Larry J’s BBQ Cafe

The food was pretty solid bbq, but with these complaints:
— The service was pretty slow. The owner/​manager was busy yelling at an employee. This is always a turn-​off. He appeared to be understaffed with a long line forming at noon. He should be ready for the lunch crowd.
— I got a pulled pork sandwich and asked to add North Carolina sauce (which I was charged for). I walked back to the office, opened the sandwich and there was no sauce. Again, the sandwich was pretty good, but they failed to put the sauce on it.
— There was some strong spice (must be part of his rub) that I got a little too much of in my last couple bites. It took over the entire experience.
I won’t go back.
After reading other reviews… I should also add this:
Dear Owner: Take a hint! If a whole bunch of people find you to be rude, you ARE rude. You should be thankful for the business.

When the line’s long, the manager takes it out on the customers. While the food nazi is charming on TV, in real life he is just an a — — that is rude to people looking to give him money. Who knows, maybe he doesn’t need the business, but I know I don’t need be on the receiving end of someone else’s bad day.

Larry is a good guy and best BBQ in Boston with awesome outside seating!
I love the pulled pork sandwich and his French fries are outstanding. Top quality bbq and he doesn’t skimp out. Cant say enough good things about the place. Just walk by and smell the place and you’ll end up getting something!!! Hope you guys give a try!

So I parked my car at Castle Island to walk around Southie for the afternoon on Saturday and found myself very hungry. That’s when I saw this place near the waterfront. It’s across from some fancy hotel on D street. Great setup here. Tons of outdoor space with lots of tables for dining and people watching.
You stand outside and order through a window. The menu is hanging to your right. Larry took my order. Now, I’ve read the reviews that say he has an attitude, blah blah blah. Really people? Don’t be such Massholes! He’s really nice and actually wicked funny. He even came out to check on me and a few of the other guests while I was there. To me that shows how much he actually cares about people’s experience there.
I tried to order the burnt ends but to my disappointment they were out of them. I ended up ordering a half rack of ribs, a smoked brisket sandwich and a pint of collard greens. Yup. I was hungry! Didn’t wait to long. maybe about ten minutes and he called out that my food was ready. Of course I had to eat some of it there. It was such a beautiful day and I’m in love with the great outdoor space he has.
The ribs were magnificent! I ate everyone of them there. Perfect smokey BBQ with the sauce on the side. This guy knows his Q! They packaged up the collard greens nice and tight so nothing spilled on my walk back to Castle Island. When I got home I had the Collard green which were absolutely amazing! So flavorful and cooked perfectly! And the sandwich? Oh em gee!!! I poured the rest of the sauce on it and I was in heaven. Absolutely scrumptious! The bun held up and the meat was tender as could be.
Dying to go back here. So happy I ran into this gem!

O-​M-​G where do I even begin? One Saturday afternoon after recently moving in to the neighborhood (about a month ago), I got very hungry and decided to try this place. The best way for me to try a new place is to pretty much order everything off the menu. So, I ordered the wings (bbq & buffalo), brisket, sweet potato fries, mac n’ cheese, smoked linked sausage, southern fried catfish, baked beans, candied yams, and the hillbilly nacho… because why not? The food was absolutely finger licking good! Since then, I have been back almost every weekend and the wings are my staple, but last night I had the pulled pork and was transported to another universe.
It doesn’t hurt that Larry is such a sweetheart. He has a customer in me for life. People, if you’re hungry and looking for really good BBQ, look no more!

Mmmm I’m so easily won over by BBQ. This was a small shack surrounded with outdoor seating. The food was good – not particularly amazing but it is HARD to find good bbq in Boston. There’s a wide spread of barbecue options all made with time and love by Larry. He’s a bit aggressive with the customers but I’ll respect that if the food is good.
I had the quarter rack of ribs, burnt ends, and sweet potato fries. I think I have an addiction… to sweet potato fries. These were fantastic but I’m a poor judge because I don’t think I’ve ever had bad sweet potato fries… The burnt ends were okay… not what I was expecting for some reason. The meaty pieces were really tough and the fatty pieces were just all fat. I had to take a bite of one and then the other to balance it out. I’ve had some melt in your mouth burnt ends and this just didn’t stand up to that. The ribs were quite tasty… nice and meaty with a good smokey flavor.
This is good choice in warmer weather if you happen to be at the BCEC or that area. Most of those restaurants are pricey and this is more low key with tasty food!

