I'm sorry to see Lockhart's go. It was a solid choice for BBQ, and the special events were pretty cool. https://www.detroitnews.com/story/entertainment/dining/2025/04/14/lockharts-bbq-slings-its-final-brisket-sunday-in-royal-oak/83079137007/ read more

I was excited to go back to Lockhart's, as I'd had quite a positive experience previously, so when our family was looking for a place to meet, I chose it from a list of other options. We had reservation for 8 people at 6:00 on a Sunday night. Our table wasn't ready, perhaps because of a concert going on at the park across the street; The staff seemed pretty focused on the carry-out orders. We waited about 10 minutes for our table to be ready. Everyone got combinations of some sort. I ordered brisket ($2 upcharge) and ribs, the Loretta salad (upcharge of $3 for their house salad!) and garlic mashed potatoes. It took quite a while to be served, again, probably because of the concert. My salad came out first. Despite the fact that it had lettuce, cabbage and parmesan cheese, it had absolutely no flavor. Zero. I couldn't even make out the taste of the oil & vinegar. All it was was crunch. Our entrees were served in two batches, with about 5-10 minutes between the first group and the second group. Honestly, don't restaurants know that they're supposed to serve everyone at the same time? It's annoying and unprofessional when they stagger it. I was really looking forward to the ribs. Alas, they were way too salty, even with scraping them off and pouring sauce on them. Likewise, the garlic mashed potatoes were both too salty AND too garlicky. The only thing that I thought WAS good was the brisket. And the bread -- that was supposed to come with the meals but which we had to ask for -- was somehow satisfying, even though it was just packaged white bread. (The waiter said that most people don't like it so he doesn't bother to bring it.) Maybe it tasted good in comparison to all of the salty stuff. Sadly, I was very disappointed, and I can't see myself going back. read more

Got take out from here and was very disappointed with the portion sizes for the meat. I got a single plate of beef brisket and single plate of pulled pork, $24 and $22. Both came with 2 sides. And I also added on corn bread the sides were probably the best part of the meal. Baked beans were delicious, Mac and cheese was ok, and the cornbread was decent. Like I said, the portion sizes for the single plates was very disappointing. I ordered them specifically in hopes that it would be a decent amount of meat but it was not worth it. The flavor was just ok too for the meat, nothing spectacular. Probably won't go out of my way to come back here as it wasn't an amazing experience, there are better places in the area. read more

Lockhart's BBQ - Beef brisket single plate, not a lot of food at all for $24 - Barbeque Near Me - Royal Oak, Michigan

How have I never reviewed Lockhart's?! I've probably been there over 15 times over several years, so I kind of assumed I had. I like it both for dinner and brunch (their spicy Bloody Mary is great). My favorite dish is the mac & cheese shepherd's pie, which I almost make 2-3 meals out of. The sweet tea always hits the spot, too. My only knocks would be that their non-brisket bbq always feels a bit dry, and the service is highly variable -- sometimes quick, helpful, and friendly, but sometimes very slow and impersonal. I'll continue going as long as they keep serving that huge plate of brisket covered in mac & cheese lol read more

Lockhart's BBQ - Spicy Bloody Mary - Barbeque Near Me - Royal Oak, Michigan

Love this place. Been here maybe half a dozen times and have not been disappointed. It's your typical bbq found in Michigan and prices are average. read more

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I walked by this place early in the summer and read through the menu. I finally got to try it out. Overall, it was a pleasant experience. The aroma is great when you first walk in. It's also nice seeing all the cooking areas to watch it all happen. We went pretty early in the evening on a Saturday and had no trouble getting a table. Our server was very nice and a lot of fun. I got the burrito and my husband ordered the smoked pork sandwich. We also got a side of cornbread. I asked for no jalapeños on the burrito, but it came with them anyway. I tried removing them, but the oil had already permeated through the burrito, so I could only eat a few bites at a time. My husband's sandwich was good, but a bit dry. The cornbread was terrific. We look forward to trying their brunch sometime. read more

Love this place! It is one of our top go-to restaurants. Honestly, it is slept on because it is never as busy as it SHOULD be. Their beef brisket is great, as well as all of their sides. Mac, mashed potatoes, deviled eggs, hush puppies, slaw, pickle plate, salads - too many good ones to choose from! They have a great selection of draft beers and the service is always friendly and fast. It's family friendly and they have a nice patio for the summer! read more

