After spending the week exploring Red River Gorge, we decided to stop by Thatcher Barbecue Company before heading home, and we are so glad we did. From the moment we walked in, everyone made us feel welcome. Shawn took the time to come over, sit with us and chat for a while, and we also had the pleasure of meeting Crystal. You can tell this isn't just a business--it's something they're genuinely passionate about. The food absolutely lived up to the hospitality. We shared the ribs, burnt ends, and a brisket sandwich, along with the baked beans, potato salad, and cornbread muffins. Everything was excellent. The burnt ends were rich and flavorful, the ribs were tender with just the right bite, and the brisket was smoky and delicious. The sides were every bit as good as the bbq, and those muffins disappeared quickly. Walking around and seeing the wood stacks, smokers, and attention to every detail only reinforced what we had already tasted: this is bbq made with care. If you're anywhere near Slade or visiting Red River Gorge, do yourself a favor and stop here. Great food is easy to find every now and then. Great people serving great food is something you remember. We'll definitely be back. read more

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great food, great service, great atmospher,great all the way around. only complaint is we were so full we couldn't walk. The ribs 10 out of 10. Mac and cheese was amazing. Coleslaw was great. hash brown casserole was also delicious. AMAZING PLACE GO EAT NOW!!! read more

We were here on a Friday night and the place was empty. What???? If I lived in the area I'd be there all the time. The food was fantastic. We both had Street Tacos and the taste was 9.5 out of 10. They were playing music from a local band called Badness that will be there live tomorrow. I wish we could stay another night to see them. Look, I'm not sure what you're hungry for, what kind of atmosphere you like or what you like to do but you can't go wrong with Thatcher Barbecue Company. I give it 5 stars based on everything, food, ambience and did I mention the food? By the way the bartender was a great guy. Appalachian hospitality at its finest!!! We're from Colorado so I doubt that we will be back soon. If you're a local or passing through like we were you need to check it out. read more

Go hungry, the portions are very generous. Thankfully we got to the area on a Sunday and after checking out a couple of trails walked in at a great time. We ordered pulled chicken with white sauce, hashbrown casserole & green beans for me and a rack of ribs, coleslaw and baked beans for my husband. Everything was great! The chicken was delicious, hashbrown casserole was great and the green beans were seasoned perfectly. My husband was stunned by the portions. The ribs were fall of the bone tender and were smoked to perfection. His sides were good, but he was determined to finish the ribs, so didn't eat all the sides. Two days later he said he was still waking off the ribs! read more

Thatcher Barbecue Company - Rack of ribs, coleslaw & baked beans - Barbeque Near Me - Slade, Kentucky

Ordered shredded pork plate with 2 sides to share. Sides I chose were cole slaw and sweet potatoes. 1. Pork was tender but only on warm to cool. Should have been piping hot right? 2. Cole slaw was ok. No flavor 3. Sweet potatoes were sweet and tasty. I did not care for the cereal couch on top though. All in all will not return. read more

Pretty good BBQ but I'm super picky and don't like a lot of fat. The hash brown casserole was on point and so were the baked beans and potato salad. The BBQ was really good, the sauce selection was good. Would love to see a spicy vinaigrette type sauce someday but what they had was sufficient. They have searing outside which we chose and the staff was extremely friendly! read more

The food was good except for the mac and cheese it was cold and tasted like water and noodles. service was great and outside seating was good. read more

Thatcher's has great food, extremely nice staff, fast service, and very dog friendly! We would definitely come back!

Delicious food! Personally loved the nachos, and the baked beans were also not to be missed!

Nice little spot in the gorge. We were wanting something different so decide to finally check out Thatchers. Brisket was delicious. Coleslaw was creamy. Mac and cheese was good and hash brown casserole looked horrible but was actually delicious. $55 for two adults and one child. Pretty expensive but not too bad. Only complaint is chips used for nachos are super hard, and they could add some more toppings (more pico, more jalapeños) or put toppings on top of brisket read more

BBQ review We saw Thatcher BBQ on YouTube and had to give it a try since it's only an hour away. We had pulled pork and brisket for meat. The pulled pork was good but the brisket was great! The fat rendered perfectly and it was so soft and luscious. For sides we had green beans, Mac & cheese, slaw and burgoo. All of them were very good. There are no shortcuts here. We finished with the banana pudding which is absolutely amazing! Thick, creamy and sweet...so good! Definitely worth the trip!!! read more

Thatcher Barbecue Company - 2 meat plate with pork, brisket, slaw and burgoo. - Barbeque Near Me - Slade, Kentucky

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Best bbq we've ever had! Super friendly folks as well. We had to go twice on our trip it was so good!

