Bill Spoon’s Barbecue

We pulled off of 77 after reading the reviews everything sounded promising about this place. I have to say it just wasn’t good, I got a half rack of ribs with Mac and cheese and slaw. The plate shows up the ribs were so hot I couldn’t touch them so went to the Mac which was just as hot actually the same temp as the ribs first thing I thought was MICROWAVE! There was no bark or smoke ring to be found the bark was «microwave“soggy they were over cooked and flavorless. I have nothing good to say about the sides. I really should of said something about the food to the servers who were super nice and on the ball but we were in a rush and just wanted to get back on the road.

Bill needs to get a new spoon.
Traveling from South Carolina up to New Jersey we found this place due to the good reviews on Unilocal.It was a bit disappointing and not what we expected based on the reviews we read. My brother got a half rack of ribs macaroni and cheese and coleslaw The ribs and the macaroni and cheese were the same temperature … very hot … obviously microwaved. Way hotter than what would come out of the smoker. The ribs were lacking in flavor, no smoke ring and overcooked. The bark was soggy. I had the rib, chicken combo and a side of baked beans. The chicken was not bad fell off the bone and had some flavor. I believe my plate was microwaved as everything was the same temperature.
The waitress was very nice and very attentive. She kept our iced teas full and asked us multiple times if we needed anything. Very friendly. At the end of the day we spent $ 50 for two meals and two drinks which seems a bit pricey for sub-​par BBQ.

Not a fan of this style bbq, I thought it was tough to chew too. I like pulled style Lexington. And they actually put mustard in the slaw, yuck! My husband and I are complete opposites, so as you can imagine he liked it. Also, I am a Carolina girl, born and raised in Charlotte. Two small plates and two teas $ 22 for lunch, this is very expensive for lunch!

Food was delicious! I had the chicken tenders, fries and Mac and cheese. My only complaint was the mac was slightly overcooked so the noodles were a tad mushy. The flavor of it was amazing though. My bf had the large BBQ plate with BBQ potatoes and Cole slaw. He loves everything. We would definitely go back! Very home cooking type atmosphere and our waitress was awesome and super friendly.

It doesn’t get better than this in NC! I came here about 10 minutes before closing and expected people to grumble when I walked through the door but the entire staff acted genuinely happy to see a customer. I ordered the bbq platter with pulled pork, cole slaw, greens and hush puppies along with a side of ribs to see how those were. Everything, I mean everything blew me away.
Highlights:
–The pulled pork was perfectly moist and flavorful as it gets
— the sauce that they serve is PHENOMENAL. It was a ever so slightly sweet vinegar based sauce that had a great spicy kick to it. This is without a doubt my favorite representation of Carolina bbq sauce.
–the hushpuppies were perfectly seasoned, fresh and crisp. if you like hush puppies you will die for these.
–the ribs were cooked to perfection with very moist meat that still adhered to the bone. great rub applied too
This place completely changed my opinion on NC bbq. Great job guys keep it up!

My wife and I stopped in for lunch on Saturday to see for ourselves how good the BBQ is. Boy were we glad we did! The chopped pork and BBQ chicken were great! We also sampled the Mac & cheese, BBQ potatoes and Brunswick stew and they are all good. The staff was also very friendly and made you feel very welcome. If you enjoy eastern NC BBQ please try this place, you won’t be disappointed.

First time goin and I got the fish plate. The mac n cheese stole the show though. I’ll be goin again.

This review is about the Spoon’s Food Truck, not the physical location, which I will NEVER go to now.
I was at an event recently with food trucks, including this one, and not being very hungry, I wanted a hot dog and fries. The sign said $ 5.
I ordered, and the lady told me it would be $ 6.50. I pointed out the $ 5 price on the sign, and she curtly apologized, played with her tablet, then told me it would be $ 5.50.
I again pointed out the sign that said $ 5, and she briefly turned her tablet in my direction (like I knew where to look or could even see it in the bright daylight) and rudely told me that it was actually $ 5.50, and that I would need to give her 50 more cents.
I fumbled for another dollar in my pocket, and told her that she should change the sign as they’re currently falsely advertising. She got up and changed it right after tending to me.
I’m posting pictures showing the sign, before and after the change. And to top it off, the hot dog wasn’t even good. The $ 0.75 dogs at IKEA are much better.
Will never do business with these rude people again.

