1. They don’t know how to package food properly 2. They’ll hang up on you when you call to politely tell them your food was poorly packaged
Just call corporate. 7/8, Arlington, whoever picked up the phone at 7PM…. Yeah. Do better.
Kun He
Best Kansas style BBQ in Boston! Love the vibe and the food!
Bob Drobneck
Exactly what one expects fromtopshelf bbq!
E Travis
Used their catering services. We've been using them for more than a decade for annual meeting. They make ordering easy and the service is excellent.
Mark Kollias
Got the 3 BBQ platter with brisket, ribs, and burnt ends with rice and gravy and cornbread as sides. Fantastic all around. Hot sauce was a nice complement as well.
Jacques Alexis
Not even sure where to start. The pulled chicken was just a spanish style shredded chicken. The brisket was very dry and the burnt ends were just chopped brisket. Cornbread was burnt and dry and the macaroni salad had a starchy texture/taste it. Definitely wouldn't recommend for anything other than a soda.
Robert Murch
They used to be far and away my favorite BBQ... But my last trip, it seemed like they slipped a little. Don't get me wrong... It was still good... But it used to be consistently excellent
Erik S
Consistently disappointing. I've tried this place twice, getting a variety of items. The burnt ends are not burnt ends, looking the same as pulled pork and not tasting good. The ribs have so little meat and are poorly rendered. They're basically cartilage fest. The baked beans are gross. The brisket I ordered was replaced with pulled pork without asking (and also isn't good). The potato salad is acceptable. I don't understand why this place is rated so highly, and other people recommend it. I've never had anything good. I think perhaps people in this region haven't had good BBQ and have very low standards
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 2
Service: 3
Joseph Medeiros
One of my favorite local BBQ places. The brisket and pot licker are exceptional. 10 out of 10 highly recommend!
I took a trip to this restaurant for my 80+ Neighbor and also my teen Daughter. The Atmosphere is your typical Arlington, Mass ave fast food place. A few seats, not a huge seating area, yet there is seating. It's a no frills type of place, the license plate decorations definitely add to the BBQ traditional atmosphere if you are eatting at one of the tables.
Both my Neighbor and Daughter raved about the meat! My Neighbor said the Ribs were the best she has had since she moved to New England. (She is from Georgia) Also my Daughter was very impressed with the Brisket. She said it was flavored perfectly, not to much smoke, just right. She said the sauce was not too sweet or overly hot spicy yet great flavor (I ordered her the Gold sauce). She said the meat was not dry or gristle covered, she said the marbling and cooking were on point!
I did not order for myself, because I haven't eaten meat in a long time, yet my Daughter insisted I try her side dishes. They were OK. Slight smoky flavor in the vinegar style southern potatoe salad, and the mashed potatoes were seasoned pleasantly with butter and garlic.
The staff were not the most knowledgeable or best at communicating with each other, However they were polite, which is a must for any BBQ place.
They made a slight mistake by forgetting my neighbors cornbread and that the orders needed to be in seperate bags. (Communication issue between staff most likely.)
When I asked for the cornbread one of the staff members wanted me to give him back my Daughter's order so he could take the cornbread out of it.
That's a No, No.
First off we paid for a second cornbread seperate for my neighbor. Also you never take a plate back from a customer to move food off a plated and served order. Food safety 101 and also Mass law. No cross contamination please. Also even though it's line style serving, you can't see them plateing which I do not like when I eat somewhere.
My Daughter told me I better not take stars off this review because her food was Awesome Sauce.
If you like meat, and you want southern style BBQ while your in the area, this place has what your looking for.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 4
Alexandra Skinner
Spectacular, as always! Truly authentic barbecue, reasonable prices, consistently excellent.
Take out- yummy
1. They don’t know how to package food properly
2. They’ll hang up on you when you call to politely tell them your food was poorly packaged
Just call corporate. 7/8, Arlington, whoever picked up the phone at 7PM…. Yeah. Do better.
