Corky’s Bar-B-Q

Consistently great BBQ, slaw, and sauce. You won’t go wrong with this Memphis BBQ chain.

I don’t often give five stars but their customer service definitely earned it! I placed an order online for two Delta catfish platters with fries and a sweet tea at the Cordova location, or so I thought. After hitting submit and getting the confirmation for my order and payment I realized I had ordered at the Poplar location. I called the Poplar location and explained what happened. Even though it was my error they took care of it. The Poplar location called the Cordova location and transferred my order and payment, my food was still ready at the estimated time, and the staff at the drive through window let me pick up my order at the window. Everyone I encountered at both restaurants were, friendly, understanding, and most of all, accommodating. It is not often that I bare witness to true customer service in Memphis. It is obviously part of the culture at Corky’s. When giving reviews I evaluate the entire experience not just the food and Corky’s scored high in all aspects of this visit. I’m not a huge fan of their bbq but their catfish is AWESOME! Well seasoned, cooked to perfection, and real US farm raised catfish (not the Vietnamese imposter Swai).
This is my go to spot when I have a hankering for catfish and next time I’ll call the order in so I make sure I’m ordering at the right location.

Ok restaurant. I wish I knew the ribs were spare and not baby backs. The menu doesn’t specify but the price led me to believe they were back ribs. Service was very good, but disappointed that they lacked the ability to specify the ribs they use. The dry rub was too overpowering to the point I had to scrape it off and douse it with sauce. I read reviews on Corkys and was excited to try. Won’t be back, plus the outing has turned my palate against BBQ for the next week or so.

This is my second time visit Corky for dinner with colleague. Old fashion setting and cozy environment. Tried both wet and dry at first time, loved the dry one, so return to have the dry seasoning ribs. The ribs are cooked thoroughly, although could be most juicy. A nice place to hang out, and waitress is nice.

Portions were large, inexpensive and the staff was friendly and attentive. My pulled pork salad was good, my mom had the spaghetti and said it was good. My husband had the ribs and sausage and really did not care for either. I tasted the ribs and thought the flavor was great (wet rubbed) but the top was very hard and chewy, the inside on the bone was good though. Rolls were hot but needed to be more crusty and why skip and use buttery spread instead of butter? The banana pudding was good and huge portion size! Overall not a bad experience but not really anywhere to go out of your way for.

Ive heard great things about this place, what I would say is that the service was great, and the ribs are pretty good, but this food has a touristy feel to it in my opinion. The sides pretty much taste like they came from some prepackaged container. I’m glad I tried it, and it’s not a bad place to go to at all, I think I’m just spoiled by all of the incredible BBQ in Austin, TX.

Okay, so I’ve been eating bbq for my entire life as a resident of Memphis. Corky’s has been around as long as my 27 year old mind can recall. It’s always good, not the best if you are local, but solid none the less. That being said, they do have, in my mind, the best bbq buffet in town on Wednesday at lunch time. All you can eat rolls, beans, corn on the cob, sausage, pulled pork, salad, mac and cheese, and some killer banana pudding. This is one of my favorite lunch rituals I have found. Love it!

Great dinner. The bbq was fresh and cooked to perfection. The sides and slaw were great compliments to the main dish. Service was great.

We had the wet and dry ribs. They were great and authentic.

It was pretty good. Definitely go for the dry rub ribs. The wet rub was not great. The pork shoulder is dry and not at all great same goes with the hush puppies, it was too oily. I would say the mac and cheese is awesome and also the onion loaf sauce! But i definitely expected more. But its not bad. Maybe i just need to find out what to order.

Ordered take-​out for 14 people last night — it renewed my faith in my «years ago» great experiences with Corky’s. Last year’s wasn’t so good (it was from a different location), but last night’s food was great.
We had the «triple threat» — ribs, bbq chicken, beans, slaw, extra sauce, dinner rolls and rolls for sandwiches. Everything was fresh, hot and delicious. I ate WAY too much and enjoyed every morsel.
The order was supposed to be ready by 6:10 — it wasn’t ready in time but the staff was courteous and professional.
Next time I’m in town, I“m sure we’ll be back.

Ordered the pulled pork dinner. I got a good sized portion, about half of a normal sized dinner plate, with a cup of baked beans and cole slaw. The pulled pork is cooked for 15 to 18 hours. It was fork tender, moist, and was lightly covered with their house sauce. They offer the regular and a hot sauce on the table. I didn’t try the hot sauce because the regular sauce was delicious! Probably the best BBQ restaurant baked beans I’ve had to date. I didn’t like the cole slaw, but I’m a creamy, KFC style kind of guy and this was more cabbage, light cream, possibly with a bit of vinegar. Quite crunchy, and fresh, so if you like that type, all the qualities were present.
I’m from Michigan, so I hassled our waiter for a «pop» and asked him if he was going to get our food, or if he was just «fixing to get it» and he took all my old man joking with grace and decorum. I enjoyed the food and the atmosphere.

