Food is pretty good. They only have mac n cheese on Friday and some Fridays, there is no mac n cheese at all. Hit or miss. I wish the online menu was updated. The prices are about $3 higher than the menu.
Aph127
We wanted a hidden gem and this came up. With a name like this it had to be good and didn’t disappoint. We split a two meat plate and friends got sandwiches and ribs. We all got dessert and recommend saving room or, as we got so many, taking some to go too.
Ray L
GReat ribs and pulled pork sandwich. Good Coleslaw. Beans were ok, and 2 slices of bread were blah. It amazes me that they would put all the effort into the ribs with great smoky flavor.........and they degrade it with blah white bread!
DayTrip38671986620
Food was cold and didn’t taste good. Customer service was not good other than the gentleman taking orders. Will not go there again.
Sherri C
Excellent BBQ and great prices. The pulled pork was incredibly tender. Husband enjoyed ribs and chicken. All of it was tasty!
Ben C
I've been hearing so much about this place lately. It has been ranked #1 BarBQ in Tampa, and #6 overall for ALL restaurants in Tampa! I simply had to see for myself what all the fuss was about, and I was not disappointed at all. It was everything all the rave reviews claimed. Fabulous home-cooking served in a repurposed historic wooden-frame shotgun-style house in Tampa's historic Ybor City Latin district. The BarBQ is cooked in an outdoor smoker, and served inside (or to go). You might even see some of Ybor City's famous free-range chickens running around in the parking lot! I had the ribs and pulled pork meal. The ribs were super tender and flavorful, and the pork was perfectly smoked, chopped, and seasoned. My meal came with two sides - I chose baked beans (delicious, with a bit of a cinnamon flavor), and yellow rice and chicken (tasty and moist). I topped it off with homemade banana pudding, made with real banana chunks and vanilla wafer cookies inside. All of this and a drink, and the bill was under $20. In addition to the ribs and pulled pork that I sampled, they also offer smoked sausage, brisket, turkey, and chicken. Sides include potato salad, cole slaw, collard greens, black-eyed peas, fried okra and tomatoes, and mac and cheese. Desserts include banana pudding and homemade pecan, sweet potato, and peach pie. HOURS ARE VERY LIMITED - MAKE SURE THEY ARE OPEN BEFORE YOU GO! They only open 4 days a week, Wed-Sat, until 3:30 pm on Wed-Thurs, and until 9:00 pm on Fri-Sat.
DaytonaGuy
Als is a yearly visit for me while attending the Tampa International Fringe Festival. This year i was able to bring a friend from Canada to enjoy it with me. If you are looking for a "fancy" place, this isn't for you! It's an older house turned into a small restaurant. Access to the men's restroom is on the front porch. Meats are cooked and smoked outside. Chances are chickens will be running around outside! Now if you want GREAT BBQ, this IS for you! I like to try different meats, and this time it was their sausage. It was a generous serving of sausage which was chopped up. I had hoped to try their greens and yellow rice and chicken, however it was close to closing and they were out. Had the beans and slaw which were good instead. AL is always there, either in the kitchen, or chilling on the porch. There is no table service. Order at the register, and they will hand you your plate over the counter. Although I didn't have desert this time, they have a selection of different ones to choose from. All in all, you can't go wrong with Al's. The chicken, sausage and ribs are all great. I'd suggest the 2 or 3 choice platter!
Karilee711
Weird hours! Be sure to check! We drive all the way our here at 5:15 on a Monday and it’s closed! Double check the hours before you make the drive. It closes at 3:30pm some days! Grrrr
SusanLynn01
Absolutely wonderful!! Best barbecue we have had in a long while. Had ribs that were cooked to perfection with perfect bark, juicy and great smoke. The brisket was chopped and was moist with outstanding flavor. Hot sauce had some heat but not firey. All sides were homemade and delicious. Can’t wait to visit again!!
BrandonJ0202
Good Stuff: meat, sides, sauce, smells Bad Stuff: wait time (caused me to drop this review down one star) Made a special trip to Ybor to try this place out. The food is great! The wait - not so much. I arrived around opening time, which was a mistake. There was a line out of the door and it didn’t move very fast. I think it was so slow because they were packaging their backlog of online orders. Total wait time - about 35 minutes. Once past the wait, the rest of the process was fine. I picked up some ribs and the Mac n cheese. I am pretty picky about ribs - these are good! They don’t skimp on the meat - I can’t stand when the ribs are just basically bones. The smoky wood flavor is excellent. The tenderness is good, but it does require a bit of sauce as the meat is a bit dry in spots. Overall, really good! As for the Mac N Cheese - also very good. I don’t typically get Mac, it’s not one of my favorite sides, but it is only available on Fridays here so I went for it. I figured exclusive menu items are better. It’s something Al picks up from a nearby business and it is good! Very filling, good flavor - a small is more than enough for one person.
