They catered an event, had an excellent assortment. Loved the brisket. Super Juicy, had a nice bark, and perfectly smoked and cooked. Tried the veggie burnt ends. Really good also soft and tasty pulled pork. Not dry or over sauced. Perfect. Must go to their restaurant now. read more

My wife and I are in Gville for a reunion weekend with friends. We placed a pick up order around 745PM. It was 2 lbs of burnt ends, 1 lbs of pulled pork and some sides. It was supposed to be ready at 825PM. I got there at 820PM and they were slammed. I checked in and they told me they were out of pulled pork. We audibled to brisket. I waited until 850PM. The lady running the to go window was really nice. I can only imagine what it's like being the person that has to tell people the dinner they order isn't available. She seemed to be holding things down pretty well. She offered me something to drink while I waited which was nice too. If she didn't handle things so well I probably would have gone 1 or 2 stars for taking so long and running out of what we ordered. read more

The space was a whole vibe and well maintained. The food looked and smelled so good that we didn't event get a picture before diving in. Our favorite meats - smoked turkey, chicken, and sausage. Yummy sides - BBQ beans, hash brown casserole, mac and cheese. Bonus - Cheerwine available as a fountain drink. I loved the blueberry BBQ sauce so much that we bought a pint to take home. Manager (I think) checked on us a few times during our meal. We will definitely be back! read more

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I ordered 4 Rivers Smokehouse to go and overall had a very good experience. I got the Happy Herd meal that feeds four, which comes with four different meats, two sides, and four pieces of bread. For the meats, we chose pulled pork, pulled chicken, burnt ends, and Texas sausage. For sides, we went with mac and cheese and green beans. The value was solid, especially with the generous serving size and six cups of sauce included. I appreciated the variety, and even for takeout, everything held up pretty well. The pulled chicken stood out: soft, juicy, and flavorful. Burnt ends were also a highlight rich, tender, and well-cooked. The pulled pork had good flavor but was slightly inconsistent, with a few dry pieces mixed in. Texas sausage was pretty good, had a nice snap to it. The mac and cheese was more liquidy than expected, which I actually liked. It reminded me of classic frozen mac like Stouffer's. Green beans were just okay. Nothing special, but they did the job. The cornbread was soft and moist, though the jalapeño flavor and spice caught me off guard. Not what I was expecting, but not bad if you're into that. read more

4 Rivers Smokehouse - Happy Herd - Barbeque Near Me - Gainesville, Florida

Texas style bbq in Gainesville, Florida? This is definitely it. This place is as close to Terry Blacks or Rudy's or Pappas Brisket House that you will find outside of the Lone Star State. If you enjoy slow smoked brisket or pork, come try this place. read more

This was our first time at this establishment. The food was amazing. Staff help and polite gave us recommendations what popular and delicious. I had Texas sausage sandwich . It's was smoked to perfection . My two side were French fries nice and crispy , roasted corn was out of this world. My wife had brisket sandwich it was nice and lean, she loved the mustard barbecue sauce and pumpkin barbecued sauce . Her two side were jalapeño & cheddar corn bread which very tasty and right amount of jalapeño's and bread pudding was so delicious. The manager and staff were outstanding. read more

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Food was amazing. The staff were so incredibly friendly and kind! Had a wonderful experience. read more

4 Rivers Smokehouse - Brisket, macaroni, potato hash, John's Jumbo Chocolate Chip Cookie - Barbeque Near Me - Gainesville, Florida

I ordered four meals from four Rivers Saturday two meats pork and chicken, beef and chicken. It was so much food on the plate that I had to say something for later which I normally don't do. They really have picked their game up and I really enjoy eating there and we'll be going back. read more

The burnt ends are outstanding. Ribs also outstanding. Exceptional friendly service. The bread pudding was outstanding. Restaurant stays clean and well maintained. Ample parking. I couldn't ask for more. 5 stars. read more

The brisket is 4 star level, but the overall experience is 2 star. So I give this place 3 stars. I appreciate the food being flavorful, and sauces made available at each table. But for the love of God, please stop skimping portions. In 2026 people absolutely hate "shrinkflation." Chill out with the sugar in the sauces too. read more

