50 Best Barbeque Restaurants near Des Plaines

“Lately, I’ve been moving away from the ayce kbbq and trying the ones that are a la carte. This one uses oak wood charcoal vs gas-powered/electric grill that most of the Illinois Korean restaurants use. The verdict is that the meat comes out really tasty. When you come in, you might have to reserve a table especially on the weekend. We didn’t reserve, but we were lucky to get a table for 3 on a Saturday night at 7 pm. The restaurant is small so seating can be limited. Parking is sufficient since it’s a shared lot.

The service was very attentive and friendly. This is a family owned and run establishment. We ordered the combination platter (bulgogi, kalbi fingers, and pork belly), mo dum jun (combination platter for appetizers, ggo ri gom tang (oxtail soup). This was more than enough food for 3 people. Banchan is refillable. I would say this is one of the best kbbq restaurants in the Chicagoland area and I wouldn’t mind coming back.

-combination platter 5 - this is good for 2-3 people as long as you have other dishes. Meat cooked fast.
-mo dum jun 5 - fried squash, shrimp, oysters, and stuffed peppers. The stuffed peppers were my personal favorite. Make sure you dip them in the sauce provided.
-oxtail soup 5 - light broth not too robust. Oxtail meat was tender, not chewy. It’s big and shareable.“

“Was looking forward to a great steak after a long day of traveling only to be turned away because we didn't have proof of vaccine cards with us!! What a joke! Will never return to this establishment!“

“Always excellent, always delivered no problems whether its the yummy chicken or a stuffed pizza. Keep up the good work!“

“The brisket was the best part; then the pudding bread, rib tip Mac & cheese and Sausage. The sticky sprouts are the cherry on top. I saved the 3 pcs of Pig Candy for when I get home.“

“I love this place. We eat here at least 3xs a month. Everything is amazing! My favorite is the Tri Tip or Pulled Pork. You can't go wrong with anything on the menu. Its a bit expensive but the quality is top notch. Shakes are really good too!“

“Food is amazing. Great place to get a lot of protein.“

“Ya Hala truly lives up to its name — a warm welcome from start to finish. The moment you walk in, the aroma of freshly grilled meats and spices wraps around you like a hug from home. The staff is attentive without hovering, and every dish feels prepared with real care. The hummus is creamy and rich, the shawarma tender and bursting with flavor, and the falafel has that perfect crispy shell with a soft, savory center.

What makes Ya Hala stand out, though, is its atmosphere — relaxed yet vibrant, perfect for both family dinners and casual nights out. Portions are generous, prices fair, and you leave both full and genuinely satisfied. Ya Hala isn’t just another Mediterranean restaurant; it’s a true gem that makes you want to come back again and again.“

“This place is perfect for Korean BBQ lovers. The unlimited grilled meats and authentic Korean flavors make every visit worth it. The bulgogi and galbi were packed with flavor, and the corn cheese and egg casserole sides were delicious. Great atmosphere, great food, and a fun dining experience every time.“

“First, the food is DELICIOUS! They have a lot more flavors of chicken available than some other K.F.C. restaurants. The tteokbokki offers more flavors & add in’s as well. You can tell the company really cares about their food quality and customer satisfaction-eg they have steam vents built into the containers and the keep your to-go order propped slightly open until you pick up your order all so that your chicken remains crispy, rather than getting soggy waiting in a closed container! The staff are always very polite & conscientious. LOVE THIS PLACE!“

“Hosted a 70-ish person birthday here. Amazing staff, food, drinks, and atmosphere. Beautiful outdoor space. We were looking for a laid back, fun, relaxing place to host a birthday and this place checked all those boxes. Shannon was great to work with, and our waitress was super cool. Loved seeing what looked to be a family operation in the kitchen! My only comment is that the barrel room needs just a little more light for those overcast days! We will be returning to une annee and they are at the top of our list for future events.“

“The food is so incredible even the ribs! Staff are very kind and Wood Dale is a great city! Prices are also reasonable.“

“My husband and I don't get out for a date night very often and we had a wonderful meal on 7/25 at Carson's Deerfield. Our server Jessica was friendly and attentive, even splitting our wedge salad for us. She also gave us advice about bringing a family member who is currently wheelchair bound. It has been a while since we've eaten at Carson's but we will be back soon.“

“First time here, definitely will be back to to try the food“

“Reps is one of our favorite spots! The nachos and wings are amazing, and the food is always top-notch. The staff is friendly, and the atmosphere is great. Highly recommend it!“

