Jambo’s Barbeque

Excellent food and friendly service. It doesn’t get any better than this! Food quality is top notch and we love the menu items that are unique to Jambo’s and the daily specials. The pork chops are amazing!

Hell yeah, this is an excellent place to eat, love the brisket and ribs. Get there early cause like any great place theirs many trying to sample sweet success

I’m always aware when I start to write a review that reviews are a very subjective thing. With that in mind I try to make sure my review gives my honest review based on my experience, but doesn’t seek to bash the establishment or discourage you from trying it yourself.
With that said, I think your opinion of Jambo’s will have EVERYTHING to do with the amount of effort you have to put into getting there. I’ll explain that more at the end. Let’s get to the food.
I ordered a 2-​meat plate which comes with 2 sides. I chose ribs and sliced brisket for the 2 meats, pinto beans and coleslaw for the two sides. It came with 4 ribs, a maybe 3 or 4 slices of brisket (can’t remember), a small cup of pinto beans and maybe about a cup of coleslaw.
Both the ribs and the brisket were very tender. I thought the ribs were nice and meaty, and the brisket had a nice smoke ring. I thought the coleslaw was good. For me, the pinto beans were good but too spicy. I tend to like beans a bit on the sweet side. These were on the salty side (I don’t mean «too» salty) and had a real kick which started to make my head sweat. I didn’t finish them even though it was a pretty small amount.
All of the meat came dry, but there was BBQ sauce on the tables. I thought the flavor improved a LOT when I added the bbq sauce. I’ve seen a few others comment about the food not being very hot. I found that true too, but I didn’t mind it. That’s consistent with what you get from a free-​standing bbq joint vs. a box chain. You can serve bbq piping hot when you’re pulling it out of a kitchen oven or a microwave, lol! The beans were hot though.
The venue itself is classic BBQ shack. Very small, very little room inside. That to me all adds to its’s authenticity. It is everything that is anti-​box chain, right down to being smack dab in the middle of a residential neighborhood. There are literally houses right across the street from this place, and there isn’t another restaurant anywhere near it.
So let me be clear. This is good bbq and you should check it out. But it’s nothing wildly above anyone else doing good BBQ. I’d expect tender, meaty ribs and a tender brisket with a nice smoke ring from anyone doing good BBQ. And that’s why I say how far you drive for it will affect your opinion of it.
If you’re in the Arlington running errands or you live not far from Jambo’s, you’ll like the food. It’s good BBQ. But if you make a 45 minute drive across town just to try this place you’ll probably leave saying «it wasn’t all that». But that’s not because their food isn’t good. It’s because you expected it to be some amazing experience you can’t get in your own neighborhood, and it could never live up to that.
For example the baked potato at Jambo’s amazes people. But if you live anywhere near Lancaster Rd in Dallas and have had one from TD. s bbq, or any one of 3 or 4 others, it won’t muster up more than a «meh» from you.
I hope I’m making myself clear here. Jambo’s is good bbq that you should try if you’re in the area. It’s not «take a roadtrip good» or leave your hood good”, but if you find yourself in the area, you should check it out.
One other thing. Jambo’s in not a black-​owned place. Now the ONLY reason that’s worth mentioning at all is the fact that most Black people assume that it is. But Black bbq chefs and white bbq chefs tend to approach bbq differently.
None of your meats at Jambo’s will have bbq cooked on, nor will it be served swimming in bbq. Which I think is a good thing, but something you should be aware of if you’re used to having it that way.
I gave Jambo’s 4 stars because 3 stars is «just ok», and I think Jambo’s deserves better than that. But Ok is what you’ll think if you drive across town just to get it.

Delicious. The baked potato was pure gold. The customer service was on point even though it was jambo packed. This location is small but it gives it a certain quaintness and charm.

Wow. What a place. Great BBQ and at affordable prices. My wife and I split the Jambo Texan sandwich, add two sides and couldn’t even finish the meal with both of us eating on it. Two people, great food and our bill was only $ 20. That’s a head deal to beat. Atmosphere is what you want for a BBQ shack. Their staff was working hard and our meal came out in just moments after our order. One of the owners, Ashton even came by to check on us. I felt more like a friend than a patron. Also, you might be full, but don’t leave without trying the cobbler. Fantastic. I highly recommend Jambo’s

Ok. Took a Unilocal chance. It’s in a neighborhood and you probably should go before it changes. Really small, medium lines and really great BBQ. It will not change the BBQ world but I have been twice in the last month and keep suggesting weekly. It’s worth the trip to Arlington!

Must try Jambo Texan or the Sadie! Totally awesome! Try peach cobbler if you’re a fan of it.

