Pine Shed Ribs and Barbecue

I have family in Texas, so I have an idea as to what good BBQ tastes like, but Pine Shed’s is some of the best I have eaten. There is no doubt in my mind that this is good food and, while some may think it is a bit pricey, it really is worth every penny.
What irks me, though, and what led me to giving a poor review, is the service. Every time I come in to place or pick up an order, I speak with the woman with short dirty blonde hair. She is petite and in her late 30’s or so. Her attitude is simply unacceptable and has led my family to avoid coming in to Pine Shed. I can’t find good BBQ in the town I go to school in, so I come here for the food when I am around, but I definitely do not come here for the service.
This woman is snarky, rude, and I have never seen her smile. She also tends to avoid eye contact, which makes for all around uncomfortable, dissatisfying experience.
If you work in the hospitality business, I highly recommending being kind to customers, smiling at people, and making everyone that steps into your restaurant feel welcome. I experience none of this when I have to deal with this woman.
Here’s to hoping that she changes her attitude, for she is slowly chasing away customers.

Best BBQ in the NW! I have been looking for a good BBQ joint since I moved here 5 years ago from the south (GA). The sauce is not the normal NW sweet sauce and the tri-​tip meatloaf on Mondays is absolutely amazing. Great owners that make you feel like part of the family. A must try for anyone looking for some great BBQ.

Outstanding for a second visit. Delicious smoked meats and excellent sides. This visit we had chicken, sausage, tritip, pulled pork and pork ribs. First time for the chicken and moist and smoky and perfect. Side of bacon mac and cheese sinful with great bacon. Always good chatting with Matt, love to hear what he has to say. We go at off hours and there’s no crowd.

⁰⁵⁄₁₁ 1:30 All fresh. Cornbread is outstanding. There’s new young ‘cute’ girl working counter. (25 OSU grad) that’s all I can say. Go Beavers!

Meh — overpriced, dry, salty, small portions. The only thing going for it is location. Usually I don’t expect much from places that aren’t very good but this place could do so much better and that’s the real shame about it. It’s like they stopped caring.

Love the food, the bar is very adorable, one of staff seems flaky-​inattentive, didn’t bother to open our coke bottle caps and answers our simple questions to some items on the menu when it was our first time. We didn’t know what to do, where to sit, where to get water, and find a bottle opener very dumb while he was just there talking and ignoring us. It’s an order at the bar super casual place. It wasn’t busy too, but another staff was a rockstar and the food was awesome!

Tender meat dishes, tasty sides. Friendly service and didn’t feel rushed. Nice flow of customers coming in while we were there. I’d only suggest more bbq sauce choices, just saw one. Cool, relaxed bar area. We’ll be back!

Good bbq! Loved the $ 6 pork sliders on the happy hour menu. They are served on the cutest little pretzel buns, which add a nice texture and flavor. The wedge salad is good too, but a little skimpy on the bacon.
The outdoor seating area under the arbor is lovely! This really makes it «feel» like a true bbq joint!

BBQ is tasty and made onsite. Service was super friendly. We had the chopped pork, BBQ Link, and Bacon Mac-​n-​Chz all were excellent. They have daily specials, Friday being Pastrami which we will be back for. Nice selection of wine and beer as well as mixed bottles of soda.

This place was delicious. I don’t know if it was in combination to the beautiful (but cold) sunny day, but my order was yummers!
I ordered the BBQ Pork on a ciabatta bread with a side of coleslaw, pickle spear, pickled red onions. This review is solely based on the star attraction, the pork. It was very tender, juicy, a nice smokey flavor, and the bread was toasted just right. The BBQ sauce they had on the table was also awesome and I’m sure it helps that I am a condiment freak, so it was always being poured on and it didn’t overpower the flavor of the BBQ.
You have to try it out, it’s kind of tucked inside a nice little neighborhood on the outskirts of Lake O.
Note: I would have given this a five star if the sides were good and complimented the dish, but a bag of potato chips are not good sides for me, maybe if it was BBQ chips like Kettle’s Backyard BBQ flavor.

