Blackstrap BBQ

I ordered a brisket sandwich with sauce on the side. I was told that it was not served that way. Since I was not the person placing the to go order I just went with it. What I received was chopped meat that had been tossed in sauce. Since when is brisket not served sliced? I called back and asked about this. I was informed that sliced brisket with no sauce was a special order and only if they had enough to meet other menu demands. I have had brisket enough to know that this is not a typical way to serve it. It was like I was eating a roll with sauce that had some type of meat tossed in it. Never again ! I just got a response from an employee that threw me under the bus for this review. Real nice, yes, maybe I didn’t see that the brisket sandwich said, b.e., which was burnt ends and barely legible but, when I asked for no sauce why didn’t you explain that it was a burnt end sandwich. I asked for a brisket sandwich, not a b.e. sandwich. You could of told me you don’t have that brisket sandwich and only serve it as b.e. Never once did you mention it was burnt ends. Then I was told that sliced brisket sandwich was a special order and only if you had enough. If you were into making a customer happy you would of mentioned it was b.e. which I never ordered. Besides, most BBQ places ask if you want sauce or not and don’t try to hide there lousy, not so burnt ends, in a bath of over powering sauce. Great customer service on their part. Like I said, never again !

Love this place! I feel like I’m there everyday you. Walking into this restaurant is like re-​entering the womb… only they serve beer. Mmmmm… Womb beer

This place is absolutely AMAZING! The pulled pork, the smoked chicken, the Mac and Cheese, and last but not least the Buffalo Brussel Sprouts! Thanks so much! Sooo good! We highly recommend this place and will definitely be back.

One of my first and now best bbq place in Boston. The burnt ends and slow cooked brisket holds up to some of the top bbq places I’m country. 5 stars for this. However, the mashed potatoes and mac and cheese fell short and was bland. 3 stars for this. Staff was good and very friendly. Will have to cone back or order more meats. Yummy.

Authentic BBQ!, great beer selection, great location!

So sorry to leave this review as we traveled from NH to visit on Monday evening. Eagerly anticipating great meal based on high ratings and artilces all over internet. Utterly disappointed is an understatement. Would swear we were served leftovers. Cornbread stale, burnt ends mushy meat in terribly old sauce dried up sauce, ribs were barely warm, baked beans –way too much smoke, overcooked macaroni cheese was clearly reheated multiple times — soft as oatmeal. Cole slaw also old and tasteless. The only decent food was the fried pickles. We would never return and would never recommend.

Love the food love the atmosphere! Great bbq selections staff is a+ when it comes to everything

The woman that owns this place seemed so bothered we were in there. She never greeted us, gave a dirty look when we ordered our drinks, and just seemed angry at the world.
We tried a couple things off the money and they were all sub par bbq. The pulled chicken sandwich was dry and had barely any meat on it. The Mac and cheese is waaaaay over cooked.
Wouldn’t bother going back when you have several other bbq options around.

My Blackstrap experience goes back to when they were a fairly new establishment and I was a quick drive away. I recently returned since they’ve expanded and added a bar and I just have to say… WOW!
I was always impressed by their meat and selection of sauces but adding a bar really changes the experience. There is nothing like some burnt ends smothered in their sweet BBQ or pulled pork with some Carolina sauce… until of course you add in a Smoke and Dagger or some other delicious drink.
The atmosphere is significantly more «cool» than it was before they expanded. They went from a small space and a few locals eating in (but quite a lot of take out folks) to a funky fresh Southern folk inspired neighborhood haunt where you can eat some awesome smoked meats and have a few drinks. Just make sure to Über after a few ;)
Highlights:
Awesome selection of self-​serve sauces
Burnt Ends with that awesome char
Amazing selection of sides including my favorite, chili mac and cheese
Friendly staff
Cool décor

I’ve been to a lot of bbq spots in Boston and this one tops them all. Phenomenal selections and the smoked wings!!! You have to try them. The service was great and the portions were sizable. The cocktails menu looked well thought out and original, although I didn’t get to try one. I will definitely be back to blackstrap

It’s kind of funny because they completely copied the décor of redbones but it’s too bad they couldn’t copy the quality of redbones food. Best to go elsewhere for authentic BBQ in the Boston area. This place is small, cramped and has subpar BBQ.

Amazing BBQ! We went on a Saturday evening as a group of 4, and it’s good we were a small group because the dining room is tiny — they crunched the 4 of us into an odd table with half of us facing a mirror. But waiting 20 minutes at the bar was not at all inconvenient as we enjoyed watching Return of the King and drinking Crispin original cider. This is a great place to go for a casual but very tasty BBQ dinner in a quirky-​styled, tiny and tucked-​away place. Fun restroom décor too with glowy XMAS lights, NYAN cats, and retro posters.
As for food, I did a duo with burnt ends (awesome!) and smoked chicken (amazing!) with creamed corn and spicy (added sriracha) cole slaw for my sides… all were great. But the real bargain here are the dry rubbed ribs — just $ 13 for 4 massive ribs and two sides! Definitely will return.

