It's a dive for sure! Do NOT order the brisket, it tastes exactly like the jumbo BBQ sandwich. Not worth the extra several dollars. The crinkle cut fries are good and who doesn't love a restaurant with dill pickle chip bags. Lol read more

OMG!!! It doesn't matter if you do drive through, walk in or order online they can't get NOTHING RIGHT!!!! Believe me... I've tried all three options to order. I WILL NEVER DOT THEIR DOOR AGAIN!!! I could only post this review if I gave it a star. LOSERS DON'T DESERVE A STAR!! read more

We went through the drive thru after a long day at work and ordered a burger and ribs/briscuit plate with baked potato. We don't live close to this location. When we arrived home, my burger was missing the burger. The baked potato was an order of fries, and no BBQ sauce was included in the order. To add insult my husbands diet soda tasted like oil. If you go to this location double check your order. read more

Tops Bar-B-Q - Went through the drive thru and ordered a burger. Missing something. Our baked potato was also an order of fries and no BBQ sauce included. - Southern Near Me - Memphis, Tennessee

I recently started a new job in the area and thought I would try this location for lunch. It is by far the cleanest looking Tops that I have visited. The food was good and fresh tasting when they brought it to my table. The only thing negative to report is that the bean portion was very small and not hot. I'll try the hamburger next time. read more

I've had Tops once before and it was not a good experience. The sauce isn't good. It was actually pretty bad. It tasted like the tears of a clown. But I was so hungry I couldn't stop eating so it was a painful lunch break But I decided to try it again because that was 4 years ago. Ordered the Brisket sandwich and it was awesome sauce and amazeballs. Well the sauce wasn't awesome but it wasn't bad. But the Brisket was so good the sauce could have been Robitussin and I'd keep eating. That's a lie. I would stop if there was Robitussin sauce on it because who does that? Hopefully no one. So yeah I'll go again. read more

Tops Bar-B-Q - Tops - Southern Near Me - Memphis, Tennessee

This location of TOPS is the worst. To be clear, this review is for the location on Poplar beside Brookhaven Circle. All other TOPS locations are uniform in their food. Not this one. I've given this one a chance three times and each time it's not as good as the other locations. When I sink my teeth into a TOPS bbq sandwich from other locations, it is heavenly. However, when I take a bite of the bbq sandwich from this location it is either burnt, full of fatty bites, or piled high with meat and hardly any slaw with little or no bbq sauce. At other locations the sandwich is always about 2/3 meat and 1/3 slaw, a perfect ratio with an ample amount of sauce. Don't waste your money going to this location. Go to a different TOPS. Your taste buds will thank you. read more

Go to Three Little Pigs instead. Just not the same anymore, the food quality went down hill and the prices went up. The previous family owner was a business master. Very cool very fair and he made Tops famous and a favorite to all. But not anymore, the new destroyed Everything he built. They take short cuts and the flavor isn't the same. Sure they stay afloat, but for how long...... Do not have baked potatoes anymore. read more

Pretty tasty for fast food BBQ. Potato salad was a little blah, but not bad. Brisket was super good as well as the pulled pork!

The service was great and the food was fresh and delicious! I took off 1 star because all the table were dirty. We found one decent booth. Bathroom was clean and I loved the cashier. They are very nice here !!! read more

See all

Of all the Tops in Memphis the Poplar store is nice and clean. There isn't food residue left on the tables like at some of the other locations. Thee food has been hot and fresh and they actually cook the fries to A crisP at this location instead of 25% limp soggy fries at oTheR locations. The burger is awesome!! read more

My sister and I were talking about huge BBQ baked potatoes we had while living in Texas. To my surprise Tops offered something called an Idaho Pig for $4.95. It was a baked potato topped with pulled pork, cheese, sauce and sour cream. I asked if there was a brisket option, which there was for $2.50 extra. I was so excited! When I got the potato, it was small, messy, and not even a spoonful of the brisket I paid extra for. $8.14 for what looked like the mess on someone's plate AFTER they finished eating. I was temped to drive back there and throw it in the drive through window. Not Top's best work, at all. read more

Tops Bar-B-Q - This is the Idaho Pig potato with brisket substituted for pulled pork ($2.50 up charge). This cost me $8.14. So disappointed in this... - Southern Near Me - Memphis, Tennessee

