Sonny Bryan's Smokehouse history — Restaurant in Grapevine

I wasn’t feeling well and desperately needed to buy water before our 6:— AM flight. The only reason I went to Sonny Bryan’s was because there was a long line at other restaurants nearby and they had a self-checkout counter for water, chips, etc. Anyway, I picked a bottle of water and saw someone in my peripheral vision run out from the back. I was having a little difficulty with the scanning machine. I turned to look at the person who ran out from the back. She was standing there staring at what I was doing with such an unpleasant look. She did not offer any assistance, but just kept staring with a scowl on her face. Finally, I get to the card payment and did the tap to pay instead of inserting it. That didn’t work, so I turned to the woman and asked if she worked there. She said, “Yes”. I asked her if the tap usually works. She said, “Maybe your card don’t work because lots of customers came before and theirs worked.” I let her know that my card was good and tried the tap again so she could see. Since that didn’t work, I inserted the card and it worked with no problem. She then went back behind the counter to continue staring. I was feeling too sick to ask for a manager or anything, but that was a horrible way to treat a customer. I said, “Thank you” (even though there was no reason...

Read many reviews of those complaining how bad the food was here but looking through the reviews for other airport food providers at DFW I decided to give Bryan's a try anyway. I was glad I did and will offer a thought that many of the negative reviews must stem from people that are generally hard to please under most any circumstance.

I ate at about 5:30 on a Friday afternoon. The restaurant was not overly busy at the time. The service was prompt and courteous (though not overly friendly). My order was placed in the serving window in less than five minutes. I ordered the two meat plate (just in case other reviews might be accurate) but the sausage was very good and the brisket was moist with good "marble" and not over cooked. The fries had likely been in the warmer for 10-15 minutes so they were not real hot but acceptable. The coleslaw was good. If I was to have a complaint about anything, it might be the bread was dry and needed butter, so I didn’t eat that.

The sum total for me is this restaurant exceeded my expectations based on reviews and I would recommend others try it for themselves to judge, then leave an objective review for the benefit of your fellow travelers....

10:45 on a Saturday: The cashier neither greeted me nor smiled. Despite having multiple orders waiting the kitchen employee, who was socializing with another employee in the dining area, had to be asked by another patron to return to the kitchen so that the patron could eat during her limited lunch break.

While the okra was freshly-fried, the remainder of the pulled pork sandwich platter was extremely disappointing. The meat was quite dry with little flavor, and had to be rescued by the barbecue sauce. I actually enjoyed the flavor of the sauce, despite its remarkable similarity to Arby-Q sauce. However the long hair I found in the sauce was clearly unappetizing. I noted that neither the kitchen employee nor the cashier, both of whom spent time in the kitchen, wore hair nets at any time.

Unequivocally it was the worst barbecue I can recall ever having, and I wouldn't say that my standards are particularly high.

Ultimately I would avoid this place if you are in terminal E. There is a Dickey's in the satellite part of the terminal which is more reliable and with higher standards in both food...