Notice: This review as my others are based on multi-visit experiences overall. They are true, factual and are made public for the health and safety of the community. Ambience: middle to late age crowed. Noisy but not overbearing. Open space with room to be distant enough or close enough if you're booth sat for large parties. Service: Service was polite however, ran thin as lack of stuff. Food Presentation: food was prompt. Hot and looked well prepared. Food Quality: highly questionable as German cockroach were present. Cleanliness: Failed. For a cement floor, very open concept area it should be easy to clean. I've been in the food and sanitation department for over 15 years. There is never an excuse for pests in your restaurant, ever. If there's one cockroach, there's at least 100x Overall: I mean when you fail, you fail. No matter how well the other factors do, health and safety in a food establishment is most critical before anything. The Oakland county health has been on scene twice in a four week period. The results have been: cockroaches still present. Oakland County Health Report#: ATN#63342806 - Notso Fivestar read more

Lockhart's BBQ - Cockroach in booth area - Barbeque Near Me - Royal Oak, Michigan

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I thought I checked in but didn't. Was there with a Meetup dinning group that order a few different entries. Many got the 2 meat combo and had take home bags. I ordered burnt ends, green beans, and hush puppies. I was disappointed with the burnt ends since they were either fatty or tough to cut. Green beans were cooked in olive oil and seasonings, not the normal Southern way. Hush puppies were the best of my dinner. My companions were happy with the chili and the side salad. Most were glad that we tried this place but instead of staying to enjoy a few drinks, they went somewhere else. I might have been the loudness of the place that caused that. I have had much better BarQ. The pecan pie had soft under baked crust. I didn't finish it like I didn't finish the green beans. I will just go to another BarQ place in Royal Oak if I want good BarQ. read more

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Hey it worked for me! A nice bbq joint that specializes in Texas bbq. Or at least the royal oak equivalent. Menu has most anything you would expect from a bbq agenda and a generous assortment of sides Everything was solid although not close to the best I ever had. Maybe should have a star subtracted but the service was kind and ridiculously fast And I left completely satisfied. So they get the four bagger! read more

Fried pickles were good. Bbq (ribs and brisket) were just okay. Didn't care for how vinegar forward the bbq sauce was. Server was pretty attentive on a Friday in March. read more

I would have given 5 stars but must take 2 stars away because the ribs were not tender, not fall off the bone. Ribs is a staple recipe in BBQ and to miss cooking it slow and low and long enough to fall off the bone, it's a big miss. fundamental. Hits: the brisket, hush puppies, cornbread, sausage. Misses: pork Ribs, creamy coleslaw, veggies. Service was excellent. Diligent and thoughtful. Dined outside and it was a really pleasant place to eat. read more

Love lockharts! Food is always fresh and tasty, the servers are always pleasant and their brunch slaps hard every time. If you're looking for good, smoky bbq this is the place read more

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The staff was nice. The food is meh! The ambiance was very cold and smoky. Our goal has been to try new restaurants, we won't be back! read more

Great food and exceptional service! See the pics for yourself The Mac and cheese shepherds pie was very good and unique. The brisket was really good. The ribs were ok. I wouldn't pay for a full rack. The devilled eggs were awesome!! We will be back!! read more

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I had take out last weekend. There was Winterfest going on literally right in front of the restaurant so picking it up was very complicated. I think if I get take out again I will definitely make sure there is nothing going on in downtown Royal Oak. I didn't like that when I came to pick up the food it was just sitting on the bar. I wish it were in a warmer or something. It just seemed odd to just be sitting out in the open waiting for pickup. Overall, the food was pretty good. The ribs were the best part of the meal. The beans were tasty, the macaroni and cheese was slightly better than average. I definitely enjoyed that the coleslaw was savory and not sweet. I love savory coleslaw. It needed a little salt and pepper, but that was remedied easily. If I had to further critique something, it would be the cornbread. The cornbread was very dense, I'd say too dense. They gave us two barbecue sauces, not enough for the two racks of ribs that we ordered. I wish they had given us a little more barbecue sauce. Also when ordering there were not any prices on the website which made it a little bit difficult when calling and trying to ask for prices while ordering because the person on the phone really didn't know, he had to put me on hold and look it up. I could tell that they were very busy and he was doing a lot of things so I felt that I was annoying him by asking how much things cost. Add prices to the website and that problem will be solved! I probably will return to Lockhart's at a later date. I might try to dine in instead and see what that experience is like. read more

