Q American Barbeque

Great ribs! Simple menu, done right. If you are looking for an authentic South Florida style BBQ joint, then this is the place for you. There are plenty of unique and delicious homemade BBQ sauces to accompany you meat.

I’ll make this short and sweet. Don’t go.
Ok, I’ll add a bit more detail. We had a Groupon and decided to check this place out for a late weekend lunch (or early bird dinner since it was around 5PM).
Service was attentive, but the food was bad. I was looking forward to the Fried Green Tomatoes, and after I placed my order the waiter returned and told me they were out of them. Um, hello! They had just opened for the evening, and they were already out of things. Poor planning. At least come up with an alternative. I ordered the Spinach Salad which had dried cherries, mushrooms, and corn bread croutons. It was basically a huge plate of baby spinach with specks of the other ingredients. My SO ordered the ribs and the collard greens. She said the ribs were super dry and the collard greens were so bad she only took one bite. The cornbread was so dry that I choked when I took a bite. Come on! Cornbread! That’s easy to make.
Save yourself some money and time, and don’t go there. It is a great concept that completely failed. Only reason for the 2 stars, instead of 1 is that the service was nice and attentive. The problem is in the kitchen.

I like Pacific Time. I had high hopes for Q. It looks like the kind of place that would be great as a bar with a band and some great wings and deviled eggs –ahem-​. It seems like a place that was great in concept but for my two visits, horrible in execution. ‘Like with an owner that isn’t around to quality check (so I’m surprised to see people say they saw Mr. Eismann there).
I had the «Gotta Have Ribs» the first time. I figured this was a great intro: ½ baby back and ½ spare ribs. My friend had the «Pit Smoked Beef Rib.» His was much better than mine though he wasn’t impressed. My beef ribs were dry and though the pork was much better, they didn’t make up for it. Everything had an over-​the-​top smoke to it that didn’t taste right and was overwhelming at best. They don’t have a smoker, right? So where DOES the meat come from, I wonder? Or more cynically, we were wondering, out of what bottle does the smoke flavor come (though admittedly that’s a bit harsh).
The second time, I went for lunch and had a pulled pork in a hot dog bun with coleslaw sandwich. I don’t remember what my friend had but I do remember not really caring to try it because it looked exactly as uninspired as everything else I had seen. She agreed about the uninspired part. The side of baked beans were pretty decent. I disagree with another reviewer. I don’t think they were from a can, but they weren’t stupendous, either.
On both occasions, we tried the chocolate pudding which is pretty good for pudding but very rich and not that special. After lunch both of us spent the rest of the afternoon at work complaining to each other about how crappy we felt from the food.
Both times the service was lacking and the place was slow though the waitress for dinner, the first time, was very nice and offered to buy us dessert because of our lack of enthusiasm for the food. For lunch we were one of three tables and kept wondering where our server was.
The sauces are decent though they all have a shared flavor quality that I couldn’t put my finger on. There isn’t really a spicy sauce, which I usually prefer.
We used to go to Sonny’s BBQ
for lunch when I worked up there. I would prefer it, which isn’t a great thing to say. It’s like comparing Outback to Prime 112.
I hope Fin is much better. I still have high hopes.

