Gibson Barbecue

Good breakfast, simple and quick. Willing to be flexible on order and the coffee was fresh. Couldn’t ask for more at a basic diner. Biscuits are quite good.

The service was outstanding, loved the sassy server. I ordered the small pulled pork plate, and it was just ok. The pork was less flavorful than what I would expect for their signature dish, and the sides were passable but nothing special. They server a white sauce which was interesting, but I preferred the traditional and vinegar sauces.

More of a question than review. But does anyone know any gibson recipes? (Slaw, white sauce, or the red vinegar based sauce you put on your pork sandwhich. Anything?) Moved from Hsv years ago and miss it so bad.

Always always a great place to eat. Love the hush puppies and white sauce. Dark meet chicken and peanut butter pie. Always a favorite.

I have to say the meal was one of the best BBQ dinners I have had in quite sometime. No room left for pecan pie.

Finally got around to eating at this Huntsville staple.
I walked in on Saturday and ordered lunch takeout and literally my order was ready under 5 minutes!
The hostess was super friendly and gave me a few recommendations as well.
I ordered Pork sandwiches, coleslaw, white sauce and the infamous hush puppies.
This definitely fulfilled our bbq craving. The pork was tender and flavorful.
I absolutely loved the no-​mayo coleslaw. Yes it was different but in a good way.
The hushpuppies were like nothing I have ever eaten before– usually hushpuppies are dry– these were crispy on the outside and chewy in the inside. Fried deliciousness!
The white sauce was good, a little thin and I have had better.
I can see why people have loved this place since the 1950’s!
Next time I plan on dining-​in and eating breakfast!

I’m surprised that Huntsville doesn’t seem to have the same smattering of biscuit houses or shacks that seem to populate every other mid-​sized southern city. You know the kind– basically little drive-​thrus or sheds with limited seating that open early and close around noon and serve a limited menu consisting of any kind of breakfast meat you can imagine on top of a biscuit for under $ 4. Well, since they don’t, places like Gibson’s are even more of a God send, open for breakfast at 7am seven days a week.
Open for 59 years, Gibson’s main claim to fame is the barbecue. It’s got a large homey eating area, with two large private rooms for large groups. Expect checkered tablecloths, paper napkins, and crunchy ice for your drink. It’s also about a mile away from Crestwood Medical Center if you need a good and cheap meal to hold you over when a loved one is in the hospital.
For breakfast, I chose a two egg and bacon combo, which came with three generous pieces of perfectly cooked and extra smokey bacon, a side of unremarkable grits, and two of the best biscuits I’ve had in recent memory. These are not the flaky, layered, buttermilk kind, but more of the roll-​like, cakey kind with a crisp, salty, buttery exterior. Though I’m normally a butter and honey biscuit topping kind of girl, these were good enough to eat plain.
Best of all, this tasty breakfast was just $ 6. The only thing holding them back from the full five stars for breakfast is that service was a little slow, though I suppose that to be expected when you order during the height of the post church Sunday brunch rush.

By far the Best BBQ around. I have been a frequent visitor for over 20 years.
You will not find better BBQ or Fried Catfish anywhere. The hush puppies and sweet tea are tops.
You also might want to try the beef stew– it’s great.
As a matter of fact, I have never had anything that was not to my liking here.
Give it a try and you will be back again… Trust me.

Very average AT BEST. I would not recommend this place as one of my top 3 in the Huntsville area. Not bad just nothing special. Meat is fair — good, for the same price I can find MUCH better options in the Huntsville area.

Gibson’s Barbecue is a Huntsville tradition, and while they truly are exceptional, it isn’t for their barbecue but rather, for their breakfast. Their cheap, classic, consistent, & delicious breakfast is absolutely wonderful! It’s a great place to get a taste of the Southern Huntsville history. It is a more-​than-​common tradition for all native Huntsvillians to stop by Gibson’s for breakfast at lease once while visiting home. Their barbecue is fairly good, though it has been getting drier over the past few years, yet their pies are 100% made with love & pure deliciousness (you will NOT be disappointed). Go in for breakfast, order a CRAP-​LOAD of biscuits (Trust me.) & chow down. Theirs are some of the *best* biscuits I’ve had in my whole life. They are fluffy, hot, smooth, moist, & full of tasty magic of some kind. I would absolutely love to steal their recipe! Needless to say, Gibson’s is popular with the old, the young, & everyone in between. I would definitely recommend their classically Southern breakfast. :)

Best breakfast around. We moved from Huntsville a few months ago, so stopped by while visiting family. Biscuits!!!

One of my favorite places when I visit home. Why I love it:
1. BEST.BRUNSWICK.STEW.EVER!
2. Crushed Ice
3. Sweetest people work there — I miss my sweet hometown people (I must be sweet too, right?)
4. Hush puppies
5. White sauce

We have had a great server. That makes this experience wonderful. Food was good a d the hush puppy’s were great. Over all on the food maybe a ⁴¹⁄₂. But it was good. Even if they did buy the BBQ sauce in the bigger bottle.

A stuffed potato about the size of a nerf football with REAL butter and BBQ sauce and sour cream (if you want it).
Had it for lunch about a week ago and had enough potato left over for dinner that evening!

