Rusty Bucket BBQ

So I tried out Rusty Bucket on the word of an acquaintance. The food was not good… Spicy green beans, more like dishwater and charred onions. Potato salad was super mayo flavor. Ordered ribs and brisket. I got one rib and the butt of a rack which looks like a lot but not what I expected for 18 $. The brisket was tough and had to be cut with a knife to eat. I never write reviews but I had to after I stopped in here. Save your $$ skip this place. One star cos it smells good outside.

Delicious. I had the Rib Plate with pinto beans and mac. Don’t let the building fool you. This place is well worth the stop.

I came here because of the reviews on Unilocal.I parked and got out of my car and the great smells were awesome, got inside and the food looked great. That is it though, because I ordered a pulled pork sandwich (They ran out of brisket) and mac & cheese. After taking 2 bites, I had to throw it away. HORRIBLE food! It would have been better if they had scraped food out of the trash and served it. Do not go here.

I’ve been here several times thank to my coworker Marta Rodriguez who turned me on to the place.
Today’s date 10/​14/​2015 at 1715 hrs. I ordered a chicken sandwich combo. It came with chicken AND sausage and I got the Mac salad as a side. I also ordered ½ lb. of robs which turned out to be 2 ribs but they were large. A drink came with the sandwhich combo… total price $ 17.00.
The BBQ is very good! The ribs are NOT dry and the the spicy BBQ sauce and Mac salad alone are worth the trip if your from across town. I work nearby so it’s not a problem to come during lunch or after work.
I’d highly recommend this place.

Came for the military discount. 50% off on Mondays! The sausage was ok but the brisket was quite dry. The Mac & cheese was pretty plain but the potatoe salad was good. I would like to come back to try the ribs and other sides. But I’m not in a rush to come back.

BBQ is on point! Brisket sausage sandwich was delicious! Very very friendly staff too. Will definitely be back.

Went to Rusty Bucket with a bunch of colleagues. I am from out of town so one of the regulars recommended the lunch plate that was two ribs and two sides. I think the price is right and would return for sure if I am in the San Antonio area. Great tasting ribs! Well worth it!

So yummy!!! Everything was wonderful, large portions I suggest sharing :). Great service and military friendly!!!

Went here for lunch. It had a good lunch rush going which was a good sign. Then came the food. I ordered a brisket combo sandwich. The brisket tasted like it had been pulled out of the oven, no flavor and was missing that true Texas smoke ring. The price for the combo was not bad but for the quality of food you would expect better. The prices for the plates are high. I would not recommend going.

Not good at all! I had the 3 meat plate with brisket, turkey, and sausage. My sides were creamy corn and Mac & cheese. Nothing on my plate tasted good at all. The brisket and turkey were VERY dry. I’ve had better from a frozen meal. The creamy corn was absolutely disgusting. It’s almost as if they just warmed a can of corn, including the water that comes with it, and served it.
I would never come back to this place even if someone paid for my meal. Definitely not worth it.

Had the Smackdown and it was like Angels dancing around on my tongue. I give it four chiles!!! Ha!

The office lunch crew wandered into the Rusty Bucket on a Monday and found the restaurant filled with people in uniform. They’re no dummies: this place offers a whopping 50% military discount to get your week started right!
The food was good but not great. I had a three-​meat combo (brisket, sausage & pork loin) with two sides (mac salad & green beans). The sausage was smoky with a snappy casing, but the interior texture was a bit too homogenous for my taste – kind of like a turkey hot dog. The pork loin was nice but a little dry. The brisket was pretty good, but it really tasted more like a nice pot roast – without any bark or smoke ring to speak of. It was so pale that I couldn’t tell it from the pork at first.
The best thing on the plate was the green beans, which were very flavorful and a little spicy. I also liked the mac salad. One of my colleagues had a brisket sandwich. He liked the meat, but he said the bun was stale.
Minor gripe: water is not free. You can buy a bottle of water for 99¢, or they’ll give you a refillable cup for $ 1.99. I’m no cheapskate, but come on.
The bottom line is that this is a decent little barbecue joint with comfortable ambience. If you are active or retired military, it’s well worth visiting on a Monday for the incredible discount.

