Great place to eat. This second time we've eaten there. We have not been disappointed. My son & I had the Sunday BBQ. Although it was good it's not something I would order again. I guess I just prefer regular BBQ. read more

The service is good and the food never disappoints. They are priced decently as well.

Trust me when I say to PLEASE take your business elsewhere. Please stay away. This place has terrible food. Terrible service. And is enshrouded in a terrible atmosphere (the minstrel pieces enshrouded all over the walls felt VERY welcoming *sarcasm*). It's the only restaurant in town, so the bar is on the ground. We left and went to the next town over for food. read more

This used to be a burger joint when I was growing up that my fam would stop by on the way home from camping or spending the day at the river. Great memories. The new BBQ joint is a great replacement! My daughter had the fried catfish dinner. I had the Baylee Jo Burger with Mac and Cheese. Man, big burger with the fixins and the Mac was fresh and creamy. Father had the Pulled pork sammich and it looked delightful for the short period of time he had it on the table. The nice touch of the pork rinds as a table top appetizer was a first for me. Good job Baylee Jo's! We'll be back! read more

My favorite place to stop and eat in ironton, mo. The atmosphere is wonderful and their steak and shrimp are ALWAYS AMAZING.

This is my wife and my favorite place in town, especially after a long hike on one of the nearby trails. We haven't had anything we didn't like! The dinner platters are amazing, especially the pork shoulder. Be sure to try each of the BBQ sauces and make sure you get some of the killer fries! read more

Great BBQ - had a pork shoulder shredded - was awesome stuff but my side order of asparagus was 3 THREE pieces!! Seriously? 4 stars for the food but zero for the skimpy sides. Service is not so good - but that's what you come to expect in the Country. read more

Hands down the worst dining experience of my life! Two of my daughters and I went there on a Sunday afternoon for a "quick" bite to eat after hiking. It took over 45 minutes to get our food after ordering one pizza and a corn dog. The pizza was nothing but a Jack's frozen pizza doctored up and the corn dog was ice cold. A man came by to ask how things were going (good thing because our server was basically the cashier the whole time we where there) and I told him about the corn dog. He said he would make another one in 6 minutes and when it came out, I asked for a knife to cut it up so it would cool faster and the damn thing was FROZEN!!!!! He blamed it on a new type of corn dog and offered to make something else and I said I wanted to leave. He still made me pay for the pizza too. This man was the manager or owner and he was drenched in sweat. I caught a glimpse at the cook during my over one hour stay and he was wearing a cut off T shirt! I am glad I didn't pick arm pit hair out of our meal. YUCK!! We also left reeking of cigarette smoke and smoked meat. Needless to say, I will NEVER be going back to Baylee Jo's! read more

Came in before and food was pretty good. Waitresses are rude but this is actually standard behavior in Missouri. No matter where you go you're not going to be treated like you're welcome, unless you're in the city. Table was dirty. We asked if had been cleaned and she flippantly said yes even though it had lemon seeds and water on it. Waited for about 15 minutes to get our order taken, we had to ask a few times before someone took it. Took 30 mins to get our food and as we were walking out a waitress shouted that our food was ready. She said it was because they were busy, and they were, but I worked in a restaurant on a harbor that was constantly packed and that's not an excuse. Just another her reason why I have to think of the good Lord and not hate Missourians. read more

Consistently solid choice in the area, with rustic decor and a variety of reasonably priced food, with a specialty of BBQ. Have gone 3-4 times over about as many years. The food is consistently solid. Served a couple days ago was slow and not very intuitive, albeit nice. Don't miss the. Jerry BBQ sauce-yum! read more

Good grilled shrimp & jalapeño hush puppies. Did NOT like their slaw. Way too vinegary

Definitely stop here! Under new management since Sept. 15, 2019. Nice decor, friendly staff, excellent meat and sides. I had the turkey and it was so tasty I didn't even need BBQ sauce. Love the coleslaw! Husband had the 1 1/2 inch thick pork steak and enjoyed it with the homemade cherry BBQ sauce. read more

