Cecil’s Texas Style BBQ

Look, I don’t eat much red meat, but when I do, its usually BBQ. I went there on Wednesday of this week and asked what was not to miss. I was told the Brisket and the pulled pork were the best. They also offered up the Macaroni salad, Collard greens and to mix the spicy and regular baked beans. Some of the best brisket I have ever had was right in front of me. The beans and Mac salad were tops as well. They have a BBQ Sauce bar and to top it all off, free ice cream cone at the end. Don’t miss this classic smokehouse in the heart of Orlando.

It was ok at best, and definitely not worth the price. The brisket was greasy and really had no flavor. Everything is served cafeteria style and at first was a little confusing no one was directing people where to go or what to do. The sides served on a hot table were luke warm. The meal didn’t fill either of us up.

The brisket burger (at 5:30 pm.) consisted of a reheated burger patty and some sliced brisket. I turned down the typical lettuce and tomato offering. I guess short order cooking is too high an expectation for some BBQ places. I liked their brisket though. (hence the 3 stars) The burger was not a good idea for me. The texture of the patty was not to my liking. The bun, well look at the picture. A sad sac.
The sauces worked. Was hoping for a vinegar based but mercy, I can’t expect everything! Not all BBQ places have every conceivable option in sauces. Actually I split the burger and did the brisket w/​o any sauce.
All the side items looked carried over from lunch and simply NOT appealing AT ALL.
So I opted for the one item that was not out in the steamer trays; fries. They drop the basket with the promise :“We’ll bring it to your table.“
Oh boy…
Yep, ½ way through the burger I get up just to show my face (the cash register was busy so I didn’t interrupt). Two bites left I confront my promise maker. and get the response: «He didn’t bring them out to you??»
Then the truly sincere apology comes. It was the genuine sincerity in her voice and expression that totally defused my aggressive attitude. Not totally her fault.
Do it again? Nah, I’m just not a fan of pre-​made everything style restaurants that use the steamer tray cafeteria style serving. Always under temperature and usually looks pathogenic-​ly risky.

1^st time at this spot. Decided to go there because of the review and it didn’t dissapoint. Texas done right!

This place is beyond tasty! I went here with my boss for dinner after a frustrating day at work and it definitely hit the spot!
I got the slider combo with pork and brisket which came with a side. I opted for the jalapeño mashed but couldn’t resist trying their bbq baked beans and tangy coleslaw.
To top it all off they offer free soft serve after each meal!
Delish!

My family heads here a lot for bbq and it’s a great place to meet up! When you enter you’ll see that the food is served buffet style. You’ll order the meat you want first, grab your own side dishes and dessert and drinks are at the end.
The brisket and pulled pork are personal faves. Barbecue beans, fried okra and fries are my go to side picks. If you’re a southerner you may want to try the banana pudding, it’s in the desert case.
The cashier will ring you up before you’re free to pick where you wish to sit. The front of the restaurant always seems cold, so heads up there.
Sauce is in the middle section with cups, or you can dish out right onto your item if you prefer. Free ice cream with meal purchase, so save room!
Overall: A
Solid barbecue and great place to eat.

Love it. Texas style sauces, excellent brisket (though not as smoked as I like), special brisket burger, three rib plate’s awesome, and even the chicken salad’s worth writing home about. I’ve been coming here for years and years and when you see the owners of other more famous bbq joints eating here, you get the idea. Watch out, can be overcrowded for lunch, so plan accordingly.
4.75 stars.

It’s a cafeteria style BBQ joint that projects an intimate and laid-​back ambiance. It’s a good quick lunch spot. Probably, it’s because they offer a lunch special that includes your choice of meat, a side, a butter laden toast and a drink. I always pick the chicken breast. Luckily, they have many sauces you can choose from in order to mask the blandness of the meat. I choose the sweet potatoes for my side; it’s not too bad, they are just a tad sugary as well as the baked beans.

I really enjoy Cecil’s. They have a great selection of side items to complement your meat of choice. I personal enjoy the sweet potato and the cheesy potatoes are delicious.

