In search of the best bbq in Columbus, stopped by Hanks BBQ in Clintonville at Crestview and North High Street. First, I had to laugh because Hank's is in the old Pizza Hut building that I used to hang out in high school. So much better decor inside but it was the first time I had been in there in many years. Ordered the three meat plate of beef brisket, bbq ribs, and pulled pork with Cole slaw and potato salad on the side. The brisket and pulled pork were heaven. Brisket was moist and juicy with a nice crust. Pulled pork was a wonderful taste especially with the bbq sauce. The ribs were meaty but the seasoning was just ok for me. Cole slaw and potato salad were ok. Would have liked a bit more kick to them. All in all, I loved the meats. I really wanted to try the 1/2 bbq chicken but they were out. Bbq chicken is one of my test meats when I try someone's bbq.
Jackie A.
Fun and casual place, friendly service, and great food. Pimento cheese dip was great as were the fried pickles. Barbecue was tasty, and the corn cakes were delicious! Nice drink selection and their playlist was just what you wanted to hear. Give them a try!
ReViewer T.
Ate there on 3/20/24. Never will return. The only positive was a nice, pleasant waitress. Ordered the "Meat Plate" with what they call "USDA Prime Brisket" and they toss in 2 sides. I chose the cole slaw (almost tasteless, bland) and the house cut fries, which were actually pretty GOOD. But for $17. -- enjoying fries and a little tasteless coleSlaw does NOT make it, guys. The huge disappointment was in the meat; over 50% pure fat. After gnawing the actual meat away from the astounding amount of fat on the plate, I was left with a highly disappointing dining experience. I was also hoping for a pleasant, relaxing atmosphere while I ate, but sadly it was their "trivia night" in which a dude ran his show at very high volume, and yeah I understand the regulars were having a blast. NOT so for casual diners wanting to just enjoy a meal in peace. I will not be returning again.
hey I've been here before mightve even left a lieced of my id yall sharing forks stills? I got somes for yous, follows mees! ows owls ows oh ows that was goods! bbqs grillabinos! they owe to meahahs ariiyaahs at once driving schools progressive o's maybes? noodles! meet me
Lexi Bourekas
This was my first time here and If I could give this place 15 stars I would!Even tho the two meats I originally went there for they were out of at the end of the night I still found an amazing meal. I did the one meat platter with two sides and it was absolutely delicious, brisket with Mac & cheese & fries. Also added a piece of corn bread.Didn’t catch our servers name but he was amazing, very attentive and made sure our meal tasted right. Definitely made sure he got the tip he deserved!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Brisket
Alexandra Naftali
Meat was so tender and flavorful! Best I've ever had, loved it! Highly recommend!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Brisket
Benjamin Naftali
Best BBQ place in town!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Bern B.
Really good food, at reasonable prices. The staff is always friendly, and if you go a few times, they start to remember you. Atmosphere is good for its location. And best of all, they have trivia nights!
Milo T.
Was totally surprised by this place. This is perhaps the best ribs I've had. I tasted the ribs sans sauce and with sauce. I ended up not using any bbq sauce because the ribs were already flavorful enough. The sauce would have detracted from it. That rarely happens. My wife had the corn cake with coleslaw and she loved it! This was out of her comfort zone and it paid off. Service was on point with a friendly face.
Ordered takeout and stumbled upon trivia night on Wednesday which was cool to see. I didn't experience too much of it though because the order that I placed onsite was ready pretty quickly. A nice start! Upon getting home, we dug into "Steve's Way" Corn Cakes which were great. Its sweetness set it apart from the savory BBQ, sides and Poutine that comprised the order. I really liked the poutine. The gravy might have had hints of coffee or beer or something (I really don't know). But it worked! Fries and curds were both good, too. From there it was hit or miss. The pork didn't stand out, and the mustard-based potato salad was fine. The collard greens were disappointing . It had too much tomato influence for my liking. Ending on a high note, the brisket was money. Get it! This was a strong showing, and there's enough variety on the menu to warrant another trip.
Corri P.
The queso dip and fried cheese bites are amazing. Definitely order appetizers. The brisket was the most tender smoked barbecue I've ever had. Pulled pork and sausage were great. The skin on the chicken we had seemed tough and had a burnt quality but the meat itself was good. We'll definitely be back.
John R.
Both wife and I had the ribs. Flavor was on point however the ribs were so tough I had to cut them off the bone. Was told that usually when "owner" cooks there are no complaints but he wasn't cooking tonight. Guess it we were unlucky. Will not be back.
Nat W.
Went to Hank's BBQ in Clintonville and WOW I was not disappointed!! I only took a picture of the loaded corn cakes (they normally come with pico, but I don't like tomatoes), the plating was so pretty! The birria-style brisket was so tender, every shred was falling apart on my fork. The corn cakes themselves were beyond tasty, having sucked up all that beef juice. We also got the fried pickles and the bottlecaps (fried jalapeños) and both were beautifully crispy. They were thicker cut so they had some body to them, instead of feeling like pickle-flavored batter which can happen sometimes. The service was good, and the atmosphere suited Texas BBQ perfectly. You can smell the smoker going out back, which really gets you ready for barbecue. 10/10 would recommend. I'm not normally even the biggest fan of meat, but I want to come back again and again! Definitely going to check out the beer list next time. Only negative is the parking situation-- the lot is comically small, and difficult to pull out of, so definitely park on the street if there's space, or at the Condado lot next door.
Steve J.
Had the two meat sandwich, pulled pork and brisket with house fries. Worth the trip to try their smoked meats!