This restaurant is fantastic! I went there today with 6 other people after a weekend of floating on the Black River and lodging at Bearcat Getaway (side note: you should camp and float here, it's awesome!) before heading back to St. Louis. Driving back we had made up our minds that we were going to stop at the first restaurant on the way back... well, other than Lenny's (if you've been to Bearcat you know what I'm talking about). The outside somewhat looked like a hole in the wall but we didn't care. Inside the restaurant actually looks quite nice. The tables are somewhat unique and everything looked very clean. We were seated promptly and our waiters made it to the table super fast. Thank God... drinking & floating on a river all day Saturday necessitates excessive quantities of water Sunday morning. I asked our waitress what the best thing on the menu was and she said "the ribs". Not being in the mood for ribs I then asked what the second til best thing on the menu and she said "pork steak". Then, choosing to be a smart ass, I asked what the third til best thing on the menu is. I forgot what she said. Doesn't matter. I went with the pork steak ($10.99), a side of their "famous" asparagus, jalapeno hush puppies, and onion petals. I also added a salad with their house dressing (some sort of parmesan vinaigrette) for just 50 cents! For serious, a fiddy cent salad. I assumed the salad would be mediocre and boring as it is composed of stupid vegetables, but I was wrong. That dressing was pure win and already mixed in with the perfect amount. Bickety bam, we're off to a good start! After 15-20 minutes our main courses came out. 6 of us got the pork steak, one person got 12 grilled & seasoned shrimp. The pork steaks are pretty massive, 18 ounces if memory serves, and there was barely any bone in this thing. It was just a great cut of meat. There are 3 BBQ sauces available in bottles on the table.... their standard house sauce, spicy sauce, and cherry bbq sauce. Yes, cherry. I made sure to try all of them being the adventurous individual that I am. First off, the cherry sauce was excellent. I didn't use much of it since it's not what I was craving, but damn it was good and a very unique flavor. I've never had BBQ sauce like that before in all my 29 years of life. The spicy sauce was good but didn't seem spicy at all. I liked their house sauce the most. The asparagus was great and cooked perfectly. I don't know what seasoning they used by I'm giving that shiz 2 thumbs up, no doubt. Previous reviewer said they got 3 asparagus, I got 5 which was plenty. Onion petals = awesomeness and served with horseradish. However, horseradish is the stupidest condiment on the planet because it tastes like crap (this is fact, not opinion), so I didn't use it. I did what any smart American would do and dipped the onion petals in BBQ sauce. It's the patriotic thing to do. The jalapeno hush puppies were okay, but pretty bland by my standards. Dipping them in BBQ sauce helped quite a bit. Seriously though, I can't rave enough about this pork steak, you should probably buy it if you go to this restaurant. It had a bit of smoking flavor and the meat was tender with not much fat. The person in our group that got the shrimp said that it was very good. I can't imagine it being better that the pork steak but she seemed happy. Everyone in our group was raving about the awesomeness of the food. It seems as though we stumbled upon a gem out in the country! I decided to be a huge fat ass (I'm actually skinny) and ate everything that I ordered, it was way, way, way too much food. This caused me to feel sick for about and hour but I do not regret it. In fact My only regret is not getting the "Big T" as a couple of my friends did. It is a huge twice bake potato with melted cheddar cheese on top. I will definitely get it next year. My friends are professionals and damn smart so they added bacon to their "Big T". I float on the black river annually and I'll be sure to stop by this establishment next year. I just wish they had a location in St. Louis! Five well deserved stars.... to sum it u: great food and friendly, prompt service, and reasonably priced. This place will not disappoint. read more