Just finished off the Polish Sausage sandwich on Texas Toast with fries. Flavor was AMAZING. Great portion size and all that for $ 8? I’ve had it a couple times before but that sandwich just put them on regular rotation for me!

It is my firm belief that when a business does not care about it’s customers, then it doesn’t deserve business. Maybe the owner doesn’t know he has people working for him that have no clue what customer service is. That is really a shame. Apart from the overpriced food, be prepared for blank stares after you request and order, and a good 30 min wait even with no customers in front of you. At one visit, an employee just walked away in the middle of putting an order together. Another employee was actually shocked, but I wasn’t. I’ve been frequenting this place out of pure convenience. I sacrificed taste and my wallet just for the occasional BBQ simply because there is a lack of better places in the area.

Nothing special. Ordered 2 pulled pork meals. Ordered large size but got small portions of meat. Okra was way over cooked and too hard to eat. Green beans tasted like they came out of a can. Not worth 30 dollars. Probably wouldn’t come back.
My visit was on 1−4−16

I’m sad, because I really wanted to enjoy Cecil’s. I love a good BBQ, and I love Texas-​style BBQ. I’ve had really good Texas-​style in different cities, including Orlando, and so I was hoping to be able to expand my repertoire here. Sadly, it’s not to be.
When we walked in on a Sunday afternoon, I saw their catering truck outside with «Home of the famous jalapeño mashed potatoes» on the side. Immediately I said, «Oh boy, I hope so,» because I love spicy things. I make a mean horseradish mashed potatoes (from scratch, of course) that are the perfect blend of heat and creamy potato goodness. In my mind I had hopes of soft, fluffy potatoes with occasional hot jalapenos in them, a marriage of hot and cool. Despite the fact that I hate country music, the music playing and the table of men sitting nearby talking in twangy accents and saying y’all every other word made me hopeful that this would be awesome and authentic.
Nope. Those mashed potatoes at Cecil’s had the unmistakable tang of instant. If you make a lot of from-​scratch potatoes and you’ve made instant potato flakes in the past, you know that the dehydrated potato packets and powders have a weird taste to them, a tang, that lets you know they’re from a packet. These most definitely have the taste and gummy texture of dehydrated, plus there was nary a jalapeño to be seen or tasted in mine. My husband and I had actually discussed our sides before coming, thinking about whether or not we should both get the jalapeño mashed potatoes as one of our sides. «What if they’re really good,» I said, «and I only got a bite of yours? That would suck.» Instead, we both got them and I was sad that I wasted my opportunity on instant mashed potatoes.
The meats were a bit better. I got a two meat plate with two sides and Texas toast (which was cold and neither buttery nor garlicky – nor salty, which other reviewers mentioned). I chose the brisket (of course) and the pulled pork. Both were decent, but not overly smoky (again, other reviewers mentioned an overwhelming smokiness from things like the ribs, and I didn’t get that mesquite flavor I was hoping for – despite the pile of stacked wood near the entrance). The brisket only had a little bit of fattiness in it and the pulled pork was fine. The sauce bar offered up three options: Sweet, mild, and hot. Neither the mild nor hot were to either of our tastes, so sweet it was. The sweet sauce made the meat decent enough, but nothing amazing.
My other side was the sweet potato soufflé, which was an overwhelmingly sweet concoction. I was expecting a bit more sweet potato flavor but it was really sugary, even for me (and I have a sweet tooth). My husband’s other side was the jalapeño baked beans, and on that one we were both actually hoping for them to be a bit sweeter. We ended up mixing in some of the sweet BBQ sauce to make them better.
His ribs were okay, but not the meaty hunks we’ve come to expect at other BBQ joints in town. Another reviewer joked about «anorexic cows» (or pigs as it were) – these ribs were pretty skinny. Doused in sweet sauce, they were a few bites on a bone each.
I will say that the bacon-​wrapped jalapenos were excellent. They’re very large, full of cheese, warm, and with fairly meaty bacon wrapped around them. My only disappointment there is that they’re not considered a regular side (I guess because of the whole cafeteria-​style thing – I’d probably overload on these suckers if I could just take how many I wanted!) so they’re $ 1 each. I really, really wanted to try them, so I was willing to pay $ 2 for 2, but really, $ 1 for 2 is how they should be priced. Another local BBQ establishment lets you have three as a regular side.
For dessert, we each had banana pudding, another disappointment. I love banana pudding, especially with vanilla wafers, whipped cream, and slices of banana. This had barely any wafers – a few sprinkled on top and a few meager sprinkles at the bottom of the cup – and no cream or bananas. Like the potatoes, it too had the fairly gummy texture of instant pudding.
I see that the owner of the restaurant checks the Unilocal reviews and responds back, and I do appreciate that. For as long as we had to drive to get out here, Cecil’s will have to step up their game substantially to make us come here versus 4 Rivers, our current Orlando fave BBQ joint. Their ribs are meaty, their two sauces are delicious, and their banana pudding is on point. Every side I’ve had has been amazing there. Cecil’s could be so much better, and could start with making the mashed potatoes from scratch, having hot Texas toast, adding more jalapenos in the mashed potatoes, and balancing the smokiness of their BBQ meats.
We left and two different employees thanked us for coming, so two thumbs up for the friendliness, and our counter employee joked with me as I ordered my food. I did enjoy the friendliness there. But I probably won’t be back to Cecil’s any time soon, not when there’s better places closer to my house.