My wife and I came here for dinner after a long day of hiking and kayaking and were looking for a hearty meal to end the day. Needless to say brisket sounded like an excellent t choice and we weren't disappointed! I got the nachos with brisket (+$3) and they were fantastic. Perfect amount of tender, melt-in-your-mouth brisket with plenty of nacho chips, cheese, jalapeños, and sour cream. BBQ sauce was at every table and had a perfect blend of sweet smoky flavor with a small kick of heat. Didn't get a picture of the inside, but I was impressed at how clean the inside was and the interior was well put together. Made for a good environment to enjoy a quick meal. Would definitely come back here on my next trip to the Gorge! read more

Thatcher Barbecue Company - Beef brisket loaded nachos - Barbeque Near Me - Slade, Kentucky

I'm a BBQ snob, They have a pretty good menu. Burgoo you don't see often. Several Kentucky brews on draft. The loaded potato is a meal all by itself self. read more

Thatcher Barbecue Company - Stuff Baked potato - Barbeque Near Me - Slade, Kentucky

Love the loaded MAC bowl! Be sure to add pickled jalapeño! I feel like it's a big portion. I can never finish it in one sitting.

Thatcher Barbecue Company is a truly outstanding establishment. The restaurant is clean and decorated nicely. The food is reasonably priced as well. I had the street tacos and it came with three tacos. I ordered different meat in each one and it was fantastic. Had coleslaw and toppings on each one and they were so good! I ordered green beans for the side and I also ordered a bowl of Burgoo! Their Burgoo was steaming hot and absolutely authentic! I was so happy to find a traditional mountain recipe to try. Very very good. I went back for the hash brown casserole. Southern cooking at its very finest! read more

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Wow- we love the whole experience! The service / spirits/ food and the live music were all fantastic! I called earlier to reserve a table for 14 for a wedding party. We arrive to find and sweet Mr& Mrs sign waiting for our group! The choices were amazing and so were the portions! My husband had the short ribs and ordered a whole rack to split with my son, it was huge and looked so good and tasted even better! I had the brisket which was delicious! I also had the cider and the rest of the crew had craft beers. We had a great time and it was a made even better by the beautiful music that we enjoyed at the end of our meal! I will definitely return! Good job Thatcher team! read more

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This is going to be a mixed review so please take it with a grain of salt. Ordered a two meat entree with two soft drinks. $43 after tip. -The meat- tender. But flavorless. BBQ sauce, all tasted the same. -They served it with a mediocre piece of white bread. Literally 1 piece of stale white bread. They topped it with 2 slices of hamburger dill pickle and 3 pieces of red onion. -The beans were bush's baked beans with cornstarch to add thickness and the illusion of homemade. -potato salad was bland, and the potato's weren't cut small enough and were undercooked so it was difficult to eat. This is a tourist town, hence tourist prices. However, this was not worth the price. The portions weren't very generous for the price either. I recommend red river gorge to visitors, but not this restaurant! Also, only one exit and entrance, so everyone is piled by the door and it's incredibly difficult to just walk out the door when you want to leave. Not sure how that is legal for fire safety standards. read more

Found this place on YELP while spending time in the Gorge. Me, my husband, son and guest LOVED this place. Brisket Tacos were the best! We were saddened to discover they weren't open Mon/Tue. Would highly recommend this restaurant! read more

We came for dinner on a Saturday and had no wait time. The service was great. The food was absolutely delicious. I got the loaded baked potato and it was mouth watering. The Mac and cheese and hash brown casserole were also incredible. 10/10 would recommend. read more

Thatcher Barbecue Company - Loaded pulled pork baked potato. - Barbeque Near Me - Slade, Kentucky

Conveniently located right on Highway 11. Very close to natural bridge. Thought I would give it a try. I've eaten barbecue all over the country. I had the brisket sandwich and a quarter rack of ribs, which was basically three bones. Also had their potato salad which I really enjoyed. The brisket was a little tough. The ribs were very tender. The meat fell off the bone on the ribs. They have four different sauces. Nothing spectacular as far as sauce flavor but they were good. A little over priced, close to $30 and the helpings were not tremendous. I've had better and I've had worse. They do have a entertainment complex connected to the main restaurant. They have live music on the weekends. They serve beer. They have 3 to 4 on tap as well as wine selections. Probably will try someplace different next time but if you're in the area and hungry and want something quick, this could be a good option. read more

Ordered our food, sat and watched as literally 20 people that ordered after me were served, asked about my food or a refund, refund was immediately issued with not so much as a "sorry for the mistake" or a "we made a mistake, can we get that out to you now?" They simply wrote me off and moved along. Oh well, we won't be back. read more

