Thatcher’s Barbeque & Grill

Located not far from the rest stop off 75, we picked this restaurant looking for some good bbq. Overall, the brisket was good, chicken was a little dry and the sides were okay. Tables were set with 3 kinds of sauces and everyone was able to find one they liked. It’s a super small place, but has nice and friendly service.
One more thing: get the sweet tots (AKA sweet potato tater tots). Covered in cinnamon and sugar, it’s pretty much dessert.

Stopped here using Unilocal «nearby» to avoid the ubiquitous chain restaurants that pepper I-​75 in northern Georgia. We wanted that Unilocal 5-​Star gem… and we found it in Thatcher’s BBQ! Brisket better than most of what we’ve eaten in the home of brisket, Texas. It was tender, naturally moist, not dipped in butter, with a smoke ring that said, low and slow, and a smokey flavor that shouted out what the award plaque on the wall proclaimed…“Best New Business in 2015.” Don’t be spooked by the gravel driveway and beautiful old trees that ring it or the couple of short miles you’ll have drive away from Interstate 75. This IS the best barbecue and friendliest joint ever.

Casual bbq place. I had the brisket plate with fried okra [first time eating okra] and coleslaw sides. The meal came with a side of Texas toast. Overall the meal was good, excellent service [drinks never went dry], and decently priced. I failed to give it 5 stars as i was disappointed that there was no corn bread. Maybe it’s a Michigan thing?

Another great BBQ stop on the way to Chattanooga. I had the BBQ loaded baked potato with brisket; and man it was good.

I have to say first of all, I’m not a cue fan. Except for ribs. To me, ribs is BBQ. Not pulled pork, not slaw, not stew, not mac and cheese, etc. Jesus could prepare pulled pork and it wouldn’t taste any different than any I’ve ever had. The only I’ve ever had that ever stood out as far as the meat was at Poole’s in Ellijay, Ga. What makes a pork sammy good from my experience is a good sauce, because all the meat is the same. Even then, I’d rather have a burger or a sub sandwich. So, I’m not a cue fan to start with, and we rarely go to BBQ places. But we wanted to try this place out based on the Unilocal reviews.
This is a little, tiny place — small cinder block building. They have a smoker out back. We went at an off time, but there was a large party of people in the middle of the place demanding all the attention from our server, who really hustled, was smart and nice. My wife and I looked at each other like «story of our lives.» There were a lot of Fulton County plates in the parking lot, so we assume they were from Atlanta. Whenever our server wanted to chat with us, one of them would say, «Miss! Miss! I’m ready for a refill… I’m ready to order… I’m ready for desert…»
For Steph: Those Atlanta folks had not heard about the place from Unilocal,but our server told them that most people hear about Thatcher’s from Unilocal.That impressed us. Unilocal really is incentive for a business to do good. Do good, and Unilocal is like word of mouth times 100.
Our server, Morgan, filled us in on the place and recommended the brisket. She brought us over some samples. The samples were hot and juicy and full of flavor and very tender. Even without any sauce. OMG. We were sold on the brisket. The menu confused us with all the bucket and shovel stuff. I still don’t understand what TF that is all about. I wanted to take a menu to go so I could bone up on it, but I didn’t see any to go menus. I told my wife, «Just order something because I can’t make any sense out of it.» She got a platter (Was it a shovel? Or a bucket? I don’t know.) with pulled pork, brisket, collards, sweet potato tots, and Texas Toast. We shared this. We got spicy cheese wedges as an app. These spicy cheese things were actually poppers and were really good. At first I thought they must be foodservice, but maybe they were made in house. If they are made in house, credit to them, because no doubt they took some work to make. Served with house made ranch. The poppers were easily the best part of the meal.
I don’t like sweet honey butter with bread, which is so common, and I knew I wouldn’t like sweet potato tots (or fries). But to satisfy my wife, I went along with it. I just can’t get straight in my mind eating sweet anything with a sandwich or with meat. They might have been good as a desert, but not with the meal. These little tots sure looked like foodservice, maybe enhanced in house with some sprinkles of cinnamon and sugar.
The collards were good but were far from the best I’ve had. They had a slightly acidic aftertaste to them. The pork was on the dry side. Not surprising since most pulled pork I’ve had has been unremarkable. What was really disappointing was that our brisket on this platter was nothing like the samples our server had given us. When I first saw it on the plate, I knew it wouldn’t be as good. It was dry and did not have the flavor of the samples.
The three sauces were good, but I like a more vinegary sauce than a molassesy or ketchupy.
Oh, how I hate to go against the trend here, but this place is no different than your average BBQ restaurant. It is good — no better, no worse.

