Dickey’s Barbecue Pit

Ate here Saturday with my family and had an awesome meal. The brisket and turkey were delicious and the sides were excellent. I would highly recommend this restaurant for families and make sure you get the Mac and cheese.

I could say I am a regular at the other Dickeys at Lee highway. This place on the other hand, do not have BBQ ribs @ lunchtime Sunday. The guy said I have to wait 2 hours. So I ordered brisket and it was very dry and chopped into small pieces. I will never come back at this location. Super slow service too.

Came in today to use a groupon. What they have isn’t bad, but they’re out of okra and out of bbq sauce. A bbq place. Out of bbq sauce. :/

Nice staff and good food. Great for a decent price dinner when you don’t feel like cooking but want to eat something other than a sandwich. Definitely recommend not ordering with grub hub app. They didn’t see my order till when I showed up.

Actual bbq taste is a 3. To be fair there’s really no bbq in this area that I would give greater than a 4. The best bbq I’ve had was in savannah and atlanta so not bad dickeys. I realized the pork ribs have a lot of bone to meat ratio. So basically there wasn’t much meat on the pork ribs. However the pulled pork sandwich was good! The service now is a 5! Very awesome and genuine people working there. None of that superficial service. Therefore I average a 4. I would go back :)

Hidden on the extreme corner of Halstead Square, Dickey’s Barbecue isn’t too bad for being a chain. Not huge on the inside with maybe 20 seats, but it’s the right size for this location. We went on a Sunday afternoon and there were a handful of customers dining in, several more getting it to go.
Of the two staff members working, one was quite a character and I suspect either the manager or franchise owner. He was slicing up a brisket when we entered, was very gregarious in welcoming us and pointing out how the menu was organized. Basically, you either order a platter with varying amounts of meats (pork, brisket, chicken, etc.) that comes with two sides, sandwiches which can be «upgraded» to include sides, or family packs that come in bulk.
We got the two meat platters with mac n’ cheese, then one of us got cole slaw while the other got potato salad. Beyond that, they also have fries, baked beans, okra, etc. The service was kind of slow and the cashier was sedate in comparison to the guy cutting up the meat, but we weren’t in a rush and there was only one guy ahead of us. They were a little inefficient though, forgetting our second meat (which they promptly added) and the cashier had to be reminded to give the guy ahead of us his rolls for his family pack. After we sat, we heard the presumed manager/​owner give others the same welcome though, going so far to offer the indecisive customers tastes of the different meats.
Again, the meal itself really wasn’t too bad for being a chain. Both the brisket and pork were moist with the brisket particularly having a decent bark. My pork had some fatty pieces that probably should have been picked out, but my wife’s was fine. The mac n’ cheese was good in an average sort of way, as was the potato salad (with a noticeable dill flavor, though heavy on the mayonnaise) and the cole slaw was great (chopped, not swimming in dressing, good flavor). Next time I’ll explore some of the other sides, perhaps finding out what the difference between the baked beans and jalapeño beans are.
While not the greatest barbecue I’ve ever had, in the context of being a chain in the suburbs, it was good for what it was. The staff was friendly if not completely on the ball (making up for any mistakes with an apology and quick correction) and the food was tasty.

Perpetually in disrepair. It seems like there’s always something broken here. This makes ordering online with any expectation absolutely dangerous. You may or may not be able to get what you want depending on what’s broken at the time. I’d advise calling your order in instead of placing online.
The staff when we had originally started going was very friendly but recent additions have proven to be both lackluster and rude at times.
I had watched one of the new additions open up the bathroom, spray floor cleaner in a random pattern on the floor and leave, leaving the floor cleaner to sit on the floor in the bathroom.
In addition to cutting corners memory retention seems to be lacking as well. We consistently have to remind them of our order or they will mess it up.
We had seen the low Unilocal reviews and actually did not want to post this scathing review but our experience in getting a refund was the straw that broke the camel’s back.
We foolishly placed an online order with out first checking to see if the kitchen was in working order. Upon arrival having already paid through the corporate website, we find that their fryer is completely down. Not wanting to compromise what we want, we asked for a refund.
Unfortunately it seems despite having their soda machine, sauce warmer, ice cream machine, and fryer routinely break, they still have not developed a safe and expedient way to issue refunds. We were instructed to leave our full credit card number with the cashier and the owner will eventually issue a refund the next morning. Needless to say, this seems like an extremely insecure method and made us feel very uncomfortable.
24 hours later, the original charge has processed and cleared my bank, no refund apparent.
We call into the store, and the owner says that despite having given the ok for the refund on the phone the previous night, and being aware that it needed to be done, it had slipped his mind and had been forgotten.
Still waiting on that refund, really disappointed.

