I really wanted to love this City BBQ. You know an experience is never good when it starts out like that. Just to keep it honest, it was merely a two and a half experience for me. This location was the first of the two Lexington City locations. City isn't local Lexington BBQ joint, but it's not exactly a franchise either. It's on the opposite side of town from my house, so I'd yet to try it, even though it's been open for awhile now. It's directly located on Richmond Rd, but it isn't in a convenient spot. If you're coming from Richmond, you can't cross over Richmond Rd to get to it, you have to go down to the light and make a u-turn. I wouldn't suggest tackling it during lunch hour or if you're in a time crunch. Anyways, that's not part of my rating opinion... just a random observation. I ordered the smoked turkey breast, which came as a few slices, not the portion near the size of what comes with the salad that I'd had at the other location. Oh well, not a big deal. I was surprised at the small portion of it and that it was on a bun. So I nicely asked the lady if there was a non sandwich option that comes with more meat. Her response was "I can take the bun off". I was a bit stunned at her response, but maybe she took offense to my obvious complaint that the meal could use more meat. I mean literally 3 small slices of turkey. It came with 2 sides and I chose fries and potato salad. The fries had a weird flavor to them, almost as if they were burnt. The extra half star was for the potato salad, which was excellent. The meal and the fountain soda were around $10. Would I go back? I'm not sure after the first impression wasn't too good. If I ever do go back, I'll try a meat platter or a salad. read more

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Why 3 stars? Because I enjoyed it there was a degree or two of weirdness. --- --- --- I eat BBQ like it's my profession, and I'm a renowned Doctor of the field. I had been looking forward to a trip to City for quite some time, as I just assumed Kentucky would be a hot bed for BBQ. Southern accents are normally synonymous with good Q. And my hypothesis was correct - I did enjoy it. But I have to issues: For every BBQ place I have ever been, there's an option for a 2-meat platter. For those that enjoy variety, like myself, you can try something like the pulled pork and the brisket. Not City BBQ. You can order a one meat dinner. You can order one sandwich. You can order three sliders. But what if you just want two meats? Nope. So to get around this very silly system, I ordered 3 sliders without bread. I didn't want sausage or chicken, so I went with the pulled pork, brisket, and then pulled pork with coleslaw on it. City BBQ... c'mon. read more

I'm accustomed to either Texas BBQ, NC BBQ or Kansas City BBQ; but wanted to try this place due to good reviews. It was pretty good; service was quick; staff were friendly. The food: 5 Star award- brisket (tender and tasty) Really good - baked beans, hush puppies, beverages & French fries Ok but not as outstanding - pulled pork, sauces (vinegar sauce needed more pepper), corn pudding & cole slaw We will return for brisket and to try ribs & chicken. $74 for six of us is not unreasonable price wise for the food we got. read more

We usually love City BBQ! Today, not so much. My husband's brisket sandwich was tasteless. The beans, which he normally loves & can't get enough of, were horrible. The corn pudding was cold! Yuck! No wonder the dining room was empty. They have degraded drastically in just a year. No sauces available on the tables, even though other restaurants have gone back to before covid protocols. No pickles served, even though they were ordered. We were seriously disappointed in this dinner experience. Won't go back. Sad! read more

All of the meats have a deeply smoked flavor, regardless of how much bark you get. The City Samplers with pork, brisket, sausage and turkey are a great value for sharing. This place has collared greens, yum. Excellent sauces at the table, even though meats are served unsauced. Not the cheapest for fast food but some of the best BBQ in the area. For self serve they keep the dining room clean and orderly. All around, recommended for casual dine-in. read more

City Barbeque - Old City - Barbeque Near Me - Lexington, Kentucky

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Absolute FAVORITE place! The hubby and I always do our weekend "date nite" here. We used to try a different place each weekend until we stumble across Big City, now it's always here!! I try something new each visit & he is faithful to the pork sandwich, but we are NEVER DISAPPOINTED! read more

City Barbeque - Barbeque Near Me - Lexington, Kentucky

$30 for lunch for two. The pulled pork was soooo dry, that I thought it was a week old. The french fries were dark and the oil was old and needed changing. This place needs a lesson from the one near the old Turfland mall, which is ten stars. read more

