Clyde Cooper’s Barbecue

First time here — we chose this place because of the Unilocal reviews and it did not disappoint. Very friendly staff on the phone and in person. The owner was working and introduced himself and made me feel like I’d been a lifelong customer. Our food was great and everything was yummy! Thanks everyone, we will be back to try more!

Ribs were good, brisket was a bit tough but sauces were tangy good. Hush puppies were really great very buttery tasting, corn and beans was surprisingly good. Very friendly staff, good service, busy place but good timing on being served. Overall satisfied with price for the food, we would go back.

The new location doesnt have the old rustic dinner feel but it’s very spacious and love the fan.
Great food as always, great to see they have expanded.

Back in the day Clyde Cooper’s was the BBQ place to eat in Raleigh. Some things don’t change. If you are looking for BBQ in Raleigh, go to Cooper’s. The only draw back is Cooper’s only open until 6 pm. Therefore, go for lunch or an early dinner.
Mr Cooper opened up back in the late 1930’s and they stayed into the same building until recently. The new location is bigger, brighter and not the «hole in the wall» the old place was. It still has the old photos up on the wall and the old awning has been moved inside. It is a short walk from anywhere in downtown Raleigh. Parking is difficult to find on week days. The new location has more seating and a «Big-​Ass» (that’s the name brand) ceiling fan that you can’t help but notice.
The BBQ is good eastern NC chopped bbq with light tangy, vinegar based sauce with red pepper in it. The sauce is not overpowering. There is sauce on the table to add to it. They cook only shoulders. The service is pretty fast and friendly, like most small places they know if you are a regular customer or not. If you order a bbq sandwich, it will come with slaw unless you ask for no slaw. You also get a side of pork rinds and hush puppies with each order. The brunswick stew is a thick vegetable stew. French fries are crinkle cut and crispy. There are things on the menu like chicken and brisket. I only go there for BBQ. If you are in Raleigh and want to try eastern NC BBQ, swing by Cooper’s during the lunch, grab some BBQ or a BBQ sandwich and try something locals in Raleigh have been enjoying since 1939.

Gotta be honest … I don’t know a lot of southern barbecue to compare this to. I am also vegetarian for the last year and a half, so this review is strictly on the veggies. But, I give Clyde’s props for offering a plate where you can choose 4 sides and skip the meat. =) I had the coleslaw (yummy), butter beans (also yummy), collard greens (I ate around the meat because I really wanted to at least taste the greens), and french fries. The french fries look like basic crinkle-​cut, but once you chomp into your first one, you’ll be hooked. They put a season on them, and cook them to a perfect crisp! Oh man, the hush puppies were also pretty fantastic… It was a really heavy lunch for me, carbs on carbs on carbs… The bbq sauce was delicious though. I could see myself being hooked on those hush puppies, and dipping em in the bbq … Would be great late-​night drinking food. ;-)

Fried chicken … Very salty
Short ribs … No flavor
Disappointed
We drove pass other restaurants to be so disappointed
They sell rubs to season their food, maybe they should use some of it

Cash only, so come prepared. We ate lunch. Fantastic. Slaw, Brunswick stew, hush puppies, home made pork rinds, all great. I had ribs and chopped pork combo plate. Am definately going back next time I’m in town.

Excellent BBQ, fried chicken and the best hush puppies I’ve ever had. They only take cash. Atmosphere was nice and our server was nice and food came out fast. It felt traditional southern and I love that.

Always a great place to stop for some bbq in the Raleigh area and a must if your travels take you downtown. Friendly staff and service and your typical Eastern NC BBQ selections. Went for the chopped plate today with plenty of collard greens. Great taste all around. Brought a few first timers with us today from Chicago and Charlotte and they loved it. Don’t forget to grab a bag of your favorite flavored fresh pork skins to go when you pay at the register. CASH ONLY — there is an ATM there and one around the corner if it is out. Counter seating and takeout available as well.

I’m a huge BBQ fan, especially Eastern NC style, and this is about as good as it gets. Their chopped BBQ is my absolute favorite. They just moved to a new, bigger location, but they’re still in the same neighborhood with the same great food. Service isn’t five-​star here, but the food is worth it all. MUCH better BBQ than the Pit (which is severely overrated). Clyde Cooper’s is awesome.

Solid Eastern BBQ, downtown Raleigh.
Old School BBQ place in biz since 1938. Brisket and back ribs combo was excellent. Sides were OK, unremarkable. Hushpuppies were delicious. The restaurant was spotlessly clean.
Will return.

