Ken's Hickory Pit Barbecue — Restaurant in Birmingham

We have drove by Ken's BBQ several times, always see vehicles there at lunch time, so we went in early for dinner at 5 pm,. After we had ordered our dinner, quite some time had passed, we had to ask for our drinks so we could take our medications, the young girl who waited on us...brought us cups packed with ice, and there was hardly anything to drink, only 2 sips, I asked for a refill on the drink and she said she was busy and would refill it in a few minutes...she was right, we had to wait several minutes to get a refill and still there was only a sip in the cup packed with ice...There was only one other older couple in the restaurant eating, I do not know what the server was so busy doing, that she did not have time to help us.

When she brought our plates out she did not bring the slaw that went with my husbands bbq plate, and it was a few minutes before we noticed it missing, we could not catch her to mention it. I ordered the stuffed baked potato, it was awful, do not know how many days ago it was cooked, and it was stuffed was 2 tablespoons of bbq pork on top with a sprinkle of cheese and rocks ( i mean burnt hard bacon bits ) on top. The baked beans were awful. I had to ask for bbq sauce for our meat, there was not any on the table.

Some other people came in and sat down and she quickly escorted them out saying we close at 6 pm, I guess she was in a hurry to get off work.

As we were at the register checking out, the cashier had rang up about half of our order, the phone rang, she answered it. We had to wait 10 minutes till some one else came to run the register so we could pay. The cashier was still talking on the phone the whole time, just so rude, while we were just standing there waiting.

We will not be returning to Ken's BBQ, they have very poor customer service and rude staff and unappetizing food in an old, almost dilapidated building, needless to say we were very disappointed for an...

3.5 STARS (Google doesn't allow 1/2 stars; I went with 3 to compensate for a lot of 5-star ratings skewing the numbers up)

Ken's Hickory Pit BBQ is yet one more of a slew of memorabilia laden, dingy, cramped hovels that locals have come to know as authentic BBQ restaurants across the state of Alabama. The atmosphere is thick with hickory smell, and the walls have started to strain under the weight of signed memorabilia from football days past and present.

The food is quite good, though not quite in the upper echelon of BBQ joints. Half a rack of ribs is a winner; the meat is clearly smoked well, judging by the thick pink line in the ribs. It falls apart with little effort, and the outer charred bits give a nice crunch when you can find them. The pulled pork was fine, but a bit sloshy under the weight of the sauce (perhaps the pork was stored in liquid?). The sauce itself is amiable, heavy on the sugar and light on the tang, and suited ribs more than pulled pork.

Plates come with a generous 3 sides to help the price point. Potato salad, not usually my favorite side, was really quite tasty. Collars were out, as was banana pudding--a note: they make one large banana pudding every morning, and it may well be gone before lunch is over. Be warned!

Overall, Ken's is worth the trip if you're sampling the BBQ in the area. Not as polished as some of the area's other establishments, but a solid hangout, and one to swing by when you're passing...

We got there at 415pm. They close at 530pm. They said we had plenty of time to eat. We ordered a large baked pototo loaded ( no meat ) rib plate 2 sides okra, chicken finger plate fries and slaw. 2 teas and coke. It was the worst meal we have ever had. The potato was hard, cold and small.. no where near a large, the ribs were tough... okra was not 2 sides. It was in a 1 side bowl. He didnt even get bread on the plate. The chicken fingers were not good they had a texture to them. But the fries and slaw were great!!! Tea was awesome...!!! We did complain about potato, ask to heat up she brought out new one heated up in microwave and put 2 on plate to make it a large. Still cold and hard. We figured no need to complain about ribs if couldnt get potato right. The waitress was very nice. She brought us 1pc of pie to share between the 3 of us.. but not a great enough job to bring us back. NOwhere near the ticket price we paidn Go early for breakfast.... or early lunch. But thats been a long time. Im not going to recommend it, just suggest that's the...