Robinson’s No 1 Ribs

Worst ribs ever!!! Unless you need some diarhea to clean you out. Tastes like horsemeat like no meat I’ve ever eaten.

This is one of the best BBQ places in the Chicago area. If you like BBQ, you need to get your butt to this place. The prices are EXTREMELY reasonable and the recipe took first place in Mike Royko’s 1^st BBQ contest back in the ‘80s. That may not mean a lot to young people, but to old-​time Chicago natives, you’ll know why that’s a big endorsement.
In addition to getting pulled-​pork sandwich that could have fed a family of four, the cole slaw tasted like the cabbage was just picked from the garden.
Best service I’ve received in a long time. Don’t miss the opportunity to get there now and even later when they move up the street to the former Leona’s Restaurant location where they’ll be serving booze, too!

I try to reserve my judgement and harsh words because I don’t like to complain so just know that the meal I ordered was so terrible I HAD to say something.
I ordered the rib & shrimp combo that comes with 2 hot sides and a cold side. For the hot sides I chose mac & cheese and the greens, and the potato salad as my cold side. Upon receiving my meal, the sizes of the sides were my initial disappointment — they were rather small for the price that I paid ($ 25). They were also BLAND as hell — I had to add seasonings to both dishes. You could tell that they cook the greens without any smoked meat and I imagine that’s what hot kale soup tastes like.
I took one bite of the potato salad and threw it away — it had a weird metallic taste like it had been sitting in a can somewhere for a few days. The meal also came with some cornbread that made the Jiffy mix taste like the holy grail.
The shrimp weren’t as fresh as I hoped; I could tell that they were the type that are breaded before they are frozen. The rib tips were good and they had the perfect amount of sauce.
Word of advice — just get the meat until they change the recipes of the sides.

Great Sunday buffet! $ 11 for adults and half price for kids. I love to have variety of comfort foods so it hit the spot for my pregnant cravings: ribs, fried chicken, baked chicken, collard greens, cold salad bar includes cole slaw, salad, sliced peaches. There was also corn bread, peach cobbler, and other goodies. Very inviting and welcoming staff specially to my 5 year old. We had some left over on our plate and the owner’s wife came to give us to go boxes! I tried to purchase a bottle of their famous BBQ sauce and she gave it to me free! Around $ 33 plus tax for two adults, one child plus drinks. I will come back!

I’ve been coning here forever for the Good Food, reasonable prices, and friendly service. The prices are fair and the portions are large and I often leave with a doggie bag. The soda machine has unsweetened tea which is a healthy alternative to soda pop and is always delicious.
I love the ribs and all the sides; the really cheesy and gooey mac and cheese, greens, sweet potatoes and the best cabbage. The salad bar has very good cole slaw and potato salad, lettuce and tomato and usually sliced peaches and 3 or 4 other items. My favorite is the catfish, always hot and fried to perfection with sides of mac and cheese and cole slaw. The Sunday Buffet is not to be missed and Charlie and his wife are usually there greeting customers. If i go alone Charlie never fails to ask about my daughter.
I return time and time again to Robinson’s for the consistently good food and for the friendly and prompt service. I am always greeted warmly either by Charlie or one of the wait staff. Robinson’s is an integral part of the Village of Oak Park and my favorite place for a quick lunch, dinner with friends or a leisurely Sunday buffet. I love the takeout and catering and I’ve never had an order that wasn’t perfect.

The only reason I give this 1 star is that the chicken I ordered was seasoned well. Other than that the meal was horrible. I also ordered macaroni and cheese and baked beans. Before I ordered I asked if they made it fresh and was told yes. The macaroni was overcooked and watery and tasted highly of garlic. The baked beans tastes like they opened a can, heated them up and put them in a bowl. The waitress or hostess licked her fingers while delivering my food. I had to wait at the counter while she finished her conversation on her cell phone in the corner. The barbecue sauce was extremely vinegary. Sigh… not #1 anymore… maybe 1 star

I am screaming never never never again! The worst ribs i have ever had in my life.

Damn good bbq ribs, there isn’t a more eloquent way of saying it without having to second guess why you just ate some hearty ribs.
I love how they start with a bun, add a ton of meat and then drizzle the delicious BBQ sauce all over your entrée.
It’s so hard to find a great rib joint, but here it is!

Went in on a Monday night for a full slab to go. Waited an eternity. The ribs were plentiful but we’re very, very dry and «done.» They tasted gamey. Disappointing. I will not return.

I really wanted to like this place especially given all the history and past glory. Unfortunately, Robinson’s #1 Ribs seems to have said «goodbye» to its glory days a long time ago.
I ordered the rack of ribs and I honestly could not finish them. I have never met a full rack of ribs that I could not finish until now. It seemed like I was served a rack that may have been plated hours before and just never served until I got there. The sauce seems to have dehydrated into a half liquid-​half solid kind of texture. I ate four ribs and packed the rest. They were no better when I tried to eat them later at home. The sides were okay but most grocery stores sell similar or better sides at their deli counters. Corn bread was also cold and sawdusty.
The second member of my party ordered the fried shrimp meal and while the shrimp actually had good flavor, they were way overcooked and very chewy.
The third member of our party ordered the catfish dinner, pretty much the cheapest dinner on the menu, and it was OUTSTANDING! It was one of the most delicious and well cooked catfish fillets I’ve ever had.
All in all, I feel pretty certain that Mr Robinson did not win his many BBQ rib medals with ribs that were anything like the ones I received. So, 1 star for great catfish, and one star out of respect for faded glory.

