Holt Bros BBQ — Restaurant in Florence

We were passing through Florence and I had a taste for some BBQ.   Holt's was the closest place to us that was open.  We called in our order to which we were told that they were out of ribs AND the fried okra, both of which I wanted, so I was really not expecting much out of the place.

I wound up ordering the brisket platter, the mac & cheese and the sweet potato casserole and let me tell you, I was NOT disappointed!  The brisket was shredded, as I prefer, it was moist and flavorful.  The sweet potato casserole was nice and sweet, good amount of potatoes with a crunchy sugar topping.  Instead of the fried okra, I ordered the mac and cheese to which I'm usually not a fan of restaurant mac & cheese, but no kidding, this was some of the best I've ever had.  It was creamy, cheesy and flavorful, really delicious!!  I wish I'd ordered more!

The better half ordered the half chicken platter with mac & cheese & green beans.  He wasn't a fan of the beans, but he enjoyed the chicken and the mac and cheese and he really liked my sweet potato casserole as well!  The small hushpuppies they give you are like little bonus balls of happiness! Service was awesome and they gave us everything we needed to eat in our car.  We will definitely be back when we come...

Let me start by saying the service is excellent and the staff looks to be doing a great job keeping up on the tables and guests.

I'm giving this two stars because the sides are good or it would be a one star. Every sauce might as well be the same sauce, basically it's vinegar with more vinegar with more vinegar and a touch of some other flavors with some more vinegar. I guess the reason the sauces are so thinned down with vinegar is so that you don't realize how dry and bland the brisket and chicken is. Besides dry, the brisket is mushy and tastes like day old leftover pot roast that would be better with gravy. The chicken being cooked with whatever vinegar sauce they used was still dry and mushy as well. I do believe they should invest in a smoker so that they can offer some real BBQ and not just sell vinegar sauce.

If your kids like Mac and cheese this place does have good mac and cheese even though it is on the verge of being over cooked on the noodles.

I would say if you want vinegar go ahead and come here but I don't know where to send you if you want BBQ.

Sorry Holt Bros, would have been better off eating over at KFC for a...

Beautiful place , Service up front was amazing but the lady that brought our food out knocked over my sauce cup all over me , Food looked amazing but wasn’t what we expected , hush puppies were like eating cake balls way to sweet on my husband plate , the wings were cooled perfectly but there was No flavor to them at all , my beautiful pork tacos were also missing something as well that came with dried out fries that seemed like they were sitting under a heat lamp, the slaw was our favorite thing and the sweet tea .. We thought abt trying it again but for 2 people to eat our bill was 34. & some change , we threw it all in the trash.. So like most people we don’t have money to just throw away .. Was so disappointed we have missed them a few times with the hours finally got in on the 4th try and wasn’t happy with it ..: But still everybody tastes are different , just because we didn’t enjoy it doesn’t mean that you will not ... so I wish them luck bc the staff was great the place is beautiful... I just like food with more flavor .. May I suggest something with a little more heat for sauce for the tacos besides vinaigrette sauces.. best...