Average bbq, not expecting brisket to be tough and dry. Will try again just to see if that was an average lunch

I had been craving BBQ Rib tips (Chicago style) for a week. I came to Tom's because it's only 5 minutes down the street, and a friend recommended it. Very casual and unassuming restaurant. The staff is friendly and welcoming. Great service. Had a table full of PCS deputies sitting next to us. Clearly they love good eating too. The rib tips dinner plate with potato salad and a side of cornbread were delicious! I am definitely coming back. read more

Tom's BBQ - Rib tips (spicy), potato salad, lemonade. And an order of cornbread. - Barbeque Near Me - Mesa, Arizona

Excellent BBQ, brisket and pork. Very friendly staff; owner greeted us, too! Discussed their Friday special and he actually had the kitchen fix us 2 fish fillets. Excellent, favorable breading and non oily! A definite redo! read more

While staying a few days in Mesa, my friend and I thought we'd stop at Tom's for dinner. Boy are we glad we did! It was hopping Friday night, but we were greeted by Rick as we entered. As first time visitors, he gave us some great suggestions and made us feel welcome. We approached the counter to order. The young man taking orders was super friendly and helpful. He made us feel right at home. Now for the real reason you are reading this review ... the food. I ordered the beef tips with "hot" bbq sauce. They were delicious! The sauce wasn't really all that hot, but it had a nice little zip to it. The mac-and-cheese side was amazing. My friend ordered an half rack of ribs with regular sauce and said they were amazing. Rick came to check on us to make sure things were good. We noticed him visiting with/helping all the diners in his restaurant that night. Pros: Cute atmosphere Friendly Delicious food Attentive staff Cons: I couldn't finish my meal because there was so much! (Is that really even a legitimate con, though?) I'd definitely stop again if my travels return me to Mesa! read more

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Really average. Honestly. None of their dishes stick with you or stand out. Not in a good way or a bad way. If you're starving and need a bite, it's not bad. It just doesn't do what BBQ is supposed to do to you. So be warned. If you want the blow you away experience, this isn't the spot. If you just want something to eat, it's not bad. read more

Tom's BBQ - A little of everything - Barbeque Near Me - Mesa, Arizona

Went to Tom's BBQ last night. My husband ordered the Italian beef sandwich, he's had it 3 times now. He said that it is just as good as Portello's BBQ beef. I ordered the BBQ pork sandwich, and it was yummy. We will definitely keep going back. read more

I ordered spareribs, baked beans and green beans with bacon to be delivered to my apartment last night. ( I was just having a hankering for spareribs.) the first thing that popped up was Tom's and it was the closest to me so I ordered from there and I will order from there for the rest of my time being here because they are the best ribs ever!! fall off the bone, Delicious! Fair price for such awesome food!! read more

NO BUTTS ABOUT HOW GOOD THIS BBQ IS!!! Tom's BBQ is truly a steeple if you enjoy barbecue food. Depending on your meat choice, (I enjoy rib tips) the meat falls right off the bone and into any delicious homemade sauce. With multiple side dishes to choose from, my o my complaint is that I don't have a bigger stomach. When eating at Tom's, ask for Stephanie because seeing her is the honey on top of bomb cornbread as she is always so happy and smiling! Belly full, heart so glad!!! read more

