Red Cow Barbecue
| Address: | 1025 N Federal Hwy, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33304, USA |
| Phone: | +1 954-652-1524 |
| Site: | redcowftl.com |
| Rating: | 4.3 |
| Working: | 11:30AM–10PM 11:30AM–10PM 11:30AM–10PM 11:30AM–10PM 11:30AM–10PM 11:30AM–10PM 9:30AM–9:30PM |
Location
Photos 100
Reviews 6
JO
John White
Im disappointed to the point that I felt compelled to write a review. My first review was a little too harsh, so Ive deleted it and toned things down a bit. I dont want to hurt this business with a poor review, but I am hoping the owners take notice of all the recent reviews, and do something to address peoples concerns. I like BBQ, and have been to Red Cow many times the past couple of years. Its been a couple months since Ive been, but I went there today and was unpleasantly surprised. In the past, Red Cow had great table service. Great staff and comfortable ambiance. Theyve changed the way they do things. Now, after sitting down, youre expected to get in line and stand at the bar to order your meal. Its very strange. One of the staff will deliver your food to your table, but thats about it for service. If you want a refill on your beverage, its on you to walk back to the bar and refill your glass. Silly. So, gone is the once good service. Now, on for the second point of disappointment... Quality of food. I ordered spareribs and brisket, knowing that the spareribs in the past have been very good, and the brisket excellent. Not anymore. Theyve switched to "Louisiana" style ribs, whatever that means, and the portion was really rather insulting. Barely any meat on the paltry 3 bones, and I definitely felt ripped off. I hoped that the brisket would turn my experience around, but the meat was both fatty and dry at the same time. It used to be quite succulent and good, but today it tasted old and half-assed. Slathering it in sauce helped mask the taste quality a little, but it was still a little infuriating. For what its worth, the 2 sides I ordered were OK. The fried brussel sprouts were dry and salty, but edible, and the deviled eggs were actually decent. Im glad I ate those last. I suppose what prompted me to leave the review and sort of the nail in the coffin here was the lack of service. The staff seemed too busy hootin and hollerin and mixing it up amongst themselves to bother with us. They didnt acknowledge us when we left, even though we were the only people eating there and dropped $60 for lunch. A "thank you" would have been nice. Red Cow, please return to the great restaurant you once were. It really once was a special place in the past.
JO
Jose Sierra
The food at Red Cow used to be excellent, but the quality has certainly gone down since those halcyon days. Theyve adopted this strange concept that is part fast-food dining, part... I dont know. Its jarring and inefficient. Youll sit down to look at a menu then stand in line for twenty minutes waiting to order, then constantly get up and down trying to get food and drinks and condiments. It is, frankly speaking, annoying as hell. For the price, not worth the hassle especially since the food quality has taken a nosedive. A friend of mine revisited it since the last time I visited and he said that the food was better, so in all fairness maybe it was an off night - who knows? The service concept, however, remains a mysterious and terrible mishmash that (IMHO) does not work. Perhaps its a cost-saving measure? Perhaps they think itll be more efficient? Its not only less efficient, but it creates an obstacle to purchase. If I hadnt been there with a gaggle of friends I wouldve left without ordering. Whether I return to give the place another opportunity is unlikely - thats how uncomfortable and irritating the experience was. A shame because we used to really enjoy going there and the brisket was outstanding. Maybe youll be okay with it, maybe it takes getting used to, but Im not okay with paying sit-down restaurant prices for fast food service and average food. Ymmv.
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Jenn Jarkow
A member of the Be Nice restaurant group. If youre a fan of Coconuts, GB Oyster bar, Foxy Brown, or Top Hat, youll love this place (and if you love this place youll love all of those). They have home made sauces, corn bread, mashed potatoes, macncheese, and veggies. But where the real magic happens is in those ribs.... Holy moly those are probably the best ribs Ive ever had. Their brisket is to die for, the pork is magnificent. The corn comes with a husk handle. Its traditional BBQ with a gormet twist. Like the ribs had some glaze that I thought would make the meat too sweet but actually worked perfectly and made it more delicious if anything! They have some pretty good deals, too. They have this platter thats 2 meats and 2 sides for a little less. Its a lot of food but if youre sharing or you want lunch for the next day its great! Plus you get to try more. Its not the cheapest but its exquisite food. You get what you pay for: high quality. Definitely a game changer, highly recommended
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Cristina Sierra
I used to love Red Cow. It was amazing! The food, the service, the ambiance-all top notch. They had delicious specials, an awesome brunch, incredible coffee...well that is no longer the case. They have revamped the restaurant, gotten rid of the wait staff -big mistake since they were all extremely personable IMO, and honestly, the food isnt as good as it was. You order at the counter, get cutlery and your drink from the side, and then they bring your food to the table. Its depressing. And they got rid of brunch. I used to look forward to the special waffle every week, I stalked them on Instagram. I am beyond disappointed. And I loathe to write a bad review, especially since I truly loved Red Cow, but Im never going back. I was incredibly let down when I went there with friends a few Sundays ago for brunch. They dont even have coffee! I just cant. So goodbye Red Cow, you have made a big mistake by changing. Ill miss you.
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Sydney Savino
Last time we were here we were delighted by the food and service and were excited to return, however upon our arrival we were informed the restaurant had adopted counter service. We were unhappy about the changes to the menu and service but decided to stay and eat. Receiving counter service made me realize how cold and impersonal this new approach was. I ordered brisket and loaded mashed potatoes. The potatoes were good, but not good enough to bring me back because the brisket was fatty and dry. The cornbread that we ranted and raved about last time was just regular cornbread prepared in a skillet....it tasted NOTHING like it did the last time. The food was ok in general, but way better before these unnecessary changes were made. We will not be back. Red Cow: you had a ton of really good positive feedback, why fix what wasnt broken? You just sealed your fate! When it comes to food...change is NEVER good!
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IBleedMusick
Second time going but this time we decided to dine in and tbh I dont know why we took so long to try this place. Bartender, Chris, was amazing made great conversation and made the experiencr more enjoyable not to mention the regulars spark up conversation as well. Food was outstanding we had the family fried chicken our first time and decided to try the pitboss this time with extra sides. We ended up with 4 meats and 2 sides for less than what weve spent at a lot of other places. The Brisket was tender, ribs were very juicy, Bacon Brined Pork was delcious and the Jalapeno Sausage had just enough umph. It was all very well seasoned and flavorful. We had Collards, Cornbread, Fried Brussels (I see why this is a favorite), and Cowboy Mash. I cannot rant enough about how good the sides were. Food is 5 stars didnt even reach for the 5 sauces we had available. Going back again later this week to try more items.
