The atmosphere is a little rustic but don't let it fool you, this has to be one of the best places in town! Services is always friendly and on top of things. Their homemade sourdough is fantastic and their jalapeño cheese sausage is the perfect way to start your meal (the bbq sauce is excellent) their steaks are always cooked to perfection and well worth the price! And you absolutely HAVE to get the peach cobbler! read more

Long time since we ate here. New York strip was cooked perfectly, flavor excellent. Service spot on thank you Shelby. Sides were excellent this will be our new go to spot!! read more

OH MY GOSH! I'm in town on a work trip and a customer recommended this place. I'm glad they did because the food was freaking amazing! I had the TBONE and one the size of the steak HUGE and it was seasoned to perfection. I asked for A1 and they put some in the bag for me but said I wouldn't need it ‍ but you know how places are they all say that right lol this one no joke A1 not needed. Atmosphere was friendly and inviting as well! read more

Joe Allen's Pit BBQ - Massive T-Bone - Barbeque Near Me - Abilene, Texas

We are in town to visit our son. Found Joe Allen's on the top 10 places to eat. They should be number 1! Loved the ambience, service was great, people friendly and the steak melted like butter it was so tender!! The ribs and brisket were just as good! read more

Joe Allen's Pit BBQ - Barbeque Near Me - Abilene, Texas

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Really good BBQ. Stopped for lunch and had a chopped brisket sandwhich. Sweet potato very tasty. Would certainly come back again.

Great food and friendly service! Nice size parking lot if you have a hard to park vehicle

Food is phenomenal. Undeniable flavor. However the children workers are rude and incompetent. Coming in for dinner and they act like it's the biggest inconvenience to get up from the tables to take your order. -Are your fries home cut or frozen? -Uh idk. It took me asking 3 different people to answer a simple question. BTW they're frozen. So be sure to get the onion rings. Talk LOUD and SLOW to the walk up employees and pray they get it right read more

Joe Allen's Pit BBQ - Busy workers - Barbeque Near Me - Abilene, Texas

Great place to go when your are in Austin. No need for BBQ sauce every bit is delicious. The most tender and juicy Brisket I have ever eaten. Go when you are in town read more

Mega delicious steaks for reasonable prices! Go crazy and get a thick ribeye and you won't regret it. :)

Favorite bar b q for my hubby. Delicious sides. The service was good. Easy refills and extra attention if needed. Portions are very generous. read more

Oh My Joe! Ignore any review that isn't a five for this amazing place! It is my favorite steakhouse in Texas! It's better than all the places in down town FDub (sorry CowTown), and will make your mouth water! You actually get to order your ribeye by thickness! Are you serious?! This is Steak Heaven, where every steer reaches its full potential = Lying on a platter in front of my grill, giving my belly a spectacular thrill! Bam! Go! Now! read more

Came here for lunch while traveling to work. Like this place because it has great food. You can sit down and have table service or you can go through the lunch line. Food is great either way. Team is always good. It takes a little effort to come to town if on I 20 but it is worth it. read more

Joe Allen's Pit BBQ - The menu - Barbeque Near Me - Abilene, Texas

Their steaks, brisket, and ribs are the best!! Love many of their sides too. This is REAL TEXAS BBQ!

While the Treadaway location was so 5 stars, the new is about 3.5 stars. Be sure and eat on the serve yourself side. On the waiter side, they made us late back to work. Took way too long for how busy they were. Had the ribs my last 2 times here, and they were very good. Yes, the cornbread was DRY, as mentioned in another review. We will be back, but only to the serve yourself side. read more

Joe Allen's Pit BBQ - Some good ribs! - Barbeque Near Me - Abilene, Texas

Good BBQ at a reasonable price. What more can you ask? The brisket was tender and had very little fat, and the green chile creamed corn was absolutely delicious! And a slice of homemade bread to top it off! My only negative was the sweet potato fries. They were hand-cut, and looked great, but they were not cut thin enough and some were still raw in the middle. Still, my dinner was excellent! read more

the first time we ate here it was one of the best bbq restaurants we've had but the last 2 visits have been a major disappointment. didn't eat more than a bite of anything besides the okra read more

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Needing comfort food! Had a brisket sandwich, beans, and potato salad. All very good. The potato salad is more like mashed potatoes but, very good! read more

Joe Allen's Pit BBQ - Take out plate.... sliced brisket sandwich, beans, and potato salad. - Barbeque Near Me - Abilene, Texas

We really wanted to like this place. It has a western ambiance and the waitstaff is friendly enough. However, if you can't do barbeque right in Abilene, stick to steak or country cookin'. We tried the brisket platter with 2 sides, and it still came out on a bun. A stale bun! The potato "salad" was actually mashed. My turkey sandwich was good but served dry, so I just ate the turkey. The corn bread was done well. Next time in Abilene, we'll try another barbeque place. read more

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This place is awesome. If you want a nice thick steak, cooked perfectly over open fire, this is the place. You order the ribeye by the inch. The sides taste great also. One negative is the service. Every time I've gone, you have to stand around for someone to seat you. Even then, you have to wait a while before they take your order. But the food is so darn good, I can't help but return. Ribeye is a must try. read more

Joe Allen's Pit BBQ - Ribeye *DROOL* - Barbeque Near Me - Abilene, Texas

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Very disappointing to see none of the staff wearing masks and no attempt at social distancing with the tables. Basically giving zero attention to COVID. I will not be going back now or in the future. read more

Absolute disappointment. Served me what looked like a half size CFS (that was anything but memorable) they charged me full price for. Lumpy gravy. No baked potatoes or mashed potatoes. Bagged lettuce salad served in a styrofoam bowl. Gave me another styrofoam bowl I'd never seen in such a small size to get my baby new potatoes in...which looked like they had been sitting for at least 3-4 hours. Overpriced food they take no pride in. No idea how they're still in business. Will never go back and will definitely not recommend... read more

Came here solely for the old Cahoots hush puppies! Don't live in Texas anymore, but have been dreaming about the hush puppies for years! Got them as an appetizer and they are exactly the same! Also for the ham bbq plate which was awesome. Service and food were great, will definitely return when I'm back in Texas! read more

One of my favorite bbq places of all time. First went there when I was stationed there in the Air Force back in 1985. Their steaks are awesome. Always cooked to perfection, tender, juicy and flavorful. My favorite is their Ribeye steak. Stopped by this last time on a trip that took me through Abilene. Joe Allen's is always a must stop when ever I'm going through. Glad to see they've survived this long and hope they're there for years to come. read more

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This place is great. I eat here every trip thru Abeline. This trip was pork ribs. Probably the best I have ever had. The service was top notch! Try them. You won't be disappointed! read more

I'm a steak eater. I eat steak everywhere and it's really hard to find a top shelf steak. Joe Allen's ribeye was one of the best steaks that I've tasted in several years. The grilled chicken is perfect too - juicy, smokey, full of flavor. Great bread! read more

How can this place not be 5 stars. Local joint. Cold beer. Awesome ribeyes. They sell them by the thickness. Too cool. I was not starving so the 3/4" was perfect. Seasoned great. Medium rare. All good. I love places like this. Real local joint with good food at reasonable prices. read more

Joe Allen's Pit BBQ - Barbeque Near Me - Abilene, Texas

Overpriced and overrated BBQ and steak joint for decades. Sizzler had better steaks at far cheaper prices and Harold's BBQ had all the town's BBQ business until it mysteriously burned down years ago. Hmmmmm. read more

This restaurant was great the first time we came here. We were all very impressed by the good quality of the food.The. customer service is awesome very friendly and professional. So we came in for a second time and the food quality when from a 10 to a 2 . Don't know what happened. The steak we order were all cold and not cooked right. Nather the less we will give it another try later down the road. read more

Joe Allen's Pit BBQ - If you haven't been here you have to check it out,worth the visit - Barbeque Near Me - Abilene, Texas

Let's make this perfectly clear. I am not a complainer but my friend and I have officially called this the worst food in Abilene without a doubt. The burger was like a cafeteria, bbq dry and bland, fries were bad, we even tried the calf fries. Ignore the 5-star friend of owners posts. I am a local and I do not recommend. Bottom of the pick. Those that rated this high on yelp shame on you. This place gets one star and a 5 YIKES! read more

(I can't figure out how to do 1/2 a star so making it 4 when it's really 3 1/2.) Remember the days when Joe and Sharon were together, and cooked together? Well, those days were when The meat, sides and cornbread were all the best at one place. Now you get good steaks, brisket, green beans and good cornbread at Joe's place. Oh! Gravy too. But the Chicken Fried was not as good as I remember it once being. And the breading doesn't stick or look cooked enough. and a little chewy. Now, I will say that MIGHT just be "me" because I had oral surgery five months ago; but it seemed to be chewy. My husband liked his steak. It was cooked exactly to order! They even brought out the "Joe Allen sauce" which he liked. he added that with the Heinz 57 and steak sauce and put it on his steak and baked potato. I enjoyed my green beans, the small amount of gravy I ate, and the cornbread. The cornbread was delish! My husband's salad was freshly made and looked delicious! We both decided to have a cobbler afterwords. I had the peach,and he had the Apple. Although the small serving was plenty! The cobbler was good BUT they do not even warm it up! they don't keep it warm. they don't serve it warm! that's a minus. who wants cold cobbler? Abby, our waitress, was an enjoyable, fun loving person who waited tables exceptionally well! Pleasant and helpful. I give her 5! The atmosphere? Wonderful of course! Still feels like being on a ranch, eating with the other Cowboys and girls! The Longhorn watching us from the wall is a beautiful fellow! He probably had many a female pardners! LOL So all in all 3 1/2's! Get the Chicken Fried right, and it will be 5. read more

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We ate here for lunch. They ran out of dressing for their lunch special so I got a combo sandwich of brisket and jalapeno sausage. My fiance got sliced brisket which was very dry. The beans were very bland and I'm not a fan of sweet potato salad. This use to be a good place to eat, Idk what happened. Long story short it's a waste of 30 dollars. It was very over priced cafeteria food. read more

Listen to the reviews! That was my first mistake. The second mistake was paying them well over $1k for catering. I've never been so embarrassed having to feed 100 people after a funeral and giving them this food. This was the absolute worst bbq I have ever had. The brisket was so tough it tasted like it was smoked then boiled. It had absolutely no flavor. I could see the smoke ring but the smoke flavor was nonexistent. The sides we got were equally awful. The potato salad was so sweet. I can't understand who in their right mind adds sugar into a potato salad but I can assure you someone there smoked their own brain when they made this recipe. Or maybe they grabbed sugar instead of salt? The bread looked good but had no flavor and was just as bad as everything else. The only halfway decent item was the tea, probably because there's 2 ingredients. Whoever runs this establishment should go on Worst Cooks in America and maybe learn the proper way to prepare and serve bbq. You'd probably get a better meal at a gas station than here. read more

This place was highly recommended by the locals. I had the 2 meat platter (sausage and brisket). The brisket was quite fatty but the sausage was on point. Get the green beans. Pass on the fries. The ambiance was quite rustic but cool. Worth going to overall. read more

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Walk in and sign says "seat yourself" and the waitress walking by says go ahead and seat yourself. Two dirty tables available so after an old lady brushes past us to claim one of the tables we go stand by the table for a few minutes then sit and wait. At least 5 waitresses passed by in the 15 minutes we waited and looked at us but couldn't be bothered. Will never go back. Rude. Rude. Rude read more

I have to start off by saying I miss the old Joe Allen's. The new place is fancy, but doesn't have the old bbq joint feel like the original location. Sadly the brisket and jalapeño sausage are not near as good as I remembered them. It was late and service was slow, but there was only one waitress and she was hustling, so I don't blame her. There were two of us and we were given one piece a jalapeño cornbread and two of regular cornbread. After tasting it, I didn't ask for any more. The fried okra and Cole slaw were very good. We didn't even bother with dessert. Guess Thomas Wolfe was right. read more

In the days of yore when they were located on Treadway, they were the best, sadly those days have been gone for quite some time. The meat is fatty, the sauce is inconsistent, the sides are mediocre, and the service is rough. In short, go elsewhere for BBQ. read more

Not worth the stop On a trip back from West Texas, we decided to stop at a real restaurant for dinner. Pulled out the yelp app and found this as the top rated BBQ place. Got lost on the way but finally found it. The place is huge, with a nice rustic look to it. It was pretty empty, and at first we thought it was closed, but the doors were open so we wandered in. After being seated, we ordered and got some fried oysters for an appetizer. They were a bit burnt, but passable. The sweet tea tasted mostly watery, but that's all superficial. This is a BBQ place, let's get to the meat of the review. The brisket was tough like a mule! While it looked nice (it had a beautiful smoke ring) but I couldn't cut it with my fork! Good brisket should fall apart at the touch, this needed to be jack hammered. My brothers smoked turkey was also dry as a bone. At least the bbq sauce was good. read more

Somebody needs to explain a few things to these people about ambiance. I understand that there's a place for rustic dining, but when you spend your entire meal cringing from the screech of metal chairs on concrete floors and the pounding of brisket being chopped, you leave pretty unsatisfied. Add to that the weak lake water they call tea, and it's the trifecta. Too bad they have pretty good catfish. Guess I'll get mine to go from now on. Learn that some people are sensitive to excessive noise. read more

I ate here in Feb 2012 and have to share my experience. A colleague and I were told to go check out Joe Allen's by several locals for good BBQ. Not the case.. Not Good BBQ... Not even close to GOOD... It was a bad experience. We both ordered the same thing for lunch. Brisket - Chewiest brisket I ever ate, poor flavor. Chicken - dry and lacking Turkey - Best thing on my plate and the only thing I cleaned up. Sausage - bland. Ribs - middle road quality. Maybe we just showed up on a bad day but you only get one time for a first impression. I will not be going back if I have the option. read more

All the way from Yuma, Arizona on a business trip and many recommendations for mom and pops places to eat. But coming to Texas and not eating is steak is a Crime! The local Sheriffs department recommended Jo Allen's BBQ. The food was amazing! The deep fried mushrooms were a juicy delight. We ordered a steak that was made using mesquite wood. Everything on the plate was amazing. So if you make a trip to this small town I highly recommend JO Allen's. read more