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I was looking for a restaurant near the zoo for lunch and have heard good things about Lockhart's BBQ over the years so decided to try it. We went on a Sunday so had access to the brunch menu. I ordered the two meat combo with brisket, smoked chicken, mac and cheese and cornbread. My dining companions split one of the eggs Benedict options from the brunch menu and really enjoyed it. I enjoyed my meal, the brisket was lean which I prefer, the chicken was good with the different bbq sauces and the mac and cheese was excellent and probably my favorite part. If I went back, I'd probably order the mac and cheese topped with bbq pork or chicken. I was not impressed with the cornbread, it seemed dry and not too flavorful. I was less impressed with the bbq sauces (variations of standard, sweet and spicy). They were all quite sweet and didn't have a lot of difference in flavor overall. I like a bit more variety. Service was great. The restaurant was clean but a bit noisy. Overall, Lockhart's is pretty good, but not the best bbq in the metro Detroit area. read more

Lockhart's BBQ - Two meat combo with smoked chicken, brisket, mac and cheese and cornbread. - Barbeque Near Me - Royal Oak, Michigan

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We visited Lockhart's BBQ before a comedy show over the weekend. Walking in, the restaurant appeared clean and smelled of BBQ. The hostess looked around and told us that all the tables that were open were reserved and it would be a 20 minute wait, which was fine. My husband then asked about several open tables that were behind us and the hostess replied, "Oh yeah, I forgot about that side of the restaurant". Weird start, but we were then seated at a high top table without a wait. The bar tender was our server, she was friendly and very knowledgeable about the menu. My husband and I both ordered a cup of chili and the saddle brisket burger which was highly recommended by the waitress. I had French fries as my side, my husband had corn bread and a hot sausage as his. The chili was very spicy and very thin, it wasn't bad but wasn't anything we would order again. The waitress didn't ask us how we wanted our burgers cooked so there were no pink which wasn't our preference, my burger was still juicy while my husbands was much more dry. The flavor all together was good, but wasn't something we would order again. The fries are frozen, not made in house. The sausage was very spicy with not much other flavor noted besides spice. The corn bread was delicious and made in house. Overall the BBQ was okay, but not something we would rave about or want to frequent. read more

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In recent years, the number of barbecue restaurants opening up in the area has increased. However, I will always have a soft spot for Lockhart's, a restaurant recognized for its smoked brisket (my fave). I've had numerous lunches here with colleagues and friends. While my order did not change materially, brisket sandwich with white cheddar and bacon, I did elect to do pick-up rather than eat-in this time. Lockhart's makes it easy with its online order system. The sandwich was as good as always. The brisket was tender; the bacon was thick and cooked to perfection, while the bun was toasted and still warm by the time I got home. I did miss the onion straws - there was no way to add it online. With the sandwich, I went with my go-to here, the sweet potato fries - yum! I do have to say that I like many of their sides: baked beans, coleslaw, and mac and cheese. In addition to the sandwich, I ordered the peach cobbler. Unfortunately, the biscuit was not cooked all the way through so I was only able to enjoy the peaches. The staffers by the bar were friendly and efficient. The sandwich was waiting for me there, near the entrance, when I stopped by - no waiting necessary. read more

Lockhart's BBQ - The roll was undercooked but the peaches were "al dente" and delicious. - Barbeque Near Me - Royal Oak, Michigan

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My first experience. Got the special with 3 meats. Brisket, 1/4 chicken (dark) and 1/4 ribs baked beans and cornbread. Everything was delicious. I bought 2 and glad I did.... The meals were only enough for one really. So the sides were small. I had a curbside pickup. There was a festival going on in front of the building so I had a little difficulty finding the spot where I could pickup but all in all service was great. Next time I visit I'll have to sit in. read more

Food was ok I ordered the brisket it was kind of dry the greens are good if you like sour spice flavor.cornbread tasty . My family got rack of ribs they enjoyed . My son got fries and chicken tenders he said they were good. I also got a appetizer of fried green beans which I enjoyed staff was nice beer was not good to me I sent back and just ordered coffee. read more

Amazing food, love this place and love going back once in a while. Always it's a pleasure to come here read more

What a disappointment. Portions have gotten alarmingly small and the quality has declined significantly over time. Apparently this is what $26 gets you these days. We love this restaurant and patronized it consistently throughout the last several years. Sad to see it like this. read more

Lockhart's BBQ - Barbeque Near Me - Royal Oak, Michigan

I hate to say it, but the quality of food has gone down hill. Visited during restaurant week here in RO, and although the Porkchop with the cider cream-sauce was quite tasty, the Caesar salad was wilted (sweet cornbread croutons don't work with this flavor profile btw), and the dessert was pitiful. A teacup sized pre-packaged key-lime, still in the tinfoil liner, for $35 I might add... Other members of our party ordered the pulled pork nachos, which were composed predominantly of gobs of jalapeno cream cheese, and stale chips. Maybe 5 chunks of pork throughout the entire platter. Hubs ordered the fried catfish, which was pretty dried out and room temp by the time it was brought to the table. All in all, ok stop for a quick bite - but has lost much of the "yum" factor which really helped the restaurant to stand-out in earlier days. read more