In search of the best bbq in Columbus, stopped by Hanks BBQ in Clintonville at Crestview and North High Street. First, I had to laugh because Hank's is in the old Pizza Hut building that I used to hang out in high school. So much better decor inside but it was the first time I had been in there in many years. Ordered the three meat plate of beef brisket, bbq ribs, and pulled pork with Cole slaw and potato salad on the side. The brisket and pulled pork were heaven. Brisket was moist and juicy with a nice crust. Pulled pork was a wonderful taste especially with the bbq sauce. The ribs were meaty but the seasoning was just ok for me. Cole slaw and potato salad were ok. Would have liked a bit more kick to them. All in all, I loved the meats. I really wanted to try the 1/2 bbq chicken but they were out. Bbq chicken is one of my test meats when I try someone's bbq.
Fun and casual place, friendly service, and great food. Pimento cheese dip was great as were the fried pickles. Barbecue was tasty, and the corn cakes were delicious! Nice drink selection and their playlist was just what you wanted to hear. Give them a try!
Ate there on 3/20/24. Never will return. The only positive was a nice, pleasant waitress. Ordered the "Meat Plate" with what they call "USDA Prime Brisket" and they toss in 2 sides. I chose the cole slaw (almost tasteless, bland) and the house cut fries, which were actually pretty GOOD. But for $17. -- enjoying fries and a little tasteless coleSlaw does NOT make it, guys. The huge disappointment was in the meat; over 50% pure fat. After gnawing the actual meat away from the astounding amount of fat on the plate, I was left with a highly disappointing dining experience. I was also hoping for a pleasant, relaxing atmosphere while I ate, but sadly it was their "trivia night" in which a dude ran his show at very high volume, and yeah I understand the regulars were having a blast. NOT so for casual diners wanting to just enjoy a meal in peace. I will not be returning again.
Great BBQ! Wonderful staff!!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Burnt Ends Baked Beans, Honey Chicken, Potato Salad, Mac & Cheese, Sausage
hey I've been here before mightve even left a lieced of my id yall sharing forks stills? I got somes for yous, follows mees! ows owls ows oh ows that was goods! bbqs grillabinos! they owe to meahahs ariiyaahs at once driving schools progressive o's maybes? noodles! meet me
This was my first time here and If I could give this place 15 stars I would!Even tho the two meats I originally went there for they were out of at the end of the night I still found an amazing meal. I did the one meat platter with two sides and it was absolutely delicious, brisket with Mac & cheese & fries. Also added a piece of corn bread.Didn’t catch our servers name but he was amazing, very attentive and made sure our meal tasted right. Definitely made sure he got the tip he deserved!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Brisket
Meat was so tender and flavorful! Best I've ever had, loved it! Highly recommend!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Brisket
Best BBQ place in town!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Really good food, at reasonable prices. The staff is always friendly, and if you go a few times, they start to remember you. Atmosphere is good for its location. And best of all, they have trivia nights!
Was totally surprised by this place. This is perhaps the best ribs I've had. I tasted the ribs sans sauce and with sauce. I ended up not using any bbq sauce because the ribs were already flavorful enough. The sauce would have detracted from it. That rarely happens. My wife had the corn cake with coleslaw and she loved it! This was out of her comfort zone and it paid off. Service was on point with a friendly face.
Restaurantji Recommends
Ordered takeout and stumbled upon trivia night on Wednesday which was cool to see. I didn't experience too much of it though because the order that I placed onsite was ready pretty quickly. A nice start! Upon getting home, we dug into "Steve's Way" Corn Cakes which were great. Its sweetness set it apart from the savory BBQ, sides and Poutine that comprised the order. I really liked the poutine. The gravy might have had hints of coffee or beer or something (I really don't know). But it worked! Fries and curds were both good, too. From there it was hit or miss. The pork didn't stand out, and the mustard-based potato salad was fine. The collard greens were disappointing . It had too much tomato influence for my liking. Ending on a high note, the brisket was money. Get it! This was a strong showing, and there's enough variety on the menu to warrant another trip.
The queso dip and fried cheese bites are amazing. Definitely order appetizers. The brisket was the most tender smoked barbecue I've ever had. Pulled pork and sausage were great. The skin on the chicken we had seemed tough and had a burnt quality but the meat itself was good. We'll definitely be back.
Both wife and I had the ribs. Flavor was on point however the ribs were so tough I had to cut them off the bone. Was told that usually when "owner" cooks there are no complaints but he wasn't cooking tonight. Guess it we were unlucky. Will not be back.
Went to Hank's BBQ in Clintonville and WOW I was not disappointed!! I only took a picture of the loaded corn cakes (they normally come with pico, but I don't like tomatoes), the plating was so pretty! The birria-style brisket was so tender, every shred was falling apart on my fork. The corn cakes themselves were beyond tasty, having sucked up all that beef juice. We also got the fried pickles and the bottlecaps (fried jalapeños) and both were beautifully crispy. They were thicker cut so they had some body to them, instead of feeling like pickle-flavored batter which can happen sometimes. The service was good, and the atmosphere suited Texas BBQ perfectly. You can smell the smoker going out back, which really gets you ready for barbecue. 10/10 would recommend. I'm not normally even the biggest fan of meat, but I want to come back again and again! Definitely going to check out the beer list next time. Only negative is the parking situation-- the lot is comically small, and difficult to pull out of, so definitely park on the street if there's space, or at the Condado lot next door.
Had the two meat sandwich, pulled pork and brisket with house fries. Worth the trip to try their smoked meats!