Big Daddy’s Brew & ‘Que

We swung in here around 6:00 on a Friday night, and I was happy to see that they were actually hoppin! I was a little wary of our pre-​cinema choice, but also kept in mind that the majority of the negative reviews were written 2 – 3 years ago. They do have a fish fry special, however I am not brave enough to go fishy at a barbecue restaurant.
The servers are dressed in these ridiculous outfits, that frankly didn’t… fit a single one of them well — it was quite odd. However, they had a great happy hour which goes until 7:00 (finally a happy hour that people with jobs can make it to!) and there were half off their signature cocktails and drafts — that meant an Eastside Dark for just over two bucks!
I went with a pulled pork entrée for $ 15, and that came with two sides. They serve the meat dry and let you dress it yourself with your choice of either their House sauce, Kansas City sauce or the mustardy Carolina sauce. All three were good. The meat was smokey and tender and a generous portion. For sides I went with green beans and baked beans. Again, portions were very generous. The green beans were charred and amazing — I finished all of them before even touching the meat. The baked beans were super thick with huge chunks of bacon. It also came with a piece of cornbread.
Joe got the Pitmaster burger which had pulled pork, beef brisket AND bacon on the burger with cheddar cheese. It came with a choice of fries or coleslaw, and the fries were seasoned well and very tasty. Service was fine, and we were out in time for the movie.
I highly suggest people come back and check this place out now that they’ve found their footing. It was truly an awesome meal!

It is really good place for appetizers. Their food is a big portion. I like the place, but I think the food is too salty. I had been drinking water for whole night and the next morning.
I went there at 10.20pm. Most of the food that I picked, they couldn’t even serve for some reasons. I’m not sure if they deserve 3 or 4 stars.

Not sure why there’s so many bad reviews on this restaurant. What do people expect from Milwaukee BBQ? I mean, if they want true BBQ, they should go down to KC, TN or Texas. This place hasn’t disappointed me all the times I’ve been there, plus they have very cute waitresses.

Stopped by for dinner and ordered the pulled pork with fries and Cole slaw. Service was a tad slow. The meat had great flavor. I thought the Cole slaw was bland. Didn’t care for the fried either. Serving sizes are generous. I would come back if I was at this mall.

Sat at bar, in sight of the manager for 10 minutes. During this time, servers and bartenders walked around without even simple acknowledging us, but going to lengths to avoid eye contact. Finally got managers attention. No recognition of wait or discourtesy. Left restaurant to to go bar Louie across the hall where we received service immediately.
The food at Big Daddy’s is mediocre at best, and not worth enduring that lack of service.

I went here for lunch last week with my mother, and it was a bit of a mixed experience. The service was fine, but the food didn’t really fit my expectations.
The fried pickles, rather than being finger-​food type medallions as I had expected, were long and thick slices. So the ratio of breading to pickle was kinda weird, and not very enjoyable for me.
I also ordered a pulled pork sandwich, which was remarkably dry. The pork may have been cooked with barbecue sauce, but by the time it got to my plate it had very little moisture. Thankfully, the tables come equipped with a selection of barbecue sauces, so it was relatively easy to remedy that situation.
I will say that the fries they have are excellent.
My mother disliked the amount of bread that came with her shrimp po’boy, but quite honestly I think that’s just because she had a brain fart and forgot what a proper po’boy is like.

Disappointing barbecue.. . For a bbq place.

It’s nice that they have a 3 meat combo platter; now I don’t have to make multiple trips before posting a review.
The brisket had nice coloring, too bad the only thing I could taste was salt. There was so much salt, I think it gave my high blood pressure hypertension. The pulled pork was flavorless. St Louis ribs were average. The sides were fine, nothing was amazing but they weren’t horrible either. I sat at the bar, service was good.
It’s s 3 star establishment that gets a 3 star review.

Had the triple turkey burger and it wasnt well done. So i send it back and i got well cooked ones. I guess kiddos.

I understand that you guys have came a long way from where you was in the beginning. But I also know that my «Carolinian advice» was a major contribution and help to your success!!! Now your ribs are tender and season correctly it really would be nice to be acknowledged for my advice 10% off all meals would be great since I help you and Amanda get it right. slow and low and turn them slow… But I guess the GM doesn’t see it like that… Especially since he knows who I am…

In fairness my pulled Carolina Dirt Sandwich tasted good. However, there was a 2″ bone left in my sandwich and I cracked my front tooth! Cooks need to pay attention. Now I am left with tooth pain. I didn’t realize how badly I hurt it until after I left and the pain didn’t disappear. No sandwich is worth having to go to the dentist.
Update 5÷9÷15: While it «appeared» like they were concerned by the reply to my review I wanted to let folks know I was never contacted by the company. Luckily my tooth has healed but I will not be returning.

