Unfortunately we have to give this business a low score. The server was great and on top of it. It was most of the food that was not good. We had the brisket meal and was disappointed as seemed as if it came from a can like spam. No taste. Mac and cheese made me wanting kraft. The cowboy beans were soupy and not much flavor. The smothered chips and fries were good. We walked out quite disappointed after a $80 bill for 4. read more

We ordered pulled pork, barbecue beans & coleslaw for a birthday celebration last night and it was wonderful! The service is awesome and the food is amazing! You won't be disappointed. read more

the food was not cooked in a BBQ Pit. you can clearly tell the ribs were oven baked and old . the chicken and pulled pork lacked flavor. the break it was questionable & the baked bean were just pinto beans with a splash of watered down bbq sauce the potato salad was not fresh it was store bought. the corn bread fell apart was stale. over all the service and atmosphere was okay the pie was delicious if your looking for good bbq this is not it folks! for two people about 90 bucks read more

I love this place!! It's family owned, they're the nicest people and the food is delicious. Highly recommend it

Grumpy Jake's was recommended to me by a local and I'm so glad I went. A chain bbq restaurant is a few miles down the road but there's no comparison. My daughter and I had the sampler platters, which are huge, she got Mac and cheese for her side and I got cole slaw. Everything is made from scratch and sooo good. The sauce is unique, not too spicy or sweet. Definitely worth giving it a try. read more

I must give Grumpy Jake's a great review. My dad was trying to plan his own birthday party but couldn't decide. Last minute, I made an executive decision & called Grumpy Jake's. I called Friday evening about 6:45pm asking how possible to order food for about 10 people for the following day, being Saturday.I requested by 3:30 pm pick up. Louis, was very accommodating. I was even able to pick but 30 minutes earlier.  He food was very good. Our party guests kept asking "Where is this barbecue  from, it's good?" We ordered ribs, pulled pork, brisket, beans, coleslaw, and homemade buns, which were also delicious. So thank you Grumpy Jake's for a successful birthday party. read more

This place was amazing great service great bbq and a great burger and the pie is amazing next time I come to town will definitely stop by

Was in town and decided to drop by and try it out. The service is extremely nice! Very friendly and attentive people. The Piglet is a sampler served on a garbage can lid. It was nice, got a good selection of stuff. The Bacon Wrapped Jalepenos were to die for! The fries and onion rings were also very good. The ribs and brisket are both very flavorful, even without the sauce. I wasn't a big fan of the sauce, the ribs in particular are very tender and flavorful alone. The brisket was tender and flavorful as well. Fried Corn is corn that is lightly battered then fried in a pan I think? or deep fried, it was good except most of hte coating was not on the corn by the time it was served. Overall, it was worth eating at. read more

This is a fun, hole in the wall-ish BBQ place. I really liked the atmosphere and my boyfriend (who grew up in New Jersey) got a kick out of the decor. The service was pretty good. Unfortunately, when small places are busy, often the service suffers. But I didn't really notice any of that here. I think you have to ask for more cornbread after the initial basket when you get your drinks. As a Texan, you will be hard pressed to get an exceptional review for BBQ pretty much anywhere outside of the state... However, this place was pretty good. I like the sauce and the fried okra. I tried the BBQ sampler which includes brisket, pork, and chicken. I liked a chance to try the variety. I do wish they had provided a balanced amount of each meat (almost no brisket) and there was no divisor of the meats. They were all just plopped on the plate and unless you knew, you wouldn't know which was pork and which was chicken by look alone... My Jersey born and bred boyfriend really enjoyed his steak. I tasted it and it was well done. They cooked it medium rare the way he asked so it was very tender and the seasoning was nice. He had a side of mac & cheese and he liked it. I don't know if I would go back myself, but I would recommend the steak, brisket, sauce, and sides to non-Texans... read more

Nice family style BBQ restaurant. Wide variety of menu items. What is really good is the fact that they have a lot of non BBQ offerings for those few people who don't like BBQ. Sigh. We'll be back! read more

Grumpy Jake's BBQ - Trophies on wall in back dining room. - Barbeque Near Me - Pinetop-Lakeside, Arizona

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We picked up stuffed brisket baked potatoes the night we checked in to our rental. Huge size, delicious brisket, & bbq sauce was on point.

