We visited this restaurant with high expectations, especially since it has over 60 years of history and we've tried several BBQ places before. We thought it would be exceptional. The ambiance is appealing, with the smoky aroma of burning wood that immediately makes you think the food will be great. Service, however, was just decent. Our server seemed to forget about us a couple of times, taking a while to bring both the food and the bill. He offered us a "complimentary" bread, which was simply regular white bread with BBQ sauce--nothing special or memorable. We ordered the combo with chicken and ribs, and honestly, it was underwhelming. The flavors were very basic and not what we expected. The sauce had a slight kick, but we've had BBQ elsewhere with much richer flavors and meat that is far more tender and juicy. The plates and silverware are disposable, which I can accept if the food is outstanding but unfortunately, it wasn't. The price was reasonable, but overall, this is not our favorite BBQ place and not one we would return to. read more

Dreamland BBQ - This is the complementary bread with the BBQ Sauce. - Barbeque Near Me - Hoover, Alabama

If John "Big Daddy" Bishop himself showed up here, he'd probably turn right back around and pretend he got the wrong address. The ribs were so tough and salty I started checking to make sure I hadn't accidentally ordered jerky. The chicken? Skinless, flavorless, and apparently seasoned only with pure disappointment. The only thing worth eating was the chocolate dream -- probably because it was the only item that didn't taste like it lost a fight in the kitchen. Thirty bucks for two ribs, a chicken thigh, and two sides? Absolutely not. Do yourself a favor: keep driving and don't stop until you hit Full Moon BBQ. read more

Ordered a curbside order for ribs, mac and cheese and fried okra. My meal was so bad that I do something I rarely do, call back to complain. What little meat I had on my ribs was dry and unseasoned and the mac and cheese tasted like KFC's. The okra was good and seasoned well but just wasn't fried enough. The manager I spoke with was apologetic and let me get a replacement meal which was better. For $21 I'm still unsatisfied but hey lol. Overall I wouldn't come back but wanted to try a BBQ spot I haven't had in a while. read more

Whenever I'm in Alabama, I need my Dreamland fix. I've been to the one in Mobile and now when I visit Birmingham. The food is always delicious BBQ, service is always friendly and fast and the place smells of delicious food "Q". We always try to change things up and order different things. This time I got the small rib plate, and two sides. My coworker and I split the load chips with pulled pork and he got the loaded baked potato with sausage. Half the time we remember to get the chocolate dessert but we're always full and pass. read more

See all

Ordered two pans of tips for our Easter family meal. What I received was NOT acceptable. Burnt meat and there was no bone at all (Tips are meat still attached to a piece of bone). The onsite manager threw sarcasm and a dumb smirk in his condescending attempt to educate me on tips vs ribs. It was a $140 lesson, and I'm a quick study. Dreamland 280 is NOT recommended AT ALL. Full Moon is better, they just don't sell tips (the ONLY reason I even bothered). Dreamland has been a strong brand and presence in Alabama, but this location failed in product and in customer service. The manager offered a $25 giftcard LOL; I wouldn't eat there again for free read more

Dreamland BBQ - Pan 2 of Supposed Rib Tips - Barbeque Near Me - Hoover, Alabama

See all

Stood in front waiting for over 10 minutes and was never greeted or sat. Looked around and saw many tables sat but without food and looking aggravated and we assumed if we kept waiting, it wasn't going to get any better and we left. read more

Been a customer many times. Service is good and food is better. I'll keep going back.

