Johnny’s BBQ

The waitress lost my husband’s credit card. That has NEVER happened to us before. She kept insisting that she only walked ten feet between our table and the register. I noticed when the check came that the leather folder you put your card in had a ripped part so it probably fell out. Maybe if management would spring for new leather order folders and show a little more concern for their customers, they wouldn’t get shitty reviews on Unilocal.The server took down our contact info and said she would call us if they found it. After cancelling his card right after we left, my hubby went back to see if he could look for it. NO STAFF HAD LOOKED FOR IT. Our server said she was «too busy». Yeah, well my husband is too busy to wait for a new credit card and change all the bills that are tied to that lost card too! Never going back. Telling everyone I know about this place.

Johnnys catered our work party today. They went above and beyond to make sure we had what we needed when a mistake had been made. Food was amazing and top notch customer service!

Went here with my date on a Saturday night around 8pm. There were about 5 other parties seated.
My first impression was that Johnny’s is an unassuming little place with a decently sized seating area. Other parties looked relaxed and satisfied and staff seemed busy but not rushed.
I ordered the burnt end dinner and my date ordered the full rack of ribs. My burnt ends were very flavorful — unique from anything I’ve tasted. They were a bit on the dry side (and so were the ribs) but the flavor made up for it. My burnt ends came with fries, baked beans, and cole slaw — and I thought the sides were delicious, but fries were a bit dry and somewhat flavorless. The BBQ was cheaper than average — my meal was around $ 10 and my date’s meal was around $ 20.
Johnny’s is a casual, relaxing place to go for satisfying BBQ. I will definitely return.

If I could give this place zero I would. Terry the manger was so unprofessional when I called to complain about the 6 measly shrimp I got for 10 bucks. Per the manager it’s actually a steal because shrimp is so expensive and I’m also paying for the fries and beans and cole slaw. Apparently I am the only person in Kansas that has complained about the 6 shrimp. I work in the restaurant business, the only expensive about that shrimp was probably the box it came in. I just wanted my money back I literally live 2 minutes away and all they had to do was put the money back on card and I would be on my way. The way Terry spoke to me was uncalled for. As a representative for this establishment she is someone I expected to please the guest and make things right. I guess not huh? Now I have to settle for something that I was not in the mood for eating to begin with but I guess that’s what happens when shrimp is expensive. I don’t ever write bad reviews but this is an expedition. Shame on me for suggesting to my boyfriend that we eat there. Looking for a new BBQ place because this one is horribly managed.

Great casual BBQ. Friendly staff and awesome food.
If you want fancier go to jack stack, if you want casual with lower prices and good food, go to Johnny’s.

I have to begin this with a caveat – Johnny’s isn’t my barbecue joint. Barbecue to me is a personal thing – there are places you go to occasionally, those you go to fairly regularly, and then there’s your joint, where you absolutely must go to within a week of returning from a long trip. Johnny’s is in my neighborhood, and I often smell the smoke when I’m out for a run (which is possibly the cruelest time to smell barbecue). The thing is, I live next to another barbecue place that is my joint, so I tried it a few years ago but it took me awhile to go back. Finally, a couple of Fridays ago my wife and I decided we had to try it and got an order to go.
My wife had the Southern style pork, and I had a regular brisket sandwich, with cole slaw and seasoned fries as our sides. The brisket was flavorful, the sauce was tasty, and it was a good size sandwich. My wife thought the Southern pork was very good, with the slaw very complementary to the pork. The fries were nicely seasoned, and the cole slaw was good as well – it was a good amount of dressing, neither soupy nor dry. We didn’t eat there (I know, I said that already), but the staff at the counter were pleasant and efficient. The dining area seemed pretty standard, and the place was very clean.
Overall, it’s a good place, and I would not hesitate to suggest it. It’s very solidly in the middle – nothing really stood out as particularly great, but there was absolutely nothing wrong with it, either. I would say try it – it might end up being your joint.

When I would hear people talk about Kansas City barbecue, I thought that was a quaint affectation, maybe even one of those touristy features to play up because there’s really not much else to talk about when it comes to Kansas City. Like Idaho and its storied potatoes, or Indiana and driving in circles.
I was totally wrong on both counts. Kansas City is passionate about good barbecue, and people talk about it because holy wow have you tried this?
Anyway, the competition for barbecue in Kansas City is obviously intense. The expertise and the standards are amazing, with fantastically delicious results. But that sophistication may even be unfair to many restaurant owners, who in other markets would be running excellent restaurants for their area.
So perhaps I’ve become utterly spoiled by living here, but I couldn’t help but feel that the experience here was flat and lackluster.
It’s hard to pinpoint what specifically was the issue. I ordered one of their specials — ribs and fries, and also tried some burnt ends. Everything was ok… fine… but not a standout in any way.
I remember being glad that I ordered seasoning on the fries.
I remember thinking how weird it was that they charge extra for seasoning on the fries.
The ribs were safe and uninteresting… and honestly, as I think about it, it’s the kind of stuff that I envisioned when I would hear people talk about Kansas City barbecue — okay, we get it, you like to eat that stuff, but there’s good barbecue everywhere.
So, all this to say, the food was not actively *bad* here. I don’t want to demean the owners and staff. But there are many, many, many other options that I would recommend you try before here.
Rosedale & Woodyard are not too far away, and Back Porch Barbecue will sing to you in your dreams.

I’ve been here a handful of times for carry out but today’s experience was set apart by the excellent service from our waiter Matt.