Overall it was what I expected. Service was great, our waitress was attentive and helpful. Vibes were casual, probably a good place to come watch a sports game. Local draft selection was nice. The sides (in particular collard greens and mac and cheese) were 10/10. The sauces were also pretty good. The reason for 3 stars was the BBQ itself. Unfortunately our brisket was quite dry. Another random thing was the bread served with the plate wasn't toasted or anything, just a piece of white bread. For the price you are paying little things would make a huge difference (toasting the bread, using pickled onions instead of raw, chilled beer glasses etc). read more

Lockhart's BBQ - BBQ Brisket Sandwich, Mac and Cheese - Barbeque Near Me - Royal Oak, Michigan

The BBR is some of the best, try the brisket and the ribs. So so good. Great sides as well

I was excited to give the place a try! I've been all over the metro area for BBQ and my friend gets a birthday meal for free. I signed up for mine too! I think it's pretty awesome when restaurants do something special for your birthday. We ended up sharing the pork nachos and brisket sandwich. I really loved the sandwich. The nachos were good, but they have a thicker pita like texture, I prefer the thinner tortilla chips. The sweet BBQ sauce was fantastic. There are several options of sauce to choose from. We both enjoyed a cocktail, I ordered the TEXAS Kool-Aid and he had the cherry mule. We both enjoyed our drinks. We decided to split a beer, too. We were pleased to see all the craft Michigan Beers on tap...support local!!! Our bartender was great. This is most certainly a spot we will come back to visit. read more

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Extremely delicious burnt brisket tips!! And plate of nachos is just enormously huge and tasty as well! Great place to have some bbq ! interior is nice with large windows to enjoy the park view. Ans service was friendly and fast! read more

Wish I could give 3.5 stars as the burger was excellent If you haven't tried the Saddle Brisket Burger you are missing out! It's a 1/2 lb brisket burger topped with candied bacon, smoked provolone, BBQ sauce & topped with crispy onion rings. It's a party of flavors & I promise you won't be disappointed. On the flip side, the pork nachos were a disappointment. Chips were stale and overall dish was dry. Needed some sour cream to help the situation. Disappointing as I really live nachos! It wasn't busy (went at lunch). Server was fairly attentive but felt like it was at a minimum (very late to ask how things were). read more

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Good BBQ! We stopped for a light dinner and ordered the pork nachos for an appetizer and the Mac N Cheese Shepherds Pie and a bowl of the Texas style chili. The Nachos were some of the best ever, perfectly assembled on a large tray with awesome flour tortilla chips as the base, they are lighter than corn style and really made the dish for us! The Chili was good and very meaty, not my favorite style (I like beans and thicker "sauce") but a good Texas style. The Mac N Cheese Shepherds Pie was tasty with melted cheese on top, creamy cheeses pasta and their awesome brisket on the bottom. The main reason I wanted to write this review was about those nachos! Really some of the best ever and good size for sharing, even for 3-4 people. read more

Lockhart's BBQ - Barbeque Near Me - Royal Oak, Michigan

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Food is really good. They need to dust the ledge against the wall in their bar area. If they do that I'd have no complaints

Not sure what happened to this place, but over 3 trips, one early in their history, one in 2021, and most recently, I've seen a marked decline in food quality. My last visit (ever) was on Saturday, January 21st, 2023 when I took a friend. We both ordered combo plates, me opting for the ribs and pulled pork, and my friend opting for ribs and brisket. My friend commented that his ribs were mostly bone, and we both struggled to cut them with our butter knives. A decent order of ribs cooked long enough should fall off the bone. I took one bite and asked for a replacement of brisket instead, which the waiter was kind enough to provide quickly and without hesitation (which tells me it's not the first time he heard it). My friend also commented that his brisket was cold. My pulled pork seemed cold as well, and had a big chunk of fat on one end. Similar to the ribs, it did not separate easily and I found myself cutting it with a butter knife. We both ended up in another spot in Royal Oak later, and unfortunately both had very painful stomach pain and had to cut our night off early. A $90 meal that ruined both of our nights, and I won't make that mistake again. On a positive note the drink I had, the Dragonfruit Lemonade, was great. Had I know what to expect from the BBQ, I would have stuck to just the drink. read more

