Bubbalou’s Bodacious Bar-B-Q

Close to the UCF campus this location has a high convenience factor if you are over in the area. We headed here prior to a concert on the campus, so it was an easy choice. We were greeted as soon as we walked in, which was very welcoming.
I went with the chicken dinner basket, which comes with three sides. I have to say that this was far too much food for one person! I could easily have split this and an appetizer with someone. And that would also have left room for dessert! Yay!
The chicken was really tasty, and all the sides were a win (corn on the cob, BBQ beans, and mac and cheese). The corn wasn’t a sweet corn, but it was grilled, which was nice. The mac and cheese was creamy and had a good flavor. The beans had a good amount of BBQ flavor, and were still on the baked bean sweet side, which I like with BBQ in general.
I definitely didn’t have room for dessert, but they do have options I’d try on another go. They also have a happy hour I’d like to try out.
Overall: A
A good option for a pre-​campus event meal! Split the dinner basket!

Very underrated. BBQ is great. Fried corn is superb. Sweet potato tots are insanely good. But the peanut butter pie, if they have any left, is AMAZING. Make sure you get your sandwich on Texas toast instead of their roll

This is one of my favorite bbq joints! My boyfriend and I often come here on Friday or Saturday nights because there’s typically no wait and the food is consistently great. On some nights they will have bands playing and/​or their cornhole boards set up for some friendly competition. The staff is always so friendly and helpful. Quick to bring out the food and quick to clear away the table as well. I typically order the same thing, the pulled pork sandwich with collard greens and fries, but I have also had the corn nuggets as well which are amazing. The pork has that nice smoky flavor that can only be enhanced with the wide array of sauces they offer on the table. I like it spicy so I love that they have a range of different «hotnesses» so I can mix it how I like. They also keep pepper sauce on the table which I can appreciate since I am southern and love it on my collard greens!
All in all, if you love BBQ, you can’t go wrong with Bubbalous!

Good barbeque not great, I would say it’s better than sonnys but not nearly as good as 4 rivers.

I have been eating here since I was 5 years old, & it has always been the same amazing resturant I have grown to know & love. The people who work there are beyond friendly & always willing to help & the management make it a personal mission to make sure your experience here is the best it can be. Everything in the resturant is authentic, the décor, the people, but especially the food. I would highly recommend this restaurant to anyone, especially those who love thier Bar-​B-​Que.

Once again this place cannot get an order right and service is slow. Placed an order online, 15 minutes later we left to get the ribs only to wait another 15 minutes when we got there.
Ribs ordered without sauce, get home after fighting UCF football traffic, and ribs are drenched in sauce.
Called the restaurant, spoke with 3 people, the last being the manager who tells us to bring them back. Explained the traffic issues. His comment? «Well, I don’t know what you expect me to do.»
Having owned and operated my own small restaurant 30+ years ago I would have offered to, A) Deliver the correct order, B) A free order on our next visit. NOT cop an attitude.
Guess with the college near by they are concerned with customer service or relations.
Sam Miner, in an e-​mail we exchanged I commented how unhappy I was with this location. My opinion hasn’t changed.

Tried this place out because I saw they had catfish and I love fried catfish. I got the catfish dinner and my girlfriend got the pulled pork sandwich. The dinner came with three sides, I got the baked beans, coleslaw, and mashed potatoes. My girlfriend’s came with two sides and she got fries and corn on the cob. The catfish was great. It had a really nice seasoning on it. My sides were all good too. My girlfriends sandwich was generously topped with pork and it was juicy. The fries were hot and crispy. The corn on the cob was alright, not worth the up charge the cashier didn’t mention. And speaking of up charges, they charge 25 cents for a water cup. Anyways, the employees were really helpful and friendly, the barbecue sauces were really tasty, and the food was good too!

Good atmosphere and friendly service. Only thing not good was the potato salad… Don’t recommend it. What bothered me though was the «up charges «that weren’t even mentioned when ordering. The girl asked my husband if he wanted his corn on the cob or loose kernels… Turns it that there was an up charge for on the cob… Would of been courteous if she mentioned it… Also we were charged $.25 a cup for water, which had never happened to me the USA… Wasn’t even filtered… Was nasty Orlando water. Once again I don’t know even know why they can’t tell you…

Nice meal with the daily last night at Bubbalous. The food was served fast and correctly which is always a plus. I ordered the chicken and rib combo with collard greens, green beans and French fries. The fries were old and hard or just way over cooked. The chicken was great but the ribs had very little meat on them. I’m not sure if our quality of food had anything to do with the time, 9:00PM, but in my opinion the food quality should always be top notch. This restaurant needs to do a better job of quality controlling their food and ensure everyone receives the best, no mater what time.

