Neely’s Bar-b-que

Was not impressed at all. It took forever for me to get seated and then it took really long for my waitress to get my drink and order. The food took even longer. I had the pulled pork lunch special. The fries were cold and not enough sauce on the meat. I would not eat here again.

Checked in 3÷21÷13 around 1130. Now for the review… oh, that’s right, I can’t review them because this location as well as the other one were both «closed due to renovations». Really? And it’s funny because on a Thursday morning there were absolutely NO signs of any renovating, cars, trucks, people doing anything inside or out except myself and another woman who drove there to get some food, but she too ended up leaving w/​o anything just like us. And I called both locations @ the ph#‘s listed on Unilocal and they were disconnected… really???
C’mon Neely’s! We drove from STL to try you all and ended up leaving w/​o anything. We ended up driving to the other establishment with the same outcome.
«IF» there is anyone out there who can shed some light on this i.e.-how long both restaurants have been closed, has there been any activity @ all in the way of renovations @ either place… etc. I would greatly appreciate it.
What’s really going on???

I visited this restaurant based on the owners being on the Food Network. The food was horrible, some of the worst soul food I ever have eaten and we didn’t finish our food. The restaurant needed a remodel and was grungy. I visited June 2012.

This actually pains me. Ever since I started watching the Neely’s on the Food Network, I have wanted to try this restaurant. I wish I hadn’t. The food was not good at all. It tasted like everything was pre-​cooked the day before and warmed up in the microwave. I have to say, I was also annoyed by the plastic silverware and the lack of BBQ sauce on the table. I could overlook this if the food had been somewhat decent, but it wasn’t. Stay clear of this place.

WHATEVER YOU DO, DON’T EAT AT THIS RESTAURANT!!! IT’S HORRIBLE.
I will just get to the point on this one. The décor was old and the place looked like an old beat down HOT A** MESS. The ceiling had mold coming out of it and the ceiling tiles were broken and hanging from the ceiling. The molded insulation in the ceiling was near a ceiling fan so of course that crap was blowing all over your food. We came from Chicago to Memphis to visit family and wanted some Memphis ribs… they were not good at this place. AT ALL!!! (Thank God BB Kings on Beale street saved the day — awesome food!!!). And like another reviewer said the booths were raggedy and broke so we had to find one that wasn’t going to fall apart when we sat down. I told the manager that I was going to call the Memphis Health Inspector (which I did) and have them shut down because mold in the ceiling is a serious health issue.
Like others, I was SOOOOO disappointed that this is the type of restaurant the Neely’s pride themselves with and they have a show on Food Network. REALLY!!! All that money they make and they can’t invest NONE of it back into their restaurants. EPIC FAIL!!! I already didn’t really care for the show but NOW… I’m just done with them. I wish I could give them a NEGATIVE STAR… cause they don’t even deserve one.
Oh…I also emailed them and posted on their Facebook page the disgust I had at the restaurant. Hopefully they will consider doing something about it.

Driving through to Texas, with great anticipation decided to give this place a try. An empty restaurant has shown me over and over again and I never learn. Hostess served as waitress for me and one other customer this day. Dry attitude which turned me off immediately. Took forever to bring my drink which I cannot for the life of me understand why. Ordered hot wings which where just okay. Sausage sandwich that was clearly cooked twice and that made one side of it dark/​hard. The appearance of it was horrific. Swatted flies and gnats the entire time I ate. Another family that came in walked from booth to booth to find one that was not broken. I cannot believe that a restaurant of this caliber is run by the Neelys. They clearly do no keep up with how the place is being run, or don’t care. Sad, will never go again or recommend. Great music!

So my mother and I were making our way back home by way of Memphis. We wanted to try some Bar-​B-​Que and, since another place was closed, we decided to go here. Firstly, the service was horrendous. There was maybe two other families in there and two waitresses. It took forever for them to take care of us, our glasses were left empty without refills, the place remained filthy, and they were just generally unpleasant. The food itself was nothing special and I had had much better in Nashville and the surrounding areas on our trip. It was a HUGE let down. I would recommend doing some more research and not settling for this mediocre establishment.