I see a lot of complaints about the service, so let me give you my opinion on why those are not important for this establishment. When you pull up you see that this area is not the nicest part of town, and you go into this plain restaurant and smell wonderful food. There are no fancy signs, just hand written menu on a white board and a lady behind the counter with a tiny window who takes your order. This place is not dining at the Ritz Carlton, it is blue collar food for people who work hard and want good barbecue. The amount of service needed is to take your money, and get you your order hot and quick.
On to the food, I’ve eaten there twice in the past year and gotten different plates each time. The first time was a traditional brisket and sausage plate with green beans, potato salad, and cream corn. The brisket was very well cooked, but it lacked a good flavor on its own. With the spicy sauce it was above average, with the sausage being on par with Bill Miller’s. However, the second trip I got the pork loin and was quite impressed. The pork loin was amazingly tender, and the sauce worked very ell with it. It pulled apart so easily and had just enough flavor on its own to give some contrast with the sauce.
Pricewise it is about fifteen bucks for a plate and a drink, more or less depending on the number of sides and meats chosen. It’s one of the better barbecue places in town, and convenient to areas around Lackland and Port San Antonio.

Beware of jerk owner! I arrived at 11 and was met at the door and yelled at by owner saying, «can i help you! I said yes, im here to eat. He said, your not going to stay are you, is it to go??? I said im here to eat, i go in and see there are 7 empty tables and no customers. Weird experience !! Not sure what the owner is so paranoid about, but i dont recommend supporting shady places like this. Food is average, prices are high! Recommend Bill Millers over this place anyday.

Really good BBQ. Their Ribs are delish and I have a hard time not ordering it. I also enjoy their Mac and cheese coleslaw which is tangy and I enjoyed it.
The only thing I did not like was their cream corn as it reminds me of what comes out of a can.
Just FYI one way I rate bbq places is by how many pick up trucks are out front and this one also has plenty. Enjoy

I’ve never had a bad experience here. The brisket is always moist and tender. The ribs are ridiculous. And if you’re really hungry try the chopped beef potato. It needs it’s own zip code!

this place is 4 stars
When I saw this place I didn’t know if it was open or closed. I went inside and I was still not sure every time I go this place is a ghost town.
I was greeted as I walked up to the window and took my order.
The food:
Brisket was nice soft flavorful with the fat trimmed off.
Ribs are good, cooked right to get clean bites and not that B.S. falling off the bone …
Sausage was good but there is something that makes them different but I don’t know what and stops me from loving them.
The sides are all mediocre at best.
Bill Millers and Rudys don’t cut it so when I want a BBQ fix it’s the rusty bucket.
I’ve been to the northside eastside and southside and live in the west side sad to say but S.A. doesn’t have ELITE BBQ at least I haven’t found it.

We had the potato and chopped beef, potato was good meet tasted old and they need to get butter by the gallon or somthing other than the little packs.
My son got a Rib plate, it came with 2 prices, very small portions with Mac & cheese and spicy green beans.
He are a fee bites and said he was ready to go!
I tried his rib he left and it was chewy and kinda under cooked.
Nice people — nice place — food needs work!

This place is pretty good, but Definitely super unhealthy. I went for a run later that day after having gone for lunch cause they have military discount on Mondays, and let’s just say I was hurting. I couldn’t run as fast as normal and couldn’t breathe (maybe they add a lot of sugar to their recipes), but I was off my game.
However, their food is pretty good. I always eat my whole plate when I go. I also like that it is small and original cooks (a ma&pa type of place). Service is great here. Don’t let the outside appearance fool you. It may look small and rundown, but it is alright inside and lots of people. It gets packed often around lunchtime during the week, I can’t speak for the weekends.
Chicken is bbq’d, which is tasty. Brisket is great too. My roommate loves this sandwich (the lonestar, I believe) that has brisket, pulled pork, and sausage inside a bun. I also tried their Mac and cheese (tasty & cheesy) and their green beans with bacon pieces inside of it. Their potato salad is good too.

I went here after the E-​N article a couple years ago. That article was all about the ribs. Several visits later, this is my last takeaway for the Rusty Bucket.
The great ribs did not disappoint. The chicken was unbelievable… smokey and moist. Near perfect. Sausage was good, as was the pork loin. The beans were flavorful and creamy. Just what I aspire to in my home made bean pot. Pasta salad is obviously made in house, regardless of what previous reviews state. Although I’m not a big fan of sauce on anything other than pulled pork, the choice is between a really really really spicy sauce and a sweet one.
This is not in the BBQ rotation. But, it should be.
+ Ribs
+Beans
+Easy access