The food is absolutely the best barbecue I have tasted for a long time! We had the ribs which with were smoky and dripping with sauce. The smoke turkey was out of this world! The shredded pork sandwich was packed with flavor. My son ate the tasty chicken Philly, which wasn't his first pick.We loved the sides of macaroni and cheese, potato salad, and baked beans! BUT...we left so disappointed. They ran out of brisket, chicken wings, Cole slaw, pastrami sandwiches, banana pudding, and Key Lime pie!!! We were a group of four that traveled from far locations and it seemed when we walked in they were out of everything. We saw them turn away ten people waiting in line because they ran out of food. I guess that's a good thing and a bad thing. Call before coming! The small store front restaurant was filled with Bears memorabilia which was electrifying. There are no washrooms...bummer. read more

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The food is great! Amazing bbq sauce, great Smokey flavor on the meat. And hand cut fries you can't beat that. If I had one complaint it would be the customer service. read more

Bear Down Barbecue & Catering - Waiting area - Barbeque Near Me - Frankfort, Illinois

We ordered rib tips that were outstanding just like our previous visit. It went downhill after that the fries were so salty we could not eat them. The wings were dry and tasted "old". It was a take out order. If we had been eating there, we would have addressed the issues at the time. read more

What a joke , they messed up my order and they stated to me sue us , but don't tell them I said that don't say I said that there's a ton of barbecue places that have better food and better service and better customer service. This place is a dive the owners or the individual answering phones is a clown. read more

I pre-ordered food on GrubHub however, when I get to the restaurant, they said they did not receive and it was a Grubhub issue. Owner took no responsibility for order not being placed through GrubHub. Poor customer experience and no alternatives are offered by the owner, be careful placing any order online as they will take no responsibility for it. read more

I got the lunch special Brisket sandwich and it was tenderism at its finest. Also the house bbq sauce was the best I've ever had. The service was Great and very friendly and I was well taken care of from ordering to my meal. Great touch putting my name and Bear down on the bag. Awesome place so glad I was out that way and stopped by and will be back with my family soon. I Love all the Chicago Bears decor. read more

It was lunch time I had a taste for some rib tips so I said let me give them another opportunity to bring it. I ordered a medium rip tip with sauce on the side. The rip tips were a bit dry and they tasted old it wasn't the best quality of meat but what brought them back to life was the bbq sauce it was flavorful. The fries were hot, fresh and seasoned well. I'm was not excited about the rib tips and wouldn't order them again. Lots of Bears memorabilia inside the restaurant and the customer service was warm and welcoming. The take out bag had a nice touch - see photos. Overall it was average. I will try their ribs in a couple of weeks. I will update soon - who knows the third try may be the charm. read more

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My husband and I just moved here from Austin, TX and we were missing some good BBQ. My husband swung in to Bear Down to grab us dinner and they did NOT disappoint!! The man who took our order was super friendly and fun to chat with. As nice as the staff was the star of the show was the food! The ribs are absolutely AMAZING! I got a hot dog (it was DELICIOUS!!) and my husband got the pulled pork sandwich. The pulled pork had so much flavor - 10/10!!!! We got a bunch of sides but our favorite was the spicy green beans. This place is all hits - no misses. Can't wait to come back!! read more

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Delicious. Bear Down has been here 7 years tucked in the corner of the shopping area. Ribs without any fat - eat 'em all the way to the bone. Delicious sauce Fries solid - dip those in the bbq sauce too while you're at it. So much on the menu. All looks terrific. The fantastic smell hits you the second you walk in the door. Prices for homemade food are reasonable, especially for the high quality. Order ahead or eat in. Nice owners, great food - will return soon. Planning on eating at Buona or Potbelly? Change your mind and go here instead. One of the best places I've been to. read more

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Really great food, bad customer service by the owners father doesn't know how to talk with customers about the menu

Amazing amazing amazing food!! The customer service was perfect and the food was even better

Gotta give 'em 5 Stars. I love BBQ. I like it messy and tangy and Bear Down, an Award winning place just gets it right! I had a pulled pork sandwich with pickles on the sauce poured on. I skipped the fried for Cowboy Beans. This is good Chicago BBQ! And this place caters to Bears fans! read more

