Do Not Eat Here. There are plenty other places to go nearby. I stopped by Willie’s BBQ to buy a couple of plates for dinner. I figured I would be supporting small business/east side business as well. There were gnats everywhere and I was bitten by mosquitos(or something) while waiting. I spent $ 30+ dollars on warm potato salad, ribs that look like some type of mashed meat(didn’t resemble ribs at all), and fat with a little brisket on it. My hubby threw the dessert in the trash immediately… he said it smelled funny. In addition to the unsanitary environment and the bad food, they didn’t even thank me or say goodbye. I think they knew that they gave me bad plates. They didn’t seem to care about my business and they don’t have to worry about me ever eating there again. Period. But I will spread the word! Funny thing is… my daughter warned me, but I didn’t listen. Lesson learned.
Jeremy W.
Place rating: 3 Austin, TX
Good sliced beef sandwich fpr $ 4. But not at all the best though. Bread was the let down
Jennifer C.
Place rating: 1 Austin, TX
The worst ‘fatty brisket’. First warning was unwanted sauce on beef wrapped in foil. Then the beef was tough as shoe leather — no kidding. Disappointing, but there’s always Micklethwaites and Franklin ‘s. Even HEB is better.
Nora F.
Place rating: 4 Austin, TX
I’m not a BBQ aficionado but this place is awesome! The brisket moist and tender, the ribs flavorful and the chicken delicious too! I don’t really eat sausage but my coworkers loved that as well. The beans and potato salad are a nice accompaniment but the star here is the meat. I’ll be back and will tell all my friends! You should go!
Willie M.
Place rating: 5 Austin, TX
Been holding it down for over 30 yrs. Besy mutton in town. Make sure you ask for dry sausage. Great smoky brisket. Been going there since i was a kid. Great community landmarks
Senasha P.
Place rating: 3 Austin, TX
I have been eating this bbq since a kid. It’s decent due to the smoked flavor. Reasonably priced, decent portions, meat taste is great, service is okay. This place Comes the closest to home cooked bbq taste for me.
Will W.
Place rating: 4 Pflugerville, TX
Favorite place to take kids before any type of UT game. Only place in town to get mutton. Yes, this whiteboy grew the 23 and loves some mutton
Jimmy H.
Place rating: 2 Austin, TX
A few years, two barbecue joints in town were busted for buying stolen meat. Sam’s Bar-B-Cue was one of them and the other was Willie’s Bar-B-Que. I recently had the boudin sausage from Willie’s and wanted some more of it. Willie’s shares space with a barbershop and a gas station so you could easily miss it as you drive by. You can only order the meat by the half pound so I went with a three-meat plate that is not listed on the menu. The plate came with moist brisket, pork ribs, and Elgin sausage with sides of potato salad and beans. I also added a link of boudin sausage. When I got my food, I looked down and saw a lot of the meats covered in barbecue sauce and seasoned salt. I thought that was a weird touch. The brisket was thinly sliced into small rectangular cuts. I did find an unscathed piece from the sauce and salt. The brisket tasted like smoky roast beef. There was not a whole lot of flavor so the seasoning salt and sauce did come in handy. The ribs were gray on the outside and pink on the inside. It was void of any flavor. Without the pink, I would have guessed the ribs were cooked in an oven the day before. The meat was tender and coming off the bone. The sausage had a nice spicy bite, but the casing was really chewy. It was beefy and a good amount of fat. The smoked boudin was definitely the highlight. The casing was snappy and could barely hold in the filling. The richness of the sausage played nice with the Cajun spices. I would have liked to see a little bit more meat in it because it was very heavy on the rice. There was nothing to note about the sides. Plain, bland, and probably store bought. I do not know if I could trust a restaurant that would buy stolen meat. The word quality comes to mind. If you are taking a chance on your main product, what else are you willing to do? Willie’s smoked boudin was solid, but I would rather go to Smokey Denmark for that.
Maestro L.
Place rating: 5 Lehi, UT
just a simple place with great friendly service and great BBQ.
Elisa F.
Place rating: 1 Austin, TX
I use to drive across town just to buy my usual ½ pound sausage. This past Saturday I went there and ordered my usual ½ pound sausage. Couldn’t wait to taste it so I dug into it while driving. It had so much grease… I took a piece and ate it and notice it had a slightly spoil taste, Didnt think much about it so I ate it anyway. After eating it all, about less than an hour later, while on my way to shop, my stomach felt really bad so I turned around and went straight home. Soon as I unlocked the door I could feel it coming out, I ran quickly to the restroom and BARELY made it to the toit. It was BAD. I WILLNEVERGOTHEREANYMORE! Once I get a hold of ANY bad foods, I will NEVER return to that same place ever again.
Carmela S.