4 Rivers Smokehouse - Brisket and sides - Barbeque Near Me - Gainesville, Florida

Tried out 4 rivers with family yesterday. I got the Cuban sandwich and my parents both got BBQ melts - one chicken and one pulled pork. I preferred the bread on the BBQ melts to that of the Cuban, but still a good sandwich nonetheless. The ham wasn't spectacular but the pork was good as was the sauce. I will go with a bbq melt next time! read more

I absolutely don't understand why or how this place has survived. Meals are served prison style, on metal trays with enough grease and fat to clog an elephant's arteries. Service is counter style, and they really want tips. Place was decently clean when I went. Food was under seasoned, small portioned (especially for the price), and the most fat I've ever been served on BBQ. You'll get better portions, quality, and service at Sonny's. And this isn't a suggestion/recommendation to go to Sonny's... it's just saying that Sonny's is better. read more

Always love coming here because I love that even as a Steakhouse, they have veggie options I always gi for the burnt ends and they never disappoint, but even better os their dessert selection. They are always having new seasonal items and I had gotten their mojito cupcake. Not only did it look absolutely adorable (look at the little straw) but it tasted good too. have had their coconut bomb too and that is amazing. read more

4 Rivers Smokehouse - Barbeque Near Me - Gainesville, Florida

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Very disappointed with my last experience!!! This is usually my go to whenever leaving Tampa driving back to Atlanta. From previous visits they were pretty good, but my last one was absolutely terrible! Not sure what changed but hopefully it gets resolved. The brisket was tough and the ribs texture rubbery. The picture looks great but the quality was a total let down. read more

4 Rivers Smokehouse - Looks great but very disappointing! - Barbeque Near Me - Gainesville, Florida

Dijon, Jazzmyn, and Trevon were amazing! Good customer service is hard to come by and they were excellent!

Food to die for, tender and juicy ! Price is on point ! With both indoor and outdoor seating... read more

4 Rivers Smokehouse - Pulled pork and Brisket 2x2 AWESOME! - Barbeque Near Me - Gainesville, Florida

First time at this restaurant. No line wait time. Walk up and order your food. Greeted with smiles. Server was helpful and knowledgeable. Food was hands down absolutely delicious. True southern tastings. Warning... just be cautious when squirting the bbq sauce. The pepper flakes clog the tip causing explosions with sauce everywhere. read more

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My family and I are in the area for the Morgan Wallen concert. We stopped in here and can't say nothing but good things. The service was excellent. The food barbecue, sides, sauces were delicious. We also cannot say enough about Joey. We left the restaurant, I realized I had a flat tire and he came out to assist us with a jack and putting air in our tire. We really appreciate everything he did for us. Our hats out to Joey. We have a long way home to Port St. Lucie, but he made it so much better now that we were able to get down to a local tire shop and have a new tire we are headed home. read more

The food was delicious. The older gentlemen with the white hair who cleans the place was very pleasant, welcoming, and warm. He sat down and conversed like we were family. That was great. The guy cutting the brisket was accommodating and got me the best cut. The lady with the dark brown curly long hair was absolutely beautiful, I couldn't stop wanting to look at her. I would say definitely a good place to come to. Food was delicious. read more

