The Pit Bar-B-Q

Went there yesterday with a buddy to have a late lunch…
We started by ordering an appetizer of Gator Bites. They came and we found them overcooked and rubbery. They charged us for this $ 12.99!
Proceeded to order a bucket of beers. $ 24.00!!! For a bucket of 6 beers!!!
The entrees came and they were served on cheap plastic plates with holes in them from where the hot ribs touched the plate.
The ribs look like they came from a skinny pig…
The coleslaw was pretty good.
Then the bill came, a lunch for 2 people, $ 87.00!!! That is with a 15% tip included…
Make sure you look at your receipt well because try to double dip on the tip once they take your card and bring you your copy to sign. Saw a couple of customers complaining about this.
Overall…will not step foot in this place again.
Overpriced…
Overrated…
Underwhelming…
I eat out a lot and don’t mind paying extra for meals and services when they are good. This to me was just garbage. I can’t find any other word for it.
There are much better places in the area to have BBQ than this place. Go to the Sport’s Grill on 147^th and 104^th on Wednesdays and ask for the Special Grilled Spare Ribs.
Congratulations to the new owners, you have managed to ruin a Miami landmark restaurant.

The place is not what it used to be. I want more for stout check memories. Don’t get me wrong the food is not bad. The service is good.

The food was decent… The entertainment yeah not so much.
Well we went based on other reviewers on another site and when we got there it was more like a Cuban reception party with the entertainment. Well we came from Arizona and had some smaller kids so we just went inside to eat after we tried to sit outside but the mosquitos and Cuban music was so loud that we decided to love inside. Then when we left there was some Cuban guy cross dressed and wearing practically nothing that I was pretty embarrassed that my kids had to see him. Much less have to explain that it was a man and not a woman. There is a place for that and I don’t think a bbq joint is that place. Just my opinion though…

It’s a shame that what can be a neighborhood «cool» outdoor casual hangout and restaurant can be a real pit of hell! To start, the crowd seems right from there and it’s extremely over priced and so loud you can’t hear the waiter and he can’t hear you. A small rack of ribs is $ 24 and so is a bucket of 6 beers! I think that is just plain theft! Unless it changes owners, I think I will stay out of this HELL!

Just say no. I hope this is not the best BBQ the area has, so sad. Tough ribs, dry meatless, a knife didn’t even help get what little meat was on there. Chicken dry! Slaw too oniony. Just keep on driving by.

We both had the pulled pork sandwich with baked beans and fries… The sandwich was pretty good. Overall the service was really slow. there were 5 people their and had to wait almost 30 minutes. for two sandwiches and two drinks it was $ 25.00
If your hungry its good food. but I hope your not in a rush.

I live in Texas, so I should know better than to try to get barbecue elsewhere. My bad.

The ribs are good but overpriced for the size of the serving. Pulled pork was way too dry and overcooked.
And I can not stand restaurants like this that insist that they do not have tap water available only bottled water (which of course they charged me for). I used to eat here regularly decades ago. I believe it was different ownership. Back then they provided tap water all the time and it was fine. The food was also much, much better back then as well. Been here a couple of times over the past few years. It has really gone drastically downhill.

So don’t come all the way out here for the food.
But if you’re on the your way to or from Shark Valley, air boating, dropping a dead body… why are you all the way out here?
Overrated.
The Pork tidbits were tough. Fried biscuits were not actually biscuits.
But the pulled pork was good and the roasted corn had a smoky flavor.
The coleslaw was awesome.

Nothing is more memorable than a smell, a scent. The first thought that comes to my mind is regarding the smell of the freshly «re-​paved street/​parking lot». But I guess, in time, that will be gone.
The place is extremely casual, true to its name.
I had gator bites for the first time. Since I cannot compare with any previous experience this is what i think: flavor wise they are quite mild, although they are fried. I tried all of the four sauce available. The texture is like that of a very chewy chicken.
Then the best part: a guava cheesecake… Reaaaaaally good. Oh gosh… That, I could crave constantly.
Service was pleasant.
I just remembered: only cash at the Pit. I had not notices until my server told me he couldnt use the cc.
Ps: they could have the establishment a tad cleaner.

Terrible busy during the weekends and holidays. First it was difficult to find parking and then we waited 40 minutes for a table. To get our food was almost another hour.
Food was ok. But I don’t know if I am going to dine there again.

