Brian’s Backyard BBQ

Brians is NOT closed. On the contrary it’s alive and kicking with great barbecue and incredible live music. Laid back with a fun vibe. Great craft beer selection. Thumbs up!!!

We were flipping through a local Clipper Magazine and came across Brian’s Backyard Barbecue and their menu. We called to inquire about their exact location and to confirm items on the menu. So we arrived at the hillbilly looking bar and immediately thought silently should we or shouldn’t we venture inside. Our presence didn’t seem to spark any direct stares so we sat down and even if it had we would have still sat down. The waitress was delightful very patient and attentive. My husband is very particular about his food. He always asks a plethora of questions up front, so he doesn’t have to send his food back if it’s not to his liking. The collards greens were a travesty, the pull pork looked like a spoonful of slop. The collard greens could have borrowed some seasoning from the over seasoned rice and beans. Someone said these were the best collards they ever had, clearly you haven’t experience authentic soul food or you wouldn’t have made that comment. So you get a pass on that review because you just don’t know how good food should taste. To be fair the brisket was decent a little dry but edible and the band was really great! We sent the entire plate back. I think my husband felt bad so he dared to order a burger to go. I looked at him like are you sure you want to do this and his response was who can mess up a burger. We took the burger to go. My daughter said the burger was good!
I’m writing this because I was up at 1:27am sick to my stomach after eating here. I had indigestion so bad I couldn’t sleep and had to work the next day. When we were told the cook was off and the owner was cooking we should have left right then but we didn’t…
Tip: Do not cook collards from a can and Mac and cheese on top of the stove and call it comfort food. Out of generosity I’m rating you a 2 mainly because the burger, nice waitress and the band was really good! I wish it was a better experience but I was terribly sick after dining here. I believe it was the tasteless fried oysters. If you just add some Olé Bay seasoning to the batter it will do wonders to this appetizer. Try it. Oh and change the oil you fry them in daily. I need to mention a customer by the name Debbie she was so welcoming and pleasant at first, we thought she worked there.

I have been to Brians in the past, and it was ok. However, this time, we ordered a slew of wings (what they are known for) and they were horrible. They were steamed, or something, rubbery and white– with the sauce then just poured over the damp wings. Disgusting. I fed them to the raccoons… The last time, the wings were cooked with the skins being somewhat crispy and cooked in the sauce. This time, it was the most revolting thing ever put on a plate in front of me. We won’t be going back…

I had the opportunity to briefly stop by Brian’s Backyard BBQ last night and totally enjoyed the blues jam session and talented musicians who played. 3 Guitarist served up an excellent dish of real Blues and had me and many others bobbin our heads and air drumming along with the music. It was hard to decide which was better, the music or the best BBQ ribs in this area. When it comes to ribs, I consider myself an «expert» and have tried all the very best places in Memphis, St. Louis, Dallas, Atlanta and even Coeur D’alene, Idaho. When it comes to Blues music, I also know what I like and what is good. Now I know where I may spend my Wednesday nights.

One of the worst meals ever purchased.
Appetizer, Sausage lollipop was dried out, obviously not fresh and served cold. Waitress did the right thing by taking it off the bill.
Wanted Brisket but they were out. Asked for ribs but they didn’t have enough for 3 so I lost out.
Ordered shrimp & chips. Simple dish, right? Wrong. Shrimps were dry and over fried. Either the food is bad or the preparation staff is the cause.
Save your money and stay away.

Great restaurant. Food and service were great. Had the Ribs with mac and cheese and collard greens. Will return soon.

The food may be good to some, but I don’t think so.
Atmosphere is skeevy and attracts people I would rather not dine near.

I love this place! Truly reminds me of many southern bbq spots
Good BBQ fun atmosphere !
Prices are reasonable
Corn bread is awesome, beans are sweet and savory
Meats are great !
The crowd is always interesting and the music is always cranking :)
Fun fun and yummy ! Go you’ll have fun and get full:)

A dive restaurant. You will wait forever for your food. I’ve given this place 3 tries. Each time I’ve ordered the same thing and being a party of two each time, we always get the same thing it takes 40+ mins every. Single. Time. Beers are great. Downside of this place is that if a band is playing you have to pay the «ticket» price to even eat. I’m not paying $ 20 to see some washed up 80’s rocker when I simply want to sit at the bar and grab a beer and a sandwich. Why pay for a ticket to something I don’t want to hear when I’m going to be buying food and alcohol? Done with this place.