We used to enjoy eating here. The past few times it just hasn't been good and not worth the price. The last time my loaded baked potato was hard and tasted like it had been microwaved. I ordered take out today. A pulled pork sandwich with a side of potato salad. When I went inside to pick it up there wasn't a single table and several women gathered around the register. I paid 11:50 for a sandwich which I think is way too much. Once I got to my destination to eat I realized I had cole slaw instead of potato salad. Also the bun was hard as a rock. The meat was ok at best. I think this will be the last time I try to eat there. read more

Good BBQ and the sauce had a nice smokey flavor to it. Friendly staff and food overall was excellent.

Amazing Coconut and Miss Piggy pie! Holy lord it was delicious. I will be back the next time we are in town. Try by the slice so you can try them all! read more

Service was great, food was awesome and ambiance was hometown feel. The kids loves their pie and Mac & Cheese. We loved the bbq sandwiches. Would definitely come back. read more

Bbq beef brisket sammi with killer French fries is my go to. I've heard the fried chicken is delicious too. Pies are excellent! Good service too read more

Nope, it's one thing to TRY and give good service. But when a customer brings to the owner's attention the lack of service that night, only to get the response consisting of excuses and a 'too bad', well that removes any desire to come back. We arrived at 6ish, a Tuesday night. a party of 3. The restaurant has 1 clean booth and 4 tables that aren't ready but vacant. We request a table. Now, no one is waiting to be seated except us. No one before us, no one after us. So we wait and wait and wait. The bus boys are clearing and cleaning the tables. But not just one table so we can sit down. Oh no, they clear all 4, SLOWLY (cause you know plastic dishes and glasses can break). As they wipe the tables, this young man just swipes all the food to the floor. So now a couple tables have bbq meat and stuff on the floor. All this should be red flag #1. The only waitress we see (an owner), ignores us standing by the entrance. No, "we'll be with you shortly", or maybe instruct the bus boys to prep one table. Red flag #2. We finally sit down and wait for menus. Not too long, just another 10 minutes. NO ONE comes out from the kitchen area. Finally a young man approaches with menus, yay! Takes our drink order, yay! Then we wait. And we wait. Same young man puts menus and napkins on 2 other tables, (we have no dinnerware as of yet). He leaves and returns with the same stuff for the last table. No drinks for us. No dinnerware. I know, I know, beverages are difficult to retrieve. Red flag #3. And we wait. Yes, we are truly hoping SOMEONE will bring us our drinks and take our orders. Still waiting. My friend is getting disappointed. Two other parties have now arrived. Menus at the ready. I swear if they get their drinks before us I'm going to lose it. We give the place another 5 minutes but NO ONE that works at this place ever appears. So we give up. My friends walk out, I go up to the owner. I tell her what happened. She says I'll get to you when I can. I tell her "that's ok, we're leaving. I thought you'd want to know". Nope, she says 'that's ok'. I will never feel sorry for the slow business this place will experience after the summer visitors leave. 7 or 8 months of struggling with only a few tables at lunch hour. We've seen the lack of cars out front so we know. The remaining residents have many other good (heck, great) restaurant choices. Places that know what service means. Places that TALK to their customers. Places that have given good instructions to their young employers regarding food service establishments. Places that want to hear if things fall apart. If you don't care about one customer or even a party of 3, you don't care at all. read more

Friendly and attentive service deserves a few stars but the food takes it back down to the minimum. Every item tasted like baby food. Mushy and no flavor. Ribs were grey - looked like they were boiled. Hot link did not seem fully cooked. Brisket tasted like pot roast, not like something bbq'd. Potato salad tasted like it was made with Miracle Whip and not mayo. Also the Jack Daniels tasted watered down. Was afraid to try a dessert so skipped it. Not sure what is going on here but unfortunately we will not return. read more

