We love going to Danny's! Definitely a mainstay in Athens for BBQ. We got the brisket, sausage & ribs. It was all great in our opinion. I'm not sure why folks are saying no enough sauce because it's serve yourself?? The green beans could use some more seasoning up. Hubby liked the mac & cheese. We both loved the okra! Jennifer waited on us & she is a delight; So friendly and helpful. Oh and FYI, their potatoes with meat are HUGE! Just DELISH! read more

Place needs a major cleaning. It's rough in there. Lady behind the counter is handling food with gloves. Then she touches and handles her phone, with the gloves, then takes payment, handles card and cash, same gloves on. Someone will die from eating here. read more

This place is an absolute travesty. It's like the health inspector forgot this place existed. Dead flies dirt and dust on the windowsills and all decor, filthy floors, busted dining room with dirty dishes all over. Ordered the 1/2 slab ribs and maybe 3 had any meat on them and were edible. The other half was burnt bones and tough beef jerky meat like they excavated it from an ancient campsite. The barbecue sauce tasted like clove cigarettes. The woman working had one glove on which was holding the knife, and the other hand was gloveless and raw dogging the meat. Then I saw her dig in her ear with the same hand that was touching the meat and she never washed her hands after that. The underneath of her nails were black with filth. The coke from the fountain machine was somehow flat and tasted like pool water. The ice for fountain drinks is broken so there is ice in a chest cooler with a community scoop laying in there touching the ice that god knows how many other people have touched. There was visible mold/mildew in the chest cooler and I can guarantee it's not cleaned regularly. Avoid this place if you value your life, health, and good bbq. I think dumpster diving for food would be better than going here. read more

3.5 stars - it was close to their closing when we stopped to get take out for the first time. The ribs were okay, with an unusual spice or flavor that wasn't to my liking but was fine with my significant. The brisket was good -a little dry- and the sauce was thin, more of a vinegar base which left us wanting something a little thicker. Sides of coleslaw, potatoes with white sauce and baked beans were very good. No pie available, but homemade chocolate sheet cake was really moist and delicious. Judging from the number of cars in the parking lot, even at closing, this is a popular place. We will give it a go another day, but a little earlier when there is pie! read more

If you're traveling through Athens TX and looking for good bbq, don't bother wasting time here. Dry brisket, slow, unfriendly and unprofessional service, dirty dining room. Ugh. Take away the one star I had to give. read more

2nd time we tried the food. To be fair this is my list Ribs - worst ribs ever. The quality of meat was bad and the preparation was if they smoked them and let them sit for 3 days. Turkey - not too bad but nothing special Sausage - taste store bought and over cooked Brisket- not very good. I don't know how you describe it. Mushy, and as if it was sitting for a few days in water. Potato salad was good Beans are good Bread is good. Overall it's a really bad joint. The ceiling is dirty needs renovation and I'm not sure how they pass food inspection. Save your money and drive over to dickies. It has to be bad for me to write a review.. my 3rd in my lifetime. read more

Have eaten here many times during the last 5 years. So disappointed with my visit on December 11 2024. Ordered sliced brisket with NO fat, scalloped potatoes and baked beans. The brisket was more like chopped beef and had about a third of that was fatty. The potatoes and baked beans were tepid at best. The bun was too much bread, not the typical type of bun. Save your money and time. Actually, disappointed is an under statement read more

I would like give this longtime favorite more stars. Unfortunately the brisket and the baked potato were not good. The cobbler dough was uncooked. The place overall is not clean. Inside or outside the front door. I can say staff was very friendly and they were trying very hard. I wish owners would make the investment to deep clean and upgrade. read more

We moved to Athens in early 1988 in Dennis barbecue was one of the first places where we ate. It has always been a great delight to eat here! I cannot recommend it highly enough: brisket both sliced and chopped turkey, ham, sausage, chicken. It's all delicious! And their sides are also. read more

Great service and great taste of brisket. We appreciated the different choices of sides