“Oh my goodness. The best BBQ we have had in Illinois. We have traveled to Tennessee, Missouri, Chicago and all over the Chicago suburbs and this place takes the cake. (Peg leg in Nashville still is the over all best we’ve had) We happened upon Porkey’s after our Chicago plans fell through. Wow!!!!!!!!!! We had several plates of meat, a kids meal, sides, and dessert and our bill was less than $50. The staff were friendly, attentive and they offered great suggestions. I was so satisfied with our whole experience. From beginning to end a great flipping meal. They also had the bears pre season game on. Everything was so tasty. I will say this… and it may be fighting words, but their lumpia were better than stix and noodles. We had brisket sandwich, 1/2 lb of pulled pork, chicken fingers, a bao bun, brisket lumpia and bread pudding. On sundays they also have apple cider donuts so yeah we had those too! 5 stars from beginning to end.“

“Great bar service, awesome food. Definitely worth checking out“

“I enjoy the friendly employees“

“My friend and I stopped in at Firewater BBQ in Elmhurst on Thursday Dec. 1st for the "Granny's Lunch Box Special" which is available daily from 11AM-2PM. This was my second visit and my friend's first at Firewater. We both ordered the Angus beef brisket sandwich with a side of 3 cheese Mac & Cheese and a soda. The brisket (smoked for 22 hrs) is amazingly tender and flavorful. It was piled high on a toasted brioche bun and is served with your choice of sweet or spicy BBQ sauce or both if you like. The Mac & Cheese is sooo silky-smooth and creamy and compliments the brisket quite well. There are complimentary pickled jalapeños and sweet & spicy pickles available as well. My friend was so impressed by this amazing brisket that he placed another exact order to go to bring home. The cashier who also took our order was very friendly and polite. We told one of the chefs, Shawn, (pictured) that we really enjoyed the brisket and complimented his skills. My friend and I will both be returning to Firewater BBQ and we'll definitely be letting our family and friends know about this wonderful BBQ spot.“

“Went in today aug 9 2026 ordered a 2. Meat plate sausage and brisket with Mac and cheese and potato salad
Was so good went back for a half pound of brisket
I had left a review about a year ago saying food was only ok
When I was there last I talked with the owner and asked if they had made any changes he said they did because they read their reviews
The changes were well received by me everything was really good
I'd say if you want barbecue give them a try“

“I gave five stars because I absolutely love they turkey tips I stumbled upon this location last month and I have been recommending my customers to go there but today was a very bad experience for me and I probably won’t be returning because the lady at the counter today was very very very rude to me and I truly don’t appreciate that. This is my first time seeing her there it’s usually a nice gentleman man that works there I asked her may I have a bag please for my food she turned around and looked at me with disgust and said “I’m going to put it in a bag “then took the bag and threw it on the counter at me I’m so glad that I’m more in to my church now because she almost took me there but the devil is a lie. So sad because I actually love their turkey tips. I don’t understand why people work at an establishment that they don’t like or don’t like being there because to me customer service is everything especially when I spending my hard earned money.“

“Chibogan has very fast service and high-quality meats. If you'd like to order large trays for your occasion or potlucks, this place is one of the best for Filipino food. The owner is very nice and friendly.“

“This is my 2nd time here and I had a great experience twice, 1 for lunch and 1 for dinner. We tried their Chungkiwa BBQ special and it was very good with multiple meat options, all very good quality and flavorful. My favorite was the beef and the spicy pork.
The servers were super nice. AND we got ice cream after!
The restaurant has a very interesting interior design. I love everything about it. Will definitely come back.“

“Jerk chicken, was very tasty, macaroni was okay in my opinion, many people may give ot a 10, cabbages I give it a 10, sweet potatoes were good to me they, were not sweet, but more on the healthy side, waiting time was minimum, the service was good. One major negative was a boot was on my car, I did not like that experience period, the guy took it off in less then 10 minutes, I never had a boot on my car.“

“I had a brisket burrito and Mac & cheese . Very Delicious ! I will be back.“

“Had their bbq duck, bbq pork and roast pork.
Their roast duck and roast pork was good. Their bbq pork leans more salty then sweet. It's more of a preference thing, I prefer more sweeter bbq pork. Their prices are pretty good as well.“

“I thought this place was dirty, when it wasn't and I thought the food wasn't good either, but was pleasantly surprised that the chicken wings and rib tips with bbq sauce actually hit..This place is a criminally underrated rib and chicken joint(Chop Steaks too)just off the food alone and I bet that not one rib shack in the city can beat their prices ..“

“the best place in this area; especially the cheeseburger, hot dog, and grilled tuna sandwich“

“They catered a lunch for 15. The food was excellent and they’re great to work with. #iraeats.“

“Thank you so much to everyone at Firewater for doing the best job at honoring Michael Altman and his family. The love and support was felt by the hundreds and hundreds of people who attended. Inside and outside were packed. Thank you to the people selling the T- shirts outside so I was finally able to get mine. It was truly a heartwarming day. Please keep The Altman family in your thoughts and prayer's and continue to reach out and love them. ♥️🙏“

