BIG8 BBQ — Restaurant in Cape Coral

For the money, it's just okay. $17 brisket combo, one slice of meat? Over priced. The meat was dry with the exception of the fat. The "gingerbread cornbread was good. The beans were good. No fountain drinks or brewed sweet tea either. Who serves BBQ with no sweet tea? Must be a northerner owner! It's a one-time visit for us.

If you are looking for a better bbq IMO go to Smoking Pit BBQ in North Ft Myers.

Replying to board member reply to my review.

Unfortunately you must be mistaken us for some other patron. The server who served us was on his first day as an employee and no manager stopped by our table to ask anything. The only people who spoke to us was the seating hostess and the waiter.

When we asked for sweet tea he said you only have bottled or soda cans. We even asked for brewed tea and he said no.

A couple of other issues noted from other tables around us. On the menu, the "sausage brisket" the waiter had to explain this concept numerous times when a couple was ordering the 2 meat combo. The waiter was terrible at explaining it. When their meals were brought to their table the husband said to the wife "that's it, this place is way over priced for what you get". Since I had already thought the same when my meal was delivered it stuck with me.

We weren't offered sauce, another drink or anything else until we were sitting there waiting for the waiter to walk by and he asked us do we want our check. I jokingly told him, no not really. And he started fiddling with the handheld machine.

Then going to pay. The waiter had a terrible time tearing off the receipt from the machine. On the receipt it has the QR code to scan...ONLY compatible with iPhones. This cuts out 60-70% of the population since iPhones are only approximately 30% of the cell phone user market. The little nuances just kept building up...

The dark black high walled dining table terrible design. Feel like you're eating in a box. Our joke was "they" dont want customers to see the other customers disappointment when they receive their meals.

The colors are gaudy. First impression walking in was were we at a NE fish market. It too was a turn off.

The outdoor seating would have been nice but the afternoon sun was cooking the painted black wood furniture with no shade. Again, must be a North Easterner thought. If you have outdoor seating, you MUST have shade! And black furniture on black asphalt... come on! You haven't actually ate lunch at noon outside on a sunny day at this location have you? Good idea, terrible execution.

I hope these insights help you out but as you know reviews can make or break a business. Our first experience at Big 8 BBQ was not worth returning. Maybe when reviews state the place has changed for the better then we will bring our money and network but until then I wish you the...

THE GOOD: Big 8 BBQ is simply amazing. Best BBQ I have eaten in years. When I walked in, I were greeted and seated at a table and then explained ordering process. You basically order directly from a cart. I thought this was going to be a little strange; but now I see its genius. You can actually look at the food before you order and ask for more of this or more of that. It is way better than ordering from a menu. After ordering way too much food, I tried the brisket sausage. It was the moistest sausage I have ever seen. I then tried the burn ends. They were amazing! All toasty on the outside but still soft on the inside with just the right amount of fat. Finally, I tried the brisket. My love for the sausage and burnt ends became a distant memory. The brisket is without a doubt the best I have had and after living in Texas for 20 years I have certainly eaten my share of brisket. It is simply fantastic. I realized that everything else was just a tease. The brisket is the main event. As it should, the meat pulled from the bone with just a slight hesitation but once free, was juicy, tender and flavorful. Lastly, even though I am not sure how I was able to eat it, the mac and cheese is crazy creamy and cheesy, the corn bread is fresh and the butter has just a hint of honey. After slouching down in the booth in my meat coma, the owner Kevin came by and noticed we might be needing a nap. He was genuinely nice, super interested in making sure we had a good experience.

THE BAD: Here in lies a problem with Big 8. The brisket is so good, that without taking photos, you cannot remember anything else. Yeah, it is that good. As a nitpick, the benches for the tables are a little tall. My toes could touch the ground by my heals had to dangle. The seat also needs to be a little lower to make the gap between the table and the bench taller because you are stuck in the seat after eating so much. Next, the parking is a pain. We had to park across the street and walk over. After eating so much, it is a long walk. Maybe they can use a valet service and I would not have to walk at all. Hum?

In the end, I highly recommend trying Big 8. I know I will...

These folks have a some prime real estate. Parking was disastrous. They have a small strip of parking they share with a couple other restaurants and across the street is a larger parking lot but that is for other restaurants and businesses as well.

We walked in and the place seems a bit out-dated. It was sparse. I believe it was all booths. The booths were huge, which was nice for me with my 2 year old.

The food was good, but definitely not 5 star worthy. Perhaps my expectations for BBQ are high. I had pulled pork. They had platters of 2, 3 or 4 meats as well as ones designed for multiple people. The sides did not come with the meal I chose. Most BBQ joints I have been to include those. I think it was $14 or 16 for just the pork.

The sides came in a tiny bowl. I had garlic mac n cheese on the recommendation of the waiter and the green beans. I feel like both were sides I could've made at home. The pork was delicious and didn't really need the BBQ sauce. The sauce comes in even tinier cups. They gave me 2. Again, the sauce was nothing special. I would go for the pulled pork. I had a taste of the brisket, which was a bit fatty for my taste.

Overall, it was good pulled pork, but nothing else. I would probably not visit again because of the parking situation and lack of ambience. It was also, expensive for what you got.

As we were leaving around 6:30, they were telling customers they were out of everything. Seems like poor planning for a Saturday during...