Outstanding flavor with everything. Great quality meat (I had the pulled pork, as always).
The only reason I am not giving it ⁵⁄₅ stars has to do with their lack of friendliness. Being a Texan myself, I am happy to strike up a conversation with the folks who prepare my meals, and inquire about the place. I made three failed attempts to get to know more about the restaurant and it seemed all three guys were slightly bothered by us.
Gentlemen: You should never disregard your customers but should make them feel at home.
I will go back because the food is that good. If I still feel like they’re being rude– this will be the last time.

Overall, the top BBQ place in Orlando for my money. It’s truly Texas style and they’re very generous with portions.
Recommend the three bone rib dinner which is three full sized spare ribs and from the side dishes, try the fried okra, baked beans, jalapeño mashed potatoes and collards. Brisket is also very good.

Cecil’s is the place to go if you want the best BBQ pull pork sandwichi in Orlando. Also good place for strawberry up-​sidedown cake and ice cream cone, delicious.

I have been here many times, first time I can Unilocal!about it.
I had their beef ribs, man they looked like something out of the Flintstones. They were on point. I also enjoyed their hot beans. Da bomb!
I always enjoy Cecil’s when I go there. I found it a little pricey this time though.
The only negative that I can think of is that it’s awfully dark inside. I had lunch the day I went and I found the inside very dark. Food, great.

