Rocklands Barbeque and Grilling Company

What was I thinking going to a barbeque joint and ordering a Grilled Vegetables Sandwich? The staff was super attentive and friendly. But the next time I’m coming here, I’m definitely getting the Hot ‘n’ Spicy Grilled Wings and coleslaw. My friend had them and he simply devoured it. I’m drooling just thinking about it.

Big fan of Rocklands and this location, while smaller than the rest, delivers just the same. The baby back ribs were done to perfection and the fresh cut fries were excellent. The service was also first rate. When in Rockville next time, I will make sure to stop by again!

Stopped in on New Year’s Day for a quick bite. We had pulled pork sandwiches and potato salad, which were both outstanding! Plentiful and smoky chopped pork and really tasty redskin potato salad were a great start for a new year. Very pleased!

Old school barbecue, the bbq is okay, the Art Deco is old school, price is ok, free peanuts on all tables, they have daily beer specials, large collection of bottled sauces. They have them for sale as well. It’s a small bbq joint in Rockville…

First time I went there and I really liked it. The three meal platter is pretty awesome. Its small and cozy. The prices are reasonable, and the staff is very nice too. Its def different to other places around the area.

I think this place is so good! The belly buster is an awesome dish of different meats. Nice staff and clean place!

BBQ and the food is so delicious the people are welcoming and helpful. I was at the store and you can actually smell the food outside in the parking lot so I had to stop.

If bland food is your forté, then Rocklands is the place for you. If not, then you may want to find another restaurant for your BBQ fix.
I’m in the Wintergreen Shopping Center often and every time I’m there, I always get a whiff of some good smelling BBQ. Well, that prompted me to finally check out Rocklands. If the food smells that good, it has to taste even better right?
Wrong! I ordered a BBQ Chicken meal and it was one of the most tasteless things I’ve ever eaten. There wasn’t much sauce on the chicken and the sides were quite bland. VERY DISAPPOINTING for a BBQ joint.
On the flip side, the staff was friendly which is always a good thing at any establishment; but, for me, that’s about the only positive thing I can say about my experience. The food was just too pricey and bland for my taste.

For my money, Rocklands makes the best barbecue ribs in the area. There are a few tables to eat at but I prefer to buy a rack to eat at home. There are sides to choose from and a wall of sauces including Rocklands own. I’ve never bought enough for a crowd but I can’t think of a better place to do so.

I’m done Rocklands. If u want to compete in Rockneck you had better do better. The meat plate I ordered came from premeasured plastic wrapped servings. The clerk did not warm it up sufficiently. The sides were good. I watched him reheat beef ribs that looked real good but the chicken, brisket, pork plate I got was average at best.

Located in a shopping area off Rockville Pike, it can be hard to find if you’re not looking for it. Seating is pretty limited. Two booths and one big table with about 7 stools.
Now to the food: it’s basic. Got a half slab of baby back ribs with baked beans. The ribs were tender, falling off the bone, but not super flavorful. The baked beans were good, better than Urban bbq. Hubby got the three meat plate (brisket and pulled chicken and pork) with potato salad. He thought they were ok. Pork was probably the tastiest and most tender, but everything had a one note smoky flavor.
Other reviews talked about the price, but I thought it was reasonable. Our food with cornbread and a drink was ~$ 30. I looked online to compare to Urban bbq, which is right around the corner from here, and this place was actually cheaper, however, it’s not memorable enough to return.

