The Pit

I enjoyed my visit here. It was certainly atypical of most BBQ restaurants because it was modern and clean. It is not necessary to have good BBQ in a shed in the middle of nowhere with toothless workers and Carolina slang so deep that I feel as though I am in another country. The food was good, not spectacular. I wouldn’t send someone here as a «must have» BBQ joint, but if in the downtown area, this is quite serviceable. I had the BBQ and turkey platter. Sadly, the turkey was better than the BBQ. The BBQ was a little dry and lacked flavor, so I had to use copious quantities of sauce to ingest. The turkey was delicious and the sides, although small, were also quite tasty. The beer selection looked pretty nice. They had all kinds of imports and craft beers to suit the beer connoisseur’s fancy. I can’t say I would come back here but I had no problems with the place.

2^nd time coming here, food is good but service is slow… Both. Times called in for take out and the host told me 30 min on the phone and after arrival waited over an hour for food. the manager got involved and took care of the situation. We appropriate the efforts and will be back

Very tasty, but kind of expensive, and also a little inconsistent depending on how crowded it is in there. Never had any major problems with the food or service or anything, but the staff isn’t amazing either, and the food can sometimes come out a little dry. It’s a decent option if you’re really feeling BBQ, but it will by no means be the best.

The Pit is always great when I come here.
1. Great décor and service, which you notice right when you walk in through the door. Everyone is so pleasant and makes sure you are cared for.
2. Great hushpuppies and biscuits! They are refillable so go crazy
3. Great food! I got the brisket the last time I came, and it always is cooked the perfect amount, tender, and tasty without any barbecue sauce! Other places are usually too dry for me so this is so worth it.

The food quality is inconsistent. Sometimes its great, sometimes its dry. This is by no means the best BBQ place around. Very over hyped.
The sides are hit or miss – some fresh and flavorful, some cold and tired. The appetizers are really quite good, but the entrees are pretty below average in my experience. I’ve been here 4 – 5 times and I’ve really only been wowed on one occasion.
The service here is good, menu is good (in theory but not always executed well) but I’m not a fan of the owners political views and involvement in the Raleigh downtown scene. With that (and my last meal here) in mind, I will not be back.

Want to spend $ 30+ for home style barbecue? BRING IT.
Service is friendly, ambiance is at a premium but this is bbq… I would prefer to eat at a mom & pop shop and save a dollar.
Food was alright, but you won’t find me here again.

Wow. This’ll be short. I am thoroughly satisfied. My BBQ craving is finally smitten. I am satiated and gratified.
Had:
Beef brisket– don’t need a knife. Melts on the plate and melts in your mouth.
Carolina style ribs– again. don’t need a knife. Falls off the bone, falls apart in your mouth and down into your stomach.
With meats like this, you don’t need sauces, rubs, marinades, etc. it definitely is a plus, but meat like this is appreciated and enjoyed for what it is! The add ons are all just for untrained palates… These guys know how to BBQ.
One of The best BBQ meats, if not the best, had in a very long while. Thank you! I will have to come back for this.
The cherry on top… Phenomenal service. I should’ve asked for his name to give him the credit he deserves. We sat on the bar side with open seating because we didn’t want to wait the 30 minutes for assigned seating. This part of the bar had a long picnic style table. We sat side by side with other random diners enjoying their meals just as much as we did. Anyways, our server was very attentive and friendly. Made us feel like we were guests at his own home.
Great food with great service.
Great restaurant. Enjoy!