In town for a conference and fortunately this restaurant is right across the street from my hotel. Had the catfish, brisket, greens and yams. All were exceptional. The prices are much lower than any of the trendy restaurants in the surrounding area. Also had a great conversation with the proprietor. A must visit when in the Boston Waterfront area.

‘Meh’ sums it up. Larry seems to put in a lot of love and care into the BBQ. I could tell because I had to earn my choice of sauce by describing and proving to Larry that I know what the sauce tastes like. Yeah, Larry isn’t the typical ‘friendly’ owner, but I could relate to his personality so it doesn’t bother me as much.
The BBQ itself is really just mediocre. Everything’s on the plainer side, which is a fine style of BBQ, but… no smoke rings or smoky taste… I tried most of the popular items — burnt ends, ribs, brisket, pulled pork, and fires. Although everything’s probably made fresh, they just somehow taste microwaved…
It’s a three star BBQ joint in Boston because Boston doesn’t have great competitors to begin with.

For a small shop, it was delicious. A little pricey, but I believe it was worth it. I got the smoked brisket with Arkansas red BBQ sauce and fried pickles. No shame in my game because it was good and filling. I recommend it if you’re in for a quick bite and craving BBQ.

BBQ was decent, the sides were not. Some of the mac pasta was not cooked at all, and tasted stale like it had been sitting out all day. The wings were mediocre at best.
Chef and owner Larry was oddly hostile both towards us and his cashier. Recommend that he take a few etiquette courses like «Let’s not yell at the customer today» and «Hey, let’s fix the menu so its not so hard to understand». Needless to say, things got quite awkward… fast.
We were considering getting food catered to our office but are now disinclined to give this place any future business.

Great BBQ!!! Brisket was Texas authentic. Friendly staff but it would be nice if they had some indoor seating. Make sure you get the brisket with the fat scraped off!

If you’re a BBQ enthusiast and you’re searching for the best spot in Boston, you can stop looking because THIS IS IT. It’s so good actually, that it’s hard to fully describe. You simply need to experience it for yourself to understand.
I was having some people over today so I decided to take a chance on Larry, considering it’s a 30 second walk from my apartment. For appetizers we had the wings and the Hillbilly Nacho which is fries smothered in delicious barbecue pork. Out of all the dishes we ordered, this was the star of the show. Do yourself a favor and order the Hillbilly Nacho. It’ll change your life. We also ordered the fried catfish sandwich, the sausage sandwich, the brisket sandwich and the ribs. Everything was just so good but my favorite was the catfish. Unbelievably delicious. To top it all off, for our sides, we ordered the Mac & Cheese and the candied yams.
I’m sitting here writing this review as I try to recover from a food coma. I can’t move but it was so worth it. I will most definitely be going back very soon.

This place is a killer when it comes to their pulled pork or brisket, the only two items I’ve had here besides their Burnt Ends, which melt in your mouth. A sign outside basically says they serve good food, not fast food, which is a truism here. You’ll wait 5 – 10 minutes for your meal but it’s sooo worth it.
The only downside is when I ordered buffalo fries. I had a 5 minute walk back to my office but already the fries were cold, stuck together, and not appealing. The taste is fine so I gotta wonder what they would have tasted like if I tried them after getting them.

I think my favorite thing about this place was the owner, he was such a nice guy. I actually only ordered a side of mac n cheese because I was only hungry for a snack. If I was in the area more often, I’d come back for a full meal. But, my mac n cheese hit the spot and I left happy!

