Famous Dave’s BBQ

They’re closed now.
On the plus side, there is plenty of parking…

I have every reason to not like this place. I live in the barbecue capital of the world and I am a backyard barbecue chef. Famous Dave’s is a chain from another area of the country. But you know what? The food is really good. The meat is well-​prepared an the side dishes are great. They play good music and our waitress was wonderful.

i had never eaten famous dave’s before, there really has never been any need, but today i thought, why not. first off, the place was empty. it looks like the word has gotten out. i’m not sure what that word is, but at 12:30 with an empty room is not a good sign, chain or not. i wanted to go, so i went in the side door, and it was closed. so i walked around to the bar to order my to go. there was nobody there so i sat and waited. eventually someone came out and gave me a menu to look at. i wasn’t too impressed with the prices, but i’m still not making any judgements. the décor of the place is like your typical chain that puts local stuff on the walls to make it seem local. now seriously, i have no idea why anyone would want to come to this place, and why anyone would think it was a good idea to open one here. it pisses me off enough that there are chains at legends etc. i had the pork sandwhich, which was not hot, and beans, which were also not hot. normally i get a sandwich from OKLAJoes down the street and have to wait 10 minutes to eat it cause they’re so hot. not so much. the giant bun they put the pork on was greasy and not very appealing. the beans were like campbells pork and beans with a couple pieces of meat thrown in. the people giving this place a good review are the same people that go to on the border for mexican food instead of one of the numerous authentic places in town. they want something safe and they want something name brand. It really was a mistake to come here, i knew it was going to be bad, and it was pretty bad.

I’m cool with a chain BBQ and I live BBQ living here in kc. The only downside to this place is the sauce. The food I will say was what I would expect from a place that pushes out a lot of food. I’m not impressed with smoke rings only because they are easy to achieve but I’m impressed by the flavored infused. Famous Dave’s has a decent smoke but nothing to brag about. Would I go back, sure. It’s good enough to go too but not nearly as good as Oklahoma joes.

I’ve been to this location three times now, the first two for carry-​out and this time to dine in. The two carry out visits were polar opposites of each other, one fantastic, one not that great. But, I received a buy one get one entrée coupon for my birthday, so we decided to try again, dining in this time.
A Saturday evening, around 6:00, my party of three were seated very quickly. The wait staff was extremely friendly & attentive throughout the meal. My wife order the half slab of ribs and I ordered the Burnt ends & ribs combo. The ribs were absolutely fantastic, truly «fall off the bone» tender and very flavorful. The burnt end were equally tender and tasty. And the selection of sauces was great, we several options to meet each person’s tastes.
In a town none for fantastic BBQ, this puts many of the local joints i have visited over the years to shame! Well done Famous Dave’s!!!

Look. All you BBQ snobs out there can just kiss it, okay? Every time I read reviews of a «chain» BBQ place like this one I see a bunch of haters. FD’s is not big at all by chain standards. I have been to several of their locations. I have enjoyed all of them… some thoroughly. This was one of those occasions.
Imagine this… we had a group of 60+ people and they accommodated us with good food and service. 4+ servers ran around and earned every penny of their 17% added gratuity. I was impressed.
I ordered rib tips. They came out as smoky and meaty spare rib tips. A little more bark and they would have been perfect. But these were damn good.
The side of broccoli was perfect, if you can believe it. Not over steamed. Crisp, yet cooked. Seasoned.
These first two things were so good I almost forgot my second side. Beans, which were okay. But I am picky about beans. :)
So put away your «it must be a dump or it ain’t BBQ» preconceptions and enjoy a meal here if you are in the area. If you stick with ribs you’ll likely leave happy.

Walked in to this newly-​opened location for a late-​ish lunch, twelve-​fortyish. I was alone & usually like to order lunch in the bar when I’m eating by myself. Lunch rush was already dissipating and there were at least six empty tables in the bar.
Hostess: Hello, how many?
Me: Just myself, can I order lunch in the bar?
Hostess: There’s a twenty minute wait, may I have your name?
Me: No, I just want to eat in the bar, I don’t want a table.
Hostess: We got pretty backed up, there’s a wait.
Me: (looking at the six empty tables, and the two other couples hanging around in the lobby) Um, no thanks. (exit stage left)
Unless there were a dozen people loitering in the restrooms, there were more than enough seats to accommodate everyone that was waiting. WTF?
Look, I like Famous Dave’s, but they’ve got a hard row to hoe trying to open a new place a scant mile away from the legend that is Oklahoma Joe’s. If they’re not going to wow me with their service, I’ll have the Z-​man, please. Famous FAIL.

Yes I live in the KC metro. Yes I understand that the «BEST» BBQ is here. Yes I understand many people will disagree with the notion that any chain BBQ restaurant could compete with the best local BBQ establishments (take your pick). OK, but…
If you are looking for a «sit down» restaurant that serves BBQ, this is a great choice (sure Jack Stack is a GREAT CHOICE but this is less expensive). The one benefit of a chain restaurant is you know what you will get. In other words if you’ve been here before, enjoyed what you ordered, it will be the same each time. At least it should be.
We were a party of three. OK, two-​and-​a-​half. We dined on Tuesday evening. Tuesday evening the special is the Feast For Two. Again, two-​and-​a-​half for our use. This «feast» includes corn bread muffins, beans, slaw, fries, chicken, ribs and we chose the brisket.
Everything was good and tasty! I was impressed with the tenderness of the brisket which I often find hit or miss when I order it at most BBQ joints. Ribs were, like I said, good. Chicken also good. Corn bread muffins, yummy. Yep, I will use the word yummy. I comfortable using the word as well FYI.
Beans Very Good! Slaw, good. Service was very good. Very attentive. Kept my Iced Tea full. I was impressed that the tea tasted fresh, not like it had been sitting since lunch. Almost forgot the corn on the cob. It was good, not great. Maybe January isn’t the best time for corn on the cob. That is my guess.
Sum it up; if you want a sit down option consistently good try Famous Dave’s BBQ.

Came in today because Oklahoma Joes was closed. I was craving for bbq and I decided to try this bbq joint. Customer service is definitely a 5 Star. Dustin who took my order was very friendly and provided excellent service. The manager Christine, I hope I spelled her name correctly came up to my table and was also very friendly and even gave me a complimentary bottle of bbq sauce for being a first time customer. I ordered the bbq ribs lunch and beef brisket with a side of cole slaw and corn bread. No complains except the portions, this is the only area I can say they need to make an adjustment. I am sure they have to follow specs but I think they can do better imo. This is the only reason why my overall rating is 1 short of 5 Stars. My job is also related to customer service and to me thats #1 priority. I have been to restaurants before that had very good food but the customer service was lacking luster and I choose not to come back. I will defintely go back again. Thanks for the excellent customer service You guys ROCK…

This is a new location in Overland Park so we decided to go try it out. There were four of us dining and when we sat we had G as our waitress, who was amazing! We got the feast for 2 (with some extras) and we had SO much food leftover. My favorite here are the sides. BBQ in KC has tough competition but the meat here is not bad, not my favorite but not bad. The sides however are hard to beat. Mac & Cheese with Jalepenos, Baked Beans, Cornbread muffins… mmm mmm good.