Carlile’s Barbecue — Restaurant in Birmingham

Excellent catering experience!!! We ordered catering for 60 people. Communicated with Ina which was very easy. She was very friendly and prompt to answer my questions and accommodate our needs. We had pork, chicken (20 lbs total of meat), mac and cheese, baked beans, and coleslaw (2 gal each). Definitely one of the best bbq's I have had. The meat was extremely flavorful, juicy, and smokey (other bbq places in town just seem to lack that heavenly smokiness that makes you crave for more!). And the side dishes were also delicious. Oh my! - those baked beans! Many of my friends commented on how good the food was. The pork normally comes with the vinegar based "original" sauce and the chicken comes with a mix of savory (slightly sweet) "red" sauce and creamy "white" sauce. Most of us prefer slightly sweet sauce so we requested more of the "red" sauce and less of the "original" sauce. The meat order includes hamburger buns and pickles at no extra cost. The prices are very reasonable and were the lowest out of 5 different bbq places that gave me a quote. And they don't even charge a delivery fee if the delivery is not too far! Ina arrived on time with our order and helped us set up in no time. Carlile's has now become my favorite BBQ in town! I only wish they would be open on weekends or in...

I placed an order online to be picked up on the 4th of July at 11:00 am! I received our confirmation email with the confirmation number. They charged my card for almost $100. We live 30-35 from the restaurant. My husband arrived at the restaurant 15 minutes early with intentions that it would be packed. When he arrived there was no one in the parking lot and restaurant was closed! I called the number on the website numerous times and no answer! I also sent an email to them. Nothing! I have never eaten here and it has been recommended to me numerous times so I was looking forward to trying the food. I have worked in the restaurant business my whole life, especially BBQ. And my Family owns a BBQ place outside the Birmingham area. I have NEVER known of a BBQ restaurant being closed on the 4th of July. Even more so, I have never seen a restaurant take an order online and send out confirmation emails and then arrive to no one being at the restaurant and them being closed!! This is unacceptable and I expect an immediate refund! DO NOT EAT HERE OR SUPPORT THIS...

The good: The staff was friendly and prompt. The sauces I tried were take home worthy.

The bad: The food was almost inedible. I should have been concerned when I didn’t see or smell any smoke coming from the establishment. Not dispositive of a bad restaurant though so I went in.

The meat- overall dry and bland. Little, if any, smoke flavor. All of it tasted like it was oven cooked, not smoked.

Ribs: tough and bland. I’ve had jerky that was softer Pork: dry, bland. Tasted more like boiled chicken with a little pepper on top. Brisket: on this, I’ll let the pictures tell the story. It looked, and tasted, like an unseasoned pork chop that was cooked to ruin and microwaved to reheat it before serving. I checked each piece fully expecting to see the green sheen of old meat.

The sides- both were standard (or tasted like) premade from a bag. No seasoning and didn’t appear to be recently cooked.

My experience with Carlile’s ended at 3am with much ado and fanfare. I’d love to get a refund to afford therapy for my poor toilet after all it...