Great place for some great bbq service is great and on tuesday they have pub poker usa

I love BBQ and even bad BBQ is better than NO BBQ unless it’s from this place. We drove a distance to come here to try a new place (for us). The waitresses were excellent however the food took forever which is odd because BBQ usually comes out super fast since it’s already cooked.
We got one of their sampler platters which was BBQ Chicken, Pulled Pork, Ribs, 2 Sides & Cornbread for $ 34.99. The price was ok, the food was not. We tried the sticky bourbon sauce since some people here recommended it. It was awful. It looked and tasted like they mixed apple sauce and watered down BBQ sauce together and dumped it all over everything.
The chicken was eh but nothing special and barely tasted smoked. The pulled pork was terrible and tasted like it came from a crock pot with no smokiness whatsoever. The ribs were definitely smoked but just not good. The sides were also awful and the cornbread was just ok.
I don’t think that Billy Joes or Brothers BBQ in Orange County are anything to write home about but they are easily 10x better than this place.

Having been to Brian’s a handful of times over the last few years, I realized I had only experienced the music there, and never eaten. So, seeing as BBQ options in Newburgh are pretty slim, my wife and I decided to head over on a Saturday afternoon recently to actually sit down and eat this time. Glad we, did, as this is easily the best BBQ in the area. Brian and his crew really know what they are doing; you can smell the meats smoking as soon as you get out of your car in the parking lot. Warm friendly greetings happen as soon as you walk in the door, and the menu features many Southern favorites, like ribs, brisket, pulled pork, chicken, catfish, collard greens baked beans, mac n cheese, po boy sandwiches, andouille sausage, etc. If you want to sample a few items, opt for the Sampler Platter, which is enough food for 2 and contains ribs, sausage, brisket and pulled pork. Ribs are tasty and fall off the bone easily, while my personal favorite, the brisket, is so tender it melts in your mouth. Opt for the sticky bourbon sauce for your ribs, it is quite tasty. They usually have a fine selection of beers on tap and bottle, perfect to compliment the BBQ selections. One word of caution-​there is generally always a musical act playing, even during the early dinner hours, and the acoustic acts can even be a tad on the loud side, so opt to sit further away from the stage if you want to indulge in casual conversation. Despite the volume, the bands are always very good. We’ve since been back 4 times to eat in recent weeks, and will continue to make the trek to Middletown whenever we crave some authentic BBQ.

I really enjoyed myself here! Since I am not a fan of BBQ, I went with the fried shrimp and loved it. I had it with a side of beans and rice, which were delicious! The atmosphere was pretty relaxed. We went at 6 p.m. on a Friday and were treated to a number of people playing guitar on the stage. The music was great and not too overwhelming for someone who wants to eat and talk. Finally, the waitress was awesome! She was extremely nice and attentive. I would definitely come back.

the ribs were spectacular.
that should be all you need to know.
— also, they have great bands playing all the time.
— and their beer selection is of the higher end craft type.

Excellent restaurant. If you know about southern BBQ or authentic cajun recipes. you’ll be happy to find that it doesn’t get any better than this. Brian’s is the real deal. You can smell the food cooking from the smoker and it’s absolutely marvelous. Ribs fall off the bone. the brisket cannot be matched-​Tender, juicy. melt in your mouth delicious Barbecue… no matter what you get, the chances are you’ll love it! The best collard greens I’ve ever had. amazing corn bread, baked beans, Mac n cheese and cole slaw — everything made from scratch, in house, family recipes. His sauce is phenomenal… He’s a true «pit master»
Service is super friendly and they always make you feel like you’re at home. The live music consists of national touring acts as well as the best local talent you can find. If you haven’t been to Brian’s, you’ve been missing out!!!

First time experience at Brian’s last Friday night. Started with a nice cup of gumbo, very filling (and tasty). Of course, BBQ ribs with cole slaw and corn bread. All were cooked just fine, cornbread was nice and moist. Nicole was excellent, giving suggestions and never failing to check making sure everything was fine. Looks like they have live music on a regular schedule, hope they book McMule. Very comfortable roadhouse feel, accent on the blues Will definitely return.