Four meals — all bad. Terrible ribs — one set, super super salty and hard like leather –totally inedible. Another set tasted like a pan. Beef brisket sandwich was half fat. Baked beans were so spicy, no one could eat them and the Mac and cheese seemed like it was cooked completely in green peppers.
Server (who told us a lot of ribs were bad this week) called manager over, he did not seem surprised — offered a replacement set on one set of ribs, but charged for them.
I have eaten at a lot of BBQ joints, do not waste your time at this place.

Love this place. BBQ is excellent and the cookie dessert is served warm with ice cream – and enough to share between two people. I’ve checked in here 8 times and always leave satisfied. If you like BBQ then you will like this place too.

Just left the place and was furious! Have been going to Big Daddy’s since opening day and even won a gift card during football season. Food had been great as had the service. Tonight I ordered a Draft beerand the glass I got was chipped and I cut my finger tip. The manager on duty offered to cover the meal after I didn’t file a report. I got the bill, he reneged and then suggested I should do the report because I must have heard him wrong. The other manager came over, interviewed me, which felt like an interrogation, without the form I requested. They both told me it was not policy to compensate customers and that I’d just have to wait until I was given a copy of the report if I had any questions. I was then told if I needed further medical attention then contact them.
Not the way a steady customer would expect to be treated!
Will seriously have to re-​think where I spend my casual dining dollars after this!

Three stars because it was my first time here. If I visit it again, I’ll modify the rating.
Maybe slightly overpriced, but then what does one expect from a restaurant in a mall and attached to a movie theater and bowling alley? The cool thing is that they will box your food so you can take it into your movie. We didn’t do that, however.
It’s loud, but it’s in a mall. We went here because Bar Louie was, as usual, bat shit crazy busy. Our waitress was super sweet, maybe a little overly enthusiastic, but she made good suggestions. I don’t necessarily dig that the girls are all dressed like Daisy Duke stand-​ins, but sexism is still alive and well and must sell pulled pork.
We had the Frickles (fried pickles). This was my first time having them since leaving Louisiana. They were damn good. Instead of the normal pickles breaded and fried these were big thick length wise slices dipped in tempura and fried. Yes, they were greasy, but they were also delicious.
I had the Carolina Dirty Chicken sandwich: pulled chicken, bacon, sharp cheddar, avocado, Carolina dirty seasoning, and a brioche bun. Add some of the honey mustard Carolina BBQ sauce and it becomes one of the best chicken sandwiches I’ve had in a BBQ joint in a looooooooooooong time. My side was the lemon charred green beans – delicious!
My husband had the catfish po’boy. The fish was thick and moist with a perfect amount of breading. The bread of the po’boy was nice and flaky (not chewy as so many po’boys seem to suffer from). He had the Damn Good Mac and Cheese as his side. The portion was quite large for a side and it was also very good – cheesy, creamy, what you want in a mac and cheese.

Having dined here several times, I have yet to be disappointed at Big Daddy’s. Located on the second floor of Bayshore Mall between the movie theater and Bar Louie, it offers a convenient casual dining spot with both indoor and outdoor seating. While I’ve enjoyed sampling different items on the menu, one deal that’s worth checking out is the $ 5 pulled pork sandwich special on Wednesdays. The pork comes plain, but you can dress it with the sauce of your choice, and one side is included (love the spicy mac ‘n cheese). Not bad for five bucks. The staff has always been friendly and attentive, without being overbearing. Since the menu is so distinctly BBQ-​based, I don’t come here all the time — but it’s always a reliable option. And get the cornbread!

I’ve eaten here more than a few times and although it is far from perfect it has been quite good each time. The most recent visit was this past Friday. My daughter tried the pulled chicken sandwich with avocado and a side of the mac and cheese. She loved it. This is from a teenager who only ate the brisket every previous visit. I did try her sandwich and thought it was pretty good although without the added BBQ sauce the chicken was fairly dry. I had the beef brisket sandwich and it was as good as usual. The thick and sweet sauce on the table is one of my favorite sauces anywhere. My side was mac and cheese as well and I found it a little bland but still good.
Lastly I wish I would have taken note of our server’s name. She was smiley, super friendly (not in an annoying way), and had knowledge of the menu that helped us decide what we wanted.
All in all Big Daddy’s is a «Go-​to» for me and my family and I hope it only gets better over time.