We decided to try this place out on a Saturday night. We went for an early dinner as there was a 2 year old with us. They were very accommodating with us (4 adults) and our waiter was friendly.
Strike one: I ordered a Coors light and was told they didnt have any. Two other people were also told their beers were not available. Not a big disappointment but it just made them seem a bit disorganized.
The waiter was patient with us as it was our first time. They were out of the pan fried tomatoes so we had the chicken wings as suggested by our waiter. They were pretty damn good but we only had 2 each as we wanted to save space for the real deal. Not impressed at all by their «signature» sauces. When the time came to order, we decided on the Qzilla. 4 Spare Ribs, 4 Baby Backs, Pit Chicken, Pull Pork, Pickles And Cornbread + 1 Side for $ 42. We opted for the Mashed potatoes and added a corn on the cob.
Strike two: The chicken was ok but a bit greasy and I had to douse it with the watered down sauce I mentioned before. The baby back ribs had such a strong smokey taste I could not cover it up with the Memphis sugar-​water. The spare rib was ok, I didnt have to fight with it to get it off the bone but again the taste was bland. The mashed potatoes were pretty good. The corn on the cob– highly disappointing. The cornbread was good but tasted like it was straight out of a Jiff box.
We didnt bother to stay for dessert. I think this was more for fear of being disappointed rather than only dissatisfaction.
Strike Three: $$$$$ a bit expensive for the quality of the food. If you want real bbq (and by no means am I a bbq connoisseur) Shivers in Florida City is AMAZING !!!
Im glad I checked out Q… had great service, great time with friends but dont think I will be back

I wouldn’t consider myself the best critic of BBQ, for the simple fact that its really not my thing, however, I do occasionally enjoy getting my hands dirty and digging into some great ribs. So after happy hour, I convinced my group to head over to the design district to give this place a shot.
The food was good not great, but I can’t really complain about anything. Our service was awesome, very friendly, and helpful. The pulled pork was my favorite, and the chicken wings were seasoned really well and not too greasy which I really enjoyed. We ordered the «QZilla» which has a little bit of everything, ribs, brisket, baked beans, pulled pork, slaw (REAL GOOD), bbq chicken.
The actual place is really spacious, but still cozy, and on Fridays and Saturdays they have live blues, which I would like to come back for.
OMG, I almost forgot about all the sauces, they were sooo good, I couldn’t pick a favorite, you have to try them all!

If you’re familiar with my reviews, you know they are fierce, but brutally honest. I originally came across Q via an email sent to me from my open table account. After doing some research, realized that this place was owned by the same people who owned Pacific Time, which used to be one of my favorite sea food places in South Beach which I used to frequent about 8 — 10 years ago. To make a long story short, I’ve been having kick ass BBQ for the past 2 years thanks in part to a co worker of mine who is probably one of the best closet chef’s I’ve ever met, and to top it off, he is also from Texas and has traveled and studied BBQ all over the south. In short, our bbq skills combined are damn good! Enter the Q:
the place is nice enough, a bit over done for what an authentic BBQ spot should really be, i.e. a dive! I’d rather walk into a place that has plastic tables and chairs, but who’s focus is entirely on the Q because in the end, that’s what I’m going to remember. The bar tender also a transplant from a neighboring state was excellent, as was management and the rest of the staff. If you’re a beer lover, they def have a pretty diverse selection of beers which is key to enjoying great BBQ. Not into beer? NO PROBLEM, the rest of the bar is stacked and you’re sure to find something you like. We sat at the bar, and the only thing that I wasn’t too crazy about were some fruit flies that seemed to be hovering around.
As for the food, we had the brisket which was a really nice cut, marbleized beautifully, and the rub on the meat was on point, but unfortunately a little over cooked for my taste. Brisket should never reach you and look dry. We ordered a side of beans and fried okra… No complaints here. Finally, what I came for… the RIBS!: The dry rubbed ribs were absolutely fabulous, the meat tender enough that all you needed to do was bite and pull away, the way ribs are supposed to be. As for the baby backs, they were good, the glaze was nice, but I’m sorry Mr. Eismann, not only have I had better, I actually make better.
The good news is that I will be back to try the rest of the menu, since over all the experience was great! But here’s a suggestion, you might want to try and add some house smoked sausages with stone-​ground mustard dressing dip, after all, what’s a bbq without sausages?

I’ve been here twice. One of my friends likes Barbeque so we come here once in a while.
It’s a mixed experience. The service issues which some people reported in previous reviews have been addressed. The service is excellent — we had the same waitress both times and she even remembered us.
The meat is also decent quality. The Brisket is excellent, the sides are good, and so are the appetizers.
However there is one fatal flaw — it doesn’t have traditional barbecue sauces. I would describe the sauces as nouveau cuisine. It’s based on barbecue but it isn’t barbecue. And since barbeque sauce is a critical part of what makes barbecue good, I have to knock this place a few points.