Arrived at 7:00PM, dinner arrived at 8:15. They cancelled my order as "a lot of online orders came in before we made yours." Even though we had been there an hour. The ribs were fine, could have been more tender. The Mac n cheese was great! Nice server, but unfortunately I would not highly recommend this location read more

We were coming back from the Auburn game and it was late but we were craving some BBQ. This place was one of the few spots still open so we decided to give it a shot. We were greeted and seated right away. Inside, it has a very rustic vibe but there is the dining area of true sports bar area. We got there around 8:45pm and the sport bar area was the only place where people were seated. Our waitress's name was Sharon and she was one of the nicest ladies I've ever met. She quickly took our order and got us our drinks. We both opted for some local beer which was on tap. I ordered the ribs and a baked potato. The ribs were good. They were not super tender but had a good texture. The bbq sauce helped enhance the flavor so poured quite a bit of it. The baked potato was also good and a decent size. Overall it was a nice meal but Sharon makes you want to come back. read more

Dreamland BBQ - Half Rack of Ribs - Barbeque Near Me - Hoover, Alabama

See all

Late evening trip for some bbq and hit up dreamland due to their reputation of awesome bbq. The food and service were top notch. The only negative I'd give is the restaurant needed some repair. Many booth benches had tears and looked dislodged. The atmosphere was nice and quiet for a bite to eat. read more

Been here half a dozen times at least. Never have had an issue. Always a good meal. Reasonably priced. I think the bad reviews are "fake news". read more

This location doesn't have a drive thru so the curbside pickup was the next best option. To request curbside, you must place your order online . Ok , cool. I go to place my order online and there was a glitch where it wouldn't allow me to select same day pickup. So annoying. I ended up calling and the young lady who I spoke with reported this issue to the manager. The manager allegedly corrected this online ordering issue I was experiencing. Turns out others were also experiencing this same annoying issue. Take 2 , 3... online ordering still NOT working so I go inside to place my order. The young girl I spoke with by phone was very apologetic when I came in. She quickly took my order and I didn't have to wait too long for me to go order. I was so excited to get home to eat my half slab of ribs, creamy coleslaw and banana pudding! The ribs could have been hotter but they were tender and were tasty. I opted for the bbq sauce on the side. I also enjoyed the coleslaw and banana pudding. Their banana pudding certainly is some of the best I've had! This location looks dingy to me and I got this impression before I even stepped in the inside. Not dirty but just lacking in appearance/ambiance. Overall with this being my first time coming to this specific location, it's a pretty average experience. I certainly appreciate the in person customer service I received. The online ordering was traumatic! read more

See all

Nooo meat on the ribs I purchased at all its like they ate all the meat off then put it back on the grill and that's crazy nooo meat at all that my first and last time eating at Dreamland read more

Stopped in for a quick lunch on a Sunday afternoon. Only a handful of diners with several servers but the services was extremely slow. Appetizer arrived after our sandwiches. Took 15 minutes to get a spoonful of banana pudding in a styrofoam cup. 1hr15 total for two sandwiches and dessert. A couple with three small children next to us waited 30 minutes for their entrees. Ridiculous read more

Stopped in beckoned by the smoke billowing out of the chimney. We started with the white bread and bbq sauce appetizer followed salad, ribs, and fried okra. Everything was great, especially the ribs! Dreamland has its own unique bbq sauce which makes its delectable ribs as tasty as ever. The service was welcoming and attentive and the ambiance was college football perfect. Dreamland does bbq right and is a great place to add to your Birmingham bbq repertoire! read more

I've never tried Dreamland before until last week, but I always heard people either really love it or they don't since they used vinegar based bbq sauces. After my visit, I'm somewhere right in between! They start you off with bread and bbq dipping sauce. I loved the tangy bbq sauce flavor! Next up was the fried okra. I can take it or leave it. My boyfriend and my parents both love fried okra. It's usually just okay to me. For my entree, I chose the tips and chips which my boyfriend recommended. The chips were amazing, but the rib tips were just okay to me. I would definitely come back here, but venture out with their other menu options. read more

See all

Food was decent. I had the bbq pork sandwich. The fried okra was good so was the Cole slaw.

