Addy's Barbeque Edison — Restaurant in Edison

TLDR 5- food is incredible, must try. 4- Staff was friendly, but online ordering has issues. Didn't get to eat in, but overall the inside looked clean, plenty of table space. At some point, we'll try coming back to eat at a table.

To start off, don't let the prices scare you away from the food here. It is absolutely worth the price. The chefs here know what they are doing.

We saw their Instagram post of the Brisket Cheesesteak, which I ordered. For it's price, this is definitely a full meal, and easily able to feed two people for lunch alongside some of their appetizers. We ordered the garlic chicken tenders, and the mac and cheese. My college days are long gone, so eating a cheese steak is a rare treat these days.

To be honest, I think Abby's has become the new definition of a cheese steak for my taste buds. I think eating a standard cheesesteak would now just make wish I had ordered here from now on.

My wife and I were originally planning to eat in, but plans changed and we decided to at least get an order to go. Absolutely delicious, even after a 15 min drive home! I'm sure it would have been even better if we had the time to sit and eat it shortly after it was prepared.

The one criticism I could give is their online ordering pay structure. If lockdown taught successful restaurants anything, it's that pick up orders are helping you flip tables at a faster rate. It's more money for the restaurant, that you don't need to expend employee power for tables, or even running a register. It brings in business that would otherwise not give you a chance because they don't have the time to sit down. This payments structure tells them you don't want them to order online, or try your food.

To me, it seems like whatever platform designed their ordering system just tried to apply a dine-in restaurant pay structure for to go orders, in addition to tacking one a credit card fee, a pickup fee, and a service fee, which you are not told about until you get the email that your order has been placed. Prior to confirming my order, it said my total was $55 and change. It wasn't until I confirmed that I saw I was also charged a $1 service fee, a 1.85 pickup fee, and a 3% credit card fee. In addition, by default their online service tries to tack on a 20% tip, though you have the ability to change this before you confirm.

They offer a 10% discount on your first online order by joining their VIP club, but it does not apply the discount or send you a code in the email. Again, this signals to me that the restaurant hires and outside service to set this up, rather than being directly involved with their online ordering.

To whoever the owner is, you're doing yourself, your employees, and future customers a disservice here. Eat the cost of those fees to bring in business that would otherwise just settle for McDonald's, Wendy's, or somewhere else convenient. Don't let your payment service convince you you're making your customers pay for convenience through online ordering. Online ordering is a convenience FOR YOU. Look at online orders as flipped tables you otherwise wouldn't get at all.

I'm leaving a great review of your food because you shouldn't have all but two tables empty on a Saturday at lunch. That restaurant should be PACKED with the quality of food you have. You should give incentives for customers to go out of their way to try you out, when they could eat at Wawa or get some pizza, and never even get the chance to become a...

It was supposed to be a simple, fun night out with friends, a chance to relax and enjoy some highly recommended barbecue at Addy’s Barbecue in Edison. The place came with decent reviews, so we thought, why not give it a shot? Little did we know, the evening would turn into a fiasco that we’ll be talking about for all the wrong reasons.

The Wait That Felt Like an Eternity

When we first arrived, the place was bustling with activity. We figured the crowd was a good sign—maybe the food was worth it. However, that initial optimism faded quickly. We placed our orders, and as the minutes stretched into an hour, hunger turned into frustration. We kept glancing at the servers, who seemed more focused on chatting with each other than serving the growing line of impatient customers.

By the time two hours had passed, our stomachs were growling so loudly that we started joking about whether we’d have to hunt for food ourselves. The jokes, however, stopped being funny when the food finally arrived—or at least, some of it did.

The Wrong Food and the Missing Dish

When the server brought our food to the table, it became immediately clear they hadn’t even bothered to double-check the order. Plates were missing, and the dishes that did arrive weren’t what we ordered. One of our guests—let’s call him Sam—had been excited to try their signature barbecue platter, but guess what? They conveniently “forgot” to bring his meal entirely.

