Al’s Barbeque

Not surprised at all that they are no longer in business. YUP! That about says it all.

This place is a joke. It’s so bad I would give a negative star if that were possible. I work on the Marietta square and we all know what places to eat at and what places to avoid. Avoid this one like the plague. The food is horrible. The service is horrible. You will often see Al, the owner and cook, wandering around shirtless at this little hole in the wall prior to opening. If you value your internal organs, just walk on by this place.
Update. And now this place is closed.

I’ve never written a Unilocal review before but use it often. This is reflective of how bad my experience was here.
–Making a reservation was confusing. The phone is never answered and there is no way to leave a message.
–The owner’s children, who appeared to be about 5 and 8 waited on us. While it was cute at first, they came by every couple of minutes to take plates or ask if we were done. When they weren’t doing that, they were running in and out. I couldn’t enjoy my food or conversation.
–One of the children used the restroom in plain sight of us eating with the door open. I wish I was joking about this.
–The food was just bad. Not just ‘it’s closing time and we got the bottom of the barrel’ bad, but just bad. My beef ribs had no meat on them, were charred to the point of being inedible. The appetizer had something odd tasting in it that we couldn’t identify and my friend had to stop eating it. Turkey wings were dry. I can say the mac and cheese was good. The actual BBQ sauce on the table was just vinegar-​y with no other taste.
–As soon as we arrived, I was told there was only one beer left (the Groupon deal included two beers). I said that’s fine, we’ll just get Cokes. This would have been fine if I had realized we would be charged for the beers because that was what was under the Groupon deal. We didn’t get a receipt, but were told we owed $ 8 on top of the Groupon (which should have covered $ 42). Our food came to $ 33, minus the Cokes. I highly doubt two Cokes and tax brought our total to $ 50, but as I wasn’t provided a receipt, I don’t know. The owner seemed agitated when I asked what the $ 8 covered, and seemed irritated that I didn’t understand the Groupon covered up to $ 42. That was fine by me, I just wanted to know what I was being charged for. His reaction made me feel uncomfortable asking for a receipt, which now I feel silly about because I’m sure I was charged more than I legitimately ordered.
I felt that having a Groupon was used as an excuse to overcharge me and not provide a good level of service. Given that Groupon is used by businesses to promote themselves, it seems like there would be more effort to treat customers using Groupons well to get repeat business. Not in this case.

Why 3 stars… I had the puled pork, M&C, Collards and tea. Fantastic deep rich smoked flavor on the pulled pork likely the best I’ve had in these parts. The collards not so much. a tad bit greasy and overly spicy to me and too many large stems. Also in my opinion the sauce was a miss too.
On a good note Al makes everything with love and care. The place is an authentic creative offering. When it’s good its really good but there is a chance for an off day.