Best Kansas style BBQ in Boston! Love the vibe and the food!
Exactly what one expects fromtopshelf bbq!
Used their catering services. We've been using them for more than a decade for annual meeting. They make ordering easy and the service is excellent.
Got the 3 BBQ platter with brisket, ribs, and burnt ends with rice and gravy and cornbread as sides. Fantastic all around. Hot sauce was a nice complement as well.
Not even sure where to start. The pulled chicken was just a spanish style shredded chicken. The brisket was very dry and the burnt ends were just chopped brisket. Cornbread was burnt and dry and the macaroni salad had a starchy texture/taste it. Definitely wouldn't recommend for anything other than a soda.
They used to be far and away my favorite BBQ... But my last trip, it seemed like they slipped a little. Don't get me wrong... It was still good... But it used to be consistently excellent
Consistently disappointing. I've tried this place twice, getting a variety of items. The burnt ends are not burnt ends, looking the same as pulled pork and not tasting good. The ribs have so little meat and are poorly rendered. They're basically cartilage fest. The baked beans are gross. The brisket I ordered was replaced with pulled pork without asking (and also isn't good). The potato salad is acceptable. I don't understand why this place is rated so highly, and other people recommend it. I've never had anything good. I think perhaps people in this region haven't had good BBQ and have very low standards
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 2
Service: 3
One of my favorite local BBQ places. The brisket and pot licker are exceptional. 10 out of 10 highly recommend!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Beef Brisket Platter, Sauce, Trio Platter, North Carolina Pulled Pork, Pulled Pork & Burnt Ends, Potato Salad
Restaurantji Recommends
I took a trip to this restaurant for my 80+ Neighbor and also my teen Daughter. The Atmosphere is your typical Arlington, Mass ave fast food place. A few seats, not a huge seating area, yet there is seating. It's a no frills type of place, the license plate decorations definitely add to the BBQ traditional atmosphere if you are eatting at one of the tables.
Both my Neighbor and Daughter raved about the meat! My Neighbor said the Ribs were the best she has had since she moved to New England. (She is from Georgia) Also my Daughter was very impressed with the Brisket. She said it was flavored perfectly, not to much smoke, just right. She said the sauce was not too sweet or overly hot spicy yet great flavor (I ordered her the Gold sauce). She said the meat was not dry or gristle covered, she said the marbling and cooking were on point!
I did not order for myself, because I haven't eaten meat in a long time, yet my Daughter insisted I try her side dishes. They were OK. Slight smoky flavor in the vinegar style southern potatoe salad, and the mashed potatoes were seasoned pleasantly with butter and garlic.
The staff were not the most knowledgeable or best at communicating with each other, However they were polite, which is a must for any BBQ place.
They made a slight mistake by forgetting my neighbors cornbread and that the orders needed to be in seperate bags. (Communication issue between staff most likely.)
When I asked for the cornbread one of the staff members wanted me to give him back my Daughter's order so he could take the cornbread out of it.
That's a No, No.
First off we paid for a second cornbread seperate for my neighbor. Also you never take a plate back from a customer to move food off a plated and served order. Food safety 101 and also Mass law. No cross contamination please. Also even though it's line style serving, you can't see them plateing which I do not like when I eat somewhere.
My Daughter told me I better not take stars off this review because her food was Awesome Sauce.
If you like meat, and you want southern style BBQ while your in the area, this place has what your looking for.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 4
Spectacular, as always! Truly authentic barbecue, reasonable prices, consistently excellent.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Beef Brisket Platter, Sauce, Pulled Pork Sandwich, BBQ, Pulled Pork & Burnt Ends, Pulled Pork Slider
Visited whilst on holiday. Fantastic food, great choice would highly recommend.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: BBQ, Pulled Pork & Burnt Ends
Ribs cooked to perfection. Need I say more
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Ribs are smackin delicious!! Sides are great too...love the slaw!!
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 5
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: BBQ Sauce, BBQ, Mashed Potatoes
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