Cowlings Barbeque, Inc.

I am posting this 9 days after my visit to Cowling BBQ. I ate there as a kid and enjoyed the place so so much. The food was amazing the service was fantastic. I am now an adult and decided finally to go back after 10 plus years. I will never go back. The food was absolutely atrocious the service was terrible and the overall cleanliness of the store was extremely sub par. The reason i am posting so long after is because i am actually still suffering with food poisoning. Dont ever go to this place!!!

If your traveling 460 and still go to a chain restaurant, your an idiot. Cowlings is an awesome 460 roadside eatery. This is a family friendly, trucker staple. The pulled pork is better than most. This is Virginia style BBQ. Be sure to ask about the sauce. This was a rendezvous with a neighboring region colleague for a lunch and learn. The staff was so courteous & tolerant to our 2+ hr lunch.They allowed us to stay inside, out of the heat, and watch them close (3pm). During that time we watch a large and continuous lunch crowd. Their food was prepared and served hot & quickly.We had pulled pork sandwiches with onion rings. The service and sandwich was great. The onion rings were greasier than I prefer. I will assume that it wasn't the norm based on what I saw at other tables.We will return to experience the rest of the menu at this great rural oasis.Nic picky "foodies" should stay on 64/95. This place is for those of us who are not shallow self-absorbed people.

Best BBQ around here. Love the onion rings too

Stopped on the way to and on the way back from OBX. Always great!

Food was not good, chicken was dry, BBQ sauce more like BBQ water tasted like steak sauce and vinegar... not kid friend no kids menu and no changing station

Dang good Q!!!! Every time I have to go to the to the tidewater area and I can get there before they close on my way home, Cowlings is what's for dinner and the whole family is excited! Chopped deliciously smoked pork and outstanding sides! Always consistently amazing and been in business since 1972. Of course they have a lot more to offer than what we enjoyed today, and the baked beans are packed with yummy goodies other than beans and sauce. As for the Cowlings home made sauce, it's a true Virginia style sauce that we can't get enough of. Also my favorite Cole Slaw...and don't forget the hush puppies.

Pick it up every year on the way to the beach. Real deal bbq. Buy extra sauce to take home with you - great on chicken, pork or basically anything.

We were driving through and stopped here for dinner. Food was very good and prices were fair. We had a kind server, I don’t remember her name but she had blonde hair, and was so sweet. You can tell that the locals go here. A gentleman their was having conversation with the waitress that made me believe he was a regular, and that’s all you need to know to know this is a good establishment.

Very good pulled pork. Seasoned well. Has a slight vinegar flavor. Slaw was good, and I'm glad I had it on my sandwich. It was take out while I was there, but they do have seating. I'd go there again.

I've passed this place several times and always wanted to stop but didn't. This time I did and it was excellent. The waitresses were super nice and the place was clean. The BBQ was awesome and they had these fries that were the best I've ever eaten in my life. I'm serious, the had some kind of season on them that was out of this world. I could have made a meal out of them. Recommend big time. Gotta stop in there and try them. You'll be amazed as I was

Delicious barbecue sandwiches, the toasted buns make all the difference! Super friendly staff too. Really glad we decided to stop here!

Pretty good bbq, place over over phone was ready in ten minutes. Onion rings were tasty for sure.

The people working aren't very friendly, which is fine, but I dont understand why they can't at least smile. The dining room is closed due to covid for some reason, they didn't ask what kind of barbecue sauce I wanted (I hate Carolina sauce). This is the second time I've been here and neither time was good or pleasant like you would expect from a roadside BBQ restaurant in the middle of nowhere.

Simple good food. Good price. Wonderful service

Not being a local perhaps I could not appreciate this establishment. Menu is very limited. Most BBQ places I have eaten at offer many.more menu items. I had the deluxe pork sandwich which really did not have the quantity of meat that I would have expected for "deluxe" I am not a fan of the east coast BBQ sauce either, very runny and to rich in vinegar. All that said,.our waitress was fantastic. Service made up for my dissapointment in the food. Was really hoping to be impressed by this establishment, but sadly, I was not.