Bubba’s Bar-B-Q

This was a nice little place has a family Atmosphere that is generally absent from nova corporate jungle that is Nova. plus the food was good plenty of awesome sauces to go with your sandwich and best of all good prices. $ 7 for a 6 or 8″ BBQ sandwich!

I have been coming here since it opened and it has never dissappointed me. The owners are very friendly and make you feel welcome right when you walk through the door. This place is hidden in a small strip mall next to Jefferson Park. When you first walk in you might be overwhelmed with all of the pigs in the restaurant. I’m talking about pigs on the wall, floor and on tables. It’s kinda scary when a pig is staring at you while you eat.
I like to eat the pulled pork sandwiches, jumbo wings, chicken and carolina minced pork. They are consistently good with great flavors each time. The meat can be a bit dry at times but squirt some bbq sauce on it and you’ll be good to go. I enjoy their fries also, I think it’s just old bay seasoning that they throw on but the fries itself are thin and perfectly crispy. Sometimes I’ll just pass by and get large fries for myself. Other sides that are good are the onion rings, potato salad and chili. The thing I love most is that its cheap, for a regular pulled pork you’re looking at $ 5 and an extra $ 3 for a side and drink. So $ 8 isn’t bad at all because the quality is good and portion is worth it.
I suggest you try this place if you love some good ol’ bbq. You won’t leave unhappy!

Great pulled pork and the owner is a good man. Had a great time talking with him!
One of the hidden gems in the area!
Also, try the chili!

Yuk, Yuk, Yuk. I drive by Bubba’s every day to and from work. On my way home yesterday, I decided to give them a try. I ordered a pound of brisket for my husband and I to share. I did not look at what I had ordered until I returned home. When I arrived home and opened the to-​go box, I was horrified at what I found inside. The meat that I was given looked as if it was cooked a week ago. It was grey and was so overcooked and sauced that it had fallen in to teeny tiny unedible pieces. I threw the entire box away…Suffice it to say, I iwll never cross this establishment’s door again.

I really enjoy the ribs and pulled pork. I have only used the catering and have not eaten in the restaurant. The food is always delivered on time and hot. The ribs are very good, wet not dry. The BBQ sauce is not too spicy. The pulled pork is great on its own or in a sandwich. I like to put the coleslaw in my pork sandwich. The baked beans are good. I always use Bubba’s for group BBQs. They never disappoint.

I’ll be short in my review.
The Ribs were excellent… meaty, tender, and basically «fall off the bone».
Just the right amount of sauce, I usually go dry but this was just fine.
I judge a rib joint basically by it’s ribs, that’s just me, so I was indeed very happy.
Can’t wait for a rematch… me vs. ribs.

It was ok… Came here many years ago and decided to check it one more time since it was close by. Very disappointed. We’ve had better pork somewhere else. Portions were not that big. Bubba looked tired, and the food seemed «tired». Not coming back ever…

Ok, I admit it, I’m kind of a barbecue snob (grew up eating Dreamland ribs down in the South), but beggars can’t be choosers. With the recent demise of neaby Barbecue Country in Vienna, and surrounded by apostate «barbecue» like Famous Dave’s, I’ll likely go back to Bubba’s, at some point.
Eyeing the place in an inconspicuous strip mall, I didn’t get my hopes up. Turns out they’ve been in business there nearly 20 years, which says something, I guess. The owner is really nice. I talked to some of the customers inside who raved that it was the best in the area, so he certainly has his fans. One pointed out that his pitcher of beer ($ 6) was way less than at the local bowling alley — so take that for what it’s worth.
We ordered brisket and ribs just to do an evaluation, with mac’n’cheese and collards on the side. The sides were fine, no complaints. Ribs were quite meaty (St. Louis style, no skimpy baby backs), and falling off the bone; a little too much /​overdone actually, but still not bad. Brisket didn’t really have a lot of smoke flavor though; I would have sworn it was done in a pressure cooker if I didn’t see a tell-​tale smoke ring on some of the slices.
Bottom line: passable barbecue, which is better than some others around. It’s slightly closer to me than Three Pigs over in McLean, which is about half a star better.