Let me play our a scenario for you. For your birthday, your significant other decides to get you a very thoughtful gift: a personal trainer. His rationale: «So we can be together longer.» Translation in your mind: He thinks I’m fat.
The trainer, we’ll call him Mike (because that’s his name) shows up and is built like a brick shit house. So, you decide he must know something. Then you get the blow. In addition to exercise, he suggests a nutritional plan akin to Atkins, South Beach, and other no-​carb, no sugar, no flour approaches. You will have to commit for weeks to this without cheating.
Enter Q where you can order (ready?) a plate of meat. Yup, they actually call it a ‘plate of meat’, in two portion sizes. Tonight I ate 1 lb of brisket and a side of collard greens. The brisket was very good. Tasty and juicy served with pit juice. I left full without cheating. I ambled home knowing that I have a restaurant that can fill my belly without giving me guilt. I didn’t even have to ask for them to not give me potatoes or starch. There isn’t any on a plate of meat. It’s just meat.
Oh, and the collard greens were delicious. Next time, I may just get 1 lb of them.

It pains me to write this review because I work and live very close to Q. I soo wanted it to be good. Alas, the abysmal service made an otherwise average lunch memorably uncomfortable.
Went with a group of coworkers for lunch and we waited about 40 – 45 minutes until asking if our food was coming out anytime soon. The server’s response was «Excuse me, it’s been more like 20 minutes» — then he turned around and called us «a$$holes». No joke. To make matters worse, the BBQ platters that finally came out were lukewarm. But bottom line, beware the server with the slicked back hair, he may endlessly mumble to himself about how he hates you and his job…
I think I may give this one another shot if it’s convenient — but next time, sit at the bar and stick to the wings.

We happened to stumble upon this place. Be careful parking can be tricky. On the side of the building they do offer street parking but unfortunately not one of the machine’s to pay are in working order. One of the employees told us about a block down there is a parking lot that people use but just be careful because something might happen to your car. Hmmm, OK let’s NOT park there. We asked if they had any change to put in the meter because it did not except bills or credit cards and we had no change with us. The restaurant had not one quarter. What? Kinda strange but we decided to chance not getting a ticket. Luckily we did not get a ticket.
This place does have a good Happy Hour vibe. I could see how it might be a fun place to kick it with some friends during Happy Hour. We got seated at a comfy table and our waiter came over immediately. We ran into a friend as we walked in and we were busy conversing catching up and the waiter came over so many times. Although we appreciated his attention, it was a bit much. I felt rushed to place an order.
We ordered an appetizer of sliders, a glass of wine and a lemonade. Oh that lemonade was very delish! Sliders came out and they were good, a bit dry, and slightly lacking on the amount of pork.
Next we ordered wings and a pulled pork platter that came with slaw and an order of mashed potatoes. We did family style.
The wings were crispy and very tasty. It came with a side of some kind of sauce that was the most delightful sauce I have ever had with wings. It was slightly sweet, smoky and oh just so good. Literally, I would come back for these great wings with that terrific sauce.
Now the pork was just OK for me. It did not have that smoky taste that I enjoy. On the table they had different BBQ sauces to choose from. I kept drenching the pork with the Memphis Vinegar sauce. This was my favorite. Most of the sauces were very good. The mashed potatoes were just OK.
Our waiter did constantly check on us, kept our drinks filled, was extremely hospitable and gave good service. I really fought to give them four stars because although I did enjoy our meal, I felt for a BBQ joint they fell short on the pork entrée. If you go stick to their Happy Hour, I hear it is good and maybe some of those delicious wings.
Oh, and please get some change for your customers, that would be helpful. They are visiting your restaurant!

