This is our favorite place to get BBQ in central Florida. It doesn't matter if you get the brisket, pulled pork or the chicken, it is all perfectly smoked and juicy. The sides are fantastic as well .I recommend the settlers beans, 3 cheese mac and cheese and the fried okra is fantastic. In addition the plates and platters come with their amazing corn bread. Yumyum!!
We were super excited to try Ellie Lou's, but we were quickly disappointed. We were missing our sauce for our ribs and dressing for our salad, but I can overlook that. Unfortunately, the "ribs" were so aggressively overcooked that they were more like jerky. Dry, tasteless, and desperately in need of a sauce. The Cobb salad was nothing but bitter. We ordered it with brisket, which was quite good on its own, but the salad was overwhelmingly bitter. The "bacon" tasted unlike anything I've ever had, just sour and mostly flavorless, which is kind of impressive when it comes to bacon. Maybe with dressing, the salad would have been okay, but without it was just bitter and disappointing. The corn muffin was delicious, but we only got one of the three we were meant to have. Overall, an expensive mistake for this BBQ lover.
Brisket had such a nice flavor. Baked beans were the best I've had besides my own. Service excellent. Ellie came around to talk to everyone and brought each of us a sample of gospel grits. Very cheesey and delicious.
I just tried this place for the first time on a takeout order-I haven't even driven home yet to try my entree and I'm giving it a 1 star rating. When I ordered at the counter and told the employee it was for takeout, I saw a $1.50 surcharge added to my order. When I asked the employee why, they told me the reason was because the carry-out items for food have gone up in price?? So, I drove to the location, I did not use a 3rd party website to place my order but ordered while I was there, took the food to go, and still paid an extra service charge that was almost 10% of my order for a plastic shopping bag and a styrofoam food container? So ridiculous, won't be going here again.
I really enjoyed this place. Great job by the staff, made us feel welcome. The ribs although expensive, were delicious! Really great sauces! The fries were really, really good! I dare say best fries I've ever had. Natural cut, they double fry them and seasoning is delicious. Brisket was great and the Kansas wet was really good a mix of brisket, pork and rib meat in their sweet sauce. Oh and the settler beans were awesome, I could eat a huge bowl of those by themselves! Green beans were delicious. Almost forgot! The little corn muffins, they were soft and delicious like a cupcake. I really did enjoy this place, as did my dinner date. Must go!!
When I crave BBQ, I come here. The taste is great! And the customer service is always good. My only complain is that their order that feeds 2-3 people and comes with 4 sides is on the pricier side for the amount given. I would have expected larger sides compared to the one person meals they have. That is my only complaint.
The meat is to die for. It is perfectly cooked and spices are dead on. Their Carolina and sweet BBQ sauce we enjoy a lot. Had it for the second time as it was catered at our event. Good deal for great BBQ.
My wife and I stopped for dinner on our way home from Epcot. Upon entry we were greeted by a staff member. The restaurant was full, but a table opened up shortly. We placed our order at the counter and took our seats. Since they were very busy, we did not expect our order to be served immediately. While waiting we were greeted by several staff members. We got our food after a short wait. I got the brisket platter and my wife got the pork platter. We both enjoyed our meals. We will be back.
Absolutely fantastic! We had three of us. The Q for 2 fed all three with some left over. It came with chicken quarters, brisket, ribs, 4 sides and corn bread muffins. Our side choices were fries, beans, fried green tomatoes, and cheesy macaroni. We also tried all four sauces: Kansas City sweet (great with ribs), Memphis and southern lava are good with everything else, and Carolina gold is for those who love the more mustard and vinegar taste to BBQ which was pretty standard for my expectations. I like the Carolina gold with tenders or nuggets.They have turkey and some other seasonal or Sunday offerings so you can ask any of the staff what the chef brought in.Nicki let us know about the chef, history, and helped us first timers with knowing the food, offerings, etc.All in all we favor this over other BBQ places. Especially the more popular chains. This food has love and pride in it. I will say the ribs surprised us with the subtle cinnamon flavoring in it making the sauce choice a no brainer.Come check them out as Ellie Lou's is an excellent BBQ choice if you're not grilling your own at home.
Nikki the manager was extremely friendly and helpful on our first visit. The Turkey had amazing flavor and was so juicy it was unbelievable. The ribs pulled effortlessly from the bone and had a unique delicious flavor.