Genuinely not the type to leave bad reviews. Was in town visiting family and picked up bbq from this place for lunch today (3/20/22). We ordered two of the 2 meat plates both with pulled pork and brisket and a pulled pork sandwich plate. The person at the order window asked if we wanted the brisket chopped or sliced, so definitely heard the order correctly. Got home to find 2 pulled pork sandwiches and 1 plate with just pulled pork. All the sides were right and 1 of us had asked for 2 sides of macaroni, so know that we didn't get someone else's order by accident, but there was no brisket to be found. Why not just tell us that you didn't have brisket? We would have understood. They reached out after my review with a genuine apology, so perhaps will give them another shot sometime. read more

I love this place! Everything that I have eaten here has been amazing! I love that they have meat plates and sandwiches to ensure that whatever I am craving for lunch or dinner is satisfied. The staff has always been so nice and kind. love eating at this place. I recently have been getting my orders delivered through Waitr due to ease of not having to leave my house in the evening! I used the code Local5 for 5.00 off and then also used Sorry20 for 20% off my entire order! Happy Eating!!! read more

This place rocks, always make an effort to stop in while passing through town! The sausage, brisket and the baked potato with some brisket on top are my go to things I enjoy ordering! The staff is great and always nice! read more

Okay bbq. We stopped passing through and decided to give it a try. I had brisket and pulled pork. Both just alright. My son got ribs and mac & cheese. He liked the ribs and said, Not the best but good. Don't drink the water. It was awful. read more

Worst BBQ ever. The staff hates you, they fight behind the counter, they rip you off if you ask for something they don't want you to have. Asked for Turkey on my Baker and she bitched because she had to go get it out of the smoker. Then she gave me 1oz of meat. What a bitch. Run from this garbage tasting food. Paid $14 for a small potato, butter, 1oz of Turkey & a soda. Might as well of held me up at gun point. read more

Danny's Smokehouse Bar-B-Q - ows a plate of food and a cup of coffee - Smokehouse Near Me - Athens, Texas

They do not wear gloves when touching your food and the food is just nasty and horrible customer Svcs

Had a couple of brisket sandwiches, took a bite and walked out. Just save your money and smoke it at home

Small, nostalgic, and delicious! On Hwy 175 west of Athens and is locally owned and operated. Great people and great food!

Delicious pulled pork sandwich and their cheesy potatoes are on point. Danny's did not disappoint.

Really good brisket and the sides were awesome. Highly recommend this place. Nice seating area and convenient location.

When I travel around Texas I pick my places to eat by the number of trucks parked out front. Men with ladder racks know their food. And Danny's parking lot was full'o'trucks at noon. I liked Danny's. I really did. The sausage was better than most places in Dallas. I like to think of myself as a sausage snob...not like that gutter head. The chopped brisket was okay, nice and smokey. Of course they smoke meats on site. And while my potato casserole was a honey brown color, it tasted nice and cheesy. We're gonna pretend the russet potatoes did that to the color. Mac and cheese was good, but kinda like Kraft premium boxed stuff. The potato salad was not up to par. My pickle was limp. The sauce was good though, thick and sweet. They make that on-site as well. That being said, it wasn't better than Sammy's in Dallas, which is right by my work and has a line out the door every day. That is the standard to which all BBQ must be held. Danny's was truly A-OK. If I find myself in Athens again and in need of BBQ, I'll go to Danny's. read more

Good and not so good at this place. I ordered a full slab of bbq ribs. Good: a ton of ribs, very meaty. Needs work: the meat was smoked, but had NO SAUCE ON IT, and was NOT FINISHED ON A GRILL. So, it was like steamed ribs with the wood flavor. Good: very nice people. Needs work: clean the place up. Doesn't give you that spic'n span feel. The side dishes looked a bit, uh, crusty. Good: good prices and the brisket looked awesome. Needs work: the barbecue sauce. I know this is subjective, so take it for what it's worth. It was a) watery and b) vinegary, and c) had a hint of pickle smell. They gave me a lot, about a cup, in a styro container. Fortunately, I had bbq sauce leftover from Applebee's (I like their sauce, but not their ribs, which I had the nite before). Bottom line: if I went back, I wouldn't get ribs, I'd get brisket... but maybe they have options on the sauce. You think? read more