Edited 2 days later: It was 2 stars, and I am putting it up to 4. Rick was very kind and reached out with a DM. He was surprised to read that I did not get an offer to correct the below issue from the woman on the phone. I stopped in today to swap out the corn bread. (I'll comment at the bottom why I am making such a big deal about the cornbread if you want to read it.) The girl at the counter deferred to the other woman. When I mentioned I wanted to swap my cornbread for their real corn bread, I was told, "It IS real corn bread. I saw your YELP review." She proceeded to request 2 orders for me and walked away. After a few minutes, an appropriate wait time, I was handed a lot of this wonderful, warm, yummy goodness by the young woman assisting at the counter. I thanked her and promised to change my review. As for the other woman, obviously, I was being petty, I guess. Original review: Typically, it's my favorite BBQ close to home. Almost a comfort food. Last night we had take out. The burnt ends were to dye for, the beans, so scrumptious. Then there was my all-time favorite, the corn bread. I finished my meal, anticipating the sweet, slaty goodness of the corn bread only Tom's makes this way. So good, I often go in just for my corn bread fix. Last night was different. It wasn't that candied corn sweet deliciousness. It was dry, salty, and even crumbly, unlike the corn bread I fell in love with. The large order I bought last night, and is devoured by the end of the meal, sits in my refrigerator with 1/2 of 1 slice of the 4 gone. It was SO disappointing. I called the restaurant today. I asked if the recipe had changed and was informed it had not. Then I asked why last night was so disappointing. I was informed after the chef was spoken to by the nice lady that answered the phone, that they had a catering order at another store, and had a lot of leftover cornbread. (Different recipe) Instead of throwing it out, they transferred it to my restaurant and sold it to me and others. So here I sit with several dollars of corn bread that I will end up throwing in the garbage and a restaurant that offered me an "I'm sorry." No offer to replace my corn bread. Just feels like also what? We don't care if you didn't get what you ordered. Just come back and buy more." I did not appreciate the lie by omission. If we ever go back, I will be asking about every recipe and probably asking for a sample as they have lost my trust and my loyalty. Why the cornbread? As so many are feeling the financial pressures of the rapidly increasing cost of living in this great state, (even our gas price almost matches California ), we cannot afford to go out to dinner more than 1 or 2 nights a month. It is a very special occasison on the nights we can dine out or get take out. BBQ for a family of 4 exceeds $80-$100. It is not a small decision when we get to have BBQ.l, when In n Out is so much more affordable. Obviously, we are not the regular customers that they love. We are the discriminating customers that give a restaurant our patronage because we LOVE their food. To our family, the cornbread at this place is as good as the burnt ends. It is part of the reason we go. read more

Great atmosphere Great food Great service Fast friendly and would stop by again! I ordered the 3 rib plate which came with a corn and roll for the lunch special. The ribs were tender and the bbq sauce was very flavorful! Thanks crew at Toms. Well done read more

Tom's BBQ - Barbeque Near Me - Mesa, Arizona

This place always cures my cravings for good fried fish. I've had other items here that have all been great. read more

Tom's BBQ - Daily specials - Barbeque Near Me - Mesa, Arizona

First time trying Toms BBQ. Not impressed. We ordered to go a half rack meal with BBQ beans and coleslaw as a side. And Toms pride and joy "1/2 pound sausage grilled French roll, smothered in caramelized onions, cheddar cheese, sport peppers and mustard"! Let's start with the ribs. They were OK looks like they pull them out of a warmer and half heartedly brush some sauce in them. They were tender and the rub they use tastes good. 1/2 rack was 5 bones for $19.99 coleslaw was hot not warm but hot tasted OK I think it would of been better served cold we tossed it out.The beans were good nice BBQ taste more sauce then beans. Toms pride and Joy was not smothered in caramelized onions as described. More a small sprinkling of onions far from caramelized. sausage was also missing mustard. The sausage was very flavorful and snap when you bite. The French bread roll was fresh and very nice. Not sure if I will try again. read more

I will never be back after my experience today. The woman handing me my bag expected me to tip 20% on takeout, and when I didn't the woman exceedingly rude to me to the point where I will never walk in this restaurant again. read more

We ordered fish dinners from Tom's BBQ, Mesa last night. Grub Hub delivered it to us. The fish is very good, french fries were a bit soggy, but understood when they are delivered. What we were most upset about is there were no condiments with the dinners. With fish it's assumed you will get tartar sauce for the fish, catsup for the fries. I'd also requested malt vinegar. I called Tom's and complained about this and a nice girl answered, but said "oh, sorry, we forgot". That was it. We spent $45.00 for 2 fish and chips and really they didn't care that we were unhappy. read more

Stopped in on a Sunday afternoon and the place was nice and cool inside. There were a few people but it wasn't too loud, the guys working were well mannered and quick! I got the bbq nachos and they were just what I had been craving. The bbq sauce was great, and the meat was amazing! We will definitely be returning. read more

