Sonny’s BBQ

Best Pulled Pork. I have been to many Sonny’s restaurants and this one has the best pulled pork I have ever tried. It is so good, you do not need sauce. The green beans are always good and the coleslaw is great. Service is always great, ¹⁰⁄₁₀

This is hands-​down the best location I’ve ever been to. Not only is the staff attentive to all of your needs there is hardly ever any wait time between asking for something and receiving it. Today Sam was our server and I have to say that he went above and beyond to make sure we were taken care of. While the franchises as a whole is always a safe bet for a nice meal, this location surpasses all the others in Central Florida. If you’re ever in ask for Sam, Lily or Devon!

Outstanding overall. Food was on point and service from Shane was outstanding. Ordered on a very busy night and did not wait long before seated and ordered food as he was very attentive. Overall a great place to dine.

I love this place,
The food is meaty and delicious and the employees are friendly.
A+

In the past 15 years I have been to Sonny’s BBQ ., 3 times (including today’s visit) Let me start with the good … Our server was geart!!! Let’s move on to the Bad and the Ugly; it felt like i walked back into the 80’s all so old and oh so «draby» we ordered the Sonny’s sampler with the original baked beans, slaw, garlic bread and an extra side of the new hot sausage and we also ordered the ribs, wings and hot sausage plater with cornbread, beans and fries. Boy oh boy… slaw was bearly dressed and bland, beans had a strong metal taste, ribs were dry oh so dry and Hey I am all about the smoke but, man if I didn’t know any better It felt like gallons of liquid smoke went into making this meal, We have never seen such Itty-​bitty, tiny, small wings in our lifes and the chicken was sooo dry god oh mighty!!!, brisket was okish and if you want hard dry sausage Sonny’s is the place be. FYI No I did not talk to the managers or complaint to the server It is what it is and there is a reason why We had not been back in yr and for sure will never go back

Meh food, terrible service. Go to Bubbalou’s instead.
Went to Sonny’s yesterday with my husband and waited 20 minutes for our waitress to come and take our order. We both ordered the brisket and my husband ordered broccoli and green beans as his sides. A lady who was not our waitress brought everything out to us except the broccoli.
Neither our waitress nor anyone else came to check on us until we were finished with our meals.
We paid over $ 6 after tax for 2 soft drinks and we were not offered one refill.
When our waitress came by to give us our check, I asked if she could just charge him for a big deal since my husband only received 1 side, and our waitress was rude and combative.
When she brought our check, I asked for a refill that never came. We had to wait for the lady at the take out window to cash out two people in order to get a drink to go, meanwhile our waitress was standing by the machine getting drinks for other customers and completely ignored us. Very rude.
The food was not great either. My brisket was dry, tough and lukewarm, and my husband received more rubbery slices of fat than meat. We won’t be back.
Go to Bubbalou’s instead.

I’ve been eating at Sonny’s for 25 years and a big fan. However, my experience today was terrible. Started with cold fries. Asked for new ones, they were warmer but under cooked and pasty. The ribs were bony and not much meat and the wings dried out.

What happened to Sonny’s? I used to love this place. Yesterday I went back for the first time in a couple months. The pulled pork was mush and the french fries must have been from the Friday earlier that week! So disappointed. Won’t be back when there are better BBQ in the area.

Always have good service and good food here. Love their sweet tea and garlic bread… the corn bread is so sweet its like dessert, its delish!
I usually always get the sliced pork. Ive never really had a problem with freshness and if I did they always made it right quickly. The food is reasonably priced and the staff is friendly.

Worse ribs ever…3 little ribs for $ 9+… So mediocre to say the least… Will not b going back!

Food was bland. Had the pulled pork and it seems like it was cooked in a crock pot, very little smoked pork flavor. Fries obviously from the freezer bag. The place is filthy, and I don’t mean just dust. First time there and that was one time too many.

Just picked up takeout. The lady who took my money was RUDE. That is the last time I will ever order takeout from them again. The food is a bit overpriced but combine that with RUDE staff… nope I will go to Kellers or Four Rivers next time.
We ordered rib dinners with a half pound of turkey and a half pound of brisket. The ribs were pretty much charcoal. I like char but it was inedible on the end pieces. The brisket was yummy but was served in thick slabs instead of slices which was odd. The turkey was pretty good.

I’ve been coming to this Sonny’s for years. I’ve tried a lot of other BBQ places around town and all over. I keep coming back to Sonny’s. Their bbq quality is always constant. Their meat is always smoked perfectly to where it isn’t over powering it’s just that prefect flavor.
I love all their sauces. My personal favorite is Sizzlin Sweet, but I always add a little more of the sizzling to it. Just to kick it up a notch.
An important thing to us is that the staff be as good as the food. We have never had bad service here or at any other Sonny’s. That’s saying a lot. Most restaurants don’t have that kind of quality. For good BBQ come to Sonny’s.