Every BBQ joint, whether up here or in Tejas (where I’m more familiar) is a little different. Dickeys in Vienna/​Merrifield has a couple things that are outstanding and worth a pat on the back. The beef brisket was excellent! Get it sliced. But what really got my attention was the sides. Here is where you tell how they approach their food preparation. The beans were the real thing. I’m sure they were pinto, soaked, seasoned and slow cooked. Potato salad was the real thing too, not packaged by the 5 gallon container somewhere in PA and shipped down here. Cole slaw was fresh.
Really good job guys…

What no beef ribs here too. Not at Dave’s BBQ, Not at Dickey’s BBQ.
So far I found beef ribs at Rocklands & Wood Ranch BBQ. Both were great. Wood Ranch had meaty ones & superb service.
For Dickey’s today I had to settle for beef briskets. The potato salad & beans were disappointing. The meat was not much in serving. For $ 9 price it wasn’t so good. The chef was great in explaining the menu.

Great food! I love the spicy cheddar sausage the most, but be careful, it’s super spicy!
All the sides are delicious as well and my favorite is fried okra.
It has free ice cream cone, but not as good as McDonald’s $ 1 ones.
Some reasons that i didn’t give higher score:
1. the staff is kinda rude.
2. because it’s a barbecue house, there is a heavy smoke inside that i cannot breath.

the meat was dry, the employees were abrasive/​rude, and the sides tasted like they were served right out of a can.
i’d rather spend twice the amount of money at whole foods

The last time I was at Dickey’s BBQ was a few months ago. I placed an order online and paid, I went to pick up my food on my lunch break but their fryer was broken and they said it would be another 30 minutes. I had to get back to work so I cancelled my order and had some tacos next door.

Meh is how I feel after eating at Dickey’s for dinner with my teenage son.
The staff was friendly. Service was slow. Sweetened ice tea wasn’t sweet. No scallions for the mashed potatoes. The condiment area was messy and disorganized. Onion tanglers were overly salty. BBQ was OK.
Underground parking in the attached building is available. Free soft serve ice cream was a nice touch, although the cones weren’t much bigger than a thimble!
I give Dickey’s 2 ½ stars, but since Unilocal only accepts round numbers, I rounded down to 2.

Customer service was great! Food is awesome-​FRIED OKRA!!! Loved how we got free cups, free ice cream, and kids eat free on Sunday’s! Our new family Sunday spot!

I want to eat here all the time. But I know I’ll be disappointed every other visit. The good visits almost make up for the bad ones.
The good: delicious juicy barbecue. Succulent brisket. Melt-​in-​your-​mouth cheesy sausage. Moist sweet ham. Smoky pork. Crispy fried okra. Zesty spicy BBQ sauce. Quick service.
The bad: curiously dry meats, like maybe if you’d come earlier it would have been better. Disappointingly frybliterated okra. Astronomically slow service.
Flip a coin — and good luck!

Average bbq. The mac and cheese was good and the waffle fries were ok to-​go (probably better in the store). The pulled pork and ribs were just ok. We got the family meal that feeds 4 – 6 and it was enough for 4 of us. It was there, we ate it and were moderately satisfied.

We ordered our food to go. I had the meat platter: ham and brisket, with onion tangles, and potato casserole. My SO had the rib platter, with coleslaw and potato casserole.
The ribs were the best thing. I know that from now on I’ll be ordering the ribs. The brisket was good, and the ham was a bit too salty. The onion tanglers were okay. The following day I had the potato casserole for leftovers. Unfortunately, the potato casserole did not agree with my stomach.