Place rating: 3 Austin, TX
I was going to try the BBQ trailer just a couple blocks down but, they were closed so, I saw this place and stopped in. To be fair I wish I could give it 3.5 stars but, I can’t justify a full 4. I felt that it was a little on the high end price wise for what you received. All right time to break down my entire plate. I ordered the 2 meat plate with brisket and sausage for $ 11.50. It also came with potato salad, baked beans, bread, saltines, pickles and onions. Brisket: The smoke flavor and smoke rim on it was very impressive. As I type this the smokey flavor is still lingering in my mouth! However, the brisket was very fatty and I like fatty cuts but, this wasn’t as good as others that I have had. It seemed that each bite was different than the last. Sausage: Once again the smoke flavor of the meat was very impressive. I would come back here to order the sausage again. It really was a great quality. The BBQ: It wasn’t thick and was a bit on the runny side but, it sure packed a Texas sized spicy flavor to it. I felt it complimented everything really well! Yummy! Potato Salad: This was my least favorite part of the meal. First let me say that I prefer traditional potato salad to mustard potato salad. This was mustard potato salad and it also had sweet relish in it(I think). Overall, it was just not good but, then again I don’t like sweet pickles or relish either. Baked Beans: I am not a huge fan of the baked beans in general but, I have to say they were definitely homemade and they were good. I ate a few bites just to try them! Fixins: My meal came with 3.5 pickles and one sliver of onion. Booo! Come on I think we can throw a few more on! They did give me 3 slices of bread but, personally I never use the bread. Beverage Fridge: They have Sunkist and 7 Up in glass bottles!!! Wooohooo! Not too shabby! Service: The service was fast and it is only counter service. They do have tables inside but, I just ordered take out. I believe this may have been the family that owns the place working there but, not sure. They gave me ample napkins and silverware so, it’s nice to see that they don’t forget anything. Parking: Sort of a nightmare since there is a convenience store attached to it. I am pretty sure that I parked illegally however, I was in and out. It was easy to get in and out of the parking lot here though; not too much traffic. Neighborhood: Not that great and I did see a man pushing a lawn mower down the sidewalk. Sort of the same principal of knowing you are in a bad neighborhood by how many abandoned shopping carts their are! Come during the day!
Texas F.
Place rating: 1 Austin, TX
Fatty brisket, hideous potato salad, and banana pudding was something chemical out of a box. Yikes! I’ll not darken their door again.
Dennis J.
Place rating: 5 Round Rock, TX
this is the SOULBBQ I was raised on as a kid. All the meats are great and in addition ALLTHESIDES are great too. Not too many places can say that! And the sauce is perfect! Again the SOUL style. They have been able to keep it simple and prices are reasonable. It takes me 3 days to make it like this when I BBQ at home. coming here lets me take it easy and have great BBQ too!
Rene Z.
Place rating: 5 Austin, TX
Thier prices might have gone up a tiny bit but Iam wondering if the super nationally publicized light blue/green place on 11th behind the county federal credit union that I’ve never able to at least sample to Thier overnight and camp out crowd has anything to compare when I’ve had the awesome consolation of having the brisket and mullet without much and wait at this place.
G s.
Place rating: 4 Honolulu, HI
When you first open the door the scent just knocks your nose. I ordered the brisket plate and it came with beans and potato salad. The brisket alone was flavorful and didn’t need the BBQ sauce it was in, but I didn’t hate, together it was all that more tasty and enjoyed the experience. The attendants were friendly and atmosphere comfortable.
Mike C.
Place rating: 4 Sandusky, OH
Basically like the homey bbq like you get out of trucks downtown complete with styrofoam plates. Except it’s not a truck and has a few tables. The place is dingy and the bars on the windows certainly are not inviting. Really the only thing the place has going for it is the food but that’s enough.
J C.
Place rating: 4 Austin, TX
Um, don’t go here if you’re not a fan of the ghetto– it’s on MLK and Springdale. DO go here if you want delicious BBQ for $ 5 for half a pound or half a chicken. It is certainly rough around the edges and Willie himself is too, but who cares, the meat is delicious. It’s always awkward saying that…
John R.
Place rating: 3 Richmond, VA
I’ve been here once, but one thing will bring me back. Is it the brisket? Not so much. I’ve had much better. The beans? Eh. The sauce? I’d rather not. The atmosphere and locale are a little off putting. That said, the service was pretty nice. I also did discover that Big Red is the best stuff to drink with barbecue because I drank it too fast and the burp that erupted tasted of awesome. The one thing that will bring me back to Willie’s is the boudin. It was one of the most surprising discoveries I’ve ever had. The combination of rice, sausage, and cajun spices is perfect. This was the first time I’ve had boudin and I’ve seriously been missing out all of these years. I’ll definitely come back to Willie’s for this.
Cornelio B.
Place rating: 3 Austin, TX
I have seen it for the last 4 or 5 months on my way to and from work. After reading reviews on here i decided to give it a try the other day. I got the 2 meat plate. My pick was brisket(i love brisket, it is the symbol of BBQ, but maybe that because I am from Texas) and sausage. The sides were rather on the small side and nothing special, edible. The sausage, while very tender and good, was very greasy. The brisket was really good. But they don’t give you a lot of sauce and your sausage sits in the same side of the brisket. So it kind of soaks up that grease too. All in all it filled me up really good. Meat portions were plenty. Filled me up so much that almost 6 hrs later i was still full and stomach ached a little. I am dead set that is was the really greasy sausage. I would say shy away from it, or thoroughly drain it and pat it down first. I should have went for the ribs & brisket or just the brisket plate. I will be making it back there since its pretty close. I may just go for a ½ lb of brisket though.
Mark B.
Place rating: 4 Portland, OR
This is as gritty-real as BBQ can possibly be. From the bars on the the windows out front, to the smoke stained wood paneling on the walls. Pure smokey goodness, you just can’t get from other so-called BBQ establishments … no liquid smoke has ever been near the likes of this place. This place has heart and soul in one bite of brisket, than many others have in their entire business. Check out Willie’s, they don’t mess around.