Portion
8 oz is sub
6 0z is jumbo
4 oz is regular
in reality my 8 oz «jumbo» sub was merely a big roll with the meat. I would prefer more meat — say 10 – 12 oz. hey if you are going to eat pig, one should pig-​out!
Go big or go home…
Taste
Bland — definitely needs sauce, not the mark of a good BBQ
The person behind counter says they slow-​cook in a smoker for 15 hours but there is no smoked taste in pork
More of a slight flavor to meat
Texture
Very well minced meaning it was too minced
Soft/​mushy
Aroma
Well here the hush puppies combined with the cue to make a pleasant aroma
Sauces
1 — vinegar sauce is decent — not spicy at all which is good. nice thing about this sauce it will not drown out flavor or BBQ (if the meat had stronger flavor that is)
2 — BBQ sauce is more like hot sauce — lacks flavor just hot. not a fan.
there are some excellent hot sauces there and this is not one of them.
3 — for a sub i was initially only given 2 tiny containers of sauce — 1 BBQ & 1 vinegar. Good thing i checked and asked for more.
Hush puppies were a 0 out of 5 but that is not why i wanted to try this place out. Been to the south a lot and I’ve had excellent hush puppies. these were simply fried lard dough balls. which of course is a perfect description of hush puppies.
Rating is really between a 2 & 2.5…
Average BBQ for area. Willard’s is a 3 out of 5 and Carolina Brothers BBQ is also a 3.
Pit Stop is also a 3 (Rt. 50 & Gilbert’s Corner)
With all that said, I would go again to try their standard smoked pulled pork but with only vinegar sauce.

The BBQ was decent. Atmosphere is very… southern. Decently priced food.

Thought the BBQ was decent, the chicken a little dry. I would go back, but it likely won’t become a favorite.

Okay BBQ. For lunch I paid $ 9 for a conservative portion of BBQ and a small side of collard greens with an ice tea to drink. At first I thought the portions were extremely small, but upon eating everything, it was just right. They are cutting it close though, any smaller and it would have been too small. Actual BBQ pork taste was okay, I’ve had far worse and I’ve had better. I’d go back, but probably try another BBQ place before returning. The collard greens need something on them to brighten them up, like a mango pepper relish or something. One restaurant I use to work at prepared them like this, and they were amazing.

I know I’ve said it before, but I just LOVE local family owned businesses, and especially when they have good food. We’ve been going to Bubba’s for years now, and it is consistently good! The place itself is a little older and out of date, but really, who goes to a BBQ place for the ambiance. The walls are covered with banners from local kids teams that they have sponsored in soccer and baseball. There are two old 21 inch tube tv’s with sports on one, and usually soap opera’s on the other. Seats and tables are out of style. Menu board is probably the original. The daily specials are on a chalk board, but haven’t been changed in years! haha. I love it!
Speaking of the daily specials, I always get the Atkins platter pulled pork with a side of fries (drinks included). They always look at me a little funny, but I like to pass on the bun so I can get extra meat. The fries are my bun! haha. Their pulled pork is so good. It’s not loaded with a bunch of salts or seasonings … it’s just good old fashioned pulled pork, and it’s GOOD! It’s not too watery from sitting in liquid all day to keep it from drying out. And it’s not over or under shredded. It’s just right! And they have sauce on the table for you to add at will.
They have great BBQ chicken too, and great smoked sausage. I like the collard greens on the side sometimes, and also really like the baked beans.
I highly recommend giving Bubba’s a try. Be sure and talk to the owner. He’s almost always there, and he’s super friendly. Enjoy.

Good selection of BBQ! Tasty! Hidden in a strip mall by the Jefferson County Golf Course. Will go back when golfing in the area!!!