Went in their for wifi and some ribs. The gal behind the counter said she did not know the new password. No problem. I asked if the owner (in the baseball cap) knew who had been sitting at the bar. He replied to her that it had recently been changed by «Stacey» and that he did not know it either. Mind you, they have a wifi sticker in front outside the front door. The gal behind the bar simply replied, «I’m sorry» we don’t know the password.
Here’s a a little customer service advice: Call Stacey to get the freakin password.

Here is a copy of what the owner’s response was to my critique. It’s a true shame when the owner of a restaurant cannot internalize criticism and use the information to make themselves and their business better. I wish them the best, however, I will not go there again, even to let them try to make amends, and highly recommend others to do the same.
Owner’s response:
«You have never eaten here. You are fake and if you are not fake then call me or come in so we can talk about your experience. It will never happen because you know this incident didn’t happen.
Also, the beauty of Unilocal is that our real customers know the truth.
Nice try. You are a friend of an ex-​employee or an ex-​employee.
You can’t even describe our restaurant correctly.
No one gets yelled at.
Make it a great day~
Jenni :)»

Peter F — really wish I would have read your review before I went there for my first yesterday on the recommendation of a friend. Went with two others family members who each ordered brisket and tri-​tip. Each of them was served an end piece of brisket that was charcoaled black and then when I turned them around the pieces were just fat. I politely ask d for a replacement and after a couple minutes the server informed me that these pieces were ‘extra’ and the remaining meat met the weight requirements? Huh? As we left, the server asked for feedback and I said I thought ‘meat requirement’ answer was poor customer service and she suggested we go next door and tell the cook directly. Sorry — not my job — we won’t be back…

Cute place, but honestly I can’t see how this place has such good ratings. The food came out cold and the beef ribs were hard as rocks with barely any meat on them at all. Yes, the smoking gave a good flavor, but when everyone left hungry after spending a fortune on dinner it’s not worth it. Bacon — shouldn’t be called bacon when it’s just basically pulled pork with absolutely no flavor at all. Tri-​tip was really really dry, and cold but tasted okay. I guess we should have got the chicken and some beer.

What’s not to love? Great food, beer, dine in bar and super friendly staff. You’re covered!

