Pulled pork was dry and tasted like it had been cooked two days ago and warmed in the microwave. It had a nice rubbery texture you only get with a microwave. The brisket was not smoked. Absolutely no smoke flavor at all but it was juicy just like it had been cooked in the oven to save time instead of the smoker. Wow...maybe I came on the wrong day. I'm a little shocked and extremely disappointed. If it's a Monday or Tuesday you'll be better off at DQ next door. My toast had butter on it that never melted. I'm just curious how long that toasted bread sat there before it was buttered. I'm not normally a complainer, but this was unacceptable. They have done better in the past because this was not my first visit here, but it is definitely my last. read more

Brister's Smokehouse BBQ - Dry possibly microwaved pork - Barbeque Near Me - Ruston, Louisiana

Best bbq in town. Ribs fall off the bone, seasoning and smoke ring is perfect on brisket, chicken is not dry, scatterload offers lots of flavor. The sides are great, too... new creamed corn and smoked Mac and cheese are our favorites. read more

I can only wonder what the kitchen situation is when the drink machine and ice machine are corroded with mold. Don't do it, people.

I ordered their Mac and cheese and it was real good, but it came in a container slightly larger than a shot glass. Not enough to charge money for. read more

Best BBQ in Ruston! Typical offerings and excellent food. They have baked potatos baked to perfection. My favorite is the loaded potato with pulled pork. My other go to is any meat option on Jalapeño bread with pepper jack cheese. They also have giant brisket covered nachos and ribs that would make anyone happy! Ps. I love the concrete pig by the door. read more

This place has great BBQ "digs" holy BBQ smokehouse Brister. We have been here several times and each time leaves you wanting more. The brisket sandwich with jalapeño bread and pepper jack cheese...whoof!!! Excellent place and staff, food is prepared great and fast. read more

The bread was good but they go really light on the meat for the BBQ sandwiches. Also the bathroom was so dirty! There was visible mold growing in the toilet so they obviously don't even swish a brush around once a week. If they can't keep the bathrooms clean is there any chance for the kitchen?? read more

Was traveling from Shreveport to New Orleans and came across this place on yelp. So we decided to give it a try and ate sure glad we did. My wife got the Small Nachos and I got the 3 meat platter. The nachos were like no other we have ever had from a Bar B Que restaurant. The pulled pork and beans were absolutely awesome. The small was to much for her so I had to sacrifice my self and finish them after eating my Smoked Turkey, Smoked Chicken, and Brisket plate. The turkey was moist and smoked to perfection,the chicken was also moist and fell off the bone,and the brisket was just awesome. On the way out my wife started talking to a gentleman telling how much we enjoyed the food and service, then she found out he was the owner. I strongly recommend this establishment. Weather you live near by or passing thru. read more

The smoked sausage is too good! Pulled pork is great. The bbq sauce is to die for. So don't get me wrong if I complain just a bit. The seating is so hard to get in to or out of without hurting yourself. Especially for us seniors. read more

Delicious Ribs, some of the best I've had in a while. The sweet cashier also acknowledged my gluten allergy when I asked about sides. They were out of brisket and pulled pork, but the ribs made up for them!! read more

I'm sorry I really don't like writing bad reviews but, driving from Dallas to Tuscaloosa I stopped with a buddy to grab a bite .. The high reviews I had high hopes .. The BBQ is not quality .. The brisket came out chopped in small pieces and very dry probably smoked then put in an oven 5 days before I got it .. I mean dry .. Get this my sausage came out cold !! What cold .. Seriously .. The ribs were nearly meatless ... Only thing was the baked beans that were any good .. How do you get that wrong .. Also no sweet tea!! What is wrong .. How in the world is this place in business .. People were nice .. But I promise if you come here and have had decent to good BBQ you will be sad you did .. read more

Passing through Ruston and found this spot. Got the brisket plate per Yelp reviews. It was a great choice! Proper smoke ring, trimmed very well, no knife needed, excellent bark, great flavor, and was still fairly moist considering it was sliced earlier. A few pieces were just a tad dry but that was easily remedied with a little sauce. House sauce was well down. Not too thick, not too thin and just a hint of sweet and heat. The sides were lacking. Meaty baked beans were fair but not memorable and I'm not a fan of classic yellow potato salad so I went with a bag of Zappos Creole Onion which paired well. Food service was quick and the restaurant was clean, looks to be a new building. Couple of TVs with ESPN and some delicious brisket. I'll be back my next time through. Only flaw was they DON'T ACCEPT AMEX. read more

So when I called to order brisket nachos and they said they were out of brisket that should have been my first clue. How does a BBQ place not have brisket at 6pm on a Friday night? Anyway, we went with pulled pork nachos instead. We placed the order and picked them up in less than 10 minutes. The order was luke warm, the nachos were soggy, the cheese was burnt to the side of the styrofoam containers. And they didn't give us any bbq sauce. Needless to say, the meal was horrible. Stay away from this place when Tech is out during the summer. I'm sure their lunch is probably fine, but it appears to me they should close when the lunch crowd leaves because they don't seem to be too concerned with the evening business. Very disappointing to say the least. read more

This place is awesome. Spacious, charming atmosphere in the dining room. Good value for your money and most importantly -- the BBQ and sides are delicious. My favorite is the chopped brisket sandwich on a jalapeño cheddar bun...so very good. Huge! Their BBQ baked potato is such a generous portion and really well stuffed with toppings. read more

I travel for work and this is one of the best BBQ spots I've ever been to. If I'm ever back in Ruston, I will be back here for a few meals.

