Famous Dave’s

Worst catering event so far. Will never use them again. We did not have enough food, their catering specialist was not helpful. They were supposed to bring more food and the driver never showed up and never called. I have never had such bad customer service.

Have the best Pineapple Slices and the Bread Pudding is the Bomb! Everyone in our family loves the foods

Went in on 05÷14÷16
Our waiter Famous Patrick was really good!
Food was delicious.
I wish the ribs we’re hotter.
Will I return? Yes
Recommend

Just had a great experience with our server Billy! My first time here and the food was great, service was better! Definitely recommend this place for a nice to just relax and eat! His boss (I think his name was Mike) was also really sweet. Gave me the sauce that I liked to take home. Overall just a great Wednesday night!

Tried baby back and St. Louis ribs. Both were great. Sides Ok (Cole slaw and mashed potatoes). Great service in the bar. We’ll be back!

Famous Dave’s is a great family restaurant. The food is great! You can even order dinner for your family that will be served on a trash can lid. At this location the restaurant is clean and staffed with kind, fun people. Our waitress saw us sampling all of the different sauces, so she brought us a bowl of chips to help us with our fun. It was a great experience, and the food was delicious!

Step in the right direction. They offer two selections on their brisket now: one more lean and one more juicy, which makes sense because of the different cuts of meat available and this is a good way to ensure the clientele get what they expect. Kudos to Famous Dave’s for trying to make improvements in customer satisfaction.
They had reduced price appetizers the night we went back. Some are full-​size and some are reduced portion: have to ask the server to clarify. Call to confirm the days and times of the offer. Service was excellent too, as it always has been.

Rachel was our waiter and she was great!
Loved the St louis ribs combined with Samuel Adams draft beer. Nice atmosphere overall.

Awesome experience. Great food! Lots of sauce choices. Reasonably priced. Served by a girl named «Q». Our server made our experience! She was so friendly and attentive. Very sweet girl, some of the best service I’ve ever had!

If your looking for a BBQ place, this is for you. My ribs were a little bit more dry than I expected and the service is ok. I waited 40 mins (which I expected) and I was seated quickly. Overall I give it a ³⁄₅! I’ll be back.

So I call for a pick up. Have to repeat my order to the person on the phone 3 times. I get there and it’s still not right!
But the guy who rings me up makes it right and gets me want I need PLUS tosses in a bottle of my favorite sauce on the house.
That was an excellent save! Go Dave’s

Great BBQ. You will not be disappointed.
I’ve always been leery of large chain smokehouses because I have never believed them to be consistently good but I think Dave has figured it out.
Whenever I review a BBQ Smokehouse I always start with the brisket, as it is the most difficult and frequently a poorly executed product by folks that don’t know BBQ.
Famous Dave’s is BBQ done right!
On my last visit I ordered the two sides I have been dying to try for a while now. The burnt ends and the salmon dip.
The secret is out. For that heavy deep smoke flavor that hits the spot you must get the burnt ends. They are served with pickles and fried onion strings. It is a heavy rich smoke and is really for the BBQ aficionado that enjoys that rich smokey bark. Kind of like the end cut of on a prime rib, so much flavor.
The smoked salmon spread is a lighter fare with the crisp flat bread that is fantastic. A little lighter on smoke but also not too fishy. Something I’d recommend with a beer or Chardonnay. In fact I could go for some right now.
However my goto is the Beef Brisket Plate which comes sliced on bread. The PROPER way. And not shredded or drowning in sauce to try and cover up how dry and cadaverous it is. My sides included mac ‘n cheese, beans, corn bread and a beer. This is my standard whenever I test out new smokehouse. These are all the things you can find in a backyard Texan BBQ. Again I just can’t recommend this enough. In fact I even ordered a takeaway box for lunch the next day.
I’m a purest so I don’t like extra sauce on my BBQ, the brisket should stand on its own. But I got to admit, with the brisket and the burnt ends there is a great sauce for it… Famous Dave’s Texas Pit BBQ Sauce. It really punctuates that flavor with a peppery smack. I highly recommend buying a bottle and taking that home too.
Great location on Randall Rd in Algonquin. Definitely good for family and friends and casual dress. Good for business lunches too. I can’t think of too many reasons not to go. Unless you’r with a vegan. Then yeah, maybe not so much.
I go frequently after work and just walk in and sit at the bar. It’s quiet and I can enjoy my lunch/​dinner in peace and have never had a problem with service. They really are a great wait staff, good management and fine BBQ.

Food is great and so is the staff. I was super impressed.

3 star only even though the ribs were excellent.

