Jack’s Bar-B-Que

Had the ribs and brisket. Both were ok but nothing to rave about. This place is popular as it is right by the Broadway downtown area. I would have tried Martin’s or peg leg if I had more time.

Looking for the simple, but delicious BBQ, this is the place. Great atmosphere, you need more then one time to see all the history on the walls. We had the brisket plate, rib plate, green beans and mac and cheese. The rub on the ribs is sweet and smokey. You really don’t need sauce, but love that also. Green beans are smokey with potatoes. loved every bite. A must go when you are visiting Nashville.

The best BBQ I’ve had, period. Worth the wait. The meat is unreal and the sides are the best. It’s busy all the time, but definitely worth it. Pig out.

Came here for lunch and sat out on the patio. The music from next door kept us entertained.
The food was amazing! The bbq sauce is out of this world!
We had…
Brisket sandwich
Pork shoulder sandwich
Mac & cheese
Everything was delicious!!! A must visit in Nashville.

OH MY GOODNESS! There is a very good reason the line is usually out the door!
Stopped in here yesterday and ordered the Tennessee pork shoulder with macaroni and cheese and green beans. Tried the Tennessee original and KC sauce Highly recommend both of them. The original is vinegar based and blends nicely with the richness of the pork. The KC is a traditional smoky, sweet sauce and is good too. Try the warm apples too as a nice sweet treat after a fine BBQ meal. Warm, tender apple slices in a buttery, cinnamon spiced sauce.

We arrived at Jack’s just as they pulled out a large piece of pork to chop it. Taking that as a good omen we ordered that item, and it was delicious to say the least. I accompanied it with green beans and potato salad, an excellent meal at a great price. They have a large selection of sauces to go with meat, which was served unsauced. I was impressed with al the food.

After becoming a fan of the Salt Lick in Texas, I’ve had a hard time finding brisket on that level. We came her after RNR Nashville… the line was long, but got even longer while we were inside.
I appreciate the variety of BBQ sauces so that you can customize your meat to your taste.
I got the brisket plate… it was good, but not quite Salt Lick level. The plate comes with ample sides: I got Mac n Cheese and the apples and it comes with a slice of bread that is more like cake :)
Friendly staff. if you’re willing to brave the wait, the food is good!

Quality of the ribs is AAA! Goood smokey flavor and selection of 3 sauces. We stood in line almost 30 minutes on a Saturday night, got our food and drinks and went upstairs to eat and found a table quickly. You eat off styrofoam plates with plastic utensils but the food is good and we had a view of Broadway and all the street action. The ambiance is backyard picnic but the meat is great. The sides not so much

Not a BBQ eater, but I can definitely attest to the yumminess of Jack’s sides and sauces.
I ordered the 3 ‘veggie’ plate which lets you choose 3 sides and is served with a slice of corn bread ($ 8). In true southern fashion, no real fresh veggies were anywhere to be found. Only in the South is Mac and Cheese is considered a vegetable! I got the baked beans (YUM!), cole slaw and mashed potatoes. All were really tasty and the beans were especially killer. Bbq sauces were all really flavorful and distinct.
Yes, this is totally a tourist spot.
Yes, it gets packed.
Yes, you should have bbq in Nashville.
It’s convenient. It’s reasonably priced. You can pop in, pop out and get back to drinking and listening to music.
Easy as that.
I have no idea if it’s the best bbq in Nashville, but I had a great meal in a fun atmosphere. Definitely worth checking out.

Jack’s Barbeque is average ‘que — nothing more and nothing less. With its convenient location right on Broadway, Jack’s would definitely be better than depriving yourself of ‘que on your visit, but there are much better options if you have time and transportation.
When you walk in to Jack’s, it has that divey feel that many of the bars do on Broadway and a ver pleasant smokey smell that tells you they are doing their work right there. You walk up to the counter, place your order and then seat yourself. Don’t forget to pick up your sauces from the end of the counter because there is not sauce on the tables.
I ordered a 3 meat combo which comes with two sides. I chose brisket, pulled pork, and sausage along with bakes beans and slaw. Of the three meats, the pulled pork was the best, but it won’t put any NC joints out of business. Nice size to the pieces and blend of outside to inside. The brisket was a little dry, not too tender with no bark at all. I felt more like I was eating a piece of steak than brisket. My table mate said the turkey was very good. The slaw was nice and vinegary and the beans, although plain, were very good.
Jack gets 3 stars for location, atmosphere and the fact that everything was absolutely edible. However, you can do better in Nashville.

