Central BBQ - Downtown

We went to Central BBQ last night. It was truly amazing. Me and 2 mates, from England, and we wanted the authentic smokehouse experience. And that’s what we got. From the outside we thought it didn’t look up to much, but stepped inside and were hit with the full atmosphere. We got there for 6.45pm on a Monday and it was busy. You queue up and wait to place your order, then take your seat anywhere and await the epic food. I went for the ribs combo plate with Mac&cheese and bbq beans sides. And also got a peanut butter pie. The lass that took my order said “Ya’ll gonna pass out”. It was a tonne of food but I smashed it all like a man v food challenge. It was absolutely fantastic. There’s 3 seating areas, we sat in the central one which had an open front and we ate and watched the sun go down. Amazing experience and food. Best meal of our trip. 10/10. Recommended.

We came as a tour-planned lunch buffet for a group of 40. Menu was Baked Beans, brisket, pulled pork, pulled chicken, coleslaw slaw and drinks. The food in the buffet was hot and kept full. The BBQ was classic Memphis dry rub with sauce on the side. Sauce was a hot and a mild. Both were savory, not sweet. The mild had a little zip. As a buffet, it was all-you-care-to-eat. After the meal I had a chance to talk with Dutch, the chef. I do a lot of smoking and BBQ and we got down in the weeds talking spices, binders and such. I hope to see him when we come back in Jan. The joint is very near the Lorraine and we were told there is a great bakery nearby. Highly recommend.

My husband and I ordered a combo meal for takeout at the self service kiosk. While waiting for our food, we sat at the bar. At first we planned to order a drink while waiting for our food, but after 15 minutes there none of the servers at the bar asked us if we wanted to order anything. Keep in mind that when we sat down, there was no one else sitting at the bar. There were very few customers in the restaurant. Despite ordering at the kiosk, I still would have expected someone to check in with us before assuming we weren’t ordering anything to drink. I had very high hopes for the food here but unfortunately, we were very disappointed. All of the food was cold when we received it. The pork was extremely dry, the brisket was tough and difficult to chew. Many pieces were poorly sliced. The mac and cheese hardly had any flavor. The ribs were just as dry as the other meats, although I can say the rub was good. We won’t be returning.