I'm sorry that previous reviewers were not completely satisfied with their experience but I thought the place was very good. My husband and I ate here on the Friday before Memorial Day 2012. I'm not the biggest of barbeque fans but he is; there is enough on the menu to make everyone happy. I ordered an appetizer of portebello mushrooms which were excellent. My husband ordered the 16 oz. pork steak which appeared to be smoked. He thought it was quite good. I ordered a small bbq sandwich came to the table with no sauce--a plus for me as they had a selection of sauces on the table. I prefer to control my sauce. I had requested fries instead of curly fries because I've never had any that weren't floating in grease. I thought they were good. As far as service, the staff could not have been more attentive with the owner/manager coming around personally to inquire how we liked everything. Whoever said that bad service is expected in the country is grossly misinformed. I've eaten in many establishments both metropolitan and rural and service is only as good as the server, not the location. read more

This place is definitely NOT worth the trip or the wait we encountered on Saturday (9/25/10). We went to the Battle of Pilot Knob reenactment and heard from a friend that this place was great. I think my friend must've been intoxicated because this place is awful. We waited 2 hours - yes 2, for our food. Knowing a huge event was in town, management should've had double cooks and double waitresses this weekend. However, the few staff that were on duty were scrambling and apologizing. We decided to continue to wait since we had heard the BBQ was great. There were four of us - mom and stepdad got the special (porksteak) and fries. My husband got a large baylee jo and I got a 1/2 order grilled shrimp. My parents said the pork steak meal was ok, but their fries were cooked in burned grease; tasted awful and left a greasy taste in your mouth! My husband's Baylee Jo (beef sandwich) and curly fries was cold and the fries - again cooked in burned grease, and lukewarm. My 1/2 order grilled shrimp - it says direct from the gulf -- are you kidding? They were tiny - very tiny. Three of the six could've passed for popcorn shrimp and again curly fries were disgusting. I said these are terrible when the waitress asked how things were -- her reply was that's how our curly fries are. I'm like ok....thinking what a terrible place this is and how I wasted 2 hours of the day and will be leaving hungry. When we paid - she took off the curly fries from my order only. Seriously - any restaurant knows to overcompensate (customer is always right) by taking off the bad meal. So I paid almost $7 for 6 tiny shrimp - ridiculous. I'm usually not a whiner, but this place was terrible - food, service, presentation. Do not patronize this business unless you are ok with poor service and medicore food. read more

My friends, bf & I came here on the way back from floating on the Black River. I got the Baylee Jo's sandwich, which surprisingly didn't come with the BBQ sauce. There were about 3 different kinds of their homemade BBQ sauce on the dining tables. The fries that I ordered with it tasted like they came out of a bag. Not good. My bf's curly fries tasted way way better than mine. His half-chicken was really good. The sandwich had the right amount of food that was perfect for me. One friend ordered the onion petals, which looked really good. It's a tiny place, but not tooo bad. It wasn't lipsmacking good like Pappy's in St. Louis. There is a roll of paper towels on each table. I wish they would have handed out personal hand wipes to wipe our hands before eating. read more

Great ribs, corn on the cob, asparagus, and half chicken. Would be perfect after a day of floating on the river.

Large table for the 10 of us. I ordered the signature burger and it was burned. Everyone else agreed that the food was pretty good or ok. Reasonably priced. The company was much better than the food. I have heard this place was so good, frankly it was a bit of a let down to get a burger that was completely dry and black to the point of being crunchy. The baked beans were sweet and soupy with an authentic BBQ flavor. The place looks and smells like a BBQ place, has lots of rustic appeal. I just wish it would have been better. read more

The food was all good. The cook was either very busy or needing some help because our meal took quite awhile, but it was worth it. Good baby back ribs, baked beans, cole slaw (homemade). My partner had the grilled tuna which was excellent. I never order seafood so far from the Coast, but can certainly recommend it here. read more

This is my boyfriends and I favorite small town bbq place ever! We come here every time we are out towards elephant rock, the shut ins, or just go out to eat if we are craving some good bbq! This place may be small but it is mighty in soul and flavor! We have made it our tradition and will continue too! The crawfish is a must have! Highly recommend for a lunch stop after a day out! read more