WARNING TO ALL UnilocalERS! I have no reason to lie about ANY of my reviews and I stand by my statements in ALL of them. Eat here at your own risk. I have no doubt some people have had a good experience, but not me. I don’t appreciate being called a liar for being honest. Me personally, I read the negative reviews on Unilocal,so allow me explain why this place is the absolute worst in my opinion. I am adding an UPDATE to this review because one of the owners responded. The update is to be seen in the very last paragraph.
I grew up in Lake Oswego. This place used to be called ‘Logan’s Backyard BBQ’ in downtown Lake Oswego. I am not a new comer to this joint; I have eaten here 20+ times over the last 10 years. I love BBQ and wanted to keep giving it a chance, but pretty much every single time it was a horrible experience. Why go back you ask? Well, it was in the town I grew up in, and I love BBQ, so I kept going back. That was my personal mistake.
Honestly. Read my other reviews; you can see I give credit where it is due.
The owner (most often seen in a baseball cap) is very temperamental, and plays favorites with customers. I have felt judged multiple times I have gone in there, and feel like I have been given sub par food. You know, the dried out & burnt ribs, of the last little pieces of the pulled chicken from earlier on in the day. Again, I love BBQ and I like to support local, so I kept trying. Multiple times, coupons were given to me, or in the bag with my food, but the owner is the kind of person who looks down on you for using a coupon that he just gave you. Like you are stealing from him. Just the vibe I’m getting again, and the food/​looks I’m given reflect that. CHECK OUT THE OTHER NEGATIVE REVIEWS ABOUT THIS PLACE ON Unilocal AND YOU WILL SEE IT SAYS SIMILAR THINGS!
Fun Fact: Pine Shed Ribs did catering for the City of Lake Oswego pretty recently (where a family member works) and they were not rehired because their food was so sub par. & everyone was complaining. Burnt ribs, among other dried out food, & the bare minimum, as well as a rude, hot-​head owner who couldn’t understand why they didn’t rebook them. For consistency and the BEST BBQ around, try Buster’s BBQ on the corner of I-​5 & 99W. Buster’s has never disappointed, and they treat everyone equally.
Jennifer (owner who responded), you don’t have to know exactly who I am when I come in there, but I’m sure you want to now that the truth of how I was treated has come out. The truth is I’ve been in there multiple times, and have been treated poorly. Matt (if that is the man’s name with the baseball cap) is rude and has a chip on his shoulder and I know for a fact that I’m not the only person to say such a thing. Would you like me to send you links to similar complaints about attitude and food? Maybe Pine Shed doesn’t give out coupons now but during the beginning months, there was a clipper magazine or local coupon you did run and I used it with also the same results. LOGAN’S BACKYARD BBQ however, (The old name of Pine Shed before it moved & changed it’s name) used to give out coupons all the time and this is where it all started for me. If you say you guys never gave out or put out coupons, that is a lie. I probably ate there at Logan’s 15 times, & at Pine Shed 5, so it’s likely you don’t recognize my face. Same place, same people, same food. I’m stating the facts of how I was treated by ‘Matt’ and what I was given. I’m not sure I dealt with you or not, I like to get my food to go and eat it at home anyways, so most of the time it’s when I get home that I’m disappointed. I stand by my facts about the City of Lake Oswego. There may be people from the city that enjoy the food, but I know many that feel the same way as I do and many who have had horrible service & food. Maybe I’m wrong (and I’m pretty sure I’m not), but I heard from some credible sources that enough people complained, which is why they did not renew the catering. I laughed and was not surprised one bit. You can hate me all you want, but these are facts of how I and others have been treated. If there is burnt food, throw it away! And treat everyone with the same respect! Simple! Your response alone merits my frustration.
Forgive me for thinking it was clipper if it was something else, but I used a coupon before the shed was built. Say what you want to, I have family that lives close and have been around for years and have no reason to lie. Also, back when it was called Logan’s, there used to be orange pieces of paper with coupons on them put in to go orders. Ring a bell? It was younger people or Matt that helped me. I sincerely hope this helps remedy the problems I’ve encountered. Also, I never use my real name when I order food to go from a place, for situations just like this when owners get all intense with me. Highly unprofessional. I’ve been there 5 times since it’s been on Pilkington there. That hardly makes me a regular. Just a guy trying to get some local BBQ. Good day.

Service is always warm, friendly and quick!
Taking the kids is always a treat. The owners recommendations have always been perfect. Kids love the tri tip, pork ribs, corn bread and of course the homemade BBQ sauce.
Excellent and well thought out selection of craft beers on tap. Can’t say enough how much our family loves Pine Shed.

Love this place. The ribs are delicious and the corn bread is amazing. Also — great selection of beers and the owner is cool. Great place to eat on a date or with the family.

Excellent BBQ food! Great outdoor seating area. Amazing chopped pork. Our favorite BBQ place in the Willamette Valley

So this place made #5 on Oregonlive for Portland BBQ restaurants. Which may be a valid ranking. But here is the problem. First, people in Oregon generally don’t know good BBQ. Second, there are not many good BBQ options in Portland so don’t be fooled when Oregonlive ranks this place as #5.
For my first trip to this place I tried the sausage, pulled pork, brisket, and tri tip. I will go in order of good to bad.
Pulled Pork — Pork butt is a very forgiving meat when it comes to smoking, so when I try a BBQ place for the first time I always get the pulled pork because if they screw that up you can bet the rest of what they cook is bad too. The pulled pork at Pine shed is average. It won’t blow you away but it is not bad either. The house BBQ sauce is pretty good so when combined with that it is an above average piece of meat.
Brisket — The brisket was ok. It was a bit over smoked. Smoke flavor should compliment the meat and the rub. It should not be a distraction or overpower the meat. The smoke on the brisket was not quite to the overpowering level. However, it was too much and a distraction to the beef flavor.
Tri-​tip — I may be a bit biased here but tri-​tip should not be smoked. There is only one legitimate way to cook tri-​tip and that is Santa Maria style. They don’t do that at here. It is smoked like any other meat. Smoking tri-​tip means you are over cooking it. Consequently, the meat was overdone and lacking in strong beefy flavor. This place would be better off learning how to cook it Santa Maria style and serve it that way.
Sausage — TERRIBLE. The fact that Oregonlive says this is Pine Shed’s «blue ribbon» meat speaks volumes to the lack of quality BBQ in Oregon and Oregonlive’s understaing of good BBQ. The sausage is terrible. The casing is not stuffed enough so when it is cooked the sausage does not hold its form when you cut into it. As for flavor, it is more garlic flavor than pork. There is zero spice to be found so not sure how they call it a spicy link. It is bad.
There are not many good BBQ options in Portland. Pass on this place. The #5 ranking by Oregonlive is misleading since you only need one finger to count the number of great BBQ places in Portland. A 5 ranking means it is four restaurants removed from being good.
Bottomline — avoid.