We are a family of four from UK with two teenagers staying in Tampa to go to Busch Gardens. Saw this place had good reviews so wanted to go. Was a bit off the track and when we arrived we were a little unsure but went in and so glad we did. Food was freeking epic. Honestly, the ribs were amazing. We also had brisket, pulled pork, sausage. Staff were really friendly. If you have the opportunity to go I would highly recommend. Loved it!
Brenda Russell
The fried chicken is delicious but the sides food like the Mac cheese is terrible taste like I’m eating plan butter . The greens is a slap in our ancestors face that’s not how we as people of color make collard greens .no taste. It takes forever to get your food . I’m ashame to see people come in to eat there because they food don’t represent black people soul food. If they get some real soul food cooks they would flourish and business would grow. The restaurant had a unpleasant smell when you walk in the door. Get it together you guys are you will be out of business soon.
Ladybeeker
As a disclaimer, I do not like bbq BUT this was the best bbq I have had in my life so far. Everyone (regulars included) were kind, helpful, and funny with recommendations especially when I couldn’t choose between the sweet potato cake or banana pudding. The pudding won! I highly recommend their ribs, yellow rice which is blended with pieces of chopped chicken, and a nap afterwards.
TravelerG8
Went for a lunch after a walk through the Ybor neighborhood. Paid parking lot next to it makes parking an non issue. Meat is very tender and reasonably priced with very friendly staff. Makes you feel like a member of their local family and place continued to be busy for our snack before a flight out. Nothing fancy but great food.
Global42540381156
I was glad we selected this BBQ place to eat our evening meal. It's located inside an old house but the atmosphere is down home and unpretentious. Ribs are their specialty. They are smoked to perfection. Nice char on the outside. Tender on the inside. The coleslaw and baked beans were very good also. Friendly staff. Quick service. Only seats about 40 but was not crowded on an early Friday evening. Seems to be a favorite with locals.
Food is pretty good. They only have mac n cheese on Friday and some Fridays, there is no mac n cheese at all. Hit or miss. I wish the online menu was updated. The prices are about $3 higher than the menu.
We wanted a hidden gem and this came up. With a name like this it had to be good and didn’t disappoint. We split a two meat plate and friends got sandwiches and ribs. We all got dessert and recommend saving room or, as we got so many, taking some to go too.
GReat ribs and pulled pork sandwich. Good Coleslaw. Beans were ok, and 2 slices of bread were blah. It amazes me that they would put all the effort into the ribs with great smoky flavor.........and they degrade it with blah white bread!
Food was cold and didn’t taste good. Customer service was not good other than the gentleman taking orders. Will not go there again.
Excellent BBQ and great prices. The pulled pork was incredibly tender. Husband enjoyed ribs and chicken. All of it was tasty!
I've been hearing so much about this place lately. It has been ranked #1 BarBQ in Tampa, and #6 overall for ALL restaurants in Tampa! I simply had to see for myself what all the fuss was about, and I was not disappointed at all. It was everything all the rave reviews claimed. Fabulous home-cooking served in a repurposed historic wooden-frame shotgun-style house in Tampa's historic Ybor City Latin district. The BarBQ is cooked in an outdoor smoker, and served inside (or to go). You might even see some of Ybor City's famous free-range chickens running around in the parking lot! I had the ribs and pulled pork meal. The ribs were super tender and flavorful, and the pork was perfectly smoked, chopped, and seasoned. My meal came with two sides - I chose baked beans (delicious, with a bit of a cinnamon flavor), and yellow rice and chicken (tasty and moist). I topped it off with homemade banana pudding, made with real banana chunks and vanilla wafer cookies inside. All of this and a drink, and the bill was under $20. In addition to the ribs and pulled pork that I sampled, they also offer smoked sausage, brisket, turkey, and chicken. Sides include potato salad, cole slaw, collard greens, black-eyed peas, fried okra and tomatoes, and mac and cheese. Desserts include banana pudding and homemade pecan, sweet potato, and peach pie. HOURS ARE VERY LIMITED - MAKE SURE THEY ARE OPEN BEFORE YOU GO! They only open 4 days a week, Wed-Sat, until 3:30 pm on Wed-Thurs, and until 9:00 pm on Fri-Sat.