Great BBQ at great prices. Great flavor, atmosphere, good customer service. could improve on the price for the sauce to go.

I’ve been eating here for years. The BBQ is fantastic & I’m not a huge BBQ fan. There are only a few places I’ll eat it and this is one.
If you’ve never been, there are drink specials on certain nights. I thought $ 1.50 martinis was kinda cool, though that’s not the night I went. I thought it was a nice change from $ 12 martinis, though not necessary for me to continue to eat here.
I’ve had several work meetings at this establishment & the atmosphere is good for relaxing my staff. There’s plenty of room for a large or small group. I’m sure size is relative, but we’ve gone with between 18 & 30. The service for the numbers I brought in was excellent.

Well I wish I could say that the review was for the food, but, alas, we didn’t get the chance to eat because we left the line after the counter gal spent more than 10 minutes dealing with one young man who was flirting with her!!! Um, hello? Did you not see the people behind him in line trying to place their order for what appeared to be rather pricey sandwiches — $ 9.99 for a pulled pork sandwich with two sides served in Styrofoam???

Hated it. Had pulled pork sandwich. Pork was as dry as a leather shoe. Sauce was cheap and bread was tasteless. Staff here has no interest in any of their customers. Will never go back here. It sucks.

Let me start by stating that I eat out more than 900 meals a year and have annually for almost a decade. Do the math and you’ll see that I’ve had my fair share of restaurant food. I’ve also eaten at several hundred BBQ places in the US. Bubbalou’s has been on our to-​try list for several years after reading about it in a Best BBQ of Orlando article. While a fun place to eat, with good service and ample TVs the food doesn’t rival the atmosphere.
If you are comparing it to the rest of the BBQ in the greater UCF area, it falls short. 4 Rivers Smokehouse blows it out of the water and ever Smokey Bones, a large chain is much better. Bubbalou’s BBQ is average, at best. In fact, many of the meats were below average.
We dished out the cash to try a wide assortment of meats and ordered a four meat combo with three sides, most of which remained on my plate after 15 minutes, not because I wasn’t hungry, but rather the meats were under-​whelming.
Let’s start with the positives. The brisket was good. It was lean, did have flavor and if you simply ordered just this meat you’d probably be impressed. The same goes for the pulled pork. Meanwhile, as the list grew the disappointment widened. Smoked turkey is one of my favorite things to order a BBQ restaurant. It’s usually mouth-​watering and flavor is juicing out the meat. This, on the other hand, looked and tasted like packaged meat you’d buy at the grocery store. The smoked sausage, honestly I’m not sure what it was. Terrible. There’s no better word to describe it. And, the pulled chicken was extremely tough and bland.
At first sight, we were thrilled. There’s an enormous amount of sides to choose from. Sadly, when we left, they were all still sitting on our plate. The mashed potatoes and gravy were very gooey, almost like when you eat saltwater taffy. The black eyed peas tasted canned and the Brunswick stew, well bland would have been an understatement. This was closer to Chef Boy Ardee. My friend ordered the mac and cheese which tasted like onions and the pasta was mushy. The baked beans tasted sour. The sweet potato was fine.
None of these sides tasted homemade, like we thought they were and while the portions are large, the taste isn’t. Meanwhile, their soft drink selection is a step up. There’s unsweet and sweet tea and soft drinks as well as Cool-​Aid and Lemonade. Their lemonade speaks volumes about the quality they pride themselves on here. It’s Countrytime, a store bought mix. Any quality BBQ places makes their lemonade from scratch.
We even tried dessert, which wasn’t what we expected. When we asked they told us that the pecan pie wasn’t on site, from scratch, but it didn’t taste that way. Honestly, it tasted like something you’d buy at Publix or Costco, like a frozen pie. The banana pudding was mediocre.
After spending $ 26 on this lunch, per person, we left feeling empty handed. I wouldn’t return and if you have the choice between here and other options locally you’ll find better meats, sides and desserts nearby. When we visit and local BBQ chain, we expect it to be at least average, this one needs work. The sides need improvement, the desserts need a new recipe and a few of the meats have growing to do. And, if you don’t believe me, head over to 4 Rivers Smokehouse and try the same meats/​desserts and sides you did here. There’s a world of difference.

