Krabby’s Kirk’s Saloon

This is a place that cares deeply about their food and it shows. The menu is creative but the staples (ribs, brisket, pulled pork) are fantastic. Not that the comparison is necessary but I thought the ribs were as good if not better than dinosaur BBQ. Have already been back twice since my initial visit! Love it! P. s. Get the chocolate cake and thank me later, looks like a standard choco cake, tastes like ambrosia meets fireworks over a symphony in your mouth!

Went there for lunch today and was very disappointed. The waitress was very good but not the food. My hot pastrami was fair… had to ask for mustard as they brought out a cup of something that didn’t really resemble mustard. Salt potatoes were a real bust. No salt, had to ask for butter. Isn’t salt and butter something u expect when u order salt potatoes in central NY. I wouldn’t head back there. My two dining companions told me I bombed out on my suggestion of going there after a morning at the zoo.

The bbq isn’t great, but the apps are excellent! The pizza comes from next door, and depending on who makes the pies, can be hit or miss. Beer selection is lacking. Bar staff is very attentive, but tends to apologize for kitchen issues.

We went here one random Saturday afternoon after my husband said that this place used to be amazing when he went many years ago. I ordered the fried catfish plate and he ordered some BBQ dish with ribs, pork, etc. The atmosphere of this place is great, the waitress was extremely nice. The food, however, was absolutely awful. As someone mentioned before me, the catfish was unbearably salty. I wasn’t impressed. The mac&cheese was too oily and mushy, and did not taste anything like cheese. The tomato cucumber salad tasted like it was made with old tomatoes that were almost rotten. The cornbread was probably the best thing on the plate. My husbands dish was worse. The meat was dried out and tasteless, reminded me of cardboard. It was actually so bad we had to say something because we just couldn’t fathom paying 23 bucks for his inedible food. (This was the first time we have ever done that & we felt bad having to be «those people») We did talk to the manager and again, the waitress was great. I would not ever go back, though… Maybe just for a beer. Two stars just because the waitress was pleasant & she did try to make it better for us.

We are extremely picky about our BBQ and this place absolutely hands down has the best BBQ we have ever tasted in Onondaga County. What a great homey feel to this bar/​restaurant. We had a lovely waitress and we even got a chance to talk to the owner who has traveled the country trying to find great bbq recipes.
We started with the stuffed jalapenos — not too spicy — filled with cheese and pork. A great starter for what was going to be an amazing meal. I had the two way platter — chicken that was bbq’d and smoked and still was juicy enough to eat with my hands. The other half was the pork ribs. OMG my mouth is watering with how smokey and delicious these ribs were. Cooked perfectly with the right amount of pork on the bones. Yummy. But for me the star of the show was the sides. They have an N’awlins rice and beans that has sausage and red beans and rice at the bottom that I kept wishing that this was my main course. So perfectly N’awlins style — this is the real deal and not out of a can! The corn bread was sweet on top and a little bit crumbly — just like mama made it — if your mama lived in the south of course.
Lastly if you had room for desserts wowsa the carrot cake was gigantic! My son chose the cheesecake and we shared it. A perfect end to a perfect night.
Make the trip from Costco — it’s just 5 minutes down the road to Camillus and enjoy some down home cookin. You can taste the love in every bite!

I took my boys there tonight. They had burgers which were fine. I had the Cajun catfish. The waitress was pleasant, did a nice job. I asked how the cat fish was. She said some people said it was too salty, but others liked it. Said they served a lot of it.
Salty! ! Wow! I never tasted anything as salty as this. The breading was intensely salty, so much so that it was inedible. I removed the breading and picked on the fish which was still salty, but just barely edible.
Worst piece of fish I ever had! Stay away from that dish.
Beyond that, I like the bar area and atmosphere. Might try again, but will NEVER have the cat fish!

I’ve been here several times, the food is pretty good. The corn on the cob wasn’t the greatest as it was small, not really «meaty». The sandwiches taste pretty good, and the Mac n cheese is to die for. As for the baked beans, they were ok. Not may favorite. The «spicy fat Alan» is a pretty good sandwich, great size. Not five stars but worth a try if you’re hankering for BBQ style food.

When we went the order got screwed up several times and the brisket was so dry my husband literally choked. It also seems like the staff avoided checking on us, so if something not right with the food or what not… I guess to bad for us, so sad I was so looking forward to a good BBQ joint :(I hope it just b/​c they are new and will get it all straightened out not sure y this is under filtered but this was a really experience!!! makes me made they don’t want to show the good bad and ugly!!!

I WANT TO SEE THIS RESTAURANT DO GREAT!!!
I TOLD ALL MY FRIENDS ALL WEEK ABOUT IT AND HOW SURPRISING TO FIND A GOOD PLACE IN CAMILLUS,
THE DYING TOWN… R.I.P. CAMILLUS CUTLERY…
As a Chef i do not like seeing management that is not good… Old women, and i would guess if its not the owners mother he is sleeping with her… walking around amorously, then had the audacity to bark at a server about checking the side room and serving guests there… BEST PART side room had a sign saying reserved… that the manager spun around with out alerting her staff… COME“ON…
Now on to the review…
Server was wearing a SU Shirt and I loved it… support our hometown pride!!!
She actually was the only one not wearing the pink shirt so i liked the idea of being able to spot her in the sea of pink on the busy Saturday 6PM Crowd…
She was sweet, attentive, focused… In my career of Cruise Liners & Fine Dine i tend to think every server needs to be like a fine dine one… She is the first in a long time that i felt was spot on…
I mentioned my restaurant that is located in Providence and she responded, and actually listened and cared… Very rare that a server socializing with a guest in a setting like their atmosphere… My father has a tendency to bust peoples chops, and as always he did, she smiled laughed and was very sweet…
Food that was ordered was enjoyed, ribs were moist, sweet, flavorful… wont get again…
the pulled pork was moist, flavorful wont get again…
I WILL ONY ORDER THE BEEF BRISKET… THE BEST I HAVE EVER HAD IN THE LAST 24YEARS OF MY LIFE…
I HAVE VISTED WAY TO MANY PLACES TO BE LET DOWN AGAIN, I AM NEVER ORDERING BRISKET ANYWHERE BUT HERE!!!
so guys next time a 24year male comes in and asks for a giant platter of brisket and nothing else you know its me, Chef J. Soko
PS i am going to be in ‘Cuse in two weeks and cant wait to come back!!!