We had friends and family in downtown today and they were in the mood for BBQ. My wife recommended Cecil’s since we’d been there many times and never has a complaint. She had some studying left to do and wanted to take a walk so we chose to go there later. She finished up and after taking a walk in College Park, we found a few nice places to try out some time while doing a little shopping. We saw a place called RusTeak that caught our eye and we really thought about walking back there and having dinner. We chose to finish our walk and head go to Cecil’s…
When we arrived I took a few photos of Cecil’s for my review. My baby chose the 2 meat dinner and I chose the 3 meat dinner. We both chose potato salad for one side but she likes the sweet Texas style beans and I prefer the black eyed peas. It comes with Texas toast and the pickles and onions with are a must! You always have your sauce ON THE SIDE with Texas BBQ so a trip to the condiment bar is a necessity! Soft serve ice cream is offered to finish off your meal…
After gathering up my condiments and taking a picture of everything… The feast!!! Lol
I sampled her sausage and which seemed to be a lacking some smoke flavor I have come to expect at Cecil’s. The pulled pork was very tender, lacked usual amount of seasoning and was light on the smoke. The brisket was falling apart tender but also lacking on the usual smoke flavor. The pickles and onions were fresh as always and now it was time for the ribs… They ribs were so tender you could eat that cartilage and that is when you know the pit master timed it right but it was also lacking the certain level smoky flavor I have come to expect at Cecil’s. Their sauces were EXACTLY as I remember them my last trip there.
The potato salad was just as remember it but the black eyed peas were not as well seasoned as they usually are. I took a bite of her beans and they are just as I remembered them. My biggest complaint is when the beans are sickening sweet and Cecil’s delivered there. The Texas toast was only grilled on one side and had an off taste this time. My wife usually does not eat her toast and I asked her to try it and tell me what she thought. She said the same thing I was already thinking.
I was disappointed because I have NEVER had a complaint about their BBQ in the past but this was NOT the same BBQ I was remembered. After we finished up I chose to inform the cashier of our observations. She became very defensive that everything was made the same and nothing changed. Rather than arguing with her I just joined my wife and we left. She could have handled that better or simply called over the manager but instead chose to present herself as offended.
After we left my wife called to see what the others had to say and to our relief they had enjoyed their BBQ experience at Cecil’s. My wife is born and raised in Texas and I spent 6 years in Texas and took some time to learn how to make Texas BBQ. One thing you can’t miss is the taste of Mesquite. It has a distinct taste that fell in love with in Texas. That was what we both found missing today. A little bit a long way but it adds a certain taste that just says TEXAS. You can «make do» without those few moist chunks but I would not advise it… One thing every Texan I spent time around a pit had was a specific wood or combination of woods get a certain taste makes your BBQ special. That is why your sauce is always on the side in Texas… Combine that with your special «rub» and cooking time and that is the LOVE that goes into that special BBQ. A lil bit of that LOVE was not there today. SIGH
Overall the meal was still good but it was definitely NOT the same we remember. Every other trip the staff was happy and perky and they all seemed to be just going through the motions today. Texans are known for being friendly and full of hospitality but that feeling was not in the air this trip. I would hope this was just an OFF visit because I have never had a complaint in the past. Anybody close to me knows I have always recommended only 2 places in Orlando and Cecil’s is one of those 2.
I will definitely be back but I sure hope next trip it is just as we remember from our other trips…

At Cecil’s again for probably the 20^th or 30^th time
Just love this place from the moist brisket to the self-​serve side is in the assortment to the barbecue sauces warmed up and sitting hot in the middle where you can serve yourself importing the small dishes
Another thing that we really like is you get free softserve ice cream at the end which is a really great treat that rounds out dinner just perfectly and is great for the kids
In talking with the pitmaster I was reminded how they just don’t see using their brisket with salt or pepper like four rivers are other places do they just let the meat do all the talking and smoke it low and slow
This is the closest brisket barbecue we found in Florida to the real Texas thing
Upping my review to five stars as every time we come here it is always wonderful barbecue

Not my favorite BBQ joint yet, but a great switch from stuffy restaurants!
This is a cafeteria-​style restaurant with you ordering at the front, serving your own sides, and paying at the register before you find yourself a booth. The atmosphere seemed legit and I actually liked the relaxed nature of this service-​style. Unfortunately, the chicken I ordered — which the gentleman said was grilled and smoked– was so incredibly dry. Even with their wonderful sweet BBQ sauce (self serve as well). I’ll admit, I’m a total sauce girl and I happen to love my BBQ drenched. Despite the dry texture, there was a great smokiness to the chicken.
I had the sweet potato soufflé as my side and I enjoyed it. It wasn’t overly sweet which I really appreciated, but if you like it super sugary, you can always skim some off of the top (where all that sweet goodness is waiting for you!).
It also came with a piece of toast. I loved how it was toasted on the one side, but I actually wish it had been toasted on both sides as the back was still fresh and soft. Again– this may be a matter of preference.
As I left I noticed that I had two separate employees say goodbye and thank me for coming in. Gotta love some good customer service! I’d go back but I’d probably et the pulled pork (which my friend scarfed down before I had a chance to try!).