I don't like giving low star reviews, but poor customer service is the worst. And even though my experience might have been a mistake, it was the employees poor reaction, lack of effort to help and the fact that this wasn't my first poor customer experience at this location. I had an event that needed to be catered and was picking up an order 30 minutes prior. The cashier said they gave my order away to someone else. I put the order in the day before and they had my name and phone number, but didn't check it when the other person picked up the order. The lady who told me my order as taken casually stated the fact behind the window, but didn't say much else about it. They said they could get another order in 30 minutes, but that was it. No discount, no additions. Since I was in a bind for time that was the only thing I could do, so I had to stay and keep the order and just get it later. I went to topps frequently because of the cheap catering, but I will not use this location again. read more

No. I've given this place enough chances and they have disappointed me every. single. time. I love Tops. I daydream about their cheeseburger. And I still think that it is a 12-str cheeseburger, which is seasoned perfectly. BUT...I do still have nightmares about that cashier at the drive-thru who wiped her runny nose and then handed me back my credit card. And this location is sooooooo slooooow. I was in line yesterday for 40 minutes (with only 3 cars ahead of me). I came here for a quick bite and left frustrated. And this happens every time. The staff needs to get it together. I kinda miss the grumpy, surly lady at the Summer location because, yeah, she might be a bit of a grump but at least she gets my order out on time and dare I even say, fast? This Tops is right by my office but after yesterday, I'd rather drive over to Summer because it would take less time. read more

Just don't. You will regret it. While the locations looks nice, the service is super slow. I ordered a jumbo sandwich with pulled pork with beans and cole slaw, thinking the price was a bit high but I was really hungry. This "jumbo" sandwich was about the size of a junior burger at Wendy's, to the point that I thought about asking if they had made a mistake. The lady besides me did. It was just small, cold, and very unappealing. The sides were good but again, very small. The table I sat on was dirty. For the same price I could have eaten better at the nearby Corky's. read more

Always a great place to eat good old fashioned slow roasted pork sandwiches. I usually get a pork sandwich. Today, I ordered the combo #2 (Jumbo Pork combo). It comes with two sides. Tops BarBQ is one the best places to get BBQ on the go! Try out this new location on Poplar Ave! read more

Tops Bar-B-Q - Southern Near Me - Memphis, Tennessee

These burgers are seriously amazing. Best burgers in town, in my humble opinion. And their bbq sandwiches (with slaw is a must) are so fire. Their beans are incredible too - bbq meat & sauce mixed in with them! Phew. I could go on & on! Crinkle fries, FTW! read more

Nice to have another BBQ place with a drive-thru in the area. Tops seems to have two areas of comparative advantage over the many other nearby BBQ places: the price and the hot BBQ sauce. The prices are significantly cheaper for many things than other places, but in some sense you get what you pay for. The meat is a bit less flavorful, the sides a bit less divine than some of the other places. The potato salad I got from this Tops was pretty bland, but I've had really good luck from some other tops places. The sauce is also excellent, but when I asked for extra on my visit here I was disappointed to see how little I ended up getting. The drive thru took a little longer than I had expected (10 minutes or so), but the food was pretty good and the price ($5.75 for a basic BBQ plate) can't be beat. Will come back when in the budget-conscious mood for BBQ. read more

Our "eat in" plans fell through last week one day and as a group our family settled on Tops. We've gone to Tops for as long as I can recall (35+ years), and we always have a great experience. My wife and I prefer the chopped barbecue at Tops to most other pulled pork around Memphis. I typically get the jumbo chopped sandwich (with slaw of course). The hot beans and slaw are great accompaniments. My wife is not a big fan, but I love the BBQ sauce at Tops. The other thing I want to promote is the ice. The ice served is the small, crunchy ice and you can buy a bag for $0.99! This is the ultimate form of LOCAL food support. Huge fan! read more

To understand Tops BBQ in the hierarchy of Memphis BBQ, it's helpful to analogize BBQ joints to burger joints. In that sense, if Corky's and Central BBQ are like the Huey's or 5 Guys of BBQ, Tops is the McDonald's. That being said, the East Memphis/Poplar Tops is easily the nicest Tops location I've been to. I've only dined in, so I cannot comment on the drive through (which seems to be a common complaint among other reviewers). Food: The pulled pork sandwich is solid. Tender, not dry, and with a nice tangy, not sweet sauce. Garnished with crunchy cole slaw, Memphis style. I've never had their burgers, but my friends with whom I dine say it's among the tastiest they've had. I typically get slaw and chips, so it's hard to mess those up. They offer chip flavors that other places dont, like dill pickle - my favorite. Price: Like McDonald's, it's cheap! $7 for a sandwich, two sides and a drink. A great deal for the food and lunch in general. Service: If you order the pulled pork, the food is prepared quickly. The cashiers have always been friendly to me, no problems. Ambiance: As I said above, this is the nicest Tops location at which I've eaten. Which is to say, it seemingly meets state cleanliness standards. It's cheap, quick, and delicious. Makes it one of my go to lunch places. 4 stars. read more

