AJ’s On Main

Clean nice place. Not used to getting shredded brisket when I get brisket maybe that is a grapevine thing. Typically brisket is sliced. My roll was stale.
Looks like this place needs to have a little more passion about the food they serve.
Cole slaw was the stand out, really good and tangy home made.

I would like to give this place 5 stars i really would, but its just not possible. The place was nice and clean and i loved the décor. Aj himself seemed like a good ol boy hunter and fisherman type with hunting trophys and bowie knives hanging on the walls, like i said nice décor. I ordered the 3 meat plate. The chicken and sausages was good but the brisket was wack and thats the main thing i judge bbq joints on it tasted like jail food or something id give him the other star if his brisket was any good

What an awesome little bar and restaurant. You have got to try the smoked chicken and French fries! Sooooo good!!! I was hungry for lunch and short on time and stopped at the first place I found. It didn’t look like much from the outside but a total hidden gem and a really neat bar also.

So good! The brisket is lean and delicious! Sauce is tangy, not to sweet. The french fries are yummy!!!

By far the friendliest bar in Grapevine. BBQ is amazing and your bar staff feels like your with best friends. :)

My favorite place in Grapevine — and Grapevine has some great restaurants!
Awesome food and recently upgraded Texas décor.
The bar is just plain cool.
Great selection of drinks, including many local, Texas options.
Best barbecue in Grapevine!
Locally owned by an Armed Services and local Police veteran, to boot!

I am so sad to give AJs a bad review. It’s such a cute little building on Main Street. With the most in attentive staff and rude owner ever. We walk in and the staff were all just shooting the sh*t at the bar. They took our drink order but then we waited. And waited. And waited. Finally a lady came over and apologized saying she thought someone else took our order. Uh… we were the only people in there. How did you miss this? Anyway we ordered a three meat platter to share with sausage (so gross), ribs (awful) and brisket (yuck). The only thing that was good was the Ore Ida fries and okra. My husband said this was the worst barbecue he has ever had. When the server came to bring our food I asked who the owner was and she looked at me like I was an idiot and nodded her head to the guy sitting at the bar. It just seems to me like the owner would want to greet their guests. I’m all about supporting local business but we won’t be back.
So after I posted this, the rude elusive Aj messaged me to chastise me for not speaking to him. Jackass. You were in the same teeny room. YOU can talk to me.

This is one of the best BBQ places I have been to in a long time! Owned by a man by the name of AJ and one of the sweetest owners of an establishment I have ever met! The wait staff is phenomenal and very personable! The food is top notched and made fresh! The smoked chicken is very tender, juicy and melts in your mouth! The fried catfish and mustard potato salad is out of this WORLD! This a place you can bring your family and have a wonderful, intimate time! I am going back to try the ribs next time becuz they looked amazing!!! An extremely clean place! I will definitely become a regular! HATS OFF TO AJ! You have created a brilliant spot!!!

Well– expensive. House salad is $ 5 for mixed greens slapped on a plate. 3 meat was ok but not spectacular. To top it off– staff did not appear that I walked in. With other choices in Grapevine– I would choose other places next time.

So, we start our visit here with a bearded gentleman who looks like the 90’s and his wardrobe have yet to part ways. He seems nice enough, but find great difficulty in opening wine and understanding beer orders. The mood of the place made me think of injuring myself violently in the restroom and the music is driven by some sort of dislike for ones senses. The food, eh, I ordered the $ 9 chicken poppers, and it turned out to be week old chucked jerky, fried in a toothpick. They have a small bar, decent beer selection, but nothing else that would make me want to return.

Best BBQ in the Metroplex. Bar none. …
Friendliest staff and AJ cooks the best ribs in North Texas. Love this place.

Always enjoy AJ’s. The sausage and brisket are good. The okra is top notch.
If you are here, you MUST get the bread pudding. It comes with a wonderful glaze and BONUS it doesn’t have raisins.
The staff is always very friendly and the food comes out fast. Sure parking can be problematic and the place is pretty small. But it is well worth the visit. Give them a shot!