Had the sliced pork sandwich fries and beans. Pork was so dry it was Allmost inedible even by drowning it with sauce which was too much vinegar and cayenne. No flavor. The beans had very dry pieces of leftover pork and ruined them as well. At least the fries were cooked to order and hot. I will not be back

I would say Bubbalou’s is a mixed bag. Great atmosphere with the look of an old garage with lots of signage and cool old stuff. However, I was here for the food.
Cost $ 20 for a brisket sandwich, one side, and a drink, along with a kid’s meal with a corn dog. Portions were small. Only 4 small pieces of brisket on the sandwich and what amounted to a small fry at any fast food restaurant. Brisket was ok but nothing special. Sauces were good from mild to «killer». But just not worth it for the price. Left hungry and unsatisfied.
P. S. Have gone her multiple times before and have had decent experiences. but it now seems as if prices are going up and portions are just getting smaller.

While many Bar-​B-​Q establishments have come and gone throughout the Central Florida area, Bubbalou’s Bodacious Bar-​B-​Q has been a mainstay for as long as I have lived in Orlando.
I hadn’t eaten at the East Orlando location in a fairly long time and was a bit surprised at the recent changes they had made to their menu. The addition of pizza selections looked a bit out of place and I wasn’t quite ready to give them a try. The fried catfish, however, looked like it would hit just the right spot.
This was some of the best fried catfish I have ever eaten. The batter was crispy and the fish was moist. The peppery taste to the fry was present but not overwhelming. The Jalapeño grits were fantastic and packed plenty of flavor.
The only issues to be had were the same ones that I can remember from eating here so many years ago. The parking is still severely lacking and the corn bread muffins are a bit on the hockey puck side.

As someone who doesn’t really like the taste of meat, but has a family that loves meat, I am always in search of a good restaurant that will satisfy all of us.
This place has it both.
Now, they don’t have too many options for people who don’t like meat, but they do have delicious pizza.
I ordered the «Selfie» pizza which is basically just a personal 10″ pizza with up to 3 toppings. I chose Spinach, Roasted Red Peppers, and Tomatoes as my choice, and it was absolutely fantastic.
My family ordered a Ribs platter and said it was great too.
The atmosphere is nice, and if you are looking for a sit down restaurant, you might not find it here. It is more of a «picnic» style and you order your food when you walk in. They do however have a section for those who want to be served, and that is where we sat as we wanted to look over the menu before making our decision.
Overall, I would recommend this place.

First off, the décor of the place is awesome. Youre surrounded by pigs, you get to listen to country music and the atmosphere is fun and laid back. The service is also great! The staff is all smiles, friendly and polite.
In regards to the food I ordered a half pound of pulled pork, mild garlic wings and a personal pizza. I must say, I’ve never been to a BBQ place with such great pizza! Everything was delicious and hot and i will be back for more!

There is nothing I love more in life than a good bbq joint. Well this is pretty darn good. Now the really awesome thing is I ate at 4 Rivers down the road yesterday so I can make a pretty immediate comparison. The answer in my opinion is that they are both great, just different.
First, 4 Rivers is a bit more trendy. This place is classic bbq. If you’ve been to Rudy’s in TX the ambiance is similar. They bring your food to your table here and I felt like my food was fresher. Also, no crazy lines here.
Second, they don’t have quite as extensive soda selection here but they do have cheerwine in a glass bottle and in the fountain.
Fried pickles are an appetizer here. Big portion. Only $ 2. Not my favorite crust on a fried pickle but they came out hot and fresh and because both the pickle and crust is thinner than 4R they held up better over time.
The Mac n cheese is hands down superior to 4R. This is homemade and tastes like it. A bite reminds me of my childhood!
Now, the bbq. Pulled Pork is my bbq of choice. I had a sandwich here because it came with 2 sides whereas a plate came with 3. Since I ordered the fried pickles 2 sides were plenty. So glad I ordered the sandwich because the roll it came on was so good! Soft, but toasted. Yum! The q here was more tender, juicier and had a better «smoke» here. I like 4R sauces better but my sauce if choice here was the mild.