Golden Rule Barbecue

Sadly, this place is overhyped. I was really hoping it was going to be excellent considering its past. If the place is a dive, you better have great BBQ or at least low prices. It was only fine. The meat was a little dry and sides were ok. On the bright side, the service was warm and charming. I’ll go back again, but with lower expectations.

That people give this five stars, meaning it’s as good as any food they’ve ever had in their life, really makes me wonder about their taste or experience.
I’ve been twice now and it hasn’t been good both times. The BBQ has been dry, not flavorful and one-​dimensional. Same with the BBQ sauce which lacks depth or tang. The sides are like cafeteria food. Honestly, it’s all like a food style from the 1960’s.
Imagine delicious, smoky, juicy BBQ with a depth of flavor, complex, tangy BBQ sauce and thoughtfully made, fresh side dishes and you’re imagining the OPPOSITE of Golden Rule.

Wonderful, even though the food is not perfect the ribs were the best I had ever had and the ladies serving us were wonderful. Value for money.

This here is darn good Q. Old time bbq place been around looong time. Chopped chickn tender with sweet tangy sauce but not too much, add more if y’all want. Baked beans with just a hint of, I guess, cinammon works well. Fast service and you see them workin it right out in the open.

Wow. I was on a rare visit to Irondale with a colleague, so I decided to take to a trip down Memory Lane and pull in here. Just nowhere close to what it once was.

Would not eat here, they refused to hire a friend of mine because she was over weight. I’m over weight so eating here would add to the problem. So I’ll eat where weight isn’t a problem for them

We have come here many times. Service is great and food pretty consistent. Try the Brunswick stew and lemon icebox pie as well as a BBQ sandwich.

When it comes to BBQ the rating is in the mouth of the eater. From Texas style to vinegar based sauces there’s more variations of BBQ than Larry King has had wives.
When you think of a BBQ Pit this is the place, the pit boss has been here since 1974 and there’s a memorial wall of employees with 30+ years of service.
The meal started with «BOTTLES» (not cans) containing the Champagne of Beers — Miller.
A sliced BBQ pork sandwich with coleslaw & fries is a whopping $ 7. The pork displayed a beautiful smoke ring encased in that delicious slow cooked bark.
The bun was Southern white bread, the kind that was baked just for BBQ.
Homemade coleslaw that is some of the best around and several bottles of homemade sauces, from BBQ to ranch Dressing.
Sit at the counter so you can watch the Pit Boss work his magic.

Came here with my dad tonight. He was a regular at Golden Rule over 60 years ago. He said the food is just as good today as it was 60 years ago.
I had the rib plate which was excellent.
The service was great.

Wow! I wish I could say something good about the food. But I can’t. The ribs are dry and practically burnt. The sauce has TOO much vinegar. I’m sure the Mac and cheese is from a box. The beans have too much nutmeg. Who puts nutmeg in beans anyway? The potato salad had way too much relish. And the rolls… ummm…no. This was me and my mom’s first time here. IT WILL BE OUR LAST!!! :-\

It’s not the worst bbq that I have had. I ordered pulled chicken sandwich, fries, baked beans. Beans were sweet, chicken taste like pork, fries too soft. My BF ordered rib plate. Ribs were OK. Now, my BF does competition style bbq, so this would not make the cut.

I’m a bit torn about this review and my overall rating. The service was over the top good. It was the exact thing you would expect from a southern, well mannered BBQ restaurant staff. The food was good, but just A-​OK.
As for the food, it was OK, but probably not in the top five BBQ spots in town. I got a sampler platter to try everything out. I ordered a quarter chicken (dark meat), 4 ribs, and pork chopped (outside). For sides, I ordered fries and slaw.
The chicken was good, by far the best thing on the plate. It was tender, and flavorful. sadly, the ribs were tough, small, and a bit disappointing. As a ribs fan, I was hoping for much more. The pork was really good, but I didn’t think it was «outside» meat. Either way, it was good.
The fries were disappointing, personally. Everyone has their own preference of fries, so this one just might have not fit mine. They seemed a bit limp and flavorless for me. The slaw was perfectly fine, but nothing to write home about.
All in all:
Tradition: 5 stars
Service: 4 stars
Food: 2.5 stars

I love this place! In the fall and winter months I always get their chili with a grilled cheese. The chili is outstanding and the grilled cheese is a hamburger bun flipped inside out which is delicious. I love chopped pork and their sauce too… a yummy vinegar based sauce. I always get baked beans as a side because they rule here. Oh, and don’t forget the pie!