1 star because they have a full bar and great craft beer selection!
The food, not so great with the exception of french fries They get the other star. Those have to be some of the better french fries I’ve had in some time. Crispy, not very greasy, man they really hit the spot! Loved those and would highly recommend them.
As for the rest, I tried the 3 meat plate to get a sampler going. I suppose I should have heeded the warning sign when I read and was told that they only offered chopped brisket. not sliced. The guy told me they cook brisket for about 24 hours. Seriously? To me that means overcooked when it won’t slice. Crumbly brisket I would definitely pass on… no thank you! The sausage was not memorable, but not terrible at least. The pork ribs were also really dark over smoked looking things on my plate. The sauce helped a bit, especially with the brisket, but I didn’t really care for the sauce either. Watered down runny ketchup kind of. Oh well, every BBQ place can’t be amazing.
Fix the meats guys. These should be your shining stars, not the french fries!

Small venue but sized for the offering. BBQ meats come with no sauce. Add your own. Also served with no pickles not onions. What… BBQ with no pickles not onions?
Great potato salad flavor. Turkey has medium smoked flavor — Could be bolder.
Sausage tastes great.
Too expensive for the serving size. A sausage sandwich is sliced pieces properly placed on a bun in one single layer. Ugh!

AJ’s On Main
The tiny little shack on Main Street in Grapevine with the amazing BBQ smells wafting down the street. Now that the temps are a little more bearable in Texas, I’ve been cruising to lunch with my windows down. I passed by AJ’s on Main and quite literally whipped into the next parking lot because of the amazing smell coming from the smoke pits outside. The day I was in, what looked like the entire Grapevine Fire Department, had nearly every seat of the place filled. Hey if the whole Fire Dept. is eating here… it’s gotta be good, right?
So for starters, the pace is TINY. Maybe 7 tables total and the whole place is dominated by a heavily stocked bar, maybe over stocked for the room they have. Equally small is the menu just a select handful of options. Ribs, Brisket, Pulled Pork, Sausage, etc… Basic BBQ joint staples. I decide I’d get the 2 meat plate. Which only comes with 1 side, a bit stingy for the price of the plate, I think. But the BBQ smelled so good from outside.
So I ask for Brisket, Sausage and coleslaw… when I was there… at 11:50am they were out of Sausage and coleslaw… REALLY? It wasn’t even full on lunch rush yet. A couple minutes later a guy 1 table over asked for sausage and coleslaw, when denied he bellowed out «Damn, how early do I need to get here, 10:30?» I ended up ordering Brisket, Ribs and Potato Salad and an Ice Tea… Hell if they’re out of stuff this early in the day… it’s gotta be good, right?
The food… is good, really good. The brisket is moist with the perfect amount of smoke flavor, the ribs fell right off the bone also kissed with the right amount of smoke. The potato salad, while not what I wanted, was good too.
Now with that being said about the awesome food this place fell short in so many other ways.
First, I ordered the brisket expecting to get a few slices… I don’t know if I missed this on the menu, but what I got was chopped beef… really good chopped beef, but when you’re wanting… and expecting sliced brisket it’s just not the same.
Second, for my 2 meat plate I got ribs… 2 ribs… again really good ribs… but only 2 tiny ribs. Stingy for the price, especially when they don’t give you 2 sides on the plate. Which, I guess, didn’t matter because they were out of coleslaw already.
Third, the waiter was distracted or overwhelmed and not on the ball… he was busy chatting up people, meanwhile every seat of this 40 seat joint was full… no time for giving your life story. If my potato salad hadn’t come with spoon in it I might not have had ANY silverware. I could never get the kid’s attention to bring me any. I ate with the spoon they stuck in my potato salad. Also I was never offered a refill on my tea… oh and the tea… maybe their biggest offense.
The Iced Tea is the Gold Peak Instant Iced Tea… which to me tastes just like instant Nestea. If you’re trying to come off as a real Texas BBQ shack, serve real brewed Iced Tea. It’s just that simple.
So my final verdict. When it comes to AJ’s think small… Small Place, Small Menu, Small Portions. Really Good BBQ… But they’re too stingy with what they give you… serve bad Iced Tea… and get there early… they might run out of what you want and the waiter might not be overwhelmed as I’m sure a joint this small gets maxed out every day.

Very nice small place to eat. 8 tables and 6 bar stools. But it does have a Full Bar. That’s a good thing. The 2 meat combo plate was a little lite on the meat and heavy on the fried okra. The ribs were very tender but there were only 2 ribs on the plate. The brisket was also tender and full of favor. Just small portions.
I would return to eat here again, it just may not be on my must have tomorrow.