Very good bbq, with long lines at lunch time.
I’ve had the pulled pork, sliced turkey, sausage, and beef brisket. The only reason I took away a star is because the brisket it sliced way too thin in my opinion.

The staff is very friendly. The ribs were very tender but lacking flavor and the sauce was not very good it really just taste like tomato sauce. The beans were overly sweet with no smoke taste. The fries with the seasoning was the best part of the meal. I will not return

The idea of trying a highly touted BBQ joint in a town of great BBQ is something to be relished. The thrill of an undiscovered (to me anyway) jewel is even better than hitting an old favorite.
This place looks good on paper. Food Network recommends it, Unilocal reviews are mostly good, what could go wrong? As it turns out, quite a lot.
— Messy, it took them 10 minutes to bus a table for me at 7pm on a Monday.
–Slow, slow service, slow motion and I got the feeling my server was slow in other respects, but very nice.
–Food…Any amount of mediocrity would be forgiven for a great meal. This falls so short. Poor presentation of the «Platter» their feature item. It was visually unappealing. It looked like it had been under a lamp for 30 minutes. Pedestrian BBQ with little or no flavor. The worst thing about it was it was boring and had as much flavor as the dried out white bread they served with it. Just sad.
Very fairly priced eats and I can’t imagine they are this bad every night. Maybe success has ruined them?
I will try it again at lunch before adding them to the «never again» list.

The owner and staff are awesome! You never have to wait long and there is always someone to help. Food is priced fair and there is plenty of available seating. If the Royals are playing they will have it on! The food itself is FIRE!!! What I mean is, it’s BOMB!!! Ok, what I’m saying is it’s REALLY GOOD! They have a great menu and very good options as far as portion size. Highly recommend this place for ALL BBQ connoisseurs!!! This place knows how to do KC BBQ right!!!

Great food! I had the «Remus» sandwich and their addition of spicy pimento cheese on a pulled pork sandwich is genius, it really added the perfect little kick to the already flavorful sandwich. The spicy fries were good too. Hubs had the 2 meat dinner & he loved the sausage but thought the chicken was sliced too thin & was a little rubbery but had good flavor. We loved the baked beans & cole slaw side. The dining area & restrooms are clean. We’d def come here again. This place was featured on Food Network’s Diners, Drive-​Ins & Dives.

Our go-​to BBQ joint. The meats are always great but the sauce is sad, though. If you’re a sauce person bring your own.

I’ve lived in the Mission area for over 10 years now & never tried Johnny’s BBQ. But
After seeing it on Diners, Drive-​inns & Dives and hearing some good things & So I decided to give it a go…
I chose the Burnt End Platter…(comes with fries, slaw & beans)
The Burnt Ends where not bad but also nothing to write home about.
The portions that I received where pretty small
The fries, slaw & beans are what they are… Nothing special, but not bad either.
The one thing was the most disappointing to me was the BBQ sauce.
It had no flavor at all… When I think of BBQ sauce. I think of Hardy, Smoke flavor that has a punch-​to– taste to it… Johnny’s had nothing!, Zero! Bland .I even just swished my finger in it to try to pull the taste out by itself… but to no of ale!
The positive is that the people Where friendly, Place was clean, & its really in a cool little spot. with a nice patio.& the Prices are good .
But to Summarize,…Disappointing x 2
I thought going in .That a place that has been around as long as Johnny’s has, would have something that stood out about it… But, It just didn’t
I know when it comes to BBQ in KC… The bar is set at the highest level.
Sorry to say, Johnny’s is just not one of them (to me)

They did a wonderful catering job for me yesterday. Great food, On time. I would definitely use their catering services again.

Johnny’s BBQ is a nice little restaurant with a really nice staff.
The space is a little homey with some spartan southwestern and barbecue inspired decorations. It kind of reminded me of going over to my parents’ for dinner.
The dinner was good, but also just okay by Kansas City barbecue standards. I ordered the two meat dinner with brisket, pulled pork, onion rings and beans. The pulled pork was good pork and I have no complaints. The brisket however was quite dry, so much so that I think it might have been out a little bit and possibly reheated. Both the onion rings and the beans were tasty, especially the beans which had a little kick.
That’s about it.
I think if you live close or are in the area then Johnny’s BBQ is a good place to be, however I’m not sure it’s a destination restaurant in a city jam packed with barbecue.

Meh is right. I didn’t enjoy my take out too terribly much.
I had the burnt ends with beans, slaw, and bread. The burnt ends were pretty dry and not very tasty. The slaw was ok, and the bean weren’t my cup-​o-​tea. I really don’t enjoy the sauce here either. I can’t say that anything was wrong with the sauce. I just don’t enjoy it.
The counter service was helpful and personable.
The facility was your standard BBQ joint set up. There were lots of local sauce bottles on display. It definitely was clean and well kept.
I guess that I expected a little more.

Went to this place last night because its close and wanted to try something new. They also has an advertised rib special for 15.95 out front. When I finally got seated after waiting for service forever I asked for the rib special. The waitress said I could have the ribs but would have to pay full price. I was not happy. I waited for the ribs and they were not anything special. I had 4 – 5 out of the full rack.
Very disappointing.

I’m gonna rate it a 3… maybe I was expecting too much after watching the TripleD episode… There was a bit of line behind us as we were looking at the menu/​ordering our food and I felt rushed. There were a ton of choices/​combos on the menu and I finally just ordered a two meat combo and the Mrs got the smoked&fried chicken that was featured on the show.
The meat combo was average and could have been warmer… the chicken was pretty tasty I have to admit… I think we’ll give it another try when we get back down in the future but there are a couple of other places we’re going to try first when we go down there next time.