This place is as good as everyone says it is. Small little place but they really hustle and get things done. I was very impressed with the staff.
First ordered the fried pickle appetizer. Oh man was it good! Thick spears of pickle, fried to perfection, still super juicy inside. Probably some of the best friend pickles I’ve had.
I couldn’t decide what to eat but a burger kept coming to mind. I ordered the Thatcher’s cheeseburger with pickles, onions and their special sauce. The server asked if I wanted the 5 oz or 8 oz burger, convincing me I should go with the bigger one as it’s only 50 cents more. Well ok then. For my sides I ordered baked beans and then sweet potato tots. I know, right? I’ve never seen sweet potato tots. Then for some reason, I decided to change my side to onion rings.
Onion rings came out first and then our server said, oh yeah, I forgot to tell them to cancel the tots so you have those too. Super! I’m actually glad the tots came because they were super good. Sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar, they were almost dessert like. MMMMMM good.
My burger must have weighed like 3 lbs. It was HUGE. A very nice hand-​formed patty cooked perfectly. I can honestly say I’ve never not finished a burger in my life, even an In-​n-​Out 4×4 but this burger did me in. I got about halfway through and with the pickles, tots, onion rings, I was done for. It was a really good burger. I would have preferred to have some lettuce and tomato on it, but it worked without it too.
When we went to pay the server/​cashier said she forgot to take the tots off the bill and redid it. I told her, no, I would pay for the tots. We ate them. She said, nope, she forgot to take them off when I changed my order. Great customer service.
Definitely have to go back and try one of those shovels or bucket thingys I saw people eating.

Pork ribs are on point! Best I’ve had in Georgia so far. Pulled pork on taters & brisket was also good. Only downside is no beer service due to it being a dry county. Banana pudding also good.

I love small business and try to eat local as much as possible. After reading the reviews, I thought why not. Very glad I chose Thatcher’s. Good was excellent. Will definitely go back. I loved the pull pork and the fried pickle spears. The buffalo chicken bucket with tater tots was great except it was a lot of food. I’m actually still craving more of the pickle spears… lol. Probably should have ordered some to go. Highly recommend this place. People were very friendly and knowledgable about the food.

Amazing! Sauces are so great!!! I want to drink them! It looked like a dive when we pulled up but there were a ton of people there so we knew it would be good. Sure enough, so great?

This place will make you say a prayer! Thank you for stumbling across this joint, awesome food!!!

Had to wait for a table, but worth it for the food. A little off the interstate but would certainly recommend!

Oh my, my this has quickly become my favorite bbq joint. We were desperate for some local food while visiting Chattanooga and stumbled into Thatcher’s. Don’t blink or you will miss it and that would be a huge mistake. My portion was so hefty that I couldn’t even eat it all. This is a must stop if you love bbq.

Excellent comfort food with generous servings at a great price. The interior is tiny and it was very popular on this chilly afternoon, but we managed to get our party of five in without too much of a delay. The staff were friendly and attentive and apologetic about the post-​holiday lack of supplies, but it didn’t matter to me that I had to use plastic flatware and paper cups — for the casual, dive cuisine it seemed normal. I had the ribs, but the «buckets» and «shovels» going to our other party members and nearby tables looked fantastic, and I have to come back and try those. I also saw a chili slaw dog that looked like a work of art. I can’t wait for an excuse to come back.

The brisket here is the bomb. Sliced, smokey, and delicious. I had it with the okra and sweet tots. The sweet tots were not my style, the fried okra was as expected and the brisket was worth each of the 5 stars! Get you some!

Tried this for first time it was a great place. People were so nice. We got really big portions of food. It was authentic BBQ. Loved the hot BBQ sauce with the pulled pork. And the sweet tots were terrific too. I also tried the fried green tomatoes, they were excellent. Wah tried the brisket and he loved it too You should really go and try this place Waitress kept my glass full and that’s always a plus for me ! Will go again

If your looking for unique BBQ food, come and experience to see! The potatoes are excellent and the «shovel» dishes are amazing!

Really good BBQ with creative twists. Meat-​heavy menu, but still some good options for vegetarians.
The staff was friendly and welcoming, the restaurant is small, but clean and comfortable. Nothing I would change.
This place is definitely worth the short drive from 75.

Great food, great staff and EXCELLENT BBQ for a great price! You can’t lose! I tried the brisket… do yourself a favor and do the same!

I had the brisket spud! Wow this thing was great and it took all I had to finish it. Hands down every time I’m in the area I will eating lunch here!
Staff is friendly and the place is clean!
EAT THERE!

Second time here… we tried a bucket and a shovel! Oh my goodness… to die for! Not very healthy but worth every bite!
We brought leftovers home.
I hate to brag so much about this place afraid it will be even harder to get a seat but so far we haven’t been at peak times. They need to expand!