we were sat right next to a family of 7 with 3 young children who enjoyed yelling and running around the restaurant! Not only did the parents not do anything they just talked over the kids! Rude anywhere even if it is a small locally owned BBQ joint:-(

Maybe we visited on an off day, but it wasn’t anywhere near as good as the other reviews suggested. The food was warm at best, the chicken was greasy, the ribs could have been much better. The green beans were stringy. The only thing that was any good were the french fries, and they were frozen! Maybe in the context of Keystone Heights this is a great place, but next time we’ll go elsewhere. ..

Man the food was good, service was great. Our waitress natasha was very nice. Atmosphere is very friendly. Over all. I give it Five stars.

I can’t count the number of times I ate at Johnny’s when I used to live in Keystone. When I first moved to Florida I lived nearby to Johnny’s and this is really the only restaurant in the area that I frequented. It’s a blatant and intentional ripoff of Sonny’s but they get more things right than Sonny’s does *cough* pulled pork *cough*…
I know there are a few BBQ places in Gainesville and elsewhere that have drive thrus, but I still give Johnny’s props for that as a positive thing. It was so convenient when I was new to town (see «had no friends») and could just swing through the usually-​not-​crowded drive thru, order excessive amounts of food, go home, gorge, and cry myself to food coma.
In all seriousness, Johnny’s really has some good deals. The ‘Best Deal’ combo is a ¼ lb. burger, fries, and drink for $ 4.99! That’s ridiculous, and it’s pretty damn good… better than pretty much every other $ 5 meal option in town. Also, I don’t know if they still allow this, but order the lunch plates at dinner hours. It’s supposedly less food but it sure doesn’t seem like it, and you’ll save almost $ 3 per plate.
I will certainly return next time I’m hungry in Keystone.

As others have said this is easily the most popular restaurant in the area and well worth a stop if you are in the area. The set up reminds me of a Sonny’s, just with better food and less expensive.
I recommend the pulled pork, but everything is good. The mustard based BBQ sauce is wonderful also. The service is friendly and fast.
If you are passing through they also have a drive-​thru.

Easily the most popular place to eat in town, and for good reason. Johnny’s is a family-​friendly, fairly priced BBQ joint with a menu varied enough to make everyone happy. But be forewarned: once you find your favorites, it’s difficult to convince yourself to try new things.
EDITED: reduced to 2 stars. The quality of the food has been on a downward trend for a while now, and doesn’t seem to be making a turnaround anytime soon. I still go here when I’m in town, but only because I’m hoping quality picks back up again. Service still ROCKS!

Barbeque isn’t fine dining, but for barbeque, Johnny’s is as good as it gets. I love barbeque and eat it all the time. I decided to review it after I realized how far out of my way I was driving to avoid the franchise places.
My favorites are the pulled pork (never had better) and cole slaw but I’ve never heard a complaint about anything. I clicked on «moderate» for price, but it’s on the low end of moderate; pricing is appropriate or even a little low. Service always friendly and cheerful.

My friend Ray and I ate here tonight and it was packed. .. whether this was due to a normal Saturday evening crowd or because of the air show this weekend up here in Keystone I cannot say, but they were doing a real business. The service here, at least our hostess and our waitress, was amazing. They are very attentitive, even with a full house and lots of kids and large parties about.
The BBQ. .. I had the Carolina Q which was alright but kinda small portions really. The sauces are really good though. For my two sides, I had mac n cheese and cole slaw. .. neither was all the impressive but both were alright. The corn bread which also came along with my BBQ dinner was right-​on though.
Not as good as Akin’s in Bell, but good enough and their smiling service makes up for any reservations I would have on the food itself. Overall, this is a fine place to go for BBQ if you’re in the area.
Ray, who is from Keystone, bemoaned that the price of iced tea had apparently gone up. .. I am like, dude, I got a good BBQ dinner plate and glass of tea for $ 11.50 before tip. .. that ain’t bad. At least compared to Gainesville prices. . !