MISSION BBQ — Restaurant in Columbia

Tonight my family and I (3 people) went to Mission BBQ. We got there at 8:40, and as soon as we walked in we were unenthusiastically and mildly greeted by the cashier, Efe. Now I understand that they close at 9pm and we got there 20 minutes before closing, but Efe was consistently looking at the time like we were inconveniencing her, being short when we asked questions about the menu and specific items and wasn’t very pleasant. In the few minutes we’d spent at the register talking to Efe…I was unfortunately already disappointed with the experience so far. Moving onto the food, with all of the hype that Mission BBQ has received, my dinner was mid at best. I’ll attach pictures, but my Yard Bird Chicken was not cooked all the way and parts of it were raw; the corn bread was a bit cold as well and even the Mac and cheese was a little hard. I was disappointed with my meal but since it was approaching closing I had eaten a few pieces of the chicken so I could try the sauces and then I ended up throwing away the rest of it since I did not want to inconvenience anyone. Moving onto the pleasant part of my meal…Vanessa, who was cleaning the lobby, was incredibly sweet, helpful, and I enjoyed her advice. She was more than willing to help us even though at this point it was 8:50 by grabbing me a clean cup since the one I had gotten at the register was dirty inside, she grabbed us utensils, a lid for my cup, and an extra plate without us even having to ask. Vanessa was giving me her personal recommendations on her favorite sauces (she said hers was the Smokey Mountain) and what she thought goes well with the Yard Bird. I enjoyed my interactions with her. As well, the two gentlemen that were working behind the counter were enjoyable and helpful too. One gentleman who was prepping sauces I believe, helped take our trash and thankfully was not rushing us. The other gentleman that we had interacted with also had a very happy attitude and even made sure to give my husband his cup he’d forgotten so that if we do decide to come back he will only have to pay .99¢ for a refill. I’ll be visiting again sometime in the future to hopefully have a better experience since I’d hate to base everything off a singular experience, but if I was to rate my initial experience and food on a scale from 1-5 stars I would give it 2 stars. The only reason why it got as high of a 2 is because of how nice Vanessa and the two other gentlemen were. I wanted to really like Mission BBQ especially since we are a military family, but my experience tonight really made an impression on my opinion of this specific...

My husband and I are huge Mission BBQ fans, and we were excited to see a Columbia, SC location was opening. This location was going to be a much better option for us, as we live in Charlotte, NC - closest locations were Fayetteville, NC and Roanoke, VA. We have now come to this location a couple of times, so I wanted to provide my review.

What we love: *Pulled chicken - this is my husband's favorite item. *Turkey - this is my favorite item. It is probably my favorite turkey from any restaurant. It is so moist and you can taste that smokey flavor. It is prepared to perfection. *Jalapeno Cheddar Sausage - this is cheesy with a little bit of spice. *Pulled Pork - while we have had better pulled pork, this is still a solid option that we enjoy. *Seasonal Sides - potato salad and cheesy potatoes. *Seasonal desserts - peach cobbler and apple cobbler.

I've always said it, BBQ is best when you don't have to use sauce. Their meats do not need sauce. Although, they do have some interesting sauces. My favorite is the bay-b-que, but unfortunately it is not at this location - they have other regional sauces instead.

A couple of other things I wanted to point out: *While I have not had it from this location, the turkey offered at Thanksgiving is a great deal and is so flavorful. *Their patio is dog friendly! *Staff is super friendly here, as they are at each location I have been to, just a great service standard.

I highly recommend Mission BBQ if you are in the area. Even if you are not in the area like us, I still recommend as they are definitely worth the drive for the food, service, and supporting the mission behind...

So by saying this, maybe I'm a little biased because I am from North Carolina and I'm used to the vinegar-based barbecue which they do have. But let me start by saying that the food here is decent. It's not the best barbecue around but for a chain it is pretty good. I've been here a few times before and this time I decided to get the burger and then along with the pulled pork the burger for me kind of threw me off because it had a pink ring. But as I come to understand that the pink ring is just from the grill but that is the only thing that threw me off. Other than that, the pulled pork is pretty good. I will say that the different sauces on the table definitely help it as they have various sauces from different areas such as Kentucky, Memphis, North Carolina and Texas style barbecue sauces. Also, the macaroni and cheese was pretty good and the greens were good. Although I did have to send it back for it to be warmed up. But the team is always excellent and the people are friendly. And I also like the military theme, which is honestly one of the amazing things about it. But if you're in the area, give it a try. You won't be disappointed. It's just not the best barbecue that you've probably had but for a chain. Once again,...