Oh em gee. 5 stars all the way! We're visiting from out of state and wanted to find a local restaurant that isn't a popular chain (like kfc) with good chicken. The restaurant appears to be a sit down restaurant with wait staff, but to our surprise their wasn't any wait staff. Which means the food was ready very fast! I ordered their pulled chicken sandwich with a side of Mac n cheese. My sandwich had a hefty amount of chicken on it, and there's a bar area where you can personalize any toppings and sauce on it- loved that. (Their bourbon sauce is AMAZING!) the Mac n cheese is creamy and tasty. Good Mac n cheese is often hard to find, but not here! My husband had their ribs with a side of baked beans, both which were out of this world yummy. I'm so glad we dined here during our stay in Lexington. We enjoyed our experience and our scrumptious dinner. Highly recommend!! read more

City Barbeque - It's better than it looks, y'all. I promise. - Barbeque Near Me - Lexington, Kentucky

We were on the hunt for good southern BBQ and this place absolutely checked the box. We ordered a lot - their brisket, a few ribs, cornbread, potato salad, cole slaw, and sausage. They give really big portions so we ended up with a lot left over. The brisket was fantastic and the sides were great. They also had really great service. We ordered a peach cobbler which was the only so-so item we ordered. I highly recommend. read more

City Barbeque - Barbeque Near Me - Lexington, Kentucky

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Mediocre BBQ with a chain atmosphere. The mustard sauce is the best thing this quasi authentic place has going for them. Their smokers are gas so the lack of authentic smokey flavor makes me use this as a last resort for BBQ in town. read more

Went on a whim because we were hungry and had Barbeque on our minds. Great choice, we'll be back!

The brisket, green beans and potato salad are off the hook here!! Being a Texas girl, I know good BBQ, and this place has some good stuff!! The sweet sauce is the best, in my opinion. The mustard sauce tastes like alcohol, maybe it was past its prime(?). The brush fire is good too, not extremely hot. Definitely will be back for more of this!! read more

Great food one flaw one staff member can not be bothered by anything thats about it great food though

The ribs were okay, pulled pork and Nashville chicken also okay. Flavor was very generic honestly. Nothing at this restaurant to rave about. Wayyyy overpriced for what it is. read more

My department at work brought in City Barbeque for lunch recently. I got to try 3 meats - pulled pork, pulled chicken, and smoked sausage. I really liked the pork, but didn't care for the other two. Of the sides that I ate (cole slaw, baked beans, corn pudding), only the corn pudding really stood out. It was excellent. The best part of the meal though was definitely the peach cobbler I had for dessert - delicious! read more

City Barbeque - Peach Cobbler - Barbeque Near Me - Lexington, Kentucky

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Pretty good BBQ but a bit on the pricey side. Portions were small. I prefer the old stand by.

City does barbecue right. This fast casual barbecue eatery, one of several in a small chain, is arguably Lexington's best. It was suggested to me by another barbecue restuarant owner, a competitor. Critics say that barbecue has to have its own indigenous, regional style to really stand out. That's why, say a Danny's hole in the ground, can be well written about because of its heavenly savor from their Kentucky family recipe, even if the local ants also like the place. But in City, those critics would be wrong. This clean, family-friendly and very commercial place offers different regional styles of barbecue that are delicious, even if there is no smoked Kentucky mutton. I tried the North Carolina pulled pork sandwich, a vinegary pulled pork topped with coleslaw and a bun. The shredded pork was juicy, with just the right taste of smoke. For the side, I had Cukes & Onions, a vinegary side dish of cucumber and raw onion slices. Mmm. Caution: the lines are long. City Barbecue is popular among the locals. I continue on my tour to find the greatest eateries in Kentucky. read more

City Barbeque - Order fulfillment - Barbeque Near Me - Lexington, Kentucky

My first time trying City BBQ, and I wasn't overly impressed. Everything smelled delicious, but the meat itself was dry. I personally wouldn't recommend this restaurant. read more

This chain based out of Dublin Ohio is consistent clean and always has excellent food. I've now had them in 5 different states. The staff and food are always the same quality very high. read more

Food was pretty bland and dry Service was terrible the guy taking my order was no help specifically when it came to the Sauces . Unlike Sonny's bbq where you have the actual bottles of Sauce at your table at City BBQ you have to ask for the sauce you want and I didn't know what sauces they had so I just got some random sauces in little small cups and had to settle. Oh and MacNCheese just sucks also - The one on Harrodsburg Rd. Is better than the one on Richmond Rd. read more

