Sonny’s BBQ

DIRTY ATMOSPHERE. ROACHES!
My family and I went out to eat at Sonny’s for the 2^nd time, and we were extremely disappointed. We got seated in a booth with a window next to it. My mom was disgusted looking at how much filth and dirt was on that window seal!
Worst part is SHE POINTED OUT A ROACH ON THE TABLE! We didn’t scream so that it wouldn’t make a big scene so we called the manager who took 5 minutes to come! He moved us to the booth across from it and offered to pay our bill but at that point we were honestly disgusted! When we got up to leave we seen 2 more roaches on the table! I love Sonny’s but I will NEVER return back to this spot! They need to take out atleast an hour a day to really clean that filth everyday.

As a BBQ lover from across the Atlantic, I always try to catch the good places upon arrival. So I asked the hotel staff for the best place in town and they directed me to Sonny’s. In all honesty, I should have asked the overweight gardener instead of the slim ladies at the front desk who probably prefer a cocktail drink over a Jack Daniels glaze on their sweet ribs ;-)
The service was good to great and I did not have to wait (wasn’t the most busy night anyways). I asked for the Sonny’s Sampler which is basically one portion of all 4 main cuts: ribs, pulled pork, chicken & brisket. The ribs and pulled pork were definitely OK. The brisket however was overcooked and the chicken was completely dried out. I have no idea how you can make chicken so dry if you are using low & slow methods. It’s rare that I leave anything on my plate but this time I did not finish the chicken. I also get that timing is not always on your side but half of the meat was cooled off.
On a good note: the corn bread was DELICIOUS!

I had some great BBQ chicken earlier in the week at another location, so I came back to try the brisket. Still pretty clean, although service was much slower than the highway location S of Orlando. The brisket left a loooot to be desired today. Dry, good smoke flavor, but that’s about it for flavor. I think I should have tried the pork, as that’s what they push on the menu. Broccoli was surprisingly good. Beans are good. Corn bread is fine, but better when it’s hot out if the oven. Good value.

Horrible horrible experience. I came with a party of 7 and ordered the all you can eat ribs and waited an hour before the «manager» came out and said they had run out of ribs… Really at 7pm on a Sunday. If your out of food its one thing… But having us wait for so long to come up to us carefree was unacceptable.

This is my second time at this location. The first time, the service was slow but the food was alright so I decided to try it again. Boy, was today a disaster! I had to wait over 10 minutes to get a straw and for our order to be taken and the ONLY reason the waitress came over is because I got up and complained. Our menus were incomplete and even when we got the correct menu and ordered with TWO waitresses present they STILL messed up the order. The garlic bread was cold, despite specifically asking for hot bread, and I only received a quarter of chicken when I ordered a half. Of course the food was not delivered by our waitress so we couldn’t complain. I once again had to get up to complain in order to receive any service. The chicken did not have the trademark Sonny’s BBQ smoke flavor nor was it hot and the turkey tasted like it was from Walmart. We were highly disappointed in our lunch and will NEVER return to this Sonny’s location again. DINERS BEWARE.

Great food… Pulled pork, wet ribs, dry ribs, and BBQ chicken. Delicious!
Miketa was awesome! Attentive and hospitable… Thank you!
My understanding is that this is a regular example of southern BBQ… Loved it!

Amazing service. Great food
To be honest I didn’t expect much because a previous sonnys I went to was awful. Our server was the best I’ve had in a long time. Very attentive. Good was hot and delicious (all you can eat ribs) best price value. Great manager presence, saw him talk to our table plus others in the restaurant. Definitely coming back

Went on All u can eat chicken night, MY GOSH !! How can you Screw up chicken ??? THE WORST EXPERIENCE I’ve ever had. Gave it s second chance 4 days later !!! HOW ARE THEY STILL IN BUSINESS !! Better BBQ at 7 – 11 !!!

5 stars for the food… delicious ribs!
Service depends on the person that is serving you… can be good or bad…
Looking forward to our next vacation Orlando to come again to Sonny’s.

There were about 4 families seated in the restaurant so it was very dead… Our food came out cold after 40 minutes of waiting. We were also told they were out of wings but the sign outside said «wings for $ 7.99»!! the only item hot was our sweet potatoes in tin foil. Our waitress Bridget was nice enough to bring out new food after we expressed our dismay for the cold food. We will not be back on our next vacation but our waitress was extremely helpful after our unpleasant experience.