Atmosphere is dirty, dark, and dingy... kind of like the old Chili's that used to be at this location. It's like they kept all the worst parts lol. I had the half slab of ribs and they were almost inedible - way too salty, hard burnt ends. My partner had the bbq sandwich and said it was just okay. Rather flavorless potato salad. At least the sauce was warm and spicy, and the bread was fresh. For a Monday at lunchtime, we were disappointed in the service. We don't expect perfection by any means, but they seemed to be woefully understaffed for a typical lunch hour. Our server was trying hard and was prompt when he could be, and was very pleasant. I'm no longer craving ribs at least, but likely won't be returning to this location anytime soon. I don't know when their busy time is, but perhaps they'd have more people scheduled for better service and would have better cooks in the kitchen at those times. read more

I think I'm cursed with Dreamland. I want to like it so much, but every time I've been there have been service issues. Met some family for dinner there at 6 and when we pulled up there were some kids with flyers at the door for some sort of fundraiser that night. We were seated and a good 10 minutes later someone came to take our drink orders and food orders. It was at this time that our waiter told us they were the only waiter for a whole half of the restaurant. We were starting to get anxious after a while of waiting and finally got our food 45 minutes after ordering it. It was half full in the restaurant so that was frustrating. We had to ask for silverware as we still hadn't gotten any after our food was brought out. The food was really good and I did enjoy it. The flavor was nice and my meal was enough to have a whole other meal on. The real highlight of the meal was the banana pudding. It reminded me of something you'd get at your grandmother's house and we all loved it. The food is great, but the service was very lacking. read more

See all

We had lunch at Dreamland BBQ. Our server was so nice! Unfortunately we got there before the rib tips were done but the chicken and pork were good. The fries were seasoned and crisp outside and creamy inside. We will go back for the rib tips since they smelled fantastic! read more

Food: Great wings and fries! My husband said his barbeque sandwich was very good. Their house barbeque sauce is really good. Facility: Nice and up to date.. Floors needed to be addressed with a good cleaning. Staff: Our waitress was really nice. read more

See all

Great place to eat. They food is good. I had ribs, chicken, fries and ribs. I had a lot to take home. It was really good. The sauce is not my favorite, other than than it was good. read more

See all

We were out shopping and had a taste for some Dreamland Ribs. The bar looked very inviting and a great place to watch college football while eating. We shared a slab of ribs, a couple of beers, and some banana pudding with Mandy the bartender. The ribs were very good and everything we anticipated. We had a very enjoyable lunch. Mandy did a fantastic job of making sure we left stuffed and happy :) read more

What can be said about it... we went with the young folks since they've heard of the place from our trips to Tuscaloosa. This wasn't even close to the way we remembered it. Chain BBQ... didn't have enough chicken at 5pm so only two of us got to try that, the rest were evenly scattered between ribs and pulled pork. I don't think anyone finished. Chicken was ok, but not great, the ribs were pretty tough. It was a contest between them and the jawbone to see if the meat would pull away from the bone before the teeth did. There are too many good BBQ places around the area, this nightmare doesn't live up to the Dreamland name. read more

Ribs dry, not much flavor. Pork also was non-descriptive. Sauce was good. Ambiance was great. Ask 2 times for the Brunswick stew and never got it read more

Stopped in to pick up takeout for someone else after cleaning out my car. The bartender recognized how parched I was and immediately returned from the kitchen with cold, sweet tea. He didn't flinched when I sucked it down none-stop. Service like that requires tipping well for takeout orders instead of places like subway where the staff are being paid minimum wage or more. One of my post Covid pet peeve is everyone expecting a tip for doing their job, even when being paid more than servers. The food was as ordered and service was quick. It was b4 5 on a fri read more

So, before sending any threats, I'm not originally from the South, so I may just not get it. Historically, I've really not been a fan. That being said a small clarification should be made here, I like my ribs to be fall off the bone. I'm not really a fan of putting in the work to get the meat. So taking a little different approach, craving some BBQ, and having never been at this location I looked over the menu a little deeper and went with the rib tips....pre-de-boned for us wimpy folks that like the rib eating process to be a little simpler and a whole lot less messy. I've gotta say, this was a really good plate. Came with one side, I had fries. Ribs had a great smoky/bbq flavor and fries were seasoned as good as any I've had anywhere else. Really liked my food and wouldn't hesitate to come back and have the same dish or try other items now. Also, the staff were really good through out. Checked on me regularly to see if I needed anything and if my food was good. Displayed great patience when I couldn't make my food decision with the relatively small menu. Even took my to go drink back and got me another one when my sweet tea didn't taste so sweet. Really good price point on the food as well. The rib tip plate was $8.99 and was plenty of food to fill me up. Very happy I came back and tried something different. read more

See all

Always amazing!! Half smoked chicken omg!! Banana pudding omg!! The loaf of bread and their bbq sauce!! We have never been disappointed.

