On the interstate between Dallas and Houston (N.E. side exit 198), dine and/or takeout BBQ by the pound. I'm *highly* particular about my BBQ meat, but I give them 5.0 stars on each of the beef, sausage, ham - and maybe others. 4.5 on the turkey. There's also a little country store/convenience store attached so you can get other road supplies there (fairly priced). Apparently the word's gotten around. This is a family operation tied to a Shell gas station in a small town after all - but I now see a Hollywood looking website with Hollywood prices for online ordering. I can't speak to that. All I know is it's a friendly little place with good people with moist tasty scrumptious BBQ meat. I now leave there with pounds of it. By the way out in the parking lot a small farmer had his truck set up to sell fruit and vegetables, including the biggest strawberries I've ever SEEN (with fitting juicy taste). Keep your eye open for these little farmer stands when you ride in rural Texas. read more

Freaking amazing! Got the Cole's special with chopped brisket and chopped jalapeño sausage and it exceeded my expectations. These hole in the wall places are always great finds. read more

Good food and pleasant service. Great place to stop for a quick lunch on the drive to Dallas.

Dirty. Overpriced. Brisket was fatty. Advertised on highway like it's something great. Never again...

This is some of the best barbecue I have ever eaten in my life. That's all that needs to be said!! It was so good when I got finish eating I went ordered more to take home to houston! Their ribs aren't that great, which is why they are not getting 5 stars but boy, their sausage and brisket are the money makers. I'm normally not a big bbq eater but we riding home in need of a place to grab a bite to eat, after convincing my best friend that middle of no where places have good food we stopped at this little hole in the wall and were in bbq heaven! So I strongly reccommend if you are driving north on 45 that you stop on exit 198 and try the their bbq, it's finger lickingly awesome! read more

I stopped by Coles on my way to Dallas. My Dad and sister had stopped there a few times so I thought I would try it out. It is at a Shell Station with easy interstate access on and off. I got the 2 meat plate with brisket and ribs. The meat and ribs were fair at best and did not have much flavor. The same goes for the two sides which were beans and Mac and cheese. On the plus side the staff was extremely friendly and even though I thought the food was average at best I would stop there again just on how friendly everyone was that worked there. read more

I ordered my food and proceeded to wait for it. I ordered from a lady without a mask on. As I waited for our food MULTIPLE people walked in with out masks. After looking around even more, the people COOKING our food had no masks on!! DO NOT STOP HERE! I was so livid I asked for my money back because I refused to feed my child food that I watched an unmasked patron cough on. DISGRACEFUL AND DISGUSTING! read more

Yum! Stopped here for the first time. Absolutely delicious sliced beef sandwich.! Order taker could be a bit more friendly but the good food overshadowed. Will definitely stop here again next trip to Oklahoma from Houston. Loved the fresh tulips on the tables. Nice touch!! read more

I have been going to Coles for 20 years and today I ordered over the phone only to arrive and surprised that without notice and not updated on there Facebook page they raised the price of a combo to 15 plus dollars and then didn't even put bbq sauce in the bag ! 66 dollars for two chopped beef and a cheese burger . Really disappointed on the entire process read more

Good sliced beef sandwich but shame on Cole'S for serving Mac and cheese mAde with cheese out of a can! That's not TX style. Bigger thumbs down for their gas price-.40 per gallon higher than Love's or Fairfield Peaches read more

I loved the very hot & tasty French fries. Pulled pork was tender but not very spicy. No problem just ask for extra sauce. We stopped here on way to Dallas using Yelp reviews. It's exactly as people described. Nothing fancy, easy on & off hyw. Decent food. read more

Cole's Bar-B-Q - Lunch counter - Barbeque Near Me - Fairfield, Texas

Decided to try this place out. The three meat dinner (ribs, jalapeno sausage, brisket) was good but not that good for the price. The jalapeno sausage rocked but thats about it. The staff was nice. The End. read more

Cole's Bar-B-Q - Barbeque Near Me - Fairfield, Texas

Good roadside BBQ place. Was a little on the pricey side for being in a gas station and not having table service or some of the other amenities at a restaurant place. But if you are looking for a place to eat between Houston and Dallas, I would recommend this place. We had chopped brisket sandwich and two meat plate with jalapeño sausage and brisket. Brisket had a sweet rub on it and sausage was great. read more

Wow just walked to check out store an said hello to t the big fat slob behind counter an she just turned her head an walked a way. Guessing I was too white for her. An prices are just ridiculous. Don't waist your time or money!!!! read more

You can't beat Cole's for superb BBQ and service. Be sure to go there hungry....You will be surprised at the quality and quantity.