Best grilled food in a 30-mile radius. The restaurant looks like no other on the inside with the combination of home-crafted cedar tables, wood patterned walls, and decorative animal pelts. In this joint you seat yourself but are immediately helped by one of the excellent servers. The menu prices are very competitive and there is a lot of variety: everything from salads, to barbecued burgers, fish, steak, to pizza. There are several sides to choose from but even the default fries with most sandwich entrées are top notch. If I had to pick out one downside of this place it would be that the smoking and non-smoking sections are not in separate rooms (but are still on opposite ends). Other seating options include the more porch-like room for those who want to enjoy their food in a more outdoors-ish environment (but without all the bugs), and the traditional bar stand. Above all comes the quality of service. The servers here are clearly experienced, genuinely friendly, and work hard to please the customer. Especially the younger staff. I am hard-pressed to not dine here when eating in this town or area. The only time I don't suggest this place to a group wanting to eat out is to save myself from sounding like a broken record. Go here, try their uniquely flavored food; try someone else's food if you don't like yours, and embrace what this successful local restaurant has to offer. read more

My family and I visited this restaurant last night. After driving 30 minutes just to get eat there, We waited for a good hour before we got our food. When we finally did get to eat my plate had grease running everywhere didn't even eat it. Prices were different on the menu than what shows on the web site. Also while we were sitting there eating, Looked over and a roach was crawling on the wall. My son tried to kill it with a paper towel so it wouldn't get on him, but it escaped though the crack in the wood wall. Never again will we visit this restaurant. read more

Great place to eat. The service is always good but the food is even better. Had the shrimp and crawfish. This is our Friday night spot.

The food served at events they cater is very good. Fresh and tasty. I recommend the blackberry cobbler. The crust is crisp and the filling is full of blackberries. Very good read more

Food was great. Came into the area to visit Elephant Rock and the Shut Ins. Great friendly atmosphere and our waitress was very kind. Great SAUCES! My favorite was the fried mushrooms. read more

I was very pleased with the food and staff. My family stopped by after attending a local visitation. It was less than an hour until closing and we filled two and a half large tables. The staff was very hospitable and the food excellent. There was no rush as they were closing and the quality of food was that of opening morning. read more

Delicious food, staff is super friendly, bathrooms clean. I repeat, the food is EXCELLENT and I can't wait to go back!

My husband and I totally enjoyed the meal. Pork steak tender and delicious. Ribeye perfectly cooked and seasoned. OMG the homemade pies. Hope to go through Ironton MO some time soon again read more

Not a bad place, Prices were very reasonable & alot of menu options. I got a little frustrated by the wait and the steaks seemed a little bland which was disappointing. I'de probably go back to try something different. Maybe the pork bbq? read more

AMAZING! I don't know how this doesn't have five stars. Great portions, great price, great foods. My boyfriend and I had the pork sandwich and catfish and were beyond impressed. Service was great and drinks were well filled. The girls bathroom was even so cute! read more

This is a nice place for a good home cooked meal. The prices are very reasonable as are the portions. Patti our server did an excellent job. The fried mushrooms were really good and probably the best we have eaten. We hardly had any wait time for the meal. read more

NASTY JUST NASTY !!! Went in with my daughter and grandsons, " young grandsons " pork steak was tough as leather, service was poor and the language coming from " the bar " was unbelievable. We seen two tables leave because of the language and poor service. When paying our bill I mentioned the toughness of the pork steak, the response I got was, " yeah that happens sometimes " this was over a year ago and we haven't been back since. read more

The food here is simply amazing! I highly suggest getting the wings; they are, hands down, the best wings I've ever eaten. And I have eaten A LOT of wings. read more