I used to visit this place almost weekly when I was working in the Everglades. It was a pretty no frills establishment with great food. Since those days I believe management has changed, and while some frills have been added, I feel that the food is not as consistent.
They have added more outdoor seating under a huge thatched roof, and now have a bar outside as well. I haven’t been there when there are sporting events, but I think there’s a TV by the bar as well.
I have been back a couple times in the last year as I was again visiting the Everglades and had rated the food very highly to my friends. The sandwiches are DELICIOUS!!! The ribs however, were not as I remembered, and didn’t fall off the bone. And the chicken was also a little dry. However, both were pretty tasty, and they have BBQ sauce on the tables. Back in the day, there were multiple styles of sauce, even one that was a little spicy that wasn’t Tabasco or strong vinegar based. The sides are plentiful and flavorful. With the new management, came a variety of Cuban staples like maduros, tostoñes and black beans and rice.
I will still pass by when I’m in the area. If you’re looking for something different on Tamiami, give them a try. And a word of advice, wait until you’re hungry. It’s a lot of food. Enjoy!!!

Food was great. Nice and casual atmosphere. Playful kittens running around was a nice touch.

Good place. Discothèque and party were taking place as we walked in. The service was prompt and with the smile. The only downside is smell of alcohol and dirty restroom. Other than that, it is a good place to stop in Everglades.

We stopped in a little after taking the everglades airboat. It was around 11am. They were starting to setting up the tables etc. I like the ambiance. There is in house dining and outside dining. Seemed neat and clean.
Food wise, we only ordered a 6 pair fired frog leg and 2 corn on the cob. Frog legs hit the spot. They are bigger than the normal ones you get which is good. It was golden fired and tasty. The corn on the cob on the other side, they put a weak stick on it that broke as i was trying to bite it and guess what? the oil/​butter splashed all over me and i ruined my jeans and my shirt! :(big big big bummer!
Aside from that, they have a big mother cat with 5 – 6 kittens running around playing and sometimes begging for food scraps. Very cute.
Tip: they don’t speak much English if you don’t speak Spanish. Communications could be challenging sometimes. Also the female owner served us and she was being pretty pushy when it comes to ordering more food and drinks. She’d make the surprise face if you tell her that’s it.

By far this is the worse restaurant I have ever been to. Immediately after I finished my meal i did not feel good. I went on to have a very unpleasant evening. The ambiance is loud and the service was a bit slow and yes, they do automatically include a 15% tip to your check. No credit cards allowed– only cash.
I do not plan on visiting this establishment again.

I’m not sure why there are so many negative reviews. To begin, this place is called The Pit, and yes, it sure is. I’ve been coming here for years and there has definitely been an improvement.
This is basically a hole in the wall type place that is worth stopping at if you are going or returning from Shark Valley, an air-​boat ride and/​or Tamiami Gun Range. It’s convenient, plenty of parking and reasonably priced.
As a disclaimer I don’t eat meat but before you stop reading, my other half is a major carnivore and picky at that. His go to meal is the Pulled Pork Sandwich and he rates it a 9 out of 10 every time. His favorite bbq meal. Fries are yummy and the serving is plenty. I always enjoy a variety of non meat sides. They do have a veggie burger but I haven’t tried it yet.
It used to be that you would order at the window and later pick up your meal. Under new ownership, they have begun table service. I find that so far, the service is friendly, food is good and served in a timely fashion.
Another change I’ve noticed is although the menu is primarily typical bbq fare, there is now an additional Cuban flair with rice, tostones and plantains being served. Really more of an expanded menu with all the usual choices.
My suggestion is expect a pit. When you arrive, select a table under the chicki hut or inside the building (air conditioned but not super cold) and enjoy the experience. This will continue to be my stop when in the neighborhood.

In short, this place has dropped in quality since our first chance meeting four years ago. My brother who comes every other year also noted the decline. The gator burger was small and tasted very strong, and the ribs were on the dry side. My recommendation is to focus on the food once again. We travel by here on Sunday nights to see cars lined on the road, but it is obviously for the music and beer.

