The Improper Pig

My husband and I visited this restaurant yesterday evening. I got the Cotswald Platter with pulled pork and brisket (which was $ 4 extra). My meal came with two sides but they charged me an extra dollar for mac and cheese which is absolutely ridiculous. My husband got a burger with pulled pork on it and he like it. For appetizer we got smoked chicken wings. They were really smokey and very good. My pulled pork and brisket did NOT taste smoked at all. It tasted like they cooked it in the oven. I did not like that. They did not have complementary bread which I though was very odd. No hushpuppies, cornbread, bisquits… NADA. The bread that came with the meal was the size of a silver dollar or a super tiny cupcake which I thought was a joke and asked for more and was told by the waitress they cost .50 each! That was a rip off. Our bill ended up being $ 51 and change. I was not impressed with anything. I most likely wont be visiting again.

First time in Charlotte and this place was a great start! Had the BBQ charcuterie. Full platter of pulled pork, brisket, ribs and sausage. Oh yeah, pimento cheese, home made chips and coleslaw as well. I’m full. Lived in KC for five years and I would put this BBQ up against most. Delicious. Great sauce choices right at the table to sample. Will be back.

Great food! Great food!! Great food!! Great food!
Smoked meats and sauces make for a food playground of deliciousness!

My first time coming here was for a birthday celebration and we all had a good time. I fell in love with the BBQ pulled pork salad. It is amazing! I live about 30 min away from this restaurant but when I find a place I like um I don’t mind the drive. The jalapeño margarita was so delicious. I will keep coming back.

I have to rate at least 1 star therefore, the review will be just that. I HATE giving negative reviews almost as bad as giving my nieces and nephews spankings. It pains me.
The food. no flavor. the brisket tastes like pot roast. The chicken semi-​dry and also is lacking flavor. Nothing tasted as if it had been smoked. The ribs were tough. The collards had too much vinegar.
The semi pleasurable items were the southern egg rolls and green beans.
I do not understand or cannot comprehend how this place received a 4 out of 5. The server had an attitude as we explained our grievances, which in turn made the manager apprehensive to approach our table. The plates ARE OVERPRICED for the caliber of food you receive.
If you want a good margarita, this is the place or if you want great hot sauce (you can purchase in a grocery storee) this is the place.
Horrible experience! Won’t be coming back.
TOTALLY IMPROPER!

Similar to baseball i like to give a restaurant three trys before finally making a decision wether i like the place or not. The first two times we came we had the same server. She was great. Attentive, fast and clearly knew the menu. This was not the case with our server today. After we ordered food, our server didnt return to the table until our food was up. Which usually is fine but our food took so long that i was sipping on melted ice by then. I then had to ask for more soda. After that our server stood in plain sight talking with some other servers until Ann (the server we had the first two times) came up and cleared our table and asked jill our actually server to get our bill together.
As far as food goes some things are good and others are eh… The salmon i had last time was cook perfectly and seasoned well. The collards i didnt care for but they’re vegetarian. I dont think ive ever had vegetarian collards before. The little corn muffin was terrible. This go round i got the half chicken. Was a hair on the dry side but was good. Little extra bbq sauce fixed that. The jalapeño grits were amazing! Pasta salad was very bland. I mixed the pickled onion into it with a little salt and pepper. Made it so much better.
As far as bang for your buck goes. Its pretty average i seen alot of reviews saying the portions were small for the price. That was my first impression but after almost cleaning my plate i was full.
I may give this place one last shot…