Good for a chain bbq restaurant. They were a bit busy when I went last night, so service was slow, and probably a reason that the food was just sort of warm, not really hot. Baby Back Ribs were good, Roasted Chicken cooked well, and was juicy. Ordered the Onion Strings but did not really like them, as they had a burnt taste to them.

Outstanding service, fast and curtirse. Liz the manager was inbelivable, she knew we were visiting on busniness and gave each person at out table a bottle of sauce. That is awesome customer service.

My family is from the southern region of the United States, the self-​proclaimed capital of barbecue. Six southern states claim to have the best barbecue. Depending on what region of the South you belong, some people think that meat should be served without sauce because you want to be able to still taste the natural flavor of the meat along with the smoke. Others say that you should not only sauce it but make sure it’s a sweet sauce. I live in Chicago (not in the South) and I thought that I would try one of the largest barbecue chain restaurants in the entire country, Famous Dave’s Barbecue Restaurant in Algonquin, Illinois.
What makes good barbecue? That really is up to you. I have been grilling and smoking meats for 20 years and I have visited many smokehouses in the South. Most of it being pretty good. So here is my review of Famous Dave’s and how they stack up to the «old school southern smokehouse.»
My first impression was seeing that the restaurant has taken care to make you feel like you are in a southern smokehouse environment. When you walk in, you will see their award replicas from competition events that they have received over the years. On the walls are old rusted signs and advertisements that you would see in the old smokehouses down South. The place was clean. I saw nothing really on the floor, no sauce stuck to a wall or table. I was greeted by a hostess whose name is Amy and she seated me right away. The waitress had a couple of other tables but got to me within 2 – 3 minutes. She introduced herself, described the main menu and the specials. She also informed me of the five different sauces and what the level of heat and sweet each sauce contained. I know that how the food tastes is important, but level of service is also important and so far it has been pretty good.
Looking over the menu, I ordered a lunch combo of St. Louis spareribs and Southside rib tips. I also got an appetizer of Burnt Ends. Burnt Ends is the flat part of the beef brisket that gets a good smoke and char. The flat is carved and cubed and served with thinly sliced fried onion rings. My lunch combo came with coleslaw but they have eight other side dish items to choose from. I got my food in about 10 minutes and here is where I found my only disappointing part. When my food arrived, they had taken it upon themselves to put sauce on my meats. I thought «why would you do that when I have five bottles to choose from at my table.» However, the meat was well seasoned and smoked. The sauces were pretty good. My coleslaw was just what it was supposed to be. I know side dishes matter, but I am really here for the meat. I finished my meal and was asked if I wanted a desert but I declined. As I am always thinking about time and how much of it I don’t have, my experience here has been very smooth. A good flow of being greeted, seated, order taken, food and check received.
Overall, the atmosphere was what was expected and the service was great! I encountered 3 employees who all spoke with a smile. I have to say that I was impressed with the quality of the smoked meats. They did a great job of presentation, plate not too crowded and just enough room so that you are not messy. They showed why they have 200 restaurants across the United States and I would recommend them to anyone who likes barbecue.

The food at Famous Dave’s is good but not great. The server not only charged us for our son’s meal (his meal was to be free) but they failed to bring a cornbread with our meal. For the money you can get better food and service.

When I think BBQ… I think Famous Daves… When I take that first bite of juicy ribs and they melt in my mouth… oh my! It cannot get any better then this!
If you love spice you have to try the wilburs revenge sauce… woah… oh so spicy and a little goes a long way.
If you do not like BBQ or had bad BBQ you have to give this place a try… you will soon love BBQ! Trust me I know… no chewy, rubbery, nasty pieces of meat here… perfection every time!
Briscut Nachos A+
Corn muffins A+
Roasted Chicken A+
Baby Back Ribs A+
Banana Pudding A+
Briscut, Pulled Pork, Hamburgers… all A+
The whole menu and all the sauces… A++++++
5 star rating!

My cousin told me this place was a great spot so I listened to his word and checked it out as the lone ranger. Little did I know I was going to a franchise-​type restaurant. I sat at the bar and was served by Rebecca. She was a very sweet and attentive girl. I had the Fat Tire beer, and a Long Island Ice Tea. For food I ordered the ½ slab of baby back ribs, well done fries, Mac and cheese and corn bread. I didn’t think the quality of baby back ribs were the way I was told, «fall of the bone» type ribs. I don’t think they were quality type bones. The macaroni and cheese was kind of interesting. It had corn and spice in it. I thought it was okay for the macaroni and cheese part, and the corn and whatever seasons that were in it helped the taste better. Overall the macaroni and cheese was just okay. The french fries were probably the best to my tasting, being crispy.
I don’t know if I should give this place a 4 as a restaurant chain or a 3 for what the quality of food was. I still thought it was okay.