I know this is Unilocal but YIPES! Bottom line, run away, be very afraid and don’t look back. Now for the long version.
First, the ambiance is about the same as eating at your great grandparents house that hasn’t changed since they moved in it in 1956. Décor hasn’t changed although they did upgrade to plastic plates like we got in elementary school lunches in the 60’s. One high note was my waitress Rendy who was polite, never let my tea get low but didn’t hover either. Kudos to her and 5 stars. She deserves better food to serve.
Next the food. I got a pulled pork plate with 2 sides and hush puppies. The pulled pork was dry but edible. There were three accompanying sauces on the table that were all unlabeled. The first two were in squeeze bottles. One was a white sauce that tasted like watered down Ranch dressing. The other was a very watery barbecue sauce that was pretty much a watery vinegar sauce with hot spice in it. The last was in a standard BBQ sauce bottle that had a taste and consistency of Kraft barbecue sauce and basically tasted ok but there was no label on that bottle either. No descriptions or mention anywhere about them. Odd since most places are proud of their sauce, its secret ingredients and usually private label it for sale. I guess nobody from this place got a degree in marketing.
The coleslaw was strange at best. It tasted a little vinegary and somewhat sweet. It had been processed in what I believe to be a blender until it was almost liquefied it was so fine. I guess I should have expected that looking at the age of the crowd in the restaurant. Another pulse or two in the blender and you probably could have given it to me through a feeding tube.
Next was their adaptation of potato salad. It probably had four ingredients: potatoes, Mayo, a little mustard and a few chopped pimentos per gross of potatoes. REALLY? I’ve had better potato salad at a church social that was made by the hundred and two year old lady that could barely even see, heard even worse and called everybody Lenny no matter how many times you told her and spelled your name for her.
There were two high points to the meal though in addition to my waitress, Rendy. There were three dill pickle slices on my plate that I actually had a bit of spice to them. I would be in absolute shock if they were made in this place. They had to come from a jar. And of course the hush puppies which were made fresh, they were hot and they were actually pretty tasty. My guess is that they actually make them in this restaurant from scratch (I know, you are experiencing the same shock I did) because they didn’t have a standardized shape that you see in pre-​manufactured, frozen ones.
To top insult on injury to my meal, they only serve milk coffee tea or soft drinks. No beer anywhere. Yet again this is a sign that nobody in this place has a degree in marketing much less even took marketing 101 at the local Junior College.
To my absolute shock this restaurant was rated 3 to 4 stars on Unilocal.I can only assume from that that the people who have been rating this restaurant have only had BBQ at this place or have had such bad BBQ that they have very low expectations. Maybe you should try getting outside of Huntsville sometime.

Best barbeque I’ve ever had. Chicken stuffed potato is to-​die-​for. And the hushpuppies. Mmmmmmmmmm… and the pie… and the… everything…gah!
Love that crushed ice, too! I wish I could find a machine like that for my home. Only ever found it in commercial sizes.
The service and speed is EXTREMELY fast, too!
Always gonna go here.

Coleslaw was weird, blended, no carrots, like baby food. The barbecue was dry and tasteless. Not use to this type dry and cold.

Nothing special about their barbecue. The restaurant looks old and dated and the menu’s on the table were greasy and dirty. I got the pulled pork sandwich and it came out less than five minutes later so it was obviously already pre-​made. Didn’t try their famous «white sauce,» but their bbq sauce wasn’t out of this world either.

Game here for breakfast with a group of co-​workers. (Breakfast at a BBQ place was probably the first problem)
Nothing special. Food was warm, barely. Two eggs, grits, ham and biscuits w/​gravy about $ 11.00.
Biscuits were good… nice and fluffy.
Parking lot was pretty full at 8am so it is a local favorite but for this guest from out of town… not so much.

My wife and I have stopped here a couple of times after church and have had mixed experiences.
I’ll start with the food. It’s a bit above the average bbq place around here, and prices are decent. The bbq beef potato is my solid choice, and the Brunswick stew is quite good. My wife gets the chicken potato, and friends have tried various other sandwiches and all agree it’s good but not the best.
The service is where it really gets shaky. The first time we had a very surly old woman who was clearly favoring an all-​white family who I assume are personal friends and/​or regulars. She seemed to have very little care for me and my wife, and my sweet tea glass stayed empty and my Brunswick stew didn’t come until I had to ask for it after both potatoes were done. This may be because when she told me they don’t sell pints of it I opened my menu and showed here where they did. She snappishly replied that was only for take-​away orders. I think my «I’m about to walk out without paying, you miserable old hag» tone in asking for it is what eventually resulted in a bowl of stew with an apology. She had no trouble getting all the white tables food and drinks quickly and efficiently, and while I’m aware this is a hasty generalization I felt there was a definite racist vibe from our waitress.
The most recent time we had a young server who seemed to have a bad smell under her nose. She was good at keeping my tea refilled, though, and ultimately that’s my biggest concern with a waitress. A friend got the wrong order, and she let him keep it free of charge and brought the correct order out for him, which I felt was a good way to handle the situation.
This place is okay for children. It’s a bit noisy at times, so children don’t disrupt the atmosphere as much, and the staff was friendly with our friends’ children. This is one of those rare times where I will make such an admission.
The one hope I have is some day to try their breakfast since they do bbq biscuits. I’ve not yet figured out why more bbq places don’t do this, because bbq biscuits are amazing.