My first one-​star review. Wow. Returning from the Miccousoukee American Indian Day celebration, we saw this «Pit» and thought to give it a chance. I read some negative reviews first and was going to pass on it, but my wife said to give it a try. We sat at the empty bar for some elbow room. I don’t know if that made a difference, but the waitress was horrible. Didn’t explain the menu, and was difficult to understand. Most of the time she had vanished. The alligator bites took so long, I thought that they had gone out back to kill one first. These were overpriced and just so-​so. The hot sauce for dipping was good, but was served in like a thimble. Finally, the pulled pork sandwich came out. It wasn’t too bad, a little dry. Cole slaw and fries were forgettable. A Key Lime pie was a microscopic torte, and overpriced. One star is for a) not prominently posting credit cards are not accepted (just cash/​debit) and b) shortchanging us… when we tried to discreetly point this out, the waitress was rude and haughty. AND, to add insult to injury, they add a 15% tip into the check. No wonder the service was absolutely horrible. With her, and some of the other servers I observed, I felt I was in some inner-​Hialeah greasy spoon joint from Hell, and not on the edge of the ‘Glades dining under a tiki hut. I definitely would NOT recommend this hole!

What a cool little place on the way to airboat rides. Have to say the food was good. Service was good and drinks were cold. Nothing jaw dropping amazing but just good. Baked beans little too sweet. Bbq beef sandwich was good and so was the coleslaw very tasty. Price is kinda on the high side for a bbq place. I see these prices on south beach. But not good for out here. I’m happy the lady told me not to just bring the gator bites home cooked and suggested I get them frozen and cook them when I get home. I will be back again to try the ribs. Let’s see how it goes next time. Thanks again

I liked the tropical, tiki vibe of this place and thought the workers were nice. Unfortunately, the food and cost brought my rating down!
We had tried the corn, alligator bites, fried bisquits, chicken, and ribs. The corn and bisquits were okay, but I couldn’t finish the chicken. It was flavorless and chewy. I didn’t try the ribs, but they were ranked from my boyfriend as «okay». I was really hoping to enjoy the alligator bites, but they were overcooked and chewy. Since I’ve had some seriously good alligator bites before, I knew these didn’t do the order justice! If this was your first experience with alligator bites please don’t cross them off your list, THEY ARE DELICIOUS… if you go to the right place.
For the quality and quantity of food, we were charged over 100 dollars for a meal that should have cost a max of $ 75. Yes, it definitely sounds like we ordered a lot, but the portions were small. All in all, I wouldn’t recommend simply based on the pricing. Just wasn’t worth it.

Really bad food and expensive. The ribs are thin and nothing special ($ 17). The shrimp ceviche come with a LOT of lemon juice. The dip fish is small and with a lot of pepper (burn your mouth). The alligator plate taste like nothing. Just one star for the yucca. Dont have AC, and the staff sucks. Take the plate before you finish, dont wait for you to choose, really rude. Total $ 88. For bad food and bad service. DONT EAT HERE! Is my first bad review, i’m really sorry!

The food is good without hair in it. I found hair in my pulled pork sandwich. They were very apologetic and gave me a free meal for it, which was nice but I had lost my appetite so I took my burger to go. The service is good. Don’t try to pay with card if it’s less than $ 20 they don’t accept card. It says it very small on the front of the menu, which no one looks at so they had to point it out. We sat inside, but they have outdoor seating with music. Overall an okay place for barbq. Watch out for the creepy clown walking around.

For starters, the name of this establishment fits its appearance. It’s a PIT. Nothing fancy about it. If u have a shirt and tie, send someone to order your food and eat in your car. It’s hot and sticky. Today was in the 90’s and we ate inside. It was a slight breeze but was still sweaty a little bit.
The waitress was very nice and sweet. The best part beside that is that she had all her teeth. I was worried about that. Lol. She was polite and broke down the menu for us. She was bilingual. She was Very helpful.
We ordered the conch fritters. My first time eating them so I didn’t have a standard for them. But for my first experience it wasn’t bad at all. I would eat them again and eat them here.
I ordered the dinner gator bites. With three sides. Rice, black beans and tostones. (rice was a small portion. The black beans, also very small portion) Taste wise, it was all very tasteful. My wife had ribs and chicken with tostones, she didn’t complain.
The ONLY COMPLAINT would be the tab. Total was $ 70 for those two meals, 3 drinks, flan, conch fritters and corn on the cob. That’s waaaaaay too pricey!!!
As I was writing this I had this at a 4 star but when I got the tab I dropped it two stars. The meals weren’t anything fancy and worth what we paid. OH! They ADD THE TIP. Regardless if u liked your service or not.
Taste: Good
Atmosphere: ok. Sticky and warm/​hot
Price: wow! Throws u for a loop. Too HIGH.
I would rate it a 2.5 overall. The price is what just floored me. Hole in the wall place I was expecting hole in the wall sort of prices.