Went here one night for a few drinks with some friends. Bar area can get crowded quickly on a busy Saturday night. Drinks were okay, just your average drink at a bar. Prices were decent as well. They had live music and even though it was in the other part of the restaurant, it was still kinda loud, but over all a nice experience.
A week later my boyfriend and I decided to try their food because we’ve heard from a few friends that they have decent items. Our first visit we got the burnt end brisket with the mac and cheese and potatoes.
We weren’t crazy about the brisket. It was okay but they way it was chopped up and doused in the sauce made it look like dog food.
After looking through pictures people post on here, they must have different recipes for their mac and cheese. Our mac and cheese was mediocre. There was barely any cheese on it. Just noodles basically so there wasn’t much taste. Some photos depict the mac and cheese to look like a cheesy goodness. and that’s how I prefer it.
The mashed potatoes are phenomenal. They were seasoned perfectly and creamy. The texture was smooth but chunky at the same time (due to potato chunks.) Best mashed potatoes I’ve ever had. Went there a couple of times just to get the mashed potatoes.

Great Vibe
Great Beer
The first NON member club in the throp!
Oh great bbq too.
Opening the bar area was a game changer!

Great BBQ in a terrific location! Got takeout and I had the brisket while my wife had the Carolina pulled pork. Brisket was sliced thinly and topped with a dry rub but a little drier than I preferred. Both of us liked the Carolina pulled pork better but both were great.
Sides: Mac and cheese, collard greens, sweet potato salad and cole slaw. All solid choices and came with corn bread.
Must get: The fried pickles. Wow those were awesome and with the ranch dipping sauce just takes it to another level. Comes in a brown paper bag which was cool.
Blackstrap was a little out of the way for us but we would definitely drive back and go again. If you can sit at the bar and enjoy your meal there.

Best place on earth!
Wether you’ve come for the good food or the bar scene, black strap gets it right. After hours is definitely a local hot spot where a fine mix of different Winthrop Viking characters get together.
You can sit at the bar, or by the massive windows that offer a great people watching pavilion. I really enjoy the casual atmosphere filled with good friends, laughs and spirits!

So Blackstrap has expanded and I didn’t know this, it had been a few years since I last came here. You must squeeze threw the new bar area to get to the dining room and our wait left us standing about 16 inches behind 3 very intoxicated individuals. We had three young teen girls in our party so I found this uncomfortable.
They know their meat … Can’t take that away from them. Sadly everything else we had was just horrible.
First I placed an order for a bbq sandwich. The menu CLEARLY states «you pick the meat», it then lists chicken, pulled pork, or brisket (beef)
I ordered the beef. The waitress returned and I couldn’t figure out what she was trying to explain, I thought she was saying there was no brisket. So out of aggravation I canceled my order completely. She didn’t argue this or ask if I would like to take another minute with the menu or any resolve. I was very disappointed by this. I hadn’t eaten since 11am, it was now past 8pm we drove from Melrose to go here…
As we wait for our order I realize one of the person’s in our party of 5 was indeed getting the nights «special» which was of course Brisket!
Now I figure she must have been saying a bbq sandwich CANT be of brisket (even though it is an option on their menu, so now I was lost)
As I said the meat is cooked very well, the sauces are a plentiful selection and the meat is coated in a a nice dry rub. They skimp on the amounts they’ll give though.
The sides were not edible (except French fries, they were ok but how bad can someone screw up a French fry anyway)
I’m attaching a picture of the Mac n Cheese. The pasta was boiled to death! Just so badly overdone. Like baby food consistency. Then they severely over bake it so the cheese on top was hard as a rock, just beyond dry. To top it all off it had zero taste. Complete fail here. The cornbread seems to flip flop between overcooked to under cooked. We happened to get the lessor of the two evils, undercooked. We all could of sworn it had bananas in it. The middle was raw dough. Very unpleasant.
The menu at Blackstrap is very very small. You won’t find a good variety, also the menu doesn’t allow for French fries as a side however if you ask they’ll allow you to get them as I e if your willing to give up your second side. (cause you know how costly French fries are) the waitress actually said this!
Lastly let’s discuss the waitress… Her knowledge of the menu is nonexistent, she never once asked if we needed more drinks even though we were empty as soon as the meal came. It never occurred to her to ask how we were doing…“was the meal ok?” Could she get us anything else?” Did we enjoy it? (at check time.) My daughter had to get up and walk through the place on 4 occasions, twice to track this waitress down with questions about the menu, once for bbq sauce, and once to reorder something. In my opinion the waitress doesn’t understand her job or perhaps she just doesn’t wan to do it. When she returned to our table with the change I said «oh, great, thank you so much»! At which she turned on her heel, stuck her nose up in the air and walked away without a word. Needless to say this behavior alone reflected her tip!