I like the concept yet the execution of this place isn’t good at all.
We stopped here before doing some holiday shopping at Bayshore after first trying out Sprecher, which had a 30 minute wait. We walked in around 6pm on a Saturday and the place was completely empty.
The hostess station had two hostess that didn’t really great us or ask if we wanted a table or sit at the bar so we just walked up and sat at the bar. The place is trying to take BBQ and add the Red Rocks theme to it, which is just awkward for a location in a mall…
The menu is huge in size and hard to handle with nothing too impressive on the menu. We ordered some tap beers — they have your standard large brewery beers and nothing that is really too craft/​micro, which I found crazy for a place that has Brew in their name.
The bar staff took forever to help us out and when we were finished with our beers (mind you there are 2 bartenders and only 2 other people at the bar) we waited for about 10 minutes with no one coming up asking if we want another. We had to get their attention and ask for another.
We just had an app there and it wasn’t anything special. I would definitely say go to another place if you are a) looking for a good beer and b) looking for some good food.

This was def more like 3.5 stars for me. I’m giving it 3 stars but did like it alot.
Anywho…I was really excited to try this place! It seems like a fun addition to the mall, and a lot better than the «ovation» the previous restaurant there. But ill give a disclaimer… Although I have a strong love for fried chicken I’ll tell u about in another review, I always am sorta kinda like «eh» to bbq. I’d have trouble distinguishing between «good» and «bad» bbq. That being said, I thought this was a-​ok. I had the «sloppy Texan» sandwich (& becuz were way juvenile in our humor, we had lots of fun with the names on the menu.) Sandwich was good, but wish I had gotten a sampler with actual ribs. The side I chose for my sandwich was sweet corn pudding. For me, this was a little too eggy… like a cross between cake and custard.
Overall, service was very good. Several managers came around and checked on tables too which is always a nice touch.
At 630 pmish on a Saturday, there was a 30 – 45 min wait, so other ppl seem to be excited to try this place too. They take ur phone number and you can roam the mall until they text u to let you know you’re tables ready.
To quote a fellow Unilocaler, I too am not sure I’m sold either on the addition of maple flavoring to the adult bevys, but for $ 4 for a giant «quetail» it was a good deal.
Although I wasn’t blown away by the food, the atmosphere was fun, service was good, and prices were reasonable. (Sandwich with side was $ 9.95). Definately would go back.

Big Daddy’s management team reached out to me to ask me to try their restaurant again and I did. I want to preface this update by saying that we got the royal treatment and that this experience was wonderful. This place has potential and I’d expect it to be this great every time.
I’m SUPER glad that we went back. Service was excellent both visits and our server this time, Katie, was excellent and her manager, Terry, was extremely nice as well.
Appetizer: Fried red and green tomatoes with creole sauce. They were really thick slices of delicious tomato. These can be hard to get right because if they’re too thin, they get soggy. These were perfectly firm and had a nice breading. I preferred these over the fried tomatoes as Maxie’s, but I also don’t care for the sauce at Maxies.
* Solid A *
Meal: Feeding Frenzy for 2. This time it had a delicious smokey flavor to the fries as well as the food.
Again, I don’t eat beef, but my dining partner said, «the tenderloin was done very well and perfectly medium rare. It tasted great in and of itself. It gets an A. The brisket had good flavor, good texture. It had a nice crispy crust; not chewy or rubbery. It gets a B+»
The chicken was great. If something had to be the ‘worst’ part of the meal it would be a chicken. It’s not a knock on the chicken, but a compliment to everything else. The chicken was dry (not too dry), but it’s a quality of smoking a low-​fat meat. Last time we had a lot of skin and not much meat; it was a great improvement. *B/​B+*
The pork was UH-​MAY-​ZING. The pork was tender and moist and didn’t need much sauce this time. *Solid A*
The riblets were tender, had a great flavor, and the right amount of sauce. *Solid A*
Baked Beans with pulled pork, just as good as last time, definitely an A
Dessert: Chocolate chip cookie with two scoops of ice cream, consistent with the last experience, *A+*
Chocolate Chip Pecan Pie with some vanilla frosting drizzled on it, *A+*
We are happy we went back and can honestly say that this is a place that we would take our friends when they’re in town. We would expect another 5 star experience since we know it exists, but we think that our friends would enjoy themselves.
P. S. They have take out!
Thanks, Big Daddy’s.