Alright, to be fair, I’m a vegetarian and I was never fond of bbq even before I stopped eating land animals. I came here on a Thursday night for my friend’s father’s birthday dinner. We waited about 25 minutes for a table but we ended up with a nice table by the wine cabinet. We ordered the Potato Fritters & the skillet cornbread as appetizers. The Potato Fritters were very well received by the others at my table. I had a slice of cornbread and honestly did not like it. It tasted more like spice bread or something than cornbread… no corn detected. How disappointing, the cornbread at Chili’s is more enjoyable than this farce.
Our table ordered a range of things. from the bbq tofu, to the veggie burger, to the pulled pork dishes. I was disappointed to hear the sweet potato fries were sugared instead of salted, so I did not order those. I tried the Kale salad, which the kale was really fresh so that was a plus and the apples on top tasted vinegary which actually gave them a nice crisp bite. Overall, I feel like this place was a hit or miss on some of the menu items. But the atmosphere was alright and the waiters attentive!

Outstanding service and the food, I mean… the BBQ was… alright. There, I said it. Sorry Raleigh. Remember I’ve had ribs at Rendezvous and brisket at Lockhart’s. I’ve had sausage and cheese at Central BBQ and burnt ends at The Woodshop so, I sure don’t consider myself a novice.
This Pit dining experience was comprised of:
Fried Green Tomatoes — served with goat cheese and smoked tomato vinaigrette.
My first FGT opportunity and being a super fan of tomatoes I was very hopeful. They were good. Not knock my socks off, but solidly ‘good’.
Barbecue Fries — hand-​cut fries with melted pimento cheese, chopped BBQ, scallions and BBQ ranch dressing.
This was pretty darn amazing although I didn’t need it. As you can see from the photo there was A LOT of food (note the FGT are not pictured). I definitely enjoyed the flavor of the pimento cheese. As my server warned, this menu item is a meal in itself.
With guidance from my stellar server I selected the Double Combo made up of chopped pork, ribs, Brunswick Stew and mac n cheese.
My server was so vested in making sure I had the entire Pit experience she provided a thigh (my choice) of the fried chicken on the house.
Chopped pork was fine, a little smokey for my liking –mainly a very nice vehicle for The Pit BBQ sauces.
Carolina style spare ribs were obviously different from what I normally order. They were very large. Tasty.
Fried chicken was classic and delightfully de-​lish!
Mac was fine.
Stew was good.
Lastly, I’ve searched for a list of sauces to jog my memory so that I could specifically review. I’ll have to leave it at I recall thinking these are good but not award-​winning.
Finally I think worth noting: I fully intended to pick up a tshirt souvenir. When looking at the outstanding graphically designed Pit logo I felt confident they would offer a few nicely designed graphic tee. When I inquired as to the selection there was a single style available and it included some play on words a about a whole hog in LARGE generic font. Needless to say, I kept my money in my pocket and disappointingly left without a shirt.

