Great food! Down-home, nonpretentious ambiance and good people! Prices are on par with the quality of the food. Try it for yourself and if you leave hungry; it's your own fault! read more

I recently visited Shep's BBQ in Palestine Texas and ordered a chopped beef sandwich along with a loaded baked potato and everything was delicious the meat was tender and full of flavor and the potato was perfectly cooked and generously topped the customer service was great and the restaurant was clean and welcoming I will definitely be coming back and highly recommend this spot. read more

Shep's Bar-B-Q & Catering - Loaded BBQ Bake Potato - Barbeque Near Me - Palestine, Texas

Old school east Texas bbq, served cafeteria style on paper plates with plasticware. I had a bbq chicken plate with greens and cabbage. Peppers onions pickles offered on the side. Cornbread. Everything was tasty. Service was friendly. Prices were reasonable. read more

Shep's Bar-B-Q & Catering - Interior - Barbeque Near Me - Palestine, Texas

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Great food! We had the chicken with 2 sides. Enough chicken for 2 women. Guys ate the stuffed potato. Lots of food and all really good.

Best sausage I've ever had and the ribs were on point! Great value too! Friendly staff and it smells great in there. Don't sleep on the cornbread read more

Shep's Bar-B-Q & Catering - 3 meat plate Sausage, Ribs and Brisket with potato salad and green beans. Best sausage I've ever had and the ribs were on point! - Barbeque Near Me - Palestine, Texas

When visiting family here in Palestine. It's become tradition to pay Bruce a visit. I was so looking forward to Shep's while driving up. I just hope it was an off day or something. Brisket was dry, cold and tough. It was worse than Bill Miller brisket. Usually, it's pretty good brisket. I got the pinto beans which were extremely hot heat wise. I think someone was heavy handed on the spice. Just wasn't my favorite. Okra, excellent. Shep's is just a good old fashioned BBQ joint. Employee's rushing around taking care of customers for sure. I'll definitely will pay Bruce another visit next trip hoping it'll be as good as it's been in the past. read more

There is no better barbecue around and the people are quite lovely. You must try the greens!

I've eaten here several times and can say the brisket, ribs and everything else he puts in the smoker is the best in Palestine. This is my first time getting the catfish and it tastes like, catfish!! It's not dry at all and cooked perfectly. The green beans and potato salad are cooked just like my granny used to make them. The banana pudding.......OUT OF THIS WORLD delicious!!! Quick and friendly service even when there's a long line. read more

Shep's Bar-B-Q & Catering - Catfish, green beans, potato salad and banana pudding - Barbeque Near Me - Palestine, Texas

Service was very friendly. The food looked good. End result was really bad dried out bbq. The brisket was dry, the ribs were just average, the chicken was REALLY DRY sides were so so. I won't go back read more

Great food, friendly folks, many years of serving the Palestine community! Keep up the great works guys! I would recommend this to all of my friends. read more

Shep's Bar-B-Q & Catering - It gets my fat belly some full, after that nothing else matters. - Barbeque Near Me - Palestine, Texas

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Wow! I was so hungry that I didn't even snap any pics. I was in town on a business trip and had come to Yelp to see reviews of local restaurants and Shep's was one of the first ones to appear in my search. I'll say, I was not disappointed! I ordered a sliced brisket sandwich and fried okra. The brisket was tender and tasty and the bbq sauce was on point! I'm hoping I have another trip to Palestine in the future because I know exactly where I'll go dine! read more

Really nice people, but I was disappointed with the food given all the stellar reviews. When I get bbq ribs, I expect that meat to fall off the bone and melt in your mouth. These I had to gnaw on like a dog, and the meat was hardly tender. Mac and cheese looked great but the noodles were super mushy and sauce had no flavor. I couldn't eat it or the cabbage at all. Thank goodness I liked the cornbread. Also, the half chicken was pale but tasted pretty good. And my husband liked the brisket sandwich we got, even went back for a second one. read more

Food is terrible unless you think bbq is boiled meat/fatback with a little red sauce. We tossed our fatback sandwiches in the trash, and drove to Kilgore TX for real BBQ. Won't be back to Sheps read more

What most the public does not know is that this business has been cited for numerous violations by NET Health mainly for presence of rats and rat droppings, poor storage of food, etc. You can read the health inspection reports on the City of Palestine website. I would never ever eat there again. Some of the reports were appalling and make me wonder why this place is still in business at all. read more

This is obviously a town favorite. Everyone knows everyone, lots of smiles and chatter. Inside there are maybe 12-14 tables, with your typical BBQ joint decor. They offer daily specials as well as bbq. I had the smoked Turkey and my daughter had the brisket sandwich. Both meats were tender and juicy. Those green beans: yum! I wasn't a fan of the potato salad. It had a mustard/vinegar flavor that I didn't care for. Sweet tea was perfect! And the owner and other employees were so sweet. Glad we checked out this local favorite! read more

