Dinky's BBQ — Restaurant in Chiang Mai Province

I've been wanting to try this place for a while, but unfortunately it just wasn't as good as expected. The atmosphere in the little courtyard area is nice and chill, they have a decent selection of beer and the service was friendly, it's just the food that didn't really deliver.

We tried all their meats and some were good and some were not so good. The sausage and pork belly were the best, although the pork belly was like 90% fat, and it would have been nice if it had just a bit more meat. The pulled pork was good, but not great and just missing some flavors and juice. The chicken wasn't very good and was quite hard and a bit dry and not juicy and fall off the bone tender as it should be.

I was mostly looking forward to trying the ribs here and really wanted to like them, but they just weren't that good. The ribs didn't have much meat on them and while the flavor was decent, the meat was a bit too hard and not very juicy. My personal preference for BBQ ribs is that they are juicy and fall off the bone or at the very least can be pulled off the bone when you bite them, but these had more the texture of a slightly overcooked pork chop and the meat completely stuck to the bone.

When you looked around at the other tables you saw piles of pork bones with meat stuck to them and not clean bones as you should be seeing at a BBQ place like this. My friend who has been here before, did mention that usually their ribs are better, but I can only comment based on my first experience here, and unfortunately they were not very good.

As for the sides, the coleslaw was ok, but a bit bland, the beans tasted ok but were very watery like a bean soup, personally I didn't like the okra, but that might just be me, and the bread roll is the kind you buy in a big pack at the supermarket.

If I had this meal in Texas or anywhere else where you would expect great BBQ the score would be 2 or 3 stars at most, but considering it's in Thailand and maybe I caught them on a bad day I'm going...

Summary: Helpful and friendly staff, DELICIOUS American BBQ with huge portions, relaxed atmosphere, no wait for food, very quick.

I haven’t had American style BBQ, especially brisket, since living in Thailand and when I saw Dinkys on the map and through an Ad on Instagram I knew I had to check it out.

Food: WOW melt in your mouth, fall off the bone ribs. Great seasoning in true Texas BBQ style, good smoke ring through the brisket and in the ribs too. I chose the 2 meats 2 sides deal and I was not expecting it to be this much food! Massive portion sizes. The 2 meats I chose were Brisket and Pork Ribs 1/2 rack, the 2 sides were beef tallow green beans and the country mashed potatoes.

Staff: Pond was very friendly and helped me with the menu, how to order and recommended the ribs to me. He believed I could eat it all! But I managed about 1/2 of the plate. Luckily they’re happy for you to takeaway anything you couldn’t finish so I’ve got some for leftovers.

Atmosphere: it’s low season so not very busy anywhere in Chiang Mai currently, but there were still a few tables full and getting busier as I left. Clean restaurant with plenty of indoor and outdoor seating. The restaurant is surrounded by small cafes and other places to eat and drink. They even have corn hole games to play in the courtyard at the front (a fun American game to play with friends). Whilst I was there they accommodated a table of 8-10 people for somebody’s birthday and the wait time was still only about 10minutes for their food. Very...

A morning mini-hike in the beautiful Ob Khan National Park builds up an appetite, making Dinky’s BBQ a great lunch option.

Driving into the arty, leafy Tambon Su Thep area, finding Dinky’s and other eateries in the cool dining and drinking compound was pretty easy.

After parking and playing a quick game of cornhole, we entered Dinky’s which is brightly colored, promising a fun, relaxed dining experience. “Texas comes to Chiang Mai” is the vibe and décor style inside, and once settled, we were handed the impressive menu and received good ordering advice from the friendly server.

We opted for beef cheek tacos, ribs, brisket, coleslaw, fries, two beers, and two sodas. This was the perfect order for lunch (for four), and the food arrived quickly.

The ribs and brisket were juicy, smoky, tender, and well-seasoned (a nice mix of savory, sweet, and tangy). While these tasted great, the beef cheek tacos were next level – I liked the ever-so-slightly gamey flavor of the cheeks and combined with coriander, lime, onions, and a fresh, warm taco, life was very good indeed.

We didn’t have time for dessert, as we had a flight to catch, but next time. Dinky’s is as authentic as it gets - this is reinforced by the big BBQs, grills, and stacks of firewood outside. I also saw their homemade sausages, which were about to be put on the grill – they looked so good.

Dinky may mean small or slight, but everything is big here - the flavors, hospitality, the meat plates, and sides, and we’ll be back with a bigger...