We waved down the server to ask about the missing food, and instead of apologizing or trying to fix the issue, they laughed it off as if it was a joke. “Oh, must’ve slipped my mind,” one of them said with a grin. Imagine sitting at a table while one of your friends watches everyone else eat, completely mortified by the oversight. It was beyond embarrassing.

The Final Blow

When we tried to explain that the wrong dishes had been brought out and one of the orders was still missing, the staff acted like we were inconveniencing them. There was no urgency to correct the issue, no accountability. One even smirked as if to say, “What’s the big deal?” It was the kind of unprofessionalism that makes you lose faith in the place entirely.

Finally, after what felt like forever, they grudgingly brought out the missing dish—cold and hastily thrown together. By then, the mood was ruined, and we were beyond ready to leave. What was supposed to be a fun night out with good food turned into a masterclass in how not to run a restaurant.

A Better Option: Yuli Hot Chicken

The next time we’re craving something flavorful, we’ll be heading straight to Yuli Hot Chicken instead. Unlike Addy’s, they know how to treat their customers. The service is fast, the food is consistent, and you’re treated like a valued guest, not an afterthought. Their Nashville-style hot chicken hits the spot every time, and you don’t have to wait two hours to be served food you didn’t even order.

Final Thoughts on Addy’s Barbecue in Edison: If you’re considering trying this place, I’d suggest looking elsewhere unless you enjoy being disappointed. Between the absurdly long wait, the missing food, and the unprofessional staff laughing at their own mistakes, Addy’s is a hard pass for me. There are far better options in Edison that respect their customers’ time and money. Save yourself the embarrassment and...

Tl/dr: Not worth it. Don't believe the influencers.

Like most people, I made my way to Addys because I saw several IG posts raving about the food and the experience at Addys. Unfortunately, my experience did not mimic those videos.

We went on a weekday afternoon around 4:30. (This also needs to be changed on Google because we thought they were closed between 4 and 5, but they are not.) it was not busy and there were maybe only 2 other tables being served at the time we arrived. We were told that we could sit anywhere and then we sat down. There was no ambiance in the space. No energy. No music. Not what I was expecting from the walk in but we came for the food anyway so that wasn't a deal breaker.

What was a deal breaker was the lack of service. The waiters did not want to be there nor did they care about selling the food. They didn't really have any suggestions for what to try when we seemed unsure and once we did put our order in, they were nowhere to be found. Never came and checked on us, and we had to constantly flag them down. Mind you, the place was empty so there was no excuse.

Now to the food. We wanted to try a little bit of everything so we ordered the meat platter which featured brisket, burnt ends, beef bacon, beef ribs, BBQ chicken and jerk chicken. We also bought 2 sides of macaroni and cheese and candied yams.

The good: Macaroni and cheese was delicious. Some of the best I have ever had. The candied yams also wasn't too bad. Both were solid choices. I also really enjoyed the burnt ends. It was tender and the sauce was good, though there could have been a little more. The bacon was also tasty in the platter but it seemed out of place. I also heard that the beef ribs and bbq chicken were good but I didn't actually eat any.

The bad: Everything else. It really was some of the worst tasting bbq I have ever had. I'm a brisket person and the brisket, though tender, lacked any seasoning. It was bland and sad. The jerk chicken was awful. That is not even remotely close to how jerk chicken should taste and simply lacked flavor. The food also took a really long time. The sides of mac and cheese and candied yams came out 30 minutes before the meat platter, which made no sense.

Overall, we definitely won't be returning. In addition to the quality of the food, the prices were way overpriced. The platter alone was $100, however, we would not have minded that if the food actually tasted like it was made with passion. Though the macaroni and cheese and the burnt ends were great standouts, the rest of the food, and the service, was simply not that good. I guess you have to be an influencer to receive excellent service and...