Saucehouse BBQ CATERING & Pickup — Restaurant in Athens-Clarke County Unified Government

This is one of our go-to haunts in Athens. The owner (at least the one we always run into) is a helluva nice guy, and the counter staff are excellent young men and women doing a great job serving a ton of folks.

BBQ: I've had everything but the chicken breast (I prefer dark meat) and have found it to range from OK to good. Brisket is tasty, but should be fresh sliced from the roast, which is difficult (if not impossible) to do on the serving line that they use. The pork is always a toss-up, and is completely dependent on which kitchen worker is chopping it in the back. I've slung bbq for years in a past life, and chopped thousands of butts. When you prep a butt for chopping, you remove a huge portion of fat from the meat, but it is key to leave some so your finished product isn't dry and bland. About 75% of the time, the pork just doesn't have the fat content that I would like, and the meat is a little dry. Not bad, but just a little dry. My girlfriend and I are both pork fanatics, and we both think they could be more consistent with this. We went a few days ago, and it was perfect, so we will see if that's a change, or just luck. To the owners/managers: PLEASE LEAVE IN MORE FAT! We love you guys, and this is literally our only complaint. Ribs are pretty good, though I'm a spare-rib man myself, and they only serve baby-back. I know why (their serving table wouldn't fit the larger racks of spare ribs), but I still personally prefer the larger cut. Brunswick stew is excellent, and if you want it on the weekends, get there early because they will run out. You can get your bbq served with any number of bread/starch/salads (they call them vessels). They've got white bread, buns, rolls, tortillas, nachos, potatoes, and garden salad. All fresh and good.

Sauces: They have a ton (6-8, I think), and they're all delicious. My favorite is Lauren's Pork Sauce. The mustard sauce, the AL white sauce, and the hot vinegar sauces are also great. We hate tomato based sauces, so we love that it's not the only thing available.

Sides: Everything is good. All of it. The mac and cheese is competition quality, and if I didn't hate jail food so much, I'd strip down and bathe in their peach cobbler every time I'm in there. Every time we leave, we throw away licked clean containers, because nothing is bad. If you go here and get chips, shame on you. You're missing something special for sure.

Drinks: There's a full service bar with a limited food menu of some pretty creative bar snacks. We haven't tried it yet (too loud for a cranky vet like me), but there's no way it could be bad. The restaurant has some basic beers in a can (Creature Comforts, Terrapin, and staple domestics), and this suits us fine when we go. Tea is good, and I believe they make their own lemonade.

Breakfast: haven't had it yet. We're a couple of lushes, and prefer to have mimosas and bloody marys when we eat out for breakfast. I don't think these are an option in the main dining room where breakfast is served, though I could be wrong. (We may just smuggle our own bottle of champagne in one day and give it a try regardless. Better to ask forgiveness than permission, right?) GA laws make Sunday brunch an impossibility for us(seriously, who the hell wants to wait until after noon to start day-drinking), so we tend to order take out and drink at home when we want to "brunch".

Not important, and never solicited (freely given because it's marked on our driver's license), but they give us a 10% veteran's discount every time we eat here. These folks are a class act, and deserve your business. The bbq deserves four stars, given the things I discussed above, but taking the place as a total package, it's easily a 5 star business. After typing all this, I do believe I'm about to get in the car and go and stuff myself once more. Join me, and you will not be...

I don't do reviews. Ever. This is actually the first time I've ever taken the time to write a review.

Now, that being said, let's get to the good stuff. My first trip to Saucehouse was last Saturday. When you exit your car in the Saucehouse parking lot, you're immediately met with barbecue smells that leave your mouth watering. Here's a hint, it only gets worse as you walk up to the door. When we walked in, we were surprised at how packed it already was on an early afternoon. (To me, that's a good sign. It means people like the place.) While yes, the cafeteria style restaurant does mean a line, it also means you get a long time to make your decision, which wasn't easy.

Finally we got up to the front and were met by some of the friendliest people I've ever met in customer service. They joked, they laughed and were sincerely happy to be helping us out. As our food was rung up, we noticed that the price wasn't too bad either (always a plus). Then came the impossible decision of the many sauces that this place had to offer. Seriously, if you have a problem with being indecisive, you better let someone surprise you with a choice. We ended up sticking to the house sauce and sitting down.

Now, as someone who runs a food/travel blog, I take my time with my meals. While the meat was a little dry at first, I was extremely happy with the way it worked with the house sauce. It moistened up perfectly and I knew in that instant I would not being going anywhere else for barbecue. The explosion of flavor was amazing and each side went perfectly. The baked beans tasted like they have been cooked over a campfire and had such a hearty, woody flavor that they left me wanting more. However, the most memorable side Saucehouse has is DEFINITELY their mac 'n cheese. It was probably the best made and tasting mac 'n cheese I've had in a very long time (and I like cooking mac 'n cheese at home).

Between the atmosphere, the food, and the outstanding customer service, Saucehouse has become my favorite place for barbecue in Athens. I was back there today with my mother who was visiting from out of town and when I told the guys behind the counter Saucehouse was my favorite, their pride and joy was so incredibly genuine. So please, please, if you live in the Athens area or are just passing through go to Saucehouse.

-- The...

I love sauce house it is now in my top three favorite restaurants. Everything was perf and delish. Love the way you order your food then sit down, the employees behind the counter were very kind without overdoing it and seemed very genuine. The FOOOD???? SO DELISH!!! Macaroni was worth the wait because they ran out it was so good and cheesy and yum no complaints (10/10). I am a BBQ fan and I have ate alot of pulled pork in the course of my life- this pulled pork was delish and the sauce options pushed it to perfection and dont even get me started on the price for how much food you get?? OH AND CHEERWINE AND DR PEPPER?? Best drink options. Hands down. I dont even live in athens or am a UGA fan but you will catch me driving an hour every weekend for sauce house. OH AND dont even get me started on the breadpudding!!! It was the best bread pudding I have ever had like even better than any grandmothers recipe or restaurant. It was so delicious I had to restrain myself from finishing the container. If you forget anything from this review please dont let it be the breadpudding it was so good oh my god.

Also shout out to Sauce House for keeping my sister’s boyfriends wallet in safe keeping. He accidentally left his wallet with over $500 in it at the table and Sauce house so kindly kept it in safekeeping for him and he was able to come back and get it the next day with everything still in it. If it was me personally I wouldve stolen all the money in it but that just goes to show you the type of people they employ. #stansaucehouse

In summary I love sauce house and everything about it, I have spent every waking second from the moment I left counting down the minutes to when I will be able to return. Do yourself a favor and eat here please GOD....