Armored Gardens — Restaurant in Davenport

Armored Gardens has some of the best BBQ in the QC though they do have a few issues to deal with.

Focusing on the food, the Beef Brisket and Burnt Ends are amazing. The Brisket was well cooked though very light on seasoning. The flavor of the meat came through and it tasted awesome. The Burnt Ends, while a little salty, were incredibly good and are going to be my choice to pick if we ever go back again. Unfortunately, the Pulled Pork sandwich that I received was cold, which took away from the flavor and the experience. Now, I want to clarify, it wasnt "sitting around waiting to be served cold." The meat on the sandwich was "refrigerator cold." I dont know if someone forgot to heat it up after pulling it out of the fridge before serving it or what but 40 degree pork isnt very appealing.

One of their main claims is the 100 tab bar that offers a staggering assortment of beverages to pick from. The problem is, you have to order by number and the print on the TVs over the bars is so small that it's difficult to see them (I have really good eyes so I dont know how anyone with poor vision would be able to order). While there's an app to be able to scroll through the list, why should I have to deal with that to order a drink? Finally, with the layout of the bar there was only one place to order a drink and when someone got their drink they either couldnt move out of the way of the next person or simply wouldnt move out of the way. Having more places to order a drink and a better system to pick one would have gotten my money for a beer that night (which they didnt get).

I wouldnt be against going back to Armored Gardens but only if it were during the summer when the outdoor patio is open or on a week night so we're not fighting for somewhere to sit (it is VERY packed on the weekends during winter). If you like good BBQ, this place is well worth the visit...

So disappointing. I'm a craft beer and bbq lover so this place was exactly up my alley. In 2017 in early December my family took me out to Armored Gardens for my birthday dinner. It was excellent! Fast-forward a year and the experience could not have been more different. The beer side remains the same to be clear so if you're only interested in beer feel free. On the food side, though: It was a Sunday evening (12/2) and the whiteboard next to the menu said 'no cornbread'. Being my birthday I wanted to splurge and get their $20 "three meat combo" that came with chips. I don't care for chips so I paid to upgrade to fries. Imagine my surprise when my dish came out with three tiny portions of meat. No cole slaw. I went back to the counter and asked about the cole slaw and they said they were out of that too so they gave me more chips (that I had paid to upgrade to fries because I don't care about chips). One of the kitchen staff was also updating the board to add cole slaw in addition to cornbread. I was with my family so enjoyed the experience regardless but I was seriously disappointed with the drop in quality and service over a year at Armored Gardens. For $20 I was given three tiny portions of meat and a huge plate of kettle cooked chips, likely from a bag. There were 3-4 people in the kitchen at the time. I'm amazed none of them questioned "wait. If I was spending $20 would I be satisfied with this?" but apparently that was beyond them. Do yourself a favor and spend your money at a place that...

So I wanted to find out what all the buzz was about and decided to give them a try. How can you go wrong with a 100 beer selection and bbq? Pump the brakes! Beer selection amazing. Taste of food- less than amazing. The pulled pork with Carolina slaw and pickle with slow greens. The Carolina slaw is a vinegar based slaw that needs some tweaking in taste. I have no idea what the heck they were trying to achieve with the homemade pickle and the star of the show, pulled pork, left so much to be desired. The meat lacked smoked flavor, juiciness, and the ability to be shredded with ease. The slow greens I think were turnip greens possibly mustard greens that were seasoned with a salt block. I would’ve preferred collard greens or a mix of all three. The brisket sandwich with side winder fries. The sandwich claims a 12 hour smoking. Most smoked meats bear a smoke ring and nothing present on the meat itself. The flavor tasted like a pot roast from the oven and even worse cut like slices of meat loaf. The best part of the meal were the fries. Hot and crispy. It’s an overpriced restaurant wrapped in a beautiful restaurant front but when opened the inside looking like a generic camp ground with appealing food tasting less than average and a great selection of beer. Do what we did- go during lunch ($9.99 sandwich, side, and drink) to try and if you don’t like you won’t fee that you’ve...