Johnson’s Bar-B-Que

I have been ordering their party platter for years now. It’s $ 45 for 1lb of bbq beef, 1lb bbq pork, ½ chicken, ½ slab of ribs, 1lb of baked beans, 1lb of cole slaw and 12 hamburger buns. It feeds my family of six. They only take cash, but this place has the best bbq in Hampton Roads!

Dang, I haven’t had real BBQ in years. This place makes it right. It has the good smokey flavors and melting in your mouth meat.

Great BBQ! Best we have had so far in the area. Ribs are insane! Service is very friendly.

A real, good ol southern BBQ spot that’s tucked away in a spot you wouldn’t expect (random strip mall). The service (David) is friendly and fast and the BBQ is spot on. The ribs, brisket and chopped pork sandwich (Get it with coleslaw) are slow cooked with hickory and delicious. The sauce is something I wished they bottled and sold.
If you’re anywhere near the area and like BBQ, this place is a must stop!

Holy sweet baby jjeeebuusss the bbq is addictive. Perfectly cooked, sliced and sauced. There is absolutely nothing I’d change about their amazing food. The gentlemen working there are exactly that, good southern gentlemen. Polite and kind. Took pride in making sure we were fully satisfied and enjoyed our food. For the love of God have their ribs. Sweet tea was awesome !
Pricing is perfect and affordable.

This was my first time trying Johnsons bbq. I had the pulled pork sandwich and half slab of ribs and let me tell you, I have NOT had ribs that soft and tender ever before. EVER! it was magnificent! The only hiccup was they only accept cash! In 2015. really? Also, they do not have an ATM on premises so I had to go out in the rain and find cash, Not cool. Very outdated practices the place can also use an upgrade but great ribs nonetheless.

Had some really nice barbecued pork at this place over lunch on a recent business trip. The restaurant is a hole-​in-​the-​wall for sure and could definitely use stronger air conditioning. The smell of burning wood for miles around is irresistible though and the pork was really nice and tender and flavorful. I’d go back

It was just okay not impressed. Bbq sandwich with cole slaw. Dining area is too cluttered in my opinion.

One of the better BBQ in the Hampton Rd area. Been here a couple of times and it has never disappoint.
You can tell they smoke all their meats because there’s a big old smoker in the parking lot and when you see the smoke down the street you know it’s that serious!
Today Ribs was the agenda for me so I ordered up a half a rack. The ribs was very meaty, tender and have great hickory smoke. Sauce was tasty that I dipped my fries in it! hehehe…
Bbq sandwich was equally delish, not vinegar base just good olé pork being slowly cooked in a smoker. Sides are limited to potato salad, collard greens, fries and baked beans. Potato salad was good, not sure if it’s store bought or homemade tho. Can’t figure it out.
Anywhoo. It’s still a cash only establishment and still have great customer service!

As a southern boy, I enjoy trying BBQ all over the country, and this place rocks. Colonel has incredible sauce, sides, sweet tea, and ribs. Nothing in the place is less than awesome. Virginia has a true gem. Even better is how the colonel treats his customer. Will find excuse to travel back more often.

Good stuff… had ribs and chicken. They were both very good and tender. They were also drenched in sauce which was good as well.

Looks like a dive, but those usually have the best BBQ. This place does NOT disappoint. We had the regular pork sandwich, fries and a drink — $ 12 for the 2 of us and that included tax! Cash only, but luckily we saw that on Unilocal,so we were prepared.
WOW! Hubby and I are big fans of vinegar based BBQ, and this is NOT, but it was amazing. Finely pulled (no huge chunks that can have bones like some places that don’t care) and the sauce was outstanding! It’s easy to see why it has won so many awards. Smoky, slightly sweet and a little hint of salt. The fries were nothing to write home about, but who cares?
So good that Hubby went back for a second sandwich and we got a pound to take home with us. Definitely worth a stop when you are in the area. Just don’t go on a Sunday — they’ll be closed.

The Mild Sauce was indeed excellent. However, Johnson’s failed miserably at operations, delivery and service at the Reno rib fest 2014. Specifically:
* Had run out of all sauces; except mild by 2^nd day of festival (I wanted to really try the Thermonuclear)
* Only one cook servicing hundreds of orders an hour, backed up by confused, disorganized, unmanaged staff of junior high school girls.
* Waited in line for 45 mins. All other BBQ stands processed the same volume in ¹⁄₃ of the time.
In my opinion, it was NOT worth the wait. Perhaps Johnson’s FOH and BOH is excellent at their restaurant in Virginia, but I will not be ordering from their stand at any BBQ cook-​off or festival ever again.

Dropped the address in the iPhone and it took us right to the front of the building. We ordered the pork sandwich combo (great value!!), which came with fries and a soft drink, and the rib sandwich with an additional small slaw. The pork sandwich was loaded with flavor but the rib sandwich was definitely a home run! Two thumbs up! Good food with friendly service. Definitely recommended.
About $ 15!
**Note: come here for the food – not the ambience, charm, or bathroom.