Well things have changed and it's AWFUL NOW. Rashid's dad doesn't have a clue how to operate computerized equipment. He charged people the wrong price and that's the best thing that happened during my 1 hour wait. No slabs or half slabs you pay by the pound now. I paid $12.00 for 3 ribs which the dad said would be equivalent to a half slab. Have you ever heard of having to go ONLINE to your checking account to prove you paid? And when I pulled up the account as proof Rashid said $21.94 had a minus sign next to it so that means he had refunded my money. NOT TRUE! It means it was deducted from my account. All I can say is AWFUL TERRIBLE NOT WORTH THE TRIP FROM CHICAGO! Oh he drew a Happy Face on the bag like that would cure the pain. What happened to this place!!! read more

Bear Down Barbecue & Catering - 3 Ribs for $12.00 supposed to equal 1/2 slab - Barbeque Near Me - Frankfort, Illinois

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The fries were greasy, the bbq sauce tasted like tomato sauce, the rib tips were fatty! Nope, I'd strongly advise not to waste your time and money! I am hungry and pissed! I called the store told I was completely unsatisfied. Mr. Ridgeland told me that I could bring the food back for a refund. I explained to him that I live in Tinley Park and I was not coming back out. He went on to say that the restaurant is closed next week due to the holiday, and I can bring the food back the week they return from vacation. So, he wants me to bring the food back to him almost two weeks later to get a refund. I agree, but I am NOT keeping that nasty food in my refrigerator for almost two weeks. Nope! Mr. Ridgeland, please keep the $16. Apparently you need it more than I do, and you probably give me leftovers for this past week! read more

Great food! I ordered a pulled pork, the meat was very juicy! I was a big fan of the Mac and cheese as well! We got A LOT of food for less than $40. Beyond the food, the owner showed lots of hospitality. He asked us what we thought of our meal, and we talked about how the prices are inaccurate on Yelp. So here is the menu, get yourself some delicious BBQ! read more

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The food is delicious ... This is where I tasted the best BBQ ever! Wow! I was so happy enjoying this wonderful food! I love the place inside as well ... the walls are full of Chicago Bears artifacts... you can learn so much just viewing the pictures and reading all of the information posted on the walls ... and the team there is super friendly and fun to chat with ...It is such a pleasure and wonderful experience to dine there ... I highly recommend Bear Down Barbecue & Catering! It is an absolute magnificent experience... Very memorable! read more

Previous to COVID this was a good place to support. The current situation I wouldn't recommend to my worse enemy. Ordered Via Uber Eats this past week and my experience was an epic fail! The menu states 1/2 POUND OF Spare Ribs ($12) and as well a 1/2 POUND of Chicken Tips ($10) - Fries ($4.00) . The pictures ive enclosed cant lie as to what i received . i was TOTALLY pissed . ( since when is a 1/2 a pound 2 rib bones ?? The chicken tips ..... 1 chopped up Chicken Breast & the $4 order of fries about equal to MvDonalds SMALL FRIES. how can you even sleep serving your patrons as such at these prices and falsely describing the portions . Never again !! read more

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We decided to finally come in for lunch and was greeted by the owner. Super nice guy! It's a small place, but has really cool Chicago Bears memorabilia. Since I had an appointment and an hour to waste, we dined in. We ordered the large tips and fries. Really tender and just fell off the bone. I like my barbecue sauce a bit spicier, but it was still good. Loved the fries too. Next time we will try the brisket. read more

Bear Down Barbecue & Catering - Large tips and fries - Barbeque Near Me - Frankfort, Illinois

tried the brisket, pulled pork and rib tips all good also tried the Mac and cheese also tasty but 4 .50 for a sample size container , the food isn't cheap so adding another scoop of noodles when customers are spending 75 dollars for 3 meals would go along way in my opinion read more

The food was disappointing. My family and I ordered a bunch of different things and majority of the items were overcooked, stale or simply just inedible. The burger was so dry and tough we couldn't even chew it. The French fries were overly seasoned and soggy. The taste of the smoke doesn't seem to be clean. The flavors were just not good! Service wasn't the greatest. Food takes a bit and doesn't seem to be worth it read more

great food, best bbq around! not a fan of the smoked mac and cheese as it's not very flavorful, but the ribsssssssss tender, smoky and fall off tge bone ! read more

Great food and friendly service. Fantastic lunch specials. You won't go away hungry. Smoked brisket and turkey on Saturday's.

First timer today! I'll definitely be back for a lot more brisket. Doesn't even need any sauce it's so flavorful. Service was great, the owners Father helping at the register making for good conversation and all the Bears memorabilia in the restaurant was really cool. read more

first time getting bbq from here & it was GREAT! Best Mac & cheese, rib tips, and the brisket was phenomenal!

