Sonny Bryan’s Smokehouse

Reviews 7

SU

Surly Scot

Drove from Colorado Springs to Dallas to try the famed Southern BBQ Id heard so much about and drooled while watching the host of Man Vs. Food devour chunks of brisket. A friend recommended Sonny Bryans, Im not sure if the service has gone downhill since my friend last ate there, but my experience was nothing of what I expected of world reknown Southern hospitality. The restaurant is clean inside, spacious and wasnt too busy when we sauntered in at midday with rumbling stomachs. I informed the waitress/cashier that I was Scottish and had traveled a long way to try real american BBQ, so asked if she could tell the chef to make a fantastic plate so I could go home bragging about how I nearly ate my own fingers off. Our group name was called and my friends returned with plates piled high...of blandness. The brisket and pulled pork i ordered was dry and tasteless, a small amount of some kind of BBQ sauce was dripped over the meat, with such a lackluster flavor I found myself wishing I had a couple of McDonalds BBQ sauce pots leftover in my bag (yes I was desperate enough for flavor to want that nasty tangy sauce). My sides were coleslaw and potato salad, again, bland and uninteresting, just gloops of mayonnaise mixed with old, uncrisp vegetables. A touch of black pepper and salt was a bit of a far stretch at this point. My friend who had first recommended the restaurant was eating with me, even they commented on the complete lack of flavor or...anything...in the food. When the cashier I had first spoken to came to our table to ask how everything was, I told her I was very disappointed, this was not the world famous BBQ I had been seeking. She simply said "Oh, Im sorry" then sauntered off to another table, no interest at all in asking what about the meal was dissatisfying or for her to even try and attempt to salvage some of the reputation of southern BBQ or even the establishment she worked in. If youre looking for a tasteless, uninvolved and overall disappointing experience, by all means, Sonnys is for you (highly recommend it for when youre absolutely drunk, since you cant taste anything then anyway). If your palate is a little more sophisticated than the millions of Krystal Burger fans out there, Id recommend searching further into Dallas for the kind of BBQ where youre contemplating breaking into the restaurant after closing just so you can lick the walls. The search continues...

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SE

seb hcd

“Génial !” Grand parking situé devant létablissement, une odeur de viande fumée donne le ton du déjeuner. Un grand panneau au dessus du comptoir vous indique les formules proposées, des ribs EXCELLENTS, les meilleurs de mon séjour au Texas. Personnel au comptoir sympathique, peu dattente pour récupérer son plateau avant de sasseoir, au choix, dans une salle « pur jus » face au comptoir ou une seconde à lextérieur. Un très bon moment passé dans ce restaurant, principalement occupé par « des locaux », viande fabuleuse, jen salive encore ! Allez y, lambiance et nourriture texane sont au rendez-vous ! Attention : Quelques photos avec avis Google sur ce restaurant ne correspondent pas, il sagit dun autre Sony Brians se trouvant près du Six Floor Museum, beaucoup moins « typique ».

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MI

Michael LaRue

I hate to do this but I must!! I have been eating at the "Original" on Inwood since high school in the late 50s. I can remember talking to Sonny while he chopped beef behind the counter, the same counter is still there. I went to the Inwood shop last Sunday, I have not been since they opened the new "bar" area. As all the satellite franchise shops have struggled with commissary food from the central supply house , the Inwood restaurant remained loyal to the customers and cooked right there. Well I have to say that the cooking has stopped and the food has suffered. All the masking and tagging as Sonny Bryan BBQ does not make it so. I had understood Sonny sold this restaurant with the understanding that it would remain the same, I guess I have been mistaken. I do not go to the satellite places because they just have NEVER had the same quality of BBQ Ribs as the original could produce. The ribs were still cool, cut hours if not days ahead and simply warmed on a grill leaving grill marks where a clean cut juicy meat edge should be. They were also not the big meaty ribs normally sold there. All must go the way of extinction and in this case the way of all corporate takeovers, down the preverbal creek! So sad, an institution is gone!!!!!

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BR

Brian Nebeker

Some of the best BBQ I have eaten. Not the best but the best I have had since I left Kansas City, This place is just a whole in the wall but it looked clean and it just the smell of the place put you in the mood to eat. Service was great for the style of service which is order your food they hand it to you and you do can sit down (not much room for siting) or take it with you as I did. The quantity of food was generous and tasty. The fries were not the greatest as I did not get to eat them for 15-20 minutes and they were a little on the cold side by then but the meat was very good. The sauce is nothing special but lucky you dont need much sauce to enjoy the meat.

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SE

seniornvz

Great BBQ, its a Dallas Institution and a MUST GO TO when visiting. Customer service sucks. Everyone from Manager (slim guy) to the cashiers during lunch must really be ticked off at you for making sure they have a job. They do offer great coupons if you sign up to their email list. Fix the unhappy faces in the front and the overall experience will reflect, I have been too long a customer to write something that should be so obvious to management. Went for my Sons B day and mine on a Tuesday and not even the Taters were ready for lunch crowd. Shaking my head at how this is even possible. Oh well, enjoy the food and tolerate the people I guess.

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ST

Steve Tellez

Was terrible overall. Went with a co-worker. Both of us agreed. Dirty place. Sides were gross. I had slaw, he had potato salad. 1 bite and could not eat the sides. Meat was what I would expect at a cookout at the neighbors house. I had brisket and ribs. Brisket was good, ribs terrible. Small and burnt. Portions are very small for the money. Invest in larger plates!!. LOTS of FLYS in the restaurant. 14 bucks for sub par bbq in Dallas. There are way better places. I will not go back. Oh yeah... outside bathrooms with rift raft walking the street nearby. There is a thrift store next door that draws them near the restaurant. Avoid...

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RH

Rhonda G

I had heard this was a nice place to visit as it is the original. The restaurant was not clean and the school chairs in the front were disgusting -- needed some serious cleaning. The customer service was poor -- they never checked on the customer. The price of the food was very high for what you are served. I was hoping for some really great Texas barbecue but this is not what I had here. The brisket was really dry and they only had one type of barbecue sauce they had was poured into hot sauce bottles and was not good at all. Tasted like vinegar with no added flavors. Will not return to this restaurant.

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