Awesome food! Smoke Turkey and Brisket, with baked macaroni and cheese! Atmosphere laid back and kid friendly. Overall, good 0lace to hangout and enjoy some BBQ! read more

Have eaten at this location before and it's typical for this chain. On a good day the food is good unfortunately it can be sporadic quality wise and then the food goes more toward mediocre bbq. Party of 9 on a Sunday for lunch most thought the meal was ok. No one really was super impressed. I asked for moist brisket and got dry brisket I didn't eat it all. Some sides were passed around with greens most liked. Slaw was good. Peach cobbler was left mostly uneaten after a few tastes were taken. I don't think any plates were eaten clean. Have been here when it was better but been here when it was not this good. The place was busy though so it is liked well by others. read more

City Barbeque - Peach Cobbler - Barbeque Near Me - Lexington, Kentucky

Stopped again on our way to Knoxville. Love this place each time. Today a very wonderful older man was working and gave my 2 year old daughter a banana pudding on the house. Very nice gesture! We don't get that kind of service up north. A+ read more

Yes we ordered the motherload, three kids two adults and I've got a little bit left over for my lunch tomorrow well worth the money thanks City BBQ was delicious. read more

City Barbeque - Barbeque Near Me - Lexington, Kentucky

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Loved that they delivered it right to our door in under 45 minutes. However, the Pulled Pork was dry and needed a lot of sauce to make it easier to eat. The Beef Brisket was really flavorful but it lacked the juicy tenderness we were hoping for. We were satisfied but not overly impressed with the quality of their BBQ. read more

I ordered the pulled pork with fries and Mac and cheese with a basket of fried pickles for pickup. To start, the pulled pork and the original BBQ sauce was excellent! The flavor, amount of meat and sauce was perfect and exceeded expectations. The fries were also wonderful. However, I did not enjoy the Mac & Cheese and thought that it was dry and the noodles were too chewy for my liking. The fried pickles were good in flavor but slightly over 50% of them were soggy and the breading fell off. For the ones that were more crispy and put together, they were very good. I have a concern with the price point of almost $10 for the basket of pickles, should be less. This place has potential and it may have been an off day. Like I said, the meat and BBQ was great, the sides just didn't meet expectation. Would consider giving another try. read more

Really good barbecue. They have pork and brisket. You order a sandwich, or if you don't want the bread, order the sandwich naked. Good homemade sides. Potato salad is really good. Also the cornbread pudding is good. They give yoularge portion of fries. If you like barbecue, you will like this place. UPDATE: this is a review of my second visit to City Barbecue. We hadn't even here in a while, and we were craving barbecue. It was a tossup between Sonny's in Nicholasville, and the city barbecue on Richman road. City barbecue won out. I ordered the half rack of ribs, french fries, potato salad, and a unsweet iced tea. My husband chose the two meat Meal with sausage and brisket with the sides potato salad, and corn pudding. I have stopped putting the barbecue sauces on each table, and instead, you get a container when you go up to get your other condiments The side of the fountain drinks. I knew sauce was the bourbon sauce, so I decided to try it. If you like the taste of bourbon, You will like this sauce. The fries are hand cut, and are very good, especially when they're hot. The corn pudding was wonderful, as usual. Potato salad is heavy on the mayonnaise and is OK, but not my favorite. All of the meat really good. My ribs were good and tender. The brisket was good and tender as well, Without being dried out. Being one of the few people that drink beer ice tea without any sweetener, I really judging place how well the tea is. There's is really good. All in all, our meal was very pleasant. The cost is a little bit pricey, so expect to pay about $20 a person read more

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Barbecue good, staff nice, quick service. Fast food barbecue. Food is good but no Nashville joint.

A solid 4 star experience we had the family pack of pork BBQ macaroni and cheese and potato salad you also get buns and mini cornbread loaves everything was great especially the sides you really get great value a lot of food for your money there were 3 of us and and my 3 yo nephew we had lunch leftover for the next day, will definitely return. read more

City Barbeque - Barbeque Near Me - Lexington, Kentucky

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Our first visit to City BBQ was a success. My fiancé is a huge fan of BBQ and we loved every single item on our sampler. We got the Judge's Sampler and it was way more than two people can handle! I would definitely recommend and will be visiting again soon. The service was very friendly &&super quick! Our food was out to us by the time we got our drinks to sit down. read more