Solid BBQ but the experience/​atmosphere is the draw here.
Stand in line to get to the counter, where the serve you cafeteria style. The main floor dining area is small and crowded, so walk up to the second flood where there is a large area of tables inside, somewhat outside (covered deck) and outside on the patio to sit.
Smoked turkey was the best meat on my plate-​ribs were kind of tough and chewy-​while the sides were good-​mac n’ cheese, cucumber/​tomato salad-​but side portions weren’t large. They have a few sauces and the hot mixed with the vinegar is my recommendation. Pork was the favorite of my fellow diners.

There is always a long line in front of the door. I think the location adds a lot on that. The restaurant is right in the middle in the downtown area. They actually have enough seats, but the long line is for getting the food.
We ordered ribs and corn, mash potato, green beans and baked beans. They have plenty of sauce options. The food was good but I’m not sure if it worth the long line of waiting.

I like BBQ. A lot. It is something I constantly want to eat and in the South, there is good BBQ and okay BBQ. I felt like Jack’s was just OK. We went to Jack’s on a Saturday night around 8pm. There was a line out the door. It is cafeteria style, so you wait in line, get a throw away plate with your order and fight for a table. Because the line was long, I sat and waited while Nick stood in line for our order. We had to wait about 15 – 20 minutes. .
Pulled pork sandwich with potato salad and mac-​n-​cheese was what I decided to try. The pork was decent but kind of dry. I did not realize there were 6 options for your sauces because they are not clearly marked. I only saw 3. So, I had the Tennessee Original which was sweet and tangy. Typically BBQ sandwiches come with a pickle and some onions. I didn’t have them given to me on the plate and could not locate them in the restaurant. It left my sandwich kind of incomplete. Skip the potato salad — it tasted like Kroger. The mac-​n-​cheese was the BOMB though, and the highlight of the meal. Loved how creamy and comfort food like it was.
The disorganized set up of the place and lack of flavor in the pork prior to adding a lot of sauce gave me a disappointed outlook on Jack’s. I would try this place again maybe during the slower times next time I am in Nashville to see if this was a fluke situation.

Luckily we beat the crowd. The bbq was pretty standard. Nothing I would do cartwheels for. It is a cafeteria style restaurant and the staff that prepared the food almost seemed annoyed we were there. Cashier was kind tho! We were glad we got there early because the line was around the corner when we left. Check in with Unilocal and you will get a free spice rub –that was nice!

I couldn’t tell you how many times I have walked by this place… I decided I finally had to go! Ohhhh my! they have delicious smoked BBQ. Wished I had stopped by here earlier. They have a dinner plate, you get bbq and 2 sides with corn bread. I asked for a sandwich bun as well.
They have 6 choices of sauces. 3 of which i didnt see until now! Lol
Carolina, white, xxx911, Kansas city, Tennessee original and Texas sweet hot.
I mixed the Kansas city and the Tennessee original on mine and it was delicious.
Had the corn and Mac n’ cheese all very good.
Make sure you look up to see the other 3 sauces. I didn’t notice it until someone pointed it out to me. There are 6 sauces.
Would recommend–

A Broadway Favorite! The line can get long so be prepared to wait — the line goes quickly as its cafeteria style — you tell the staff what you want and u take your tray! I loved the pulled pork, my friends said the brisket was good too! The fired apples are awesome! My corn bread was on the drier side but some of my friends said that’s how they like it so it didn’t goto waste. My fav sauce was the spicy sweet.
A great place to eat on Broadway! I’ve been there twice and will be back again!