Today my work associates and I stopped by the Improper Pig for lunch at the Cotswold location. I have heard good things about this place before, but I was not prepared for how absolutely delicious the food would be.
We were greeted, welcomed and sat immediately on their spacious, comfortable outside patio. We were also greeted by our server within moments of sitting at the table, who had a great attitude and gave us prompt service throughout the meal. Our waters were never empty and that is quite refreshing on a warm patio.
The manager Christian came by to greet us and discuss the specials and his favorite menu items, which sounded so fabulous, one of my associates ended up going with his suggestion of the ribs — he was not disappointed.
Our meal started off with an order of the Twice Baked Jalapeños appetizer. The cilantro lime crema and spiciness was absolutely amazing. The manager even gave us a tip to try it with the sweet and sour sauce, which helped balance out the spice. These were so delicious, I could have eaten an entire plate of them for my entrée.
Our table ordered the following: St Louis Style Ribs with a side of Sweet Potato Hash and Green Beans, BBQ Salad with pulled pork, Pulled pork platter with black bean salad side, and my choice, the special burger, the Belly Burger.
Every entrée was met with extreme satisfaction — ribs were cooking to perfection, the BBQ salad in my associates words was «the best BBQ salad I have ever had», and my burger was so good, I ate every single bite on my plate.
The Belly Burger was 70% Beef, 30% pork, blue cheese, special sweet Mary’s BBQ, pickled onions, arugula, and tomato. I worked at Bad Daddy’s for almost four years and in my entire time working there, haven’t had a burger as tasty as this one. So absolutely phenomenal. The homemade chips were delicious as well that came on the side.
I highly recommend this restaurant to anyone that hasn’t tried. While reviewing their menu, I noticed a ton of options for all types of eaters — tofu, vegetarian, gluten free, vegan, etc. They also appeared to have a nice bar selection, although this was a work lunch so we did not delve too much into those options! Service was impeccable and the manager Christian was extremely welcoming and informative on the menu. We are now Raving Fans and can’t wait to come back!

We had dinner here last night. It’s the second time we’ve eaten here. The first experience was OK, but nothing particularly noteworthy. So, I wanted to make another visit before reviewing. Last night’s dinner was very good… Not quite a 5, but close.
For apps, our party shared onion rings, the stuffed jalapenos, and edamame. The onion rings were so crispy and not a bit greasy, but needed a bit of salt and pepper. The ranch dressing on the side was really creamy. The stuffed jalapenos are really good. They’re not breaded and fried, so they have a much fresher flavor. The only downside is the portion is too small. The edamame was fine, but again a small portion.
For my meal, I had pulled pork, black eyed pea salad, and jalapeño grits. All were excellent. The pork was moist and flavorful. The grits were creamy, bordering on decadent. And the black eyed pea salad was so fresh and the peas had just the right amount of bite to them. Everyone else in my party of 7 really enjoyed their meals, too.
The prices are on the high side for the amount of food you get. If you are looking for Southern BBQ that’s good but cheap, this isn’t the place. That’s because the atmosphere is much nicer than a BBQ joint. This place is a bit more refined, with appetizers, a full bar, and no rednecks. Overall the food is good and we’ll definitely be back.

O… Ver…Priced.
I ordered the largest single plate of food on the menu for $ 14, expecting to split it with my 18mo old and she at the whole thing because it was such a small portion of food.
The food itself was good but not as good as Mac’s, Midwood Smokehouse, Sauceman’s or even Moe’s in Matthews.
Service was great, but I accounted for maybe 75% of their business in the off hours. So not a true test.
Bonus: It’s the only place this far that serves pork and slaw egg rolls. Worthy of it’s price at $ 4.
Bottom line. The Improper pig would be a huge hit if it were located in a place without such stellar BBQ — like the Midwest. But in CLT, it falls to the bottom of the list due to it’s high prices for small portion of average food.

Good food. Good service. The jalapeño grits are awesome!!! The pork and chicken are flavored well and not over cooked. They also have great sauce choices at the table.

My good friend Christopher Soto told me about this place! I’ve been meaning to swing by! I immediately fell in Love!
Saturday Lunch Date. We arrived around Noon 1ish… seating was available. The Aroma of BBQ is Heavenly!!! To my surprise, our waitress Michelle and I attended college together! Small world right!
Food-let’s get to the Point… I ordered the Improper Charcuterie: Ribs, Brisket, sausage, and shredded pork (Not Finished) came with a side of pimento cheese and corn muffin-​in addition I ordered Mac & Cheese, and Collard Greens.
Let’s be clear I have no shame when it comes to food! Girls gotta eat hahaha! I love the assortment of BBQ Sauces! Amazing! I’ve never been a fan of Carolina BBQ Sauce.
Special thanks to everyone at the Improper Pig! My Fiancé and I had a unforgettable experience.

