Johnny’s Steaks & Bar Be Que

We just demolished the Saturday special steak for two. Maybe it demolished us. Great steak. Recommended.

Stopped at this place for lunch while doing some antique shopping in Salado. It’s a down home country diner type place.
We had the onion rings, smoked ribeye steak, mesquite grilled burger and chicken fried steak. All 3 were outstanding. Chicken fried steak was humongous. Enough for two people. Just a light breading and very flavorful. The grilled cheddar burger was served with a jalapeño bun. Excellent flavor and cooked to order. Skittle more cheddar cheese would have made it better.
The best item though was the ribeye steak. That smokey flavor stood out.
Definitely try the onion rings. These are some of the best I’ve tasted. Light crispy batter and the full order is huge.
Service was good. They checked on us multiple times and refilled our drinks twice.
Gave this place 5 stars because everyone in our party agreed the meal was excellent. Will definitely stop at this place in the future when traveling on I-​35.

Waited 20 minutes to get our order put in. Staff was coming from the back of the room shouting food orders to the staff in the front, the restaurant was unprofessional and EXTREMELY understaffed. They were out of brisket, chicken, and waffle fries.
Let me repeat that… a barbecue restaurant was out of brisket, chicken and waffle fries… on a Sunday at noon.
There was one waitress waiting on easily over 40 people at once, so I ended up having to fill my own drink… which is fine.
On a good note… she was extremely kind and managed to keep her cool, however as a previous waitress myself, this experience was incredibly frustrating being that the reviews online said 4 stars so while we were excited to eat here, we had been on a road trip and starving.
The water tastes like it has penny residue in it, it’s awful.
Girl at the cash register had an attitude (OBVIOUSLY because they were all frustrated with how busy the restaurant was and Ill prepared.)
Now… the food?
ABSOLUTELY FUCKING AMAZING. excuse the language but I just can’t describe it any other way.
I Had the chicken friend steak, a loaded baked potatoe and Cole slaw.
Just awesome. Seriously. Worth the 45 minute wait? Maybe not… but still. If they were better prepared, stocked and properly staffed, I would literally eat here for breakfast lunch and dinner.
I saw another man wait 45 minutes to an hour for his Togo order…
So disappointing when a restaurants food is so good, but the wait is so awful.
Unfortunately, I may not be coming here again, regardless of how amazing my food was, unless I’m not hungry and have all day to wait.:)

Best BBQ around! The only thing better than the brisket is the hospitality. Johnny & his staff go way outta there way to make you feel welcome and part of the family. Gotta stop here anytime I’m in TX.

The food was great and the service fantastic. They were very busy but we got in and got our food fast! Very friendly. Definitely stop in there again next trip!

This is a nice little joint. One the best steaks I have ever had. I had the 12oz mesquite grilled ribeye. I ordered it medium rare and it came out cooked to perfection.
They offer barbecue as well. The night I was here it was all you can eat ribs and they looked good too. If driving down I-​35 and it’s eating time and you are in Salado, I highly recommend this place.

Great lunch stop in Salado after a day of shopping. The food was freshly made, large portions and tasted great.

One of the best tasting steaks I have ever had! The seasoning was perfect. Service was friendly. But if you are in a hurry, this is not the place. It’s best when you have the time to chill and wait for the food to come out. Parking was not a problem.
The peach cobbler was so delicious too!

Hubby and I stopped for lunch returning from the VA in Temple, friendly waitresses told us to have a seat and they’d take it from there. Ordered sweet iced tea and it was plenty sweet! It was all you can eat catfish and it did look good but I went with the combo brisket sausage sandwich and for my taste, preferred the brisket but a very good sandwich and an order of onion rings knowing it was too much food but now have a nice afternoon snack! Hubby ordered a ribeye M with onions and mushrooms came with a decent side salad and he opted for French fries which looked hand cut. steak was huge and spot on. there was not a crumb other then the Texas Toast not eaten. Steak was cooked to perfection and had a wonderful smoked taste. like I said, spot on. Will be stopping here on future trips and looking forward to it! Would highly recommend.

Great food, great deals, great music and cold beer! What more do you need? I would definitely recommend this place to everyone.

Chicken fried steak was amazing! 2 for the price of 1. Always super friendly staff. Must eat at if in the area.

God food that’s a little on the high priced side. Our family of 6 usually eats for around $ 80. And don’t stop if you are in a hurry, the food always takes a while to get out and the waitresses are not very attentive.
Being that their are very few choices to eat at in Salado, it is still one of the best.

I am happy to report that this place does not have JUST barbecue. I came here with a coworker while passing through the area for lunch. The place is small, but the staff is efficient and friendly. When we walked in we were told to seat ourselves and a server immediately came over with menus and took out drink orders. Aside from barbecue and steaks, there’s also a variety of sandwiches, chicken entrees, and shrimp entrees. I ended up ordering a BLT on the jalapeño cheese bread with a side of fried okra and my coworker ordered a chopped beef sandwich in sourdough with a side of potato salad. The sides are ordered and priced separately, they do not come with the sandwich. But the sandwiches are priced accordingly and fairly.
The food took a little longer than I would have liked, but it was a hearty amount and was delicious. My bun was more like a sweet bread and was excellent.
I was pleased with this place. With an iced tea, my meal was under $ 10. Score!