Honest and authentic barbeque in Florida? You betcha. I had the chance to pop into Q for an early bite, sat myself at the bar and got to perusing the menu. They tend to mix up their styles here, so you get some fair representation from dry rubs, a variety of regional sauces and plenty of ribs and pulled pork.
I’m normally a baby back sort of guy but I went easy with the Land Slide, a trio of sliders that shared a meaty tenderness. I slathered them in sauce and was in heaven, sopping up any remnants with the rolls.
Interestingly and importantly, the fellas behind the bar know what they are doing. I highly recommend their Kentucky Lemonade, their blend of three bourbons and fresh lemonade, just perfect to quench that adult thirst!
Q also turns it up with live music on some nights, typically American rhythm and blues, hard country, that sort of thing. With all these tasty elements coming together, it’s easy for me to justify Q as the most flavorful letter in the alphabet!

I had a grand olé’ time here on Saturday night with great group of friends and a great waitress Allison who laughed in hysterics at our antics.
This was Saturday night and they had a great, bluesy band playing cool tunes — think Stones, Allmans, Stevie Ray Vaughn
Great value too! It seems like we ordered a boatload of food and it was only $ 35 each with drinks.
The Great:
— fried okra
— baked beans
— slaw
— spare ribs
The Just OK:
— brisket
— mashed potatoes
— sliders
— baby back ribs (I’ve had wayyyyy better)
Definitely recommend it for a fun, different night. Wear your plaid shirt.

Pedro P. and I were in the mood for BBQ and because I wasn’t overjoyed with my experience at People’s, we opted for Q.
My first impression of Q was great — I love the eclectic vibe. There’s a good mix of trendy décor, vintage flair and Southern comfort.
We ordered the Q-​zilla, which came with dry rubbed spareribs, baby back ribs, chicken, pulled pork, beans, cornbread, homemade pickles, and coleslaw.
The dry rubbed ribs and pulled pork were OK but not my favorite. The baby back ribs, on the other hand, were excellent. The meat fell off the bone and had a great taste. SO good. Now we know, next time (and there will be a next time) we’ll go with the baby back ribs.
The chicken was also good, but the sides were more memorable — delicious!
Overall, our experience at Q was good and we’ll be back when we get the itch for BBQ.
*They seemed to have a pretty good happy hour too.

BBQ and Blues in the Design District is a combination I could learn to really dig. So after hearing about Q American recently opening, we decided to give it a whirl. We arrived on a Friday evening at around 10pm because I knew there would be live music since I follow them on Twitter. The music was great but a little too loud. So much so that I could barely hear my boyfriend talking. Thankfully, the band took an intermission which allowed us to enjoy the rest of our dinner without shouting or flexing our lip reading skills.
Other than that, Q American was good. We shared the 3 slider appetizer and the pork slider packed a lot of flavor even though it was a little bigger than a bite size. To eat, I stuck with the classic: baby back ribs. Normally most BBQ restaurants will drown the ribs in sauce when they are brought out, but these were flavored so perfectly that they barely needed any. Unfortunately they weren’t «fall off the bone» but they were still tasty. And even though I didn’t add sauce to my ribs, that didn’t prevent me from trying out the varieties of homemade sauces. I was really hoping the guava BBQ sauce would be a winner, but of the varieties my favorite was the dark sugar and vinegar.
The only hiccup during our meal was that our waiter forgot our mashed potatoes order. We mentioned it to him and he eventually brought it out and took or off the bill without us even asking.
Since apple desserts are my weakness I had to try the baked apple crisp with crumb topping. It was definitely a taste bud pleaser. It initially looked a bit small for the price, but half way in I realized I was too full to finish it all.
Although the food was good, it is a little pricier than most BBQ restaurants. But given it’s location, it’s practically expected. This is Miami after all.
Bottom line: Q American is a solid place for late night eats served with a side of feel good tunes.