Moved off the mountain seven years ago, was looking forward to eating at Jake's again, one of my favorite BBQ restaurants. They have moved to a new location and lost the recipe for the excellent meats they used to serve. I ordered a chopped beef sandwich, which was dry and flavorless. Coleslaw had a strange flavor. My wife ordered a pork sandwich which she could not eat because the pork was raw, not cooked, not done! Nothing was taken off the bill, a $30 lunch, we left still hungry. read more

Solid BBQ, especially by AZ standards. Quick service, solid brisket & ribs, I was happy! As a strong supporter of 2A, I appreciated the sign in their window. I'll definitely be back next time I'm in town. Thanks Jake, you've got a lot going on here so no need to be grumpy read more

Grumpy Jake's BBQ - Barbeque Near Me - Pinetop-Lakeside, Arizona

Me and the wife was there a while back had a full Rack of the ribs. The waiter was good .kept our glasses full answered any of our questions. The plate was more than we could eat . The food was excellent the prices were reasonable I highly recommend this place . And we didn't get embarrassed because we wanted to split a plate. ( Cattleman's was horrible about splitting a plate it was very embarrassing we had to walk out) read more

We've been driving past here for years and finally decided to stop. Bbq was good but not great. We all said our food was "ok." Our service was good and friendly. We received our food quickly but the meat seemed cold, barely warm. Brisket was very tender with a good flavor. Sides were mediocre. I doubt we'll come back unless we are really craving bbq that we don't want to cook at home. read more

We celebrated my Birthday here this weekend. The Food was so good. Our Server was awesome and 5 stars to the cook! Thank you for making my day Special. Looks like everyone loved your music also. I highly recommend this place not only for their great food but the service there is great. Oh by the way the Peach Cobbler was very good ! read more

Grumpy Jake's BBQ - Peach Cobbler Ala Mode! Soooo Good! - Barbeque Near Me - Pinetop-Lakeside, Arizona

We had a wonderful time at grumpy Jakes BBQ. There were four of us and we had the family platter which could easily serve six. It included ribs , barbecue chicken and brisket with two sides and corn muffin. they also had a sampler platter which could feed two for just $20. The service was great. The foods were absolutely delicious. Smoked, very tender, and the barbecue sauce was outstanding. You can't go wrong with this place. Marshall. read more

This was our first spot in 2012 and we would go off and on living here. We recently went and I couldn't believe the prices. It was very pricey. It was pricey before but this time wow. Our waitress perfume was so nauseating I couldn't stand being there much longer. read more

Amazing pie and cobbler. Fresh made daily and perfect treat. Cobbler served in cast iron a la mode. In the wise words of Agent Dale Cooper, "a damn fine cup of coffee." read more

Poor service, we did a order to go as I wasn't feeling good. No smile on anybody's face. Pulled pork wasn't done all the way and bun was hard as a rock. Will not be returning. read more

Grumpy's, Grumpy's, Grumpy's, what can I say....ribs were very dry, like smoked cotton, you know, the fabric of our lives!!! Got jacked up excited about adding that smoked sausage to the big ol' plate of cotton ribs, but it was like boiled hotdogs......that's some very non-sexy behavior Grumpy's. This place is clearly not a BBQ joint, even though they emphasize it in the title, they play more on the fried fish dinner and other non-BBQ dishes, what's up with that, it freaking says GRUMPY's BBQ?. Please change the name to Grumpy's Café or something along those lines and leave the BBQ'n to Austin, Tx and the Texas Hill Country Loop of BBQ joints. Root Beer was decent, not sexy Grumpy's, not sexy at all. Kisses, BBQ Snob #2 read more

This is a total disappointing place to eat. I was totally excited about eating since the last the quality was on par. I picked up a meal that cost me and my husband $65.00 we both agreed it all tasted like something you could get at Safeway deli counter. We both can't understand how this place can serve food like this. We all want our monies worth well this isn't worth your hard earned money. Will not return unless the owners take charge. read more

I've been to Grumpy Jake's multiple times, and the food and service are always great. I feel the portions are huge, and I always having something to take home for the next day. I've had the Alaskan Cod, Smothered Chips (always a go to), Pork BBQ Sandwich, and Cobb Salad (the full fed me three meals). My family always enjoys going here when they visit me. read more

