Well based on the other reviews I shouldn't have come here... we are currently on minute 43 of waiting for three sandwiches. I'm not even sure how the food is at this point because I'm not sure we'll ever get it. Unfortunately it's clear this staff can't handle this size of a restaurant. After 48min our food arrived and I have to say it was very good. But I can go get very good BBQ with competent staff somewhere else. read more

Sonny's BBQ - An empty table that should have food on it... - Barbeque Near Me - Lakeland, Florida

This place rocks. Good food and attentive staff. The food was delicious and good portions. read more

Sonny's BBQ - Tater Tot side, large portion! - Barbeque Near Me - Lakeland, Florida

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Went last weekend, seated quickly, super nice waitress, food was amazing and hot. Had the pulled pork eggrolls they are my favorite can't get anything like it anywhere else. And now they have peach cobbler eggrolls which are amazing too. Super affordable and walk out stuffed. read more

3 of us got there, maybe 3 tables occupied, but still waited to be seated, when I looked towards the kitchen in the hopes of seeing if anyone was going to help us, a worker who I know saw us but didn't make any effort to at least say " someone will be right with you" did finally say someone will be with us shortly. When we were seated she had an attitude that the 3 of us thought was unprofessional. Thankfully our server Oceanna ( hope I spelled it right) was efficient, kind, and all around on the ball. If not for her our visit there would have been maybe our last one. Thank You to our server, she was great. read more

Sonny's BBQ I will NEVER eat at Sonny's BBQ in North Lakeland, FL EVER again! Everytime I come here I wait forever for my food and management is horrible! Tonight we waited forever for our food and when our chicken came out is had a horrible smell to it. Jamie was congested and didn't smell it and took a bite. Needless to say she thought her tastebuds were off and as she went to take a second bite she realized it wasn't her tastebuds as I said it smelt rotten. She immediatley spit it out and realized the second bite was worse than the first! They served us ROTTEN CHICKEN and then proceeded to offer to change it for something else as I told them they need to check all of their chicken because it is rotten. We declined any other meat in fears of getting sick with what Jamie already consumed. Server came back and said that their staff and manager doesn't seem to think it was rotten! ARE YOU KIDDING ME! It REEKED of ROT! So they took the meat off the bill and still charged me for the side and drinks which in turn costed more than it would have originally with the entire meal. I don't recommend this location to anyone! So not only are they serving rotten meat but they are ripping you off by charging you more money for ROTTEN food that you didn't eat and you still walk away hungry and paid more for something didn't even get. Don't insult me Sonny's by acting like you did something about the situation when the only thing you did was serve me rotten meat and overcharged me! They need to just close this location and call it a loss! read more

This trip to Sonny's BBQ was ok. The food was filling and the ambiance was ok. Our server was the best part of the experience. My wife and I visited this Lakeland Sonny's around 1pm with our infant daughter and our friends. We were sat immediately. The place wasn't super busy. No accommodations were made at all for our infant child in a car seat. We weren't offered a place to sit her. We've been to other Sonny's locations that had a place to put a infant seat. We were brought to a table that didn't offer an easy way to sit with her. We asked to be moved. They did. Our server was great. She was friendly, personable and honest. She took all our orders quickly and correctly and was prompt with bringing items, refilling drinks and clearing the table. We noticed this place lacked cleanliness. Our drinks were served in styrofoam cups because the plastic restaurant cups were dirty. The plates brought out to use for our corn nuggets appetizer had caked on old food still. We asked for plastic utensils for fear of how unclean the forks and knives would be. The lights were also half out. We were sat in the back and luckily there was a window. So many lights were out that it was half dark in here. It seems that the care for cleanliness and upkeep of the building is not being tended to. Our food was up quick for a group of 6. I ordered a pit master picks. 3 meats. Chopped brisket, pulled pork and smoked turkey. Fries and coleslaw for my sides. I also got garlic bread. The chopped brisket was more fat than anything. It lacked flavor. There was a few decent pieces in here but I didn't finish it. The smoked turkey was decent. Not dry but it also lacked flavor. This was the only meat I finished. The pulled pork was fatty, lacked flavor and also didn't finish it. I doused everything in sauces and it kinda helped. The coleslaw was ok but after I found a hair in it, I stopped eating it. The fries were the best part of the meal. I finished those. The service from our waitress was the best part of our trip. We were pretty surprised that Sonny's offers no accommodations for small children. We had to pull two chairs together to put the car seat on. Sonny's redid the locations that are left but at this one, it seems to lack any care for the inside or the food. The food and location gets 2 stars but our waitress brought it up to a 3. read more

