Murky Waters BBQ - Hattiesburg — Restaurant in Hattiesburg

1st of all- service can make or break a dining experience.. even if you have good food, a crappy server can ruin the whole dining experience. REQUEST JOEL! He is so great! Has great recommendations! Can handle multiple tables w/o leaving you waiting or feeling rushed... And he’s fun! 2nd- the food! Between the 5 of us we had some of all of it .. I’ll break down what we thought of each- if you don’t want to read all that- just know that it was a 9/10 in deliciousness! And bottom line- we will be back over and over - and requesting Joel every time! 🍗 WINGS- table agreed these were the best wings ever (and they are huge wing fans!) - hubby said next time he’d get something other than ‘sweet asian’ though ... 🔥 BURNT ENDS- couldn’t be more delish! Charred, fatty, rich, meaty, crispy, chewy, juicy all at once... yes- I WILL have them again, and again! (But Joel warned me- Get there early! They sell out!! 😢😲) 🥔BAKED POTATO SALAD - it’s a lot like other smokehouse tater salads, but better- and a perfect creamy, cold side for the hot, heavy, rich burnt ends! 🍠SWEET POTATO FRIES- sweet, crispy outside and soft inside... delish! 🥣BAKED BEANS- I’m not a huge fan of them in general, but these were very good and full of bits of meat! Table agreed they were some of the best! 🍃COLLARDS- mixed reviews at the table- some loved some didn’t care for them 🐔HALF CHICKEN- flash fried off the pit - so skin is crisp and juices are locked in- very juicy and good 🍴FRIED OKRA- very good! Can’t tell if it was prefrozen or not- but it’s not the ‘gas station fried okra’ or ‘school cafeteria version’ if it is prefrozen 🍖RIBS- fall off the bone tender, smoky, juicy goodness - forget picking it up w/ bone- bone comes out clean - such a good flavor- not overly smoky (which I hate) .. even the one in my Bloody Mary was yummy! Yes- I said IN my Bloody Mary! Cold and soaked in drink- but so good! 🥘BRISKET - tender! So tasty and good!! It is not overly juicy but not really dry either .. again, nice smoke ring and flavor, but not overly smoky 🐠SMOKED TUNA DIP - I don’t like fish, so I didn’t try. It was a nice size scoop of smoked yellow fin tuna salad on a piece of lettuce served w/ packs of crackers - the other 4 scarfed it down saying how good it was - hubby says he’ll be ordering it as appetizer next time we go 🍹 Bloody Mary.... holy smokes! I was too full to eat my meal after I got done w/ it.. topped with olives stuffed w/ pulled pork.. pickled green bean, full slice of brisket, and a WHOLE RIB ... and the drink is made right- really right! Great flavors!

And that’s what I thought about that! Now I’m full and sleepy.. GO EAT THERE- and ASK FOR JOEL ... can’t possibly see how you could be...

I was headed to Keg & Barrel, and as I was passing by Murky Waters, I decided to give them a try. My 1st impression based on the smell and look of the restaurant as I was walking up, was a good one & this even carried over once I stepped inside. But from that point on it would be a down hill slide. Hostess was prompt, but when I asked about a Dark Beer, dhe3 seemed lost, and after I mentioned Porter, Ale, and even Guinness by name, she handed me a handwritten beer list that did not include one single dark beer, so I asked for water. Now jump forward, to the point where I am at the bar to pay my check & I ask the cashier if all of those beers on the top shelf were just there for decoration, to which she responded "no, we have all of those", which caught me off guard, as I saw Guinness there along with a couple of others that I would have enjoyed. It turned out the list the hostess showed me, wad just their Draft Beer Selection. I now know not to count on a hostesses knowledge of what a place does or doesn't have.

Now the meal itself did not live up to that first impression. For starters, after getting my pulled pork sandwich, there was no where near enough meat on it to justify the $9.95 price, even with the side order of Baked Potato Salad, which wad good. Now I always try the BBQ by itself, because it should shine6 all on it's own, and honestly, theirs did, but the sandwich had about half as much meat as was actually needed, and the bun had a sweet flavor that overpowered the skimpy portion of meat. Now one more strike here is the fact that slaw does not come as part of the sandwich, but instead is an extra charge of 50 cents, but again you couldn't taste it because the flavor of the bun over powered everything on the bun. Last, but not least, they also did not have a HOT BBQ Sauce, now they did have what was described to me as a Smoky Jalapeno Sauce, that though not hot would have been great if it wasn't so sweet, and yes like the BBQ itself, I tried all of the BBQ Sauces that wete placed on my table.

Honestly based on portion size in relation to cost and the fact that the Bun itself overpowered everything on it, I probably won't be going back. Lastly, the interior was nice, clean, roomy, well decorated, and comfortable as far as temperature was concerned and other than the beer list,...

Murky Waters disappointed us today. We decided to go for my hubby’s birthday. We were placed outside and waited roughly 15 mins to have a server come to the table. They took our drink (water and tea) and food order (sausage and cheese app, 1/2 chicken without sides, 6 piece wings) They only returned with the water and stated the tea would be out in just a minute. My hubby drank all his water and needed a refill. We continued to wait for my tea and a refill for him. After some more time passed with no sight of our waiter, Hubby went to the lady at the front to get his own refill and request for my tea… again. They brought out his water and a tea pitcher to refill my tea that I had not received yet. We finally got the drinks situated and we asked about our app because it had been about 20 mins since we ordered. They said it would be right out, well, it wasn’t. We continued to wait and we had to go get refills again. At this point we are an hour in, sweating outside, and no app. I asked the sweet lady at the front the cancel our app because we didn’t want it to come out with our entree. Our entrees were brought out about 10 mins afterwards. Food was great but we were immediately taken over by flys. I went to go get a box so we could leave. The hostess (absolute doll) and another waitress helped us locate our waiter to let them know we were ready for our check. He brought it out and apologized for the app not making to the table. After we paid I realized they charged us wrong for the 1/2 chicken without sides. I brought it to their attention and they said no it’s correct. I explained that my husband did not order sides and the ticket even showed NO SIDES. they refused to fix it. After everything we went through today I think fixing my check for it show the correct amount was not a hard task. So I paid extra when I received below bare minimum. Again the food was great as usual but the service...