Amazing BBQ! This southern girl needed a BBQ fix! Sides were really good! We got the double sampler so we could have leftovers! Actually bought some of their BBQ sauce to take home! Great food with polite personal service!!!

I have heard nothing but good things about this place and after seeing a glowing review in the Oregonian I decided to try it for lunch. I was very disappointed, the meat was all dried out, the chicken was dry and flavor less. The sauce was extra sweet with little to no bbq flavor, there is only one choice of sauce to boot! The service was poor and the girl working the counter seemed like she wanted to be somewhere else and after a couple of bites so did I.
On a 1 to 10 I give it a 3.

Low and Slow, no it’s not a Lowrider cliché
It’s how this place smokes their Meats.
I just happened to be in this area today
so I stopped in for lunch and since
this day in Portland there were multiple
Forest fires and it made the air outside
Pretty Smoky, I’m like hey, let’s have some
BBQ! (Ya my brain works this way).
I ordered the Pork Ribs, Tri Tip, Coleslaw and Potato Salad. It also came with corn bread.
As I was deciding what to order, I checked in
on my Unilocal app where I was pretty stoked
their was a check in reward for free beer! Yes!
So, off to a great start. Gets talk food now.
Pork Ribs~ Very full smoke flavored cut.
I love dry rub smoking because
It allows me to ADD the sauce to
my liking. BTW homemade sauce
has a perfect balance of sweet and
vinegar.
Tri Tip ~ To me it’s all about that smoke
ring, they get a double chest pump
from me on this one. The meat was
moist and full of the wonderful smoke
flavor. I just put a touch of sauce on
it and BOOM it was on point. Get This
Corn Bread~ Truth be told… I really don’t like corn
bread, but I liked this one ! I’m
a fan now. it wasn’t dry and the
texture was great, very nutty.
Get This

Service~ Very personable, honest and has
passion for business and customer
satisfaction as well as Unilocal
friendly. I will definitely come back
and Lake Oswego is lucky to have
great BBQ ! Now, go eat !

We recently came here for dinner and tried several items — I think out of everything, the chicken was my favorite. I read a review thinking the chicken was dry, but I had quite the opposite experience — mine was very tender and moist. We also had the brisket and pulled pork which the brisket were my hubs fav.
Let’s get to the real show stopper and I know this sounds funny, but the cornbread here could stop traffic. Yes, you’d think its BBQ and I liked the BBQ very much, but this cornbread was just heaven in your mouth; I could have licked the pan and truly never even knew I liked corn bread that much.
The venue is small, but cute. You should definitely swing by!

I had big expectations as this was listed in the Oregonian as one of the top 10 bbq’s in the area. My wife and I went for lunch on a Saturday, there was only one other party there as they has just opened. We ordered the sampler platter for 2. Let me start out by saying most of the food was so dried out we sent it back. The chicken was an unchewable solid block. The links were dried out. There were 4 pork ribs, 2 were stringy and hard to eat, the 2 smaller ribs were very good. They did bring out replacement chicken, which was moist and flavorful and much larger pieces than what they gave us originally. I did not send the ribs or links back as at this point, we’ve written this meal off.
The cornbread, Mac & cheese w/​bacon bits and the Gorgonzola salad were all good.
Service was poor. We sat outside on the picnic tables and had to flag people to help us. It looked like they were loading up a trailer for a catering gig and that took all their attention.
My guess is that we were served bbq that was cooked the previous day and had been sitting overnight and that it got dried out.
Easily the worst bbq and experience we’ve had in the Portland area. My advice is avoid this place, especially for lunch.