I'm from Texas. Sooo I'd like to think my opinion really matters here in this bbq comments- I loved the bbq sauce!!! Was insanely great tasty and different from what I'm used to. Can't wait to eat here again read more

Absolutely terrible.... Ribs were rock hard and not even edible. Sauce options limited read more

First ever being there was today after lunch rush , don't go from 1-2pm. The food is dry and stale my boyfriend ask for no onions in his meal and they put it on anyways , the waiter was awesome thou kept checking on us . Our drink were never empty . The Mac and cheese were amazing. Their are some parts that could do better but over all I give it a 3 out of 5 read more

First time visiting any of the dreamland restaurants. Ordered the BBQ sandwich with slaw, potato salad, macaroni and cheese, a rib, banana pudding and chocolate supreme. The sandwich was delicious and filled with flavor. Not a lot of sauce but the slaw made up for that. I could've added extra sauce but I saw no need for it. Potato salad is mustard based. Nice flavor but not my choice when it comes to potato salad. Macaroni and cheese seems to be shells with a cheese sauce not "real" cheese. Reminds me of KFC. The big sellers were the banana pudding and chocolate supreme, or dream. Simple yet filled with flavor and just the right amount of everything. Not a big lover or banana pudding but I don't think I could ever come back here and not order it. Overall I would come back here whenever I'm in the mood for a good pork sandwich. Went about 2 on a Saturday afternoon and the lines were still crazy but a seat at the bar can usually be found. read more

Dreamland BBQ - Loaded pork BBQ and Mac and cheese - Barbeque Near Me - Hoover, Alabama

Cam was great! Very attentive! Food was great! Very clean! Very laid back atmosphere! Will definitely be back!

Been here twice when coming through Birmingham. Different style of bbq than I'm used to but I really like it. Half rack of spareribs are really good, not fall off the bone but they really shouldn't be. They are juicy and seasoned good. I would go back. read more

Dreamland BBQ - Ribs over hickory - Barbeque Near Me - Hoover, Alabama

I have to say that this was a very enjoyable outing!!! the food is amazing!!! our server Amanda was so attentive and very sweet, she made us feel like a guest in her home!! wonderful experience definitely keeping this restaurant on our weekly "menu". read more

Ribs had no salt, baked beans tasted canned and over sweetened. Chicken was mid at best. Fried green tomatoes were good. Not sure why it's was so bad. I've had their catering before and it hit every time. read more

Don't eat here. The ribs were rubbery. They were out of rib tips. The nachos were made with cheese from a can and old tortilla chips from Sams club. And chewy chicken on top. The food is disgusting. The service is pretty poor. Our server didn't make eye contact and barely spoke to us. read more

Dreamland BBQ - Barbeque Near Me - Hoover, Alabama

See all

The ribs were absolutely horrible. Burnt ends, cut terrible, the sauce made the taste. The service from our server Sharron was so sweet, she made up for the bad food. read more

Dreamland has a wonderful story in Alabama. Too bad the new chain is ruining that reputation. Have tried several times to order on DoorDash and after order is submitted, I am told that they are not accepting orders. The 280 location is terrible. It really makes me miss the chili's that used to be at that location. Sad read more

I've heard so much about Dreamland so I decided to give it a try. It is the best bbq I've had in a long time and they're good reasonable price. I prefer them over Full Moon any day. They are also pretty fast when preparing the food. This will be my go to bbq spot in the area. read more

Dreamland BBQ - Fried Okra is the best! - Barbeque Near Me - Hoover, Alabama

See all