Deke’s Bar-B-Que

The real deal: an old gas station transformed into a BBQ pit. Various pieces of smoking equipment loom outside the kitchen door. When you enter, a smoky, piquant smell overwhelms one and causes the mind to reel and the mouth to salivate wildly. Our order was waiting for us, a massive, heavy bag chock full of baby backs and St Louis ribs along with generous sides of Mac n cheese and greens.
Somehow we made it home without sampling any. The ribs were some of the best I’ve ever had: lean, meat falling of the bone, nicely caramelized, with a fantastic subtle wood smoke favor.
The day after, the left overs were even better! Now the flavors and the density of the meat had truly congealed a la a confit!
Fantastique! We’ll be back!

Friday’s are the night to order bbq from Deke’s! Perfect spare ribs and chicken. Wedges were great too.

Let me preface this review by stating that I am a bit of a BBQ rib snob and connoisseur. I have embarked on a yearlong quest to find the best ribs in Philadelphia. These were not them.
My roommates and I ordered a couple racks for the Super Bowl and got them takeout to-​go. The sauce was a deep dark rich smokey mesquite. The ribs however seemed a bit overdone but still decent. The macaroni and cheese was creamy but bland. The large portion of fries were a major bang for your buck and were hand cut masterpieces.
Both of my roommates really enjoyed their meals. All said and done this place was quality stuff but nothing to write home about.

Some of the best ribs in the area, and for some reason we like the «hut’s» (on ridge) food more than the «garage’s» (on Shurs).
The ribs are very flavorful and the BBQ sauce that comes standard is good. Not too sweet with a nice little spice. We prefer the baby back ribs, but both are lip-​smacking!
And the wings are big and juicy! It comes as a whole wing, so when you are ordering 5 wings here, it’s equivalent to 10 wings at a normal restaurant/​bar. And the whole chicken is delicious as well. Very, very moist!
Cornbread, normally I don’t enjoy cornbread. Here it’s so good! Sweet and a bit on the dense side but just the right amount of fluffy. So tasty.
Also, the root beer is good! Well one of us swears by it, and one of us doesn’t drink root beer. But every time we go, one makes sure we take it home! A great meal here and some good combos, too! Try it out! Great BBQ in philly!

We got a tray of brisket and 10 wings to take out. We just wanted their meats for dinner at home.
The wings were AWESOME — 11 out of 10!!! Very smokey. Note that this is the full wing (drummette + wing).
The brisket was also quite good. — 9 out of 10. The missing 1 point from perfection was because we feel (we and our kids) the bark could be a bit more flavorful compared to others we have tasted. Also, the meat was dryer (but not bad) that we would have preferred.

One of the BBQ places I ate at! Great food ! One criticism the potatoe wedges are a little salty. By other wise great food.

Great bike ride from Center City! Loved it… the prices, the menu & even the bitchy staff. Sauces and meats are knock your socks off.
Pecan pie has chocolate chips in it. Sat on the patio which was a perfect place to grub. I had the pork sandwich with a chicken drum for only like 5.99
Excellent!

The BEST BBQ I’ve had north of the Mason-​Dixon Line. Why only two stars? Cash only. I haven’t carried cash for years. No one carries cash. The ATM and its charges don’t make the lack of accepting credit OK. A food truck that serves tacos takes credit cards. This is a clean, down-​to-​earth, cool garage with a big bar in the middle that serves incredible BBQ near downtown Philly. Our awesomely freckled waitress suggested a beer I’ve never had before that I’ll definitely seek out when I get home. The three sauce options were unique and definitely added to the perfectly smoked ribs & brisket. The fritters were a great appetizer. Only that one complaint about this place… get a Square or something guys! You’re almost perfect. First world problems.

Really used to think highly of Dekes. Maybe it is a one time fluke but i don’t think I’d take the chance and eat here again. Picked up an order of fried mac n cheese balls, 4 burnt to a crisp balls for $ 6! Burnt fries in our platter and to top it off a big eggshell in my cornbread. Disappointed.