I find it hard to do reviews for BBQ places, in fact this may be my first. I do a fair amount of smoking myself and like most self-​proclaimed pit masters I think mine is the best and everybody’s else is just not up to the ‘Q I put out; Pine shed has changed my thinking by doing something so astonishingly simple and so foreign to most people who smoke meats it’s a game changer, it is subtleness.
First off, let me start with The Ribs, they were perfectly smoked with what I thought at first was a rub lacking in spice, then I tried it with the sauce… BAM…OMG the sauce, my opinion of most BBQ sauces is that it is there to hide inferior ‘Q, many places will drown their oversmoked and/​or over seasoned meats with a sugary concoction and call it good, this sauce was delicious and understated and matched perfectly with the ribs, bringing out the taste of the pork. Their sauce is made from a purée of house smoked onions, garlic and habenero’s, then I think they blend it with a little sugar, tomato paste and vinegar, they didn’t tell me, I guessed.
The perfect balance also carried over to the Brisket and Chicken, again, the rub on those items were understated, as was the smoke flavor, but the sauce brought out and complimented the smoke, rub and meat.
Now to the sides, I didn’t think anybody could ever improve on coleslaw, but they do it here, again with that light hand of seasoning, it wasn’t too sweet, it wasn’t too sugary, it wasn’t too gloppy, it was kind of Goldilocks like… Just right!
Now to the crowning glory, the cornbread! Yes, Cornbread, I love Cornbread but it is almost always too dry, they have found a way to make it moist and delicious, it didn’t even need butter or anything, it was awesome!!! They told me how they do it, but I ain’t sayin’.
So I learned alot here, I learned balance is good in BBQ, how to make an awesome sauce, how to make moist cornbread and I found a new favorite place for BBQ.
I’ll be back!

Was here recently for a Unilocal meat & greet. The owner seem legit. He was working hard. It was 100+ degrees out but didn’t feel too hot as there are some shaded areas and a water mister outside. The cornbread was delicious. 4 stars. The brisket was good but I like it a little more moist. It was a bit dry but the BBQ sauce overcomes that The BBQ sauce is what really shines. 5 stars! It also made the chicken that was good all that much better. The coleslaw was ok and the skin-​in mashed potatoes were good. The ribs are supposed to be really good but I don’t eat pork so didn’t try.
Wanna go back and try some other menu items.

I’ve been going here a bit more regularly and updated the previous review to reflect my current thoughts on this place. The various smoked meats here, especially the brisket, sausage links, and pork ribs, are amazing and the bacon mac and gorgonzola salad are my favorite sides. $ 14 gets you a great meal of your choice of two meats, a side, and a block of cornbread. I used to hate their cornbread, but it looks like they finally got it right. A friend of mine added some honey (provided at the table) to hers and made it even better!
Most of the time, the food is a real winner, but every now and then they miss the mark. A little extra house BBQ sauce on the meat usually fixes any overcooked mistakes. I recommend avoiding the one-​hank for $ 12 as it’s a much better deal to go for the two or three hank meal and take some home with you if it’s too much to eat in one sitting.
It’s a family-​run local business and the staff is very friendly. They’ve got canopy covered dog-​friendly patio seating, except the aromatic BBQ attracts its share of flies and bees during the nicer days. However, I have seen them place lures to help keep the bugs away. There’s also an indoor area as well to escape nature.
This place is still best for lunch or a very early dinner. The place is still quite popular and nothing’s being reheated here, which means that your favorite BBQ selections may either be sold out or temporarily unavailable while more gets cooked, even in the middle of the day. This was a frequent occurrence in years past but things have gotten much better. However, if it’s after 6pm, the pickings are going to be very slim.
Food: 4
Service: 5
Ambiance: 5
Value: 4
TL;DR: Great down-​to-​earth BBQ, but not a place to eat late.