***VEGANS BEWARE***
Look, there is BBQ and then there is BBQ. Jack’s is the latter. While venturing down to Nashville from Montréal, I was seeking the authentic BBQ spot in between dive bar hopping on Broadway and came across this gem of a place. A good sign was that there had been a line consistently throughout my stay in Nashville — mostly locals — which is a clear indication that Jacks BBQ is the real deal.
Now down to the food: during my first visit there in the 5 days I spent in Nashville (yes I became a repeat customer), I ordered the combo plate which comes with 3 meats, 2 sides and corn bread. A perfect sampler if you are having trouble deciding what to order. The meats I selected were the pork shoulder, the brisket and the ribs. The sides I selected were the collard greens and the apples.
First the sides: the corn bread was amazing. Exactly what you want in a corn bread. Moist yet crumbly, filled with flavor. The greens were incomparable — I have not had the privilege to try greens before as they are hard to come by here in Montréal and have since only had them once at Dinette Triple Crown (review coming soon!) — which I may add came close to Jack’s in flavor and texture. The apples were much easier to describe: imagine warm apple pie filling on a plate. The sweet and savory of those two sides are a perfect compliment for the meats that I tried as the main course. The pork shoulder was a melt in your mouth taste of goodness. The perfect balance of salty, spicy, fatty and juicy. Next was the brisket which was my personal favorite on the plate. It too was a loose meat and was easy to pick at, the texture was just right and filled with flavor. It turns out that their brisket is smoked for 19 hrs — yes 19 hrs– and you can taste the love they put into it. The ribs were solid and definitely belonged on the plate but again, my focus was on the brisket, To wash it all down, I had an iced tea.
**An added bonus was their ample supply of various different delicious BBQ sauces that you can help yourself to — much like a ketchup dispenser you would find at a McDonald’s or a Wendy’s.
Do yourself a favor and visit Jack’s BBQ to satisfy the carnivore in you!

I was so torn about the BBQ here. Recently came to Nashville with friends for the weekend and we were given the recommendation to go to Jacks for BBQ. We went a little after 12, and waited in like for about 30 minutes (which was fine).
While we were waiting in line, our entire group was talking about how hungry they were and how amazing all the dishes that were coming out looked. The ribs, the brisket, and the pulled pork all looked AMAZING. Once we finally ordered and got our trays, everyone trucked to find a table upstairs and sat down.
Super disappointed with the food. The pulled pork was dry and pretty flavorless, and the only reason I finished it was because I poured BBQ sauce on it (which was delicious by the way). I love coleslaw, and I couldn’t finish mine because it was too sour. No one was super happy with the ribs, and the mac and cheese was soupy. I am happy I went since it is such a talked about tourist spot, but will not be returning and will probably not recommend it to anyone. I was bummed because I love, love, love BBQ!

I came to Nashville in search of BBQ. I succeeded in eating a lot of BBQ actually — they were serving it for lunch at the conference I was attending, at the airport at Orchid BNA, and finally right here at Jack’s right on the Honky Tonk strip.
I didn’t really have high expectations given the touristy location and the simple interior. There wasn’t much of a line so I decided to try it. I would later learn that I just happened to come at an extremely lucky time since there is usually a very long line here.
I decided to go with the brisket with a side of the pork shoulder and some mac n cheese. They slice the brisket right on the spot and it looked delicious.
I took my tray upstairs, got some sauce, and then dug in. HOLY MOLY! The brisket was INCREDIBLE! It was tender and juicy with just the right amount of fattiness. The spicy bbq sauce I picked just brought it to another level. The shoulder was also good but nowhere as good as the brisket. The mac and cheese was simple but delicious.
I was in shock that one of the best meals I had in Nashville cost less than $ 15. I definitely recommend a stop at Jack’s if you are in the area as it is AMAZING!

This was one of the places recommended by Nashville peeps. Went on labor day monday for lunch, and the line was out the door. They had some kitchy décor. The space was a little tight esp. when there’s a line. It’s like a cafeteria line where you order, pay, and try to find a table. What we did was have a friend save a table while the rest ordered food because we were a group of 7.
I ordered a brisket sandwich and enjoyed it with the tangy sauce (I like vinegar based bbq sauce) vs. the sweet bbq sauce that the rest of my friends liked better. I do agree w/​some reviews that you cannot eat the brisket without the sauce, the corn bread was a little dry and mac n cheese was bland.
I wanted so bad to try the chess pie, but I didn’t have extra room in my tummy after the big lunch. I got a free hand rub by checking in on Unilocal.I think they are usually $ 4−5/bottle. Thanks for that Jack’s and Unilocal

Hat uns nicht vom Hocker gehauen! Bar-​B-​Que Fleisch ließ sich kaum von den Rippen lösen, d.h. die Ribs wurden nicht lange genug gegrillt. Mehr Massenabfertigung als Restaurant, auch die Beilagen wie Cole Slaw und Baked Beans etc. sind solala. Eher was zum schnellen Abspachteln in einem Touristenladen.