“Chicken is excellent and tasty 😋 We always order here for so many years. Highly recommended to all my family members and friends. ☺️😋😍“

“Not a bad item on their entire menu! By far one of the best places in the Sauganash/Edgebrook neighborhood.“

“Wow1 This meat and grill business has the best kabobs! They also are generous to charities and very community spirited. Stop in. You will be happy you did!“

“This is our second time dining at Hwang Soh Grill, and everything is just as amazing as we remembered. The food is absolutely phenomenal—fresh, flavorful, and consistently delicious. The service is outstanding as well. The staff is attentive, friendly, and always makes us feel welcome. It’s rare to find a place that maintains such high quality every visit. We’ll definitely be coming back every time we are in Chicago!“

“Our go to restaurant.. the. best kimchi ever 😊“

“Food was excellent — 5/5. The chefs behind the counter were very kind, and the manager was also very nice and helpful.

However, the hostess/waitress at the front was rude and unwelcoming. She initially told us to wait because the silverware was not ready. After about 20 minutes, I went back politely to ask for the menu and mentioned that we were ready to order if the wait was going to be longer. She said she did not know and told us we could leave if we wanted. That was very disappointing hospitality.

Thankfully, the manager handled the situation well and had everything ready within about 10–15 minutes. Overall, great food, great chefs, and a great manager, but I am taking off one star because of the waitress’s attitude.

Ill come back for the food because that was great.. but hope the service next time would be better“

“Service polite and quick. Space clean and well organized. Ordered the Papa Q platter, everything was good, especially the pork belly and sausage. Sides were cornbread, sweeter than traditional, mac q roni- tasty, coleslaw- creamy and traditional, and mashed potatoes with gravy-really good. Hush puppies were yummy too. Three sauces on table are all good individually but I mixed them all together, delish!“

“Got some skirt steaks, a couple NY strips, chicken and prepared soups. Everything was fantastic and way beyond our expectations! I would (and have) highly recommend Hofherr’s to anybody! They’re great!“

“First time at this location as we were visiting my son and daughter in law and was truly disappointed about dinner . Ordered herb crusted chicken with a side kick of shrimp and got a plain grilled chicken breast and let manger know and she offered nothing but got a new actual herb crusted chicken 15 minutes later after everyone was about done with dinner ! Been to Texas by our house several times and ordered this same thing and never got this kind of service ! Not even a sorry let me make it right !“

“Their baked potato was just perfect! Steak was good too. The old fashioned was identical to the one I was served at Capital Grille the night prior. The price for my—very similar—meal & one drink was almost 1/5th of the Cap.Grille. I will be coming back for sure!!! Thank you“

“It's so nice to be out at a restaurant! This location is poppen so be prepared to wait a lil bit. We always sit at the bar and Angela was busy! She was friendly and never stopped moving! Our shrimp was salty to me but my husband at it all.“

“My fiancé and I have been a gyro war. I’m a Skokie Dengeos girl and he’s a diehard Squabs fan. While it’s hard to compete with childhood memories after trying Squabs I totally get it. The gyro was perfectly cooked, the tzatziki was beautiful, the fries were delicious. The absolute standout was the customer service. I was having such a bad day. I confused the gyro plate with the gyro dinner and they took such good care of me. I had cried the whole ride over and left with the biggest smile and a plate of leftovers. 10/10 I will be coming back every chance I get.“

“I've been going to Mickey for YEARS!!! Today I took my grandkids for the first time. They are very nice people with great service....and food!“

“Love the Bar B Que and the Chicken...Go Royal Chicken!!!!!“

“the best of the best 👌 amazing service amazing 👏 🤩 🙌 😀 food great place for family times and eating top quality food the taste in everything we ate was unbelievable 😋 👌 me and my fiance we super happy super recommended to the Maxx“

“Good and highly recommend“

“Food is delicious! Just what I’ve been looking for in the suburbs.“

“We have been going to Russell's 50 plus years. Everything has always been amazing from the ribs falling off the bone to the original pulled pork sandwich that was so good. The last 3 time it has not been enjoyable. Tried it again last night the ribs were dry over cook not falling off the bone. Very disappointing. Four of us had them and all four was said they were terrible. Salad had to be returned. Baked potato was old. So disappointed, we drive 50 mile for this. Please fix it! Go back to your original recipe!“

“I didn’t dine, but it was decent sized space. The host was very receptive as soon I walked in to pick my order. Very great service from initial experience. The food was delicious especially the fried chicken. The Rose Deokkbokki was really great as well. The Kimchi Fried rice hit the spot for sure. Very genuine Korean tasting food.“

“First time having Korean BBQ. I could not have a gone to a better place! Everything was so good! The severs are very attentive and were very nice! Enjoyed my meal!“