Nice place to end up after a ride to see the leaves change– for a late lunch. We ordered the pork sandwich great flavor! Great selection of on tap beers. Missed the gator nuggets on menu. Next time– Staff was very friendly. Not crowded but I am sure when the bands are playing it is!

Pulled pork was good, but no option for meat with sauce on the side; collards were good, but I prefer mine cooked without vinegar. Cornbread was light and very good but again I prefer mine without sugar.
My husbands ribs were meaty and tender.
Not what we are used to in South Alabama, but very good for NY :)

I wasn’t too impressed with this place to begin with. First let’s be honest about what this place is. It’s a Dive. Don’t get me wrong. That’s cool if Dives are your thing. I’m just pointing out that this really isn’t a restaurant. It’s a bar that serves ribs.
There was a local rock band playing live music on my visit. Well, let’s be honest about that too. It was really just a practice and jam session. And loud. Really loud. Far too loud to hold a conversation. More appropriate for a Friday night than a Sunday lunch.
The bartender/​waitress was friendly enough. My food arrived quickly, but I was surprised by the high prices. And sides were not included. You had to order two sides and they were an additional $ 4! A full rack with sides is pushing $ 30. A little steep for the cheap atmosphere I would say.
Things got a little better when it came to the food. The corn bread was delicious. It was moist and just sweet enough. Possibly the second best corn bread I’ve eaten (Mom will always win that one). The Mac-​N-​Cheese was quite good and topped with real cheese. My baked beans had a liberal helping of brisket in them. Nice! (I now sorta see why they wanted $ 4 for the sides). No complaints with my ribs. Not bad for being east coast ribs. Oh, and the Sticky Bourbon Sauce smelled and tasted slightly like hookah. Strange analogy I know, but it’s what I thought of. Not a bad thing necessarily.
Overall, the food was good, but for the premium price, the rest of the show needs cleaned up.

3.5 stars rounded up to an honest 4 due to the fact that this is very respectable southern-​style BBQ served up in of all places, NY State (!) and that the staff are so very cool.
As others have said, this place is a little off the beaten path, but if you’re in the area craving southern-​style BBQ, it’s worth going a big bit off that path to find them as did I, off Rt. 17. I seriously thought I was on a wild goose chase until I saw their very reassuring roadside sign out in the boonies, past all the suburban tracts.
The service was great, the guy who met me (Brian, maybe?) was super chill and my waitress was wonderful. When I inquired about one of their more obscure beers that they have on tap (Tröeg Brewery’s «Dreamweaver»), she brought me a nice sample so I could taste before ordering. I liked it so I ordered a pint.
The meal I chose was the «Pig Out» Combo. ¼ chicken, ¼ rack ribs, pulled pork, 2 sides & cornbread at just shy of 24 bucks. For sides, I opted for collards and mac & cheese. She asked me my choice of sauces and I indicated «Carolina mustard» with which to dress my pork. Food came out in a very timely manner, delivered with a smile.
I liked the ribs the best; they were well smoked, moist, flavorful and without an overpowering rub or too much smoke, letting the flavor of the rib meat come through. The chicken also was very good being quite tasty and extremely moist, which is a hard thing to pull off. I did not care much for the pork. The meat itself was excellent, but it was mixed with a sweet, metallic tasting tomato & vinegar sauce that really took away from the flavor of that succulent pig. That’s why I ordered the Carolina mustard sauce on the side to garnish the pork. They should just serve regular pulled pork, sans pre-​mixing in sauce; probably wouldn’t even need sauce it’s so good and then the customer would have their option.
The greens were a little tough though flavorful and for Yankee collards, I’d rate them tip-​top! A little pork in the mix gave them a beautiful yet not overpowering saltiness and the «pot likker» was a joy to drink after having finished them! Would have been nice to have had a bit of pepper vinegar on the table with which to dress them but I was too shy to ask and did not want to seem like a pain-​in-​the-​ass. This is why you should have it on the table. The mac & cheese was very creamy and very mild; almost too mild. Seems like it was cooked in a pot rather than baked too, due to the lack of a crust anywhere. Probably suits the local tastes though and I enjoyed it.
All in all, this is a terrific place! They ain’t no Big W’s in Wingdale:
and no Andre’s in Oneonta:
but if you like true, southern-​style BBQ you should come here. It’s a very good place! I will next time I’m passing through. Does NY State proud in the traditional style of excellent REAL BBQ.