OK, I’m a tourist, so on our way through Memphis I had just one shot at Memphis BBQ. We chose Neely’s because of their popular Food Network show, positive reviews and «best of» awards. I gotta say, I was totally disappointed.
We were seated promptly in the completely empty restaurant by a reasonably friendly hostess/​server who promptly informed us that they were out of boxes so we would need to eat whatever we ordered as they couldn’t pack it for us to take out. Very strange, considering there’s a takeout window just on the other side of the dining room that had customers. What were they doing, carrying it in their hands? She then told us that there were out of a lot of things, including iced tea, which also seemed rather strange.
I ordered the ½ slap of pork ribs and my husband ordered the sampler. My ribs were tender, in that over-​cooked, boiled to the nth degree and dredged in sauce kind of way. The only flavor came from the sauce itself, which was okay, but nothing to get excited about. My husband’s sampler platter included some of the driest turkey I’ve ever tasted, the same pork ribs that I had as well as some okay beef and pulled pork. The pulled pork had better flavor than the ribs, but again, nothing to get excited about. The coleslaw and the rolls were the best things we ate. The coleslaw has a nice, slightly aggressive heat to it. The rolls are not homemade but are soft and sweet. Based on our entrees, we opted out of dessert.
I can’t speak to other BBQ places in Memphis, but Gates in Kansas City and Two Dudes in Warrenton, MO blow Neely’s away.

I recently made a trip to Nashville/​Memphis with a couple of friends. My one friend is a huge «foodie» and had done some research on some good BBQ for us to try on this trip and she suggested Neely’s. We all figured since they had been around for a while, won «Best BBQ» in Memphis and the Neely’s have their own show on the Food Network, we couldn’t go wrong.
The service was very friendly and even though they were busy, we were seated right away. My friends ordered the Sampler Platter which was a sampling of Pulled Pork, Pork Ribs, Sliced Beef and Sliced Turkey Served with Cole Slaw, Beans and Bread. The pork and ribs were very dry, however, the bread/​rolls were the softest rolls we’ve ever eaten. I had the BBQ Chicken and you could tell from the skin that it was over cooked. I had a hard time slicing the meat as it too was very dry. The BBQ was just OK. With all the hype about Neely’s, I expected better and I can honestly say, I’ve had better BBQ in Chicago.
As a side note: another review mentioned that the neighborhood isn’t that great. It’s in a somewhat industrial/​small town business neighborhood. It’s safe to drive to and sit down for a meal.
Another reviewer mentioned to lock your car doors. Well, just use common sense. When you’re in a new town, you would just lock your car doors anyway.

Yummy food, great service, and celeb owners — what more can the foodie/​semi-​snob/​tourist in me ask for?
I go to Memphis every year, and every year I get barbeque. We normally just pick it up, and take it back to the house, simply because there are very few barbeque restaurants that have the space or the ambiance that make me want to dine-​in. My Dad surprised us with a trip to Neely’s…like we got in the car, and asked where we were going and he said it was a surprise. I was pleased once we pulled up into the parking lot… I told you I’m a tourist!
So we walk in, and it smells like smokey, barbequed goodness. I couldn’t wait to dig in. After a few moments, the hostess came from the back to seat us, and a friendly lady in the kitchen lets us know that we can’t possibly leave without ordering dessert. We smiled and said «ok.»
So we walk into this dining room that was also really clean for a barbeque restaurant, and it had a large TV playing the Food Network. Both the hostess and the waitress were super friendly, and very helpful. I ordered the Texas Beef Sausage sandwich and a sweet tea. Now please keep in mind that I rarely order tea when dining out, simply because too often, up here «sweet tea» means Lipton Brisk, which I LOATHE! This sweet tea was really good, though, so I was happy. My sandwich was very tasty as well, so needless to say, I was one happy New Jerseyan. I’d definitely go back for another sausage sandwich.

