Zarda

If you want good BBQ put in the time to drive to anywhere else. Prices were normal but the food was below average. Please save your time and money and go to OK Joe’s or Jack’s Stack.

One word review: Nastyasstiest.
Anyone who gives this place more than 1 star hasn’t tried many KC BBQ places. It’s hard to think of a place with a poorer example of BBQ.
Arby’s does better BBQ. The McRib might be better BBQ. Stay away.

Zarda is a complicated place to review. This location has a huge parking lot, more than enough seating, 4 registers to take your order, and a drive through (having a drive through at a bbq place seems genius in my humblest of opinions). They have a few vans for caterings as well; so if you have a social event, keep that in mind. The cost is on par with the LC’s, Arthur Bryant’s, & Gate’s of the area. But you’d like to know about the food…
The pulled pork and beef are usually dry, but lean and tasty. Adding sauce is advised. The ribs are very hit and miss, but most of the time have a good amount of well smoked meat. Occasionally you’ll get some chewy/​grisly ones though. The chicken and chicken strips are both quite good. The turkey is always juicy and great. But the real winner? The Burnt ends are phenomenal. The sauce is seared into them and they end up as cubed sticky meat treats. Very rarely you’ll get one that’s virtually all fat (bleh), but most of the time they’re just amazing. The sides are always great, huge fries, sweet potato fries, wedges, cheesy corn (guilty pleasure for sure), flavorful beans, etc. The only sides that really lack are the fried mushrooms, pickles, and cauliflower (sad little guys) and mac n cheese. The various sauces are kind of weak/​timid and don’t have or add a lot of flavor and that’s a huge factor for me. Their hot & spicy stuff is just heat. The regular sauce is bland. The sweet hickory is a KC masterpiece knock-​off. And the rally sauce doesn’t do anything for me.
All in all, it’s good food, good service, and convenient with a drive through, but it’s just not my favorite, mainly because of the sauces. If Zarda had Gate’s sauce, I’d eat there twice a week. As it stands, it’s an occasional tasty dinner when driving to the other side of the city doesn’t sound appealing.

I was excited to try the burnt ends, and they were a huge let down. Too heavy on the smoke, and a combo of dry and chewy. Service was fast and polite. I’m not usually a fan of vinegar based Coke slaw, but theirs was pretty good.

This was our first visit to Zarda. The menu above the counter wasn’t easy to read, but the order taker was helpful. I ordered beef burnt ends plate with beans and potato salad. My wife ordered a beef brisket sandwich with mac n cheese.
The burnt ends were very tender but too salty. I tried four different BBQ sauces. None were what I’d call great. The highlite was the beans. They were good enough to justify a return trip.
On the table was a teaser for a turkey sandwich. We’ll try it on a later visit.
Overall, it was «ok.» We’ll return.

I have eaten at Zarda quite a few times and have found the food to be fairly expensive and not that tasty. The brisket that I had was dry and lacking flavor and the ham was mediocre. I haven’t been back since.

I called in an order for burnt ends and sliced beef with a side of sweet potato fired.
The burnt ends were really tough and lacked flavor. Almost seemed like they came in frozen and were reheated.
The sliced beef was super dry. I didn’t care for it at all.
Neither seemed fresh.
I called in a crock of sweet potato fries and they goofed up and gave me a side. So even though the fries were good I didn’t get the correct size which sucked given they were the best tasting part of the meal.
I won’t go back. The margin for error is so small in KC for BBQ. With so many great options around, I can’t justify giving a second chance to a place that disappointed me this badly.

1^st I want to say, the customer service was great! I give 5 stars for service. But the food on the other hand was «ok» definitely not one of kansas city’s best bbq joints. Everything was pretty bland, not a lot of flavor. I was really craving bbq and was kind of let down. The burnt ends were too tough, not at all the way they should be. Maybe I came on a «off» day so I might come back to give them another try.

This place used to be good. My turkey sandwich was nuked to death and resembled rubber. When asked about condiments at the drive up window they completely ignored what I asked for. Your job is so easy… how can you make such stupid mistakes! For what they charge I expected much more. Will no longer consider this restaurant when looking for BBQ.

Zarda is about a block away from where I live, and as a new resident of Kansas City, I was eager to drive into the BBQ scene. I went for lunch on a Sunday, and I enjoyed quickly ordering at the counter, and then being able to choose my own table. The food isn’t bad. I really enjoyed a burnt-​ends sandwich and fries. That being said, I can see why Zarda isn’t one of the more famous BBQ restaurants of Kansas City. It’s good, it just isn’t over the top amazing BBQ.

Had a new hire so we decided to try this for lunch since I don’t like Jack Stacks (over-​rated) and Joe’s is a little too noisy for having conversations with someone who wants to know what they are getting into.
Not impressed AT ALL! I ordered burnt ends, they were not crispy nor did they fall apart, they were tough. The coleslaw is a vinegar base and a little slimy. The pickle was good though!
The two people with me ordered sandwiches and they looked terrible. Neither one complained but it looked like cheap bread and too much of it.
The pork looked edible, IF I went back I may try that. The actual sauce is tasty enough but I always compare it to Joe’s, which is just outstanding.
Very pricey too, for what you get. I think for the 3 meals and 2 drinks it was $ 36.
There wasn’t much meat on my plate and the person who ordered the turkey sandwich didn’t get much meat on their bread.

Tasty BBQ but portions are too small for the price. Better BBQ places around, but Zarda DOES have good flavor.

Maybe being an out of stater I am not used to ordering before I sit down, but that seems to be the norm for barbecue here. I went for lunch and had a pulled pork sandwich, fries, and coleslaw.
All of it was fine, nothing great, nothing, bad. Fact is, I can get better in Denver, and have a server and a real sit down lunch or dinner.