Sonny's BBQ - Barbeque Near Me - Lakeland, Florida

We came in and sat at bar for a beer and dinner. The young lady bartending and doing to-go expediting was a ball of energy and working her tail off. Food was excellent, the frosted glass for beer and the service was all great. Recommend. read more

Ordered food for curbside delivery, showed up 3-4 minutes after pickup time ("asap" pickup time was exactly 5 minutes after ordering) texted the number on the sign in the curbside spot, and waited 20 minutes before calling to ask if I needed to come in and being told "We never got your text saying you'd arrived. You don't have to come in. We'll be right out". waited ANOTHER 11 minutes before food came out (completely cold) and lady dropped it into my hands with an attitude and not even an apology. I didn't expect it to be ready in the projected 5 minutes, but 40 is crazy and to not get an apology or even a "thank you so much for your patience"? terrible customer service. It sucks because the food is solid when it hasn't sat in the expo window for 30 minutes. read more

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I really didn't enjoy the food... over rated. Over priced. Much better BBQ in Lakeland.

We love Sonny's Bbq! Sad they closed a lot of locations but in this crazy economy, we totally get it! We travel 30 mins to the Lakeland location and it's worth it! The wait staff is friendly, the restaurant is clean and the food is amazing! There's always awesome music playing just low enough to enjoy. We always have the big deal. Pulled pork on garlic toast. Always fried okra and the French fries are the bes read more

Terrible. This place doesn't even deserve 1 star, for starters the wait staff were very rude. Ignored me for 30 minutes and did not even acknowledge me when she set the food down and I said thank you. All of the servers had down time to talk amongst each other and they all saw me waiting yet still none of them were of service to their customer. The tables were dirty and the seats had crumbs. Locals are very sweet people and they deserve better service. Please choose a finer establishment to enjoy your food. read more

Arrived after opening for lunch and was seated soon afterwards. People in line with us were saying that since it's remodel, this Sonny's is their favorite. The place is bright and clean, with a bar in front where the old cashier stand was and lowered booths (no more high backs). The waitress was very efficient and polite. The restaurant filled up fast. All we wanted was sandwiches and Sonny's delivered. My husband had the Brisket Grilled Cheese and it was super cheesy and delicious. The brisket was very tender. The potato salad was good but on the average side. I had the Sweet Carolina (which thankfully wasn't sweet); pulled pork and mustard Carolina sauce with just the right amount of savory coleslaw on top. The macaroni and cheese was very good too. We both had a draft beer with our lunch. Not many choices available but it still was a nice surprise to finally have a beer at Sonny's. Good food and good attitudes from the workers; this is a great place to stop and eat. read more

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Great stop for lunch near Orlando Sanford Airport. The brisket was terrific. The restaurant was clean and comfortable. Kid-friendliness: Family friendly read more

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Food was amazing! Service could've been better tho. The place was nice. This one lady service was Alr