Location: If you’re an Arlington native and you’ve been to the DMV/driver’s license place, then you know what neighborhood it’s located in. It’s off the main road on Arkansas right past the retirement apt facility on the right. (Detailed instructions because it’s not the easiest to get to)
Customer Service: This is a very quaint place, but along with its size, the customer service adds to the «homey» feel this establishment brings you upon eating with them. From ordering at the counter or being greeted by the bussers cleaning your table, the overall service of this place was amazing.
FOOD!: To make sure my pregnancy hormones weren’t deceiving my taste buds, I brought an incredibly judgemental critic of everything (my mother) to ensure me the food was as good as I thought it would be. I ordered a 3 meat combo with ribs, sliced brisket and sausage with fries and beans. The meat was soo. tender. The ribs had a flavor armor that complimented it’s bbq’d cooking method. Beans were seasoned very well and the fries reminded me of steak and shake’s thin string style fries.
My mom ordered the same meats, but upon talking to another table next to us, he bragged on the half-​chicken special, she ordered one to go. When getting to the counter to order, I pondered if their desserts were as good as their food and immediately had them put an apple cobbler to my to go order. Delicious! !
I’ll be back.. (Probably this week ;)
Fyi: this place is small, but there’s a steady influx of customers meaning they are fully capable of selling out of food. I don’t recommend coming in the evening if you have your mind set on something specific.

So I finally made my 3^rd attempt to this establishment to see what the hype was about. This place is small but was very clean. It has that mom & pop kind of feel. The customer service was great and the wait time was minimal. I did not order a plate but decided to settle for a rib sandwich and 1 stuffed pepper (no drink) for about $ 8.00 bucks.
The jalapeño pepper was very tasty –cream cheese, brisket wrapped in bacon.
The rib sandwich was a good sized portion (3 ribs).
They were very, very tender but lacked flavor (seasoning). I’m glad they put the sauce on the side because I like to try the meat dry first. The sauce was actually pretty good. It had some type of twang/​kick to it. It seems that the ribs are seasoned by the smoke. They were just ok. Nothing to write home about. I would recommend this establishment if you looking for non-​chain BBQ. I will return only if I am in the area to try other menu options. Not writing them off but will not go out of my way to eat here. Give them a try !!!

I’m torn on how to rate this review. This is the second BBQ place I’ve been to recently that wasn’t doing a good job of keeping their meats warm. The brisket was reasonably warm and had a nice flavor to it, but the smoked sausage was room temperature, at best. It had a nice flavor, too, but when I order what I’m expecting to be hot food, I expect it … well, HOT (or at least within food safety regulations, which I doubt this was).
The quantities were sufficiently large, the flavors were nice, but the food temp and the price both put me off a bit. (Over $ 15 for two meats, two sides, and a fountain drink.) I’ve heard the one in Burleson is «way better.» So, I «may» give it a try at some point. We’ll see! (I won’t be holding my breath on that, though.)
Probably the only way I’d go back to THIS location would be if someone wanted to meet there for lunch. Otherwise, there are too many other places in the area (with more convenient locations) to go eat at for lunch.
Oh! What’s this place like? It looks kind of like a house, with big awnings outside. But, I suspect it’s some sort of pre-​fab building that was moved in. Definitely has a hole-​in-​the-​wall /​mom & pop type vibe to it. Plastic throw-​away plates, plastic utensils, styrofoam cups. Not a lot of money was spent decorating this place or furnishing it. But, I’m sure the focus is supposed to be the food. I just wish the food provided a better value for the $$ AND I wish it was kept at warmer temperatures for the things that SHOULD be warm.

Wow, this is great food! I’ve heard about it and we decided to try it. Brisket is lean with a great smoke ring. The sausage is some of the best I’ve ever had. Potato salad and Cole slaw is excellent and the BBQ sauce is a very nice balance with the smoke in the meat. The chopped beef samich is dry chopped and very lean as well.
If I’m a judge, Hutchin’s in McKinney is just ahead of this brisket but Jambo’s sausage wins hands down. If you live in Arlington this is probably the best you are going to find without driving to McKinney… and a lot less expensive. I may not complete my own smoker since I’m not sure I can top this! Jimmy Jam’s is now 3^rd :-(.
1. Hutchin’s
2. Jambo’s
3. Jimmy Jam’s

Can’t say enough good stuff about Jambo’s. Casual atmosphere. Share a table with the locals. World class Q! Come here. Now!!! You’re welcome!

Oh my word! We have been seeing the buzz about this place on Facebook so tonight we were in the area and thought we would try it at 7pm knowing we were taking a chance of there being none left. We were greeted at the door and told they only had sausage and Bologna. We were not interested in Bologna but a customer inside told us it was amazing so we took a chance on it and had both. Amazing is all I can say and the service was over the top! We will definitely go out of our way to come here often. Keep it up please!
Arlington location.

Went to Jambo’s on a weekday afternoon around 4pm. There was a large family party of about 8 people seated in the dining area. They were already eating when Myself and my 2 kids showed up. We ordered sliced brisket,
Ribs and sausage with sides. The place smelled wonderful. Our food was delivered to our table and it looked very good. However the ribs and brisket were over 80% fat!!! I have never had brisket that had fat throughout the whole slice. My kids ribs were cool and fatty as well. The sausage and barbecue sauce were the only thing that was good. Had the meat not been mostly fat it had a good seasoning on it. I may give them another try but I don’t know I’m going to stick with my 2 other BBQ spots that have never disappointed me. Overall the restaurant is clean and the staff is very friendly.

