Well I wanted to give them another try.. It was a wed around 5pm. Wife and I went to pick up some food to go.. HUGE MISTAKE.. only the sit in line was open so they made us go to the back of that line after we had already been in the to go line. 25 to 30 mins later we were nowhere near the front to order and still some 5 people or so back. It took them FOREVER to help each customer. Only one cashier a line out the door and one expediter.. We finally decide waiting long enough to simply LEAVE.... Do yourself a favor until they get better managed DO NOT GO .. read more

Spicy rubbed ribs = BBQ heaven. i ordered the full rack - killed me with bbq goodness. i like a spicy bbq sauce, but damn. i think the rib was rubbed and then mopped with sauce. Generous portions. Ribs cooked to perfection. Sides (mostly fries and cole slaw) coming out of my ears. Hands down the BEST BBQ Ribs in my travels, Kansas City Style! nuff said. The service was great. They have their KC famous bbq sauces for sale to take home. The food was priced right. All around awesome BBQ. Oh yeah - and i got the red star on the back of my reciept and recieved a $5 cash refund / award - which i thought was kinda funny. read more

Having eaten at most of the other BBQ places in town, we thought we would try Gates. What a mistake that was! The burnt end sandwich consisted of nothing but gristle and literally 2 pieces of actual meat. The sliced pork sandwich was good which is the only reason I didn't give it 1 star. Plus being screamed at while I'm obviously trying to read the menu doesn't make for a good experience. I definitely won't go back. I'd rather drive to any of the Jack Stack restaurants than spend another penny with Gates. read more

4 1/2 actually. HI MAY I HELP YOUUUU I have been to all Gates Locations. This one by far is the best out of all them. I dont particularly like eating a lot of fat (my husband does) and this location actually serves up the meat! The other locations tend to give me more fat than meat on my sandwiches. Gates is a little pricey, but in this location its worth it :) I dont care where Im at...friendliness is important to me, and by far this location is the friendliest, so yes! They can help me! read more

With all the renovations I was hoping for a renovated experience but that wasn't the case. It's easy to see there are inefficiencies when ordering. The cook staff often didn't hear the order and there is no system in place for them to keep a running list. The staff can yell "How may I help you?" all they want but if it never gets back to the food-prep - it won't come out. And that was our experience. Took 30 minutes to place and plate 15 orders. Overall food was as expected. Insult to injury - asked for a to-go cup for my existing drink and was told that will be $2. A small tweak in the order process would give them 3-stars. Please Gates - add a little technology in the front of house and in the kitchen so your staff can see all the orders. Keep the tradition, "How may I help you?" - just make it a better experience for everyone. read more

Wow...found this plave by accident on a trip from LA to Charlotte. Now I'm a bit of a BBQ snob...read some of my reviews if you don't believe me. Anyway, I was detirmined to grab some Kansas City BBQ on the trip and Arthur Bryant's was the general consensus. Unfortunately, the closest one to the road was in a casino and I wanted to have enough pocket change to make it the next 1000 miles. Skipped that and headed out of town...sad that I didn't get to try KC BBQ and hoped on the iPhone and started looking. Gates & Son's popped up and I'm glad they did. Ok...we took the food to go (more miles to rack up) and the experience was a little "Man vs Food" (reviews about the odd-ball ordering process are true), but the Q was very good. Grad a Beef and a half and the 4 Bone plate...take a friend and you'll be happy (eat on the road if you're afraid of the staff) read more

I think coming here shortly after a Chiefs game may have been a mistake. The entrance was packed with people just as confused about what exactly we were supposed to do as we came closer to ordering. People were getting screamed at and the whole ordering experience was a little intimidating! A fun story now. haha. The food is pretty much the whole reason this place exists and I found it to be quite good, maybe a little pricy. I had a double decker pork sandwich that I think the meat was perfectly cooked, I should have added more sauce. The cole slaw was fantastic. read more

Passing through with my family, we got four burnt end sandwiches, fries, and coleslaw. It was definitely satisfying. I enjoyed it all, except the meat was a bit salty. The sauces were great too, particularly the sweet and mild. read more

Finally! A place to get good BBQ. Pork sandwich was great & fries were hot. Staff was helpful and my order was correct. Prices are reasonable. I'll definitely be back! read more