This is hands-​down the best eastern NC barbecue in Charlotte, if not the whole state. I’m pretty sure that they were rated a top 10 BBQ restaurant in the country by Zagat. As a native North Carolinian, I’m picky about my Q. It has to be «clean» (fat removed), with a great smoky flavor. Their hushpuppies and cole slaw are great too. I don’t like a heavy mayo-​based slaw. Spoons is more vinegar and mustard based. No bar, however, so we tend to go for lunch rather than dinner.

It’s been a few years since I last tried Bill Spoon’s Barbecue. I knew that my recent trip to Charlotte would be an opportunity to try it once again and I was as excited as a kid on Christmas Morning as I pulled into their parking lot.
As I was ordering a large Chopped Pork Plate I was happy to remember once time a few years ago at this same restaurant, a friend and I enjoyed our pork plate so much we ordered a second plate each on the spot!!!
Once it arrived, I was already eating and enjoying their world famous hush puppies, I was ready for my Chopped Pork. Of course it was as good as I remembered. Excellent in fact! Eastern Style!
One thing that I didn’t like at all was their Cole Slaw. It looked and tasted like it was mustard based. There is a very small group of folk in the Carolinas who like this type of cole slaw. I don’t know why Bill Spoon’s doesn’t offer different cole slaws. After one taste I left the rest of my cole slaw untouched. It’s yellow/​green an unappealing to me.
But I assure you EVERYTHING ELSE… the Chopped Pork, The hushpuppies, the fries, the sweet tea… Well, I could eat that lunch 5 times a week! I loved it!!!

So deliscious. We are not from the south but enjoy some good bbq, and this place did not disappoint. Its about the best I have ever had.

I came from Pittsburgh to Charlotte and asked around about a restaurant that serves Carolina barbecue. It was delicious. The hush puppies were the best that I ever had. The sauce was delicious on my pulled pork sandwich. The only reason why this did not receive 5 stars was because the cole slaw was just so-​so. The banana pudding was delicious. The service was excellent and every waitress made you feel like you belonged even though I came in solo.
My dad used to tell me that the sign of a good restaurant is that it is crowded. This place was mobbed at lunch. Very good meal! Will definitely go again when I am in town!

Well. To start we are all born and raised in NYC. So, this is our first time trying a true southern restaurant. I will admit it’s not bad. But I’ll honestly never go back. If you are into vinegar style bbq then this is your place.

When we planned our trip to Charlotte I began asking around for recommendations for barbecue. This place was the one that was highlighted. Our party put all the pressure on me for the selection; I wanted this to come through.
Foodwise, Spoon’s delivers all right. They kept highlighting their new ribs. It was unclear to me whether they never had ribs before or whether this was a new recipe. Two of us ordered ribs, the other two barbecue, which means chopped whole hog. Since I was having a platter, I received a soda and apparently a refill. That is where things got wonky. Service was rough. The refill never came nor did the hush puppies. That was frustrating.
I had a bite of the ribs. They were okay. Frankly, they were cooked too much as they came right off the bone. I didn’t taste much seasoning, although they smelled heavenly. The barbecue left me wanting. There was no taste other than pork. Don’t get me wrong, it was cooked fine, but again, seasoning was not present. I used the vinegar sauce. I enjoyed that and it perked up the barbecue nicely. My side was Brunswick stew. Nothing wrong there, but nothing extraordinary either.
Whenever I hit a barbecue joint, I always ask to see the pit. The guy was very accommodating with that. He apologized that the one pit hadn’t been cleaned. No worries, trust me. He explained that county regs now forbade cooking commercially on open pits. The two electric pits are in a small smokehouse. He had a half dozen pans of mac and cheese smoking in the one pit. A normal day is smoking two whole hogs up to 140 pounds each and a few Smithfield hams. That made an impression as one of our party works for Smithfield.
This was an enjoyable experience. I would come back. It, like a lot of places, play it conservative in the preparation of the ‘cue so not to be too spicy, smokey, etc. I would have liked it to be more bold.

True southern style bbq! I got a groupon to this place so I paid $ 10 bucks for $ 20 dollar worth of food for two people. The pulled pork was cooked perfectly — tender, juicy and lots of aroma flavors. It didn’t even need side of bbq sauce. I got two sides — bbq baked beans and potato salad. Everything was good and tasted fresh. Definitely recommend everyone who loves bbq as much as I do should go here. Note they open only on certain times of the week. (:

Ordered the rib, green beans and potatoes to-​go through Doorstep and omg… The ribs were fall off the bone and the sauce was so delicious! I HATE green beans because of how bland they taste, but these green beans seemed somewhat sweet and they were just amazing! I definitely wish I had time to come and dine-​in.