Extra!!! Extra!!! Read All About Jambo Barbecue
If you are looking for great barbecue, stop the search. Jambo Barbecue is mmmmmmmgooooood. The absolute best I have tasted since I moved from California 10 years ago. I thought Pecan Lodge won that title however, this place beat them with taste, amount of food, and price point… I took my food and comments to work and many co-​workers have traveled to Jambo and confirmed… Thanks Jambo… Worth the travel from DeSoto.
They need to be on Guys show… DDD :)

Came here for the first time and they messed up my to go order twice. First I was missing a rib sandwich but they fixed that for me after I said something. Then I got home and unfortunately was missing a side of fries.
Everything tasted great but I thought it was weird when my rib sandwich still had the bones in it. So I had to tear the meat off the bones myself and THEN eat it like a sandwich. Food still tasted good though

Please read my previous review for my impressions on the food.
I am only updating to report that the owner sent me a message a couple days ago through Unilocal offering me 50% off my meal to come write a review for them. I declined because it is unethical to accept compensation for a review. I suspect they sent it to me because I had the Review of the Day a couple days ago.
I mention this here because I do not know how many of the other reviewers of this establishment may have been made (and potentially accepted) a similar offer. Know that my previous review was written long before this offer was made and has my honest opinion of the food which was a 3.5 star. I was rounding up but I am now rounding down as this has left a bad taste in my mouth. (Pun shamelessly intended.)
Updated to add:
Here’s the full correspondence from the owner to myself (I will upload a screenshot for any who doubt the veracity.) I will leave it to the reader to establish their own opinions on its contents.
Jambos B.: Anye my name is Ashton I’m the owner of Jambos barbecue shack in Arlington and in Rendon I love your reviews and I would like to invite you to come try out Jambos and write a review. Please show the register this message and get 50% off your first meal. Please take pictures to post as well
Anye F.: Hi Ashton,
I already wrote a review for your Arlington location awhile back.
Also, it would be unethical to accept compensation for a review as it can lead to unintentional bias, but thanks for the offer anyway.
Jambos B.: Oh that’s right I remember that insane review… Well if you’ll notice I said to write A review not a Good review but thank you for goin above and beyond.
Jambos B: You know what I’m gunna slow down a minute. I want bother you anymore if you don’t bother me. Thanks
Update #2: Ashton should not worry about me showing up at her business again. What started off as my polite refusal to engage in unethical behavior turned into the display you can see here. Why on Earth would I go back? So now I have to say, no, I don’t like it: 1-​star. Out of the 560-​ish reviews (many far more critical) I’ve posted this is the first time an owner has ever had an issue with me. If you’ll go back and read my original review, it wasn’t a bad review. It wasn’t stellar and it pointed out areas of improvement but it was very fair.

This is the best BBQ we’ve had in the area. We went on a Friday night at 6, and the parking lot was full but we kicked out on a spot. The smell of BBQ enticed our tastebuds. It’s a fairly loud place, but that’s because it’s popular. There have one large TV for sports. They are closed Sundays and Mondays, and get there early because at 6pm, they were already out of favorites like ribs and bacon jalapeños. I had the stuffed baked potato and OMG it was not just a ton of food, but super yummy. Beans were soft but not mushy. Brisket was super tasty. My husband had some sausage and it was also awesome. We ended with some peach cobbler, which is a real treat. Friendly staff, great place. I almost don’t want to write this review so that I don’t have to wait in line, but this place deserves 5 stars!

My husband and I went to Jambos for lunch today. We arrived at about 11:15 and it was already packed. We didn’t have to wait in line very long and we got our food quickly. You really do need to get there early. They were already almost out of the daily special. We each had a Sadie which was a mistake on our part as it can easily feed two people. We also tried a bacon wrapped jalapeño.
Both were very good. The staff was very friendly, and the price point was awesome. $ 8 for a Sadie and $ 1 for the jalapeño.
We will for sure be back. I want to try the ribs and pork chops.

Based on Unilocal,we tried this as a party of 4. Between us all, had ribs, pulled pork, Bologna, brisket, and The Sadie stuffed potato. Had beans, okra and coleslaw as sides. Would give it 5 stars but the okra was undercooked. This place is so good, they run out of meat before they close. BBQ sauce on table– 1 seemed homemade and the other like a KC Masterpiece, too sweet. My whole party enjoyed the flavor. Seemed like a unique touch to their rub and their bean seasoning and 1 table sauce. All meat very tender and smoked fairly well but could have had a better bark and smoke line. The $ 8 stuffed potato is a great deal and way too much for the average person alone. They don’t skimp on portions!
Get there early– we arrived at 6 and they were already out of their homemade sausage and bacon wrapped jalapeños.