Very inconsistent. I go 2 times per week on average and I typically order the cheeseburger or ribs. When it's good, it's GOOD. SO good. But when it's bad (1/3 of the time), it's BAD. Ribs be like biting into tree bark, and the burger can be very dry too. I suspect this is due to having one bad cook on staff. I need to find out when he/she is working so I can avoid. read more

It's greasy, it's tops BBQ. Not my first choice, but location is convenient Burgers are very passable read more

Food was not so great. Ordered a cheese burger and a sampler. Brisket meet was really chewy and tasted old. Cheese burger tasted okay. Wasn't a wow factor to it. Overall atmosphere was calm. read more

Tops Bar-B-Q - Cheeseburger and sampler. Taste okay - Southern Near Me - Memphis, Tennessee

Tops BBQ is a Memphis tradition of quality inexpensive BBQ when you are on a budget or short on time. I have been to several locations of Tops BBQ and although the food quality varies from location to location, I found that the quality at this location was great when I went. I find that the cheese burgers have good flavor, but don't stand out from other cheeseburgers you can get around town. If you are going to try tops for the first time go for the pork sandwich. The pork shoulder meat is a dry smoked and tender. The smoke flavor is well balanced and not overpowering. The BBQ sauce at Tops is not a sweet sauce and is not overly thick like other traditional BBQ Sauces. I find that the sauce seasoning reminds me of Valentina hot sauce. Its a unique flavor that makes them stand out. For the sides I always have to get the crinkle cut fries and the baked beans. I like to add a little BBQ sauce to the baked beans for a little extra flavor. Since moving away from Memphis I realized I took quality BBQ for granted. Tops may not be the best BBQ Memphis has to offer, but for under $10 you can get a full meal and a drink that is better quality than you will find outside of Memphis. read more

We stopped at Tops for barbq while we were driving through town. None of us was impressed. The sandwiches was cold had hardly any sauce on it. Asked for sauce but it didn't taste good. We ordered two baked potatoes and we got one small package of butter. They gave us someone else's order on our trays. The lady taking our order had a hard time hearing what we wanted to order. read more

Just left the drive-through after about 30 minutes in line. I ordered two barbecue plates one with chips,fries with the other. Got home and of course They forgot the chips. Absolute worst barbecue I've had in a long time. Dry, cool and old tasting. Drove back to the store, because the phone number on yelp is wrong, counter girl was not very helpful asked me for my sales ticket and the food. I had neither so she suggested I see the manager Tuesday. I will. Second chance, 2/25/2017 Now I see why the line at Corky's is so long...This store is for hamburgers only in my opinion.... no change on the meager BBQ! read more

In my tour de Memphis bbq (checked out Central and Corky's as well) I'd have to rank Tops the last of the three we tried. Tops is by no means bad, the service was friendly enough, and the restaurant was immaculately clean, but the bbq was just not of the same caliber and flavor of the other places we tried. I ordered the brisket sandwich combo with cole slaw and fries and, while the brisket was cooked fine, I found the flavor lacking and the sauce was not as robust. Tops is perfectly fine for a quick, good, and easy bite to eat that isn't McD's, but wouldn't exactly describe Tops as a must-try for sampling Memphis' famed bbq. read more

Unimpressed with this location. I usually go to the Macon rd or Union Ave locations and enjoy those better. My jumbo bbq sandwich wasn't really jumbo and had to pull multiple rock hard pieces out of my mouth. Also the baked beans seemed old and wasn't a full side portion. Some of the beans were black (weird). My husbands cheeseburger was fresh and good. They typically always cook those to order. Fresh bbq is what I come for. I don't want days old or overcooked bbq. read more

I was not impressed at all. I ordered the 1/3 rack with sweet potato fries and potato salad. It's pretty sad when your potato salad and sweet potato fries are better than the ribs. The ribs were cold and did not have and bbq sauce or dry seasoning, or flavor in general. It was serious let down since people raves about this place. The potato salad was really good surprisingly. If you're looking for the best this is not it. read more