We went here as family with a group of 6 adults. We previously went online via Open Table and made a reservation, which proved smart because they were packed. We arrived 15 minutes early, and at check in were handed a buzzing coaster. We were seated at our reservation time, 15 minutes after arrival. The restaurant was bustling! It wasn’t obnoxiously loud, but it was a little loud due to the sheer amount of people in one large (very open) space. Additionally, it appears to be situated in an old mill building, so the walls were brick (didn’t absorb any sound.)
Parking was certainly a challenge, but thankfully we found a spot after circling a few times. We also noticed they offer complimentary valet. However, it looked like one car parked by the valet was getting ticketed as we left (oops!). Though, I’m sure the valet would be responsible for that ticket… The point is, make sure you read the street signs before parking. There were plenty of meter maids writing tickets!
The service was very good. They do ‘team service’ so we were waited on by three servers sharing our area. It’s not cheap, but the portions are huge. You are given free biscuits and hush puppies before your meal. These are served with a deliciously sweet butter. The butter was so good, I asked for extras for the table. The other thing I appreciated, which is an odd observation… they brought 6 biscuits and at least a dozen hush puppies. I hate it when you go out at a group and they bring an odd number (like 3 or 4), they you do the dance of who wants the biscuits. Not an issue here… The biscuits were tasty, especially with the butter. They reminded me of Bojangle’s biscuits, but less greasy and salty. The hush puppies were fantastic and had rendered sweet onions cooked into them.
The sweet tea was actually very good. It tasted fresh, not over-​steeped and not too sweet. We shared a basket of fries that had chopped pork, pimento cheese and chives on top for an appetizer. They were great, and heavy. My husband and I shared the triple combo, we could have shared the double and still had leftovers I think. We took a lot home.
We ordered the pulled pork, ribs (small upgrade charge of $ 3.99 — worth it!), and fried chicken. While the pulled pork was ok, it was definitely our least favorite of all meats. Had a nice smoke to it, but needed the help of lots of sauce. The chopped pork was better, which we tasted with our appetizer. The pulled was long and stringy, which was fine — and the chopped was chopped really fine, almost chicken-​salad-​type-​texture. The ribs were the best of the meats. They definitely had VERY odd cut to them, which was fine, just very unusual. They fell right off the bone, and most of the fat had rendered down. But they had the cartilage tips intact. They pulled right out and the meat around it was tender and juicy, it just required a little more work/​cleaning to eat. However, I appreciate that they included this extra meat instead of tossing it or cutting it off. I had just never seen it in a restaurant before. (If you open the picture of the triple combo I included, look to the bottom of the plate and you see the fine white pointed cartilage tips poking out. They pulled right out and were not attached to the bone. Don’t be afraid of them, I’m just making an observation that their butcher did not cut this part of the meat/​rib off, as most do…)
On the table there are two sauces: one is an eastern-​NC (vinegar based) sauce, and the other is a sweet tomato based sauce (think of Sweet Baby Ray’s). The latter is the sauce they cook the ribs with, we added extra and it was great. The chicken (white meat) was also very good and juicy. The pork was just ok for me. For our sides, we opted for two mac & cheeses (think baked mac & cheese), and an extra side of sweet potato fries. The macs were great, very rich. The fries were tasty and were sprinkled with a little sugar. I would have liked them to be crispier, they were mostly limp. Our dad got the combo appetizer (called the Pit Sampler) for his entrée, he really liked it. It included deliciously smoked chicken wings (yum), BBQ soul rolls (think of an egg roll with chopped pork, cabbage collards, candied carrots fried, served with a yummy pepper jelly — these were the best!), deviled eggs (with sweet pickle pieces), and large round potato fritters.
Overall, it was a great experience. Be aware of parking, reservations, and portion sizes and you’ll enjoy your visit. Oh, one more thing… the music was great. They seriously played Led Zeppelin the entire time! See photos for pictures of our food & enjoy. I also included pictures of the menu, dated January 2016. (Some people find that annoying, but personally, I like when I can see photos of the menu with options and pricing…) I hope this review and the pictures are helpful, give it try!

Southern BBQ in a slick SOHO like venue.
We drove half an hour off I95 to Raleigh’s commercial downtown on a whim for some BBQ before heading back to New Jersey and it’s dearth of real BBQ joints and we were not disappointed.
The Pit is located in what appears to be a up and coming, young and hip commercial area that is becoming so popular in our big cities.
A far cry from some of the leaning shed/​smoke stained clapboard walls/​old splintered picnic table smoke joints that purist seek out for «authentic» BBQ, the Pit offers a cool and comfortable fast casual atmosphere with an extensive menu, wine and craft beer list and while I’m not by any means a expert… some damn good «Q».
I ordered the mixed platter of brisket, Carolina Ribs and whole hog with sides of excellent pit beans and decent fried okra which I wished was fried whole instead of rounds.
The proteins were excellent even if I wished the portions were larger and the 2 featured sauces {a molasses based sweet sauce and a apple cider/​pepper sauce} were just right for this platter. Meat fell off the bones just as the brisket was toothsome and the whole hog just missed some skin or jowl crispy bits to add to the texture.
The Wife had the decent fried chicken as well as the Carolina rib with a sweet potato fries and Cole slaw combo… again we wished the portions were a bit more generous for the price. {$ 24.99 for the 3 meat platter with 2 sides and $ 19.99 for the 2 meat combo with 2 sides} This ain’t your roadside smoke house prices boys and girls but then again some one has to pay for the glass wine cellar wall.
Service was efficient, friendly and not overbearing with the executive sou Chef delivering a most delicious and most welcomed Banana cream pie that just screamed old South.
I liked The Pit and highly recommend it for those of us who want good BBQ without having to park in a muddy field some where in the back country attempting to balance 3 lbs of ribs on a soggy paper plate while trying to remember if we ordered iced tea or SWEET tea.
Ill be back.