Best BBQ ever. Best SMOKED Mac&Cheese ever. They've never gotten an order wrong. Attention to detail is strong. Enjoy!! read more

What I ordered: 1 pound spare ribs 1/2 pound beef brisket 2x orders of fresh cut fries What I paid: $56 What i I received: 7 small, overcooked spare ribs 1/3 pound beef fat and gristle Soggy, greasy, cold fries 2 pubic hairs (free of charge!) Buyer beware. read more

Bear Down Barbecue & Catering - Greasy beef fat (aka "brisket") - Barbeque Near Me - Frankfort, Illinois

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Who is leaving these great reviews? They cannot possibly know how bad b que is supposed to taste. This is not smoked and does not have a smoked taste. They taste burnt (charred and crispy) and boiled or baked...not bar b qued. Potato salad was bland. This was pretty bad. Not sure how I ended up here...maybe cause the name sounds good. The food isn't though. Sorry... read more

Eaten here several times and can't really say I had a bad meal. Most times even in early afternoon, the Rib Tips are already sold out as well as the Mac and Cheese. They are both good though. The owners are very nice and personable and ask how you liked your food. Can't say they were better than anywhere else but also can't say anything bad either. Meat was decent and BBQ sauce OK too! Check them out for yourselves. read more

The restaurant is decorated nice and it is clean. I ordered the brisket and the potato chips. The brisket was more like a roast or something many small pieces of mostly Fat and the "brisket" was submerged in like an inch of liquid? Fat? Not good at all!! The chips were store bought and put into a small paper bag stapled. Kind of strange to offer chips that someone grabbed and filled the bags with. To bad they weren't homemade. Big letdown! It was so bad I don't think I will visit again. If your in the area check out the BBQ restaurant inside Marianos (less than a block away) landslides better!!! So good! T read more

Bear Down Barbecue & Catering - Supposed to be the brisket. Not good - Barbeque Near Me - Frankfort, Illinois

I've had their barbecue, approximately 16 times or more over the last few years. This restaurant is right around the corner from my house so it's a huge convenience factor and for the most part I've never had burnt barbecue from here and my meat has always been very meaty and always tender. The reason why they didn't get five stars is because when they first open, their food was magnificent, but over the years, you can tell that the pandemic has greatly affected their business, and it doesn't always seem like the passion is there to deliver great food, so at this point, it's like a hit or miss. The best time to get fresh barbecue from them is when they first open, and during lunch and early evening time. I would never go just before they close, trust me! I made that mistake a few times and it didn't go well. But they definitely have a lot of potential to be that magnificent place that they were!!! Their prices are reasonable compared to the neighborhood of where they're located. Their customer service is pretty good and their establishment is always squeaky clean read more

Food was average at best, very expensive and takes a long time to make. The restaurant is very small

I'm a packer fan but the food is good. Also good tip, don't wear a Justin fields steeler jersey.

I was very disappointed. There was very little sauce on the rib tips. The fries were greasy and the ribs were burnt. I had seen high ratings for this restaurant so thought I would try it Maybe the people who gave it a high rating are not used to eating good ribs read more

Great barbecue awesome service . The rip tips are to die for And so is the hot link. The sides though are quite pricey $5 for 8 oz of Potato salad. read more

Forgot to include an update on this review. My husband and I were throwing up all night, definitely food poisoning. They need to have their business investigated because that place looks run down, unsanitary, and definitely unkempt. read more

Boy am I glad I tried this place! I ordered the ribs and brisket with spicy green beans. Excellent!!!! I'll definitely be back.

Sorry the food was awful and bland meat tough no seasoning, mac n cheese watery just bland....but the restaurant decor is nice. The people were nice. Smells good inside. read more

Awesome vibe when you walk in. Had the brisket and pork sandwich it was fantastic. Service was awesome made you feel like you are at home. 10/10 would recommend again! read more

When are restaurants gonna get a clue on how to tun their business??!! I'm a door dasher. I came in to pick up an order..a simple pulled pork sandwich. The guy behind the counter asked me for the name. I said, DD pick up for Heather. He said. OHHHH we got 2 big catering orders to get out first. It's gonna be at least 30 minutes, maybe more!? I said, But it's just a pulled pork sandwich!? Why would you make me wait for that for a half hour,?? He said. BECAUSE THE CATERING ORDERS ARE FIRST AND ARE CUSTOMERS..DOOR FASH CAN WAIT??!! I immediately unassigned the order and left! So if you ever wonder why your food takes so long and it's cold when you get it, this is why.... SMH read more

Best BBQ in the area. Service, price, food were excellent. Love the staff. Orders are always on time esp if you are buying a huge quantity. . read more