I stopped at this location on a recommendation of a few of the locals. It wasn’t in the greatest of areas, but when I walked through the door and up to the counter it instantly brought me back to everything I ever remembered about Memphis BBQ.
I ordered a full rack of dry ribs with a few sides, to go.
Brought them back to my hotel room and indulged.
Soooo good.
Go here for lunch or dinner, but lock your car doors when you go inside.

Oh come on, you gotta love the Neely’s! The family definitely knows their barbecue and have consistently given this town some of the best.
Now the ribs and the pork are pretty much what most people love here, but for me, I say the best thing on the menu is the sliced (or cubed) beef brisket. It’s is wonderfully tender, slow smoked for hours and hours. The platter is about 10 bucks and served with your choice of two sides. But just make sure one of those sides is the barbecue beans, because they are definitely something you want to try.
They also have great desserts — especially the pecan pie, really good sweet tea and they cater.

Even though we think the Neely’s are annoying on their Food Network show, we figured their food is what first put them on the map. So, we made Neely’s Bar-​B-​Que part of the food tour on our recent visit to Memphis.
The to-​go order was beef brisket, fries, Sock-​It-​To-​Me cake, and a Pepsi. Yes, this is a Pepsi establishment, so it’s already a winner in my book! The brisket was nice and tender and the BBQ sauce was heavenly, not too smoke-​y or vinegar-​y. The cake was an awesomely moist cinnamon cake that that I wish was a magical endless-​cake. I suppose all good things must come to and end, because we devoured the food and washed it down with the Pepsi down in mere minutes.
Needless to say, The Neely’s know food. Maybe we should give their Food Network show another chance?

Pros:
I’ve been to this place a couple times on my trips to Memphis. I think I had bbq chicken on my first visit, which was 2 yrs ago. I went again, about 2 wks ago and had the smoked turkey… oh it was good! The sause had just a little kick of spice to it. I love the cole slaw and the potato salad. I had pecan pie for dessert… and that was good too!
Cons:
The wait staff isn’t very lively and could be a little more attentive. Everytime I go, there seems to be teenagers waiting on me… and it seems like they haven’t been taught to «work it» for a 20% tip! On this last visit, it was a party of 4 and two people’s sides were mixed up! My dad’s a vegetarian… and they ran out of salad… so…he couldn’t eat!

Okay, but not great. Good for a meal, but why go there when Showboat and Leonard’s are nearby?
When I was a kid in the early and mid-​1980s, there was a Pizza Inn we used to go to at this location. It is the only restaurant I can remember going to with my family prior to age 5. So the location, if not food, means a lot to me, because they’ve maintained the basic interior structure.

Took visiting family to Neely’s because of Food Network. We visited on a Thursday evening. The place was about 15% to 20% occupied but it still took 10 minutes before we were seated. The staff didn’t appear busy or actively doing anything — yet disinterested in taking care of customers.
Our server was very friendly, though a tad slow. The first thing we received after ordering was a basket of bread. Though pretty with a glistening top and beautiful brown color, they were plain. Not bad, just not good — like grocery bought bread.
Our small group of five ordered a little bit of everything including the Sampler Platters. Turkey, chicken, beef, pulled pork, and ribs. Bottom line — VERY DISAPPOINTING. The awesomeness of smoked bar-​b-​que is supposed to be the savory flavor of the meat itself; not at Neely’s. DRY and relatively lacking in flavor. The turkey was dryer than a new bride’s first Thanksgiving Butterball and rubbery. The pulled pork and turkey both tasted as though they were three-​day-​old leftovers warmed in the microwave. The ribs weren’t bad, but not great either. There wasn’t the fall-​off-​the-​bone tenderness or savory flavors I’ve experienced at lesser-​known BBQ joints. Instead, the ribs were a bit tough and the rub was tasty; but the rub flavor didn’t penetrate into the meat.
Overall, the joy of family made the evening a success, but we passed up two Corky’s to get to Neely’s. We should have saved the time and gas money.
The bill came to just over $ 60. We left a $ 10.00 tip (just over 15% and barely justified only by the server’s friendliness instead of decent service) for a total of $ 71 and change. When we got the Visa bill — $ 81. I called today and they promised to rectify it; but I’ll take our few dining out dollars (and out of town family) to Corky’s.
It’s a shame, because the Food Network story is a fun angle when taking out of towners to a local restaurant. We were really hoping to love Neely’s; but the owner’s are better on TV than their chefs are in the kitchen.
Respectfully — Chris