I work in the Seaport area and my co-​worker and I were out and about on a sunny day, looking for something different. We wanted to treat ourselves and go for a nice walk and this place seemed perfect.
Located across from Boston’s fish pier, within a small park, this BBQ shack-​like structure seems like a perfect spot. It’s highly visible and there’s nothing next to it or above it. The modest, stand-​alone structure seems relatively new and is well maintained.
We walked up to the window, and after glancing at one of the printed menus next to it, placed our order. I went with a brisket sandwich ($ 9) and a side of coleslaw ($ 5.96). The pricing was a bit weird but I was hungry and it was meant to be a treat so I voluntarily obliged and then proceeded to wait by the window. We were the only ones in line even though it was 12:45PM-ish which was kind of weird and the guy on the other side who took our order wasn’t all that nice and borderline rude.
We waited for a few minutes and then that same guy, who I suspect is the owner, slide the ordering window open and rudely asked us to walk around the shack onto the other side, to the other window so that we could eventually get our food. He accused us of blocking the way for other patrons… even though they were no other patrons… and plenty of space. It was really weird and the whole situation was pretty awkward.
Fast forward 15 more minutes and I’m back at my desk eating the sandwich. The brisket was lean but dry, flavorless and the smoke ring on it was barely visible. Not impressed at all. Worst of all, the coleslaw was horrendous.
I’ve be very hard pressed to return here because of how rude they were and also because of their pricing and food quality. On the upside, they’ll probably have to step up their game because otherwise they’ll be in real trouble since a BBQ restaurant will be opening at the corner of Stillings and Congress Street late in 2016. But for now, no thanks.

This place is awesome and one of the only lunch options currently in the seaport. Larry is an awesome guy and is always willing to have a conversation while you are waiting for your food (don’t worry it comes quick). The BBQ is fantastic and very reasonably priced in a usually expensive area. Personal favorite is the pulled pork sandwich — perfect portion for lunch. You can also download his new app to order your food in advance and skip the lunch line or avoid the cold. A+ all around.

I live in the Fort Point Channel area between Broadway and the newer Seaport area and on a recent walk to explore the ever-​changing Seaport, I stumbled upon this literally hidden gem. Tucked between two hotels in a small park, this funky little park building houses this barbecue restaurant that is open all year. The owner Larry offered no recommendations of what his favorite was, and compared the question to whether or not people have favorite children. He definitely has a sense of humor that I’m sure conservative Boston residents and tourists don’t expect from a chef.
After ordering a combo of pulled pork and some sides, I decided that the food was tasty and would be coming back for more in the future. For its location (seaport: prime real estate) its very reasonably priced compared to the restaurants in the area. Its flavorful casual fare perfect to bring back to the office for meetings or to enjoy in the adjacent outdoor dining area.
As a wedding photographer here in Boston, I hosted about 10 photographers for a luncheon at my Fort Point studio to network and review wedding albums. For the lunch, I called Larry J at the last minute to see if he would be able to cater. He called me right back to let me know he had a driver able to get it over to my studio on time. My other option would’ve been to use the Postmates delivery service since I was ordering a large amount of food.
When it came to placing my order, I rambled off a few items without a menu in front of me and Larry helped with some suggestions. It was a rapid-​fire order as I knew he was busy as was I. I knew I wasn’t going to be disappointed and neither would any of the people attending the wedding photography meeting. As soon as the food arrived, everyone was so impressed. I tried to get a little of everything. We got chicken wings, pulled pork, burnt ends, cole slaw, baked beans, chili, potato salad, texas caviar, cowboy beans, mac & cheese, collard greens and even candied yams. Guests were able to pick and choose what they wanted, and they all loved it. We talked more about how good the food was than about what we were supposed to be meeting about. I imagine all the coworking spaces and area startups use this for office catering and wonder why I hadn’t found this gem already.

