Amarillo Barbecue — Restaurant in Duvall

Disappointed and Won’t Be Returning

My wife and I had lunch at Amarillo BBQ in Duvall today, and unfortunately, the only positive thing I can say is that the facility was clean.

Despite having only one guest ahead of us, our food took over 30 minutes to come out—which is surprising for BBQ that should already be prepared. Even worse, our order didn’t arrive together. I had finished my brisket and chicken by the time the side of sweet potato fries finally showed up.

The brisket was dry and flavorless, and while the chicken was okay, it was definitely nothing to write home about.

Service was equally disappointing. The young lady at the counter couldn’t stop playing with her hair while taking orders, and after wiping down a table with cleaning chemicals, she didn’t wash her hands before handling food trays. Completely unacceptable.

There was also a photographer taking pictures of the food for what seemed like a promotional shoot, and that clearly took priority over preparing and serving meals to paying customers. That sort of thing should be scheduled during off-hours—not during lunch on a weekend.

Despite not being busy—only one customer ahead of us and a group of five behind—the staff seemed overwhelmed and disorganized.

As native Texans, we know good BBQ. This wasn’t it. If you’re in the area and craving real BBQ, skip Amarillo and head to Moose Creek in Arlington. Fast, friendly service and food that’s actually tender and flavorful.

Answer to owner:

Thank you for your reply. I appreciate that you’ve spoken with your staff and are working to improve the experience.

To clarify, during our visit the patio had only one table with a group of five who ordered about 20 minutes after we did. I can’t speak to the volume of online orders you mentioned, but in the 50+ minutes we were there, I only noticed one takeout order being picked up.

Also, I’d like to point out that while we were dining in, the owner stopped by and checked in with the couple seated two tables down from us but never approached our table. If he had, this review likely wouldn’t exist—we could have discussed our concerns in person. I believe in giving places a fair chance to respond and improve, especially locally owned businesses.

And just to be clear, I have no affiliation with Moose Creek. I’m an active duty service member and simply want to help others find great BBQ in the area. My comparison was meant to be helpful, not promotional. To be fare I would recommend you over Jeff’s Texas Style BBQ in Marysville.

Thanks again for the response and for considering guest...

One of my favorite places to eat - PERIOD! I have followed them from Monroe to Duvall and I believe they have some of the best BBQ in the area.

My friend from Dallas got me into BBQ many years ago and we even became KCBS certified BBQ judges. However, restaurant service is very different because food has to be held and/or available throughout the day. The unfortunate consequence of holding BBQ is a loss of smoke flavor. Also, the smoke ring is a nice touch ONLY if they use real wood (pellet smokers rarely produce a smoke ring, and a lack of smoke ring does not affect judging scores in competition BBQ). And because of how long the meat must cook there are no do-overs, if something were to go wrong or if you happen to get a stubborn piece of meat.

Every restaurant goes thru growing pains when they have to relocate, because they have to lean their market, customer demand and timing. That being said I have never had a bad meal here. And the people in the kitchen and behind the counter are just awesome (shout out to Julianne, Mikey and Junior). I always look forward to returning.

My go-to is the fatty brisket, a sausage, a beef rib (it's like a dinosaur bone) and a hard apple cider. I also love the chili, which I can usually eat with a fork because it is so thick. The pig poppers are also a must, if you have room to spare. I do not sauce my meat because good BBQ should not need it, nor do I want to taint all of the hard work that went into preparing my meal.

Since I don't live very close I will often get extra food for the next day, or for my lunches for next few days.

Although some things have changed since moving to Duvall I believe the overall experience is more intimate and friendly (though I do miss their Cobb salad). A small price to pay for their much improved (and...

The meat on one of our Rueben’s was spoiled, they put sugar on their fries as part of their seasoning mix, and the staff was rude. We had a group of 5 trying it together for the first time and we won’t go back.

Edit after response from business This occurred about 1 month to 5 weeks after the opening of the store. As someone with experience running a small business, I understand why reviews are important, but even your response went immediately to defensive and blaming the guest, which is what we experienced at the store, only reinforcing my first experience.

As for the ruben, it was rancid, it had green meat- it should not be served to customers. This may have been only a 1-in-a-million occurrence, but it was our first and only impression, and made a LASTING experience.

When we tried to speak to staff about the experience, that's when the staff became rude. We even noticed that they were all snacking on fries - none of which had seasoning on it, signaling to us that even the staff didn't like it. They told us the same rub used on the meat is what was used on the fries, which is why there was sugar in it.

I can't claim that the store has these same problems now after having had more time after opening to smooth things out, but this is just an honest review about our experience in hopes that it leads to growth and improvement. I wouldn't recommend it but hope others who have had good experiences here...