I do NOT recommend anyone going here until the restaurant owners get workers. We tried going there for the first time tonight and they only had one waitress taking orders, cleaning tables, running food, and being the bartender all by herself at the same time not only that one person in the back as a cook. It was so bad that we seen a little girl no more than maybe 11yrs old going to tables taking orders. Shame on you as owners not stepping up and taking orders and helping your staff instead of a child and waitress even said the staff as told the owners but they refuse to hire more staff. All the tables were dirty and dirty dishes stacked on the bar. And food was cold because it was sitting in the window with nobody to deliver the food and took 35 mins to get even a drink. I will not be going back this place needs to shut down if the owners don't care why should customers go there. We left and went to Buffalo Chip where there food is way better and service read more

AMAZING BBQ!! I'm biased toward Phat Turtle because it's a Chiefs restaurant....but the KC style BBQ is legit! I had the burnt ends with Mac n cheese and brisket baked beans on the side and it was SO GOOD!! The burnt ends were tender and flavorful. The sides were both packed with flavor as well! While the portion may look smaller do not be deceived. The food is super filling and will leave you completely satisfied. Service was excellent and our waitress was pleasant and quick to attend to us when we needed refills. I will definitely be back! read more

Phat Turtle BBQ - Burnt ends with Mac n cheese & baked beans - Barbeque Near Me - Phoenix, Arizona

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I waited 15 minutes, count em...FIFTEEN minutes at the hostess booth to be seated. I did this because of the sign that clearly reads "Please wait to be seated". Employees walked by me easily a dozen times, made eye contact, and said nothing and moved on. Finally, a lady asks me if I've been helped to which I replied that I hadn't. She asks me what I needed and I said I just wanted a table. She gives me an annoyed look and tells me I can pick any seat I want and I didn't have to wait to be sat. I reached forward and showed her her own sign to which she gets flustered and takes it and says it wasn't supposed to be there. I order. I wait for 45 more minutes when finally the same lady comes over and says that a big to-go order just came through and took all the meat that I'd ordered. Which meant that they forgot to put my order in and the to-go order that came in after I ordered was served first. When my second choice finally got there it was merely "okay". Flavor and texture were bland. And there was no discount given for either of the inconveniences. Don't waste your time on this place. Its a joke. read more

The food is pretty good. The burnt ends are excellent. Picking up your food there is very cumbersome. Done it twice and it takes forever.

This is more of a pool hall than a place to eat. Went there to get BBQ ribs and they were out! At a BBQ place, no ribs. The owner is an ass. If I could give negative stars I would. read more

Don't bother. Waited & waited for server. Finally gave up and left. Used to be a nice place, but seems to have gone downhill. Rather spend my money someplace where they appreciate their customers! read more

So far we have ordered food from here maybe 2-3 times and it's always been delicious. They always have it ready when they say and it's accurate when we pick it up. We haven't had the pleasure of eating inside yet but I am guessing the service would be equally good! It looks like a nice place to sit down with plenty of TVs to watch various games, etc. We are glad we found them! read more

Best BBQ ever! The owner Michael was so nice and the service was great! We can't wait to go back and try the cornbread and the blonde brownie! read more

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Just got back home from celebrating my wife's birthday at Phat Turtle BBQ. We had passed it a couple of weeks ago on the way to a wine and craft fair in Carefree, and my wife thought it would be a good place to try with the family, some of which are from KC. It was my wife's birthday, and she wanted to go somewhere that would be good for us and our grandkids who are 2 and 5. This is a KC style BBQ place. None of us had been here before. This is a great place to enjoy friends, watch a game, and eat some of the best BBQ in town. They have a room filled with Billiard Tables, electronic dart boards, trivia games playing on some of the screens, and of course sports playing. The service was fantastic. The owners came and spent some time chatting with us, and yes they are from KC. The server was attentive, friendly, but not intrusive. And as Ive said, the brisket, ribs, burnt ends, fried Okra, brisket beans, cornbread, coleslaw, Mac and Cheese, etc. were all delicious. And it was a great place to go with the grandkids. It's a place that even though it's around a 40 minute drive for us, we will be coming back. read more