We had been here one time last year and enjoyed it. So recently I picked it for a Saturday night date night. We were seated right when we walked in and ordered drinks (Stella for me, margarita for him). We were both pleased with our drinks (he described his as tart but good).
We started with the pork roll, which was really good but a not so good portion size. It is listed as an appetizer but is more like a side item. It is one egg roll cut in half. It was good but for the price, you should at least get two!
My fella had the improper charcuterie, which he loved. In fact he told me that he doesn’t think he would order anything else. I had the salmon chow bao taco with green beans. I liked both. The slaw on the taco lacked flavor so I ended up just taking most of it off, but it was tasty and I loved the sauce on the salmon. The green beans are awesome! I could eat them all day every day!
Overall, it was a date night success. We will be back!

I visited this place with a group of friends about an hour before it closed on a Thursday night.
My friends both had a pulled porlk sandwhiches and I had the barbecue salad with pulled pork.
The wiat staff was very friendly and the food not only tasted extremely yummy but was fast, well prepared and hot.
A quick but pleasant visit. I will definitley visit this location as their menua has an interesting variety and also has a great beer selection.

The Improper Pig, not sure where to begin. I was so wishing to like it more than I did, but overall just thought it was okay.
My dinner group met here on a weekend and were seated on the outdoor, covered patio on cooler nights. Although it was nice to sit outside service was very slow, as our waitress seemed to be no where to be found several times throughout the evening.
Having not been I was able to enjoy some appetizers that we ordered for the table. The chorizo stuffed jalapeños were by far the best thing I ate the whole night. They were cooked too perfection with a great, but not so hot, kick. The cornbread on the other hand was dry and I definitely had better. And, I am not a kale chip fan, but they needed more salt or seasoning, definitely just blah.
I went ahead and ordered the combo platter with pulled chicken and brisket, with Brussels Sprouts and Sweet Potato Fries. The pulled chicken was just okay, not as moist as I have had or liked and the brisket was good, definitely melt in your mouth moist, but just a lot of fat.
As for the sides, I definitely recommend the Sweet Potato Fries, so good!
The Improper Pig offers a variety of sauces tableside, so you can pick and choose. Unfortunately I found most of them a little too sweet and missed a true barbeque sauce.
Overall, I am glad I finally made it to this quaint addition to the Cotswold Shopping Center, but with too many other barbeque joints, that I find better, not sure I would rush back anytime soon.

I have died and gone to pork heaven!!! The whole place is awesome, staff, environment and food.
Had the pulled pork and doused it with «queen bee». It was tender, smoky flavored, perfectfully seasoned pork. The queen bee sweet tomato based sauce gives Kansas City die hards something to compete with.
Had the Mac and cheese (perfect creamy and cheesy goodness) with the spicy green beans. The green beans are not spicy but seasoned with something kind of Asian. Good but not great. I will be back with my family.

Service by Michelle was excellent (I may be biased) for our party of 9 near the bar. It was also a meetup for a bourbon tasting. Things were a little slow to come together, but once the drinks and food starting flowing, everyone had a great time. I wanted to try one of everything so the charcuterie offered sausage, rib, pulled pork, and brisket. Was not a huge fan of their homemade chips, but the pimiento and slaw were very yummy sides. Juicy, flavorful meats, 6 sauces to choose from and sturdy napkins (essential in any BBQ joint!)
Speaking of yummy — GET THE GRITS! Oh Em Gee. You’re Welcome :)
Bathrooms are clean, ample parking, crowd was not rowdy on a Monday evening. I’ll have to remember next time to ask about their Improper Pig mascot/​theme.