I have had 4Rivers Barbecue in the past, but every time it has been at a catered buffet, so the experience has never really been true concerning the food and the location. This has now changed. I was at the restaurant for an event, so I got to experience the place first-hand instead of just experiencing the food carried around in buffet trays. 4Rivers has been in Gainesville for quite a while now, always at the same location in Butler Plaza at the opposite end of the strip mall containing Jo Ann's fabrics. Parking is easy for the restaurant, and there is plenty of space both in the main lot and a smaller lot towards Archer Road. Walking in, there was one large table setup outside with seats for patrons that wanted to eat out in the Florida weather. Inside, I was greeted by the air conditioning, which is always a welcome thing. Since this was a tasting menu gathering, there was no menu presented. However, I did look at the menu just to get a grasp on prices. They are a bit higher than other places for the same kind of food. Whether it is worth it is what I was about to experience. Sitting down, they already had cornbread, cheesy grits, and some cookies. The cornbread was good. I am not a fan of grits but I still gave them a try. Not something I would order, but they were at least edible for me for once. The cookies? Way too sweet and buttery. So, after some chit-chat with other attendees, the event starts, and after some brief introductions from our wonderful host, we are briefed on the story of 4Rivers Barbecue and its founding. Learning how John Rivers started out in Jacksonville, learning how to barbecue Texas style in order to get in the good graces of his soon-to-be Father-in-law, then the expansion of operations to produce good barbecue as a charity organization, followed by random pedestrians banging on the doors asking if they could buy a sandwich, up to the formation of the company in 2009 with their first brick-and-mortar restaurant. The story was good to hear whilst nibbling on various bits of barbecue that were introduced. We learned some things about the barbecuing processes that are used at 4Rivers, from the 18 hour smoke times of their brisket to the utilization of a single processing plant in Texas that makes all of their sausage. Now for the food: The first thing we were served was some brisket. We were shown the different parts of the brisket, where the brisket is on the animal, etc. and then sampled both pieces from the flat and the point. The flat is leaner than the point, and that was very obvious in our samples. Usually I like my brisket to come from the point, but in this case the flat was the tastier piece of meat for some reason. Just goes to show that proper cooking can produce some interesting results. Next we were served a vegan option of brisket burnt ends, which we learned was on the menu because John Rivers's wife is vegan and insisted on something being there that she could eat. Frankly this is the best piece of vegan substitute meat I have ever had, and in my book is the real reason why people should be going to 4Rivers. It was excellent, and looking at the pricing it is quite reasonable to purchase as well. Some of the sides we tried were the smoked jalapenos, which were alright, but I find that dishes like this tend to be kind of limp in terms of texture. Due to the baking process the jalapenos had lost their rigidity and came across kind of soggy and almost slimy. I would prefer a dish like this to be unbaked and have the stuffing cooked up and added so that you get the nice crunch of the jalapeno. Another side that we sampled was the smokehouse corn, which was fine but did not have a huge wow factor associated with it. The final side that was presented to us was the sweet potato casserole (4Rivers hit us with all of their premium sides). Not an item that I would order off the menu, but I found it to not be so cloyingly sweet like I usually experience, which is a good thing in my book. The final two main-style items we sampled were the Coop Chicken Tenders and the Texas Sausage. The tenders I was impressed with, as they are made with solid pieces of chicken as opposed to the usual processed filling, and had been fried up just right. The sausage was a bit disappointing in my opinion, as I have had a good amount of Texas sausage at various barbecue restaurants in Texas and this was only barely satisfactory. For a dessert, we got a sampling of the Crispy Cream Bread Pudding, which I found too sweet. It would have been better (in my opinion) if the donut glaze had been left off. Sadly, the typical American palate craves so much sugar (just look at our breads!) and that affects things that just don't need so much sweetness! All in all, it was an enjoyable experience to sample the wares of 4Rivers, and I will definitely be returning at a future date, if for no other reason than to get some more of those Vegan Burnt Ends! read more

I door dashed my order. Normally they are very good but this time it was horrible. I ordered the 6 shooter which I had a big piece of cartilage and a lot of fat. I ordered a pint of Okra and got the normal size and the fries were all burnt. The rest of the order was mediocre at best. I have to say that I will not order from here again. I certainly wasn't worth the 70 dollars I paid without the tip. read more

Happened to stop in T-mobile just across the street and thought...we're hungry. Where to go? Why travel across town for good, fast bbq when 4 Rivers Smoke house is right here and we can slide down the cafeteria-styled side dishes and bbq while looking up at the menu board to choose our entree!?? Parking is ample outside, funny thing was we watched another couple pull the door open and the woman looked at him like he was crazy because they have the roll-up garage style door open! (She and I just walked in lol) The people here are VERY helpful, give great suggestions and have great customer service skills. You actually take your tray of food to your own seating, so there's no tip necessary, which is kinda nice if you think about it. I had wanted put a tip on the bill, but too late! She'd already printed out the receipt..X-( While there is an awful lot of delicious looking things to drink and even fountain drinks in really awesome varieties...the only three things that were sugar-free were diet coke, diet Pepsi and water in a bottle. I chose the bottled water because who needs artifical colors on top of all that other terrible stuff in a diet coke/Pepsi? Not me, that's who! There's tons of different desserts that looked delicious as well, but once she said bananas foster bread pudding, I was sold...lol The tacos were freshly made to order, delicious and really filled me to the point I can't eat the b bananas foster bread pudding now!! Lol -- no worries, I'll take it home... My friend's brisket sandwich was nice and most, tender and delicious. He also loved the Mac 'n cheese and the fries weren't soggy or greasy, but freshly cooked and perfectly crispy. In all, it's a place I'd definitely come back to time and time again now that I've tried them. They are resonably priced and you can't beat good food at good prices these days! Their restaurant was spin 'n span clean. No trash ANYWHERE except in the garbage can, where it was supposed to be! I'm impressed!! read more

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This place has Sonny's beat all to hell. Portion sizes are twice that of Sonny's and the flavor is what BBq is supposed to taste like.