Horrible food and service. We were a party of three and got the conch appetizer which wasn’t too bad, but was greasy and set the tone for the main dish. It was served on a cheap foam plate and the dipping sauces were served on two tiny plastic sauce cups. So small that you couldn’t dip the food in them.
The main dish was also a disaster. My friend got the gator ribs and were also served on a foam plate. The plate broke in half as soon as my friend tried to use the plastic fork and knife to cut it. The ribs were super dry.
My husband’s catfish filet platter was plain and overpriced. We should have taken a picture because we can’t even describe the disappointment.
I got the shrimp ceviche appetizer as a meal since I wasn’t very hungry. It was the worst ceviche I have tried in my life. I eat half of it and gave up. The shrimp they use is NOT deveined.
On top of this, they overcharged us and the lady that brought the check didn’t seem to understand simple math.
Bottom line, we will never ever come back to this place and do not recommend it to anyone.

OK– second time was even better! Pulled pork triple decker sandwich was the best I’ve had! Daughter and son had gator ribs and gator bite platters. and loved every bite!
Service was exceptional, and the owner is gracious and very friendly. We will be back many times, and encourage fellow Unilocalers to follow suit!

Not sure why all the negative reviews, as I was pretty pleased with my meal! Sticking with 3 stars as nothing was amazing (food nor service) but overall the place was A-​OK with me, and I appreciate the uniqueness of this location.
Paul W. and I came here after a long 15 mile bike ride through Shark Valley. By that time of the day I would have eaten anything so I was happy when he suggested The Pit, which still was about 10 miles away (I was starving!), but really was closest place to us.
He gave a pretty accurate run down that the menu was BBQ and they had thrown in some Cuban items as well. A little strange in my opinion, but I went with a burger as I figured it would be safe.
The Pit itself is an outdoor restaurant much like a hut, with a nice tall thatched roof. Picnic style tables are grouped together pretty closely, and although I would have loved a chair with a back on it, I made do.
Service was pretty quick to take our orders and bring out food, but I had the flag the waiter down for condiments and refills as no one ever checked on us.
Like I mentioned I went with a burger, not just any burger — a gator burger, which tasted a bit like sausage. They do also have a gator sausage on the menu so I believe the meat between the two options is identical. Once I got my much needed mayo and used some of the BBQ sauce on the table, the burger was pretty good. Helped also by the delicious bread (potato roll?). The burger came with two sides and I opted for coleslaw and fries. The coleslaw was ok, not my favorite, but the fries were pretty good and a decent serving size.
If I’m back in the area for Shark Valley or an airboat ride, I’d definitely stop back in at The Pit. Afterall, I need to try and frog legs due to Marqus’ review. I saw someone eating them and they looked great!

My bill came out to $ 60 and it was the worst lunch I’ve ever had for two entrées?
I didn’t even have an appetizer all I asked was steak and salad. We all know that salad does not cost a lot therefore they shouldn’t charge for something that costs a little. My entrée didn’t even have a side!

Really sad how what used to be an authentic American BBQ place turned into a lame SUPER TACKY Hispanic place that could only appeal to 50+ year old Columbians. When I go to a Columbian, Cuban, etc restaurant, I don’t go there expecting to hear Country music or Heavy Metal. I expect Latin music to go with the vibe and culture. The experience is what’s important. But to go to a BBQ place and have to listen to EXTREMELY LOUD old DJ doing salsa remixes is just border line offensive to Hispanics everywhere. As if we don’t appreciate other types of music. ESPECIALLY AN AMERICAN STYLE BBQ RESTURANT IN THE EVERGLADES!!! We had to relocate inside cause we couldn’t talk to each other at our tables without having to yell as if we were inside a club.
And let me point out that the servers have a serious God complex issues. Service at this restaurant is typical Latin 3^rd world in all it’s glory. Complete with attitude, snobbery, and snarky remarks from servers who obviously don’t care. Food comes out cold, takes forever and we were even asked half way through our meal to close our checks cause our servers shift ended and was going home. If you want real BBQ I highly suggest Shrivers in Homestead. They’re service is fantastic and the food is seriously a step above BBQ Pit.