I was so excited to try this restaurant! I drove past it quite a bit. So after reading some of the reviews on Unilocal I decided to give it a try.
Horrible customer service! Horrible food! The ribs were the only redemption.
We ordered the signature Deke’s platter with BBQ Ribs & Chicken. The order came with wedges, cole slaw, and cornbread. We ordered an extra side of potato salad because we were snappily told we could NOT swap anything.
1) Customer Service:
The gentlemen taking orders was incredibly rude to us and the senior ladies that ordered before us. They asked about corn bread and snapped at them about how their orders don’t get corn bread and that they had to pay extra for it. He was very curt, arrogant and discourteous .
2) The Food:
— Wedges were so burnt I had to dig to find edible wedges but they were all broken into pieces
— Cole Slaw-​Hot and soggy no flavor
— Potato Salad– potatoes were undercooked and the dressing was runny
— Corn bread was small and very dry!
— Chicken was undercooked and tough
+ Ribs (slab) — were very good, fall off the bone great flavor
+ Good portion size
Overall, I would prob not eat here again! I expected something more …
They were also a bit pricey for what they offered. The food was not worth price.

Pros:
— Great portions! A friend and I shared the Chicken and Rib Combo platter ($ 25), which is meant for 2 people. In reality, it could have fed 3 – 4 people.
— Corn bread and potato wedges are so addicting! I would come back just those 2 items. Possibly the best I ever had.
— The chicken and baby back ribs was good, but it had way too much sauce. Definitely prefer the ribs over chicken, so tender!
— Service is fast
— Catering and take out is available at this location
–10% off if you check in on Unilocal :)
— $ 10 off $ 15 orders when you order on GrubHub with promo code gch0544 (Exp. ¹¹⁄₂₀₁₅)
Cons:
— Because its a take out spot, there is very limited seating (2 outdoor tables, and couple seats inside)
— No restroom :(
I would go back to try other menu options, but I would go to their other location on Shur Ln, because its bigger and had more seating options.

This place is great… all the food is good — mac cheese crush, ribs, sandwiches, cornbread
Fed worth a stop

Great food!!! When I’m in town I always stop and get food. If your around this place stop in you’ll love it!

The Corn Bread is to die for. I literally died. The bbq baby back ribs are good. The bbq chicken is good. But the cornbread… OMG I could eat their cornbread all day.
It has the right amount of moisture in the bread with the right amount of sweetness and some bits of corn here and there. They are very generous with the corn bread too. I think I could just order cornbread here and be really really happy.
Anyway, I need to try their other menu options. They have turned me into the corn bread monster!!!

I loved the corn bread… still warm
The brisket was juicy and so tasty.
the mac n cheese is still on my mind
and the cole slaw is spot on
Last time we did the ribs, each time we do the family meal, and ARE NEVER LET DOWN.

I really like Deke’s but I’m not a fanboy for the place like many people seem to be in this area.
This location is exclusively take out, which is ok because it’s about 2 blocks away from me. It is a positive mark on the neighborhood as everything around it smells like hickory and applewood smoke.
I give all of the sides 5 stars. A very loud shout out to the corn bread. Holy crap, this stuff is priceless, while being super inexpensive. It’s more like corn cake. It’s very heavy, soaked in molasses and super moist. I sincerely believe I am a return customer just for this stuff. But the potatoe wedges and mac n’ cheese are great too.
The ribs are good, but I wouldn’t call them world class. My biggest disappointment was the half chicken. I understand how smoking works but the skin was too tough to chew through. I almost wish they’d put it in the salamander just to crisp it up.
This is a great neighborhood spot and for the price I definitely recommend it. The quality is there and the family deals are a good value. Check it out!
FYI. There is a very small (4 car) parking lot for you to park and run in but it can get congested very easily and you can get stuck by morons parking everyone in. It’s best to leave someone in the car making sure this doesn’t happen, or walk if you can.