Worst experience ever! I've been going to Gates since i was a child. (almost 40 years). Always looked forward to it with great anticipation. After 20 plus years, i returned to kc for a visit with family and had to have some gates bbq. Went to the location on 40 hwy at approximately 8pm on April 16, 2021. Slow evening, only takeout, about 5 customers in line. There was the most rude, ratched, insufferable person taking orders. She was abrupt, indignant, and asked my party and i to stand aside while she took another individual's (caucasian) order behind us. Although i was livid, i maintained my composure and waited for our (party of 3) food. We received no "thank you" when we paid (almost $150 cumulatively), half our order was missing or incorrect, and the worst customer service experience I've experienced at Gates....ever. i will never go back. If this is how 3 doctors (dressed casually, but shouldn't have made a difference), originally from the kc metro area, but visiting from the east coast are treated, then it says alot about how minority dollars are unappreciated by this particular minority business, and some of the horrible staff that perpetuate some of the negative stereotypes about the quality of goods and services received from some of our very own businesses. Shame on you Gates & Son. You won't see my money or waste my time again...horrible service, poor quality, rude and oblivious staff...and stop the yelling at customers as they enter. It's ridiculous and tiresome. Let them read the menu before yelling "hi, may i help you?"...and then providing horrible service and diminishing quality bbq... read more

Know what you want before you go is my suggestion! You should always know the menu before going into Gates! That's just my opinion. Portions were extremely small. We ate more fries than anything for $30. Arthur Bryants will be my #1! read more

Stepping out of the car, this place smells of good BBQ. But BBQ always smells good to me! My friend and I ordered the Turkey Sandwich with fries and it was around $8.00 (no drink). The sandwich came out with some BBQ sauce on the turkey and the turkey was tender. The fries was good - they were the thicker cut fries (I personally prefer the thinner cut fries). Going into order was confusing. You enter in and the cashiers greets you with a holler "Hello, Can I help you?" so you just give them your order right then and there. If you need a minute to look at the menu (which is on the wall in back of the cashier), you just tell them you need a moment (or at least I did). I would come back again to order again but I've had better BBQ's. read more

The food was pretty good but the employees were unfriendly and kind if rude. Standing in line to order your food and wait for it to come out was very inconvenient with 2 small children. read more

Outstanding! No problems here! I had the sausage and beef on bun. Yummy! My first time in this new location and I had a great experience. Brought my cousin there for lunch. He lives in New York and I had to impress him with good BBQ. Guess what.? I did! read more

So I visit this location last Saturday, not much of crowd...cool! But the lady tells me "ooh I was just bout to lock the door" I'm thinking to myself...it's 8:54pm, since when does Gates close at 9:00pm (to go side).According to Yelp this place stays open until midnight on Saturday. Anyway, apparently she locked the door because after receiving our food we tried leaving out the door but it was locked. Then we see a bus load of out of state folks going into the dine in side of the establishment. I thought to myself, must be nice to be catered to. What about all the folks that live in this area and frequent your restaurant on a regular, would you seriously deny them service???? Not a good look! Oh yeah and the food wasn't the best bbq I've ever had. read more

One of favorite spots for KC BBQ and a good environment. Every time I come they meet my expectations and I always have a great BBQ experience. read more

Gates is one of the best BBQ restaurants in Kansas City. This location is more laid back than the others, but still maintains the 'May I help you?' that is the signature greeting as you come in the door. I like all their different meats available. If you order their beef, ask for it lean as it has a little bit too much fat otherwise. Their potato salad and pasta salad are made fresh and taste great. The attendant staff in the dinning room is great and always willing to help. read more

Always go to gates before a Royals game. Last night 3-26-2019 we went and got 3 beef on bun with fries. Only to find the sandwiches are smaller this year and the price is higher and the fries were soggy and the sandwiches were loaded with fat really was a terrible experience probably won't be going back anytime soon. What a shame always looked forward to the treat before the Royals games. Bob and Rosann read more

This was by far the worse experience. The food was cold there was a server screaming in the background stating other guest were also dissatisfied with the temperature of the food. The only reason I am giving it 1 star is because it was clean. Would recommend this to anyone. read more

Gates used to be one of my favorite bbq spots in KC area but seems like each time I go now it gets worse. Not only the food but the service has gone down as well. Burnt ends were my favorite but now they're salty chopped meat you can hardly eat. Luckily the fries still were good. Beware though if they get your order wrong they will argue with you and not do anything to help so don't waste your time or money going. read more

Ribs had a lot of fat; ordered without sauce and it was soaked. I will travel the extra mile next time for BBQ and that will be OK read more

So glad to see they rebuilt! Used to go here with family all the time throughout my childhood. Great sauce selection out of any other Kansas City Barbeque! Definitely gotta know what you wanna order before going in! read more

Went around 1130am yesterday. The carry out line was long the dine in line was short. I didn't have time to dine in. Employees asking hi may I help you, you would start saying your order then they would not pay attention and look away and get distracted on something else. Needless to say I lost 20 mins of my lunch break I'll never get back. Getting real sick of restaurants not respecting customers time and charging high prices for their food and not getting anything in return! read more

Good food and very friendly staff.. Parking and location of restaurant is perfect.. Prices could be lower or food size could increase. read more

Melt in your mouth tender and delicious! Mixed plate two meats is being enough for two people to walk away stuffed! Best ever BBQ!