Like most other Falls Church /​Merrifield restaurants, Bubba’s is tucked away in a random strip mall, and most folks probably don’t pay it much attention. I hadn’t either until I found it listed in the Washingtonian’s ‘Best of Falls Church’ list. Now, it’s a fixture in our office’s lunch rotation. They’ve got all the standards including brisket, pulled pork, pulled chicken, ribs, etc… You can get them on a platter, or in a sandwich, with two or one sides respectively. Side dishes here are probably a dozen plus and include chili, fries, sweet potato fries, cole slaw, collard greens, mac and cheese, green beans, etc. The food is not the best BBQ I’ve ever had, but it’s good enough that I’m there at least once every two weeks. The service here is pretty good and the guy running the register — presumably Bubba — is very friendly. Service is fast too. I’d say this place is a hidden gem.
My favorites here — the pulled chicken platter with a side of chili, sweet potato fries, or mac and cheese.

Not bad bbq, I am a fan of the pull-​pork sandwich along with the many sides you can get. I would definitely recommend this place to anyone looking for some bbq to hit the spot.
Please note: The owner is a Redskin fan alll dayyyy!!! ;-)

This place is not bad. To get full, I need to spend about $ 12, do it is not a 1 dollar sign restaurant.

I’ve been playing over and over in my head the past couple days how I was going to review this place. For full disclosure: I grew up in NC and have been a fan of pulled pork bbq for quite some time now, so my prejudice is towards a vinegar and pepper based product, though I do love me some others.
Bubba’s, at least from an initial inspection really looked like my kind of place. Kitschy dining area, sauces on the table, and SWEET TEA! The owner/​manager was also rather easygoing and pleasant with us, so I thought we had come to a rare find, especially with some of the outstanding reviews people had been giving this place (really?)
Once our food came out, I don’t know if I’ve ever been so disappointed in my life. My friend’s «brisket» looked (and tasted) like dog food and her ribs were about as bland as you could get. I started with the hush puppies and the collards – both were decent – and then bit into my heaping pulled pork sandwich. Nothing. The equivalent of eating saw dust. Where’s the smoke? The vinegar bite from the sauce? Okay, well we’ll dump some more sauce on there. Even lathering up that thing with massive amounts of Texas Pete it was still boring. The only sauce that had any kind of flavor was the mustard based, but that was mostly brown sugar anyway.
If I could’ve given 1.5 stars I would have, but you can tell this guy tried hard at one point to put this all together. I don’t get it – this should be an amazing eatery and yet it was pretty lousy. What a shame.

3.5 stars. You definitely get your bang for the buck here, especially compared to the other bbq joints in the DMV area.
Not much ambiance to the place. You place your order at the counter and the lady behind the counter brings the food to your table. They have trivial pursuit cards in a mug on the table, which provides ample fun when you’re waiting for your food.
Very good pork ribs and for $ 17 you get a full rack, which is huge and has about twice the meat than the ones you get at other bbq places in the area. I would advice getting the sauce for the ribs on the side though because the sauce they pour on the ribs is not one of the 3 bbq sauces they have on the table, rather it is just sweet and not even smokey.
Of the 3 sauces on the table, there’s a vinegar based sauce, which goes quite well with the pulled pork. Definitely not as good as the original NC bbq or the sauce, but it will satisfy the craving.
Collard greens are good, cooked well but not too mushy. Mac n’ cheese was pretty tasteless. Brunswick stew was decent. Pulled chicken was boring and nothing special, if you eat pork or beef there’s no need to order this.
Definitely a place to satisfy the meat cravings, especially cravings for ribs. Closed on Sunday!

Solid BBQ place — I always get the pulled pork sammich and I am always happy. Not overly smokey, not to wet — just right. Interestingly, the owner came to the USA from Iran in the 70’s I believe and what does every Persian man do when he comes to America? He opens a Carolina BBQ shack in a strip mall in an industrial area near a cemetery and a generic 7 – 11 called «SevenLand»
That said, the mustard sauce is good to squirt on every bite, but only and I mean ONLY if you douse the meat with some extra vinegar from the tableside squirt bottle.
Good potato salad too. One complaint… Not enough cole slaw on the sandwich. When I do a pulled pork sandwich, I like a ratio of 2:1, meat: slaw. That’s not saying I don’t want a lot of meat. that’s saying that I like a healthy glob of slaw on my healthier portion of meat.