Literally my first memory of a restaurant is this Golden Rule. It’s tasty and fast. My favorite chopped BBQ anywhere. The sauce is great and the fries are not out of a bag but fresh cut. It wouldn’t be a stretch that I’ve been going there 3 – 4 times a month since I was 3 years old. I’m 41 now

Visiting Birmingham and went here with my local hosts. I ordered the BBQ ribs sandwich with fries and baked beans. Portion size was big. The ribs are bone in and served on a bun, which was kind of weird since you can’t really eat the two together. The ribs were meaty, would have liked a little more char. Instead it was almost like a pork chop. The fries were pretty good — they were fresh cut potatoes, not food service fries. They would be even better if they were double fried. The bean were kind of weird, they put BBQ pork in it.

Don’t eat here
This place used to be so good? Must be under new management. I ordered a couple of pounds of BBQ Pork to go. The meat was 90 percent outside meat and tasted burned. The texture was like leather. Hard, Dry, Etc. Everything you do not want when getting BBQ.
They no longer serve their famous fried pies either. Will not be going back.

Pretty good cue. This is my second time here and I don’t think it was as good as last time.
The chopped pork sandwich was good, the fried okra was ok, the slaw was weird, and the baked beans were awesome.
«What’s that?» you say. Yes the slaw is weird. They don’t use mayonnaise, just vinegar. That doesn’t make it weird, it’s the other stuff in there that I can’t identify. I like creamy slaw with a nice vinegar punch in the face. I like my pork sammies Memphis style and weird slaw just won’t work.
I think I’ll find another cue joint on my next trip to Birmingham.

We were on our way to find a Krystal and get a burger, but as we drove past here and saw the full parking lot and smelled the smoke, we changed our minds and went to Golden Rule!
We ordered a combo platter with ribs, chicken and pork, with a side of fries. Wow, good stuff! The baby back ribs were massive (for baby backs) and perfectly cooked. The pork was excellent as was the chicken! Tip: try the spicy BBQ sauce — that stuff is fantastic.
Our charming waitress suggested dessert, and despite being totally full, we ordered a slice of coconut cream pie — we did not regret the decision…
Probably the best food we ate in Alabama!

Eat a jumbo pulled pork sandwich and the coconut cream pie… skip the sides unless you are a real french fry fan.

Really good but not mindblowing.
These guys are like the ninjas of barbecue: clean, effective, minimalistic. Mostly deadly (in a good way).
Sides are nothing to write home about, best ones are the fries (fresh cut and cooked boardwalk style in house) and the beans (rich brothy cumin thing going on, pretty good, not the best I’ve ever had but solidly delicious).
Ribs were definitely good. My Alabama favorite, Thomas Pit Barbecue in Madison, definitely has them beat (bad) but this place is a solid pick for a traditionally smoked flavor done with a high degree of subtlety and skill.
That’s what I would call this place: skillful. It’s good. Unfortunately appears there are few places that get much better reviews around Birmingham area, hence our picking this one. It wasn’t OMG SUPER AMAZING but it was a good value and we could certainly find nothing to complain about. Just no rock-​em-​sock-​em amazing jump out at you flavor to be had. Another reviewer was right, the sauce is pretty standard, but hey, standard barbecue sauce isn’t all that bad to begin with. Maybe not regionally unique or whatever, but still darn good.
Eh I am a cheapskate and felt this place did well by me. Is that recommendation enough?