After working in the BBQ industry I had kind of gotten burned out on eating it until we stopped in on Saturday for an early dinner. We've driven past this place tons of times since it's near our home and I'm glad we did. This is a really cute place indoors they have a simple bar area where drinks and beer are obviously made it has that open concept so it flows with their dining room which is very smart who doesn't like alcohol with yummy BBQ right? I ordered a brisket combo that came with two sides. Now the brisket had that yummy, smoked BBQ taste that everyone likes in their meat it was tender and very flavorful. My sides that I selected was coleslaw and mac and cheese that too was very good the mac and cheese was shells with a cheese sauce and honestly I wasn't a fan of the mac and cheese at all it fell short in the flavor department. My combo came with a roll and land o lakes butter. When ordering I noticed that they also sold sausage who doesn't like a good smoked sausage right? They had two choices regular and spicy since I'm half Mexican I went for the spicy sausage and fell in love it was tastier than my first date back in junior high school it's definitely a must try item that they sell. My boyfriend ordered a pork rib combo that came with two sides so we got BBQ baked beans and green beans for him. Now then baked beans were definitely something that would give Boston a run for their money they were absolutely fantastic the BBQ baked beans were definitely a 5 star all by themselves. The green beans were definitely not canned by any means but I couldn't rule them out as being frozen but those to were superb. Tom's BBQ has a nice selection of different sauces to try what we would like to see is a nice mustard sauce whoever being that we do love HOT we ended up buying a bottle of their Chipotle/ Habanero sauce that stuff taste like liquid gold. All in all our first experience here was amazing and definitely worth being regular repeat customers read more

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Great staff fun place food always good. Great fish fry, Italian beef better than the "Chicago" place.

Always love the Chicago dogs & potatoe salad. The customer service is always great too. They also have a bar if you wanna hangout for a drink or two. 10/10 read more

Went for fish on Friday afternoon with my parents. Ordered a combo with Fish, shrimp and brisket. The meal was splendid! The fish was very fresh!!! The place was starting to get crowded @4pm, at this point it got a bit wild. I would suggest getting there at 3:30 for an early Friday dinner. The owner was very cordial and visited our table a few times in the hour we were dining. Will return every time I visit! read more

Tom's BBQ - Done! - Barbeque Near Me - Mesa, Arizona

The food was prepared to order and was exceptional with even, light breading on the fish and was reasonably priced. Service was very friendly and prompt. Ambiance was clean and bright. The tables were evenly spaced and there was plenty walk room. read more

We recently visited Tom's BBQ., for lunch. Things I liked were a very cheerful and helpful counter person. My chopped brisket sandwich was delish. Plenty of space to sit, nice music. Things I wish they had were a Coke Zero option on their fountain drinks. French fries that didn't sit in a greasy, limp pile. Better tasting Cole slaw. Cornbread that was light and fluffy, not damp and dense. I know these folks have been in business for a long time. Sometimes that's when attention to details becomes complacent. The barbecued brisket is really good, but they need to reexamine some of their side dishes if they want to remain distinctive over other BBQ restaurants. read more

Best bbq I've had in awhile staff was really friendly and had great suggestions I'm gonna bring my family next time

Great burnt ends! Got two pounds plus a few sides for my recent birthday for take-out and they were delicious. In addition the green bean side is an excellent pick to get. I put in my order a few days in advance and they had everything ready to go the moment I walked in for pick-up. read more

Brisket was chewy; chicken was dry and tough; mashed potatoes were decent. The location by Mill and Baseline is pretty good; this place was a disappointment. Def not with the $28 we paid. read more

I visited Tom's BBQ primarily because it was conveniently located to where I was at the time. I saw a few reviews and decided I'd try it. My initial thought was to try the brisket nachos but after getting to the restaurant and overhearing the man in front of me order the fried fish I decided since this was Friday and fried fish is a southern Friday tradition, I would go with it. When I asked about the fish, I was told it would be a Bosco Fish with breaded covering. I am from the south, and I am accustomed to fish covered with cornmeal, and a name I can recognize. My initial thought was no, but another lady stepped up and said they had catfish covered in cornmeal. I said yes to that option. The fish was fried crisp the way I like it and well seasoned with fresh fries and two hush puppies. Being from Texas, and food tends to be larger than necessary, the size of the hush puppies were a little disappointing. Overall the fish dinner was more than enough and very good. Although small, the hush puppies were satisfying. My visit was around 2 PM and there were not many patrons in the restaurant but everyone seem to enjoy their meal. The environment with its long bar, is clearly set up to be more festive for the evening crowd. read more

Tom's BBQ - Barbeque Near Me - Mesa, Arizona

This is darn good BBQ! After an afternoon on motorcycles, our group stopped in for lunch. I had the brisket and pulled pork sandwich. It was tender and juicy and the sauce was on point. Can't wait to go back. read more

Well, this place was a beautiful surprise on our girls trip to AZ! I'm a bbq lover! This place did not disappoint me. First of all the server was amazing. Personality plus & she gave us a complimentary basket of these amazing spiral potato chips with dipping sauce. I ordered ribs & chicken 2 meat combo with potato salad, Mac & cheese and I added baked beans. Not only was the meat smoked perfectly, but these sides were delicious as well! The kicker is my friend that is the pickiest eater is still raving about the fried fish meal she had there! I wish we had a Tom's in CT! I'd save myself a lot of hours smoking my own meat if that were the case! read more

Tom's BBQ - Barbeque Near Me - Mesa, Arizona

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The food is 4 star. Close to KC BBQ, but the pricing is too high. $15 for a pulled pork sandwich and 2 sides.