Als is a yearly visit for me while attending the Tampa International Fringe Festival. This year i was able to bring a friend from Canada to enjoy it with me. If you are looking for a "fancy" place, this isn't for you! It's an older house turned into a small restaurant. Access to the men's restroom is on the front porch. Meats are cooked and smoked outside. Chances are chickens will be running around outside! Now if you want GREAT BBQ, this IS for you! I like to try different meats, and this time it was their sausage. It was a generous serving of sausage which was chopped up. I had hoped to try their greens and yellow rice and chicken, however it was close to closing and they were out. Had the beans and slaw which were good instead. AL is always there, either in the kitchen, or chilling on the porch. There is no table service. Order at the register, and they will hand you your plate over the counter. Although I didn't have desert this time, they have a selection of different ones to choose from. All in all, you can't go wrong with Al's. The chicken, sausage and ribs are all great. I'd suggest the 2 or 3 choice platter!
Weird hours! Be sure to check! We drive all the way our here at 5:15 on a Monday and it’s closed! Double check the hours before you make the drive. It closes at 3:30pm some days! Grrrr
Absolutely wonderful!! Best barbecue we have had in a long while. Had ribs that were cooked to perfection with perfect bark, juicy and great smoke. The brisket was chopped and was moist with outstanding flavor. Hot sauce had some heat but not firey. All sides were homemade and delicious. Can’t wait to visit again!!
Good Stuff: meat, sides, sauce, smells Bad Stuff: wait time (caused me to drop this review down one star) Made a special trip to Ybor to try this place out. The food is great! The wait - not so much. I arrived around opening time, which was a mistake. There was a line out of the door and it didn’t move very fast. I think it was so slow because they were packaging their backlog of online orders. Total wait time - about 35 minutes. Once past the wait, the rest of the process was fine. I picked up some ribs and the Mac n cheese. I am pretty picky about ribs - these are good! They don’t skimp on the meat - I can’t stand when the ribs are just basically bones. The smoky wood flavor is excellent. The tenderness is good, but it does require a bit of sauce as the meat is a bit dry in spots. Overall, really good! As for the Mac N Cheese - also very good. I don’t typically get Mac, it’s not one of my favorite sides, but it is only available on Fridays here so I went for it. I figured exclusive menu items are better. It’s something Al picks up from a nearby business and it is good! Very filling, good flavor - a small is more than enough for one person.
Restaurantji Recommends
We are a family of four from UK with two teenagers staying in Tampa to go to Busch Gardens. Saw this place had good reviews so wanted to go. Was a bit off the track and when we arrived we were a little unsure but went in and so glad we did. Food was freeking epic. Honestly, the ribs were amazing. We also had brisket, pulled pork, sausage. Staff were really friendly. If you have the opportunity to go I would highly recommend. Loved it!
The fried chicken is delicious but the sides food like the Mac cheese is terrible taste like I’m eating plan butter . The greens is a slap in our ancestors face that’s not how we as people of color make collard greens .no taste. It takes forever to get your food . I’m ashame to see people come in to eat there because they food don’t represent black people soul food. If they get some real soul food cooks they would flourish and business would grow. The restaurant had a unpleasant smell when you walk in the door. Get it together you guys are you will be out of business soon.
As a disclaimer, I do not like bbq BUT this was the best bbq I have had in my life so far. Everyone (regulars included) were kind, helpful, and funny with recommendations especially when I couldn’t choose between the sweet potato cake or banana pudding. The pudding won! I highly recommend their ribs, yellow rice which is blended with pieces of chopped chicken, and a nap afterwards.
Went for a lunch after a walk through the Ybor neighborhood. Paid parking lot next to it makes parking an non issue. Meat is very tender and reasonably priced with very friendly staff. Makes you feel like a member of their local family and place continued to be busy for our snack before a flight out. Nothing fancy but great food.
I was glad we selected this BBQ place to eat our evening meal. It's located inside an old house but the atmosphere is down home and unpretentious. Ribs are their specialty. They are smoked to perfection. Nice char on the outside. Tender on the inside. The coleslaw and baked beans were very good also. Friendly staff. Quick service. Only seats about 40 but was not crowded on an early Friday evening. Seems to be a favorite with locals.