This was my first visit after their move to the new location. I loved the old place. The food, the service, the friendliness and the décor were irreproachable. They served that signature southern specialty I love, barbecue, slaw, hushpuppies exactly as it was always meant to be served. Perhaps, I caught them on an off day; the number of rave reviews I see on this page would suggest that. But my own experience this one time was rather different.
First, although the place was nearly empty, the service was less than indifferent. It was quick but indifferent, unsmiling and unwelcoming. The food did come quickly and they did not throw it at me. I ordered tea, which I received almost immediately in a styrofoam cup, but had to hail the waitress a couple of times just to get her to give me a straw. Next, the sandwich arrived. It fell apart in my hands. I asked her for a fork and she gave me one. Again, deadpan. I have worked for tips and I know that a smile even when you do not feel like it can help your pocketbook grow. It might even have kept me from writing this screed.
The food, I found to be as indifferent as the service. As I mentioned, the sandwich fell apart in my hands, a thing that would be totally unacceptable at a McDonalds. Sandwiches, in my opinion, are built and not thrown together. More importantly, although it was hot and fresh it also was, to me, nearly tasteless. The hushpuppies were fresh and crisp, but for some reason had no taste that I could detect. I know that sometimes happens in restaurants, and I know that there is no accounting for taste, but I think there should be some accounting for no taste. How do they do that?
The décor is clean and modern. Although it is clearly impossible to recreate the «olde Raleigh» feel of the original location, they did manage to create in the larger and more roomy space (with a rather powerful overhead fan) a décor vaguely reminiscent of the early days and the lovely old place.
In the end, I paid the cashier and received a grunt of what I assume meant thanks. Not a smile in the place – and so, none from me. I will not be going back anytime soon.

Went with a group from work for lunch, so we tried a little bit of everything and passed around. Seriously, everything single thing was good. The portions were plentiful – we all had leftovers. I’ve tried LOTS of barbecue restaurants, and this one ranks right up there at the top. You’ve gotta try this place!

Having one of those days that was going to be long and nothing was going to go my way, plus I did a HIIT workout at 7am, so craving some good ‘ol barbeque! Where else should I slide through than Clydes? It’s inexpensive, it’s delicious, and they are fast. I got the 2-​piece fried chicken (dark) with potato salad and greens and hushpuppies of course. All good. The greens were appropriately firm and chewy, not over cooked, and the potato salad was solid (I don’t usually eat potato salad, so getting an ok from me is a good thing).
Oh, and I thought I would not like the new location, you know, large, shiny, nothing like th old place, but I love it! Somehow, they managed to keep the old school feel while allowing more space for customers. Whenever I get a lunch break (fat chance!), I’ll come back and sit and eat!

This has turned into one of our favorite BBQ restaurants in the Triangle. Yum! I would choose this over the Pit and Smithfield’s. It is good. We think that they have the best Brunswick stew that we have ever had. Other favorites of mine include the chopped BBQ, the coleslaw, the boiled potatoes and the hush puppies. They have great sweet tea and great servers too. I haven’t had room to try their banana pudding yet. It is on my «to eat» list. :) The only thing that they could change for me (and really they shouldn’t change — they are an establishment) would be to just serve lima beans. I don’t like that corn and lima been combo. My husband likes their pork skins. You are served a basket of pork skins and hush puppies with every order and they sell their pork skins with different seasonings on them too.
Take note — they are only open until 6pm — so it’s more of a lunch spot (although we just carried it out for dinner too — made it just in time to do so). Also, they only accept cash for payment. We usually park in the parking deck that is right before the entrance to their restaurant — it’s very convenient (although a bit hidden with the construction going on right now). For carry out, we were in and out so quickly, our parking was free in this deck.
Finally, while we were waiting for our carry out food, we noticed that they have quite the eating challenge — something ridiculous like eat a whole fried chicken, a pound of bbq, a pint of coleslaw, a dozen hush puppies, a pint of brunswick stew and a bowl of banana pudding in one hour. I may have missed something in there too. There was only one name on the plaque showing that this feat had been accomplished. We need to call Adam Richmond and Man v. Food to town for this challenge!

