Cotton's Alabama Barbecue

Fantastic ribs, the best I've ever had (I'm 70 and have eaten a lot of ribs in my time). When they served us, they included a serrated knife for some reason. Clearly it wasn't included for cutting the meat. The meat fell off the bone! It was so good I hesitated to use the BBQ sauce. I'll be going back on the next couple of days to try their chicken.

My wife and I visited during their slow time, so the service was excellent. But, given the quality of the ribs, we would have gladly accepted poor service.

The environment was unremarkable but comfortable. We are visiting the Eclectic area so we have only another week to enjoy their wonderful food. If we lived here, we'd eat there every week.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 5

Service: 5

It’s literally… 67

Atmosphere: 2

Food: 4

Service: 4

Fast & quality

When you are the only restaurant in the area, I understand you can pretty much get by with serving anything. But often times, these hole in the wall places are hidden gems. This is not the case here. All we ordered were two BBQ sandwiches and an order of fries. Let me start with the good. Staff were kind, service was fairly quick, and the fries and whatever seasoning they put on them was delicious. I’d go back just for the fries alone. However, the BBQ sandwich was the absolutely WORST barbecue I have ever had. And I knew barbecue. I worked in a BBQ restaurant growing up, my parents have smoked meats my entire life, and we often frequent BBQ places while traveling. I have never had worse. The meat was tasteless, and seemed old and microwaved. But the sauce.. EW! It looked and tasted like tomato paste with pepper. Disgusting. I ended up throwing my entire sandwich in the trash. Keep driving. Do not eat here if you’re looking for good BBQ.

Atmosphere: 1

Food: 2

Service: 4

I have been enjoying Cottons Barbeque for about 60 years. Their sauce is unique and not appreciated by all, but for me it's great.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Called and ordered 2 lb with regular sauce on the way, and it was ready upon arrival with a friendly welcome.

Disappointing experience. Old-timely rural bbq spot with some history, but has gone sadly downhill over the years. The sides were all underwhelming, with the singular exception of the onion rings, which were actually (and surprisingly) quite good. They make heavy use of their microwave oven. The meats were all reheated, and obviously so. While the chicken was nicely smoky, it had also been cooked earlier and reheated. There are much better bbq joints around and in future, I’ll stick to those.

Hamburger steak no gravy no onions was really good
Not a fan of either potstsLad or coleslaw mines the best
Greenbeans and maccaroni a d cheese are good...

My parents ate here before I was born and was across the street. Anytime we are around the area from Birmingham we always stop in Cotton's. It's absolutely great BBQ! Definitely recommend!

Pretty darn good burger!

Food was ok. Service was good until we got our food then we didn't get waited on after that. You have to pay for drink refills.

Great food! Great value! Friendly, fast service! What's not to love!!!

The chopped BBQ is not the same hasn't been in years. More than likely the reason is I haven't seen any smoke coming from the outside smoker in years. More like a cafe now days .

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 2

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Cheeseburger

Good ol barbeque meals

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 5

Service: 4

This is the locals place! It's the best ribs on this side of Texas.
The pies are made from scratch and are delicious ?
You can find a donation box of free items and a few things for sale. Some local art work hangs on walls, some are for sale.
Enjoy the family atmosphere, the kind staff, and the delicious food.

Atmosphere: 1

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Ribs