By far the best BBQ in Athens. Love the brisket sandwich. I think the sauce is similar to dickeys. The best part about this place is that for BBQ it is very cheap. The owners/cashier were all very friendly! read more

If you plan on eating here, just hit yourself in the head with a hammer and go to McDonald's for a McRib. You'll be more satisfied. The food here was very bad. Only thing decent was the price, cheesy broccoli, and mac & cheese. My father and I both ordered a plate of brisket and ribs. First thing we noticed was that the meat was wrapped in cellophane before one of the three "pitmasters" cut our Bbq for us. As an experienced pitmaster, I know that that's something that you just don't do. There are other products (waxpaper, etc) to wrap meat that is to be served. The brisket was very bland. They sacrificed flavor for tenderness. Don't do that. I can see sacrificing tenderness for flavor, but never the other way around. What made it tolerable was the mediocre Bbq sauce available, and the butter lathered toast. The ribs were by far the worst I have ever had. I've had good ribs, and I've had bad ribs. The ribs here were flat out HORRIBLE. I could only stomach to eat one bite. As could my father. Had to scarf down all of my mac & cheese just to try to get the terrible taste out of my mouth. My father did say something to the "pitmaster" who apologized and offered to refund our money. My father refused, and walked out. read more

Just stopped in for lunch and it was amazing. Tastes like home cooking, you can grab your own sides. The toast was perfect, the bbq sauce was warm, and the family working there were very friendly. Not expensive at all. It's definitely one of my favorite places to eat in Athens now! read more

Everytime I go here it gets worse and worse. The attitude of the employees is awful not to mention half of them are not wearing gloves and are preparing and handling the food bare-handed. When I asked them about the gloves they sad "if you keep your hands washed enough, you don't need gloves." This is incredibly disgusting because who knows how long it has been since they have washed their hands or if they even have at all! read more

Great rib plate. 6 nice sized ribs, we'll cooked with 2 sides. Looks like some local traffic which is always a good sign. read more

Danny's Smokehouse Bar-B-Q - ows a plate of ribs, beans and corn - Smokehouse Near Me - Athens, Texas

I keep forgetting about this place, even though it's a great classic Texas BBQ restaurant. I came here with my family several times long before we moved to Athens. The eating area is kinda small, if they get really busy. And the restrooms are one-seaters, meaning that if it's busy enough, you'll end up waiting just to wash your hands. I'm also the only vegetarian (ovo-lacto) in my family, but there is a veggie plate on the menu. The rest of my family will eat anything offered, & they have a lot of meat BBQ choices. The veggie plate was great today. It comes with a slice of Texas toast (as do all the platters). They have 2 choices of beans (pinto & sweet), broccoli & cheese, mac & cheese, among a few others on the "heated" side. On the "cool" side, there was cole slaw & potato salad. For dessert, they have cobbler (peach?), chocolate cake, & self-serve scoop-able ice cream (classic Neapolitan flavors--vanilla, strawberry, & chocolate). My "surprise of this visit" was that the broccoli (in the broccoli & cheese dish) had been cooked PERFECTLY--not too overdone that it was limp & rubbery, nor too underdone that it was a workout for my jaw to chew it. I usually get one extreme or the other, but I rarely ever find broccoli that was just awesome, like they were able to cook it here today. Great job on the broccoli today! read more

Coleslaw and beans were really good but I went there for ribs and those were flavorless and extremely fatty, yuck! Will not return.