Wow! I have never had such delicious corn bread! Like, ever! I know, I should be raving about the meats, and I will, but corn bread is my fave and they have a secret recipe — which the owner shared with me but that I will not divulge, and I can’t wait to try it at home. I also hope I can convince our executive admin to hire PSR’s to cater our summer barbecue.
My favorite meat this evening was the brisket and the chicken because both were insanely tender. The men I was dining with preferred the pork. In this situation, we all came out winners.
Being 100 degrees outside, we sat outside at the picnic tables. Crazy, because the owner gave us a tour of the air conditioned bar, where they serve a ton of beers on tap (and also televise sports on the giant plasma tv). However; barbecue ribs need to be eaten outside no matter what the weather; says me. It helps that they have mist machines to cool you down. Photos don’t do the patio justice, because it really is very tranquil under the plant adorned trellis.
I also really enjoyed the potato salad, cold slaw and beans, but the corn bread was the winner in my book.
Pine Shed Ribs caters as well, so give them a shot if you have a large barbecue or event that you want to serve very good southern style food at.

If anyone else recommends Busters BBQ over Pine Shed I’m going to lose it. My wife and I went to Pine Shed last night and were super impressed. This restaurant was featured in The Oregonian’s «Best Cheap Eats in Portland» a few months ago and while it isn’t super cheap, there are some delicious eats.
We ordered the Draper chicken with Bacon Cheddar Mac and cornbread. The chicken was amazing! There was a great smokey flavor and the meat was very moist. Some of their house made bbq sauce gave it that extra salty sweet flavor that I craved. The Bacon Cheddar Mac was nice and creamy, but needed some salt. After the addition, it was gone as fast as the chicken. The cornbread has a grainy, not fluffy, texture, which I enjoy. You can tell that it’s homemade and not from a mix. With the provided honey and butter, it’s basically a dessert.
Ordering can be a bit confusing. You don’t order at the shed, but look a few doors down to the right and you’ll see a Pine Shed sign. Order inside and you can eat inside or out.
Also, the service was great and the staff was way nice than other Unilocalers made them out to be.

I am rarely in this part of town, but when I was out this way my barbecue radar went off. I remembered a bookmark I’d made months ago for Pine Shed.
It’s a cute place. Outdoor tables, many with umbrellas. People were enjoying dry weather outside with beers and their dogs. You order and can also choose to eat inside two doors away from the original «shed» which can be a little confusing. Theres a nail salon in the middle. I arrived just as an employee was pointing out the correct door to a few other customers. Theres a pig shape on the window. Helpful.
The staff were friendly and welcoming. We ordered a family meal of 7 small but meaty pork ribs, ½ a small chicken, 3 pieces of cornbread, and «large» sides of coleslaw and potato salad. (they weren’t all that large) There were three little cups of bbq sauce and butter. Total was $ 42. It was ready fairly quickly. We hauled it back to Bethany smelling smoky goodness the whole way.
The verdict?
The ribs were delicious. They had a nice rub on them, were tender, and had the required smoked look to them. The chicken was good too. The meats didn’t need sauce at all. The sauce is good though. Tomato/​vinegary sauce. Pretty typical. Not spicy.
The coleslaw lacked flavor but at least wasn’t a mushy mayo mess. We are biased because I make very good coleslaw. Next time I would try gorgonzola salad but I was outvoted this time.
Potato salad was yummy. Clearly homemade.
Cornbread was pretty good. Grainy though. My kid wasnt a fan. She likes her cornbread fluffy.
I would go again. The smoky meats were really bomb.
I did think a family meal should have four pieces of cornbread and more filled up sides for that price. But overall our impression was a good one.

Love this barbecue place near Portland. It’s my new go to place for lunch. They have the smoker out back going all day and lots of outdoor seating.
Brisket was moist and flavorful, and the pork ribs were excellent. They had a nice smoke flavor, and pulled away from the bone with just a little tug, like they should. For sides, I enjoyed the cornbread and some bacon mac & cheese. It’s a good amount of food, and they added a pickle and some pickled onions. Check it out.