I have eaten Krabby Kirks food many times and it is very good, I have not eaten in the establishment but always had ordered on the phone for a pick to take home.
Well, every time I did this-​the order was messed up in some way. We would not get our sauces, the next time they got the side dishes wrong, next time they didn’t give us our side dishes at all.
Every time we called for an order we would ask for the Buffalo Burger (–my daughter never had one and wanted to try one) they didn’t have it-​they were out of it and did not know when they would get it in. We were upset that these things were happening every time, who’s in charge there? does anyone check the orders and make sure they are done correctly?
If you want people to come back and keep them coming-​you need to get some order in there and stop with the mistakes every time. I can understand the one or two times but everytime? it’s annoying and it’s too bad because the place has great food and it’s nice to have a different BBQ place with different food in the area, especially in the winter time (different taste to have in the season), do not know when I will go back.
Hopefully things will get better, because the Gator bites and fried pickles are Yum!!!
Chris K

Great service. The bartenders and waitstaff are fantastic. The food is good but I still have lots I want to try. Checked out the smoker in the back it’s legit, I learned to weld by building smokers, this thing is a beast. Atmosphere is great maybe a few more tvs but that would probably detract from the beautiful woodwork. Do the the fireball challenge, Just make sure you take the next day off.

I was passing through the area and happened upon this cozy looking place. I’m also a sucker for good BBQ. I was with a group so we were fortunate enough to try a lot of different items.
We started with the smoked wings and stuffed jalapeños. Both were a great way to start off a meal. For the main course we shared around the pulled pork sandwich, BBQ chicken, brisket and ribs. All were perfectly slow smoked with excellent depth of flavor. The chicken was tender and moist and the ribs had that gorgeous pink smoke ring.
For sides we had cornbread, coleslaw, baked beans, French fries and Mac and cheese. All were terrific.
We washed this down with some great tap beer. If I ever pass through again, I’ll be back.

We frequently walk by and the smell in the air roped me in… for weeks I smelled it and my stomach would growl. We finally decided we could not resist any more! I wish we had maintained the willpower we exercised for weeks!
Let me say that it was not bad, just not great. We tried a sampler platter. I liked the brisket best, by far. My hubby liked the ribs and chicken. I felt the smoke taste was too overbearing.
The cornbread was dry & had an off taste. Are beans supposed to be in baked beans? The beans were pretty good but I would have liked more beans and less sauce.
I don’t think it is worth a return visit, though my husband disagrees.

Some unexpected personal obligations prevented me from attending Taste Of Syracuse on Saturday as planned. Instead I went with my buddy to Krabby Kirk’s on Sunday for some BBQ and we were not disappointed. Simple but nicely done space with bar in front, separate dining room in back and a large covered deck in the far back (where we sat.)
I had sampler with ¼ rack ribs, pulled pork and for the optional third meat I chose Texas style brisket. My buddy had a platter with a half rack of St. Louis style ribs. My sides were collard greens (excellent and I am picky about my greens) and «creamy mac ‘n cheese» (okay not great — but I like a very specific style of mac ’ n cheese that is usually found only in soul food places.) He had seasoned fries that were nice and crispy and also the tomato ‘n cucumber salad.
We shared one order of their hottest wings — the «Blazing» variety — as an appetizer. Not quite as meaty as a few places serve but more than adequate and the hot wing sauce was the best I’ve ever had. It was way hot but still had flavor (most places sacrifice flavor when they go very hot.) The meat was the star of the show and it did not disappoint. Huge portions, best ribs I’ve ever had locally (other than John John’s but he not longer has his rib truck out anyplace where I can find it,) big pile of nicely smoky pulled pork and the brisket was tender and smoky. I’m actually not a big fan of brisket but wanted to try it as a reference point. I’ll get the Andouille sausage next time (which they make in house — kielbasa is the third of the meat options on the sampler.)
I will stress: quality was uniformly high, portions were generous, the food was served hot enough, and service from our waitress Jen was outstanding. The whole bill including a big glass of iced tea was $ 37 with tax before tip.
Krabby Kirk’s is doing an outstanding job and I think it will quickly become known as the area’s sole destination for consistent quality BBQ at fair prices. Highly recommended.

Opened in Jan., it’s an inviting, nicely renovated (from 2 shops?) saloon with a front porch, a comfortable back deck with a true smokehouse next to it. It’s a nice menu of their own smoked meats in a decent variety of sandwiches and salads, plus, burgers, finger foods and 10 homemade sides”. The Apple Smoked BLT — $ 7.99 (chose light rye) had plenty of good filings, including their crispy, thicker bacon. Comes with their well-​done, homemade potato chips. Added a side of Collard Greens $ 1.79, which were tender with a tinge of unidentifiable tang. Next, a Beef Brisket Bomber $ 9.29. Slices of brisket, topped with their smoked bacon, cheddar, sautéed mushrooms and BBQ sauce on a good Kaiser roll. Generally good, but half of the bites contained a lot of fat! This comes with a side — chose Creamy Mac & Cheese — OK.