Proof BBQ & Booze — Restaurant in Queensland

An otherwise pleasant evening that was tarnished by some inaccuracies with menu pricing.

Proof BBQ is a well-located American-style establishment with cosy decor and (generally) friendly staff. We visited with a party of four and ordered a range of craft beer as well as: southern fried chicken beef brisket pulled pork fries mash slaw cornbread jalapeno poppers

Portion sizes were reasonable and the meal was largely enjoyable - the cornbread, pulled pork and jalapeno poppers were stand outs and more than made up for the rather average-tasting slaw and slightly dry brisket.

We finished with the banoffee pie and Cadbury flake cheescake, which were both extremely rich.

Had the evening concluded at that point, I would have no hesitation giving a 4/5 rating - unfortunately, when we received the bill, I noticed that we were charged $5 per jalapeno popper instead of $3, which was what was listed on the menu. I approached our waitress about this, and she indicated that she thought they were $3 as well. As a result, she checked in with the owner / manager (one of the chefs in the kitchen).

When she returned, she told us that the price had recently changed, and that she had only just been made aware of it. She made no attempt to apologise for the pricing error and then asked us how we would like to pay. In response, I asked if she was going to honour the price on the menu, or charge us an arbitrary price that was not actually conveyed to customers. What she said next was quite surprising in the moment and, in retrospect, honestly a little disappointing - she indicated that she was just doing what she was told, and that she could apply a discount if we were REALLY upset about it.

A slight margin of error in price would normally have been forgivable, but the waitress' blase attitude coupled with the $16 price difference (8 jalapeno poppers in total) was enough to change the tone of our evening.

Not wanting to be pushy, I indicated that as a representative of the establishment, she should probably do what the establishment deemed to be fair - her response to this was to reiterate that she just doing what she was told. It was only when one of the other members in our party highlighted the flaw in her argument that she finally (reluctantly) agreed to apply a 'discount'.

That other member of our four person party paid before I had the chance to, and sadly, we realised as we stepped outside that the waitress had only taken $10 off our bill.

Were the jalapeno poppers worth $5 each? Probably. Would we go back anytime soon? For the food, maybe - definitely not for...

Our recent visit to this restaurant was terrible. We battled the Friday evening rush-hour traffic as we're both fans of the slow-cooked bbq.

I ordered a pound of brisket as this seemed to be the house special and my wife ordered the brisket burger. Waitress service was adequate to be fair, but the brisket that was served to me looked a couple of days old and was so shrivelled up and dry that it was completely inedible. I patiently waited for our waitress to return while I was watching my wife struggle with her burger. I kept looking over towards the kitchen pass, but the bearded boys who were back there were clearly more interested in the waitress' than serving fresh, slow-cooked brisket. Eventually the waitress returned and I explained and then to our shock, she told us that they cooked 2 today and they just got mixed up. It was nothing more than a blatant lie, listening to her story quickly became awkward.

Personally, I'm offended that anyone would think that it's OK to serve food like this. I'm also dubious that the boys in the kitchen have any culinary qualifications, never mind basic food hygiene protocol.

The issue was resolved by fresh orders of two burgers on the house, so at least we didn't walk out hungry. We didn't pay for these. While we waited our waitress brought us a big portion of fresher brisket, which I found galling to be honest.

When we left my wife said that the staff were all doing shots from the bar but I didn't see this. What I did see was the bloke who was tending the bbq near the entrance, was smoking a cigarette and that was the final nail in the coffin for this mob. We won't be back and we won't be...

I wish I could give more stars! As soon as I walked in the door, I was greeted with a refreshing, authentic American vibe and I instantly felt like I was back home! The music in the background, game playing on the big screen, the chill lighting, the endless array of Whiskey stocked on the shelf and friendly staff already made me feel like this was a place I wanted to come back to before I even tried the brisket. Speaking of brisket - this place $h*ts over any other BBQ joint I've tried since leaving the US. Everything was cooked perfectly! The menu, while creative and offering many options - stuck to it's roots and you'll find everything here you would want in a BBQ bar. We ordered heaps haha. There was too much to choose from and every thing we ordered was better than the next. Except the brisket, which you just can't compare obviously. This place is also open until 10PM ON A SUNDAY!! I love that I can go out for an evening dinner and I don't have to deal with that familiar disappointment of going out only to find every place is already shut. I don't have a single negative thing to say about this place and I already can't wait to come back. If you're looking for a reason to remind yourself why you can't be vegan - come here. P.S. Please add some Pecan or Pumpkin pie to the menu!