Michna’s Bar-B-Que

My husband and I love this place! The meat is tender, the sides are just as expected, and the dessert is the perfect finish to the meal. Even the bread is freshly made!
Everyone has been very friendly and welcoming every time we have been.
The atmosphere is very casual and family friendly. If you’re looking for good bbq and a like-​home environment, then this is your place!

What happened here?!!
I used to adore this place when I worked down the street on Franklin years ago… I yearned for their smoky, barky brisket; two types of sausage link; juicy pork ribs with peppery bark.
And then, I tried their pork chop on Friday… It tasted like a rubbery hockey puck rescued after a sentence under a heat lamp then slathered with a goopy orange sauce that might have been the mopping sauce at some point. This used to be the highlight of this restaurant. So good, I would just eat the meat. No sides, no dessert. My memory was of a smoky, juicy chop with the sauce caramelized into a sticky coating. Not anymore.
The mac and cheese side was mushy and tasted of watered down Velveeta. The green beans tasted like it was dumped from a can and served, along with the canning liquid.
To add insult to injury, they are now closed on Tuesday and Wednesday for private parties.
Sad to say, this place is now a has been for me. I sincerely wish y’all all the best of luck for a desperately needed turn-​a-​around.

Love love love this place. Absolute downhome cooking with all you can eat available! Like eatin in your grams kitchen, the décor is outdated and rough around the edges but the foods so good you could be eating in a shack and not care!

Okay, I guess, if you just want some basic barbecue laid out on buffet and served with runny, uninspired sauce. The clientele here are mostly older folks who probably remember better days at this ancient eatery or perhaps simply haven’t noticed its decline. The interior is a hodgepodge of the owner’s favorite memorabilia, mostly John Wayne posters and dusty reminders of old country living. Nothing matches; not even the booths, tables, or chairs. The food consists of the the simplest, blandest versions of meat and potatoes that you can find anywhere, and I have to mention that the sliced turkey didn’t greet my knife and fork the way turkey normally does. I momentarily questioned whether it was turkey at all before I finally just shrugged my shoulders and ate it. If you want quality, Texas barbecue, this isn’t your place.

I’ve been here a few times.
The meat cutter is very friendly and seems to know a lot of customers by name. I’ve had good meat and not so good meat here. The salad bar is fine. The side bar has its goods and bads. I don’t remember paying $ 14 for the buffet (maybe like $ 12, but I don’t drink anything but water… so maybe thats the difference). I DO NOT like their bbq sauces. I generally like vinegar based sauces, but their sauce has a real odd taste to it… cant describe it.
And to the poster complaining about them not serving… what was it… nuggets and fries for children?! LMAO!!! Who in their right mind thinks a BBQ place would have those options? Don’t answer that… it was rhetorical. Hhaha
I’d go back, but not often. It’s just okay.

What ever you do don’t stop here! Got brisket (pretty sure it was just a roast) Mac and cheese and greens. Brisket was like wet jerky Mac and cheese reminded me of something you give a toddler who likes yellow soup and the greens lacked any thing resembling seasoning. Always a bad sign when you eat there at 1230 on a Sunday and it empty.

Great food! The atmosphere is rustic and full of flavor. The founder worked in bbq in the early days with the Rudy’s bbq founder b/​f he did all of the chains. Michnas is the real deal.

$.14.00 for the lunch Buffett. Who charges $ 14 for lunch? It was too late to turn around and say no. I asked if they had chicken nuggets and French fries for a kids meal, the lady scoffingly laughed at me and said «No mam we only do Bar B Que» So I paid $ 20 for one person and a four year old to eat. The lady handed me the credit card slip that had a place to add a tip. What? Add a tip for what? Running my credit card? I understand it’s probably on all tickets, but I still felt guilty leaving it blank. The buffet was serve yourself, not one time did I see a waitress.
The meat they finally cut up and put out on the buffet was just unreal for a $ 14 buffet. Seriously, one piece of chicken, a few ribs and a couple of pieces of brisket. I was never offered/​given any bread. They never added any more meat to it the whole time I was there, in the middle of the lunch rush. I had to ask for more chicken.
The ranch dressing tasted like straight mayo on my salad. The only desert they had was canned banana pudding.
Overall, it was awful. Please go somewhere else and save your $ 14.

Visited on Friday, 2÷28÷14, for lunch. Had the buffet. All food was at least average or a little better. The meats were a little better than average.
Only my second visit, so not familiar with the layout or how they do things. I stood in front of the service counter for what seemed like 30 – 45 seconds waiting for staff to engage me and give some direction, as it wasn’t clear where to go to place an order. Paid for food, but then had to inquire about drink, plate, utensils. Kind of a weird interaction overall.
Bottom line, food was good, I’ll go back sometime, but might be nice to train the staff to communicate with customers better when they don’t recognize them as regulars.