My wife and daughter went here last night and was basically turned away saying an hour wait and the kitchen is backed up . Location was not busy I don't know what happened to this location but I here from others it has sunk real low . read more

worst place ever!! i wanted to do a nice preholiday treat for my staff and it was a mess!! 1st order should have been done by 11am..it wasn't. had to wait over 30 minutes to get it ready. 2nd got it back to my store and was missing a platter of chicken, cornbread and ice for our drinks. so again, we had to drive back to get it. as a store manager myself, i find this unacceptable!! 3rd when i called to find out about my order, i was put on hold for over 30 min. and still no one picked up. my associate had already drivin back there in traffic and was there before they even answered. so, i hung up. 4th.. we did recieve what we needed and the ladys there were very cordial, completely overwhelmed and understaffed. this will be the last time i ever order from here again!! read more

It was very hot in the restaurant for starters! We ordered the nachos as a starter and I do recommend them, but it was so hot we couldn't really enjoy them. I felt really bad for the staff, they were all sweating and you could tell they were very uncomfortable! Our waitress Tiffany was amazing despite the uncomfortable environment she had to work in. We took out entree to go, and had one beer! Unfortunately, I was really disappointed in Management, they did nothing to ease the discomfort the employees and customers felt! Hopefully they get the AC fixed soon to have a better customer and employee experience! read more

Sonny's BBQ - the condiments on the counter - Barbeque Near Me - Lakeland, Florida

Had I looked toward the kitchen when I got there, I would have walked out. The filthy concrete floor didn't exactly add to my experience. If all that doesn't bother you, go ahead. Food isn't bad, service was good. Just keep your eyes closed. read more

The smell of smoked meats welcomes you when you walk in. I haven't eaten here in years because I just moved back to the east coast. Sonny's hasn't lost "their touch" ribs were tender and juicy and the corn on the Cobb was sweet and cooked perfectly. The only thing bad was that the smoked wings were a bit over cooked. Other than that it was good. read more

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Food so tasteless you'll take a Covid test... I went via drive thru, not dine in for what is worth. Ordered one of everything in the menu and was meh at best... everything was dry and tasteless. If they did a blind test between Sonny's and my neighbor's wife crockpot chicken you wouldn't be able to tell the difference... I was surprised how often they kept asking me if I wanted sauce and sauce and sauce and let me tell you... take it... The pulled chicken looked like it was pulled from someone else's leftovers, the ribs should be renamed "Sahara" and they should be prosecuted for their brisket... read more

Sonny's BBQ - Dry ribs, literally... dry... - Barbeque Near Me - Lakeland, Florida

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3 stars is just a smidge high. Should be more like 2 3/4 stars. Or, perhaps 2 7/8. The sandwich, which was adequate but not outstanding. Therefore, I dont recall it's name, was the better portion of the meal. That's not an endorsement. The fried okra was cold, clammy, and oily. Though, served with ranch dressing... I think, was in my world, new and interesting. The Ranch added as a pleasant distraction to the extremely cold and oily deep fried veggie serving. Disappointing to say the least. And, just slightly lower than I would rate the meal as an experience. Service was rare and nearly none existent. Though, on the rare visit, was warm, friendly, and attentive. Another place to get some adequate BBQ. But, dont look here for frickin' outstanding BBQ. read more

Ordered the Sonny's sampler, its been awhile since I had BBQ that good. I had the dry rub on the ribs, wife had the sauce on hers, I had the white meat chicken and wife had the dark, she had chopped beef and I had the sliced and we both had turkey it was all great Just saw they have more than one location we went to the one in bowling green read more

I was excited to get back to Sonnys after they rebranded but I was disappointed. The food was not like it was years ago. No salad bar and the salad they brought was wilted! We ordered bread pudding and after 4 follow up requests we were told they were out. Thought maybe they would have known that after request 2. Waitress seemed to not be interested in serving. Tried the triple pork plate and it was only warm and lacked the barbecue from years ago! I guess I'm done with Sonnys. read more

Management reached out an apologized for the bad experience and said they are working on a system for call-ahead/order pick-up. I've been 3 times since (once drive-thru), and would still not recommend the drive thru if you're in a HURRY! However, the food and waiting staff are excellent!! Thank you Sonnys! read more

Sonny's BBQ - Apologies for bad drive-thru experience - Barbeque Near Me - Lakeland, Florida