I received an education today!
Where I come from, we always hear how we have go to certain regions to really enjoy BBQ. I now know what they mean!
For my first taste of North Carolina BBQ, I lucked out!
The hushpuppies are fabulous! So much flavor!
The mac n cheese is perfect as a side dish, a complement to the maincourses and not overpowering. Great cheese flavor and wonderful overall texture.
My first exposure to the vinegar based sauce was great! Loved it!
Tasty balanced rub on the ribs.
I want sample all the meats on the menu! But, alas, my belly has only so much capacity!
And not draining on the wallet!
I’ll be back!

Unfortunately, for me, I did not find my meal deserved any better than the two stars. I would have loved this place to work out since I get high off of BBQ. I ordered takeout for myself and a coworker and we both got the pulled pork plate with a side and cole slaw. I assume their cole slaw has a bit of mustard in it since it is bright yellow. I am more a fan of regular cole slaw. We both had the side of the mac but it was very greasy. I don’t know what it was but the pork didn’t come close to the spot for me. I hate to say it about their BBQ since it seems a lot of people really enjoy it. Sorry for the feedback but I wish nothing but good fortune to them.

We stopped in for lunch and were greeted with southern hospitality. We ordered the pulled pork sandwich, slaw on the side and it came with hush puppies. We enjoyed the pork BBQ dry but with the vinegar sauce it elevated it to a new level. It was the best sauce that I have had in a long time. I had to buy a bottle to take home. I loved the sandwich. Hush Puppies had a perfect buttery flavor. Slaw tasted like it was mustard based. Not a fan of the mustard slaw.
In my opinion it was the best East North Carolina Style Barbeque I have had in a restaurant…

I’m writing this as I sit in the chair inside the restaurant… Why? Because I know the food coma is coming and I want to make sure I get this out first… lol
Good grief, y’all… First of all, the hush puppies that come out when you get here… So crunchy on the outside and super soft on the inside… The batter is top notch! Love it! We tried the fried pickles and they were decent… But I’m a hard fried pickle judge… The boyfriend tore them up, though… :)
I had the special and it was fan-​fricking-​tastic! The barbecue, two sides and a drink… The sauces were equally delicious… I loved the vinegar/​peppery one and the tomato based sauce had great balance, so it wasn’t too sweet… The baked beans were some of the best I’ve ever had and the collard greens were a hit… Especially with the vinegar sauce on them!
Too bad I won’t have any room for dessert, but good thing I live close enough to come later…

One of the last old school restaurants in Charlotte. Up until the Montford takeover, I would go to the old smokehouse for my Que fix. Now Bill Spoons is where its at. Fantastic service, friendly greeting and they make you feel like a regular even if your not.
Dont expect an extravagant menu. Chicken, pork and one fish item. But heck, if you expected more then you obviously cannot appreciate the old fashion BBQ establishments.
Enjoy it! It is nothing short of down home greatness.
Ps. They have eastern and western nc sauce and the counter lady is great. As I am deciding on my sides she steps back and verbally puts my order in minus the sides so it will be working and I can leave faster. Like duh, everybody should do that, but they dont.
Its official. «Best onion rings in Charlotte!» Sweet Vidalia onions, cut thick, hand breaded and crunchy. But not crunchy batter wise, crunchy onion! Cooked just right. I dare you to prove me wrong, these are the best in Charlotte.

Wanted some authentic eastern NC bbq and decided on Bill Spoon’s, just minutes away from where I am as staying. Great choice.
Local family owned atmosphere, only one server running the floor. Ordered the famous pork bbq and ribs. Different from Texas bbq. Dry rub ribs. Vinegar based sauce. Smoked just right and full of flavor.
Overall, very satisfying experience. Sweet potato pie was delicious too.

Great lunch spot for some great sweet tea and some BBQ. I always get a BBQ sandwich, but my dilemma is always what to order for a side. Mac and cheese or fries. Such a tough decision. Both are great.
Pro tip: Don’t eat all the hushpuppies before your meal gets there, I know you want to.