Worse barbecue we have ever had. So tuff that I gave it to the dogs, now that is bad. What a waste of $20.00. No flavor and dry as a bone. Will never go back. read more

I love Danny's. I stop by here on my way back from visiting my mom and I always get a lb of Sliced brisket in the drive thru,which is so tender it falls apart. It's always hard to stay out of it until I get back to Dallas! read more

We asked google best BBQ in Athens and this is what came up. well google lied...the meat was cold they chop the brisket not slice it that was a first for us (and no we did not get it on a potato) the sides were choose your own/serve yourself from a line and some of it was burnt from the heat lamp. honestly it was just nasty..on another note I used the restroom before we left and there was not any soap in the dispenser i let lady that Was running the register at the end of the line and she did not care...um I sure hope the employees have a place to wash their hands other than the bathroom..just gross read more

Love the brisket and warm sauce, plain beans were outright delicious. Ribs a 4, nice tug.

Good brisket and hotlink sandwich but was expecting more flavor in the sausage. We went on a Sunday just before noon and the sides were mostly empty; almost felt like they were from the day before. Fried okra was tasty. Overall, pretty good but eating area could definitely use a little attention - toothpicks all over the place, food on floor, dark. Will return and try their ribs! read more

Last weekend I was visiting friends who live near Frankston,Tx. and on my way back to Dallas stopped in at this establishment at random. Since it was after 5:00p.m. and nearing the "dinner hour", I expected that my timing would be great to taste their BBQ at it's best. With only two cars in the parking lot, I guessed that I was ahead of the "dinner rush" and walked inside. To the right of the front door is a short little "cafeteria style" serving line with a menu letterboard overhead. I was given a friendly greeting and welcome and eagerly asked what I would like for dinner before I had a chance to even glance over the board ! lol. After a few moments of surprise at how reasonable all the prices seemed, I ordered the two meat combo of brisket and ribs with beans and french fries. Sadly I must report that the french fries were the best part of my meal. I was given a generous portion of brisket and more ribs than I expected for the modest price of the meal, and I really dislike having to tell you that both were very, very dry tasting, room temperature and tough. After a few bites of both meats, I realized that once again, our two dogs at home would have a "bonus" mixed into their dinner that night. I quickly wrapped the leftovers into a few napkins and stuck them in the deep pocket of my overalls. As I headed for the front door, the young couple behind the counter energetically waved and said " Thank you for coming in, come back and see us and tell your friends about us ! " I smiled and waved back at them, sorry that I knew I would not be back and that I WOULD "tell my friends" - well - at least all of you guys at YELP anyway. I think that economic necessity will dictate that either someone steps in soon and teaches those young folks how to make GOOD BBQ or this establishment will be out of business before too long. Then again, they may have a lot of friends & family in the area to help support this small place and keep it struggling along for awhile. It is a nice, clean, small, little brick building on the main road (highway) through town & should have decent traffic count. Unfortuneately, even the best location in the world can't overcome bland, tough, chewy & tasteless BBQ ! read more

Don't forget to get the icecream it's part of the meal. Been going since i was to young to remember with mom and dad and now with my wife. it's a little out of the way but well worth the 45 min drive from our house if you have something to do in the area. read more

I don't understand all of these negative reviews. Danny's has been catering brisket, sausage and all of the trimmings since the 80s for our community gathering each year and always has the most tender and flavorful brisket. Everything else is as tasty, as expected. This family business is a staple to the Athens community. read more

People were friendly and the price was right but the food was bland. I have never had bbq that had absolutely no spice or seasoning on it. Not even salt and pepper. Who makes bbq without a dry rub? Was weird and unsatisfying. read more

Really delicious BBQ, the beef brisket is tender and juicy. The sauce is not too sweet, and the hot links are spicy and delicious. The portions on the beef vary a little too much from large to just a few slices. Sometimes they don't have enough peach cobbler, but when they do that's some very delicious peach cobbler. The BBQ beans and broccoli sides are very delicious but the broccoli is varies from really good and cheesy to dry and not very good, but you can see if it looks good when you come in. Still, it's overall hands-down the best BBQ in Athens. read more

Very inconsistent. When they hit on the ribs and brisket there is none better. When they miss the ribs are so dry and old Fred Flintstone gnawed on them. Beef is sometimes good sometimes great. Old fashioned barbecue joint that could use some housecleaning. Drove around back one time, looked like the city dump. Need to clean up and standardize the cooking... read more