We picked up barbecue from here on our way to visit with my husband’s grandmother. We got turkey, brisket, green beans, mustard potato salad, and half a loaf of white bread. I don’t care for brisket typically so I didn’t bother to try it, especially knowing how much my husband loves it. The turkey was really good. Very moist. The green beans were really good, and the potato salad wasn’t anything special. I loved their barbecue sauce though.
The people who worked there were… there. They weren’t particularly cordial. There was a gentleman who welcomed us and asked how we were doing and was genuinely interested in making our experience nice. I’m taking it that he was the owner. The other people we encountered kind of seemed put out that they had customers to serve, lol. But not lol when I’m spending money at your restaurant, you know? Smile, damn it!
Would I go back? Definitely. Would I recommend them? For sure. They are obviously a local place that has been around for a while. I definitely would go to them over Rudy’s any day.

OMG! Best BBQ in Waco! And I’ve tried them all. Michna’s is better than Rudy’s, Vitek’s, Uncle Dan’s, etc.

i made it back with a bigger appetite. I was not disappointed. Went without my usual dining companion and he was upset that I went without him.
I also learned on this trip that cake and cobbler included in the price of all u can eat.
The cake was tasty finish to my meal
Worth the trip to Waco.

Years ago families would flock around buffets such as Furr’s, Luby’s and Golden Corral in joyous gatherings. Fast forward to now and they’ve bad reps for «how long has the food been sitting here, touched by multiple dirty hands and… is that a cockroach swimming with the beans?» This is no different when it comes to one of the worst anomalies known to man-​kind. The buffet BBQ.
I’ve been hitting up Texas BBQ joints since 2006 and have never been to a buffet BBQ until I walked into Michna’s (Dickey’s doesn’t count). I’ve read of this place for a few years in articles here and there on Texas BBQ and with Waco not being widely known for any great BBQ… I figured why not. The night before I had some unique product at Mama and Pappa B’s and had high hopes for Michna’s to live up to it’s years of experience from Bob Michna in the Texas BBQ scene.
It wasn’t awfully crowded inside and the clientle were mostly blue collar type. Some elderly here and there with oxygen tanks at their hip. I walked up to the nice ladies behind the counter and they immediately suggested the buffet because it’s «All-​you-​can-​eat». I looked at the buffet with false interest, noticed ribs sadly decaying in a pan and decided my life was more important. As I ordered my standard, the lady started laughing when I asked for fatty brisket with bark. Was this a sign of the outcome?
I got my plate and ordered a side of slaw just in case I needed some saving grace. I chose possibly the worst seat there… right in front of the ladies who worked there and the meat cutter. The sausage was really the only notable product on my plate. Ribs lacked in flavor and seemed a bit dry. Brisket was tough to the point I’m slightly struggling to pull it apart. It all lacked smoke. As their watchful eyes begin to cause an uneasy feeling… I just kept hoping one bite would change the doomed look upon my face. Not even the sauce could save this meat. Highlights were the Big Red and John Wayne life-​size cutout.
I found out when I returned home that Bob Michna, who had worked and learned from some of the greats, had passed in early January. I would like to think that may have something to do with the meat quality as they were voted best BBQ in Waco for 2011. Buffet BBQ can sometimes do injustice to your product.

The little old ladies that work the buffet line make this place what it is. Not only are they friendly, eager to please and extremely excited to fill your plate up with fresh smoked meats, but they go the extra mile to make sure every customer smiles.
Go for the buffet deal if you’re eating in — it’s totally worth it and a great deal. It means unlimited trips to the carving station for your pickin’ of ribs, sliced and chopped beef, chicken, ham and more. We filled up on as much as we could, went back for seconds and THEN a lady brought by more «samples» for us because we hadn’t tried everything on our first 2 trips.
The mac and cheese is a winner on the sides buffet line, as well as the buttered potatoes and potato salad (which by the way, is offered in mustard and mayo varieties). The possibilities are endless.
Dessert comes with the buffet price, so try what you can stomach if you have room. I recommend the pecan pie and of course, the banana pudding.
The place isn’t much to look at and it appears that nothing has changed in over 50 years. But you aren’t there to look at the old photos of John Wayne, now are you?

For a BBQ buffet stop, it was very good. Brisket had a good smoke flavor but was missing out on fat and thus a bit dry. Still nice spice on the outside. ribs also very a bit chewy, but still a good flavor. Turkey, Chicken, and sausage weren’t anything special, but at the buffet price they were still good enough.
I tried about 5 sides and all tasted good, similar to what you would get in a local dinner. Homemade white bread was also delicious and a great touch. More importantly, prices for the buffet, plus the al a carte prices were all reasonable, which alone warrants this place a good stop.
Great place to go if you are just really hungry and don’t want to pay (what is usually) high per pound BBQ prices.

Went for the buffett, since I couldn’t decide what to order. The ribs and brisket are top notch. Nice think smoke line on the brisket. No sauce required, but they have a nice spicy blend. Be sure to make a fold over brisket sandwich with their homemade white bread. Top it all off with some nana pudding.
Pass on the turkey and the ham.