I very much enjoyed our experience at AJ’s. It’s a small establishment that I could see becoming very crowded during peak times (weekends and lunch hours).
The staff was hospitable. The owner/​manager came over to greet us. The waiter also made pleasant conversation with us as well. He was efficient and very helpful with placing an order.
The menu is concise giving you just enough options. I ordered the 2 meat special. I was allowed to order catfish and chopped brisket — my 2 favorites. I loved the catfish. The brisket was tender but not very flavorful. I also ordered the okra which was seasoned perfectly! My food was served hot and fresh and DELICIOUS!
My only complaint is that my husband and I both had heartburn that evening. He ordered a catfish platter also.
We’ll be back!

Man, lots of haters here. Especially some dude that post the owners personal info. Shame.
Simple menu. I went with the chopped brisket. Great smoke flavor. Beans on the side, paired with a Shiner — 13 bucks. Serious value.

I stopped at the new bbq place on main street grapevine. The sausage sandwich is top notch but they only do sandwiches with fries. No bbq plates. If you want beans or potato salad it is an «add on». I don’t dig that idea of not being able to order a combination plate or get meat with beans and potato salad as a regular bbq plate. Maybe this does exist here but the menu ONLY shows bbq sandwiches or fried fish/​chicken baskets. I would drive the extra distance to Feedstore Bbq on a weekday. If it is a weekend… North Main Bbq in Euless blows this place out of the water. I need potato salad and beans with my bbq all on one plate, not fries that I can get at any drive thru window.

We are BBQ enthusiasts and one of our favorite destinations is Grapevine Main Street. So when my husband read about a great new joint, I checked out Unilocal reviews and expected it to be outstanding.
I’m offering an honest and sincere review in hopes to help this business owner.
We went on an unseasonably pleasant winter Saturday lunch. I’ve visited this location in it’s previous life as an oyster house. I like the new layout, it seemed like a better use of the space. It’s decorated like you’d expect.
First choice, where to sit? You sit wherever you like. We ended up at the table closest to the kitchen.
Second choice, what to drink? For such a small place, they had a huge amount of different beer choices as well as liquor. They also have a $ 2 canned beer happy hour special that you can go and pick up yourself from a cooler in the corner. I kinda liked that idea. I think it was a way for the owner to have his kids waiting tables without having to handle the booze.
Third Choice, what to eat? Small menu with various BBQ meat sandwiches. But, no meat plates or combos. We asked if we could just order different meats and not sandwiches and were told they could do that. My husband is a brisket and sausage guy and I’m a rib and pulled pork lover. I attached photos.
I could see in the kitchen and noticed the cook pulling the foil wrapped rack of ribs out of a roaster. He opened the packet to awkwardly cut off a few ribs on the foil while juice dripped all over the floor and then he just left the remaining ribs sitting there at least as long as we stayed. It seemed a long while before our plates came out. This is because all the meat was warmed up in the microwave. The fries where the only thing freshly cooked before service. The microwave turns BBQ into a rubbery texture with telltale hot spots. The rib rub was not flavorful, and seemed to be mostly paprika. The pulled pork was also microwaved and not noteworthy. My husband enjoyed the sausage, but was not a fan of the brisket texture, smoke, seasoning or flavor. Overall, it was not as remarkable as previous reviewers made it out to be.
What happened? How could our experience be so vastly different from the 5 star reviews? Did we come on a bad day?
The owner must have a substantial investment in the location to recoup. It is one thing to BBQ in your backyard, but another to run a business. He obviously has never run a restaurant before. I applaud his courage and passion and the fact that he is probably working 14 hour days. It appears he has his kids in there working with him and that is adorable. I think with a few corrections, he could not only make it easier on himself but be more successful.
1. Stop nuking your BBQ. Pull it, wrap it, sell it when it’s hot. Sell it fresh or not at all.
2. Simplify your bar. There is no way to accommodate the room by yourself and mix drinks. People don’t want cocktails with BBQ. They want beer, soda or tea. There are too many beer choices and that takes up space and complicates the ordering, serving and stocking process. Pick 5. You don’t have the size of a dining room for people to linger with cocktails. Get them in and out and turn your tables.
3. Train your staff. Hire a consultant or bring in a pro to train wait staff on how to wait a table in your type of establishment. I’m not talking fine dining, but courteous and efficient. Hire a pro to train your kitchen staff with technique and tips for safe and efficient food prep. If you spend more time preparing fries than BBQ, re-​do the menu.
Good luck. I really hope you work it out. I’ll come back and try it again.