Keaton’s Barbecue

I was very pleased with my first visit to Keaton’s. It is off the beaten path but not hard to find. The interior could use some updating but the food is well worth the trip. The sweet tea is excellent and they serve it in a pitcher so you do not have to go up for refills. This was helpful because you get very messy from the chicken. I had the leg and thigh dipped in the mild sauce. It was delicious. The chicken was moist and the sauce gave it a really good flavor. I tried the red slaw and the potato salad as my sides. I loved the slaw but was not a huge fan of the potato salad. If you prefer more mashed, savory potato salad you would like it. I tried my husband’s white slaw and mac and cheese. They were both pretty good but I think the best side was the red slaw. I would definitely eat here again.

The BBQ fried chicken at Keaton’s is something everyone should experience. It is simply fantastic! It’s out of the way and has some funky hours but it worth making the trip. Run don’t walk!

This is the best chicken I’ve ever had. Light crust but very tasty, either mild or hot. Kind of a cross between fried and BBQ. Don’t expect a fancy restaurant or wonderful service, just settle for the best dang chicken in the world.

Worth a stop if you are are nearby, but I am sad to say I was not so impressed to be able to say it was some of the best I have had.
Chicken was unique in that it was fried and then dipped. But if I am going to eat fried, I want it crispy, which obviously once dipped it becomes soggy. The sauce was tasty though. We got the mild and even it seemed a tad spicy so I am glad we did not get the hot. The chicken appeared to be brined, which made it a little salty for my taste.
Mac and cheese was delish. White cole slaw seemed homemade, but a little too sweet for me.
Place takes you back in time and is def worth a try if you are in the area.

Soggy chicken,#10 Monarch canned green beans and flavorless mac and cheese for a heafty price. SOME OF THE MOST mediocre BARBECUE I’ve ever paid for. As someone who grew up in North Carolina and has enjoyed the best of the north, south, east and western barbecue I was horrified by what I ate at Keatons. Believe me, I went off road like everyone else to find it and it has taken me several years to coordinate my trips from Asheville to Raleigh in order to finally make the 11am-​2pm or 5pm-​8pm hours Keatons keeps,
Having heard this old chicken and pork joint raved about on several radio programs, I was really looking forward to good eats. I never expect ambience or ‘fern bar’ aesthetics in a Carolina barbecue place. Especially one in the middle of nowhere like Keaton’s. However when I see signs like ‘DO NOT EVER TAKE PICTURES OF ANY EMPLOYEE HERE! or ‘KEEP THE NOISE TO A MINIMUM AND DEFINETLY NO PROFANITY’ you wonder photos,? EMPLOYEES? what? Are they all illegals? When I was there at luch time on Saturday there was nobody there. Amazing when you only open 6 hours a day and it’s dead on lunch hour. The red slaw was ok ad the iced tea was good. $ 31.90 for a whole chicken and a cople sides ?, I definetly won’t be going outa my way again to Keatons! Maybe they should just go ahead and really close.
Fox Watson

Growing up in Shelby, Nc which hands down has the best pulled pork bbq in nC i was skeptical of Keatons but had heard so many great things about this location i had to give it a try.
Let me tell you they did not disappoint. The chicken at Keatons was absolutely great. They offer it to you either hot or not… and the sauce is they use is so good! Now the pulled pork is just ok but please feel confident in what the bbq chicken brings to the table.

Truly a unique restaurant experience, its like going back in time. The chicken is where its at and definitely the main event. The sauce they use is some of the best I’ve every had. Very addictive. The interior, in general, is pretty terrible so I prefer to sit outside on the picnic table under a large oak tree.