This place has potential but didn't deliver on our visit. We were the first ones to walk through the doors for the day. My wife ordered the ribs with mac n cheese and I ordered the sampler. Her ribs were very tasty, Mac n cheese was good also. When my plate came out I was disappointed that everything was cold, the ribs seemed like they were days old and partially reheated in a microwave. Totally opposite of my wife's ribs. I believe if you came later in the day when fresh BBQ was pulled off the smoker you'd have a wonderful meal. Al in all I'd say the pulled pork was the best on this meal for me. Staff was excellent, a great atmosphere, and potential which led to the 3 star. I'll be back at some point to give it another shot. read more

Phat Turtle BBQ - Sampler - Barbeque Near Me - Phoenix, Arizona

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At one time this was a great BBQ place with good service. I am not sure why they changed their business model but it is now a pool hall with gaming machines, poor service, and mediocre food. Too bad as my wife and I loved the food there. We will now be looking for another place. read more

Phat sampler. Ribs. Pulled pork. Brisket. Chicken. Burnt ends. Cole slaw, Mac n cheese. Dessert was a skillet cookie with vanilla ice cream drizzled with chocolate syrup. I would definitely return here. The pulled pork has an amazing flavor. Also their burnt ends were super tender and flavorful and not hard like some places I've tried. I recommend! It's in a strip shopping center and unassuming. The hickory bbq sauce is a winner also. read more

Great food and amazing customer service! From the moment you walk through the door, you are greeted with a warm smile followed by the aroma of bbq smoke and fresh home cooking. We shared the phat turtle sampler since we couldn't make up our minds. The meats are melt in your mouth delicious and the smoke flavor is wonderful. The sides are also something to write home about from the amazing baked beans, creamed corn, phenomenal Mac n cheese, and of course the crispiest onion rings in town! Everything is made from scratch including the choice of bbq sauces and rubs. The ambiance is welcoming and inviting from couples to families. The owner, Mike, even has a game he plays with kids where they find and count all of the hidden beanie babies. If they find them all and get it right, they are rewarded with a prize. Our daughter was the lucky winner of a "mystical" unicorn beanie baby! Phat turtle will absolutely be a regular place for us! read more

Phat Turtle BBQ - Barbeque Near Me - Phoenix, Arizona

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Being from Kansas City, this is the only bbq place I will eat at in the Phoenix area. We drive an hour to eat here and it never disappoints! The corn bread is 10/10. The burnt ends are 10/10. And as a Chiefs fan, this is a little home away from home and a great place to watch a chiefs game with fellow fans :) read more

Phat Turtle BBQ - Burnt Ends Sandwhich, creamed corn, jumbo corn bread muffins - Barbeque Near Me - Phoenix, Arizona

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Great food! Great service! Love that the restaurant feels like you're at a friend or family house for dinner!

Hands down best bbq I have had in Arizona and I'm a tough critic being from KC. We just moved into a new house down the street and will be making this a weekly spot. Kids eat free Wednesdays I believe. Favorites: Brisket Pulled pork burnt ends Potato salad Cornbread muffin We tried the sampler with sides! Didn't care a ton for the coleslaw but loved everything else. read more

Matt greeted us early on. Had two minutes until happy hour ended but Matt got our order in. Got the Phat Sampler: Burnt Ends, Pulled Pork, Brisket, Baby Back Ribs, Chopped Chicken, Sausage links, Onion rings. Very Nice Delicious and Great CaveCreet Atmosphere. read more

