The Bucket BBQ

I went in and asked for their gluten free menu. They didn’t have one. But they have me a very small list of things I could not eat. Even better!!! Everything was delicious

The food is authentic Carolina/​Kansas City style BBQ, the owners were great and the bartender was incredibly friendly and professional. It’s relatively new restaurant (used to be The Pioneer) and they’ve completely re-​done the building so it’s authentic, clean and really inviting.
And I grew up in Auburn so I can say, with some authority, it’s not known for its culinary masterpieces (no offense, Mom!). But the Bucket is fantastic!

Overpriced. Need to take a lesson from down south about bbq. Will try again in a few months …

This was a mediocre at best BBQ dinner. My family and I went on a Friday evening, and apparently so did an office for Happy Hour; it was so noisy that conversation at our table became impossible. We sat and ate our peanuts until dinner arrived. Dinner proved to be less than expected, grocery store burger buns for the sandwiches, and dry meat, one option of sauce at the table and compared to other places I’ve eaten at, very stingy portions. Even my son commented that they had better food in his MREs in Iraq.

Stopped for dinner and was pleasantly surprised. Didn’t expect good southern cooking this far north. Everything was homemade, very flavorful and the price was right. Portions are very generous. The atmosphere was good and laid back. Bar is well stocked with craft beers and the usual spirits. Upstairs has a pool table and dart board and televisions are spread throughout. I would definitely recommend a visit.

I ate here tonite with my daughter. It was a Friday and they offered specials for Lent. The waitstaff was very cheerful and attentive. I had the shrimp po’ boy which came topped with cole slaw and included a side. I got the very delicious Mac and cheese. My daughter had the fried haddock with sweet potato fries and cole slaw. With 2 draft beers and 2 entrees the tab was 25 bucks! I will definitely be back to try the barbecue!

I go by this location quite often as I have family in the Skaneateles and Auburn Area. When I learned this location was going to be turned into a BBQ place I had high hopes for it. I love BBQ and have been eating outstanding BBQ from joints in North Carolina to most notably Franklins BBQ in Austin TX and after trying Bucket BBQ today, I was pretty disappointed. I always like to try out all the different meats to get a real test of whats good and whats not. I got the sampler platter with smoked brisket, pulled pork, pulled chicken and turkey breast along with baked beans and mac and cheese. The pulled pork was probably the least favorite item. it was very dry with no moisture and didn’t have a single lick of smoke flavor that i’m used to. The pulled chicken was dry as well. The spicy Texas BBQ sauce and Kansas City sauce were decent though and I had to apply heavy amounts to make my chicken and pulled pork palatable. The brisket was the only piece of meat that had an okay smoke flavor, however the quality of the meat and the portion size did not match up to price. The meat portions were small for what you paid for. The baked beans were probably the only thing I thought were «done right» and the mac and cheese while okay was not exceptional, it tasted more like velvetta cheese poured over noodles. Overall I think this place needs a lot of work on perfecting technique, possibly working on how much smoke their meat gets and how long it cooks to the type of wood. If I am going to eat BBQ in CNY I will always choose Dinosaur because its how BBQ should taste.

We went to the Bucket BBQ shortly after they opened. We so wanted them to succeed and be an asset to Auburn. But unfortunately that was not to be. I got a brisket sandwhich which was dry and tough. The portion size was small. The bun was almost stale. I ordered mac and cheese and some greens on the side. The side items came in tiny little Styrofoam containers. The mac and cheese was fair at best. The greens were swimming in fat. My friend had the BBQ chicken, baked beans and coleslaw. He said the chicken was just so so. The beans were OK as was the coleslaw, but he almost needed a magnifying glass to see his sides! The worst part of all was the check. It came to about $ 45 for the two of us. Way to high for Auburn.
And to top it off, all of the tables downstairs were taken, so we had to schlep up stairs carrying our trays. That means no hands on the railing! I am in my 60’s and I was afraid I would fall.

This place way okay. I didn’t find it too expensive and thought the portions were more than ample. The food at our table got mixed reviews. The pork wasn’t very smoke flavored, however, the turkey I got was amazing. The sweet potatoes were mashed and very flavorful, but I also ordered a side of collard greens and was surprised that they came with bacon in them. When I order a vegetable (that is only listed as a vege on the menu), I don’t expect to get meat in it. I know… most people don’t grumble about a little bacon, but I was thinking greens and I got something else.
I wasn’t wowed, but I’d probably go again.

There are certainly some kinks to work out. My family and I ate lunch there today and it was a generally disappointing experience. We ordered pulled pork, brisket, ribs and the smoked turkey leg. Overall the food was cold and and severely lacking the smoke expected from barbecue.
The turkey leg was grizzled and overly smoked, pork and brisket were simply unflavored. The ribs and sides were savior a though. Ribs were cooked and flavored fantastically and despite being cold the Mac and cheese and collard greens were delightful.
I hope this restaurant can fix its opening hiccups and find its rhythm because this area is desperate for a real deal BBQ place. Best of luck Bucket!!!

Tried the takeout on opening day. Had a brisket sandwich that was good quality beef but very light on the smoke and BBQ flavor. The sandwich was small and it was expensive. The sweet potato fries cost $ 2 and I got a handful of fries. In summary, lots of money for a little food that was average or below average in flavor. I was really hoping for better.

My wife and I were very excited to try this restaurant and were extremely disappointed with the food. We thought the prices were high and soon realized that we got very little food and even less taste. The brisket was closer to pot roast, dry and tough. When you feel like good bbq, I would recommend driving the extra 30 minutes and hitting up Dinosaur BBQ.