I have great memories of when I was a child and my father would bring me here. Eating real bbq while they played country music and classic rock.
Unfortunately the original owner passed away and the restaurant was sold. And even more unfortunate is that the people who bought this are people who just should not be in the restaurant industry and they completely chose the wrong type of restaurant to get into. The place is now a Hispanic bbq place. (And don’t get me wrong, I’m Hispanic, but if I’m coming to what’s suppose to be American bbq I don’t want arroz con frijoles recommend to me).
The Hispanic change isn’t what made me rate this place 1 star. What gives it 1 star is how completely unsanitary this place is because of their cat issue. While I was eating there I counted no less then 20 – 25 cats roaming the restaurant. And these are not stray cats, there’s are obviously socialized cats that the owner has turned into pets jumping all over the tables, the counters, crawling under the kitchen, and popping out of the bar. At one point I witnessed the owner a lady with blonde hair carrying a cat off a counter and then grabbing and handling food to serve it to a customer. ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTING.
I managed to somehow still eat because of how hungry I was, when it was ready to pay the owner handed me the bill and I slipped my credit card in it. The owner then told me how «she doesn’t get really good signal at the restaurant » and her Credit card machine didn’t have signal so I would have to go inside and use her ATM and pay the $ 3 service fee. When I asked her if she could deduct the $ 3 ATM fee from the tab she went ALL CRAZY at me YELLING at me telling me how somewhere outside there is a sign that says «cash only»! Seriously? Are you out of your mind to own a restaurant and yell at your customers!!! And how does the city allow this place to be open with all the cats!!!
If something still posses you to come here use the bathroom before you go. I had to go around the restaurant to some sketchy bathroom in the back that smelled absolutely like someone died in there, and when I was in the bathroom guess what was in there? More cats!!!
Sad how this place has been driven to the ground!

AVOID THIS PLACE! BAD CUSTOMER SETVICE, BAD FOOD.
I remember coming to this place since I was little, after going to the miccosukee art festival. I haven’t been here in over 6 years, and I live in miami. So I was excited to go today after visiting miccosukee, and finally eat some ribs and chicken, and their fried bread that had sugar sprinkled on top.
We went straight to the window to order, and we were told to take a seat our waitress would help us. She finally showed up after a while, we ordered, and she recommended to my parents the Arroz con frijoles as a side dish to go with their ribs and chicken, she said they have good Arroz and frijoles. I of course went the traditional way, fries and cole slaw. We waited an hour for our food to arrive, we didn’t notice the time much since we were talkimg, but noticed others were getting their food first, so we asked and she said they are very busy and the food is made fresh.
After another ten minutes the food arrived. The ribs seemed reheated, and the chicken was the worst. It had a horrible after taste, my dad became nauseous. My mom said the chicken might have been reheated and put on the grill. The rice was lumpy and not cooked.
We finished eating, and all we wanted to do is leave. We asked for our check, and that took another 20 minutes. We didn’t want to complain, but noticed they were charging gratuity, and they charge 75 cent refills on $ 1.75 small fountain soda. WTH!!! We complained and she took off some of the charges. But never again will I be eating here. I was sad and disappointed of this place. Now it’s a Cuban run restaurant, with live LOUD music and a bar.

I seriously wish I had checked the Unilocal on this before we ate here! I can definitely see why it is rated so poorly.
We had a horrible experience. After a 15 mile bike ride on the Shark Trail we were starving and needed something quick and close by.
We decided to check this place out to get our grub on. We ordered the BBQ pulled pork and the BBQ chicken. Each plate comes with two sides so I had the black beans/​rice with sweet fried plantains and my bf had the green plantains and the coleslaw.
We waited 50 minutes in total for our food. We watched people come in 10−20min after us who got their food. So after about 40min of waiting we asked our waitress what was going on. She seemed like she couldn’t be bothered so she just told us there were a lot of orders in the back and she would check it out. She then walked off to serve other tables — never even bothered coming back to tell us anything. Finally another lady came and gave us our food. The food was so cold. It was obvious that it had just been sitting in the back for awhile. I must also mention that during our wait we watched a lot of other tables tell the servers that they didn’t order what they were being served; it was food that actually belonged to other tables. We even had one waitress put the food being served to the table next to us on our table while she handed them plates. That seemed so inappropriate and rude. Most servers know that you bring the tray out if you have to sit the food down. She didn’t even say anything to us.
Our waitress never came by once to check on us. It was absolutely ridiculous. And the food was dry and bland. In the end when she finally came to give us the check, she asked for an ID for my credit card. When I gave it to her she took it with her to ring up the tab. I’ve never had a waitress do that before.
Anyway I would HIGHLY advise AGAINST going to this place. And beware of the weird clown that walks around all the tables shooting his little light gun. Super creepy lol. No one wants to see that while eating!
*End Rant*