Bono’s Bar-B Q

Best barbecue I’ve tasted in years. Was traveling to Atlanta stopped off the highway to get something to eat saw this open pit barbecue place went in and ordered and was pleasingly surprised. Many barbecue restaurants claim to have smoked meat the Hickory smoked open pit is the real deal. I only wish they were in Atlanta Georgia. It was outstanding!

Stopped here this past Monday on our way home from Orlando. Ordered two Chicken finger platters, both with fries and one with baked beans, the other with green beans. I had a sausage sandwich with fries. Had to say my order 3 times to the drive through person and all three times she repeated it back wrong!!! Finally get our food… asked for two kinds of BBQ sauce and ketchup. Got two small sauces and only two ketchups! Fries weren’t hot, luck warm at best. NO sauce or anything on my sandwich… just dried out toast and a sausage split in two. The sausage had three pieces of gristle that were the size of a pea at least. Will never go back, thank hid I don’t travel that way often!

I was frankly wary of coming here. I mean there are some really bad reviews on Unilocal.But then, there are some good ones as well. So, I decided to risk it. I am glad I did. The server was really funny, friendly, and extremely competent. She took great pains to ensure that my partners food was correctly prepared (not an easy task, believe me). The sides are home made. I mean, really home made Onion Rings, Fried Squash. It was perfectly prepared, and not greasy at all, and fried just right — crispy, but not burned, and definitely not soggy. Like I said perfect. I also had the smoked turkey, which was good. I decided not to try to sauce because I wanted to watch the calories, and besides, smoked turkey, smoked properly, will have a nice taste … this did. I also skipped the Garlic Toast, but it looked good as well. Ok, the place looks like a dive, but then again, that is not a bad thing when it comes to BBQ places — I mean, it is not haute cuisine. Also, when we walked in, it had a bit of a smell. But that comes because they are actually cooking the food over a fire, right inside the restaurant, and on a really hot, muggy day, there is not a whole lot of chimney draw. The restrooms were downright hot. So, this is a funky, divey kind of place, but they do their food well. The hardest part is deciding what to order, because it all looks good, and so far, it has all been good too.

Ended up here on a roadtrip by a recommendation from my daughter who lives in Jacksonville. Apparently this is a Jacksonville chain. I’ve had bad experiences before in Barbeque restaurants, but this restaurant has ushered in a new low. I had the Slawpy Pig sandwich with cole slaw and Brunswick stew. The pulled pork turned out to be cold dry cubes of poorly smoke shoulder meat .The white bread was lowest cost generic bread like you’d find in a school cafeteria. My brunswick stew was also served tepid, and had a sour off taste that made me think it was days old. The cole slaw was right out of the jar Sysco institutional mix. It was, all in all, a horrible experience. Dine at this place at your own peril. I feel as if I was robbed. How are they in business???

Not the best BBQ place I’ve been to, but it was okay. The hostess was super friendly and funny, and was able to make us laugh in that short time it took her to bring us to our table, which is a huge plus. I personally wasn’t too pleased with the food, it was pretty average to me, but they do make sure to serve you a good amount of food.

Is a very good BBQ place. Stop in every time we head to Orlando never a bad meal
Real pit BBQ

Took mom to Bono’s — big mistake. We ordered the chicken platters. Chicken was luke warm and the skin was burnt black. Told the waitress we had been served old chicken from prior day. She didn’t agree or disagree. She didn’t want to lie and coverup for the restaurant. She brought us out half chicken fresh off the grill for free. NEVER going back! Who wants to pay $ 20 for day old chicken lunches?!

More fat then meat on brisket, pork was old and yellowish. What was I thinking going for fired corn but I did. And was served in a inch of oil! literally. My girlfriend ordered the turkey. It was a thick slice from a smoked sandwich meat loaf. Not even real turkey. All the sauces were revolting at best. Better off going to the Wendy’s next door. Initially the manager only offered me 10% off this sad meal. I complained once again and was offered 50% off the meal I could not eat. At this point, I ran out of patience. Paid my bill and left. I will never return.

Worth a stop right off 75! Good pit BBQ. I tried the 2 meat combo with pulled pork & beef brisket. The pork was a bit dried out, but quickly remedied with choice of four sauces. I went with the mustard based original for the pork and hickory tangy for the beef. Both were great! Coleslaw was fresh cut but bland. When I asked for vinegar all they had was Texas Pete’ s pepper sauce which was alright, but I ended up putting some of the mustard base sauce to perk it up. Quick friendly service. Fries okay and thick slice of white toast to turn the brisket into a good sandwich!