I had a rotisserie chicken ready for dinner and no sides so I decided to get 4 sides from Lockhardts I was very disappointed in the sizes for $4.50 each There was barely enough for 2 people to split They all tastes very good but just kind of a joke read more

The service, food, drinks and atmosphere were all top notch! I will definitely be back in soon to do it all over again. Our server was Kasie. read more

I have dined here a few times. The food is above average and the service is adequate. It seems like they are experiencing shortages in staffing due to Covid. The bartender did his best to cover the bar and our section. Seems like a difficult task, but he managed. I will be back here again, I have never had a poor experience. ** I did not try the iced tea. read more

I probably wouldn't have bothered to write this but since the manager/owner/whatever was so dismissive towards me and my what was really not a complaint but an observation. My ribs were undercooked PERIOD. I'm not saying this because of the color but because of the texture of the meat in some places. I was clear I had every intention of paying but he should know this meat was undercooked. I informed him that I would just take them home and cook them in the oven. His response "that's your preference. Alrighty then. Wasn't long after my bill came. I paid left more than a 20% tip and despite how excited I was to try this place I won't be returning. They have some pretty darn good ribs up/down Gratiot Avenue! I'll stick with them! By the way the baked beans were the absolute best! read more

Lockhart's BBQ - Uncooked rib - Barbeque Near Me - Royal Oak, Michigan

Amazing service, food and atmosphere! Have been there before but this visit was by far better.

I visited last night, and it was pretty empty as I took a seat at the bar. I was greeted warmly and presented with the menu before being asked if I wanted a beverage. the Menu is pretty basic BBQ fare. It seems they used to make their own pickles but don't anymore, they also list a Carolina BBQ sauce that has also been discontinued. I opted for the 2-meat platter that's $21.00 and comes with 2 meats and 2 sides. I ordered creamy slaw and sweet potato fries for the sides and went with Brisket and Pulled Chicken. First the slaw. It was watery and basically floating in the paper bowl, not very appealing and not a lot of flavor. The fries were great, nice and crisp and cooked just right but the bread seemed like it was many days old and dry as toast. The pile of pulled chicken was moist but lacked any flavor so I needed to give it a good hit of the bbq sauce . I preferred the sweeter of the 2 sauces, though I didn't notice much of a difference between them. As for the brisket...my platter came with 2 really measly pieces which as it turns out was not all that bad in the long run because it was just plain awful. It was mushy, fatty and had an unappealing smell and very odd flavor. To the bartender's credit she saw that I didn't really even touch it and asked me about it then offered something else in it's place . I let her know it was really bad and suggested they check the remaining stock. I was glad they took it right off the bill. I am really wondering if it was the watery slaw or the sketchy brisket because I was nauseous the rest of the night. In short, the drinks are a little higher priced than most places in royal oak, a "metered" pour of Copper craft bourbon was over $17, the portion of brisket was wildly disproportionate to the amount of chicken I got, so much so that I don't feel like it would have even been worth the price if it would have been edible. I would say that Lockhart's is not "real BBQ" as they claim, or they would have great traditional BBQ sides and be able to get suitable brisket on your plate. The bartender I had was attentive and apologetic and did what she could to try to make it right so that is worth an extra star. read more

Lockhart's BBQ - 2 small pieces of brisket with the 2 meat platter, most of which was fat. - Barbeque Near Me - Royal Oak, Michigan

Went here before a show in Royal Oak with the group. Couldn't make reservations- but fortunately not a wait the night we went, even for a party of 5- but was there at 6, so early. Had checked out online menu before so knew what I wanted. Ordered a beer from a choice of tap on the wall. The table for pickles as appetizer- a bit spicy but tasty. What I wanted to order was unfortunately no longer on the menu but was when I asked - tamales with pork! I got this with jalapeño beans and Mac and cheese. The table ordered the appetizer of corn bread - said serving of 4 but honestly corn bread is such a big serving that it could easily be 8. I definitely took some of my home it was such a healthy serving. However- many clean plates at our table! read more

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We were enjoying an evening in Royal Oak celebrating a special day. After grabbing dinner, we came here and had no plans on eating. We were just going to have a drink. But then I noticed cheesecake on the dessert menu. Yeah... I can't resist cheesecake. So we ordered it and split it. Well, as you can see, it looked incredible and was as delicious as it looks. We will be back, but it will be to eat some of the fabulous smelling BBQ food. read more

Lockhart's BBQ - Barbeque Near Me - Royal Oak, Michigan