Always great! The food, the employees, everything! Joyce is always fantastic and I would recommend this location for lunch or dinner. The restaurant is always spotless, which is also a huge plus. read more

Friendly staff. Fast service. Decent proteins. The broken a/c made it difficult to enjoy the meal but Joyce and the rest of the staff made up for it with great hospitality. read more

Excellent food, very clean and super friendly staff. Pulled chicken was very tender and the banana pudding was delish!

My fiancé and I have been here several times! It has been our go to for a good BBQ. The staff is always friendly and encouraging us to come on days when our favorite dishes are the special! Even on what are normally busy days they are quick and the food is always delicious! The dining room is self is comfortable but definitely reminds me of a dinner at home on a holiday with all my family at my grandparents house sitting on picnic table and chairs! Love it! read more

A great meal every time. The atmosphere is very comfortable and a great place for a business meeting or group. I like the Pork Daily Special. My wife gets the baked potato. We both love the hot fudge cake! Joyce does a great job of keeping the hot hush puppies coming at lunchtime! read more

Sadly, this was a bad experience. First I had a side item left out. Drove back and got it. Returned home and my hot wings were burnt to a crisp, they were inedible. I was too worn out to drive back. read more

I have frequent visits to this particular buddies barbecue and it's always been very good but my great granddaughter and I yesterday after school was out and it wasn't fresh. The baked beans had a kind of like a film over it like they been sitting out was not impressed. Thought I wouldn't go back for a while. There's always new employees every time we go so I don't know what's causing that issue. pork had lots of hard pieces in our plates. Just not consistent in freshness. my read more

Food was great and service was even better. Our host, Joyce, provided excellent table side service and even brought us extra hush puppies. 10/10 would recommend. read more

The barbecue was very tasty and not bad for a strip mall chain barbecue place. Would definitely go back again when traveling.

Good service, food and price. Restaurant was clean and comfortable. Joyce was very friendly! read more

This restaurant is always so clean & everyone that works here is so kind. Joyce goes above & beyond to clear your plates when you are finished & she offered us extra hush puppies today. We will definitely be back!! read more

Best barbecue I've ever had in my life, the owners were very considerate by asking how my meal is going on. Pretty good ambiance, could smell it from 29 feet away read more

Buddy’s Bar-b-q - My face, sauce was so good that it's on my face - Barbeque Near Me - East Ridge, Tennessee

I no longer live in Chattanooga but the Hixon location proved to give me a better experience. Can gladly say that hopefully the first review I left was due to a location-based occurrence that day. The Hixon location was great and I wish I still lived near it, it was a convenient stop on my way home from work and was always delicious! read more

From reading previous reviews, maybe I hit it on a bad night and would have had a better experience had Joyce been there. However, we did not meet Joyce and my wife and I had a sub-par dinner. I am a local, born and raised in Chattanooga, but my wife and I had never been to Buddy's, so this was our first experience. We walk in and we are the only people in the restaurant. We walk up to order and the guy working the cash register will not shut up talking to his co-worker. He's rambling on about his previous job, his current job, pay, etc... Right there, we almost turned around and walked out. However, we stayed and he finally acknowledged us and took our order and then resumed talking to his coworker. As I am running my credit card the automatic tip screen appeared and I'm asking myself, why should I tip already? Regardless, I tipped 10%. And for what? I've been completely ignored to this point. We sit down and wait for our food. When the food was ready it was set on the counter and I had to get it and take it to our table. Again, why did I tip 10% if I have to take my food to my table? Food review: my wife had the pulled chicken sandwich with fries. The chicken was good, but the fries were lackluster warm at best. I'm guessing they were sitting out for at least an hour. Same for the hushpuppies. They were meh... not hot, not cold, you could tell they were sitting out as well. My dinner was the pulled pork plate with baked beans and slaw. Apart from the service to this point and my wife's fries, my dinner was great. The pork was tasty and tender and the sides were above average. I hate to say it, but walking out my wife said she regretted picking Buddy's for dinner, I told I don't regret it because now I know I won't ever miss going there. Sorry for this review, but its honest and the truth as we experienced it. read more

Excellent BBQ from a "fast food" restaurant- didn't know it was possible until now. Excellent food, great price, and out the door quick! Recommend! read more

Joyce was super friendly! Amazing food! Super quick service!! We will be back on our next trip to east ridge! read more

Buddy’s Bar-b-q - Daily Special! Pulled pork, 2sides (potato salad not pictured) and a drink! - Barbeque Near Me - East Ridge, Tennessee

This place was the best I have ever tasted, the smokehouse brisket sandwich, fries, and milkshake were superior, and the employees were very nice, I wish to come here another time read more

We had a great experience at this Buddy's! Joyce was always checking in on us to make sure that we had what we needed. Very great service!