I really enjoyed the pulled pork sandwich, and the potato wedges where crispy and tasteful. The pork will make your mouth melt, I really recomend it.
Only cons about this place is that they do not have an available restroom, even though they serve food (I believe there should be a regulation for this).

Came here for lunch because we had an hour to kill before our movie. I got a chicken drumstick and a small side of brisket. Husband had a half side of spare ribs. This was our first meal of the day & it was MORE than enough food. The ribs were delicious– meaty, tender and tangy. Brisket was fork — tender and well seasoned. The chicken was huge and cooked through without being tough. Just the right amount of sauce on everything (I hate it when my meat downs in sauce). The cornbread was not overly sweet but had a moist, cakey consistency. The greens were a little sweet for my liking by hubby thought they went well with the ribs. The potato salad wasn’t much to write home about but I’ve certainly had worse. We ate outside at a picnic table and enjoyed a great meal.
However, this is NOT a sit down place. The two picnic tables are the only seating. Luckily we got there before it got busy. But the food is totally worth it.

This place is the bomb with the best barbecue ever! I love it! And if I lived in the manayunk area, I would literally be here everyday for lunch and dinner.
For $ 32, we had the chicken wing platter and brisket sandwich with fries and it was mind blowing. The portions are huge.
It’s super small here bc it’s the takeout spot. Hit up there full blown sit down dining restaurant 4 minutes away. It opens at 5 pm.

Best BBQ in the Area and a great option for a chance of pace when ordering out for lunch. I ordered the Fat Dude sandwich and it was fantastic! The sandwich was huge and while I could have eaten the entire thing, I held off and only had half. The brisket, pulled pork, and smoked sweet sausage were all excellent. The group I order with got yellow rose sandwiches, wings, and the pulled pork platters, all enjoyed very much.
Well done Deke’s! We will be ordering again and giving the ribs a shot!

Went to Deke’s yesterday for lunch! OMG! The brisket is what you want! It was fabulous! It was melt in your mouth tender and the bread was great — in my opinion the bread makes the sandwich and this was great! Ed filled our take-​out order and he was very pleasant. We had a side of mac n cheese as well as the corn bread. Both were good but next time I would just stick to the brisket sandwich!

The thing about Deke’s is that you need to stick to ordering just the meat. If you want sides, get them in addition. The brisket is the best I’ve had in the city, as is the pulled pork. Don’t was money on a platter. ½ lb is always more than enough for me. I love this place.

This is where Tommy Gunn’s used to be. They took out the minimal inside seating, so this is predominantly take-​out unless it’s a nice day and you can sit at one of the four-​seat outdoor tables. NOT scenic. The food is good though, and on a par with the original Deke’s on Umbria. This place is open for lunch, though. a big plus. You can get some very reasonable sandwiches here for less than $ 10 but a sandwich «platter» will set you back $ 10 (without a drink.) A «platter» includes potato wedges (no substitutions.) Sides are big enough to share (and at 5 – 6 bucks they should be.) Beans du Jour (today they had sausage, but they might have brisket or pork depending on the day.) Beans were great as were the al dente shells and cheese. My son and I got ½ lb. of brisket and pulled pork respectively. Both were moist, appropriately sauced (KC style for the brisket, vinegar-​based for the pork.) Meat was lightly smoky and had LOTS of bark (crisp edges) which is VERY welcome to ‘cue aficionados. Wife had a brisket sandwich, which was cheap, but decided next time to go with the ½ lb. and skip the roll. You don’t eat barbecue because of the roll.
Anyway, lunch for 3 was $ 42 bucks before tip (they do carry your food out to you.) Not cheap, but this ain’t Wendy’s, right? Good, solid REAL BBQ made by people who know how to do it. Will go back and try the ribs and chicken. Tommy Gunn’s was sort-​of-​OK when they weren’t out of everything you wanted. Service was polite, and they even have a veggie option if you happen to hang with people who roll that way.
Will definitely be back.