City Barbeque - Barbeque Near Me - Lexington, Kentucky

Accustomed to Memphis' Famous barbecue, I'm always a bit cautious when eating any other. I stumbled into City Barbecue while traveling and decided to give it a try. Both the food and service were outstanding!!!! I would definitely recommend if ever in Lexington, KY. read more

City Barbeque - Barbeque Near Me - Lexington, Kentucky

We really like City BBQ! Actually tried the turkey recently (trying to be a bit healthier) and it was great! All the sides are really yummy and we love the different sauces! This is a great place to get takeout and is pretty affordable as well. We aren't barbecue connoisseurs (I know some people are crazy about bbq!!!) but this is our favorite in Lexington! read more

food was cold and overall pretty bland, was my first time going here. Probably will never go again to be honest. If anyone else goes here make sure to ask for the food fresh. read more

First time eating here and WOW! Wish I would have done it before now. From curbside pickup to eating at home it was flawless. My chicken was smoked perfectly, the collard greens were as good as, if not better than, my grandma's. And the potato salad was delicious. Highly recommend! read more

I always loving eating from this place. I ordered a curbside pick order. Received my order on time and all Seemed well. However, I found a disposable hair cap in my food bag. At this point I lost my appetite and became so disgusted. Absolutely unhygienic and disappointing. read more

City Barbeque - a person cutting a piece of paper with a pair of scissors - Barbeque Near Me - Lexington, Kentucky

City BBQ is a great place to eat, but check your food before you leave because about 80% of the time they forget something. Last week it was potato salad. Tonight they forgot the swine wine on my LoLo's sandwich. The swine wine is the freakin only reason I pay $2 more for a pulled pork sandwich. My god, I'm fed up. It's every time I go now. Joy going anymore. Blue Door BBQ is way better anyway. read more

Food was fast and good. Staff was nice and helpful as we were traveling and had lots of questions. read more

City Barbeque - Sample platter was AMAZING!! - Barbeque Near Me - Lexington, Kentucky

Don't order curbside or take home family meals. You get shorted!!! Our family has eaten at City Bar B Que since it opened. 90% of our orders are "curbside", or order online and go inside to pickup the order. Our favorite is the Family pack with 1 lb of pulled pork, 2 sides and buns plus cornbread (4 buns & 4 cornbread) and the sauces. Since we don't eat the bread (just throw it out), until recently, they've always substituted the 8 pcs of bread with an extra small side item. Also, they always provided plenty of sauce for the meat. Our last 9 out of 10 orders have been SHORT up to 4 ounces on the meat (I have an accurate postal scale for weighing), but have never said anything because it's just my husband and me, so it's still a meal. Now, they will no longer substitute the 8 pcs of bread with a small side item and also stopped providing more than ONE 4 oz cup of sauce!!! They are a BAR B QUE restaurant for heaven's sake!!!! So in summary, the meat is usually not a full 16 ounces, you're forced to take bread that's going to be thrown out and they refuse to provide adequate sauce for all the meat!!!! 4 ounces of sauce is not enough for a full pound of meat!!! This is the Richmond Road location. I get that restaurants are cutting back, but it's NO LONGER WORTH THE PRICE!!! Which has gone up post-Covid! read more

This is a great place to eat after a long day. The cashier was helpful and I got a sandwich called the Cowbell, it was delicious. Beef brisket with cheese, 2 kinds of onions, horseradish sauce. The cheese is both melt your and crispy and the bread was toasted perfectly. The cashier told me to do half lemonade/have sweet tea and it was great. read more

So I wanted to try something new for me, and I was in the mood for barbeque. So I tried city barbecue. ... It is in an awkward location on Richmond Rd Next to Zaxbys & CarMax,just saying. .. when I arrived I had planned to be in and out due to my schedule, although that's why the 4 stars instead of 5 stars ,because I stood in line for 30 mins!!!! , My food was excellent. ... I got The Pulled Pork BBQ ummm umm and the Mac & Cheese . Although the mac € cheese was not the best i had ,it was good! They are a little pricey being my mac & cheese was $5.99 by it self ! I would Reccomend to some one who may have the extra time to go out to eat and some one who does not mind paying $5.99 + for Mac & Cheese . They do have a pretty cool environment overall with the decorations and such .... They have a decently large selection of food on the menu for a BBQ Place .... I will be back , hopefully i can give a 5 star next time .... P.s. The sweet tea mixed with there lemonade is wounderful!!!!! read more

City Barbeque - Barbeque Near Me - Lexington, Kentucky