I had the pleasure to have experienced Memphis BBQ for the first time at this fine restaurant. I had the small pulled pork dinner with slaw and potato salad, and I couldn’t even eat a quarter of the plate without getting full. Afterwards I was chatting with some men next to me and they were also saying that they wished that if they knew how big the platters of food were going to be, they would have asked for half of it to be wrapped up already! Gosh it was amazing. Please go!

Well this is our 2^nd Neeleys visit on our never ending quest for the ultimate beef rib.
Not close, no cigar.
We have tried the ribs in Nashville and Memphis. Both locations served flavorless, cold food.
This resturant has been raved about in the media.
I am not impressed.

BBQ Mecca!
Lookit, I’m a Hoosier now living in NY. There are some okay bbq places here on Long Island. Mostly owned by people who have been to Memphis or Kansas City and brought back the offering to NYer’s. They do okay, but there’s just nothing like good old southern bbq.
IMHO, Memphis is the bbq capital of the world. I’m sure there are plenty of other places that boast fine bbq, but come on. It’s Memphis.
My husband and I took my parents to Memphis for their 40^th wedding anniversary. We had two tasks to complete: pay homage to The King and eat the best bbq in the world.
Enter Neely’s bbq, owned by a handful of brothers that are total hotties
I promise you, collectively, it was the best bbq I’ve ever had (see Pig on Beale for best pulled pork, ever!). We sampled everything — the juicy smoked turkey, the tender pulled pork, burnt ends, ribs and brisket. People who love bbq have their favorite cut — so get what you love. I promise you that it is all better than good.
The bbq spaghetti is welcome change for a kiddo or for just a taste, but I couldn’t make a meal of this when there are ribs to be eaten.
The sides are good and homemade. We did the cold salads — potato, cole slaw, etc. They’re better than anything I can make and they are definitely better than anything you’ll get at a deli counter. I just wasn’t here for potato salad.
I was here for bbq and I fell in love.
I left with 5 bottles of sauce and 3 bottles of rub.

Second stop on our «conquer Memphis bbq or die» tour. A colleague told us abut this place. Apparently, they have a TV show on Food network: Down home with the Neelys. They have won quite a few awards for their bbq.
We went for lunch. We ordered a bbq sampler plate to share. It comes with black beans and cole slaw. The sampler has beef brisket, smoked turkey, pulled pork shoulder, and ribs. The ribs are the wet variety.
The meal was fu*kin’ fantastic (I find myself swearing more after returning from Memphis… what is that about??). The smoked turkey was the winner followed by the brisket and ribs. The brisket is, hands down, the best brisket I’ve had. The ribs were incredible.
The difference between Neely’s and Corky’s? The ambiance. We went to Corky’s for dinner and the place was bustling with activity. Busy and lots of stuff going on. Families, children, waitresses, music…
Neely’s is much more relaxed. I guess it was not animated because we went to lunch around 11:30am. Who in Memphis wakes up at that time anyway? We were the first people to enter the restaurant. Neely’s ribs are also more smokier than Corky’s. Our waitress was friendly and sweet… and she called me sweet thang (just like the waitress at Corky’s).
I am getting a feeling I am not as mean as some people think. It is probably a good thing, right?
P. S. See my Corky’s review for further comparison: