We enjoyed an impromptu buffet here, as the restaurant had some flooding (or other damage?) from Hurricane Mathew, so they had a cash-only buffet spread instead of sit-down/menu service. We were thankful for the hot meal, since other restaurants along our route (including Wilber's and McCall's in Goldsboro) were closed due to power loss. Granted, we were hungry by the time we stopped at King's, but were pleased with the food and the friendliness of the staff. read more

So delicious! Stopped here and had the bbq plate with fried chicken and the bbq soup. Coleslaw and fries were great, and some of the best hush puppies I've ever had! Speedy service and nice people read more

I was expecting more as they are a local restaurant and they seem to be a very busy business. Honestly the food is not a good comparison to Lexington style and not holding up with eastern style. Some of the items looked wrong all together for a restaurant setting. I will say the fish looked really good though and that may be deceiving. read more

not what it could be. Dusty, and shabby and not appealing. Food not special used to be the best, but the standards are not met.

A regular stop over on our way to and from the beach! I have to bring home some sauce, and like others have said the hushpuppies make you slap yo mama! read more

Great place. Ordered combo bbq & fried chicken. Biggest decision now after eating the bbq, fries, slaw and hush puppies, is do I saved my chicken and order the homemade banana pudding or eat the chicken? read more

The only reasons I wouldn't give it five stars is that the bathroom isn't super clean, and also when we called ahead of time to ask about the price of the buffet, the guy seemed so over everything and told me to call a different number that we couldn't find. But the waitresses were super nice and friendly, and the food is AMAZING. Would recommend coming here! read more

Not entirely sure this is BBQ. The pork has the texture and color of braised meat vice BBQ'd meat. That said, it wasn't terrible. It was just ok. My favorite thing on the plate were the hushpuppies - so good. Service was polite and fairly prompt given the large amount of folks waiting for food. Wouldn't go there again - there a better places in NC. read more

Kings has been around forever. My family has been stopping here to/from the beach since I can remember saying 'hushpuppy' for the first time. We prefer to get take out, they have a completely separate side of the restaurant dedicated to just take out orders. They even have seating for quick eating while on the road. They have daily entree specials (listed on their menu) and vegetable specials (you'll have to ask about these but they are on the board when you go in). We usually keep it simple since we are in the car traveling and have dogs with us preventing us from going inside. Our usual is BBQ sandwiches, hushpuppies and fries.... unless they have their mac and cheese.... then its that! Taking away one star because sometimes the people in the take out area are rude to customers.... i've witnessed several be rude to obvious locals (that have probably been coming there before the rude persons were even born). read more

LOOOOVED the scrambled eggs! Fluffy, FRESH, NOT GREASY, with their bacon, and lemon and chocolate meringue pies. DELICIOUS tea - half sweet, half uN, for me. This place is old country style, down to the answering machine, which makes you feel like you are about to go back in time to simpler, happier times read more

Try the Pig in a Puppy! It's a giant hush puppy w/BBQ inside! They have a great selection of vegetables too. The tea is extremely sweet so you might want to ask for half & half. They have a buffet that will stuff you as well. The prices are great. You can get a "half pint" which includes your choice of meat or fish & 3 sides for only 6.99! This place is legendary and worth the stop if you're ever traveling through Kinston on HWY 70! read more

Kings - Dining Room at King's BBQ - Barbeque Near Me - Kinston, North Carolina

They always forget something of get the order wrong . Everytime .

The food is good, I'll give them that. We went for the lunch buffet and it was very reasonable, around $9. They have great fried chicken, hamburger steak, shrimp, bbq, and mashed potatoes. What I can't get over, though, is the banana pudding. It was disappointing. The dish of banana pudding on the buffet was already empty at noon. When we asked if they were going to bring any more out, the waitress told us that they were making it. Admittedly, I don't know the first thing about actually making banana pudding, so I can only assume that the wafers become soft by making it ahead of time and allowing it to sit in the fridge. So, when she said that they were making it, I found that odd. Well, they must have actually been making it. It literally tasted like cheap instant pudding with wafers in it. The vanilla wafers were completely hard and it was not good at all. I'd like to believe that they usually have good banana pudding (so good that they ran out), just whipped some up, and tried to pass it off as banana pudding. If it weren't for the bad banana pudding, I would give them 5 stars because they really do have good food. read more

We stopped Saturday night, the temperature inside the building was over 80, the shrimp on the buffet tasted funny. They had some kind of cake with whipped cream on top of it, it was so hot it turned to liquid. I was sick from the food before we ever left, my brother and I have been sick all weekend. Maybe they should concentrate more on food safety instead of handing out gloves. Never again. read more

I first visited King's in 1985, driving to Emerald Isle for vacation from VA. My first taste of eastern NC bbq, loved it! It was our stop in for vacation and out for years when we stayed in Emerald Isle. We were traveling to New Bern from Raleigh and decided to stop for lunch. Now they have a buffet, so I didn't have to decide on a single selection but could enjoy everything I loved from so many years ago. I think I sampled almost everything, but my favorite has always been their pulled pork and slaw. Because they were my first experience w/ vinegar based bbq, it will always be my favorite and it's just as delicious today as it was 32 yrs ago. read more

If you are after Barbecue, this is as good as it gets. Not having been to kings in over 40 years I am pleased to report the bbq is still the best ever. After seeing a feature on TV, I knew I had to have a Pig in a Puppy. This is giant hushpuppy with bbq and slaw. It was perfect and if I lived in the area, I would be at Kings often. The coconut pie is one of the best I have had. read more

We visit here a lot on Sundays when we are coming home from Atlantic beach....it's a Kingston institution....all ways a solid choice for a quick decent southern cooked lunch or dinner, the fried chicken is my choice. The service is not the most consistent, you either get a good server....or one that should be looking for another career path. read more

My family came here regularly as a child. It was wonderful.....but now?!?! TERRIBLE!!!y dad ordered scallops, they clearly were not. When he pointed it out, the waitress informed him that the "bag" said premium scallops. Hmmm bag? My hamburger plate was inedible You could play hockey with it! All the sides were clearly canned and frozen. After returning our food, and asking for nothing to replace it with. We decided to get their famous banana pudding! It was just as bad! I heard there were new owners..... They need to go back doing it the way the old owners did. I will never go back, not even for a pig in a pup. Let's not mention how dirty the place is now. read more

Good home style cooking. The staff was very friendly and the food was very good. We enjoyed relaxing and took our time enjoying our dinner here. read more

The best barbecue in my/the world!! Seriously, if you are going to be anywhere within a 150 mile radius of Kinston, NC you must go to Kings. It is well worth the trip. If you've never had Eastern North Carolina BBQ, this should be your initiation. They have *awesome* pulled pork sandwiches, perfectly golden brown hushpuppies, some pretty great stew (sorry Kings, my granddaddy's is better), and a HUGE buffet at which to consume way more of these and other items than anyone ever should. Everything is available for carryout and if you are suffering from real BBQ withdrawal in the beef brisket, sloppy-joe or "barbequed what?" parts of the world, Kings will gladly ship almost everything they make. Bless you, Kings and long may you reign. read more

You can not get good BBQ in California, so when we came to visit our daughter in New Bern, we wanted the best BBQ North Carolina had to offer. Only one place to go -- King's Restaurant in Kinston. We were not disappointed! Between the three of us we had the shredded pork plate and rack of ribs -- the meat is fall off the bone tender on the ribs and shredded pork was also tender and tasty. The BBQ sauce is that yummy vinegary NC style. The hush puppies, fried okra, and yams are really great as well -- excellently flavored, the batter on all of them is not heavy and not greasy like some places are. The atmosphere is homey and clean the service is friendly and well-paced. Not sure if it was the owner or manager, but a beautiful African American woman just came by our table to check that every thing was to our liking. King's is the place to go -- whether you are a tourist wanting a great "home-cooked" and quality tasting dinner, or someone who lives up the road and is privileged to come all the time. In a word -- YUM! read more

I really wanted this to be an on the road find... I did quick research, the parking lot was full, the restaurant was packed... Should have been great... sadly it was not. Perhaps we would have enjoyed the meal if we had been treated better. Started with the way we were shuttled in without a welcome or explanation... I'll never enjoy the experience of having the receipt literally tossed onto the table. SERIVCE terrible, I've had better at a fast food drive thru. Food was ok but overall experience was very negative... Sadly I won't be going back. read more

This is Carolina Home Cooking! A great stop to spoil yourself and your family with some county cooking! Clean and tidy! Polite and friendly staff. Buffet, salad bar, or sit down and order from the menu! We will revisit! read more

OMG...this is the place for real Carolina chow and BBQ. We rolled in on our Harleys after a few days on the OBX. It was lunchtime and the joint was humming. Pulled pork, cooked whole hog style served in the charred skin. Fried chicken, sweet corn and sweeter tea, all topped off with banana pudding and lemon meringue pie. Oh, did I mentioned the well cooked greens? All buffet and at a budget price. Make Kings a regular road trip pit stop! read more

King's used to be great. Period. Place is still full but...last couple of visits the BBQ had been bland. Fried Chicken is still alright. Price is good - $5 for the buffet. I used to say they were a must stop, but now I don't plan to my drive in order to stop there; if I'm hungry and passing by I would stop though. read more

Went here when we first got to ENC and learned real quickly that the BBQ in NC is very different from TX. When asked if they had BBQ sauce the waitress pointed to a vinegar bottle. Don't go there expecting anything other than the standard BBQ fair with mediocre service. Where is got really weird is when I went to go pay my bill and the cashier didn't know how to use my gift certificate and because of that told me to just pay the full price! I was really confused and irked and finally 15 minutes later after I had to call a manager I got out of there paying like a normal person. read more

Stopped in for lunch on a road trip, ended up getting the Sunday buffet and it was inedible. The pork was grey and smelled foul (seriously - disgusting), there were no vegetables to be seen except cole slaw, the only thing we could even stomach was the potato salad. For $29 (for two), it was beyond disappointing. We should have eaten in the regular sit-down restaurant, if anything. Can't imagine when we'd ever be back that way, anyway, but wish we'd done some research and gotten some good NC bbq somewhere else. read more

Great barbeque, fast service. Really reasonable prices. I got the half-pint, which is a smaller portion of meat plus three vegetables for under $8. The Brunswick stew is really good, too. read more

Food was fantastic! We were on our way home from visiting family in Beaufort and decided to stop by the take put part of kings. The only problem I had was how RUDE the woman who waited on me. While waiting to order I heard her be extremely rude to a customer on the phone, while constantly rolling her eyes. Once she called out my order when it was ready, she said "oh that's you" in a horrible tone and tossed the bag of food to me. When I said thank you she walked off to help someone else. I will not be returning only because of her attitude. Highly disappointing because my family always looked forward to stopping at Kings on our way to Raleigh. read more

Over the years we visit this restaurant when we come home for reunions. My hubby used to brag about how good they were back in the day. Each visit it seems they slack off a little. However, this year I saw marked improvements, but still a ways to go. We ordered the buffet. I also learned that they now have all you eat crab legs--but I didn't take a chance. The service was great but The food was just ok. The shrimp were hot and fresh. The mini crab cakes/balls were delicious. But the clam strips were hard as nails. The collards were seasoned very well and yummy. The bar b q pork was a little too vinegary for my liking and the bar b q chicken was nothing special. I really want this place to get back to being the Kinston icon my hubby always bragged about. read more

First time in North Carolina and someone said to try the BBQ. So through a local recommendation found this place. Baby back ribs, BBQ chicken, string beans and collard greens with pepper vinegar and Texas pete's.... Sweet potato pie for dessert and a little berry cobbler... This place has the best BBQ I have ever had. When she asked what I wanted for dessert I almost said another rack of ribs. Kasey was very kind. All the servers and staff was polite and very attentive. This place gets 5 stars all the way around. Best part is the price point was perfect. Great food, great service, great price 5 stars all around. read more

Nice country bbq. Pulled pork was excellent. Have a nice buffet for a good price. Worth the stop.

I have ties to NC and now live in the Sonoma wine country north of SF. The other day I had a craving for NC barbecue and googled King's restaurant. I ordered 8 lbs of barbecue with hush puppies and sauce. Two days later they arrived, the que still frozen! The barbecue was exquisite. My wife loved it, and she is not a barbecue fan.the ordering process was simple, and although shipping wasen't cheap, the meat was half the price of other sites offering the same product. Highly recommend this place! read more

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My family and have have been going to King's since forever, now that we live in Indiana we are using Oink Express to get some awesome Eastern NC BBQ! I just placed and order it was packed and shipped to perfection. The food was fresh and yummy and what we have come to love from King's! The only thing I beg is to please add Chicken and pastry and the Banana Pudding to your shipping menu! The food comes well packed, excellent food! I love Kings and Oink Express! Thank You for bringing NC closer to Indiana! read more

King's is a legend around here. The lunch buffet was a big hit with us and kiddo. We were happy to fill up on fresh pork BBQ and fried chicken while he filled up on homemade chocolate pudding. This isn't a fancy place, but it's delicious and real home cooking. read more

Finally stopped here after several trips to Kinston, and thoroughly enjoyed the famous pig in a pup! The sweet tea is tooth-rottin' goodness, but the cracklins were terrible. Some were soft and stale, others were hard enough to feel like you were breaking a tooth (which, in all fairness, were already rotting from the tea). At $5 a bag we were pretty disappointed. read more

Jawesome Always get fried shrimp collards pineapple stuff and the chicken Our waitress justina is so happy to be at work always good experience at Kings Cristy Simons Ganaway read more

Yep, Kinston is my home town and if you want some fine BBQ, this place is a must! I always just get a sandwich with slaw on the bun and sweet ice tea. To die for! read more

Very good BBQ at a reasonable price. I like their selection of local NC beers as well!

My family recently had a family reunion here and the first thing I wanna say is that we had a great time here. This was my second time coming here as well as a few other family members who came down from Maryland a few months ago to check out the place for the entire family. Everyone enjoyed the food and the waiters were really nice. Everyone's drink was continuously refilled and the food just kept coming which was great considering how much my family eats haha. Overall this restaurant has pretty good food and customer service and I wouldn't mind coming back here! read more