Jonathan Eismann strikes again. This time in the form of good ol’ American bar-​b-​q.
While the ribs were the only items I disliked (too big and chewy and ham-​y tasting — I like my meat to fall off the bone) the pulled pork sliders, fried okra, buttery mashed potatoes and apple crisp were absolute divinity. All four were good enough to keep me coming back for more.
A live band played around 10:30 giving the joint a true Southern feel and the price is right.
Yee-​haw.

Let’s see, the cider bbq sauce was very, very good. The spare ribs were fall off the bone, the slider combo was a good idea, and the drinks were nice and strong. So where did they fall short?
The baby back ribs tasted like ham and were not tender, the slider combo was missing a slider, the mashed potatoes were bland, and their choices of sides did not pair well with a bbq place. How do you not have corn, onion rings, or mac and cheese? He copied MGFD’s deviled eggs but they don’t even compare. Take that off the menu and add biscuits or corn please. Finally dessert fell way short. The apple cobbler was blah and the waiter somehow charged us for it three times (he remedied it and comped us one of the drinks), and the texas sundae was plain.
I’m willing to try it again and chalk it up to opening weekend jitters.

Came here with a great group of friends to relax and hang out for the evening. Not too sure what to expect of this place, but I was pleased.
We came in and got great, fast service. There wasn’t too many people there eating, but then again, I wasn’t really paying attention to them either. We started at the bar and was served some beers and shots. I definitely passed the the shots, but enjoyed my beers.
As we hung out we realized we needed to fill our close to empty stomachs. So we decided to get some appetizers to get the real feel of this new establishment. An order of wings, sliders and deviled eggs. The wings were great, served with some BBQ sauce on the side. AMAZING!!! What was even better was the choices of sauces that was in the middle of the table. May I recommend the Miami Heat? It has such good flavor with a little kick.
There were 3 different sliders that came with the appetizer; the regular hamburger, sloppy joe and a pulled pork. The sloppy joe and pulled pork was very good. They had a lot of flavor and the pulled pork was so tender.
I failed to try the deviled eggs as there was not much to go around.
I felt that we brought a lot of life to the place with our conversation and dancing. The band was very entertaining and talented.
Thanks to Jonathan Eismann for being so hospitable, the band for being so much fun and to all my pals who accompanied me, we had a blast!

What comes to mind when you think Barbeque?
Some might think of smokey goodness, some might think of messy foods you eat with your hands, but I’m sure almost everyone thinks barn-​like atmosphere and no-​frills dining experience. Just good olé’ down home cookin’.
Q seems to be out to change that, but tries and sort of fails.
I’ll get into that a little bit later, onto the food!
Peering at the menu the first thing that struck me is the lack of fries.
A BBQ place without fries? Huh?
And it’s ala carte too? I can’t complain too much though, baby backs + side comes out to $ 14 which is the average anyway.
Whatever, I started my order with the baby back ribs and a side of cheese grits.
The cheese grits came out first, the combination of cheddar and blue cheese was a little odd but not bad, but the consistency was a little too off to eat much more than a few spoonfuls.
The meat followed shortly. The plating was a little different, the ribs came pre-​cut and stacked in an attempt to be «fancy», but the pickle slices next to the corn bread made it seem more silly than anything.
Speaking of pickles, I must be a defective Jew. I really dislike pickles.
Especially sliced, it reminds me too much of the awful sliced pickles that come on a McDonalds burger which is where my distaste for the green nasties stated in the first place.
Continuing on, the ribs were smokey and good, but there was something in the rub that sorta rubbed me the wrong way. It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t good. Frank E, who accompanied me, said it tasted like ash and felt like powder. I don’t know what it was but it was sorta odd.
Did I mention they were smokey? Oh yes, I did, I mean, real smokey. I like it smokey so I didn’t mind but I can see that might be too much for some. The cornbread was quite good too. And the sauces. there were only 3 at my table but each one of them adequately represented the regional styles they were inspired by. None of them came out of a bottle (that I know of) and each one was excellent in their own way. I enjoyed the mustard base one the most, but the brown sugar was equally great.
There is no questioning the Chef, he knows his Q.
I took another spoonful of the grits though and thought they just weren’t working out, so I pleasantly asked the waiter if I could exchange them.
He was a little hesitant but asked what would I like to exchange it for. so guess what popped into my head?
«You wouldn’t happen to have fries?», I said.
The waiter said he can see what he could do, and to my surprise a few minutes later he produced freshly made FRIES!
These fries were great, and seasoned with sea salt!
These simple fries reminded me of the fries that Tobacco Road used to make, but when I mentioned that to the waiter his eyes lit up and said «The chef is not trying to be Tobacco Road!», I think I hit a nerve.
Here’s where I start my rant:
He told me the chef was trying to make his restaurant a 5 star dining experience, which would explain the water served in an old wine bottle and the very attentive service but really?
I did not get the impression of a 5 star dining experience when I walked in the door. Especially with the live band playing loud classic rock tunes and the random antique artifacts on the floors and walls. Nor did the chairs that screamed cheap Chinese restaurant, or the baby blue walls with cheap wall sconces. The entire place looked more like it was thrown together with a mishmash of styles, and a 5 star dining experience usually doesn’t including eating with your hands.
Barbeque is in it’s very roots a poor person’s food, a way to take cheap cuts of meat and make them edible. In my opinion, some of the best foods out there were essentially «poor people food» not long ago but to try to make a 5 star dining experience out of food you eat with your hands?
Nice try, but that’s a tangent that probably won’t go very far.
Instead of trying to be fancy, just stick to what good Q is known for: good olé’ down home goodness. Let’s keep it simple and pass them ribs!
– Note, this was written when this place first opened and prior to their price hike/​menu change. With the new menu prices, I would give it 1 star

