Bandana’s Bar-B-Q

I’ve been here multiple times now and have waited to write my review, hoping my first few visits were flukes, but they’re not. So I’m writing based on my most recent experience.
The service was fine — the food was not. Every time I’ve been here, I’ve been horribly disappointed by the food. Last night I got the beef plate with a baked potato and their bbq beans. You can’t go wrong with a baked potato, and it was completely fine last night. It was actually the only part of my dinner I enjoyed. The beans had no flavor and they tasted like they came straight out of a can. They were mushy and had no discernible flavor. The beef does not come in slices of brisket, but instead little sliced chunks that are just piled on your plate. It was very well done and had a grey tint to it… and again, no flavor. It was also fairly chewy and taste like it had sat for a while.
I tried a little of the sauces, since there are 6 on your table, and none of them were anything special. They tasted just like very generic bbq sauce you get in the grocery store. The least offensive was the spicy bbq sauce, but even that couldn’t quite help the beef. With all the meals, you receive some garlic bread. I love garlic bread — and this just isn’t good. It’s a bun that’s been smushed on the flat top with an artificial tasting garlic butter cooked on it. It’s greasy, crunchy, and again — lacks any certain flavor.
Overall — everything is just lacking in flavor and quality. For the price you’re paying for the food and drinks (it was $ 5 for a Blue Moon pint… that’s a bit pricy for Carbondale…), I just recommend skipping here and going to a legitimate bbq place. I won’t name specifics, but we have plenty of other places in Southern Illinois that are a short drive from Carbondale and far better.

Bandana’s is a regional chain barbecue, this location is about a year old.
Restaurant is very large and open. Wrap-​around bar with ample seating and plenty of tables. Staff and bartenders are friendly and eager to please. I’ve been here twice; the bar and restaurant did not have many covers.
Cocktails are unreasonably expensive for the area, and not terribly great either. Ordered an old-​fashioned, which had a two-​dollar up-​charge on top of the premium bourbon.
The barbecue is average, neither great nor terrible, but it’s consistent. The sauces offer an interesting variety of flavors for barbecue. As far as a particular style of barbecue, Bandana’s is pretty cut-​and-​paste.
Overall, I’m not going to go out of my way to visit or bring visitors here when they want barbecue. But if looking for a little variety without taking much risk, this is a safe bet. Barbecue for the uninitiated or indifferent.

When Bandanas first opened, the food was good and tbe service was decent. Now my orders (I usually order carry out) are always treated like an imposition. My order is never tight and the past 2 orders were the black, burnt grisley edges with very little quantity meat. I didnt get my correct side dishes either. The green beans are ok. Thankfully I could eat the sided dishes I didn’t not order because the bbq was unedible. I’m very disappointed and doubt I’ll go back.

Descriptive phrase: chain-​like BBQ restaurant and bar.
Another reviewer hit it on the head when they said Bandana’s is like the BBQ version of Buffalo Wild Wings. The outside it big and loud, and the inside at 3PM on a Saturday was deserted. There’s a separate dining area, but we sat in the bar, which was bright and open. Our waiter, Tyler, was extremely nice, and the food came quick.
My Sam Adams Seasonal (Summer Ale) was $ 4.75 for a pint, which seems about right. Their tap list was extremely lacking, with the Seasonal the most exotic of their 5 choices. But we were here for the BBQ, not the beer.
I had the Pork Sandwich ($ 6.79) with sweet potato fries (+$ 0.99). No frills, no fuss food in a plastic basket. The pork itself was very, very tender; you could tell it had been slow-​cooked. The fries were fine (would’ve loved some brown sugar). But even though the meat was great, I can’t get past the lack of a stand-​out BBQ sauce at a BBQ place. They had 4 options on the table, and none were really that great (though points for the unique mustard-​BBQ); the spicy wasn’t that spicy, the sweet wasn’t that sweet. Just my own taste, I love to smother my pork sandwiches in spicy BBQ sauce, and dip the fries in sweet too. I’d go back if they tweaked their sauces a bit.

All of the sides were less than mediocre. The green beans came out of a can and were not jazzed up in any way. The ribs that my wife had kept this place from being a one star place in my opinion. My wife tried to order a baked potato (@7pm on a Fri. night) and was told she needed to order something because they were still cooking them. We will not go back.

It had been quite a few years since my last visit to Carbondale, so I was pleasantly surprised when scouting Unilocal to find that Bandana’s has opened a store in town. I was familiar with the chain through visits to a couple of their stores near St. Louis, and I am here to say that this store knocks it out of the park.
Tonight’s selection was the beef platter, and it was served by a quick and very friendly staff. Tender and moist, with smoke and beef taste delicately balanced. They have 5 sauces; try them all!
There’s a nice sports bar section here, and the décor and atmosphere were modern yet friendly. Call it «Upscale Cue», perhaps?
Well done, Bandana’s, well done.

Excellent food… quick service… very clean. Highly recommended! Hats off to our waiter (TJ). Great job!

I cant believe this place has been here without me knowing. Went there with a friend and loved the food and the prices were great. The Chicago Style BBQ sauce was amazing. Definitely going back!

This restaurant is very casual. Think Buffalo Wild Wings, but without all the chaos and noise. A pretty chill bar to relax, enjoy a beer, and actually have a conversation with friends.
Their prices are a lot better than 17^th Street though. Very affordable. You can get a meal for about 8 dollars, and the portion are pretty big. There are many options to choose from. You will have trouble picking with all that they have on the menu. 17^th Street BBQ is better than this place, but they have a wide variety of sauces that you can drench your bbq in.

My son and daughter in law live in Carbondale, IL, and when I drop in to visit we always dine at several local eateries. This evening we chose Bandanas, and I’m certainly glad we did. We were greeted and seated right away. The server was a very attentive young lady who did a great job of serving beverages and appetizers very quickly, and explained the five or six barbecue sauces at our table. I ordered the ½ slab of ribs, with cole slaw and applesauce. The meat so tender, it practically fell off the bone, but had really nice consistency and great flavor. The customers can choose and apply the barbecue sauce (s), and they had a flavor for everyone’s tastes. The cole slaw was crispy and flavorful, and the applesauce tasted home made. We had unlimited beverages, and were checked by our server frequently. I liked the motif (I was told Bandanas took over this location recently, after a previously failed restaurant closed their doors) and the modern furniture and decorations. It had a very happy feel and everyone in our party enjoyed themselves thoroughly. All of us had so much food, that we brought boxes of our leftovers home to enjoy later. I will definitely return here next time I’m Carbondale!

17^th street has competition!!! These guys are serious players in the BBQ realm. Their variety of sauces on the table and the base smoky flavor of the food make for a wonderful dining experience you can customize to your own tastes. Very affordable and the three seating areas (dining room, bar, patio) means you can have either a casual dining experience or more upscale. The staff is extremely friendly as well.

We have been waiting for weeks for this place to open and so glad they did 2÷12÷2013. This is one of our favorite places to eat love, love there pulled pork sandwich with the spicy bbq sauce and my husband loves, loves, loves there ribs. Great place to eat!!!