Hatfield’s BBQ

Best BBQ in Rockport. Been to Macs which was good but Hatfields is great. Only open Thursday thru Sunday and they may run out of meat. Vegetables are fresh and don’t come out of a can. Great place.

Mr.: Finally another great BBQ place! Definitely deserving of Texas Monthly’s Top 50 rating. Sausage had the right texture and a great flavor. Brisket was tender, very flavorful. Ribs were tender with a great flavor as well. Had ranch style beans that were good. Potato salad wasn’t your traditional mustard or mayonnaise type potato salad – had darker color. I don’t know what was in it but it was good – fantastic. Even their corn on the cob was wonderful. Would definitely go back if I was anywhere near a 100 miles. The owner was very nice and talkative, even showed us the pit, «The Big Nasty.» It was very reasonably priced for the monster-​sized portion we got. I couldn’t even finish it and we took the rest home for leftovers. Even heating it up later on that evening – it still tasted great.
Ms.: I knew this was going to be a different kind of BBQ experience as soon as we walked in. One of the owners himself was there to greet us with a loud, friendly welcome and chat us up. Unlike other places where you stand in line cafeteria-​style, we were brought a menu and our order was taken by a waitress (one of the owner’s 17 year old daughters). everything tasted fantastic. Loved the corn-​on-​the-​cob (the boyfriend asked about the recipe), brisket, and the dark, potato-​skin-​included potato salad. Note: they don’t currently serve dessert. Got a tour of the grounds and pit by the other owner-​brother, Kiwi. Make sure to sign your name on a blank space a wall, ceiling, or door before you leave. The two brothers do a helluva BBQ and don’t take shortcuts or serve warmed up, day-​old meet. They take pride in what they do and it shows that they love their job – they are having fun. (Check out Kiwi’s pork meat diagram tattooed on his forearm.) Had a fantastic experience and would love to come again, but next time when they have a band playing in the back. I think this is the first and 5-​star rating we’ve given a BBQ place on Texas Monthly’s Top 50 so far.

Service sux and only menu item thats good is sausage…
Hours change from week to week, can not plan to go, but then again, sausage is only thing good… Go get it at local meat market (Pawelek) and dont suffer from sorry service or over priced Q

Bllleeaahh! (Well, I did like the potato salad.)
Brisket was dry week old. Had burn ring instead of smoke ring. Sausage. Old socks

My husband and I visited Rockport over memorial weekend. We are both avid bbq lovers and had planned to eat here for dinner Sunday. When we arrived the front door was locked and we noticed a sign that read they serve until they run out. It was obvious they had run out. We noticed some smoke coming from the side of the building near a smoker so we peeked around the corner. We saw a man and were confirming they were closed. It happened to be the owner and he said they had a bit of meat left. they re-​opened for us & let us have the rest. So nice of them! One of the ladies made us an awesome sandwich with the rest of the brisket they had. It was AMAZING! So good that we came back the next day for lunch to try their ribs (which were also incredible!)
Overall fantastic bbq and staff. Highly recommend. We’ll definitely be back.

Best BBQ YOU HAVE TO TRY 1 IN YOUR LIFE… greatest BBQ and desert great for families and friends you will have a great time :)

Their marbled brisket is the best meat I’ve ever eaten. I’m pretty sure it’s what put them in Texas Monthly top 50: moist and tender with plenty of rich fat and collagen that melts in your mouth. I’ve never had a prime rib, tenderloin, or any cut of meat as good as that brisket. It’s like discovering the existence of bacon for the first time. You’re crazy if you don’t try it!

Next to the hospitality, Thing I like most about HATFIELDS is it epitomizes hole in wall new. décor is clearly secondary to the quality of the food. The charm of this place is people write all over the walls, you eat on picnic tables indoor, and it is a pretty small place
I ate at three in the afternoon. Ribs were the perfect tenderness really nice crust for the perfect sweet crusted glaze and deep smoke ring. I loved them. And could eat them all day. if you don’t like sweetness on your rib glaze, however, you won’t like them
The only other meat I had was sausage. Cold, too course a grind, and flavorless. Would not get again.
potato salad was a good choice as it was almost like a loaded baked potato. I am not an eater of pintos or ranch beans, but pitmaster James recommended them and they were great. I think they call them their home style beans. Sauce was definitely not homemade. A basic red tomato.
Then pitmaster James and owner Kenny Hatfield brought me out samples of the pulled pork and brisket. both had the deepest smoke ring I’ve ever seen. Pulled pork was good but nothing extraordinary. The brisket had wonderful flavor. I think they use the same rub on the brisket to do on the ribs and it is so nice. However the brisket was typically slightly overcooked and a bit dry in places (not that I wouldn’t get it again)
I commented to Kenny that I thought the rib rub was fantastic he took me out and showed me the pits and had asst pitmaster Tim give me a small cup of the rub to take home. Said they use seasoned oak on the rotisserie smoker
Great guys all. Perhaps the most impressive thing is that although Kenny has only been in business two years, he’s been in the Texas monthly top 50 both years. Recommend to everyone to come to Hatfields.

If your looking for BBq, they have it. If your looking for good BBq, it’s ok not better or worse than most. Don’t expect a lot for your money or anything great. I had high hopes based on the boasting of the restaurant. I am disappointed.

From the reviews, I expected better. Long wait, and a clueless waitress.

Wanted to eat somewhere family friendly while in Rockport, TX and was pleasantly surprised when we were told about this gem. The brisket was tasty and it’s bark had a great smokey flavor. The only reason I didn’t give it 5 stars, would be the service. The pick up counter vs. where your order is placed makes the process slightly awkward. With this said, some of our ordered items were missed and we had to ask for the items to be brought out to us a couple times. Otherwise, the experience was great. I’d go back in a heartbeat.

The new location is taking shape. Brisket and the sides are great as usual. Addition of some well performed live music (we missed, but intend to attend soonest)… Great stop.

We were excited to try out this new place and drove in from quite a few miles down the road due to the Texas Monthly mention.
Not sure what they are using for flavor the meat but it was really dry and a big let down.
No thank you on the idea of a return visit…, there must be other BBQ places in the area that have to be better.
Wish we could get our gas money back for driving that far to try it out…

We drove 30 miles out of our way to try this joint. Hate to say that it was a major disappointment. Requested moist brisket and got lean cuts. Basically cold without any bark. Asked for moist again and was advised by the guy cutting the meat, that it was ‘glistening’ which I guess means moist to him. Pulled pork and sausage were decent. Ribs were basically cold and tough. Will not come back. Wonder where they smoke their meats since everything came out of a white cooler. Sometimes I wonder about Texas Monthly’s reviews and ratings. Next time back to Lockhart or Luling.

Had pulled pork and ribs. They were OK but weren’t special. Baked beans and potato salad were average.

This is it. The real Hatfield’s not the impostor a little northeast of it. Awesome BBQ and large portions of it! The original owners who were rated in Texas Monthly Magazine opened Hatfield’s BBQ, The Real McCoy last Saturday July 13^th after only a couple of weeks of hard work in getting it up and running. Very impressive. Beer and Wine coming soon, but for now BYOB and enjoy great Texas BBQ.