Ignore the 1-​star reviews saying that Larry is rude.
It’s called banter, folks. The proprietor has spunk and a no-​nonsense attitude, but delivers it with humor that is apparently a little too subtle for some tourists and snobbish Unilocalers.
Don’t let the humorless steer you away from a great spot.
It’s a BBQ pit, and it is excellent.
I’ve been there twice now, and the food was great — this is from a guy who was born in Texas, and spends a fair amount of time in Louisiana.
If Larry’s were in Dallas or New Orleans, it would be considered ‘good’ — here in Boston, it’s a rare gem. Great Burnt Ends, and the sausage was just right.
The man knows his ‘cue.
The beans were decent, but standard fare for any good restaurant — I’ll try the Cowboy beans next time…
Count this as a 4.5 star review.

How did I not find this place sooner? On a nice day in southie/​seaport, your options for quick casual food include tasty burger, some pizza places, food truck or tent at Lawn on D, and yankee lobster if and only if there isn’t a cruise ship in town. Beyond that, your sitting down and shelling out some decent money but now I realize that Larry Js has come to my rescue.
The prices are reasonable, the service prompt, and my pulled pork sandwhich with texas sauce was perfect. The pork was lean and moist and the sauce had great flavor and was just the right amount that it didn’t drown the meat. Though i didn’t try anything else (yet) the pulled pork was better than redbones or blue ribbon bbq, and there obviously aren’t any bbq options in the area so the convenience factor is big for me too.
Is it the best bbq i’ve ever had? No, but thats reserved for hole in the wall places in mephis and mississippi (like E&L outside Jackson, MS). Still, we’re in Boston and Larry Js serves up some mighty tasty food.

I’m not too impressed.
I ordered a brisket sandwich with texas sauce and a large salad.
It took more than 15 minutes to get my order and it was wrong. They gave me a pulled pork sandwich, no sauce and a side salad.

Great find for good ‘cue if you find yourself at the nearby Convention Center or down around the Fish Pier for any reason. I had some of the best fried pickles and definitely the very best burnt ends I’ve ever sampled after stumbling upon this place. Outdoor seating only, so my suggestion to the traveler is to duck into the lobby of the Renaissance right across the street to enjoy your bounty if the weather is inclimate.

Food: excellent. Highly recommend rib and brisket along with their potato salad as a side!
Service: too sassy! Borderline rude most of the time. Possible wait time and not a «real» restaurant, the food’s just kind of handed to you from a take-​out window.
I came here with 2 other friends hoping to sample some food for a school event in the fall. There had been numerous e-​mail conversations back and forth and we set up a meeting time to arrive. When we got there, Larry J’s had just gotten an order supposedly 30mins ago that the delivery man said was for $ 300 worth of food. So we were waved off to take a seat and wait… and wait… and wait. Can I say that our account would’ve been thousands of dollars for over 300 people vs. his small order that maybe was for 20 people? And the fact that we made an appointment to meet before hand threw us all off. We were ready to peace outta there!
However, after about 20−25mins of waiting (and to be fair, he yelled through his window that he was trying to put something together) a sample platting of rib, brisket, and pulled pork was served and man-​0-​man it was GOOD. The rib was fall off the bone juicy, the brisket had the fat left on, which gives is SUCH flavor! We were also given sample sides in ketchup cups of his version of baked beans, cole slaw, and potato salad. The Cole-​slaw was not for everyone I’d say… it’s highly vinegar infused and has no mayo involved. The potato salad was AWESOME! Creamy, got a nice light egg flavor, and not grossly sticky and fattening tasting. Baked beans were actually served cold and almost as a salsa type… it was mild compared to the other 2 flavors and was a nice contrast from the saucy meats, I really enjoyed it
Bottom line: the food is most excellent which is why there’s so many good stars, but multiple people have attested to Larry’s sassy attitude as being a supreme downer and it really showed on my visit. He’s a very «take me as I am or just leave,» type of man… he even claimed he didn’t really care about social media reviews when I mentioned how he had great reviews. I figure there’s not a lot of BBQ around Boston, so it’s definitely good grub, but I’d call ahead to order (no wait, no talking to Larry or anyone else). That way you get the good food and you can go back to the comforts of your home to enjoy it!