Expensive and mid. Grease all over the bag and packaging silverware and sides container

So what can I say. Anyone that follows my reviews knows I will always give you a second chance. Sunday at noon manager on site regional Manager on site. (The waitress told us). My wife took a picture after seated to post on face book so I am 100% accurate with time stamp. 43 minutes after we ordered or food with cold garlic bread arrived. The managers comment in a 1/2 empty restaurant; 'we are busy' at that point I told her never mind just go. She tried to come back with more excuses and tried to comp our meal. We ate the food so we paid the bill and tipped the server, It wasn't her fault. We will not return. We do continue to frequent the Sarasota location. I lay this totally at the feet of poor management. Too many options in Lakeland look elsewhere. read more

Sonny's BBQ - What half the empty tables look like. I think the word I am struggling for is ambiance. - Barbeque Near Me - Lakeland, Florida

Came here for Lunch. Pretty good lunch specials for about $10. Good generous portions for lunch. Choose a main and two sides, and either garlic or cornbread. Table ordered the Brisket, Ribs, Pulled Pork, and 1/4 Chicken Lunch Special. Everything came out from the kitchen in about 16 minutes, a bit longer than expected, but generally the average time for a BBQ place. Brisket was a bit dry, but the sauce on the table did help. Maybe because the brisket was too lean in the batch our table received. Sides of broccoli and beans were pretty well made. The beans were overly sweet though. Ribs were pretty good. came with about 4 bones per lunch entrée, but they were big bones. Ribs could've been seasoned a bit better, but I guess that why the sauce on the table helps. Pulled pork was pretty moist and soft. Still needs sauce to give the meat an extra kick of flavor. 1/4 Chicken were moist and not dry. Service was good and attentive. Will return for that free sandwich after doing a survey from the receipt. read more

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This restaurant was very clean! The service was excellent!! Everyone was very polite from the person seating us to the waitress. Our waitress was very friendly, attentive and helpful. The food was delicious. The portion size is very good. They bring you a tray with different BBQ sauces to try and add as you see fit. The garlic bread and green beans were excellent! The Cole slaw was the only item that was just ok and not that tasty. Everything else was good. The prices are decent especially for the amount of food served. I would definitely recommend trying Sonny's and would eat here again. read more

Had lunch the other day and it was pretty good overall. I am from Texas so stellar bbq is hard to find. Service was excellent fast and friendly. Went with the sampler. Brisket was better than average. Pulled pork average, ribs slightly better than average and chicken slightly better than average. Coleslaw was good. BBQ beans had a strange chemical taste I did not care for. Fried pickles and okra were both excellent. Price were more than fair. read more

Sonny's BBQ - Pickles and okra - Barbeque Near Me - Lakeland, Florida

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We visit various Sonny's BBQ throughout Florida because we can count on the food to be dependably the same in taste and quality at each location. However this is not the case at this Sonny's in Lakeland US98N. We were shocked when the pulled pork could not be eaten by my wife it was so tough and the cole slaw I had was without taste and the bbq beans were not only tasteless they were not even the same bean as all the others sonnys we have patronized. The beans were a different color and no barbecue flavor at all. We contacted Sonny's from their main website and never received an answer to our disappointing visit. Avoid this location. read more

Bad experience once again gave Sonny's BBQ on 98 in Lakeland one last try. Paid over $30 for Rubbery Smoked wings and dry Smoked Turkey. I am not sure if they cook the Drive thru customers food poorly on purpose or the cooks were tired. Wasted time and money, but never again. Do better Sonny's. read more

Horrid customer service! We regularly order to go and it gets worse each time. Ask a question on the phone? You get hung up on. Call back? You get put on hold. Ask to pay over the phone? You get told your order is too small, only big orders can pay over the phone. That doesn't even nearly describe the on phone customer service. If I lived in the valley the girls would fit the profile. Be prepared to wait far past your order time and be missing items in your bag. Never fails me and it's more dependable than their service. Stick to Smokey bones or red top pit stop. Edit: good thing I specified ranch with my wings... and the other 3 wings in my order...? The menu says 10, I see 7 read more