Shep's Bar-B-Q & Catering - Smoked Turkey, Potato Salad, and Green Beans - Barbeque Near Me - Palestine, Texas

I wanted go to this place because my uncles nickname Shep and I want to check it out. The food is pretty good particularly the turnip greens they were outstanding pinto beans was a little bit on the salty side, and the ribs was on par. This place seems to be a definite local hangout as everybody comes in, and seems to know the people behind the counter, and the people behind the counter know them, so it's a taste of what local fairs like and what the local hospital. Then look like much from the outside effect. Most of the local seem to prefer takeouts as most of the patrons take out as in as it was about lunchtime, so if you're in this neck of the woods and you're looking for a local barbecue joint rather than someplace more upscale, franchise looking despite his outside, and check out local fair. read more

Shep's Bar-B-Q & Catering - A Rib plate with Sweet tea and two sides. - Barbeque Near Me - Palestine, Texas

Pkasters! I WAS NOTa BBQ guy until now. This spot has some delicious food. The links on point and the veggies perfect. The water taste weird to me because it was pure. LOL. Remember. I'm from Bklyn. It's intimate and feels like Palestine in all the good ways. Family owned. Family size portions. Family Love. If you're in town or passing through stop by and tell them Pk sent you! read more

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Huge portions at a fair price. Fresh sides that are a little salty but still delicious. I got a 2 meat to go and the container was collapsing from the weight. This doesn't look like a good place from the outside and the parking lot. Inside is just a BBQ place, nothing fancy or trendy but the food makes up for it. read more

Shep's is the only place I go when I want bbq in east Texas. They have a nice selection of smoked meats - brisket (chopped or sliced), chicken, sausage, ribs. Chicken fried steak is available as well. Sides include turnip greens, Mac & cheese, fried okra, green beans, corn on the cob to name a few. Peach cobbler for dessert. You can get cornbread or regular bread with your meal. Service is fast & friendly. This place is full of charm and the food is outstanding! Portions are large so expect to take some home. read more

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On a recent road trip to Louisiana, cutting through southeast Texas we came across this great eatery. It was Friday night and catfish was the special. And yes it was special! Crunchy on the outside, soft and meaty on the outside. No thin straps here, hearty thick pieces. Served with tartar and cocktail sauce. Our other entree for dinner was the Mailman, chopped brisket and sausage with onions and peppers served over a bed of fries, topped with shredded cheese. It was a full plate! So good and flavorful! Generous portions of both dishes. Friendly and inviting staff. We didn't get to try all of their sides but the ones we had were very good. Can't wait to get back. If you're passing through or need a reason to get out of the house, go to Shep's, you won't be disappointed!! read more

This is a good bbq place. The chicken is very juicy and the brisket is tender. Ribs are okay, not bad. I saw a reviewer mentioned water, so here's my clarification on water-it is Texas city water, nothing special, but I'm not deducting stars because of water of which the place cannot control. read more

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Outstanding service and BBQ. Used Shep's catering service and everything was very good. Recommend using Shep's BBQ for next party!!

Absolutely delicious! Total hole in the wall place but finger lickin GOOD! i got the ribs my husband got the Hercules, we both really enjoyed it. The BBQ sauce is so good i wanted drink it Great place to stop traveling from Texas to Georgia. GOD bless America!! read more

Delicious!!! We were told by one of the locals this was a place to try and we were so glad we did.

Great food and service. I ordered the brisket sandwich, green beans and Mac and cheese for the side. Great place to eat BBQ in Palestine TX

Best bbq anywhere around! They have a dish called the mailman where they pile diced brisket, sausage, and onions on top of French fries. Cheese and jalapeños (if you like) on top. I moved away from palestine, but visit once a month and always stop here to eat this dish! read more

Shep's Bar-B-Q & Catering - Mailman... this is a huge container, almost more than you can eat in one sitting. Delicious - Barbeque Near Me - Palestine, Texas

My place for the best catering service in Palestine for bout 20 years or more. He's never let me down. Same professional service.

The food was just what I was looking for. The staff was extremely friendly and helpful and the dining room was very clean and cheerful.