I'm so happy Gates in Independence got rebuilt! I remember watching the news from my hospital bed after having my son and seeing that Gates had burned down! It sucks that it took over two years, but better late than never! I ordered my usual sausage and crispy fries. It was as good as I remembered. I'm not big in to bar-be-que, but Gates does it for me because they have sausage, compared to Joe's who doesn't (but is still good, too!). read more

Kansas City is the BBQ capital of the world and Gates is the best of the best. The new Gates building in Independence is beautiful. I do wish the floor was not slick, but it is at every visit. read more

Hi may I help you! Music to my ears when I visit Kansas City. From the service to the smoked meats and the delicious sauce. Gates remains the best BBQ for me when I step off the plane! My favorite will always be the sausage, smoked and spicy! Do yourself a favor if you haven't already! read more

I love Gates. I don't love this Gates. The staff argues with each other constantly. You ask for extra lean meat, you get the fattiest hunk of lard imaginable, almost on purpose? Somehow every Gates can remember 2938374 orders in a row, but this one has a line of 4 people and can't remember what your sandwich was. Go to 12th St or State Line... Or Main. read more

Gates is not my favorite BBQ place - but it is good. Way better than Zarda's and Arthur Bryants - in my view. I think they all three kind of compete with each other. The food..is very greasy..if you like this sort of things. COmbo plate of ribs/beef and pork is a bit lethal on the calorie front but it is mostly freshly prepared and decent - if you can stomach the grease. I like their BBQ sauce. The place was very smoky....which is ok for a bbq place. I think zarda microwaves a lot of stuff - not at gates is appears. Out of towners kind of like the grease and order takers yelling at you the minute you walk in the door...although they do tend to get a bit confused lol. read more

This has got to be the worst. They are slow spending so much time talking and playing around had to keep asking patrons what they ordered . I had a mixed plate to go . The fries had been dipped in the fryer so many times they were like greasy chips. I got three meatless bones about 4 pickle slices and not enough meat to make a decent sandwich. The sauce was as good as ever the only consistent thing at this location. Not up to the Gates reputation. read more

The service was excellent. So friendly and helpful. Even during busy lunch hour. I had the center cut robs and fries and it was amazing. The ribs were pretty tender, fall off the bone, sauce was great. Definitely a recommend for rib lovers! read more

Food was good. Standard Gates BBQ as expected. Service was ok I guess. Definitely room to improve on attitude, not very welcoming. Just my opinion. read more

Gates Bar-B-Q - Combo & a half. Beef & Ham. - Barbeque Near Me - Independence, Missouri

Honestly i wasn't impressed wouldn't go back again. Lady behind the counter kept yelling while i was figuring out what I wanted with it being my first time there. Overall though it was over rated read more

Where's the beef? Been a regular for years. Gone are the days of friendly smiling service and ample beef and a half's. First restaurant where I had to thank them for serving me. Sandwiches were pathetic and half the size of before. Almost felt unwelcome because of my race. Restaurant definitely needs some maintenance touch up and cleaning. read more

This is another pretty good BBQ joint. The employees are kinda rude, but actually they are supposed to be. That is their theme. For a BBQ place it is very clean. And the food is pretty darn good. read more

Been a few times.. Tried the burnt end sandwich,double stack , sausage, fries.. All sauces.. When you come in you order entree at entrace and sides at counter..cafeteria style.. Best bbq sauce ever.. great food.. Didn't like the sausage too much but other 2 orders amazing.. Good service and portions. read more

Great place to take a bunch of hungry baseball players there fast and the food is outstanding. There burnt ends and baked needs and the biscuits are the bomb. Took the team to here they asked me for a good BBQ and here and jack stack are my favorites read more

Gates is an institution. Over the Christmas break, I was visiting my hometown from San Francisco and on a balmy 2 degree day in Kansas City, our car broke down in the parking lot of Gates after an amazingly tasty meal that I'd been craving for a year. The 2 managers, while relaxing on their break, happily came out to help us hook up jumper cables and get the car started. They stood by, being the "real men" that they were, as we idiots sat in the car complaining about how cold it was. They were so nice to help us, and we won't forget it! By the way, every bite was heaven. I love you Gates and wish you were in San Francisco. read more

Both mine and my fiance's all time favorite barbeque spot, so many happy memories here, both in the old restaurant before it burns down and now in the new building as well! read more