Slows Bar BQ Grand Rapids

435 Ionia Ave SW, Grand Rapids - 49503
201 reviews
Barbecue Barbeque Beer Bar
(616) 454-1588

Food was great. Service great.

This was the worst bbq I think I've ever had in my life! My wife and I stopped in for the first time on 7/5 and I ordered over a 100$ of takeout going on their reputation and after we arrived home and sampled everything we looked at each other and agreed never again. I can't believe how horrible everything tasted not one thing was good and we ordered a little of everything.....Never again.

We ordered takeout so our results might not be the most accurate. The Mac N Cheese with pulled pork lacked flavor. It was like day old noodles with melted cheese on top (Pic 3). My beans were delicious though. The chili was okay once I drained the greese off of it (Pic 1). Very expensive chili. $6.50 for a little container (Pic 2). I won't order again.

My wife and I loved our food! we got burnt ends to start with, which were amazing! the wife got the founders nitro beer, which was great! all our food was delicious, atmosphere was great, and our waiter was polite! would definitely come back here again.

Some of the worst ribs I’ve had in my life and I’ve had a lot. We got the dry ribs and they were so stiff and poorly cooked that we could not enjoy them or really eat more than a few bites. I expect ribs to be tender and be able to pull them apart but these were tough and not good. Really disappointed with the food.The staff was nice and the food came out (suspiciously) quick but will never go back here again. I also had a sandwich which was just alright. Maybe I just got a bad batch of ribs but just really not edible. With so many options in this market find another spot since this is one of the more expensive.

Love this place and can get a decent filling meal under $12 and I can’t even do that a fast food restaurants lately because they charge the same amount but never have the same quality food. I will continue to choose slows before I buy a $10 meal from Taco Bell or burger king. The food is amazing, employees are amazing and the portions you get are filling! You want some ribs or a delicious bbq sandwich choose slows , they the way to go???

Apparently, according to our server, there is a previously unknown type of ribs that are supposed to be dry and tough.If these are award winning, it must be because they are submitted to this obscure category. As I was not familiar with the dry and tough variety from special pigs prized for their lack of flavor and ability to dry out and be unappetizing in general, I might not be able to fully appreciate these ribs.The others in our party did enjoy their entrees (the wet ribs were also tough) overall it was not impressive. The sides were ok and the cornbread was dry.

The food is absolutely AMAZING!!! The staff is very friendly! The loaded Mac n' Cheese bowl with apple wood bbq chicken is the best everrrrrr!!!!!!

The place has definitely changed since COVID. Used to have 15-20+ taps and freshly cooked BBQ. Today we were shocked by limited taps and cold meat on a debatable overpriced sandwich. Can't lie...I won't be back.

I had the Yardbird. It was delicious. I've never had a smoked BBQ sandwich that great tasting. I topped it with their apple BBQ sauce. The sauce was amazing. I didn't taste any of the other sauces because I wanted the apple one on everything.Cornbread: had a nice texture and was dense but not enough sweetness. I only tasted the sweetness in the aftertaste. I'm a person that loves 75% cocao chocolate for reference.Mac n cheese: texture was nice and creamy. It had a nice cheese crust on the too. I couldn't really taste the cheese because the black pepper was over powering.My partner had the Haas Boss. He said it was pretty good. Initially, he was excited about the bacon aoli, but it ended up not being as prominent a flavour as he wanted. He had the sweet BBQ sauce with it and really enjoyed it. He says it had a hint of spiciness.