Some of the toughest and tasteless rib tips I have ever had. I decided to go here after hearing Robinson’s is considered to be one of the best ribs in Chicago. I was quite disappointed… first thing is you don’t have that ‘barbecue’ smell when you enter the restaurant (that should have been a sign). I ordered my food and I waited… and waited… and WAITED. It took over 15 minutes for my order. I finally got my order and thought to myself, «self, did you hear them chop your rib tips»? I didn’t… o finally got to a place where it was going to eat and bit into the first tip, TOUGH!!! They were all tough! And I realized they precut the rib tips and stick them on the grill when you order them. Yuck!!! The only good thing was the sauce. I won’t be back…

My dad wanted to taste Robinsons because he saw on tv on one of the food shows that they had great ribs. We ordered 3 full slabs of ribs. They opened at 11, no Mac and cheese or potato salad was available, the slabs tasted old like they were yesterday’s ribs and they drowned them in the nasty BBQ sauce to hide this. I gave them 1 star because no stars is not an option!

I can’t believe all the negative reviews. I used to live in Oak Park and I loved coming here. The rib tips were delicious, I got a healthy amount of sides — I was always full. I never once had a rude experience. If I hadn’t moved I’d still be going there.

They advertise a Thursday/​Friday lunch buffet, but they don’t have it! Total waste of a trip. I arrived and was told «Ain’t no buffet.» I decided not to order anything.
I had their ribs at Union Station before which weren’t that great. So, why come here? Well, for $ 7.95 an all you can eat buffet of okay food is a good deal since a rib lunch costs $ 15 at Union Station. Plus, I wanted to give them another try. You have to expect train food to be worse than restaurant food just like you have to expect Taste of Chicago food to be worse than the food at the restaurant.

Decided to go to Oak Park and try Robinson’s No1 Ribs for the first time. Upon arriving at the restaurant, noticed all the key parking spots obviously taken up by employees, as evidenced by the plate numbers ribs1, ribs this, etc. The place was empty when we arrived on Sat. afternoon, but were greeted warmly by an older gentlemen who provided drinks and menu’s immediately. Nothing fancy about the interior, but very clean and bright. From there, the service went downhill, took us forever for the young waitress to finally take our order, then what seemed an eternity to get our food.
We ordered the rib tip dinner, catfish filets, and rib & chicken combo. Thought it was nice they had a good salad bar with yummy cole slaw and potatoe salad, all included in the meals. Felt it was strange no mac & cheese avalible in mid afternoon. But we enjoyed the tasty greens.
With the meal came corn bread muffins which were dry and stale. When we asked for some butter, the waitress brought something she called liquid butter in a squeeze mustard container. Awful would be the best description.
We orderd our meals with the sauce on the side, which wasn’t provided, so when we finally found the server again, she brought us a bottle of sauce to pour on our food. Not even warmed up.
Now for the food, on the plus side, the catfish filets weren’t very thick, they were tasty and fresh. The ribs & chicken had obviously seem better days, and were definitely left over from the previous day. The chicken was very dry with barely any taste… the ribs seemed like they were dropped in the deep fryer to warm them up, and not very tender. Way to much rub on them along being dryed out. Rib tips were adequate, but very average, again probably left over from the previous day, again a little on the dry side.
The final downer was no peach cobbler avalible until later in the day.
All in all, disappointing for the amount of driving there and back. I might give them a second try, but only if I’m in the area.

I checked into this location to receive offer and once I showed coupon they said they could not n would not honor it. The cashier claimed that was not a coupon offered by them yet it was clearly on the check in page along with their address and restaurant name. Menu sounded delicious only problem was half the things I asked for the cashier said was not cooked at that time n could not be offered. I finally asked what they did have ! I was disappointed in food which sucked cause I was pregnant and craving was not met :(

RIbs could’ve been more tender and meaty but they were ok. Food used to be way better about 10 – 15 years ago.

You wany barbecue, ill show you barbaque. Coming from Isreal I didnt know barbaque from a motza ball. I know now… nuff said.

If you are a Chicagoan you grew with Robinson’s at just about every sporting, at the Taste of Chicago, and just about any all-​American event. I am not sure what the ribs used to taste like, my Dad claims they were way better, but I have never been too impressed by their quality. The sauce for the ribs is very sugary and lacks any depth. Still, I never can complain when eating them. These ribs are such a staple!

We went here stark raving hungry after church on Sunday for their discounted buffet. The owners are so friendly, despite trying to charge me for a drink that I didn’t buy. They also have FREE BISCOFF SPREAD right now (and bbq sauce, but that’s less exciting). The cook brought out freshly fried chicken for us during our buffet of rib tips and other Southern goodies. The only reason I’m taking off stars — stomach is not doing so hot right now, and the cornbread is a bit crumbly for my liking. Otherwise, nice place with friendly faces right here.