Rocklands was a very pleasant surprise. We were leaving Ten Ren Tea & Ginseng to head back into DC, when my boyfriend recognized Rocklands as «that place that has the food truck where that pulled pork sandwich came from [months and months ago].» Pulled pork you say?! I immediately parked the car. We walked in to find a wall of hot sauce, fresh brewed sweet tea, and were graced with the aroma slow-​cooking meat. It was divine.
Nathan ordered a chopped pork plate with coleslaw and mashed potatoes – affordable at $ 11. I ordered the «Rocklands Pearl,» Which at $ 6.99 has got to be the best possible value for food this good. The Rocklands Pearl came out with the same sized portions as Nathan’s plate, but with a mixture of chopped and pulled pork, beans and macaroni (shells) and cheese.” PHENOMENAL. The mixture of pork was plentiful and had a nice combination of fattier and leaner bits of flavorful pork. The macaroni and cheese was constructed with shell pasta, and smooth, stringy cheese. The beans had a nice combination of the sweetness that you would expect from a baked bean, followed by a kick of vinegar at the end – this cut through the weight of the meal nicely. Nathan’s coleslaw had a nice flavor to it, (I couldn’t really get too much of a taste because I’m allergic to carrots and he was scarfing it down as quickly as he could). His mashed potatoes had bits of potato skin in them, and actually had a flavor that was dynamic – not just that unilateral potato flavor. They were very good.
Despite the fact that when we ordered I was «starving» and the food was absolutely grand, I still managed to have more than enough pork leftover to make a pulled pork sandwich to take to work the following day. Even though I had this for lunch, I’m certain that if Nathan suggested it for dinner, I’d happily partake in round 3.

Very good bbq! Baby back ribs were amazing the Mac n cheese is so so cheesy!!! And the service was a 5! (It’s really hard for me to give service a 5, but it def was here) very much a take out kinda spot but the lady at the cashier was a very contagious happy mood I decided to eat in! Loved the food, the vibe and the service. Bonus … They serve beer :)

I’ve eaten at Rocklands in several different locations, several times. I’ve visited the one in Rockville when I worked in the area, but haven’t been back sine 2010. I went there the other day, man, has the quality gone down.
Let me start off with, holy hell! The prices!!! A drink, 2 small portions of sides, and a small sandwich $ 17! Totally not in a lunch budget, and not a nice of a place to spend $ 17 on a meal.
Their baked beans used to be great. Large beans in a homemade sauce with slivers of pulled pork mixed in. Now, they taste like you took a massive can of heinz’s baked beans, added a ton of ketchup and heated.
The brisket sandwich was fine, but wasn’t tender and melt in my mouth that I had thought. It was more like a mediocre roast beef sandwich, a really expensive mediocre roast beef sandwich.
Even if I’m jonesing for BBQ I won’ t be stopping here again!

Some of the best barbeque in the country can be found in the least likely of places: a desert highway gas station, a back country roadside shack, or a hole-​in-​the-​wall in a nondescript suburban strip mall. However, these trappings will not guarantee a good product, either, and you can find some mighty mediocre grillings in these kinds of spots.
Such is the case with Rocklands Barbeque and Grilling Company — a huge disappointment to me. I really want to like the place, as it’s the closest to me at home, but I’ve been disappointed several times by their food. The storefront itself is nice: a corner spot in the Wintergreen Plaza in Rockville, and the setup inside makes good use of the limited space. There are a couple of booths and a big community-​style raised table in the middle of the room, and lots of cool butcher kitsch on the walls. Peanuts are complimentary.
Unfortunately, the last two items I tried were the lamb sandwich and the pit beef sandwich, and they were both tough and not very flavorful. I do love the diversity of the menu here — they have beef ribs and lots of other esoteric options — but if you can’t get the food right, it is all for naught. Even the pulled pork egg rolls they brought out as part of the daily special were still frozen in the middle from not being cooked enough. Yikes! Also, while there are plenty of sauces in bottles on the tables, I don’t think they get refrigerated or rotated on a regular basis, and some are even homemade types put in old bottles. There is a pot of red sauce kept hot in a self-​serve barrel, but I’ve found plastic straws and spoons and other detritus in there frequently enough that I avoid it. For what it’s worth, their pulled pork and brisket are pretty damn good.
One of the saving graces of Rocklands, besides the diversity of the menu and daily specials they have, are the quality of the sides. Here is where Rocklands shines, with great slaw, several kinds of potato salad, corn and bean salad, and plenty of other great homemade fixins. The sides are not normally a featured item in my mind, but they added one star to this review and make an otherwise unpalatable meal tolerable.
Try Rocklands for sure, but I think there are better bbq options in Rockville.