I had the worst ribs of my life at this restaurant. There was practically no meat on the bone. It was mostly gristle and the meat that was there was tough and chewy. Don't waste your money. read more

Love their pork barbecue sandwich combo!! We received excellent customer service and our food was exceptional. We will be back, just wish we had a Buddy's Bar-b-q in Dalton Georgia where we live. read more

I've been to one other Buddy's location and was impressed with both the food and the prices! I mean 7.99 for an awesome sandwich, fries and a drink. You can beat that. This time I visited with three others and they all loved it as much as I do. My stepdad tried the brisket, which I haven't tried, and said it was very good. My mom, who isn't a huge fan of french fries, said these were some of the best she's had in a long time. If you are traveling, it is an easy on and off from I75, so be sure to stop. read more

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Yummy! This food just hits right! Love me some Buddy's! We enjoyed the pork dinner with two sides for $10.99. Don't forget the pickles and hush puppies! read more

OMG! For a place on the side of the road, you can't miss it! You can even feed the goats! The pulled pork was juicy and delicious. The baked potato crisps out of this world. My boyfriend got the ribs and he literally could not stop eating them. Everything was so tasty. read more

amazing food and amazing service Joyce was a darling ! Most definitely will be back! great way to start Tennessee read more

Buddy's BBQ started in Knoxville and now has 19 locations. It's not bad, but not great, just meh like that University in Knoxville 's football team. Moving on from the Tennessee slights. You order at the counter at Buddy's. My order was ready in a minute after I ordered. That was super quick and if you check in to Yelp, you get a free ice cream cone. But I wouldn't take a chance on the old-fashioned milkshakes because I bet they are made with the soft serve. My entree for the evening was the combo that came with pulled pork, ribs, chicken, hush puppies, and 2 sides which I chose potato salad and slaw. Out of the meats, I liked the pulled pork the best. It was tender and mixed well with the sauce. The chicken was pretty good too. With the combo, I received 2 ribs and both were more like chewing jerky. There are 2 sauces. The mild is a tangy ketchup base. The hot BBQ sauce is hot sauce without the BBQ part. The best part of the meal was the potato salad. It was a creamy mustard base that I enjoyed every moment of it. The slaw was good too as it was more shredded but was pretty wet just the way I like it. One of my buddies got beans and they looked freshly made from the BBQ. Sweet tea was ok. It didn't taste sweet at first but became sweeter as I drank it with my meal. If I returned to Buddy's, I would get a pulled pork sandwich with slaw and potato salad. It's far from the best BBQ ever but it is good enough for a $10 lunch. read more

Buddy’s Bar-b-q - Combo with chicken, pork, and ribs with slaw and potato salad - Barbeque Near Me - East Ridge, Tennessee

Came in and the place had no meat, corn, hush puppies or mac and cheese but said they could not make anything else. The guy at the front said he was just ready to leave. We ordered a meal got like two hush puppies and a sandwhich for $10 and would not give us more hush puppies. The food is cold. We also paid for a meal and they are supposed to come with hush puppies and didn't get any. The corn is soggy. He tried saying its because they close in an hour which they close at 9 and it is 7:30. Tables were dirty. We ordered turkey and got ham. We brought a group of ten and we will NEVER come back along with several others as we are here for sports. read more

Great service and amazing food we had been driving for 12 hours on vending machine food and this is right next to the rest area and it was heaven on earth not the best there is if we compare it to the best bbq spots out there but for the price is pretty darn good i really recommend it if u traveling this is a must stop 10 out of 10 !! They have all u can eat ribs on Saturday like i said heaven on earth lol read more

staff is always five star! (Joyce is a sweet person!) (Terrell in the kitchen always gets our gluten free order perfect and SAFE) read more

The food was delicious. Joyce's Southern hospitality was the reason that I'll return!!! Almost like being at home for a southern family bbq!!!! read more

1st time trying Buddy's, and to be honest was a little skeptical at first. Not a big fan of fast food BBQ. The gentleman at the counter ( I believe his name was Gavin, not a 100% on that) I was there 1/22/25 at about 7:30pm. Anyways he was super helpful, very nice, and suggested I get the brisket dinner. So I did, and I was pleasantly surprised it was pretty good! If you're not sure if you should try this place or not, let me just say I believe you will have a great experience at this fast food BBQ restaurant. read more

