Bandana’s Bar-B-Q

Visited at 8:30 on a Friday night in bloomington and the place was sparsely occupied (not a good sign in a town where no one cooks at home). I had to wait about 5 minutes to be noticed/​seated, but, was able to squeeze in a restroom stop since they were located in the lobby (very clean, btw). Tried to order an NA beer, but, none available. I ordered the turkey breast which was very moist and served in bite sized chunks. It tasted good, but, really didn’t detect much evidence of being smoked. The baked beans and okra were good. I added on 3 extra ribs (and got 4, thx). They were good and tasty; not quite fall off the bone, but not tough by any means. I didn’t eat the 2 PCs of garlic toast because I was full. Overall, I would recommend and will return to sample some other meats (if they can survive in this poor location).

The food was decent, I would say it’s an average barbecue place. The location that they chose has been several restaurants in the past and this one is probably one of my favorite.
Now the bad part. They have some of the most rude staff I have ever met in my life. I felt like they were there just to take my money and move onto the next customer. The waiter was completely and personable as well as the person at the cash register.
Your food can be as good as you want it to but if you’re lacks, no one will want to come back.

Great BBQ! The pork was extremely fresh, like it had just been cut off the bone. Not fatty at all. Plus the staff is extremely nice. Great service!

Really good BBQ. The family platters are great. Awesome wood smoke flavor. This is the real deal. Owner is on site and very friendly. Glad we found this place. New favorite restaurant when visiting ISU. Worth the drive from campus.

Hands down the very best BBQ joint in the Blono area. The service is top notch regardless of the crowd. I have dine here routinely with my family and we have only experience a good time, with great food and a fantastic old time BBQ joint atmosphere.

Food was good, I got the triple combo (pork, ribs and chicken) pork was cold everything else was hot. Garlic bread was quite tasty. Service was good and fast and the Restaurant was clean.

Mediocre food, the manager was rude to one of my friends, I’m going to Famous Dave’s BBQ next time.

I’ve had a lot of good BBQ in the past month or so, and Bandana’s just doesn’t stack up. They have little to no BBQ ambiance outside of stock southern decorations, the food is mediocre and honestly this restaurant is in a bad location.
When I enter a BBQ restaurant, there has to be something that screams, «This is BBQ!» Nothing does that here except the BBQ sauce on the table (which is the standout here). They have a sauce for every palate really, but they don’t explain them so it is guess and check.
I had pork and beef. The pork was decent, and I would eat it again. The beef was awful– it was chewy, unpleasant looking and was definitely over-​cooked. The BBQ baked beans were nothing to write home about and the potato salad was nothing short of strange-​stay away.
This place is not worth the drive to IAA where it is located.

Spent a lot of time in Texas… But this place is not bad for Yankee cooking.

I love this place! I’m so glad it’s open. I haven’t been to famous daves in 10 years. My favorite is the $ 6 Turkey meal with BBQ beans and fries. I like to mix all the sauces together too. I never have a bad experience I have nothing but great things to say. If anyone I know asks where to eat I say Bandanas. Just ate here tonight and saw the Unilocal sign on the door and thought I would share how much I love this place! Please go I want them to be around for a long time.

I wasn’t planning BBQ but ended up at Bandana’s somehow.
It was an OK BBQ, nothing to put your Spurs on and yell yahoo about, but it was good BBQ. I had the beef brisket and tried all the sauces, 5 if I remember correctly, sweet, spicy, mustard base, etc but again nothing to make me run out to the car for me spurs. I had the fried corn on the cob as my two sides it was tasty but it wasn’t piping hot more on the less than warm side. The toast or bread thing was good but again, you got it, not a spurs thing.
The service was friendly. Imagine local teens who typically these days are all pinked out or can’t wait to be with their boyfriend or friendly with a sweet smile. Bandana’s was the latter.
Ambiance, there’s that snob word again, is typical family with out a lot of fancy or modern but simply comfortable.
The going out the door on Bandana’s is if local I’d say DeKalb finally had a decent BBQ but not one that would be a wearin the spurs and yahooing place

What I ordered: half slab of ribs with fries, bbq beans, and garlic bread. The choose 2 dinner with the pulled pork and chicken which came with fries, green beans, and garlic bread.
Pros: tasty garlic bread, the bbq sauce variety was top notch. Pulled pork was moist and had great smoky flavor. Large portions for the price. Solid french fries but nothing special
Cons: The ribs were close to unedible and extremely tough (they have to use some super cheap rib meat because I have never had ribs where the meat was such a low quality. disappointing because the sauce did taste very good on them). Both the bbq beans and green beans were without a doubt from the can. Chicken was tasteless and quite dry.
I would go back, but will definitely stay away from the ribs which were unbelievably horrible.

I had the beef and sausage, and it was good. The service was fairly quick.

Great food. We have eaten at other bandanas before and always been pleased. Great food good prices very friendly staff and mngr Anthony rocks.

Had not been here in a while so tried lunch with a buddy. I had the ¹⁄₃ slab of ribs with green beans and BBQ pork and beans. Ribs were done well tender but with a good char and they have 4 different sauces to match your taste. Pork and beans were good but green beans and buddies corn came from a can. Service was fast and friendly and price was average and fair. Buddy had the turkey platter and no complaints.

Absolutely great! ALL meats were done beautifully and were juicy with generous portions. Donut holes were also out of this world! Don’t hesitate, you won’t be disappointed.

Love this place. I use it a lot for catering, and whether pickup or delivery, the orders have always been on time and correct and the staff super friebdly. The BBQ is delicious too, and broadens people’s horizons outside of «Oh, BBQ? Yeah I love Famous Dave’s!»
Take them to Bandanas and open their eyes as to what REAL barbecue tastes like.

I like Bandana’s a bunch. Some of the sides leave something to be desired but the baked potatoes here are the BEST in town and the sauces are good! I usually get the pork or the turkey. My boyfriend had the beef this time and I tried it — VERY tender and yummy also. I’ve not tried the ribs yet.
Service is always friendly and efficient with great attention to beverage refills — even offering to go cups.

Service was great and you could smell smoke which is key to a BBQ Restaurant. I try not to eat at any BBQ place North of Kansas City but Bandana’s (a chain I believe) has changed that.
I would eat here again and their sauces actually are the only sauces I like as most restaurants
use sauces to only make their food edible while this restaurants food is complimented by the flavor of their sauces.

The ribs are good, nice smoke and bite. The ½ rack was 6 ribs. Baked potato was cooked well and served with the right amount of butter and sour cream. The beans are basic baked beans, add some sauce for extra flavor. Garlic bread is a nice touch however the rib meal can do without the bread. My favorite sauce was the spicy sauce.
The beef platter is a 9 oz portion, with two sides the meat was tender but not juicy enough. It could have been warmer too. The potato salad was very chunky to my liking. It has a touch of mustard. Fries were not as good as I imagined.
The décor reminds me of walking in to Andy’s room from toy story… I kept waiting for woody to pop out. Place was calm and quite for a Saturday. They have a $ 5 dollar meal which from previous reviews looks like a good meal just smaller portion.
Service was average… Nothing to complain or get excited about. Would return for lunch not sure about dinner. This place is in between longhorn and famous Dave’s in price and food.