Have been going to this Sonny’s BBQ since i have been in Florida. It has had excellent food, good service and has always been clean and offered good value, until the past year. I have avoided Sonny’s lately since I did not feel they have been doing as good as in the past. Yesterday, my wife son and i decided to give it one more chance.
I decided to have the sliced pork lunch sandwich with the salad bar and my wife had the pulled pork big deal and my son had a pulled pork sandwich with salad bar. It was a mistake. Our waitress was extremely non attentive. I think her mind was on something else. The plates for the salad bar didn’t arrive until after the meal. The pork was dry and the salad bar has changed. Many of the items are now chopped up instead of merely sliced. I prefer sliced, seems a lot fresher. Asked for ice water with lemon — no lemon. I can say, at least the place seemed clean. But prices have been steadily rising. Over $ 7 for a pork sandwich with no sides plus tip? Salad bar is over $ 4 extra.
Sonny’s appears to be having trouble finding their way. I used to go to Sonny’s for the good service, good food and reasonable prices. Over the past year it seems there are fewer reasons to go there. I think this will be my last visit. Sorry Sonny’s. I think you need to focus on the basics, such as training your staff and food quality, instead of installing TVs and offering egg rolls. The food and service quality was not worth the money.
UPDATE: I provided all the information as requested by Sonny’s in their comment and have not heard a word from them since. Disappointing and another indication of their failing customer service. (as of 12÷21÷15)

SLOW service. Lunch was here when we returned from salad bar which was sparce. Sorry… I will not eat at this one again.

Really not a BBQ place. Smokehouse meats yes but no BBQ to it. It was recommended to me but honestly go somewhere else. Dried out smoke brisket, chicken was over cooked and baked beans tasted straight from a can. This is really a fast food place labelled as a restaurant and BBQ pit. I recommend the owner go visit and eat the food. I am sure this restaurant has BBQ origins but it gone way off course and not in a good direction.

This review is focused on Sonny’s barbeque baby back ribs. To put it succinctly, they are the best in the Orlando area that can be had at a dining establishment and at a very reasonable price.
I have tried the ribs at some other barbeque places in the area: Bubbalou’s, 4 Rivers, Smokey Bones, Harry & Larry’s, etc. 4 Rivers and Harry & Larry’s serve spare ribs, not baby backs, but all of these BBQ joints are guilty of the same thing: they always overcook their ribs to get that «fall off the bone» characteristic and that is not «good eats,» as Alton Brown likes to say. Some of the racks at these places also had far too much fat on them that did not render away during the cooking process.
At Sonny’s, the baby back ribs are smoked with real wood for several hours and grilled before serving so that they are heated and given a little char. The meat tears cleanly off the bone as you bite and this is what constitutes a perfectly cooked rib. The ribs all appear to be trimmed of fat before they are cooked as I haven’t yet had a rack that had copious or even moderate amounts of gristle. The full slab with two sides and garlic bread is only $ 14.99. By comparison, the full rack of overcooked baby backs at Smokey Bones is $ 23.49. Do your taste buds and wallet a favor.
The ribs come to the table already sauced, and there are four bottles of BBQ sauce varieties already at your table. If you want to try one of these sauces with your ribs, or if you want to make your own choice on how much sauce to add, then ask your server not to have the ribs sauced before they are brought to you so can make your own choice.

I love sonnys. Always get food just the way I like it. Service is fast. Seating is comfortable. Noise level is such you don’t have to shout.

Nice service waiters good service, very attention and good food!!! Great food for the whole family… And to watch games in orlando area when’re on a trip

It was my first time trying Sonny’s and I must say that I enjoyed it. This location offers a drive thru, which was really convenient. I ordered the pork 3 ways. Consisting of ribs, pulled pork, and sliced pork. I enjoyed both the pulled pork and ribs, but wasn’t really feeling the sliced pork. There was nothing wrong with it, it just wasn’t my cup of tea. The garlic bread that accompanied it was fantastic! I also had Mac and cheese as a side. I thought it was good. The drive thru was quick and easy and my service was great. Overall, I was pleased and would definitely return.

As usual the food is good, however the service is more than lacking. Our server, Amanda, seems as though we are inconveniencing her to come have dinner. Didnt offer more sides on the all you can eat no drain refills, less than attentive is an understatement.

This was our goto Sonny’s in back in high school and when we lived closer to this area.
It’s still reliably good although it can be hit or miss on the service.
I can’t say I’ve tried the brisket or BBQ pork since the hubs eats pork and I’m a big baby and only eat chicken. He does love it though.
Apparently the portions have gotten smaller though.
I usually will end up getting something that never disappoints me chicken tenders, french fries, garlic bread, and baked beans. You can’t really mess any of that up. The reason to really come here is their sweet sauce which we put on EVERYTHING. Yes, you can also buy it separately too at many grocery stores around here.
The folks there are always friendly when we go and waiters typically on their game. Although our last visit one waitress was chatting pretty loudly with the guests at the booth next to us about a politically sensitive topic that left me a bit uncomfortable as she just wouldn’t stop talking about it or even checking on her other tables lol.

Southern hospitality inside a small BBQ shop.
So my friend Ron suggested this place as the BBQ place to go, but what does he know about BBQ?
About as much as he knows about any other food, which is absolutely nothing.
I felt the meat lacked that fall off the bone quality, and that lick your fingers reaction when you really like the sauce.
Without the sauce, well, your BBQ is just plain, in my opinion.
The sides were unimpressive. I had the broccoli which tasted raw, and the corn on the cob which needed more butter.
If you REALLY have to have BBQ come here, but it isn’t award winning or worth the out of the way drive to check this place out.
And well, it is a BBQ chain too, which tells you that it’s isn’t a mom and pop shop.