You can never know what to expect from a BBQ chain location in the DC area but this place has legit BBQ with large portions and very friendly service.
I had the two meat combo with beef brisket and pulled pork. Both are quite good and lean but I give a slight edge to the brisket as it’s tender enough to not even need a knife and has that smoky, charred taste you want in BBQ. I like their sauces as well, all are red tomato based and their spicy one has some kick that doesn’t overpower the flavor. They should consider adding a mustard based sauce as well.
As for the sides, the fried okra is quite tasty. It might be frozen (not sure) but is hot, fresh, and a little salty in a good way. They cook it fresh so you aren’t getting leftovers under a heat lamp. The jalapeño beans are a unique side and are pinto beans in a spicy sauce. If you like heat, these are a must try.
No BBQ place is complete without real iced tea and their sweet tea is up to par. It’s not too sweet and is real tea, no fake stuff here.
After a massive meal that almost requires a nap, I also had a free ice cream cone from their soft serve stand. Maybe they can throw up a few hammocks out front for food coma induced napping?
The place is small but they have seating outside as well. They weren’t too busy on a Sunday afternoon, but I’m guessing it can be crowded at lunchtime on a weekday. This place is a bit of a trek from Arlington but good BBQ is always worth it so I’ll be back.

I was excited to see a Dickey’s open up in Merrifield as it reminds me of my home, the Lone Star State. I tempered my expectations as Dickey’s is something like the McDonald’s of barbecue chains… i.e., they’re generally everywhere, the experience is consistent, and the prices are fair (but at the cost of taste).
In all honesty, the barbecue here tastes bad. I prefer beef as a native Texan, so I was a little bummed to see that the majority of the daily specials revolve around pork. I caved in and got a pulled pork sandwich once. Terrible mistake. Avoid the pulled pork as it simply tastes like boiled pork with no flavor at all. Yes, you could slather on the barbecue sauce but I came here for a BBQ-​sandwich, not a BBQ-​saucewich. See what I did there?
For sandwiches, I recommend getting the beef brisket sandwich in the «Lil Hoagie» size. It’s very small but they give a fair amount of meat, and it’s just enough to satiate that BBQ craving without overspending on mediocre BBQ.
In BBQ, the sides and sauces make or break the entire meal. Sauces here are ordinary. For sides, I’ve had the mac&cheese (overcooked and overly soft), fried okra (perfect), and green beans (ordinary, needs salt).
Speaking on more positive things… sweet tea, free soft serve cone, and free parking garage. Oh, and you can keep the cup!

~~~3.5 stars~~~~
We usually order online. We always order the family packs and they have always had it ready for us. Why the family pack? Well, because my brother is the human garbage disposal and his idea of one portion is usually someone’s 4 portions.
They always have our order ready when we get there and I like how they don’t cook the fries till you get there. You get hot crispy fries. Good job!
My review is strictly on MY palate. I was never a huge bbq fan to begin with. WHAT? I know. Now ask my brother to review, he would give it 5 stars because he loves the ribs and pulled pork. He always asks for extra bbq sauce too. I’ll admit, the bbq sauce is pretty good.
I’ve tried the brisket, ribs, and pulled pork. I will agree with my brother that the ribs and pulled pork was good. Even better with lots of bbq sauce. The brisket however, was disappointing. It was extremely dry. Could not eat. My dog loved it however. =)
The sides were just ok. A little too bland in my opinion. Except for the waffle fries. The fry seasoning was good. But then again, its kind of hard to mess up fries right? =) Mac and cheese was bland and mushy, green beans were just ok too. Haven’t tried anything else. I’ll stick with the fries.
The rolls were actually really good.
All in all, a pretty good place. Considering that I am not a BBQ fan, I like this place. While my brother comes here a lot, I always go next door to Jimmy John’s. But nice to change things up with a yummy pulled pork sandwich.