I saw this place when looking for Brisket. It did not disappoint. We had brisket, pulled pork, sausages and burnt ends. Ask was delicious. The moist brisket was top notch. Highly recommend and will try again when in the area. Service was great and friendly. read more

Great food and the service is always fast even when it's busy. Very clean. Love the handwashing barrel in the dining area as well.

The manager at 4 Rivers Smokehouse was spectacular! He made sure we were well cared for and even brought us more fries and cheesy potatoes! The vibes were also great! Fantastic tunes playing. I enjoyed the kids brisket slider and the brisket was on point. The fries were also hot and crispy. We will be coming back in the near future. read more

The service was great, the place is very clean with very friendly and helpful staff (Jake was topnotch) and of course the food was absolutely delicious, especially the smoked turkey, brisket,Mac N cheese and cheesey potatoes read more

We lived in Orlando years ago and used to eat at 4Rivers occasionally, so we were delighted to see one when we were in Gainesville. It is a little on the pricy side, but no one in our party left disappointed. The kids were excited to get a cookie with their meal, and the adults were all very happy with their platters. Nobody left hungry, that's for sure! It's counter service/cafeteria style so even if the line is long by the time you pay, you have your food. We found the staff to be very friendly. Lots of seating was available on a weeknight, but I can see it getting packed on weekends. It was nice and clean inside! They do have a window you can go to if you want to order ahead for pickup or order it to-go. read more

4 Rivers Smokehouse - Exterior door - Barbeque Near Me - Gainesville, Florida

Very, very good Texas style barbecue. The bbq melt with pulled chicken and the cheesy potatoes are amazing. Jack was super friendly and helpful! Will be coming back here a lot read more

Staff is very friendly, brisket is flavored well, large portions for prices and the food quality is consistently good. This is the best quality corporate type BBQ place in town and I recommend the moist cut of Brisket read more

Good option for a solo bbq lunch but a little pricey for what you get compared to other places. I will say though that everything I have ever eaten here was delicious. The bacon wrapped jalapeños are hit or miss for heat but always tasty and the Brisket was always tender and juicy. read more

One of the best bbq restaurants I have ever eaten in nationwide! The staff was incredibly friendly and helpful and the portions were adequate. Plenty of flavor in the meats without the added sauces. read more

4 Rivers Smokehouse - Burnt ends and brisket with fried okra and cornbread - Barbeque Near Me - Gainesville, Florida

Great food and service from Jack the server. The baked beans and cornbread are my favorite. But can't leave out the brisket. I tried telling y'all. read more

Excellence Service and food. The lobby manager Jack was awesome, bety respectful and helpful.

Brandy went above and beyond for me. I needed lots of sauce but they didn't have any bottles. She sold me sauce in pints! She thought outside of the box and solved a huge problem for me! read more

Me and my family stopped here on a road trip to Georgia and it was decent. The only problem was that the food was SALTY, and I mean SERIOUSLY SALTY. Aside from that, the staff were friendly and the music was nice and it was pretty quiet. read more

Great food! Counter service (like chipotle or subway) with lots of seating for any group.

4 Rivers never disappoints. They have excellent bbq. Pulled pork and burnt ends are my favorites. Baked beans are the best. Bread pudding is another good one. The bottled root beer is awesome, the one that says Maine. Service is friendly. Best BBQ in town. read more

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Went there this afternoon for dinner. Food was good. My wife and I both had a turkey and pork combo with two orders of baked beans as I said the food was good although it was ice cold we couldn't eat it. We brought it home and maybe we'll heat it up in the microwave later. This is not what you wanna see from a good restaurant. read more

Incredibly stingy portion sizes for the meats. Received a paltry amount of dry, tough brisket. They only had about a half-portion left of one of my side choices, so they promised they'd send another full portion out once it was ready. I ate my meal at a very leisurely pace, and still no extra side ready. Left without getting it. I have had great experiences at other 4 Rivers locations but this was incredibly disappointing, and I won't be back. read more