Didn't look like much when driving up to it and the reviews were mixed...but we are SO GLAD we stopped. Hubby got a BBQ plate and since it was Friday-I got the catfish plate. OMG- best catfish I've had in a long time. Light, perfectly cooked & not greasy. Only thing that would had made it better would have been homemade tarter sauce. But that didn't stop me. Cleaned that plate up. Hubby said BBQ was pretty tasty, beans were really good too. Tater salad was ok. Nice folks behind the counter too read more

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I'm from Mississippi and have rarely found good bbq in TX and this wasn't the exception. Food was relatively flavorless. Tea was as bad as I've ever had, didn't even taste like tea. To cost $20 it sure was disappointing. Green beans had a better taste than anything else i ate and the potato salad was a close second and the meat was dead last. read more

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My husband and I ate here today for the first time. We both got ribs and they was delicious! I can't believe this awesome food has been just down the road and we just now tried it. We will be back!! Looking forward to trying the brisket and the fried catfish. The owner is so friendly and makes you feel welcome when you come through the door. read more

Shep's Bar-B-Q & Catering - Ribs, Cole Slaw and Okra - Barbeque Near Me - Palestine, Texas

I was on a business road trip and needed a place to eat at lunch. I Googled and found this place and it came pretty highly recommended, so I planned my lunch stop around it. This place is very small, and there is one man doing all the work and a lady taking money, so you will wait if there is a line and I suspect from what I saw, there usually is. I do not mind waiting in line for great BBQ, but this was not great. I will call it good or average. I have had a lot better and some worse. I got the sausage and sliced brisket plate with beans and potato salad. I will say they give you plenty of meat and sides, but you are paying $18. First the brisket and sausage were less than warm and they didn't command a lot of flavor. The beans (I love beans) had little flavor even when I added pepper sauce. The potato salad was good, but pretty plain in general. Bottom-line is I would not stop here again. The wait is not worth the quality. read more

I've eaten here a few times when I pass through the BBQ is amazing the sides are fantastic so if you want consistency and flavor this is the real deal real Texas BBQ good job Shep's team. I will see you soon read more

Best bbq in East Texas friendly service Bruce will take good care of you sides are the bomb

Oh my word! Delicious food. Great portions Didn't catch the womans name but one of the sweetest souls. Observed her help a patron carry her food to her car. I highly recommend. Most excellent read more

Amazing authentic texas barbecue with the friendliest staff. I've lived in Texas all of my life and this is one of the consistently best barbecue places I know of. read more

This review is a review of two different occasions. 1. So my husband and I wanted some BBQ and the best in town besides my husbands of course is Shep's. Anyway due to social distancing right now they are only allowing 7 ppl in line at a time. We had to wait in the car for 10-15 mins to go in which wasn't bad. They had their social distancing lines marked for customers which was a plus. The staff was friendly. I inquired about the BBQ chicken on the two meat plate and was told that it would be a half chicken. To my surprise that was a lot of meat. I ordered the chicken and the beef. Everyone should try their beef. I had never had their turnip greens so I decided to try them also with the fried okra. My husband ordered The Hercules which is a combination of chopped beef, hot link, and sausage with onions and jalapeños. All ingredients are chopped together and their signature sauce is mixed into it. It's a huge sandwich. While we were checking out the cashier asked if I would like some cornbread. I don't like everyones cornbread but I was so surprised that she suggested it that I gave it a try. We had to get the order to go and we ate at home. So happy I did because Everything was delicious. The greens seemed like they came out of a can but they fixed them up and they were soooo good. The cornbread was sweet like jiffy and really moist. I ended up eating the greens and cornbread first. The chicken was juicy which I wasn't expecting. The beef was dry maybe because they forgot to add my sauce on the side but it was still good. There was so much food on my plate that I had 2 servings and still had some extra to share. My husband state that he was barely able to finish his sandwich. 2. So I was so impressed the first time that I went back and ordered the same thing. Well it didn't taste the same the portions were different. I was highly disappointed. Also I given all white meat which was separated into two different pieces, a wing/breast combo. One was dry and appeared like it had been sitting under the heat lamp too long. The other piece appeared juicier but I haven't tried it yet. The turnip greens were not as seasoned therefore they just tasted like caned greens nothing special about them. They did not separate my greens from everything else in my order so all my food had bland green juice on them which made my fried okra soggy. But the brisket was very juicy and tender this time. They also remembered my sauce on the side. Which did help the dried chicken. My overall experience was good I just wish the quality of food was consistent. Will continue to highly recommend eating here and I will continue to eat here as well. read more

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This is a fun old BBQ place that needs to work a bit on the flavors and rubs. I had a sampling of sausage, ribs, brisket and meatloaf. The food was all cooked properly but none really had a commitment to any flavor. There is a mild smoke taste but it is hard to tell what wood is used. The sauce is ok - a bit catsup-y and the sides are bland as well. The food was more like cooked meats than BBQ. Even a bit of pepper would help most of the meats. Staff was friendly enough and service was fast. Pricing is very fair. read more

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Food purchased was attractive & good. Pickup service was very prompt. Driving on parking lot I felt the ambience outside with children & their moms was inviting & mpressive. read more

Shep's is one of those great little places you come across in small towns every once in a while. Their ribs are my favorite and some of the best I've had anywhere in TX. Sides are also great. I really like their marinated cucumber and tomato salad. Don't pass by just based on appearances--the food is worth stopping in for. read more