Johnson’s is the Best Barbecue in Hampton Roads PERIOD. Yes it is hard to find. Yes the appearance of the place isn’t impressive. Totally ignore it.
The reason is that I have found over the years that a flashy looking Barbecue Place usually equals lousy Barbecue. Johnson’s is Great! He has won endless Awards. Fed Presidents and World Leaders. He makes great food. Bring cash because this is a No Credit Card Establishment. He would probably make more if he did accept them because it has prevented me from going when the craving kicked in many times. I understand not wanting the hassle with credit as a business person but as a customer more and more folks prefer credit over cash. Despite a few things that could help his business Johnson’s has a formula that works for them. If you want great Barbecue in Hampton Roads don’t leave without dropping into Johnson’s Barbecue.

I just moved to Chesapeake. While exploring around i found this place. With the irresistible smell of their BBQ everywhere from miles away, it’s pretty hard to not want to try. So i check it out and It was worth it! I enjoyed the ribs and fries very much. Would visit again. Make sure you bring cash as they don’t take credit cards.

Tasty simple BBQ, do not come for the sides they were a bit lack luster. I had the pork BBQ and my mom had the ribs. It was a pain that but they only take cash and the area is kind of sketchy and ATM were hard to find.
When we go back we both decided that we would tell them to go easy on the BBQ sauce, and I would not get the pork platter but only get the ribs. I had greens and potato salad, the greens were okay but the potato salad was just eh. Mom had the beans and she said they were too sweet and she had fries and they were fine. This place is very southern, so much that the sweet tea was way too sweet for us, but made perfectly if you love Southern Sweet Tea.
We will be back but probably do take out for ribs only and easy sauce!

«This Is The Best Ribs You Will Get in Hampton Roads»
A Review By John Mizal
«Thick,» «tasty,» and «fills your belly,» three qualifications anyone looks for when it comes to eating ribs. Some restaurants pack you with quantity, but the flavor quite misses the mark. And, some are tasty, but not exactly filling.
«Johnson’s Bar-​B-​Que,» located on South Military Hwy in Chesapeake, hits all three marks. This place satisfies the natural carnivore in all of us with the ribs cut to thick proportions with each bite showcasing a balance of fat that packs a whopping flavor accompanied by huge amounts of juicy pork ready to be chewed. And, I am talking huge!
Ribs too dry? Never in this place!
The sauce is not too sweet and not too bitter, but made exactly right promising your taste buds that it will live up to the expectations of the award winning barbeque!
And, did I mention this restaurant is filled with championship winning trophies that cover up a whole window verifying and assuring the customers that this will be the ultimate quality of taste? Perhaps, the use of an outside smoker played a big role in adding the natural smoked flavor!
The best part is, ever so humbly, Mr. Johnson, himself, sits in a corner observing guests and waiting for some feedback on what he is known for. That is, if you actually recognize him from the various pictures that decorate his back wall displaying his love in cooking this delicious masterpiece.
I tried other places like «Rib City,» «Wood Chicks,» «Frankie’s,» and «Q Barbeque,» but this modest barbeque place, sitting in a modest Chesapeake parking lot, conquers all of them!
And so, it leaves no doubt in my mind that, by far, this is the best ribs you will ever get in Hampton Roads.
Oh, and they accept only cash!
«Johnson’s Barbecue»
1903 S Military Hwy, Chesapeake, VA 23 320
(757) 545‑6957

This place is fantastic! On first glance, it looks a little divey, but don’t let that fool you. It’s simply character.
The food is great and the service is friendly. You will not be disappointed.
Take time to speak with the Colonel. His stories are as great as his BBQ!

It’s always a good indication the food’s going to be good, or at least fresh when you pull into the parking lot and see the wood-​fired smoker going.
I’ve been meaning to try this place for a while but I guess I always seemed to be in the neighborhood on Sunday when they are closed.
Stopped by for lunch and tried the pulled pork sandwich special which included fries and a drink for a verst reasonable $ 7 (included tax). A very large sandwich arrived with a generous helping of barbecue, just enough sauce and slaw (you can get on the side if you prefer). This is NOT vinegar based pork barbecue, just so you know.
I was very happy. The sauce was rich, smokey and a hint sweet. The barbecue had a nice hint of smoke with a clean pork flavor. The coleslaw was a nice compliment — a bit sweet, not overpowering. Bun held together well.
Went back the following day to try the ribs. The place was packed. And Mr. Johnson was holding court in his usual seat.
Ordered a half-​slab of pork ribs. My ONLY complaint would be they over-​sauced the ribs. I scrapped off the first rib, and found it perfectly cooked — not fall off the bone; just enough bite and pulled clean. The sauce was REALLY good and I found myself dipping the rib into the sauce I scraped off for the next bite.
It’s truly a «down home» mom-​n-​pop place. This place has a lot of character and looks like it’s been in the same location for many, many, many years. The furnishings are nothing to write home about but easily overlooked checking out the walls full of awards and memorabilia.
Don’t forget, it’s one of the few cash-​only places and they are closed on Sunday.