Items Selected:
Hush Puppies and Pig Skins
Fried Chicken, Chopped Pork, Cole Slaw, Brunswick Stew
Banana Pudding
Carrot Cake
Taking a break after breakfast to visit a few local museums it was just after 10:30am that a three-​part barbecue tour began, and making up for time lost due to weather earlier in the week the first stop was at Clyde Cooper’s BBQ, the Raleigh landmark garnering mixed reviews since relocating to a larger downtown venue, though if what we experienced was somehow less impressive than that which was offered in the past I can only imagine the ‘old’ Cooper’s was truly something to behold.
Really only moved around the corner from its original location, the former spot serving up slow cooked pork shoulders for over 75 years, our sleepy-​eyed waiter explained to us that much of the interior had been relocated to the new two-​story space and with old photographs, wood booths, and plenty of southern charm to be found while service moved at a deliberate but leisurely pace one would be hard pressed to find anything for lack throughout our forty-​five minute stay, even the folk and country soundtrack playing at a volume just right.
Every bit the bargain of many other North Carolina ‘cue houses, the menu well-​culled but not limited in the least, it was on a complimentary basket of thick pork-​rinds and light hushpuppies that we noshed as we waited and with the face slowly filling with business-​lunchers it was just as the place was getting lively that our shared plate of Carolina Classics arrived, the chopped pork tender with texture added by glistening skin while the chicken trended just a bit oily for white meat, though certainly not unexpectedly so for a bird so well brined and crisply double-​fried.
Equally impressed by the snappy sweet slaw and Brunswick stew chock-​a-​block full of legumes and okra amidst the savory tomato base, there was little doubt that dessert would be ordered as soon as I saw the options and although the carrot cake proved a bit too dry to be enjoyed despite rich cream cheese icing the banana pudding was everything I’d come to expect from such a rustic operation, the ‘nilla wafers soft and spongy, the flavors just a bit too sugary, and the bananas a touch over-​ripe — in other words ‘textbook,’ just like the chicken, stew, and ‘cue.

The place is legendary and while it’s unfortunate that they lost their old historical location (for some terrible looking low-​rise apartments), the new site is great and the food continues to be the draw.
One issue: Grow the hell up and start accepting credit/​debit cards. I mean, Jesus, I’ve passed them by too many times to count for places like Red Hot & Blue because they prefer to keep it «off the books».
Get with it.

I had been to the old location a couple of times, but this is the first time in the new location. The new location is about twice the size of the old one.
When I came I did the safe thing, and ordered the chicken. Didn’t want to blow up from my high blood pressure during the week. The fried chicken was good, well cooked, and tasty. The vegetables had a nice flavor, and enjoyable. I really enjoyed the hush puppies, and the large skins were nice.
The server needed to step up her game. It seemed like we had to keep asking for standard items.
So the food was good, but the service was lacking.

This place, the oldest remaining barbecue joint in North Carolina, moved from its original location after 76 years, reopening here in April 2014. This was my first time at the new location, just around the block from the very familiar old one. Much is the same, even if on the surface much looks different — all glass front, new stainless steel dining counter, a much larger, better configured space overall, large overhead fan, brighter and cleaner looking and feeling.
Then there is the old & familiar — the old red awning is there, the old Clyde Cooper’s Barbecue sign freshly painted on the wall, the wooden booths, the pink pig, the same menu, the pricing remains more than reasonable, you still get both hush puppies and pig skins with your plate, and they still don’t take credit or debit cards — so much moved, but perhaps a bit of the old style barbecue joint charm didn’t make that move, at least for me.
The chopped barbecue remains solid, if not spectacular. It comes out of the kitchen well sauced, but with absolutely no smokiness — they haven’t cooked the pork here over hardwood coals in years. The slaw is finely chopped and is rather dry (no mayo), but goes well on a sandwich.
The Hush Puppies are too sweet for my tastes, but the pig skins are very nice. The Brunswick Stew is just plain strange, with green beans, pintos, and even some carrot in it — I’d pass unless you like vegetable soup. The Fried Chicken here is excellent, the Ribs and BBQ Chicken, not so much. I’d get a soft drink unless you like really sweet tea.
In the end, I enjoyed the meal here, but left feeling that something was missing — that happens more and more as the traditional mom and pop operations, that were the backbone of the North Carolina barbecue tradition, fall away or change significantly, or are replaced by the barbecue emporiums which offer all the smoked meats, but none of the charm or tradition.

Awesome! The old Clyde Cooper’s has been refreshed in its new location on Wilmington Street. Located next to the large municipal parking structure, the new Clyde Cooper’s stays true to its roots of serving solid que, sides and more for a very reasonable price. Inside they’ve got the old Clyde Cooper’s sign painted on the wall along with the weathered awning from the old location. But the building and space is brand spankin’ new with a nice stainless steel counter for casual dining. There’s probably three times the space including a communal table in back with mason jar chandelier.
My baby back ribs with barbeque, potato salad and more was quite good. The que is spiked with some vinegar and pepper without being too wet. The ribs were a bit fatty but fine by me! And of course I couldn’t resist a cup of nanner pudding to end the meal. At $ 11 for the meal in downtown Raleigh, it’s a deal! And yes, they’ve got pig’s ears for your favorite four-​legged friend ($ 1) which I heard are super tempting to the pups. So go go, Clyde Coopers! Even with a brand new location, you’re still keeping your Southern roots real…