This place is pretty good. I won a $50 gift certificate from a 5K and thought why not? The serve BBQ food and I was able to use the money towards beer. Me being a vegetarian, I knew the option were going to be slim so I chose 4 sides. It would be nice if they offered any vegetarian option like a black bean burger or impossible burger. The hush puppies were crunchy, the beans didn't have meat in them which was a plus, the corn was soft and the fries were mediocre. I liked my meal overall. My husband got the ribs and he said they fell right off the bone and were cooked to perfection. I thought the slaw was very good and had a cream base. Overall I'll be back. We went at 4pm on a Sunday and were the only people in the whole place! read more

Buddy’s Bar-b-q - French Fries Baked Beans Hush Puppies Corn - Barbeque Near Me - East Ridge, Tennessee

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Traveling up to Tennessee to visit some family who were camping at Raccoon Mountain we left our campsite at Stone Mountain with a plan to stop for lunch somewhere along the route. Out of convenience and this massive rain event we took the exit prior to where Highway 24 splits off of I-75, it was raining hard and this bbq joint was just a few blocks off the exit, I had seen the sign along the interstate so I trusted it since the YELP rating was four stars I figure it would be a good choice considering the approaching weather. This location is in a new commercial development and had that brand new designer look which instantly gave me that gas fired smoker impression which can be okay but can also be mediocre from my past experiences. Being the restaurant is practically brand new it was clean as expected, well lit and polished and decorated like a fast food restaurant- I certainly wasn't going to not give it a try for those reasons but honestly I lowered my expectations since it felt like a place I have found to be disappointing so many times. The entrance was designed to guide you to the counter to place your order, the familiar social distancing marking were present on the floor and the menu boards were lit and in plain sight against the ceiling. The menu is simple and when I say simple I mean fast food restaurant simple - I immediately go from a combo plate to a brisket sandwich, a order of fries and some coleslaw and a cup to dispense my own pop - my princess ordered a pork sandwich with sauce on the side, we both prefer it this way in case we don't like the sauce but I went blindly hoping to experience what the owner wanted me to experience (when I inquired about any hot bbq sauce they handed us a few packets of "Texas Pete" that was a moment of truth. Prior to taking my first bite I resolved myself into thinking I was eating fast food - the building, the order method, the plating and presentation, the condiments and pop machine was overwhelmingly convincing. Buns - soft and fresh Slaw - mechanically chopped bland and tasteless but good texture Pork - chopped and dry extremely dry Brisket - moist and the sauce incorporated works Fries - served hot not bad Hey it is what it is and they have a drive-through yes it's fast food bar-b-q, the service was good and the "the hello how may I help you" was free and genuine and served with a side of southern hospitality... read more

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Food was good. Service was great. Joyce was very helpful and friendly. Came to our table several times to check on us and offer more hush puppy's. Five stars. read more

New place with great food. We went there on a Sunday and the line was long, but they managed to take care of everyone quickly. I had the 1/2 chicken and it was tasty. My wife got the loaded potato that was also tasty. The hush puppies were fresh and delicious. read more

Buddy’s Bar-b-q - 1/2 chicken. - Barbeque Near Me - East Ridge, Tennessee

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This is fast food BBQ, not authentic, so that's what I'm basing my review on. My husband got the Meat Trio dinner and I got the Pulled Chicken dinner through the drive-thru. The meat was on the dry side and their sauce is basically A1 with some vinegar, but honestly, for the money it's not bad. I'd definitely choose this again over the average fast food restaurant. read more

I'm from Georgia, looking for a good BBQ place and this place was BUSTDOWN!! The establishment was clean, the food exceeded my expectations! Joyce was very nice and helpful!! Will be coming back my next trip! -I forgot to take pictures! read more

The food was fabulous! We had pulled chicken and ribs with beans and Cole slaw. Best hush puppies I've ever had. Barbie was a great hostess! read more

Ugh. Do not order a bbq sandwich here. The brisket is sliced paper thin. It's like eating a sandwich from Arby's. Too much bbq sauce. My husband ordered a pork plate. Which looked ok. The potato salad was decent. And the corn on cob was good. There was no sweet tea. I had to ask for some. The staff IS friendly . Little pricey read more

My host Gavin was great and he was very kind. I also loved the food we had, the pork dinner was excellent and I would recommend this to anybody who wants good and affordable bbq read more

Food is awesomely addictive. The portions are excellent and food delicious. Service has consistently been the best among all fast food style places. The food is nothing like fast food, it is excellent. 40+ year customer of Buddy's and happy to have this location now open. read more