Grand Ole BBQ Flinn Springs — Restaurant in Alpine

We are long time customers of the former restaurant and very familiar with the previous menu and the location. 3 of the 5 in our party are in the food & bar industry, so we're not harsh but know how things work. Maybe the staff was short handed or maybe overwhelmed, either way? Our brunch visit yesterday, mehh...

WAIT STAFF - 4 stars Our server was very friendly, greeted us promptly, took our orders and continued to check in on us. She explained the delays in our Bar order, delays in completing our food order and agreed about the quality of the pork in a dish. While we had some issues with the items ordered being accurate, she still wins for attitude and attentiveness.

BAR SERVICE - 1 Star Slow; First of 2 Mimosas we ordered? The wineglass had LIPSTICK plainly visible on the rim, and food particles on the inside of the glass. WE took it back to the bar, complained about the lipstick. The Pineapple Mimosa that was returned to us? Smaller red wine glass and was not a Pineapple Mimosa, didn't taste like the other Pineapple Mimosa ordered. Our party didn't try for a number 3 and just drank this one. $5 is a decent price. $8 Bloody Mary was pretty good, came with salted rim even though it is "upon request". . Note, our server had to wait for the bar staff on several occasions, returning to tell us she hadn't forgotten but was waiting on our cocktails.

FOOD - 2.5 stars This one is where they really fell down in consistency, menu accuracy and quality. Menu prices are average and as expected, with a decent variety. The new menu has a Tri-tip Scramble and a Pulled Pork Scramble. We will NOT ORDER these again. Both came with large chunks of re-heated meat and it wasn't hot. Pork is described in the menu as "shredded" pulled pork...nope. 1" cubes of re-heated pork and not well-trimmed. Our diner pulled them all to the side, totally unappetizing. Biscuits and Gravy came out with 1 split biscuit & gravy and 2 slices bacon (?) B&G item doesn't come with bacon and that costs the kitchen money. The gravy is a solid 4 and a lot like the former recipe. The Old 80 was served with Biscuit & Gravy (not ordered that way) and Toast. The Monterey Jack cheese used on the Veggie Omelet is processed Jack cheese slice, not actual Monterey Jack. Solid food items? The gravy and the eggs were all prepared correctly. Home fries are tasty, but weren't hot all the way through.

NOTE THAT when we complained to our server about the pork and she saw it wasn't eaten, she agreed with us and commented she had already spoken to the kitchen staff earlier with another complaint about the very same issue. We didn't expect to get that meal compd, but speaking to a manager or getting an invite to return and try it again after the bar issue and food? Nope, didn't happen.

DECOR / AMBIANCE - 5 stars This is the only things that brings up the stars. The new owners did a nice job of updating the back outdoor area. It really looks great with 2 cabanas that are well-appointed for groups. They updated everything, adding new roof, adding a stage, a walk-up bar (not staffed yesterday), new paint, etc.. The interior is also updated and very inviting. Plenty of parking too. If they can get the F&B together, I would absolutely book the outdoor area for a private party. It's well done.

OVERALL, we spent $96 for 5 people, before tip. We won't be going back anytime soon, and that's sad. We hope the new owner listens to the reviews, because we would go back just for the ambiance, if they can correct...

Came here tonight with my husband and daughter. We were told it would be a 30-45 minute wait, and it ended up only being around 15-20 minutes, which was nice, but then it took us probably another 15-20 minutes to receive our drinks, from the time we sat down.

Our server told us they had sold out of the sausage, tri-tip, and smoked turkey around 4 pm. From reading other reviews it seems that running out of things is a pretty common occurrence here. So I don’t understand why they can’t plan better, knowing they aren’t keeping up with demand. I was really disappointed because I came here wanting to try the turkey.

My husband said his brisket sandwich was really good and said the bread was really good too. The pulled pork was okay. Didn’t have much flavor/smokiness, and I would have liked to see more crispy bits in there for added texture/flavor. Sauces were really good, truthfully probably better than the actual BBQ itself which was disappointing. Potato salad was the BOMB. Green beans were okay — crunchy and had a weird taste like cleaning supplies.

My husband seemed to like the white beans with bacon more than I did. I would have preferred baked beans, which in my experience being from the South is more standard BBQ fare. The sweet pickles were delicious. My daughter got chicken tenders and fries. She liked the tenders and hardly touched the fries. I tried both and they were good.

The “flood pie” was ridiculously huge, very rich and far too heavy on the peanut butter. The menu describes the flood pie as “A chocolate, peanut butter, graham cracker & pretzel delight!” but there were no pretzels, hardly any chocolate, and there were nuts and whipped cream and caramel sauce on top, which wasn’t mentioned in the description. So they need to update the description. Someone described it as mud pie, but this is most definitely NOT mud pie. It’s basically an entire jar of peanut butter on top of a small crust. Their Google reviews talk about how frequently they sell out of the pie and judging by the size of the slices they serve, this isn’t surprising. They could easily cut the slices in half. I mean it could have been split between 3-4 people, it was that massive. And it wasn’t even anything to write home about.

If it weren’t for wanting to try the much-hyped and frequently sold-out smoked turkey, I probably wouldn’t come back. I might eat the pulled pork again, or maybe the brisket, and the potato salad was amazing, but potato salad alone isn’t worth a visit, and overall I was expecting better quality for what I paid ($80 for two adults and one kid, and that’s...

Jan 2019: They are now officially open 7 days a week.

Much more selection, food was still very good. The sides I had we're very good, green beans and fries.

Service a little dicey for opening day, expect they will improve.

Fall 2018: They have only done a soft open at the time of this review, so I'm reviewing based on what they have, and not the limitations.....though I do mention what to expect.

The service was really good. Pork ribs were amazing, brisket was ok....a little dry. People we're getting it with the bun, which looked really good. They have a few sauce options.....and they have wood utensils. Odd to eat with, as wood is dry, but easier to recycle.

Portions were really good for the price. Meals were $16 to $18.

The sides....meh. neither were for my taste, not bad per se.

Right now, thier options are limited. Brisket, pork ribs, and links. I heard the links are pretty spicy. The rub on the ribs are too, but the heat can be scraped off (cracked pepper) The sides are coleslaw, potatoes salad, and Peruvian beans. With sliced white bread....not sure what BBQ places thing is for plain white sliced bread, but they have that here too. You can get a bun for an extra $1.

I'm guessing with the soft open, and regulations, all food is served from this food truck. So, place your order, then stand in line. Moves reasonably well.

Bar has drinks, but based on what they serve I'm guessing they don't have thier full liquor licence yet. Beers and the bottled margaritas. Usually drink water....so....

They have a number of TV's with sports going on, business starts getting good around 6, and plenty of places to sit outside....inside is limited. At this time, they do not have heaters outside.

Worth the visit, can't wait until they open open, as they have a full...