I made it my goal to try some authentic southern food while I’m visiting North Carolina. This is one of the more well known southern bbq joints in Raleigh to tourists such as myself. I got the double combo, with bbq chicken and brisket. The combo also came with two sides, and I got coleslaw and mashed potatoes. They started us off with some biscuits and hush puppies. The biscuits were nothing special, but the hush puppies were crispy and tasty. Wish I got a second serving of hush puppies!
The brisket was great, just the right amount of flavour. The chicken was good too, with the meat easily falling off the bones. The sides were average. Overall, it was a good southern food experience. My arteries were definitely not thanking me!

A few things were really good, a few things weren’t.
Loved the ribs. Loved the brisket. Loved the hush puppies.
Did not like the sweet potato fries; they had sugar added on top. Too sweet.
Did not like the baked beans; seemed they weren’t cooked enough.
Did not like the candied yams; were sweeter than expected. I thought they’d have marshmallow on top, but they didn’t.
Fried chicken was a little over cooked.

I went to Raleigh for the first time recently, and I was determined not to leave without having at least one meal of Carolina barbecue. Unfortunately, most of my friends had already binged on barbecue by the time I arrived in town, and wanted to eat like kebabs and pasta and Asian fusion. Circumstances conspired to shut me out until my last day, when I convinced a friend to walk with me down to The Pit.
We went for lunch on a Sunday, and the place was busy, but big enough that there were plenty of tables available. The vibe was casual and comfortable without a ton of character. No sign of the eponymous pit, but maybe that was in the back. Service was good. The meal was pretty easy, considering The Pit’s evident popularity.
The food was solid. We got a basket of biscuits and hush puppies when we sat down, and these were pretty delicious, a good segue into a hearty lunch. I ordered a double combo plate with chopped pork and Carolina style spare ribs, with BBQ baked beans and collard greens on the side. My friend got a double combo with brisket and fried chicken, and we exchanged some meat for optimal feasting. I’d say nothing was exceptional, but everything was good. The chopped pork was nice and flavorful, and I enjoyed the tender brisket. Chicken and ribs were satisfying, and I liked the collards and beans. I washed my lunch down with a nice beer.
I’m glad I checked Carolina barbecue off my list, and I’m sure I’d come to The Pit now and then if I lived nearby. It wasn’t the best barbecue joint I’ve come across or anything, but I liked the place, and it certainly satisfied my cravings.

I love a good BBQ, but this place is just OK. The best things about it is probably the intimate feel to it. What I mean is that it’s a decent place to take a date or relax with some close friends. Also, the employees are all very courteous and helpful. My glass of water was always refilled throughout my time there.
I ordered the beef brisket with sweet potato fries and green beans. Beef brisket was not impressive, I’ve had better brisket at other places. I got a big mound of sweet potato fries, which would have been good if they didn’t come out at room temp. They were lukewarm at best. The green beans taste like butter and garlic, almost too much butter.
At the end of the day, I’d rather go to a hole in the wall with great BBQ than a fancy place with OK BBQ.