A different waiter this time made the experience much more enjoyable. Scott was frendly and was great with checking on us even if he was just walking by. He was Great at multitasking. Even got us to go cups for our drinks.

Driving through Memphis and decided to stop by! This place is known for their dry ribs and they were wonderful! We did a full rack half dry half wet. Also ordered a fully loaded Memphis style baked potato with pulled chicken, that was okay I’m not a fan of bbq sauce in my baked potato. For the appetizer we got half a loaf of onion rings, it came on a knife, it was huge for half a loaf, I can’t imagine what a full loaf looks like.
Service here was great. Server was kind, informative, knew everything on the menu.

We ordered the sausage and cheese appitizer. The sausage was incredible. The cheese on the other hand was seriously lacking. I dont see the point of it. It was mediocre cheese. Maybe if they had a higher quality cheese?
I ordered the ribs and brisket. I got the ribs dry since they have the bbq sauce on the table. I was disappointed in the ribs in that they were SO salty. Even after adding the sauce it was still too salty, and I like salt! My husband said his were also salty and they weren’t like that the prior week. Whoever was in the back must have gotten a little rub happy when seasoning the ribs prior to serving. HOWEVER beneath the salt the flavor and texture of the ribs were delicious!
I thought that the brisket was the winner of the meal. It was tender and flavorful… well, that and the F-​ing rolls. OMG, so dang good!
I don’t get the canned pork and beans in Memphis they try to pass off as baked beans. Squirting some bbq sauce in it isn’t enough. At least add some other things and actually BAKE it. IDK…
I got the pecan pie to go. I expected sweet as it was pecan pie but NEVER did I think it could be sweeter that strait up granulated sugar. I’m cringing as I think about it.

BBQ Nachos are fantastic
Pulled Pork sandwiches rock
Ribs are subjective, half our guests loved them the others ehhh
Fried Catfish is the cats meow
service was fast and accurate
prices were very fair… we go often :)

I came here just for an appetizer but got super full! I can’t go other restaurants anymore.
I ordered Corky’s killer combo $ 19.99. Rib, brisket, coleslaw, beans, and ultimate tasty bread. Rib is the best in this town this time. Brisket is not as good as last time. Bread is always fantastic! I ate 4.5.
The staffs are really nice. Fun atmosphere.
It was AMAaaaaaaazinG!

I have been here a couple of times. It is close to where I live and that is the main reason that I keep going back. I have had the ribs, catfish, pulled pork.
It don’t find it that special, it is okay but nothing life changing. Corky’s is supposed to be a Memphis staple and it is worth trying just for that.
The potato salad was awesome!

In Memphis on business and was told Corky’s was the place to go. I came on a cold Monday evening so it wasn’t crowded.
I ordered the dry rub ribs and they were «OK». They were a bit dry so that kept them from being amazing. The pork was very flavorful and the rub accented the meat well. I tried the sauce (to make them more moist) and that helped tremendously. My server was great !! Very friendly and helpful.
I’m not giving up on this place because I think I may have caught them on an off night. I’ll swing by on my next trip

After a late check-​in at our hotel and craving some barbeque, I found this chain, located a short drive from where we were staying. Supposedly, it’s a Memphis institution. This location is in the ‘burbs, east of the city.
With parents who were tired from driving all day and didn’t want to eat out, I placed a to go order that was ready in about 20 minutes. Located in a strip mall in Cordova, the large interior was dominated by plenty of flair that was part Disney-​esque and over the top. But the food is the only thing that really matters. The rib and beef combo ($ 19.99) consisted of a half rack of ribs covered with a dry rub showcasing a great mix of heat, tang, and sweet and tender and moist brisket with a sauce bordering on being too sweet. The regular order of wet ribs ($ 16.99) were also a touch sweet, but the smokiness from the fall-​off-​the-​bone meat made up for it. Finishing up the meal was a slice of their Karo pecan pie ($ 3.99), heavy on the corn syrup with ample amounts of pecans, it may not be the best, but it definitely hit the spot.
With a few locations in Tennessee and neighboring states, this growing chain is good enough to fill your barbeque needs in a pinch.

What can I say about Corky’s? Nothing more than it’s one of the best BBQ’s we had on our Tennessee journey. Super friendly staff, packed restaurant, great atmosphere. We had the best dry ribs ever! Not comparable to any other restaurant. Pulled pork was as it should be. Soft and tender and very, very tasty. Their home made Sauce is great too, but you don’t necessarily need it, as the meat is just perfect.