We picked up take out from here for family dinner tonight and here are some thoughts. This is a hole in the wall place just north of the drag at 31st and Guadalupe. The food is brought up from Lockhart daily. The counter service for pick up was quite smooth and it seemed the same for folks who were dining in. There is both inside and patio seating. The lean brisket is as good or better than any in town in my opinion. At $26.99 a lb it also the most expensive in town and not a great value. Thier BBQ sauce is also very good and they give lots of it as well as lots of bread, pickles and onions. They were out of turkey so we had a whole chicken and it's decent with their sauce. Without the sauce I think it would have been too dry. At $14.99 it's a fair value. The pork ribs are also decent, better than Rudy's, about the same as Don's and not as good as Salt Lick or Franklin's. At $18.99 a pound it's bit pricey. I didn't care for the sausage links but every one else liked them. At $3.99 a link they are a decent value. We had 4 sides in the pint size. The green beans and potato salad were gone quickly, while the corn and cole slaw had about 1/2 a pint left over. All were priced at $8.99 which is a poor value.
The shredded BBQ sandwich and macaroni & cheese were so good! If you're in Austin for work, I would highly recommend making the stop.
Just WOW! My wife considers the pork ribs she had here the best of any bbq we’ve had. Meaty, tender, and smokey. And their brisket was incredible. Usually when a joint expands, which Black’s has, something is lost. But not in this location. Their attention to their bbq is apparent. This is what you’re craving in Texas bbq! Oh and try the cobbler…
Love Blacks BBQ but i am used to the setup and cleanliness of the San Marcos location. This location was surety, dirty toilets and flies both inside the restaurant as outside. The garbage bin for us to dispose of the plates at the end was a hazard and just way to dirty. My feel on Blacks BBQ just dropped from a 5 out of 5 to a 3 out of 5.
It was great. Great food and friendly staff
I did my research and read the reviews - and I knew that Blacks was NOT going to be my best Texas BBQ experience - but it was close to my hotel so I stopped in for 6 ounces of brisket and some sides. Perhaps the brisket was sitting too long in the warmer - but it was a bit dry, and lacked flavor. (Although their BBQ sauce was very good - and helped out the brisket...). The green beans and Cole slaw were 'fine' - the peach cobbler - meh. Next stop ----- Franklins.
I’m sorry to be negative but I feel obligated to write this. We were in from out of state and had to get some BBQ while in Texas. This place was well-reviewed and very busy when we got there. Based on others’ comments something must have gone wrong here because there’s no way that people are lining up for and raving about this food. We got brisket and ribs plus street corn and mac n cheese. The meat had 2 flavors - grease and smoke. Yuck! It was pretty dried out too. The sauce with it’s one-note vinegar hit couldn’t save it. The street corn also had only one flavor - black pepper. No corn flavor let alone street corn flavor. Just intense black pepper. So gross! The mac n cheese was utterly forgettable. I feel bad about writing this but that was low-quality in every sense. The employees were very nice and the place had a nice vibe. But how could anyone enjoy that? Often when I have BBQ the hardest part is knowing when to stop because it’s delicious BBQ. This was a chore to eat and I just threw the rest out. I picked it up right on time too and dug in, I didn’t let it languish or or anything. Yuck
Excellent brisket! This is what I was hoping for out of real Texas BBQ
Would not recommend. Brisket was average at best, no smoke ring. Ribs were just okay and pork was sub-par. Potato salad potion was small and appear to be store bought. Would not recommend.
This was an unplanned stop for our tour, due to the cold weather and we are so happy for the stop! Brisket was AMAZING, our favorite sides were the corn and the green beans.