Disappointing bbq… But then again I’ve lived in Texas. Between bbq and donuts– they’re on every corner in Dallas.
So I’m trying to put my finger on it. I always worry when a bbq place has a ton of sauce options… Typically 2 are good but any more and you’re getting A) Bland meat B) Dry meat or C) Not real smoked BBQ.
The «fried corn on the cob» was awful. Horrible, nasty, swimming — wish I had taken a picture of it– in oil. The beans were the only good side between mine and the fiancé plate. Not memorable though.
The meat… BB Ribs were bland… Needed sauce. The brisket was better tasting but dry, and the sausage although greasy was probably the best. The fiancé also had chicken or turkey but it was also unmemorable. Probably won’t be back since the food is unmemorable and not what I crave as good BBQ.

Bono’s has been around since I was in kindergarten, and I used to eat here a lot when I was a kid since they catered lunch to Martha Manson Academy when it was still up and running. I lost touch with them for a long time, but since I recently moved to the West Newberry area, I decided to hit them up for some fast drive-​thru barbeque. I was not disappointed! Big fan of the pulled pork, chicken tenders, french fries, green beans, sweet potatoes, mac and cheese, etc. etc. Fast and friendly service at a dang decent price. David’s is still my go-​to for Gainesville BBQ, but Bono’s is a close contender considering its convenience in comparison.

I wouldn’t say it was the worst food I’ve ever eaten but I will say we will never go back. Two stars because we didn’t get food poisoning at least.
My pork that was part of the pork platter had a pork chop like texture and several chunks were 90% chewy fat texture. The cole slaw was flavorless. The sweet tea tastes identical to McDonald’s pre-​made stuff. The macaroni & cheese tastes like straight out of a box off-​brand velveta. Even the green beans weren’t great and I love the whole canned green beans, onion, and pork bits thing bbq restaurants often do, Bono’s does this weird canned green bean & potato with extra salt thing.
There’s better options in Gainesville including Sonny’s…

Terrible. Got to be the worst bbq I’ve ever had in my life. Thank God they have large glasses for drinks because you’re really gonna need it to try and wash down the meat. I had the 3 meat combo. The chicken was so hard you couldn’t even cut it with a knife. The ribs way to dry, crunchy dry. The brisket was edible if you removed the fat from it.
The baked beans were OK. I ordered the collard greens which were pretty bad. I don’t know what spice they used but it wasn’t good, at all.
I did give one star only for the waitress who tried her best and was very friendly.
Save your money and go somewhere else.

This place is amazing! We stopped by on a road trip. BBQ pit was fully stocked and smelled amazing. They were busy and we had a small wait, but Carissa, our server acknowledged that and was prompt and courteous. She made great suggestions ans described menu items well, making them appealing and desirable.
The menu was varied based on the selection. Everything we got was tasty. The sandwiches come with no sauce so being able to add your own and experience each flavor was great for us. The food came out very quickly, too!
The beer and wine selection are limited but you can’t beat the 2 for 1 special. ($ 2.89 for TWO beers) they also had buckets 5 for $ 10.
Overall we would stop here again on our way back. Great prices, service, and food.

The bathroom was smelly and dirty.
The pulled pork was less than room temperature and had to be replaced, but the beef brisket was ok. The garlic bread was just bread and butter and cold. The macaroni and cheese was amazing and the collard greens were good.
Probably will just go to Sonny’s from now on when I’m craving barbecue…

Food was not edible. The «brisket» was 80 percent pure fat chunks and it looked more like a nasty corned beef. Everything else was cold, not well seasoned or just looked slopped together then was left sitting. First time I ever had to RETURN food. Seriously disgusting will never go back! 4 Rivers it is!

Amazing food. Amazing service. So glad we stopped. Best BBQ I have had in a very long time. The whole staff has a great sense of humor and makes you feel welcome. If I ever get back to Gainesville I will definitely make sure this is on my list of stops.

We stopped in here on a recent road trip. The waitress was friendly, quick, and helpful. My favorite item of the day was the huge pile of BBQ Cheese Fries that we ordered as an appetizer. We tried a few sandwiches: The Bird Dog (Smoked Turkey topped with a Smoked Sausage Link) and the BBQ Po-​Boy. Both were good. The sides that are offered are the epitome of southern goodness. We opted for the requisite mac and cheese and fried corn on the cob. I would definitely visit this restaurant again.

My first 5stars go to this place.
Definitely recommend it to everyone around Gainesville, exit of Newberry.
The service is fast and friendly, the quality of the food is amazing, the ribs just melt in my mouth, the beans and potato salad are so tasty and the Sweet Tea it’s one of the best I’ve ever had in my life ! (second to Milo’s sweet tea).
Please make sure you stop by and grab something to eat or snack.
A 1 + for this restaurant ! Ask for Emily ! Really good service, trust me.
Thanks for reading my review .
Ian.

I like Bono’s
Much better than Sonny’s