Excellent spicy hot chicken… but not too spicy! We enjoyed every morsel of our half chicken. The hot sauce it is drenched in is a nice spice with just the right amount of bite to it. The Mac and cheese was very homemade true southern style (more casserole like). Green beans were a bit generic. The hot vinegar spicy slaw was tasty too with a unique blend of pickled peppers included (kind of chow chow like for those familiar with that relish). All in all a very interesting place to visit for a really good meal. If you are in the Rowan County area traveling along I40 stop in and give them a try… just a little off the beaten path!

fantastically cooked chicken in many variations. Outstanding sauces too.
Service is great! It is not usually busy so everyone is polite and organized!

Hit Keaton’s again the other day and it was as spectacular as usual. This little hole in the wall is so out of the way that it’s never really crowded, despite the attention and praise heaped on it by national publication like the Road Food folks who rate it one of the top of places to eat before you die.
Although it’s named Keaton’s BBQ I’ve never been on a day when they’ve had BBQ. But no worries, their BBQ chicken is the best that I’ve ever had, although it’s not what you would really consider traditional BBQ chicken. Instead of being grilled and slathered in some sweet syrupy goo, their chicken in deep fried then plunged into a boiling pot of their homemade hot or mild sauce. Their sauce is a thin vinegar based sauce similar to Eastern NC BBQ style sauce, but with a lot more spices, a little heat and touch of sweet. You can get quarter dark or white, half and whole chickens. It’s come with a white hamburger bun wrapped in wax paper to sop up the juices and sauce. Sides are extra.
The sides can be kind of hit or miss. The mac & cheese is really good, but they often run out very early. The baked beans are probably canned that have been doctored. I’m not a slaw person at all, but I always get a side of their red slaw because it’s always crisp, cool and tossed in that wonderful sauce. The fries are just generic frozen fries, but dipped in a side of hot sauce who really cares?
Traffic here seems to have really dropped off the last couple years and hours are a lot more limited. Best to call ahead and check since this a true destination joint with no alternatives nearby if they are closed. You should add this to your list of places to get to very soon as I fear they may not be around much longer.

I have known about Keaton’s famous BBQ ed Chicken for over thirty years, just never driven to Cleveland to try it. This was our first visit. It is in the country among the farms and time has stood still at this place. There are hand written signs on the outside of the building and on the inside. Consider your visit a picnic. You walk in the front door and are transported to 1953. You order at the counter in a warm room but you seat yourself in the dining room which is not as warm. Don’t go if you are pressed for time. We waited about 30 minutes after ordering before our food was ready. My wife and I both ordered half a chicken, potato salad, spicy slaw, and bread. The food is fantastic, unique and wonderful. I looked at my wife and ask «why have we not eaten here before?» And she replied «when can we come again?»
Never eaten chicken this good.

Great atmosphere and wonderful people who work here. I has the chicken and the barbecue combo plate both were very good but not exceptional. I love that they sell beer and soda in cans! Quite authentic and worth the trip from the interstate. I’ll be back in one day.

The chicken is fantastic, particularly the dark meat. I like it spicy or mild. The spicy isn’t really spicy to me, but the flavor is different to the mild version. I normally don’t like red slaw, but theirs is very good. The chicken is barbecued, then fried, then dipped in sauce. That’s a little bit like Korean fried chicken.
I was disappointed they didn’t have mac and cheese or collard greens when we visited. It ended up being all about the chicken.
The service was great. Keaton’s was empty when I got there. I heard their lack of A/​C has been driving customers away.

I drove 2 hours round trip to try their chicken and it did not disappoint. Fabulous. However, it’s not just the chicken, it’s the whole experience– the torn booth upholstery, the broken AC, the pictures on the wall and the signs– the fabulous rule signs. The place has got a patina. The chicken is the star of the menu, the rest is fine, but nothing special– just keep that in mind. Go for the chicken and the atmosphere, they are worth the effort!