Thatcher Barbecue Company - Thatcher's Barbecue - Barbeque Near Me - Slade, Kentucky

The place is clean. This is the worst BBQ I have had. The Brisket has no flavor, the beans are like paste they were straight from a can no flavor. Brisket was like a roast your mom would cook in a crockpot. The hash brown casserole was tasty I will give them that. The young lady that took my order was polite, not sure if that was the manager or owner with but she was outright rude. Will never return there. Buc-ee's has better Brisket. read more

Nice ambiance, bathrooms are very clean and the staff is friendly. The food was delicious! Brisket sandwich was amazing! So was the burgoo(their stew) Highly recommend if you're in the mood for some read more

Thatcher Barbecue Company - Yummy brisket sandwich - Barbeque Near Me - Slade, Kentucky

10/10 the best BBQ I have ever had the pleasure of eating. If I could give this place more stars, I would. I don't think I will ever stop thinking about the Mac and cheese I ate here. I've never experienced such a delicious flavor of meat and cheese together. We also ordered the nachos (so damn good!!!) and the BBQ sundae, would absolutely order both of those entrees again. The desserts were pretty tasty, but probably wouldn't get them again. We ordered all of them, the derby pie, banana pudding, and peach cobbler. The banana pudding being my favorite and the peach cobbler being my least favorite. HOWEVER, our overall experience was spectacular and something I will not soon forget. I'm displeased at the fact that I live 2,000 miles away from this place. I have been craving more since we left the place! I'm already planning my return trip for a second bowl of that loaded mac n cheese read more

Read the reviews and decided to check it out on our first night here. It's a nice place with outdoors seating so our pups were able to join. They even provided disposable bowls so the doggies could have water. The employees were a little odd but friendly enough. They have about 12 beer taps there but when I asked if they had liquor they were slightly awkward about it and made it seem like they had to get it from another location. Nevertheless, my husband got a double Jack and Coke some how. There's five of us but one of my daughters and I decided to share a "two meat & two sides". We also got some extra sides so we could try everything. Our total came out to $99.56. My husband got the street tacos (3); one of each, chicken, pork and brisket. He said all three were amazing but he was most surprised on how tender and juicy the chicken was. He is still talking about this street tacos. He got two sides; potato salad and hash brown casserole. He loved the potato salad too. Daughter #1 got the loaded baked potato and hash brown casserole. Her loaded baked potato was the size of a football!! This thing was HUGE! The toppings were amazing and it was delicious. Daughter #3 got the kids cheese quesadillas and sweet corn. She was very pleased and gave her meal 4.5 stars. Daughter #2 and I got the baby back ribs, brisket with hash brown casserole and coleslaw. The meats were delicious...though the ribs were a bit over cooked in my opinion. They have three sauces on the table: original mild and hot. All three sauces were very good and I actually ended up putting the sauces on my Mac n cheese and hash brown casserole. The additional sides we got were; Mac n cheese and corn muffins. The corn muffins were drizzled with honey and very yummy. So we have the Mac n cheese and hash brown casserole left to discuss. The Mac n cheese was very bland. The mild sauce helped though. The hash brown casserole had a taste that no one was a fan of--I topped it with original sauce and it kind of helped...but the hash brown casserole was the only item that no one finished so we threw a lot of it away. Overall, we were very pleased with the food and we would definitely return. We will just skip the hash brown casserole next time read more

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Had a good lunch at Thatcher BBQ. The bbq was good and the staff was friendly. Also tried the derby pie since it is a Kentucky thing and enjoyed it. Glad we tried Thatchers and I would return if I'm ever in Slade again. read more

Thatcher Barbecue Company - Deliciouss - Barbeque Near Me - Slade, Kentucky

I go to the RRG often and finally decided to give this place a shot. The food was ok but way overpriced considering the portion size and I've had way better barbecue for less at other places. I doubt I go back. read more