Stopped by Q this weekend to check it out and it was kick ass! Paula, Bo, Evette, Christian and myself made our way in and immediately headed to the bar. Within 45 seconds we were served tequila shots and amber bock. Great way to start off the night!
We decided to eat some food before things got crazy and ordered the wings, sliders and deviled eggs. Everything was delicious. seriously delicious. The wings were awesome alone but when dipped in any of the 5 BBQ sauces it was like experiencing your first orgasm. yeah I said it! our heads tilted back, eyes rolled behind our head, our mouths savored every moment … yeah, you get the picture!
My absolute favorite sauces were the Miami Heat (guava, habanero) and the Memphis Dark Sugar & Vinegar. I mixed them together for the ultimate experience. We were told they are in the works of creating a new one, can’t wait!
The service was spectacular. Everyone who passed by smiled and/​or greeted us. The bartender was friendly and so was our waiter Nate, Paula’s crush of the night. Not only was he eye candy, but he kept checking on us throughout the night. Kudos to you Boston boy! We even got to meet the man himself, Jonathan Eismann!
The Blues band was the perfect touch to our whole experience. They played the sweetest tunes and of course interacted with us the whole night since we were their loudest fans.
Overall our impromptu night was a total success. We ate, danced and dranked the night away at a totally cool spot. Can’t wait to go back!

4.5 Stars.
SO.
This place just opened. No really, I just came from their grand opening. And grand it was. Now, I know I can’t rate this place on the food, at least not without being completely honest. Sure they had samples being put out from the kitchen. And even though those same samples were being devoured by the trendy and glamorous people from the downtown/​midtown area, along with business owners and members of the press, they couldn’t rate this place on the food either.
BUT. We all can rate this place on the staff. Each and every one of them were super attentive. Attentive is hard to gain when you’re hosting something with at least two hundred people in a small space. The management and owners of this place were able to pick the right staff for the job. I am extremely pleased with the experience. The staff made it so.
It’s all downhill from here guys. Keep your stuff together, and you’ll be prime in this area. Promise.
I caught a glimpse of the menu and it looked small with good prices. This can only mean extra care and craftiness in their habit. Specialty is the word of the day here. I’ll be back!
P. S. The food was good :)