Simply the best brisket I have ever had. Scared me though took the exit and the location on google maps is the old location. It's further down on the right. New location read more

Brister's is the "reincarnation" of Dowling's (what most people knew it as). Menu is nearly identical, but they've added some new items that have been huge hits. It recently moved across the street from its previous location (taking the building with it). It now has a paved parking lot and a drive thru window (for call ahead orders only). Definitely worth trying out. Always packed at lunch and on Tech football game days. read more

Horrible experience....food was cold and portions were tiny....wouldn't or couldn't even toast bread for my wife who wasn't feeling well....will not be back read more

They have great BBQ with choices of pork beef etc. walk up and order and pay then you given your number for your meal. No French fries r offered but have other side choices such as chips or coleslaw read more

I've been here about a dozen times since it was called Dowling's. Good BBQ keeps me coming back. I've recommended it to friends and they all loved it. If I'm starving I get the platter otherwise the pulled rib sandwich, everything is tasty. read more

Wow! This was so good. Brisket was so tender, chicken cooked amazing. Beans and potato salad delicious.

The food was great and for a reasonable price! They are building a new deck on the side for outdoor seating! Worth the stop!

The best BBQ in Ruston by far! This is the former Dowling's Smokehouse established by Jeremy Telford. Jeremy sold the business, but the flavors remain the same. Definitely worth a visit!! read more

Usually out of meat and also have gave up on them before but decided to give it one more try. Should have known my order would be screwed up. I live 25 minutes away and on more than one occasion they have left out food on my order. Every time I have called about this the very non enthusiastic and ignorant staff had no clue on how to rectify the situation and told me to call back to double check if they reimbursed me. Wow! No apologies or sorry for the inconvenience from them either. Just a lot of Um's and silence on the phone. The owners should be in awe of the stupidity of their staff. read more

Returning to southern Florida from Dallas, we stopped at Brister's Smokehouse. It was the first bbq place on our route home (after we got hungry) that had outdoor seating, so we wouldn't have to leave our dog in the car. My wife got a brisket sandwich and I had a pulled pork sandwich. Both were delicious. Everything about this place is top notch. The food is super good, the place is clean and the staff are very helpful and friendly. The manager came out to chat with us when our food was delivered. He treated us to bbq nachos which were tortilla chips (duh) smothered in smoked cheese and then topped with brisket and bbq beans. OMG. This was so good. If I lived near Ruston Louisiana, Brister's Smokehouse would be a regular stop. To any "smoked meat purists" that don't believe a commercial grade, gas fired smoker made by Southern Pride can't impart a smoky flavor to slow cooked meat one bite of this delicious bbq will change your mind. Five stars, wish I could be a regular. read more

Brister's was a below average meal. Not even the famed scatter-load sandwich looked very appetizing. Service was nice and accommodating, yet the food was mediocre. I had the two meat plate with pulled pork and brisket. The meat was warm and it was served with a piece of white bread rather than toast. My smoked sausage plate was similar to a spicy gas station hotdog. Altogether, decent food but not worth the price. read more

Been here a few times while in Ruston for business. Seems to be going downhill. Out of ribs and brisket. Ordered the sausage plate. Took forever to get it and it was cold as were the beans. Not coming back. read more

Usually pretty good service always good to great food. I am a fan of the scatter load and pulled pork sandwiches. Try either with the jalapeno bread. It is not hot but complement the sandwich well. This is high praise coming from me because I make a great BBQ pork. I wish they had more sauce choices but what they have is good. Friends of mine have had the beef ribs and loved them. read more

Great BBQ - Great Price! I've been living in Ruston for almost a year and this is one of the best places I've eaten at in town! The sourdough buns are amazing! I got the pulled rib meat sandwich and it was so great. read more

Had mine to-go but I ordered half a chicken and a baked sweet potato. Both were delicious!! I have food allergies (G/D/S/N) so I didn't try the bbq sauce. read more

Absolutely delicious chopped beef brisket sandwich. I also got a side of meaty baked beans that are delicious! The brisket doesn't even need additional sauce, though I did add a little. I tried a small order of sliced sausage and it isn't my favorite but the brisket sandwich!!! Will def be back!!! read more

Pulled Rib Meat is the best! And love the breads they use and spicy BBQ sauce. Inside you get all the sauce you want but drive through and they charge you. Make sure they put it in the bag because several times I have gotten extra sauce to find there wasn't one. I would think you would allow a few extra for free. read more

Smokey, juicy brisket. The beans are smokey and meaty also. My friend had the nachos, also good. Staff was over the top friendly. Definitely worth the stop - which explains the packed parking lot! read more

If I could give this place zero stars I would. I've gone here three times and gotten food poisoning every time. The staff is nice enough, but the food isn't good or cheap enough to justify the amount of suffering I went through. Zero stars. read more

I was hopeful and kept trying to be optimistic, but everything escalated wrong. Out of sweet tea. White rainbow bread, toasted, a dab of butter spread on it. Cold food. Beans were pretty good - pretty much the only thing that came out hot. I think I enjoyed the Zapp's chips best :(. Brisket was even dry and honestly tasteless. Do not eat here read more

When it was Dowling's it was the best barbecue in Louisiana. Now that they've improved their beans recipe, they've tightened their grip on that position. Strongly recommend anything on the menu. read more

i have eaten at your establishment before, and the food was excellent. however, a couple of saturdays ago i ordered pulled pork plate. there was at least 1/8 of an inch of pure fat in the helping i received, plus the pork was as much fat as meat. i should have sent it back and got something else (my fault), but picked through and ate it instead. i took the plate to the cashier and showed her the greasy mess before we left. the young girl asked if i wanted another plate. i declined since i was full by that time. she went back and said she talked to the manager. when she came back she said they told her the pork was very fat. duh i already knew that. i felt that it would have been appropriate if the manager would have at least come out and apologized in person instead if sending back a message that the pork that day was fat read more