Sonny’s BBQ

Good salad bar for 3.99. 9.99÷10.99 lunch specials include two sides and a choice of garlic or homemade cornbread. Rib sampler gets you baby back and either sweet and smoky or dry rubbed for 15.99 BUT for 16.29 you get ALL YOU CAN EAT AND MIX THEM UP.
Also with homemade cornbread or garlic bread and two sides. Yee-​haw!
Kristen our waitress could not have been more accommodating guiding us through our choices. Great sauces, awesome ribs and good coleslaw.

We’ve gone here quite a number of times because some of the group liked it. First, be aware that their water tastes foul. Other restaurants in town do not have that problem so we believe they do not filter properly. Service on weekends requires patience. Never order“endless” because after the first plate is delivered, the waitress abandons you. The food is plainly average… neither terrible nor noteworthy. If a good rib place such as Smoky Bones opened in town, Sonny’s would go out of business.

When I first moved to Charlotte, I’d get to Sonny’s on a somewhat regular basis. I thought it was good for barbecue. As time passed and I expanded my horizons, I came to realize that Sonny’s is actually the «Applebee’s» of barbecue. It’s convenient, it’s decent, it’s inexpensive and there’s nothing actually *wrong* with it. But if given the choice, I’d go elsewhere.
But I wanted some protein for dinner tonight and I wanted it to be takeout and Sonny’s was so close to my hotel, that I fell into the trap.
I got a barbecue chicken and found it to be very dry. Even with sauce (in plastic packets!), it just didn’t give me a feeling of satisfaction.
Basically, Sonny’s is okay for fast casual barbecue.

Good barbecue. The beans and sauces are quite sweet. I came here with a group of 8 people and everyone was happy with their meal even though they did not get exactly what they ordered. The bathrooms are old, but VERY CLEAN. big thumbs up for clean bathrooms on this road trip from Miami. Can give 5 stars because the BBQ is not competition ready.

Got there at 11am (when it was supposed to be open) and the door was locked. Had to wait another 5 minutes and beat on the door to let us in. The waitress was slow and unattentive. Took her 20 minutes to take our order. Others who came in after us got their food first. The food was sub par and the service was less than expected. In fact my sandwich was greasy and cold. This is a place I will never visit again.

The ribs were awesome, I had the best sandwich it was a cheese burger with bacon and sausage and pulled pork and onion straws, with fries and it was to die for.

Horrible service. Gone here multiple times on visits to Sebring. Every time there is a wait for the first server to come over and ask for your drinks. A wait between getting your drinks and ordering. I’m talking a noticeable wait (15mins+). Don’t bother ordering «endless» anything, it ends when the first plate comes because your waitress will be missing for the rest of your visit. They have obvious attitudes when you ask for anything, they are anything other then polite. Just all around horrible front end staff that needs to be retrained or fired. Really a shame.

I figured I’d give this place another go after a really bad trip last time. Came back and was seated by a rather rude waitress that was more interested in talking to staff than handling her own tables.
The table behind us was loudly complaining about her poor service and after sitting for 15 minutes waiting for drinks (literally, we timed her) I decided to go look for the manager. Out waitress only had three tables and when I asked the manager about switching sections he said that he would get our waitress to us and never moved us.
Upon her arrival we got a massive eye roll (do people not understand the attitude needed when working for tips?) and she asked for our drink order finally. She brought us our drinks in to go cups. When we finally got to place our order and the food arrived, half of my meal was missing and two others from my party had the wrong order. We explained to her what had happened and her response was «sorry, this is what you told me so this is what you get». With that response, we decided enough was enough and grabbed our stuff. I spoke again with the manager and he took our bill. We left without eating.
I’m sorry, but I hope she has been fired.

The food here is very good and each time I go I enjoy my meal. Pulled pork, Pulled chicken, Mac n Cheese, cinnamon apples, garlic bread, corn bread… all good! Service slow when busy but the food is worth the wait.

The burger king of bbq. nuff said!

I’ve always been able to count on Sonny’s to give me a fast and tasty BBQ fix, so I was expecting the same when coming here with my family, a party of six. The food was good, but our experience was as slow as the molasses (or is it HFCS?) that gives the Sweet sauce its name.
With plenty of empty tables and no one in line ahead of us, it took 15 minutes to be greeted and seated. After another 20 minutes, we asked our hostess when we could order, which finally brought our server to the table. The food came around 20 minutes later.
An hour to eat might not be unreasonable for other restaurants, but after 10+ years of eating at various Sonny’s locations, I know that that’s too long. Add two kids under the age of 5, and you’re looking at an eternity.

I’m about as much of an expert on BBQ as Cookie Monster is on vegetables. So if you’re a BBQ snob, this review is not for you.
I visited Sonny’s for lunch with my retired mother, her husband, and my girlfriend. I ordered the brisket with Mac and Cheese and BBQ beans with cornbread. The others all ordered pulled chicken with various sides. My brisket was pretty good, smokey, and a little dry; but I added plenty of tasty BBQ sauce on the table. I am a Mac and Cheese expert and I loved the Mac and Cheese. Sure it didn’t taste home made, but how much care do you expect from a place like this? The cornbread was moist and just sweet enough and didn’t fall apart when I tried to butter it. I seriously enjoyed it. I don’t care where it was baked.
My companions enjoyed their main dishes and cornbread as well. The coleslaw and Texas Toast weren’t crowd pleasers and were left on their plates when we left.
The staff were pleasant and nice, the service was quick, and the food was hot.
Our experience is what I expected for the prices paid and for the type of restaurant in the neighbor it is. I will return next time I’m visiting the retirees in Florida.

We were visiting Sebring and drove past Sonny’s BBQ while on the search for a lunch place to stop by. BBQ wasn’t on our minds but the name sounded enticing, so we turned the car around and made an impromptu stop here.
The restaurant interior itself is pretty simple with wooden tables and bench style seats. Not particularly fancy or very decorated but it was clean and welcoming. Our waitress was very friendly and fast.
The food was just «meh» though. I can only really compare to Sam’s BBQ and Lucille’s as I haven’t been to many other real pit bbq places, but even compared to those establishments Sonny’s didn’t impress me much. I ordered the fried catfish with mac&cheese and corn bread. The fried fish was a bit flavorless, the mac&cheese tasted like it was out of a box and the corn bread looked didn’t look like it was made in-​house. Other foods that were ordered in my party included the chicken salad, a burger and the pulled pork. The chicken in the salad looked a bit plasticky and the burger took forever to come out of the kitchen. The pulled pork looked ok but I didn’t get to try it.
Sonny’s isn’t exactly a restaurant where I would come to for a nice dinner or for a date but for a reasonably priced and quick lunch it works ok. Our bill (for four people) came to less than $ 35.