I am from KC, and have ate bbq all my life We ate dinner there tonight, and it was the worst bbq I have ever had. The burnt ends were fat covered in sauce, the onion rings and fries were fried in really old oil, and the folks behind the counter were rude at best. We will not be back. Buyer Beware! read more

We've eaten at this Gates location for 30 plus years. We went on Father's Day and again last Saturday just to give it another chance. But since the rebuilding after the fire they've got a lousy layout and the kitchen staff has to get up to speed cuz the wait was ridiculous. On top of that the brisket was tough and not near as tasty as I remembered it. I think I'll wait a while to see if they make improvements before I go back again. read more

Exceptionally friendly staff. Terrible food. Chicken was dry and sausage had no flavor. Sauce was very good. Won't be back.... But would hire their staff! read more

You have to get prepared to be asked what you want as soon as you enter, which once you get used to it is kinda fun. Being asked for your order as soon as you enter the door was overwhelming the first few times I visited. But we decided to have fun with it and now decide in the parking lot and shout out our order as we enter the door just for kicks. Food is excellent. I always order the beef and a half and request it lean. MMMM so good. Get a side of fries (also excellent) and you will have enough to take home for another meal. Sauce has a kick and even the regular will make you sweat a bit. Hubby likes the ribs and he always orders a slab so he has some to go. Place is really dumpy and the person that designed the layout of the order window should be fired. One side moves you to a dead end and you have to squeeze by all the folks in line to get to the seating area. However, it is the food, not the building that is the star and if you want true Kansas City BBQ, I don't think you will find better. read more

Let me start off by saying the food was tremendous. I had the double decker with pork and beef. Outstanding sauce. However, this restaurant is not what it appears to be, in that it's more fast food than a sit down place to eat. You order at the counter and take the food to a table to eat in. The staff was very friendly and courteous, the only issue being their annoyance. The moment a new customer walks through the door, one member of the staff will yell "Can I help you." showing off great and prompt service but really providing a nuisance for guests eating in. read more

After eating Texas bbq all the time, I knew I had to try Kansas City bbq for something a little different. I had a plate with various meats which I loved them all and slopped up the plate. Everything was good and the ladies behind the counter helped me order. My girlfriend loved the bbq sauce, she wishes she could have brought some home. read more

Chaotic ordering. About 8 people in line when got there. Took 15 minutes just to place order. Another 15 to get order ( 2 burnt end sandwiches, 1 fries, 2 drinks). Very fatty meat. Bland fries. This was our first experience with KC style BBQ. We're from Georgia. (great BBQ in Savannah). Next time we pass thru KC we'll give KC BBQ another try, just not here. read more

Food had some good smoke to it, but the cuts I received were terrible. I have never had to leave so much on my plate from inedible bites at any BBQ jt. My wife's pulled pork was almost 50% gristle and we ended up throwing more than half of it away. The sauces are pretty good, but there is more to good BBQ than sauce. I have to admit, I was not sure what I had just walked into after 5 seconds of being in the door, people shouting from all over the place. From the minute I walked in to the minute I left, I regretted the whole experience. Workers are nice enough but the process for this place is not anything I am a fan of, and one I suggest that you avoid. Try Oklahoma Joe's or Jack Stack if in KC and looking for great BBQ. read more

Chicken was very good, ribs & pork were ok. Was here a few years ago and I remembered it being a lot better. Service was still really cool. They basically ignore any questions you might have and keep yelling "how can I help you" until you order something. Which I think is awesome! read more

Gates is a Kansas City staple as far as bbq is concerned. Their sauce is excellent. Everyone should try it at least once. Beef on bun lean-as please! read more

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Excellent barbecue in a city of great barbecue. Ordering can be intimidating as you are ordering way before you get to the counter - they literally call back down the line and you need to know what you want. The food is so worth both the intimidation factor and the line. read more

Employees are great! Brisket was fatty and unpleasant. Everything else was good but not the best in KC

Who did I piss off? Ordered a beef and a half with fries, carryout. At home, I see my sandwich is fully one-half fat. Never again. From now on it's Smokestack on 39th street...... read more

Was very disappointed. Ribs cooked right are one of my favorite meals. Had not tried this place before. Ordered the center cut ribs. They were tough, could not get all the meat off the bone. Cashier was also not friendly, seemed like she did not want to assist us, seemed annoyed with us when we placed our order. She did not place the order for the fries we asked for. Had to ask another employee for the fries. Brisket and beans were good but will go somewhere else for BBQ. read more

Sorry, but slathering BBQ sauce on cooked meat does not equal BBQ. They don't even offer pulled pork or chicken. Do they even smoke the meat? The sliced pork sandwich was McDonald's quality. If you want good BBQ, turn around and head southeast to Memphis. read more

If you don't like the sauce forget it. The source was smothered over everything and everything tasted the same salty and crappy