WOW! I had the pulled pork sandwich and still can't believe I ate the whole thing! It was huge!!! You get your money's worth here! Not fatty either! Fried pickles were great as well! My friend had the fish/shrimp basket and fried mushrooms! Large servings there too and great tasting!!! We will be back! read more

I think we are regulars now lol. It's convenient in location. We use to live by the one on Country Club and Southern. Never went in. So we decided to visit the one in McKellip. We Love it. Food is good, staff is amazing. Lisa, Stephanie and Dominic are the ones I know personally, but my husband knows everyone lol. We are here almost every Thursday and Friday. They have daily specials so Thursdays are rib tips and Friday is fish fry of course. They have a bar with selected alcoholic beverages. (But,I'm a beer drinker anyways) and they have my beer on tap!!! They do practice Covid policies and I don't go anywhere I feel safe. But like I said I'm here almost every Thursday and Friday. read more

Tom's BBQ - Behind the bar!! - Barbeque Near Me - Mesa, Arizona

Never Again! While ordering over the phone, I was trying to order bone in chicken as a meat choice with the $45 dollar family dinner (picture attached), she starts to argue with me that it's not an option and if I want that she is going to charge me extra. I explained it was on the menu and it should be honored, so she agrees to but in an extremely passive type way. We get there literally right on the 20 minute mark, as we got told. So no time for our food to get cold right? Guess again... only thing warm was the sides. We live maybe 3 miles away, I think less. And guess what, no bone in chicken. Well played... Rib tips is what was ordered, what felt like beef jerky is what was served. Other employee that rang us up was awesome! He deserves a raise. read more

Tom's BBQ - Menu Family Combo Dinner - Barbeque Near Me - Mesa, Arizona

The best local spot. I've been coming g here for years and have always liked it. Food is amazing bbq sauce is great too.

Stopped by at the innings music festival. Definitely some of the best Mac n cheese I've ever had. read more

Tom's BBQ - Mac n cheese - Barbeque Near Me - Mesa, Arizona

Ordered Postmates & it was delicious!! Only recommendation is that the sides portions are small for the shareable meals. Order the spicy BBQ sauce on the side for an extra kick! read more

I was going to give fewer stars, but it was because I misunderstood what BBQ is supposed to taste like. So, all in all, a nice place.

If you woke up this morning and thought to yourself, "man, I could sure go for some mediocre bbq and a condescending waitress!" Then this is the place for you ha ha! I had the rib tips, the meat was okay, and it's possible that maybe Chicago style just isn't my thing, I prefer my bbq sauce cooked on my bbq instead of poured over the top afterwards. Also had the Mac and cheese, not totally sure I didn't just eat Velveeta shells and cheese. The coleslaw was decent, and the cornbread was alright. Now to the waitress, we had a large party, about 15 of us, so it's possible that she was overwhelmed (we weren't pushy or in a hurry so I'm not sure why that would have been the case, but trying to give the benefit of the doubt). Everyone with our group got the same vibe, she was just kind rude and condescending, I don't know how else to describe it. She spoke with everyone like they were a child, and we were certainly not lol. read more

Best BBQ pulled pork west of the Mississippi!! Being a native of the heart of BBQ country (Memphis, TN), finding good BBQ is one of my high priorites when I move to a new area. I feel so fortunate to have found Tom's. The food is flawless and the employees are kind and helpful. And I have to give 6 stars to the pecan pie. I have recently moved to Pearl, MS and can get great BBQ all over the place, but When I lived in Chandler Tom's was my go-to for my BBQ fix!!!! read more

This BBQ restaurant has always been our favorite in Mesa. We took a large group of family members here on Friday, including my mom, who uses a wheelchair. We sat outside on the patio, and the staff was friendly and extremely helpful. They made sure our mom was warm and cozy. The food was great too! Come here for the food and the awesome waitstaff! read more

Haven't had a single thing here I didn't like! Everything is tasty and comes out fast!

Just based off the service and the warm friendly staff this place is a 5 star. The food being delicious is just the icing on the cake. Don't forget to try the fish. Yes the fish, even though it's a bbq spot the fish is amazing. read more