Stopped in here on a sunny but chilly April afternoon. Sat on the bar side which was half full. It’s a nice bar with TV’s overhead. Around a narrow corner is the dining room side which didn’t look too big.
The bartender was very attentive and helped me with their beer selection by pouring shot samplers for me to try. For a smaller establishment I think they have a decent beer selection (I believer there were spirits available as well). It was obvious they pick their draft beers carefully.
On to the food. First time, I had to try as much as I could. I ordered the three meat combo with pork ribs, brisket, and pulled pork. For sides, mac & cheese and house slaw. The ribs were very good. Good smoke and pulled away without too much fight. I wouldn’t say I had the meatiest of the cut but it was still a good amount of food. I like a good dry rub and these had it. No globs of bbq sauce.
Next was the brisket. Thinly sliced and tender. Obvious smoke ring and a nice peppery crust. I enjoyed.
Last was the pulled pork. Like the two other meats, you definitely picked up the smoke. It wasn’t too dry but I did dip in some of the sauces (tip: try the Carolina mustard sauce, excellent). I like that there were pieces of bark within the pork. Too often I feel the bark gets cut. Great flavor.
Mac & Cheese was very good and also had a crust to it which is the best. Slaw was fine. The cornbread is probably the only thing I didn’t like food wise. Reading other reviews it seems i’m not the only one. It just seemed too dry and a little overdone on the outside. I got one bite down.
Overall, I was very impressed with Blackstrap. After going to Blue Ribbon Arlington a few weeks before and being let down, I was hoping for a good meal. They delivered.
Getting to it can be a little tricky but Winthrop is a little off the beaten path. I parked on a street around the corner in a neighborhood. A gripe I would say was the beer price. $ 8 for the draft he offered me. The beer wasn’t THAT good. Also, while my server was very good and worked hard, he was understaffed. Another bartender would have made it much easier for them.
Check it out.

When my good friend and i get together to do freelance work, it’s a good bet that at least 50% of the time is spectacularly unproductive. More if we’re drinking and eating (in that order). Since he lives across the harbor and is a regular customer of Blackstrap, it seemed a fitting enough place to try.
It immediately makes an impression as a comfortable place that is somewhat institutionalized amongst people who seem to be locals; there was a great example of Talkative Drunk Guy Who Likes to Start Awkward Conversations With Strangers there, for instance, clearly known to the staff. We ate at the bar, and the bartender was as friendly with us, too. A short but good enough beer list, and who cares when Oktoberfests are in season?
Wednesday night was fried chicken night, so I tried the special. It’s very, very cheap; $ 13 for a big pile of food. Four pieces of fried chicken and two hefty sides. The corn salad was spicy and good, and the macaroni and cheese was tasty, too. The fried chicken could have been a lot better, I thought. The breading was okay, but the pieces were KFC-​grade at best. Sweet Cheeks, or even Popeye’s needn’t feel threatened.
Having said that, they haven’t quite earned four stars, but reputation from trusted sources suggests I should go back and give them the chance.

The BF was wanting some BBQ the other day & there arent any good places around near home so I jumped on Unilocal!and found Blackstrap…
Pulled up the menu & was ready to go… Jumped in the car & headed there…
OMG… the reviews are all right, the place smells SOOOOO good the moment you walk in the door… (They smoke onsite)… The guy at the counter was SOOO helpful and friendly… The place is small but cozy & fun…
My 4 year old ran around the place & was able to find the soda fridge & sauce counter pretty fast (he needs to touch everything)… Got great recommendations and even some great sauces that I could pair with things I ordered…
Wish it was a little closer to home as the food wasnt the hottest when we got there but soooo what?! !
It was soo good… The sweet sauce is a little tangy — if you are going for just sweet you might want to stay away… The rub is also super peppery (which I love) so the combonation was soo good or Kick & Sweet… The sides were all soo good. The Mac & Cheese really was the best Ive had in a long time (as he told me it would be the best)…
The «Hunk» of cornbread is enough for a small village… (and not burnt like some pics here on Unilocal!) It was actually moist & really good…
We split 2 Combo plates between 3 people & had soo much leftovers… Portions are Hearty… and they are reasonably priced… will DEF be back!