We stopped here for the second time last weekend, on our way home from Houston. We have eaten at some great barbecue places around the state--and the food here is not bad. Also important to me are great service and great prices. My brisket sandwich was almost $9. My very small "large" side of okra was $2.99. When I went up to ask the server if she may have made a mistake on the size, I asked Rey nicely--"excuse me mam--is this the large?" She didn't even look look at me! She just said, "Yep." I'm sorry--we will not be back. I'm in Customer Service, and that's not how you show appreciation to customers. Someone else had posted about their cool sodas...You can also get cool sodas and snacks at Woodys a few exits earlier in Centerville. read more

Nothing special. Pretty good sides but the brisket was mediocre. I really wanted to like this place but if brisket is the championed cut of meat here, I would advise skipping this BBQ joint. Hot links were not very good either. I would give it a 2.5 stars if I could but from the ratings I have seen too many people have rounded up already distorting the average score it should receive. Note quite as good as Dickey's and certainly the brisket cannot compare with Rudy's. It is a convenient stop but don't go in with the high expectations their roadside advertising suggest. read more

Don't try this if you don't like BBQ sauce. They don't tell you they absolutely drown it in sauce then will not even discuss re-plating it afterwards. The lady takin orders even scowled at me for asking. Will never recommend to anyone traveling I45 to stop in. read more

This place exceeded our expectations in a big way! The owner was behind the counter chopping up BBQ! This was some of the best I have ever had. Had the 3 meat 2 sides plate with sliced brisket turkey & Ribs Fried okra & Bourbon Battered Onion Rings. Wife hade one of there made to order BBQ sandwiches. She finished the whole thing and she is not a big eater. Tried one of her French Fries. Very good quality not your average French Fry. It's crispy and battered. This is by far the best food I have found between Dallas & Houston. read more

Cole's Bar-B-Q - Barbeque Near Me - Fairfield, Texas

Save yourself alot of money, don't stop. My husband and I just moved to Fairfield and have been trying different places to eat, tonight we picked Cole's for the 1st time. The food was awful, pulled pork plate tasted so hot spicy and not smoked flavor what so ever, and I like spicy food! My husband picked the jalapeno sausage, he tried my pork and said it was way more spicier than his. THE FLIES ARE SO, SO SO, BAD ALMOST TURNED AROUND TO BEGIN WITH, but wanted to give it a fair chance. Got our plates which was also served with what I think was gnats, always helps your appetite. The reason I gave it one star was the loaded potatoes was good, the bean beans are sweet but fairly good and the cornbread tasted like lemon muffins. The lady that took the money was rude, this was our 1st time and I ask her where the silverware was at, her comment right in front of you in how stupid can you be attitude, which I did overlook because they are in these tall dispensers like at a hospital. I can tell you my husband and I won't be trying this again for a long, long time! If you are planning to dine in Fairfield please try some of the other great restaurants, Sam's, El Jimodor, Something Different or I-45 restaurant (Smokey but good food). read more

We are very tough BBQ critics and this place was by far one of the best BBQ places we have ever had. We had brisket and sausage and seriosuly amazing read more

Sorry but the pork sandwich was not cooked on a smoker like really good Bbq. I think they cooked it in a crockpot or something similar. The ribs were like they were cooked in a newer type so called smoker that doesn't give you the good smoke taste. Sorry cole's but that's the way a lot of people do Bbq now and it's not good Bbq. Also the pork sandwich was so wet with some kind of liquid it was making the bun fall apart. I only ate a couple bites I just couldn't eat it. The place was full of flies too. The cobbler looked good though wish I would've ate that but lost my appetite. Brad E. read more

Waiting 15 minutes for a single sliced beef sandwich to go. Slowest butchers I've ever seen. Went to get pickles and onions found big pc of black hair in onion tray. Bar b que sauce is watered down. Over priced bar b que with out the quality. Brisket full of fat!! read more

Solid brisket with good bark. Better with sauce but good smoke flavor and not overwhelming like some modern BBQ joints have now. Sides were fairly standard but cool little joint right off 45. Also, they have dozens of different brands of bottled Root Beer. read more

Hamburger and potato salad were pretty delicious! Will definitely return whenever passing this little spot up!