Phat Turtle BBQ - Overall Restaurant - Barbeque Near Me - Phoenix, Arizona

This was a bummer. I was hoping for greatness, seeing how they have 4 1/2 stars. It wasn't to be. Our bartender/waitress was absolutely wonderful. The one star is for her. She alone deserves five stars. I ordered myself the smoked black angus brisket burger with fries and onion rings. The first thing she had to do, was ask the cook if they had it. This lines up with other reviews I've seen where others have mentioned they were out of certain meats/foods. Keep your inventory in order guys. The burger wasn't even a burger. It was a blob of meat on the bun, with another much smaller blob of meat next to it. It reminded me of Meatwad from Aqua Teen Hunger Force. I don't understsand this. Also, it was loaded with fat and gristle. I couldn't finish it. I had a few bites, grew tired of spitting out the fat and gristle, and just gave up. I pissed away $17 on that. The onion rings and fries were just lame. I have to believe that they were likely just something from the walk-in freezer that they toss in the fryer, and nothing they made themselves. I can get that level of lameness anywhere. I also ordered take-out to bring home for the girlfriend. I got her the brisket sandwich with a mac and cheese side, and the peach cobbler. Her comment on the brisket sandwich was "eh". We both tried the mac and cheese. It was also just "eh". The peach cobbler gets the same grade. "Eh". Sorry guys. I had high hopes. This is what I get for straying from Little Miss. :) read more

Nope! We won't be back. Stayed away for two years and still not up to expectations. Sausage good but stone cold. Beef dry and pretty tasteless and cold Cornbread muffin dry and cold. Salad was mediocre and I cannot begin to describe how awful the grilled cheese sandwich was.Bright yellow processed cheese not melted on huge thick slices of bread.......really? My fault just cannot bring myself to eat Smokey BBQ. No choice! Hubby likes it so we came in. His disappointment was a subject of conversation all night long. Outstanding and delightful service from Emily! ( not her fault the meal sucked). read more

Phat turtle BBQ is a very tasty experience. We tried to order every meat on the menu. All were exceptional: ribs, chicken and brisket. They were excellent without the sauce but the sauces they have are great if that's your preference. Service was very kind and entertaining. We will be back. read more

I don't get it! I call the restaurant to order ribs and they tell me that they don't have any today. I see Prime Rib Sunday on their website and I call on Sunday to order Prime Rib and they don't have any. When asked why they just say again that they don't have any. I order rib/sausage combo to go and while driving to restaurant to pick up they call me back and say they are out of sausage. Google add says they do curbside pickup and when I call to order curbside pick up they tell me they don't do that. And when I go inside to get my order the restaurant is almost empty with three servers standing around chatting by the cash register the entire time. What about the food? Ordered ribs twice and had the brisket (substituted for the sausage) and everything was dry. Fry's were good. Cole Slaw was bland. Can't comment on service because i have had everything to go. read more

The brisket was more than a touch dry and tasted far too strongly of smoke. So much so that no beef flavor came through. Mac and cheese lacked any cheese flavor and was pretty bland. Husband enjoyed his order but we both agree this place isn't worth going back to. Quite overpriced for the amount you get compared to other BBQ places we normally go further away. Would give 2/5 for the food. It's not completely inedible, just nothing special or noteworthy. Sadly the thing that puts us off the most is a number of the somewhat ugly responses the business left to reviews here. EDIT: HAH! See their response. I'm not talking about hate speech. I've seen none. I KNOW what I've seen. I think you grossly overestimated my kindness when I said "enjoyed." We won't be back and were never planning on it. Keep your dessert and condescending words to yourself, please. Thanks. read more

The service from the waitress was excellent but I can't comment on the food since after a forty five minute wait in an empty restaurant we still didn't have our food. We paid for our diet cokes and left. read more

We went with some friends who recommended Phat Turtle for our get together. We hadn't seen our friends in awhile, so good food was a necessity. My wife and I hadn't had brisket in awhile, so that's what we both had along with the brisket-infused beans and onion rings. I like that you pick your sauce on the side. It was very good. We will be back when we need another "hit" of BBQ and try the other things on the menu. read more

I'm not a big foodie. BUT when Mac and cheese is served and the "cheese" is light pinkish orange colored thin liquid, I got to draw the line. I have never ever ever pushed food away, told waitress and left. Pretty darn bad. Server was gracious and kind and smiling, and understanding. read more

Probably the last time I'll go here. How much could go wrong with the to go order. Ordered brisket, sliced 1/2 lean 1/2 wet. Got home....chopped. Cole slaw was uneatable... Just really bad. Potato salad had near raw potatoes. And the beans, by far the best thing, was almost all liquid. See the picture below. That is all that was left when I drained the liquid. The brisket was ok, but a bit dry. If this place is a 4.5 star BBQ place, Little Miss BBQ is 7 stars. It isn't really close. read more