Sonny's BBQ - Barbeque Near Me - Lakeland, Florida

Carry outs check your food my ribs were dry and burn wasn't going to wasted my gas taking it back Bartow area

This is BGKY's news chain restaurant and it has the Best BBQ in Bowling Green; but that's not saying much. The food is good but if your are used to outstanding BBQ, you may be disappointed. The staff is very nice and friendly but some are better than others. The Turkey, Brisket, Chicken, and Smoked Chicken Wings are good. The sides are standard for a chain restaurant. However, skip the ribs. While they are flavored well with a dry rub, they are big bones with little meat. All of they sauce are on the table and are worth a try; no one stand out. Overall, it's good but there is still room for better. read more

We got take out at the new location in Bowling Green, KY. I ordered a rack of St. Louis style ribs that had a good smoke ring taste was not to bad but they were tough and stuck to the bone!! I believe they were about 6 hours underdon. good ribs are fall off the bone. They ran out of potato-salad And coleslaw at 6:00 pm on a Sunday. Smoky bones still has the best fall off the bone ribs in Bowling Green, KY. unfortunately! There ribs will have to be better for us to go back. I'm thinking about going back just to talk to the manager because I was hoping for a good BBQ restaurant in Bowling Green, KY. Not a good first impression!!! read more

We ordered meals for over 40 people and since the order was over $500 we were hoping to get it delivered as advertised on their website. The manager said she didn't think she would have anyone available. we called back 2 days before the day of the party and asked again, and this time she said we didn't call early enough. when we went to pick up we parked in the pickup area and called in like it said. This time she couldn't bring it out because it was raining so we waited and waited. Finally I backed up to door and a nice young man brought it out. After spending over $500, they expected to senior citizens to haul the boxes to the car! Great customer service. read more

I enjoy the food at Sonny's. Stopped by this location @2:40pm (well after lunch rush) on May 16 for a sandwich promo. The parking lot was only 1/3 full, but was informed there was a 25-minute wait for ANY food! SAD! Who would ever consider this location for a catering gig when the staff couldn't possibly be up to chipping a nail??! Bwahaha!! read more

Was visiting family in Florida when we decided to stop by for some barbecue on our way. The service was great! And the food was fantastic. I got one of the lunch specials and it was delicious. read more

Sonny's BBQ - Barbecue Sandwich with grilled corn on the side. Sat at the bar. - Barbeque Near Me - Lakeland, Florida

We ordered " to go" from the menu on line- we weren't sure how to but we ordered what we wanted. My sister was visiting and wanted to try this place as she LOVED the one in Florida. It was a disappointment to say the least. We ordered a little bit of everything and the food was tasteless, fatty, nothing to write home about. The sides were good but for a BBQ place the meat should be too- right? Now, picking it up? Well I called and asked if I could pick up thru drive thru for our hefty order or if I needed to come in- the woman I spoke with said up to me. When we got there the drive thru was packed so I went in- I told the guy who greeted me at door I was picking up food and he sent me to the bar- which had no one at it. A woman came out of the kitchen and got sodas and ignored me. The second time she emerged the guy yelled " she's picking up!" She then asked my name and after about 5 minutes emerged with our 3 bags and said, " ohhh we had it all set for the drive thru to be picked up" I told her I never said I was picking up at the drive thru I just asked if I could but there was a long line so I assumed this was faster- it wasn't! We won't be back I much prefer The Smokey Pig's BBQ!! read more

If I could give less stars I would give 0 as after sitting for over 30 mins and having to leave without food as I had to get my son to hockey practice. It was not busy in the restaurant but instead of taking care of the people inside they where making the togo orders the sole priority. It should not take that long for 2 adult and 1 kids meal when the food that is mainly pre done. read more