I went with friends and most of use went with the All you can eat offers. We went on a Thursday night around 7PM. The place wasn’t busy (less than half full) and there were at least 3 servers, plus a host. Instead of spreading people around the place they bunched ALL the tables at the far end of the place. So, we are all talking over the over tables and smelling their farts. Our server took our orders and my friend got the soup in addition to the meal. He’s diabetic and has to eat quickly after his epi-​pen injection.
Well, she forgot.
I finally flagged her down and she made an excuse (I thought you wanted it with the meal) and went and got it. Nick of time too. Sure thing honey! People want a bowl of soup at the same time their AYCE BBQ chicken platter shows up.
Let me also say that Sonny’s house beer, a red beer, is not worth a taste. No flavor. And both my beer one of my friend’s beer were warm. The waitress said it was because they don’t have enough tall glasses and there isn’t enough time for them to get cold. So, my friend asked for a pitcher of ice to set her beer in. So, she got a free beer from the waitress, but because I didn’t make such a fuss, I just got to drink my warm beer.
On to the food: I had pulled pork with cole slaw and mac & cheese. The pork was thoroughly cooked, but lacked that smoky flavor. I think these the pork shoulders are just waved over the smoker, then put in a crock pot. And there were big clumps of fat and sinew, that junk needs to be picked out when shredded. The slaw was nothing special, but cold and edible. The mac & cheese was bad. The noodles were mush and you couldn’t taste the cheese. It must be the cheapest «cheese food» they could find. The server was nice enough to swap out fries for the noodle mush.
But we did run that poor server ragged with the food refills. We brought my friends’ kid with us and he’s a 16 year old football player who just got done with practice that day. He got AYCE ribs. LOL!
With all the good BBQ joints in Central Florida, I can’t really give you a good reason to go to Sonny’s, except the AYCE specials.

It should be 2.5 stars right about the middle.
Food was decent quality but I felt rushed the whole time I was there in the middle of the afternoon.
Patrons were seated one table after another like filling eggs in a carton. Why group everyone so closely if the restaurant is empty? I can understand closing a section but this was silly and I felt like I was eating in a mess hall.
I did fill out the survey on my receipt and Sonny’s customer service did reply right away. I just hope that there will be some changes made.
Server was very friendly just rushing the whole time.

BBQ and a few surprises!
By Parham P Baker
Although I knew Sonny’s was a chain, and I tend to try places that aren’t, BBQ sounded good today so I thought I’d give it a try.
It was a pleasant surprise. The dining area was clean but a bit dated, the service staff was always pleasant and attentive and the tables were all setup and consistent. There are TVs in each of the corners of the dining room, but the volume was down all the way so not too much of a distraction.
I think the first surprise was the salad bar. LOTS to choose from and everything looked fresh. You can add unlimited salad bar to your meal for $ 3.99. If I’d been hungrier I certainly would have added it.
I was shown to a seat in a booth by the window and perused the menus. Burgers, ribs and more are available lunch or dinner from the main menu and they have a lunch specific menu as well. The lunch menu features a $ 7.99 special which includes a sandwich, a «Sidekick,» their term for a side, and your choice of tea or a soft drink. They also offer a number of beer selections but they are not included, obviously, in the special.
The menu also has a bit about the restaurant chain. It was founded back in 1968 by Floyd «Sonny» Tillman and his wife Lucille in Gainesville FL. They now have locations in 9 states.
After looking at both menus, I chose the pulled pork on garlic toast from the lunch menu. Sonny’s also offers sliced pork, beef brisket, smoked turkey or pulled chicken as well as a few other bread options. The «sidekicks» they offered were BBQ baked beans, crinkle-​cut fries, coleslaw, broccoli, green beans, baked sweet potato, corn on the cob or homestyle mac and cheese. I selected the BBQ beans.
The soft drink was in a huge glass and my waitress kept it full. The sandwich and beans were out quite quickly and were nice and hot. The beans were another real surprise, just amazing. Big chunks of pork complimented the sweet and smoky flavor of the beans. I truly enjoyed them.
I tasted each of the four sauces they had on the table; the mild, the sweet, the sizzlin’ sweet and the smokin’. I chose the smokin’ just for the flavor. The sizzlin’ sweet was good as well and not really hot. After tasting my sandwich with my sauce, I decided it needed a bit of salt and a bit more sauce. Once both were added it was very, very good.
One notable item from the menu was the Sonny’s Sampler. It’s $ 13.99 and has a sample of smoked pork, beef brisket, BBQ chicken, and either sweet and smoky or house dry rubbed ribs. Had I been a bit hungrier, I’m sure that’s what I would have tried.
In short, while not wildly exceptional, Sonny’s is good solid «Q.»
FOOD — 4, AMBIANCE — 2+, CLEANLINESS — 5, SERVICE — 5
I’ll go back if I pass this way again, and next time I’ll order the sampler with the salad bar!

I looooove their salad bar! I like that I can come here and my friends can get there meat fix while I get my vegetable fix. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a meat eater as well, but there’s something about a good salad bar that gets me all excited. It’s always well stocked and has a variety of offerings.

The food was overpriced and gross. Avoid this place if you do not like grease.

Sweet and smokey ribs are amazing. Super fast service and amazing Q.

This Sonny’s is due for an update. Just as long as they don’t touch that kitchen. Dang, that sliced pork… OK.
I discovered awhile back that certain Sonny’s were owned by a certain franchise. They are not all equal. Fortunately, this one is old school. If you ask for Extra Crispy French Fries, you get Extra Crispy French Fries. Not so at the some of the other locations. We tested it out a few times thinking it was just a fluke. And fortunately you can tell which ones are which. The ones with the Bar in the front have the trouble. There was a Sonny’s in Deland on 17 – 92 (note the was) that did not have a bar and you got what you ordered how you ordered it. Same with this location.
I guess that was a bunch of extra tidbits. Nuff bout that.
This Sonny’s is very good, Clean, Good Service, descent restrooms.