Phat Turtle BBQ - Asked for sliced 1/2 lean 1/2 moist.... Got chopped. - Barbeque Near Me - Phoenix, Arizona

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So it started a bit wonky but ended on a great note. I went in with a friend yesterday (5/22), to grab some takeout. Being a local I've wanted to try this place. I've never had KC-style BBQ. Anyways, we walked in, it was between lunchtime and dinner time so it was pretty empty with the exception of a couple of people at the bar. I spoke with 1 gentleman who was sitting at the bar, he said he was from KC and this is the best KC BBQ in the valley, so I was excited. I ordered the Phat Sampler, 2 meat entree - I chose brisket & burnt ends. We also ordered baked beans, coleslaw, mac n cheese & fried okra. The Phat sampler & coleslaw was devoured by my husband with no complaints other than the slaw being a bit dry but it wasn't an issue for him, he still ate both containers. The fried okra, mac n cheese, and baked beans were all delicious. I'm not sure why so many people complain about the mac n cheese, it tastes like it's made maybe with real cheese which is why it's a lighter flavor? Also, mine wasn't watery, it was thick and cheesy. I loved it, and I freakin love cheese haha. Anyways, our food was ready to go and my friend and I went our own way home. I know she didn't like some things about her food. I got home (5 mins away) and realized I left (or wasn't handed to me) some of my sides. So I went back for the mac n cheese, beans, and peach cobbler. When I went back in, my friend was back as well! The girl that was working behind the counter apologized about my left food, then informed me they didn't have the peach cobbler I ordered. My friend's peach cobbler had to be returned I guess, so she asked me if I wanted another dessert to replace the cobbler, I declined and she asked if I wanted something else, so I snagged another coleslaw (my husband loves coleslaw) and was back out the door to go home. My husband was bummed about the cobbler but maybe next time! Our food was delish, and knowing they have a decent selection of beer at the bar on tap and a few TVs I might bring in my husband when the Niners play the Chiefs this coming season! read more

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This was the absolute worst bbq I've ever had. The Mac and cheese wasn't even edible. Meat is dry. All for an expensive $20 for one disgusting dish. Me and my mom were so disappointed.. Edit: owner responded (very unprofessionally) that this isn't even their plates. Yeah, because we got it to go and brought it home and split the entree. It IS your sauce and food. Keep on LYING to try to save your pathetic business. Maybe if you were more professional we'd actually give you another try. Smh. It wasn't bc we lived 5 mins away and it "sat in the hot box" it was because the flavor was horrid to where we had to spit it out and that's probably the universe giving you karma for being really shitty to your guests read more

Phat Turtle BBQ - We both spit out the Mac and cheese. Had to coat the dry meat in sauce. - Barbeque Near Me - Phoenix, Arizona

Dropped in for a beer on Taco Tuesday and I sat in the pool room. After a few minutes, the bartender decided to acknowledge me, and I got a beer. Their were about six or eight people in the restaurant. I sat in silence minding my own business and drank the beer, and when done left a tip and began to walk out. This is when the blonde bartender, (who I believe to be the owner) yelled after me "...YOU"RE WELCOME....!!" She had not said a word to me in twenty minutes, but felt slighted that I did not thank her before leaving. Wow. read more

We were in the area for the game. Friends we were with wanted to try this place, so the hubby and I tagged along with them. Now, I am a very picky person. I'm not a big fan of bbq because every place I've ever eaten at has been dry and bland. I ordered the 2 meat plate... had the sliced brisket ( marbled... who knew that was a thing? ) and the ribs. I was hooked at first bite! The owner saw that we were wearing KC Chiefs shirts, and came out to talk with us. Mike was/is very friendly, and very accommodating. I highly recommend this place! I am in AZ quite a bit, and will definitely eat here every time I'm there!! read more