Disclaimer: I’m not from the area, so I can’t say I’m an expert on BBQ.
While I was in North Carolina, I asked around for some BBQ suggestions. Though everyone I talked to mentioned The Pit, some were less enthusiastic than others, describing The Pit as «too commercial.»
Nevertheless, I ended up going to The Pit since it was closest to me and it had pretty much every thing I wanted to eat during my last night in Raleigh.
Came here on a Tuesday night with folks from a conference held nearby. Even though a lot of people were there, The Pit is so huge that there was still plenty of seats.
There’s a lot on the menu, so it may take a couple of minutes to decide what you want. I decided to go with a classic combination — Carolina-​style ribs with fried okra and coleslaw. I also ordered some sweet tea because I was going big.
Service was pretty fast. After I ordered, I got a basket of tasty hush puppies and a biscuit paired with DELICIOUS whipped butter. The food came in no time as well, and I scarfed down everything happily. So much so that I think I shocked the waiter (no crumb was left uneaten).
So I’ll say this — if you’ve never been to North Carolina, I think The Pit is a great BBQ experience. Perhaps next time I visit, I may try something a little more Ma & Pa, but I’ve gotta say — it was definitely good.

— Cheap comfort food!
— The portions are big and the service is attentive.
— Went here while in North Carolina for 2 weeks (for work) and a group of 5 of us went out to dinner.
— Attentive service, 3 different people attend to your table!
— Their ribs were absolutely delicious and literally fell off the bone. Huge portion by the way!
— The biscuit they give you while you wait for your food is really tasty as is the butter (it’s very sweet and flavorful).
— A lot of beers to choose from as well.
— They take reservations! I highly recommend it as it’s a very popular restaurant.

Honestly, I was not very impressed during my last visit to The Pit. Is it just me, or has the portions sizes gone down? I’ve been a handful of times previous to this visit, and this last time just did not leave me craving to come back. I went with 3 other people from work and they were all able to finish their entire plates. In the past, everyone I went with always had some sort of leftovers.
I ordered the pulled pork with mac and cheese and sweet potato fries as my sides. The pulled pork was decent, but I’ve had better. I like that the table has both Eastern and Western BBQ sauce that you can use to sauce to your liking (I always use a little bit of both). The mac and cheese was delicious, but the sweet potato fries were EXTREMELY greasy. They tasted good with the sugar on them, but I really was hesitant to eat them due to how greasy they were, which also took away a bit of the crispness they should have.
Even though the food wasn’t the best I’ve had here, the service was great as usual. The servers are just as knowledgeable about their beer as they are their meat and gave us a great rundown of the beer menu. As for the atmosphere, it is a pretty loud restaurant and there are always plenty of people. So be sure to make a reservation, especially during peak periods.
While the Pit is good and one of the staple restaurants in the area, I think I rather go to somewhere that is more of a «hole in the wall» for better barbecue and cheaper prices.

This would have gotten a higher rating if not for the service. We went to this place twice in our weekend visit to Raleigh.
The first visit went well, we sat at the bar and had a few different drinks. I ordered the wedge salad with grilled chicken, it was very good. My husband got the baby back ribs with fries and potato salad. The fries were the bottom of the barrel batch so we asked for a replacement which was quickly brought out to us. Both of us enjoyed our meals.
The next night we came back for dinner. Since we are both creatures of habit, we ordered the same thing that we had the prior day. Our server was nice and responsive. We requested our check and she brought it out to us. We quickly pulled out the credit card and waited for her to come back. After about 10 minutes I started looking inside for her, I didn’t see her anywhere. A while later I asked my husband to check the time that the receipt had been printed, it was printed at 9:51, at this point it was 10:11, so a full 20 minutes. My husband went inside and asked the bartender where our waitress was. He said she had gone home! What? He said she told him that we had already paid and not to worry about us.
How does a server just leave without saying anything?

Service is great here and I’ve always liked the BBQ (being from Lexington, NC — that means something). ;)
I’ve probably been here 5x now and this time decided to order the Pit Wedge salad because I was trying to be healthy. The salad was unfortunately a little light and I was not a huge fan of the dressing but it wasn’t bad.
We visited this time on a Sunday evening at 7 and the place was packed. Be sure to get reservations on Open Table to not have to wait forever. :D