I was only in KC for about 15 hours overnight for a concert so we didn't have time for many places and this was the one place that came highly recommended. It also happened to be right around the corner from our hotel so it was the obvious choice. I'm not going to lie, I know we had some kind of sandwich, fries and beans...but the main thing that sticks out was the burnt ends! OMG, how have I lived so long without this in my life? I nearly ate myself sick on them before we left for our concert and still had leftovers for afterwards. Then I was mad at myself for not ordering extras for the next day. I don't know when I'll make it back to KC but Gates will definitely be on the list! read more

The lady behind the counter was very unpleasant and impatient; practically yelling at us because we weren't prepared to order immediately. My burnt end sandwich was cold, limp, and mostly fat. The spicy BBQ sauce was delicious but couldn't make up for the lack of quality ends. read more

We have wanted to visit Gates for years, but we never seemed to be able to get to Kansas City. Well we finally did and it was just what we expected. The slab of ribs were wonderful and the fries excellent. We got the ribs dry and had the sauce on the side which I would recommend. Service was fast and friendly. I would have given a 5 star rating but the pitcher of beer we ordered seemed to be on the flat side. Our friend had cole slaw with her order and liked it very much. read more

The beef on a bun was cold, the burnt ends sandwich was mostly fat and was luke warm. The place was.. well sticky.. everything seemed sticky. I have always been told "go to the one downtown not the others" by friends but I just happened to pass by this one on the way out of town and wanted to try it. I figured how different could it be? Personal experience: Upon entering, you walk straight up to the counter, but you have many people behind you waiting in line. If you've never been there before like me, you aren't sure what to order. I looked at the menu while my daughter asked for a burger. The server said "we don't serve burgers here sir". I asked what they did serve that was similar to a burger, and they said "we serve beef on a bun", I said "I guess we'll have that for her". Then I looked over at what looked like macaroni and cheese, and asked for that for her side with fries and was again told "we don't serve macaroni and cheese here sir", so I asked her "what is that?" and pointed to it, and she said "pasta salad", I said "so give her some of that". I finally started pointing at things and got what my daughter somewhat wanted I thought. I got the feeling it was fast food BBQ not a BBQ restaurant. In a restaurant you sit down and a server takes your order after you've had time to look at a menu. Had I know this was fast food BBQ I'd have not stopped. My daughter asked me shortly after we sat down if she should eat her beef on a bun because it was cold in the middle. I honestly didn't know what to tell her. I told her she didn't have to eat it if she didn't like it. She tried to eat it but said it was not good at all. They maybe ate two bites of their sandwich and then stuck to their sides. There were six of us in a party and I asked each one of them and they felt the same way, matter of fact we tossed about 50% of what we were served in the trash. Which is a shame when we spent near $100 total between the six of us. My sandwich was the burnt ends. It was very fatty and mushy because of the fat content, and I ran into some gristle in it as well. Taste was ok, and it was warmer than the beef on a bun, but I didn't personally care for the sauce. It was less sweet to me than ordinary ketchup. The fries were about the only thing I enjoyed besides the beans. I will pass on Gates BBQ from now on and doubt I'll try any other location. I don't like leaving poor reviews, but honestly whoever owns the Gates franchise needs to be making some secret shopper visits. I doubt this experience was what is intended for the franchise. Bottom line: Smoky flavor was good (the place smelled like BBQ for sure) Meat was cold/lukewarm Sauce was mediocre (not sweet at all, not what I expected anyway) Seasoning seemed ok, meat was not bland except for the fat content Sides were good (all that we tried anyway) Meat seemed tender if you ignore the fat and gristle Staff was sort of disrespectful and inattentive Ordering process felt like other fast food restaurants but with attitude Maybe it was my misconception about the BBQ chain itself, I didn't realize it was more of a fast-food style BBQ rather than a dine-in style restaurant. It was also the end of a long day for us on vacation before a long drive home, and the experience left us a bit disheartened. I likely won't try it again. read more

I've had the best BBQ in Memphis, Texas, and North Carolina, but none of it beats Kansas City, and no KC BBQ beats Gates. The beef sandwich is superb. This place is like meat heaven. read more

This is the Gate's location that my wife and I go to most of the time. We love the sweet & mild sauce. The brisket sandwiches, fries , and beans were all good. Nothing great but nothing bad read more

I've herd alot about this place and decides to finally try it. had the chicken sand which the sauce tasted great. just wish they had more condiments inserted of just the bun. read more

I like them a lot. I think the sauce is a little bit to salty. It's to bad they burnt down. I heard they are going to re-build.

I had been told that this was the best in Kansas City. Not true. Not better than Arthur Bryants, or Oklahoma Joes, or LC Barbecue. But it was not bad at all. It isnt THE barbecue joint in Kansas City, but its #4 on the list. read more