We got two filets medium rare and whatever sides they had. Definitely worth planning this into your trip schedule. It’s just great. Perfect Texas dive focused on food.
I have passed this jewel so many times but thanks to Unilocal I stopped here. I’m coming back. Kill a cow for us.

Hard to find with construction but we finally did! Don’t go the historic route. It’s on the other side of the Interstate!

If you are trying to avoid a corporate restaurant on your way to Austin this is a good stop. The food is good– not expensive and friendly. What we expect from a Texas barbecue restaurant.
The restaurant itself is small. People were waiting for a table the entire time we were there.
We do recommend giving this place a try.

Great place to stop in for a serious lunch. Real Texas style — for a visitor it’s an enjoyable plane to stop off on the road from Austin to Dallas

Stopped off for someplace to eat between Austin and Waco, luckily stumbled into this place. I had the sliced brisket sandwich on jalapeño cheddar bread (really happy they had the option). The meat was delicious and the sauce was tangy. The brisket was a little fatty and wasn’t the absolute best I’d ever had, but was still very good. Also got a basket of okra which was perfectly crispy and super flavorful.
The staff were all polite and attentive and even gave us suggestions of things to see around town. The owner came out and chatted with us a bit.
Bottom line: great staff, tasty food, fitting western décor. I will definitely be back.

I was driving South on I-​35 and had a desire for some BBQ, so I figured I’d give this place a shot. I wasn’t blown away but it was good BBQ. I had the 2 meat plate with the brisket and sausage with potato salad and green beans. The sausage was good but the brisket was a little too brown for me, maybe it was over cooked. The sides and the homemade bread were very good. I would be willing to try it again next time I come through.

Steaks and Que: So a review for each!
QUE REVIEW: Had the pooch with us so this is a take-​out review:
Stopped by Johnny’s Steaks & Bar Be Que on the way back to Austin from Dallas. Conveniently located right off of I-​35 in Salado (down the road from Robertson’s).
Walked into a nice, medium sized joint. Very clean. Totally Texas themed. Lots of A&M posters (uh, Hook ‘Em Horns?!), and deer antlers covering a lot of the wall space. Maybe 20 tables and almost every one was taken (30 minutes prior to closing). Stepped up to the counter to order. Was greeted by a nice young woman (In fact, appeared the entire place was ran by a group of late teen, early 20s gals. Wonderful job ladies!). Examined the menu, and despite how appealing the Wednesday Ribeye special looked, chose to get the Que. Ordered the 3 meat sampler plate with 2 sides ($ 16 w/​tax; enough for 2 to share!).
Brisket: Oh SO Dang good! Didn’t notice the «BBQ by the Pound» menu that offered the option of lean or fatty (like many other places do), so just asked for brisket, Not sure if we just got lucky or what, but our plate included four thick slices of «fatty» (moist) brisket. Perfect smoke ring and flavor, great marbling, super juicy, and I even got a small bit of crunchy burnt ends on one of my pieces. Some of the best, if not THE best, brisket I’ve had in Central Texas.
Smoked turkey: Purdy durn good. Have been becoming more and more of a smoked turkey fan in the last year of so. Johnny’s did not disappoint. Whereas most Que joints slice the turkey extra thin (not sure why), JS&BBQ offered up some wide slices of juicy turkey with a heavy peppery dry rub. Spot on flavor and moist.
Pork ribs: A’ight. Nice smoke. Kind of dry, could still pull meat away from bone and quite tasty.
Cole slaw: The kind I like. Not too sweet, not too sour. Grated rather than sliced. Nice texture. A-​OK.
Green beans: Thick cut with right amount of salt. Cooked way down. Flavored with small bits of bacon and black pepper. Yummy.
BBQ sauce: House made. Thick, sweet type. Can definitely taste brown sugar. Sauce not needed (expect maybe on the ribs), but packed full of flavor.
Other: Plate came with traditional Texas Que accoutrements: sliced pickles, onions (red?! — whaaat?!), and one piece of white bread for such a huge plate. I assume if you were dining in you could just ask for more bread. Or… you can purchase a loaf of there housemade white. Fresh!
I was really on the fence of 4 of 5 stars here, but my mind and taste buds kept going back to that brisket. Mmm… mmm…mmm! Don’t even waste your time with a fork. Pick up that slab of meat, pull apart, and devour. .repeat…repeat. Go back and order more!
STEAK REVIEW: Finally had to try a steak. Perfect choice on a Wednesday night with their Ribeye special served with mashed or baked potato, toast, and salad… but if you ask really nice they might let you sub some of their amazing green beans. ;) Steak cooked perfect med-​rare as ordered. Not heavily seasoned… let the great cut of meat come through. All very good and a good bargain at $ 17.99!
Tip: Open later and on more days than most Steak and Que spots. Monday thru Saturday from 7AM until 9PM. Dennis, the manager, is always eager to make your experience the best! Now that I’ve tried both of Johnny’s main offerings, my only complaint is that I have to choose steak or que… or order one plate of each!!! :-)