Pontiac BBQ
| Address: | 1403 Vine St, Cincinnati, OH 45202, USA |
| Phone: | +1 513-579-8500 |
| Site: | pontiacbbq.com |
| Rating: | 4.3 |
| Working: | Closed 11AM–10PM 11AM–10PM 11AM–10PM 11AM–11PM 11AM–11PM 11AM–9PM |
Location
Photos 100
Reviews 8
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Jeremy Cox
Pontiac BBQ has a hipster, gentrification, throwback-beatnik vibe on the inside. It feels like a dive and nice restaurant at the same time. My favorite was the booths are covered in green leather, with the large pillowy bumps with giant buttons. It is known for its exquisite bourbon tasting, of which I did not take part. This place has great meats. My friends and I fell in love with the meats, several have visited multiple times. The menu is highly specialized. For example, there is one option for salad dressing. The BBQ sauce here is slightly sweet and slightly hot, but not sour. I did not try the hot version, however. We have learned the sides are hit or miss -- which may explain the mixture of good and bad reviews. My $4 side of fries were crinkle-cut Ore-ida style served in a small paper dish. For the money, I expected 3x more and higher quality. Our service was excellent on the recent visit, including not being billed for the salad we didnt like. This is a $20 per plate restaurant, with $10-$15 for a cocktail. Our bill with tax and tip was $76 for 2 sides, 1 large entree to share, a soda, and a cocktail. While the food and atmosphere is decent, I felt it was not a good value. That being said, most things downtown have a significant mark up. Attached is July 2017 menu.
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Sherry Nicole
Good BBQ on Vine St. We enjoyed the pulled pork sandwich for $9, which doesnt come with any sides but does come with a small scoop of slaw. I actually enjoyed this pork more than I enjoy Elis. Its a perfect balance of smoke, texture and flavor. Slaw tasted great but was more cream than cabbage. Brisket was divine. You can choose your fat to meat ratio when ordering. Ribs were not so great. My friend said they tasted like bologna. Chicken wings were smoky and delicious. Mac and cheese was sooo dry that we sent it back. Tiki drinks ranged from $10- $15 and packed a good punch but they were too small and overloaded with ice for the price charged. House pickles as a side dish were so good but the fried pickle appetizer was just horrible. The fried pickles were over-battered and greasy. Service was ok, our server seemed overworked and barely checked on us once we got our food. Its a small restaurant and the wait time can be very long. Theres not much of a wait area inside but there are a couple benches outside. You can always wander the neighborhood, and theyll call you when theres a table coming available. Expect to wait anywhere from 45 mins to 1 1/2 hrs during peak business hours.
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Katie Hamilton-Meier
I finally got to check this place out today with my family. We spent a day exploring OTR and thought this would be a good stop for lunch. We bought three meats by the pound and some veggies for us all to share. Heres what we tried.... Ribs - While these werent the juiciest, most tender ribs Ive had, the rub had some fantastic flavor with a nice kick! Brisket - We specifically ordered the fatty cut and Im glad we did because it was very moist and tender. But it did need a little sauce for additional flavor. Smoked Wings - These had an awesome crunch on the outside and were very juicy on the inside. BBQ Veggies - I believe these change seasonally. We had Broccoli, carrots and rutabaga. They seemed to be sautéed - they were these but still had a little crunch. I have to say that I have another favorite BBQ place in town. But I wouldnt be against a return trip here to maybe try something different!
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Ed Arnold
As a barbecue-savvy southerner I was curious about whod put a barbecue place in the Over the Rhine district in Cincinnati. Nevertheless I tried this for lunch. Menu is alacarte and pricey, Im sorry to say. Too pricey for lunch... $19, and I had the lower priced entree and only one side! The pulled pork sandwich was made up of a generous amount of chunked pork, smoked well but a little dry and far too spicy! Someone turned on the pepper when they prepared the pork and I could only stomach half the sandwich before I was on fire. The cheese grits fortunately were a saving grace. They didnt mention the jalapeños on the grits but I took them off and they were firm but fine. If youre an iced tea drinker like me better choose something else... They dont make tea. Who ever heard of a barbecue place that didnt make tea? Overall just a two stars... Too spicy and too pricey!
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Mike Phillips
This place does not deserve a dime from anyone. On two separate occasions, my wife and I have gone to this place hoping to enjoy some BBQ but have never even had a sip of water in the restaurant. Both times, we have been seated at the bar and been completely ignored. I thought the first time was a fluke, so we made the mistake of giving them a second chance. We spent 17 minutes sitting and staring at the three people working the bar (after having waited for over an hour to be seated) and not one of them even made eye contact. I want this place to fail so badly now. I will celebrate on the day that they go out of business. Please, I implore you, take your money to another business on the street or around the corner. Even if the wait is longer elsewhere, it is that way for a reason; those places are better.
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Earlene Johnson
Ill go right in, The wait was half an hour not to bad, this is a bar like New Orleans type setting, it just seem to me our waitress was in some sort of a hurry or maybe a bit nervous, however this place services is very limited on the wine selections, finally the food I order the Brisket with Bake beans, I was accompanied by my two daughters and grandson the food was not anything to write home about in addition to that the food came out cold now really very cold, I just opt to take my home, rather than send it back Im a firm believer the will miss with your food for sending it back. the ticket prices on this food didnt match what we received and yes depending on what you get it can be pricey....my review not worth the money. Sorry Guys.
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Kimberly Jones
Ok Pontiac is pretty darn fun. This review is only for the bar and the drink we had, as we did not eat any food there. The tiki vibe is exactly as fun as youd think and pairing it with BBQ couldnt be anymore genius. We popped in specifically to try the rum filled, topped with a tropical flower, lit on fire cocktail "Im still standing".It was a cold and rainy day in April, but we felt tropical sitting at the bar drinking this sugary sweet concoction surrounded by music from the 1980s while "Return of the Jedi" played on the TV over the bar. This place is summer and nostalgia all rolled together. The service was good and I will return to try some of the awesome looking BBQ the folks around me were noshing on.
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Billy G
We walked in hoping to get some great BBQ. We sat at the half sat bar and two bartenders washed glasses in front of us and did not even so much as acknowledge we were even there. Another guest came in and sat next to us and 5 minutes later a bartender greeted him and took his drink order. After a few more minutes we finally got up and left. I have never been ignored so blatantly at an Establishment like my wife and i were here. I hope management puts these bartenders in their place.