We HAD BEEN going to this restaurant annually for several years at the conclusion of every annual family river trip as we were very impressed with the food. However, the past two years have proven to be very disappointing. Our crowd typically requires extra tables be put together so we are talking good sized revenue and tips. Two years in a row, we were given the wrong items. Both times, we ordered bulk sides and got sides that were for one person only. The waitress brought out a plate full of ribs and only three appetizer size plates when we had six people at the table ( I guess we were supposed to share plates?). The three plates had puddles of water on them, so we asked the waitress for dry plates. (Who wants to put their ribs in dishwater?) She left to talk to the kitchen and returned with incorrect information so we had to show her the menu, meanwhile we still have no plates and our ribs are getting cold. She returned to the kitchen, came back and told us she was going to give us double of everything to make up for it. Still no plates. She returned with the new sides which were the size they should have been in the first place (not the "double to make up for it" as she had promised) still with no plates. We resort to eating our ribs without plates, and placing the bones on napkins....sides getting cold. We decide we better order another slab and this time the slab comes out with meatier ribs....(apparently you get the bad cuts when you order the ribs and bulk sides together.) The owner's "wife" showed up to ask how our meal was. When we told her we were not satisfied with the service, she told us "I'm sorry we cannot make you happy but, we took some time off today, because some times you just have to take some time off". (How is that my problem? I am paying for food and good service, not poor service) Then she told us the waitress was new, so she made a mistake when writing the order. When we informed her that was the same thing they told us last year, she said well, the waitresses grandma was in the hospital. We informed her we were not trying to get a discount, we just wanted her to know that for two years in a row the same mistake was made. Then she told us there are only two waitresses and they were kind of busy. At this point, being tired of excuses we asked her if they were busy, then why wasn't she on the floor helping them like any other restaurant owner does when the business is busy. Needless to say, we informed her we would not be back, at which point she informed us, she did not need our business they were doing just fine. Welllll, I'm here to tell ya, they won't be doing fine for long with management with an attitude like that. I would avoid this restaurant completely unless you do not mind being treated rudely and talked to loudly enough for the whole restaurant to hear.. read more

For the past three years, we have paid them to bring our dinner to Riversedge Campground one night. All three years have been above and beyond expectation!! Their food is delicious, they are always willing to work with us on this day as far as menu, delivery, etc. I, and my floating friends, are so excited we found this place. Thank you!!! read more

Ate their once the meat tasted rotten so I never went back. Maybe it was a bad day for them but I couldn't even eat the meat. It smelled rotten as well. I have an extremely sensitive taste and some people can eat anything but not me. I think most people are used to eating road kill so it don't bother them. read more

Great service and food that will not disappoint! Had the Ribeye and Porksteak dinner. Both were tender and juicy.

Very disappointing dinner. It was crowded but service was super slow and forgetful. There's an upcharge for asparagus side, which is fine except you get 3 asparagus spears. Then to top it off, after ordering the menu shrimp dinner and getting charged for the $5 more special, the waitress had the gall to tell me I was wrong in what I said. Food was ok, but the service made for a poor experience. read more

I was so excited to check this place out, because I have a friend who constantly raves about it. After a fun day at the Shut-Ins we finally got our chance. We arrived around 6pm on a Sunday. Our orders came a little slow, but nothing to get upset about. We let our waitress know when she brought our food that we needed refills. We also noticed as she was walking away that we didn't get the cheddar biscuits we had asked for. No big deal, since we assumed she would be back to bring our drinks. Wrong! She never came back again. We even tried to signal for her, at which point she looked straight at us and turned around to walk away. As for the food, my husband and I both had the sliced pork. It had a good flavor, but was very fatty. Overall, it was a very poor experience. I am very understanding when I can see that a waitress is busy and doing what she can. But, this waitress just seemed rude. Won't go back, and wouldn't recommend this establishment to anyone. read more

Great food. Friendly service, and a price that is very reasonable. This is the best restaurant in the valley. You will not regret the visit