My wife and I are from Tennessee, and we were impressed with the quality of the pulled/​chopped pork. I got a plate with three meats (pulled pork, beef brisket, and chicken) and two sides (barbecue beans and fried), while my wife had a chopped pork sandwich with fries and barbecue beans. The beans were slightly sweet, but had just enough mustard to give a little bite. The fries were definitely hand-​cut, and were lightly salted. The beef brisket was cut into strips that resembled bacon, and were smoked perfectly.
I thought the pork was slightly dry, but there was plenty of barbecue sauce and various brands of hot sauce available to try. The staff was very friendly and our food was brought out quickly.
It was interesting to see that they had Fanta ginger ale on tap. It was a little too sweet for me, but I like to see some variety in soda choices.
Overall, I thought the food was excellent. It’s the closest to Memphis barbecue that I’ve had since I moved to the area, and I would give it 5 stars if it weren’t a little on the pricey end (~$ 28 for a platter, a pork sandwich combo, and two sodas before tip).

BP and I were super excited to try Rocklands because we were interested in having beef ribs. He got a ½ rack and I was expecting it to be sauced, but it seemed brined in a spice rub. It did come with a generous tub of BBQ sauce so I guess that’s okay.
I ordered the beef briskit sandwich. It was really dry, but the BBQ sauce came through again. I’m telling you, that sauce was delectable… Mouthwatering good!
BP also got the pit BBQ sandwich which actually turned put well. He normally does not like horseradish sauce, but it really brought the sandwich to a whole new level.
I don’t think we’ll reorder any of the items again, but are eager to return for the lamb sandwich and the sides.
The service is excellent. The man who was running the front was very kind, nice, and caring. I was impressed!

Located in Wintergreen Plaza, this restaurant is pretty small. They have just a couple tables and one communal table right in the middle of the store. Service was okay. Interaction with the cashier was rather minimal. As we stood there deciding what to order, I wish she would have made some recommendations or something.
We decided on a half order of baby-​back ribs and a pound of brisket. The sides were showcased at the counter and looked kind of suspect. So, we opted for a small order of sweet potato fries and fried okra instead. The ribs were good, definitely meatier than I thought they would be. They were seasoned well and were tender. The brisket was okay. Sliced super thin and a little tough. I do like the fact that both meats weren’t cooked in BBQ sauce, which is given to you on the side. The sauce was good. Very vinegary, though. It also had onions in it, which I wasn’t used to. The sides were just your usually sides. Nothing special to rave about.
Although there are only a few tables, I’m not sure how often they get cleaned. A family was finishing up their meal as we entered, and by the time we left, the table still wasn’t cleared. There was also a used plate sitting on the window. Not cool.
I do like the fact that they offer specials pretty much every day of the week. Buy a tall can and get free jalapeño peppers (Saturdays)? Sure, why not?!
I probably won’t be back in the future. I’d rather drive the extra miles down the road and head to Urban BBQ next time I’m craving barbeque.

We went here because of the Washingtonian readers choice. Unfortunately it was not good.
There isn’t enough seating, the knives weren’t sharp enough to cut the extremely tough beef ribs and there were no sanitary napkins or toothpicks to clean up.
The one high point were the baby back ribs. They were fall off the bone. Not the best ribs but edible.
The beef ribs were extremely charred, tough and fatty. They were barely edible.
The lamb was also not good. It was overly spiced and just not good.
Coleslaw was liked by some but mixed veggies were not fantastic.

First time here and was very impressed!
The menu had so many choices of bbq it was hard to decide what to order.
I finally chose the pulled chicken bbq sandwich with baked beans and fries and wow was it good!
The staff were very nice and as I sat there I heard one gentleman explain to a customer all the details of how they bbq their meats and he went into great detail about how many hours it took to perfect each meat.
There was a large selection of side items which all looked fresh and yummy and the prices were very reasonable.
I would give 5 stars but there were flies swarming around and the trash area had a mucky pot of water to put utensils in and there were dirty dishes on a stand next to it.