I had the turkey plate with a salad and coleslaw for lunch. About 2.5 hrs later I had horrible stomach cramps and diarrhea. About another two hrs later I was sicker than I have ever been in my life and vomited uncontrollably for five minutes. Stay far far far away from this place. I am someone with a strong stomach and never get sick. I know something is seriously wrong with this place!!!

The meat is less than mediocre and hugely disappointing but the coleslaw is good. The ribs were dry and tough on the outside and my wife’s pulled pork sandwich wasn’t memorable. I’d be real surprised if they actually smoked the meat from start to finish. My guess is some sort of oven with woodchip smoke combo. The young staff was friendly enough, though, so that’s a plus. I was hoping to sample some of the famous Kansas City BBQ but instead wound up at the Applebee’s of BBQ.

Zarda doesn’t typically come to mind when you think about Kansas City’s big BBQ establishments, but it deserves better press & their demands attention.
My trips to Zarda over the years have always been outstanding. Ordering inside (cafeteria style) is a cinch. Sandwiches don’t disappoint and the helpings are always heaping. Their ribs are on par with other joints around the area. Succulent, tasty, and oversized, a full slab is about 22 bucks and is the same cut as Gates. You’ll only get 5 ribs at gates for 13 — 15 bucks compared to 12 or so from Zarda.
One HUGE bonus is the drive-​thru line. If the line isn’t too long, you’ll be in and out in a jiffy. It’s a big help with a kid in the car and not wanting to run inside to wait for carry out.
Don’t compare Zarda to their supermarket offerings — there really isn’t a parallel. What you will find at the Zarda location is great food for reasonable BBQ prices. Don’t miss a trip today.

By far the most underwhelming BBQ I’ve had in KC. Not awful or offensive food, just utterly…“eh.” And when there is certainly no shortage of really satisfying BBQ, why resign yourself to «eh?» The meat’s okay, but not memorable. Sandwiches do come on soft rolls, v. White bread sandwich slices, so that’s kind of nice. Fries are alright, thick cut steak fries that are pretty baked potato-​ey in the middle, so if crispy thinner or crinkle fries are your jam, be forewarned, these are not those. Cheesy corn was not so good. soupy and likely made with canned corn. Sauce is pretty nondescript, like a generic supermarket brand, or nugget dunking tub at McD’s…even the supposed zesty spicy one.
Overall, better than going hungry, service was quick and pleasant, place was clean and inoffensive. Price was in line with the standard, though portions werent amazingLy generous. Only problem is that it’s just… mediocre, and unfortunately, this is the wrong town in which to serve mediocre BBQ.

Zarda recently catered a wedding reception for us and did an amazing job. The caterer was on time and brought more than enough food with him. He set up a very nice buffet and kept it well stocked. Packaged all the leftovers and cleaned up. Exactly what I expected. I thought the food they catered was actually better than what I’ve had in the restaurant, bonus. Good bbq, good price and great catering. They’ve earned my recommendation.

Almost everybody in KC has an opinion about where to go and where to avoid when it comes to bbq. I was born and raised here so you’d expect me to be a good source of info when it comes to all the bbq joints in town. This may shock you but I don’t really care much for bbq. I do like it but I don’t typically rave about burnt ends or smoked brisket or anything. I don’t seek out bbq often, in fact I probably only eat it a couple times a year. I think most of the bbq restaurants in the area are ok. Call it blasphemy but I don’t like OK Joe’s or Gates at all. If you’re still here reading this and didn’t write me off as insane after reading that last sentence, thanks.
The reasons I prefer to eat at Zarda when I want bbq are actually quite simple. My meat of choice when at a bbq place is sausage. Every bbq place I’ve been to serves a sausage sandwich the same way; cutting the sausage in half lengthwise and putting it in a bun with some bbq sauce. This is fine with me but the sausage sandwich from Zarda is entirely different. Zarda runs the sausage through a meat slicer and as you can imagine, they cut it extremely thin. I’m not sure how many sausages it takes to make one sandwich but the amount of meat they use is unbelievable. It’s also cooked extremely well. The sausage is always moist and warm. I typically take a few pieces of the sausage from my sandwich and offer them to whoever I’m eating with because YES, IT REALLY IS THAT GOOD!
As I write this I actually have a strong urge to skip the dinner my wife is cooking right now and just go to Zarda. Maybe I’ll drop in for lunch later this week. Before I finish writing I want to mention that Zarda also has some pretty tasty sides. They have regular french fries and (my favorite) wedge cut fries. They have the potato bake which is basically a potato casserole. If you don’t like potatoes they have excellent veggies too. I love their fried okra! They have several other sides to choose from too, the ones I listed are only the ones I’ve tried. It’s hard to try everything when you eat bbq as rarely as I do, but I am looking forward to going back. Maybe I’m beginning to turn into a bbq person after all.

I have to start off by saying that this place has not changed in like twenty years down to the «old-​school» TVs. LOL
The service was good for a counter service restaurant. The food was a give and take. The dinning room was clean and pleasant. The over all experience was nice.
The Billy Butler sandwich was on point with some pretty decent bbq sauce. It came on a bun with onion rings inside it. I got the «meal deal» so it came with a side and a drink. I chose cheesy corn… Thats what it was. Cheesy (not in the oozing goodness way, but the other way). I have to say that it did actually come with some little bitty crumbs of bacon though. lol I thought that it reminded me of some sort of cheep bland retirement-​home cafeteria food. Its a FAR CRY from the baked beans that they offer. I can’t mention the bland tasteless cheesy corn with out mentioning the pickles that were just as bland.
I think next time I visit I will order the ribs and fries. Oh yeah and the beans. Love the baked beans.