The real deal. Met the owner and I was impressed with his dedication to his craft. He's clearly traveled and picked up influences from around the country. We tried the sampler with chicken, pork, brisket and burnt ends. Each was exemplary and showcased the lessons he's learned while reflecting his own take. For example, the chicken was served with a thicker version of an Alabama white sauce and was very finely chopped with ample black pepper flecks throughout. The pork was extremely moist with a wonderfully intense smoke flavor. While of course it lacks the complexity of eastern NC whole hog ('cause it's not the whole pig), it's another example of taking lessons learned and imparting his own spin, with great success. Saving the best for last, the brisket and burnt ends are next level. The brisket would make a Texan blush. The epitome of melt-in-your mouth beefy goodness. As to the burnt ends, the caramelized bark was amazing. Almost dessert-like in that the bark carried more caramel than char. Rounding out the meal were rich, creamy mac and cheese and simple, savory baked beans. The corn muffins were also extremely tasty; moist and not overly sweet, with just enough jalapeno to taste. It's rare when a single bbq joint can pull off legitimate renditions of such a varied slate of meats, but this place does just that. The pitmaster proclaimed his brisket and his ribs as his personal favorites, so I'm looking forward to getting back to try the ribs because he's not lying about the brisket. read more

Me and my wife stopped here and wow. Food, service, atmosphere was off the charts. We can't wait to go back. Was so good we got 4 pounds of brisket to go and 2 tubs of that killerrrrrrrr potato salad! Highly recommend. Keep up the good work read more

Food was delicious! Great bbq and sides. We had plenty of leftovers to take home! It was a hit with the kids and adults. read more

Thatcher Barbecue Company - Smiles all around! - Barbeque Near Me - Slade, Kentucky

The BEST BBQ. period. seriously, some of these reviews are so "foodie" that they're missing the forest for the trees. The care and dedication going into these meats is unmatched. Shawn is literally up all hours of the day and night. No set sleeping schedule. He trims and smokes ALL of it. The only reason my man does it, is because he wants you to have his best product possible. These reviewers are sometimes pompous and way too invested in their own opinion to look around. Thatcher's for life. Hard stop. read more

We saw this restaurant on YouTube and decided to take the hour and a half road trip for Sunday lunch. Let me begin by saying it was worth the drive. After living in TX for 30+ years, Thatcher Barbecue Company has to be the best BBQ we've had in the 4 years we've lived in KY. The best compliment we can give is that they don't try to mimic TX BBQ! We ordered the Sampler platter, mac n cheese, some slaw and Peach Cobbler. It fed the both of us with no room left in our bellies. We chose brisket, ribs, pulled chicken and no bbq meal is complete without burnt ends. The flavors are so good that no sauce is needed, but you must try their original sauce..just dip your bite ..don't pour it all over. Now for the chicken, they also have an Alabama White Sauce...ask for some! You won't regret it! We'll be back for sure! read more

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Great spot with delicious barbecue, good vibes, and friendly staff! Everything was amazing, and I would definitely recommend stopping here if in town! Fast service and homemade sauces too, what's not to love?! read more

Thatcher Barbecue Company - Pulled chicken with green beans, hashbrown casserole, and corn bread muffins - Barbeque Near Me - Slade, Kentucky

Went after hiking and kayaking all day. Forgot to take pictures but the group and I got a bunch of different things. The meat platter was decent at best. I would avoid the loaded Mac and cheese. The meat on the Mac was overdone and hard almost like beef jerky. All the flavors kinda combined together like mush. Servings are huge and will fill you up after a long day, but don't expect good flavors. Have tried many bbq places around all of the Midwest, and this one ranks towards the bottom IMO. They focus on quantity over quality read more

Amazing food and service. The beer was cold. We had the nachos!! Amazing. And split the 2 meat combo. Brisket fell apart. read more

Thatcher Barbecue Company - Nachos and 2 meat combo - Barbeque Near Me - Slade, Kentucky

burnt ends were so good! Mac n cheese and jalapeño honey cornbread muffins made a good combination.

The 3 tacos recommended getting each meat with the tacos by the way and the BBQ Sundae and they were amazing. read more

Thatcher Barbecue Company - Inside view of Thatcher's - Barbeque Near Me - Slade, Kentucky

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Tourist trap. I'm a local and this was a total scam, almost 50$! After tip for 2 pulled pork meals. Pork was dry, they give you 1 piece of white bread and for me to do what with?? You can't make a full sandwich with it. Save yourself the hassle and drive up the road a little for better. read more

if I could leave this place no stars I would. first off after i ordered my food I was going to get my drink and the kitchen door was open. I was disgusted by what I had the displeasure of seeing. ungloved hands wrist deep into meet pulling it apart. As I made my way over to the drink machine I was met with ants swarming the tea containers, then made my way over to my table which was filthy. I also overheard the people at the register saying horrible things about a family that was at the other table. Instead of being mean try cleaning the place. I didn'tinto eat after seeing the hands in the food but from what I could see the meat was dry mac and cheese was crusty. Everything was priced way too high for the amount you get. $60 of food in the overflowing garbage can. I would hate to see what would happen if the health inspector came in to this establishment. I don't imagine it would be open long if that happens. read more