Marshall's Bar-B-Q — Restaurant in Farmers Branch

I was up at Dallas Makerspace on a random Wednesday and decided to break away for a late lunch around 2:00pm. I had the urge for BBQ, so I searched and found a few close. Marshall's appeared to have the best customer reviews, so I decided to give it a shot.

The location is a bit tucked away from plain street view, so it took me a few minutes to find it. As I walked in, my first impression of the place was typical 90's era BBQ joint decor. I read somewhere that it was a "no frills " type of establishment, and I can definitely agree.

There was no line at 2:00pm, so I was instantly served. I typically reserve judgement on any BBQ establishment until I've had their brisket and BBQ sauce at a minimum. So, I ordered a brisket plate and had a side of Mac n' cheese, fried okra and their house BBQ sauce on the side. Everything looked tasty...

Proceeded to get a fountain drink and was informed that they had a self serve BBQ sauce station right by the condiments. I ended up picking up a few different sauces to bring to the table with me.

Grabbed a booth and proceeded to take it all in...

Brisket = Juicy, fresh and perfectly prepared to my liking.

Mac n' cheese = Came off as premium quality. Thick and creamy. Great.

Fried Okra = Fresh out of the fryer. Could not get enough.

The house sauce wasn't bad, but the sauce they have labeled "Thick and Smokey" was the EXACT sauce I was looking for and just set the dish off perfectly!

In summary, the Google reviews did NOT let me down. I returned the next day to ensure I could confirm my positive experience before writing this review and it was just as good. Only difference is that I showed up around 11:30am and the place was packed.

I would definitely recommend this place and plan on taking friends when the opportunity...

Terrible experience. My family and I went on 12/28 and I was truly astounded at how awful it was. We got there around 7:15 pm or so and they close at 8. To start, the man taking our order was barely paying attention to what we said and we had to repeat 2-3 times because he was focused elsewhere. They ran out of one of our meat selections so we stuck with a 2-meat plate, which was close to $20. Among our group of 8, we spent well over $100-$150 total. My chicken was pink and I was scared to eat it. My brisket was so dry and tasted awful. We quickly ate our food and were preparing to leave when we asked where the BBQ sauce station was for future reference. The man taking orders earlier stated that they put it away early to pre-close and that we should've asked if we wanted any different sauce. Who starts to close 45 min prior to closing time when customers are inside the restaurant? They also put up the tea early and I wasn't able to refill my drink before leaving. After we ate and were enjoying our last few minutes together before heading out, the clock struck 8 PM and we were KICKED OUT of the restaurant by the man who originally took our order. I understand not taking someone's order at closing time or closing down the kitchen or whatever, but to kick out a group who was nearly gone anyway and had spent over $100 on your gross food? Absolutely inexcusable and truly unprofessional. I will never go back to this restaurant and I would advise all others to look elsewhere if you're wanting good food and even a decent level of...

Disappointing. If you like dry and tasteless food, this place is for you. If you have actually had good bbq in Dallas or Texas before, and are aware of the high Google rating, then you may be lead to believe that this is one of the "goor ones." Unfortunately, it ain't. Details, details, details...

List of disappointing stuff:

Turkey - bland and dry Beef brisket - same As someone else already, the meat seems more boiled than smoked. Bakes beans - old, simple ketchup flavor, Mac n cheese - bland and uninspired Sauce - runny and uninspired, as .entioned elsewhere.

Basically, the bad reviews on this site are correct. It actually all sucks. Don't trust the good reviews - they must have no taste buds and no experience at good bbq restaurants. The high rating on this site remains an unsolved mystery to me, especially in the land of bbq.

Moral of the story: Don't spoil of your opinion of good bbq by going to mediocre places, even though they may have a mysteriously high rating. This is the second mediocre bbq place I've tried in Texas... don't form your opinion of bbq...