Not happy. Ordered the 1/4 ribs and brisket. There was no smoke flavor and the ribs were dry. No bargain either, as the prices are pretty steep. That would be okay if the BBQ was good. I doubt we'll be back. read more

Yuuuum! The ribs are flavorful! The brisket is fork tender. Contrary to what I read in a few other reviews here on Yelp the bbq sauce is good, served on the side. We like the potato salad (nice tangy flavor) and the garlic butter mashed potatoes are a must try! I meant to take better food pics but we gobbled it up too fast. read more

Grumpy Jake's BBQ - Brisket and ribs! Half eaten. Couldn't take the pic fast enough - Barbeque Near Me - Pinetop-Lakeside, Arizona

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I was planning on having Grumpy Jake's cater my wedding, all was fine until the manager Randi was extremely rude to me and unprofessional. It's unfortunate because their food is decent, but the catering was way overpriced and the poor customer service was a deal breaker for me, so I happily took my business else where! read more

The food was not at all what I expected. I don't know where to begin but then again maybe the food is always like this and people are fine with it. The positives is staff is friendly and the pie was the only thing that was edible and delicious but now for the negatives....Over paid for food that felt, smelled and tasted like leftovers. Ribs I think were done in oven, the cornbread that is a 1$ more was brought out cold (Luke warm) with butter that would not able to melt. My cowboy beans were very watery as if they were pinto beans with a splash of spice. I asked for side of veggies thinking they were plain but was covered with an abundance of season salt. I had got the platter of mixed meats and paid extra to have the ribs. The other meats were pulled pork and pulled chicken which both were piled on top of each other and the center of the pile the meat was cool so it lead me to think they microwaved. The brisket did not have a smoke ring and tasted as if it was sliced from a few days ago. My appetizer was 12$ for 6 shriveled bacon wrapped jalapeños about the size of two bite size snickers put together. It was the only thing I felt was BBQ on the grill. Next time I'm fishing in the area and feel like BBQ I will stick to the chain across the street which I find it funny that their slogan is Real Authentic BBQ. read more

Great BBQ and awesome tea! We were too full for dessert but their homemade pies looked amazing.

I cannot lie. Grumpy Jakes has THE BEST RIBS I have EVER had!!! The service was superb and the environment/decor was fun. I love that they serve drinks in mason jars. The salads were good too! They make their own barbecue sauce, which is SO edible! I also had the pleasure of meeting the owners - they were very friendly, down-to-earth people. I recommend this place to anyone! We've been there a few times and even hosted a community meeting in the loft area. If you're in town, you gotta try it out!!! read more

This place used to be my go to bbq place but I went in yesterday (after 2 Covid years) and the place has gone pretty far down hill. Not family friendly either. read more

When we first came to Pinetop, AZ we didn't expect to find great food... Our family was amazed by the quality of the meat and sides here. Everything tasted authentic and well prepared. We enjoyed brisket, and pork ribs along with Corn bread, coleslaw, and corn. These were fantastic choices. Highly recommend for anyone with a love of BBQ. Great food 10/10 would come back! read more

The service is very attentive and friendly. That's where the good part of this review ends. Since the change in ownership of this restaurant the quality of the food has severely Tanked. The meat was dry and barely lukewarm. My family ordered the family feast which came with a half rack of ribs half of a chicken and 8 oz of pulled pork along with two sides. I expected much better from this place but apparently the change in ownership has diminished the quality of the food. Needless to say I will not be returning. The only bright spot of the meal was the potato salad which was delicious. read more

Well. Had the BBQ Ribs and Brisket combo. Ribs were so so. Got the tip so I did not really get ribs. Got cartilage. Either they get cheap meat or are too cheap to trim the meat. The brisket did not seem like brisket but the taste was fabulous. Really really good! Cowboy beans were not spectacular. Corn bread was nice and moist but lacked flavor. The atmosphere...well not much of one. Parking is plenty but on dirt and rock. Potholes. If it was raining would be swimming in mud. Would I go back? I did enjoy the brisket but there must be other choices that I would try 1st. read more