Phat Turtle BBQ - Barbeque Near Me - Phoenix, Arizona

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Very disappointing, this is a little out of my way and have always wanted to stop in. Probably some of the worst cooked, dry bbq I've ever had. I can only think it's because it was old and dry. Restaurant was run down but the bartender was friendly and helpful. read more

First time visiting the area and this is the best restaurant we've tried thus far! We had the candy cow as an appetizer and it was delicious. Shared a PHAT full rack of ribs plate and they were nice and tender. The meat fell right off the bone Peach cobbler with ice cream for dessert did not disappoint either! Will definitely be coming back for more before we head back to Washington. On top of everything it was great and quick service. read more

Fun family restaurant. Evan was a funny server. Really good burnt ends. Themed with BBQ and cowboy fixtures.

I absolutely love this spot!! As a regular, I'm always amazed at how friendly the staff is, and how delicious the food is! Their macaroni and cheese is just out of this world. I go every Thursday to play pool and everyone is always talking about how good the food is! read more

I'd like to first start off by mentioning that when this restaurant first opened the food and service was good. Unfortunately, the last few times we have had issues. Tonight my husband went to pick up an order and stood at the register for exactly 8 minutes before anyone acknowledged him. During those 8 minutes he observed an almost completely empty restaurant. There were no customers at the bar and only one table was occupied. There were 5 employees standing by the bar talking, yet not one of them greeted my husband as he entered the restaurant. As for the food, the sliced brisket had way too much of a smoke taste, the cole slaw had no flavor at all, and the kids chicken tenders were so over cooked that the kids could not eat them. The kids lemonades also were not included in the order. We order alot of take out from different restaurants, but only seem to have this issue with Phat Turtle. The food should be prepared the same way whether a customer is dining in or picking up. Unfortunately, we will not be returning. read more

This place was recommended by an aquintance, after having a discussion about the name and thinking it was a Thai restaurant...it's NOT! and let me tell these were absolutely the BEST burnt ends I have ever eaten in my 60 plus years. Melt in your mouth delicious....so Tender, just the right amount of fat for moisture and flavor...Pit Master Liz is absolutely adorable and the BEST! read more

The food is great - the pulled pork is my favorite. I have also tried the tacos on Taco Tuesday and they are outstanding. The staff is friendly and efficient. They have a ton of pool tables and leagues most nights - fun atmosphere!!! This is gem hidden away in a strip mall off Cave Creek Rd south of Lone Mountain. Stop by - you will not be disappointed. read more

My wife and I had not been to The Phat Turtle BBQ since last year's Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl party. Since the location is so convenient to our neighborhood, we decided to stop in for a quick drink at the bar before the kitchen closed last night and spent some time talking with the bar tender/waitress and owner while enjoying our drinks. We've had BBQ at this location several times in the past and have never had a bad meal. The burnt ends are great. I joked that the first few times I had stopped by after moving here from Texas, that they were out of smoked sausage. I remember the owner Mike telling me that they made their own sausage. The bar tender last night mentioned that they had jalapeño cheddar smoked sausage on the menu, so I had her save me a pound to go. Having lived in several areas of the country with great BBQ (KC, Texas, Tennessee) and being a BBQ hobbyist that frequently smokes all kinds of meat, I was amazed by the quality of Phat Turtle's jalapeño cheddar smoked sausage. I can honestly say, it is one of the best I've ever had anywhere in the world. The texture, smoke flavor and heat were perfect! It is a must try if you like hot smoked sausage! Great job! We appreciated the great service, great food and great conversation. We will be back more frequently in the future. read more

Went to the Anthem location. Had the fish sandwich special and a side salad with their homemade Phat Ranch dressing . Everything was so tasty and fresh! Staff is so friendly and the Creme Brule is to die for. read more

Phat Turtle BBQ - Creme Brule - Barbeque Near Me - Phoenix, Arizona

This is a great find! Sliced brisket is fantastic. Sweet potato fries are a MUST!!! Cream of corn and onion strings were delicious waiter was great!!! Topped it off with peach cobbler Must try this restaurant!!!! read more

Phat Turtle BBQ - Daughter loved ribs - Barbeque Near Me - Phoenix, Arizona