Best burger in Memphis but their drive thru takes forever sometimes. If you go inside you will leave smelling like BBQ!! The staff there is so friendly. They'll remember your order if you become a regular. It's a must go to if you're craving a burger! read more

I grew up eating Tops BBQ and dream about eating it again every time I head back to Memphis. However, the Tops at 5144 Poplar Ave left me sorely disappointed the last few times I went; I went twice two weeks apart hoping the first time was a fluke and the next time would be better. Sadly, I was wrong. Both times I went to this location, the service was extremely slow and then once I finally got my food, it was cold. Also, both times, they skimped on the meat on my "jumbo" pork sandwich, and also gave me what tasted like a sandwich full dry burnt edges of the meat rather than the actual meat (I assume they cooked the meat too long). The beans also were very watery and unseasoned too the point of being tasteless, which is a shame, because Tops usually has the best BBQ baked beans I have ever tasted. I could not BELIEVE this was the same Tops BBQ that I grew up loving and I hope it doesn't give out of towners a bad impression of what Memphis BBQ is supposed to be like. This is by far the worst Tops location I have ever eaten at in all of Memphis. The rest are awesome with excellent service and great tasting food. But whoever runs Tops needs to get the location at 5144 Poplar in shape, because the service and food are so bad there that it is SERIOUSLY ruining their brand. read more

There are a ton of BBQ places in Memphis and I don't get into the this one is better than that one debate, but I will say that you can't go wrong stopping at Tops. Their BBQ is great and believe it or not they make an amazing burger so don't forget to try that sometime. The staff was very friendly and the order took a while, but with fresh food good things take time. This location even has a drive-thru so if you're on the go you can get in and out pretty quickly. I'd definitely recommend this location and Tops BBQ in general. read more

Brisket was rubbery and looked weird. The beans were cold and the staff looked upset I was there. I would rather go hungry than go back.

Great pulled pork sandwiches. BBQ nachos are inventive and tasty but overpriced. Try your sandwich "Memphis style" with coleslaw on it.

Waited over 30 minutes to get order drive thru at 1pm. Called and got a pissy employee who told me she needed a better kitchen staff. I finally left without my food and won't be back. read more

The double cheeseburger was much more delicious than the blah pork shoulder sandwich I ate before. The patties were just the right size and delicious. The wait wasn't as bad as before, but the order didn't come out super fast. read more

I was so excited for my first Top's experience. And my excitement was almost crushed by this place. I think it would be safe to say that the staff working on this Friday night could not have cared less about being there. For starters, when we showed up at 8:30, their giant outdoor sign wasn't even lit up. While I can admire the bravado of a restaurant who might say, "We don't even need a sign!", I think it is safe to say that wasn't the intent here. Our food came out slow, despite us being able to see everything they were doing. Both sweet teas canisters were completely out of tea and when I asked the guy working the counter if there was any in the back he said he'd check and went to the back...and never spoke to us again. When I finally got his attention again, it turned out that he had taken some more sweet tea and put it out in a place we couldn't see. You read that right. He didn't put it where it was supposed to be, just almost where it was supposed to be but where we couldn't see it. And then he never said anything to us about it. The counter area was also a mess and had me wondering how clean the rest of the place could possibly be, especially considering this same guy was working the cash register three feet away. The only reason I didn't give this one star is because I loved the food. I had a cheeseburger and my wife had a pulled pork sandwich. Both extremely awesome. We both also had the beans, which I personally believe are the best BBQ beans in all of Memphis. My only knock on the food was that I got less fries than a McDonald's happy meal. I think I might try another Top's, but maybe not this one. read more

Love the food here but tbe drive tbru line is always ridiculously slow! I dont know why they dont hire more help! The other locations are never this slow! Ive left tbe drive tbru many times because i was tired of waiting! read more

Horrible I ordered a jumbo pull pork combo and they gave me all fat with no meat. I will never go back the fries were hard as heck I almost broke my tooth. They just dont care anymore read more

I have been to this tops many times and the last two times I have gotten horrible service! I loveeee BBQ and tops isn't my favorite but I still continue to try it! The people who work there act like they don't want to be there, they are rude and very apathetic. So I left and went to corky's where the guy sounded like he wanted to help us and loved his job! I'm sorry I know people have bad days I have worked in the fast food/ restaurant industry but never do I take it out on customers! read more

I am just not excited for Tops. I haven't liked a single thing I have had at any location. There is much better bbq around any corner in Memphis. read more