The chicken is unique. I have never had pan-​fried chicken dipped in sauce. The sauce is similar to wing sauce but with more flavor and far less heat for the mild and somewhat less heat for the hot. The hot is not very hot. I was surprised that the chicken has no breading or batter or layer of floury something. The breast was my favorite and easiest to eat. The flavor of the sauce goes to the bone. I found the label of bbq to be misleading as this had no bbq sauce flavor as I think of bbq though maybe native to NC not all the NC bbq stops I’ve experienced. This is worth a drive out of the way for the chicken.
We tried both slaws, potato salad, and the rolls that came with the meals. They were out of pork and mac-​n-​cheese or we would have tried it. The cakes were coconut and chocolate though we didn’t try those either. Nothing much to say on the sides. Tastes better than average grocery store deli salads and about the same as good ol’ family reunion sides. The mayonnaise dressing tasted more real than the cheap «salad dressing» mayo but not as good to me as Hellman’s /​Best Foods.
Take out would be preferable to eating in. This place looks like it has not been updated for decades including ripped seats in the buffet though clean.
Only plastic knives for bone-​on wet chicken is minor but worthy of note. Take your own wipes if you like clean fingers.

Very good chicken, potato salad, Mac and cheese, and spicy slaw. The sauce is outstanding and makes the chicken and slaw special. The chicken is fried and then dipped in the sauce. Delicious!
Keaton’s is in the country about 10 miles from I-​40. Not much else around but farms. The place is old and nothing fancy. We got there around 1pm on a Saturday and there was a short line the whole time we were there.
If you are in the area go there. It is unique and wonderful.

In my opinion, the rave reviews and attention are completely undeserved, and that’s coming from someone who is all about hole in the wall restaurants.
We got there well before our friends, so we ordered a side of mac and cheese while we waited. Turns out, that was the last serving of it they had (11:45 on a Saturday, very few people there). It needed salt, but was otherwise tasty. When we went up to order the rest, we were told there was no more pork either, so their chicken was the only option. We all ordered chicken and several sides to share. The green beans and corn turned out to be just green beans. The famous chicken (mentioned by NPR’s Splendid Table) was just okay. Truly, nothing special. It was fairly moist chicken with a bit of spice and a slight hint of barbecue sauce.

This was our second visit to Keaton’s and we will keep coming back when we have the chance. I kind of wish they were located more in the Eastern NC barbecue zone. They were not busy when we arrived just after opening time on a Friday. Our chicken orders were fresh and hot and inexpensive. We both went for the spicy (versus mild). The chicken is peppery and tangy but not too hot at all. The red slaw is tangy and sweet, the white is creamy with a little sweet pickle blended in. The potato salad is a mayo style, not sweet and a little dry. The beans look like they are out of the can, but have been seasoned and are pretty good. But again, the chicken is wonderful and worth the trip.

OMG! This is hands down the best pan fried chicken I’ve ever had!
This place is way off the beaten path in the middle of no where. The restaurant itself is a hole in the wall sitting on the side of a two lane road out in the sticks.
The menu is small but the chicken is awesome. The chicken is on the bone and pan fried then dipped in either their own medium or hot sauce. Definitely go with the HOT SAUCE. I got the half chicken (breast, thigh, wing, and leg), a side of white coleslaw, and the mac and cheese. The mac and cheese and coleslaw were good but the winner is the chicken. Total cost for half chicken, two sides, and a sweet tea was about $ 10.70.
I personally can’t stress how good the pan fried chicken is, if you’re a fan of BBQ chicken on the bone you will love this place. They also sell domestic bottled beer (limit 2) for $ 2 each and they have limited operating hours. Give it a try, you won’t be disappointed!

You really have to be looking for this place to find it — but if you find it, and it is open, you will have found some of the best and most innovative BBQ chicken in the South. The chicken is pan fried, then it is dipped in a spicy, delicious BBQ sauce — and it is only dipped, not cooked, in the sauce. Only Ted’s Kickin’ Chicken in Winston Salem, and Barbecue King in Charlotte use this approach to bbq chicken — neither with quite the same success.
They have some nice sides, but frankly, you will only remember the chicken. This is good fowl.
I think the younger generation has become involved, so there is some more structure, but I would call — foodie lesson, learned.