Was here on Sunday. Place was packed and did not desire to sit out in the patio with all the heat and humidity. We sat in the bar area and right in front of Vincent who was prepping the pulled pork and on the grill.
They have a Bloody Mary Bar which was a lot of fun creating your own drink. Sprinkled with Crispy Bacon…
Cornbread Muffins– Cute bite size with a packed punch (Jalapeño). That is what stood out and the black-​eyed peas on the side.
We both ordered the Sliced Beef Brisket & House Slaw with Chips.
Brisket was so tasty and juicy that I tackled the brisket and left the buns. Thinly slice potato chip and playing with all the 6 different sauces. The Spicy Green Beans– must order so crunchy and fresh.
Relaxing Sunday brunch/​lunch here. Will be back again for sure.
Our waitress was Autumn, informed us to sign up with SteelZ app on mobile phone and get a Free Southern Egg Roll-​The filling very unique with sweet potato and collard greens.
Would have not known about this restaurant if it were not for a Unilocal event that I attended in the past.

It’s a good thing The Improper Pig isn’t close to my house because I’d have a haaaard time not going all the time if it were. The fella and I ventured over on a Wednesday night around 8:00, and we were immediately greeted by a super nice, chatty host. He seated us, and our waitress appeared just a few minutes later.
It took me forever to decide what I wanted because everything looked so good! I finally landed on the Chow Bao Taco with pulled pork and a side of Brussels sprouts. The taco came in a steamed bao bun, which I’ve never had before, and it was doughy but delicious and light. The pulled pork was so fresh, too! I could’ve eaten 3 more of them. The sprouts were okay, but nothing to write home about.
The fella went with the pulled pork & slaw sandwich (which he figured was like Mac’s Lil Pig) and a side of spicy green beans. He said the beans were good but the sandwich beats Mac’s… a bold statement for the fella.
The atmosphere was pretty cool with a comfy wooden/​aluminum vibe, there was easy parking in the Costwold lot, and they had fair prices. The beer selection was just okay, but the bourbon list was pretty awesome (except there weren’t prices on those… hmmm).

A friend invited me out to Improper Pig for Saturday dinner. If you’re looking for Pork, this is the place to go. After wavering between the salmon and the ribs. I ended up going with the ribs with a side of sweet potato hash. The ribs were well seasoned and fell off of the bone. They really didn’t need any sauce. However, I tried each and every one offered. The sauces are Asian inspired, so there was no basic BBQ sauce. Queen Bee — SWEET BBQ; Mary’s — taste like ketchup; Tong Tai — spicy sweet vinaigrette; Eastern Vinegar — vinegar w/​a kick; Spicy Hoilson — Spicy Teryaki; Mustard — any other mustard sause. I settled on mixing the Spicy Hoilson (which was best) and Queen Bee. The spicy sauces are VERY spicy, so be prepared.
I didn’t like the sweet potato hash. I was expecting something sweet. However, there were onions and maybe garlic mixed in, which eliminated the sweetness and overall I wasn’t a fan. Just don’t order this expecting something sweet.
My friend had their chocolate cake for dessert, which she like. I had the house margarita, which was the drink of the day. Their house margarita is actually an orange margarita, which my waitress failed to mention. It was okay. While she was patient, she could have been far more informative. Nevertheless, this is a BBQ pork restaurant and based on that, I will judge it. Thus four stars. If you’re looking for BBQ, the Improper Pig is the place to go in Charlotte.

I met a few friends here for dinner after it came recommended from another friend. Glad to see a locally owned restaurant in Cotswold. The area was getting too populated with chains.
So the place features barbecue with an asian twist and has plenty of options for vegetarians as well like Smoked tofu for your protein. Everything Vegetarian is marked with a V on the menu. Good job in pointing it out for us!
The seating is a mix of booths, high top tables, bar seating and a nice outdoor patio.
At the recommendation of our server, I went with the side plate with the choices of brussels sprouts, asian slaw, the veggie of the week and the jalapeño cheese grits. Normally I am not a grits fan but these were really good! The other 3 sides were good but not great in my opinion.
Still, I wan to come back here and try the smoked tofu and their other vegetarian options. I see plenty of promise here!