we visited after the Civil Rights Museum tour and found that it was not too busy on this mid week, mid morning visit. Enjoyed everything.
Excellent flavor! We did an online to go order with curbside pickup. The sauce was very tasty. We ordered a brisket sandwich with onion rings. I’m so glad we decided to share one sandwich. The restaurant is very generous with the serving of brisket. Excellent sandwich. We will probably eat there again today.
Line moved slowly. Was happy to find an option for "party packs" - meat for 6, buns, and a side of slaw. Party pack pricing was excellent and far cheaper than ordering separate sandwiches. We had pulled pork and our family of 5 ate it all comfortably. The slaw side was tiny and a little more vinegary tasting than we prefer. I also order a "large" side of mac n cheese - not really a family sharing size, but we thought the mac n cheese was tasty. The pulled pork was ok, nothing special and lots of fatty pieces. The buns were grocery store white buns - less than special. The best part of our meal was the desserts - a very rich piece of peanut butter pie and the banana pudding. Very easy to walk to from the National Civil Rights museum. Free parking in the museum lot or on the street. Line stretched out the door when we left.
They were out of beef brisket during our visit, so we tried the half/ half ribs, fried Bologna, sausage, and pulled pork nachos.The sausage was by far one of my top 3 favorites. It is a polish style rather than link style, and it was FULL of flavor.We ordered the wet ribs over the dry ribs, and to be honest they weren't our favorite. They were good, just not our preferred ribs.We LOVED the bologna and the nachos were great.The Mac n cheese and potatoes salad were very good sides. We enjoyed all of the sauces each having a great flavor and unique flavor. The sweet tea was good.
Three of us stopped by this place for a late lunch, or however, we were not that hungry for ‘lunch’. it was a refreshment time. We ordered for a combo platter with ribs, which we thought to share by allOf us. The half slab was the highlight. We ordered brisket for the rest of the two meats that we were allowed to have as per as the platter. It comes with some buns/ bread-rolls. The two sides were house fries, and green beans ( we were looking for collard greens, but they were running out of it.) the platter was quite a meal, even sharing between three was perfectly fine. The briskets were decent, but the ribs were terrific. They were soft, flavorful, juicy, and perfectly seasoned. We enjoyed the meal, and highly recommend the place.
I can see why the food wins so many awards. It is delicious. It's a must go to. The dark mild sauce has a deep bold flavor. The middle color one is the hot one. It has also a full flavor but it is not too hot so if you do not like hot but sort of a mild hot this one works for you. The lightest one is a vinegar based sauce. Totally delicious ?You MUST also take time to read the history wall of blues music. Very informative how they did it. ???
My husband and I stopped here to have lunch. We chose it because it was dog friendly in the outdoor area and we were wanting BBQ. People were very nice and food was good. I had the pulled chicken plate. My sides were potato salad and baked beans. The BBQ sauce was very good. It was the perfect mix of sweet and heat. My husband had the bone in chicken and he liked it. The only thing was my pulled chicken was kind of dried out a bit. Lafayette, our German Shepherd, seemed to be happy with my left overs. I would eat here again.
Being in Memphis for only a couple of days, I was eager to get some good Memphis BBQ. The reviews of Central BBQ plus my going to the Civil Right Museum led me to chose the downtown location. The wait to order was short and I got a half rack of ribs, a side of Mac n Cheese and a banana pudding. Taking a seat, I waited and my order was delivered swiftly. When I first sliced into the rack of ribs with a knife, I was surprised to find how difficult it was to cut through them. My first bite of the outer bark- was crunchy. Not the type of crunchy I have felt with most of the good ribs I have eaten. It didn't get better. The mac n cheese, with a sprinkling of rub on top was only slightly warm and had little flavor. Leaving a couple of ribs untouched and also leaving half the mac n cheese, I turned my attention to the banana pudding. It was cold, it was creamy but the banana flavor tasted man-made and I don't believe there were any actual bananas in the dish itself. For the price I paid, I expected better. However, there are other BBQ places and I hope I have better luck at one of them!
While in Memphis on vacation, we read that Central BBQ was the best around. The long line seemed to confirm that. Don’t let the long line discourage you from eating here! We thought it would be a long wait but the line moved very quickly and there is so much seating. I’m not a big meat fan myself but I absolutely LOVED the pulled chicken. The other members of my part got ribs and pulled pork and everyone loved their food. We all agreed it was the best food we had the whole vacation. Would definitely recommend this place to anyone visiting Memphis!
It boggles my mind why this place isn’t mentioned over Rendezvous when it comes to the definitive place to eat. This is the best barbecue joint you’ll find in Memphis, HANDS DOWN! You really can’t go wrong with any of their main offerings. Food comes out fast and hot. Great smoke flavor, superb seasoning and a mild sauce that puts a bow on everything. Forget the aforementioned tourist trap and come here instead! You won’t be disappointed!