Great brisket sandwich!! Will stop here next time on way to Dallas! Looking forward to trying the cobbler

This Q is for real! I have seen this sign for this place for years and never stopped in. I decided to stop in today and man am I glad I did! The chopped beef samich is incredible! I'll be back to try more on the menu and can't wait. read more

Found this little gem while looking to fill up the tank. Only tried the sliced brisket. Very tasty with good smoke ring and flavor, but a bit on the dry side. Will stop by again if I travel that route again. read more

Cole's Bar-B-Q - Barbeque Near Me - Fairfield, Texas

This was a bad visit. The pulled pork sandwich was greasy. The meat had no flavor. I had to drown the sandwich in BBQ sauce. I wish I had some Sweet Baby Ray's Sauce to help. The sauce was decent. Fries were awful. The best part of my meal was the Sprite!! read more

It's just a biased opinion but to me the food isnt really any good anymore its avg st best but they sure will charge you for it but again that's my opinion give it a try or not the choice is yours read more

Reading some of the older reviews, I wasn't sure I wanted to try this place but...I am glad we did. It was awesome. Apparently a new owner took over a few months ago and is really putting out a great product. We split the 3 meat platter and the brisket, ribs, and jalapeño sausage all three were fantastic. read more

I abaolulty can not believe this place has 4 stars. I love BBQ and especially trying BBQ in small towns. This is hands down the worst BBQ I have ever had. We paid 22 dollars for a BBQ plate and a sausage with a bottle of water. Then my son wanted a Hershey bar and they wanted 2.70 for that! It's awful. Don't do it. read more

I have been here twice recently. The first time was a great experience when I order the sliced beef plate. Sadly the second time was horrid; I ordered the chipped beef sandwich, and it was as greasy as you can get without literally dipping the sandwich in grease. It was also full of chunks of fat. Since I was traveling through, I decided to just remove the fat and eat it. I planned on showing the manager, Camry, to make her aware of it. To my horror, she was more than aware of it and said that was the way it was supposed to come. I paid $10.77 for this, some beans, and tea. I decided to take the fat home for my dog and had to ask for a plastic bag as the paper bag was saturated with grease. She offered no apology for this fat, greasy sandwich. I have tried calling to reach the owner, Ben Cooper, twice with no success. This place is good overall with the exception of the manager's attitude and their chipped beef sandwiches. read more

This was an unexpected pit stop on our way home from Galveston. I loved the little country store and the wait people were very nice. It smelled so good before we got into the store so I got the brisked sandwich and fries to go The only disappointment was that I wanted sliced brisket but they could only do chopped because they said the brisket was too lean. I also got a burger to go. All the food was very good and tasty. I would definitely stop here again. read more

One of the best, if not THE best, BBQ sandwiches I've ever had. We'll definitely stop in the next tine we're in the area.

I really wanted to love this place. The staff was very friendly... Well two out of three. They were helpful and had a friendly smile. Every time someone came in they knew them by name. I was just passing through this city heading back to Houston. The store looked clean and so were the restrooms. I loved the wall of jams and pickled veggies. The homemade fudge looked amazing and had a pretty nice variety to choose from. The cake and ice cream display looked yummy as well. They also make homemade cupcakes. The meal came out and was a major let down. I had no idea how to fix the potato salad. It was bland and a bit too mushy. The baked beans did not taste fresh but reheated. The cornbread was an eye roller. It was hard, bland and barely tasted like corn. The ribs had some sort of hard skin on one side. My family did not enjoy the meal either. The food did not stay down for my mother and myself. If I was ever in the area again I would definitely try the fudge and cupcakes but no more platters for me. read more

See all

Tender BBQ can't be beat, we get some every time we visit the state park for a day of fishing. Located in a gas station with a dinning room.

Great barbecue and friendly staff. We got the sausage all three kinds, polish,spicy and jalapeño and a 2-meat BBQ sandwich with sliced brisket and sausage. Good portion and great BBQ!!!! read more

Stopped in for gas on a trip from Dallas to Houston. The food smelled so good I got a plate even though I wasn't very hungry. I had brisket, sausage, potato salad, and mac n cheese. The brisket was experts cooked and trimmed. No cutting corners like other small BBQ places. The sausage was delicious and the potato salad wasn't too twangy. Five stars! read more

I had the opportunity to provide this "update" to my original review, with the benefit of having my wife along to add her opinion as well ! She really enjoyed the grilled hamburger that she ordered, and said all the "fixin's" for it were very fresh. She also informed me that they have GREAT french fries here, lol. My wife also enjoyed the sausage very much, saying it had just the right amount of seasonings and shared my view of the overly "tough" casing it is made in. I ordered the two meat plate with brisket & ribs and enjoyed both. I had specified the "moist" part of the brisket, and it was very tasty and moist. My ribs were just a bit on the chewy side of tender, but very tasty nevertheless. I prefer baked beans, but the traditional pinto beans they serve were just fine. We both enjoyed the store having a good selection of "vintage" type candies to select from for dessert, like old fashioned "stick" candy, bubble gum cigars, "rock" candy on a stick, etc. In my opinion this establishment gets the checkmark for consistency, and I re-affirm my previous three star rating/review. I will continue to patronize this establishment when travelling through this area in the future. read more