McClard's Bar-B-Q Restaurant — Restaurant in Hot Springs

Went here under the recommendation from a local (possibly on the payroll at this place?!?) - seriously we were told this was the best BBQ in town and coming from Texas we thought we would give it a try. The place reminds me of a dinner from the 70’s - it’s almost like a time capsule. I liked that but the place also just seems very dated. We went for dinner on a Saturday evening and the place was busy - checking the menu I saw they offered a fried bologna sandwich - it must be good as they had a table top advertisement plugging it as well. I was with family and figured I would try that another day instead going with the beef plate - selecting for my sides a sausage link and some beans. I asked the server if they had both lean and fatty brisket on their beef plate as I only wanted the lean. She informed me that the beef they serve is NOT brisket but instead something like eye of round that is naturally very lean - not what I was expecting from a BBQ place but I figured I would give it a shot. Plates arrived (70’s style unbreakable plastic cafeteria plates) and there were three slices of well done eye of round that had been reheated on their flattop grill given the browning on the bottom of the slices. The side sausage was not really a sausage but more like a jumbo hotdog that had been sliced into pieces and then placed on the flattop for browning. The beans were not baked beans as I had hoped for but instead were jalapeño pinto beans in sauce - tasted fine but again not what I was expecting. The giant hotdog, I mean sausage was tasty with a lot of garlic in the flavor. The BBQ beef discs tasted like pot roast - and did not seem to have been smoked at all. I slathered them in their house brand BBQ sauce but could not shake the feeling that what I was eating was in no way whatsoever BBQ. I kept thinking this meat belonged on a hot open faced roast beef sandwich smothered in brown gravy with a side of mashed potatoes also smothered in the same brown gravy. Basically it was like going to a burger place that supposedly has the best burgers in town only to end up eating a completely different food while being told it’s a burger - it really was like the twilight zone. Our server was great and the people here in this area are all super friendly but this place is NOT a BBQ place. They did have both dry rubbed and wet sauced ribs but no one at our table ordered these and again how can a place be a BBQ restaurant when nothing is actually smoked - it’s just...

McClard's is a Hot Springs fixture, a favorite of Bill Clinton from his years growing up in Hot Springs. He had McClard's barbecue flown to him in the White House while he was president.

The restaurant itself is akin to a diner, with rows of booths in a long room that features counter service as well, with stools to sit on. Seating is first-come, first-served, and places to sit can be scarce during peak hours of business.

The barbecue, which, to my taste buds has not been quite so good on recent visits as it has been in the past, features a not-too-sweet tomato-based sauce that McClard's sells in bottles both on site and in local grocery stores. You can choose beef or pork, either chopped or sliced, and, in typical Arkansas fashion, if you order a sandwich, it will come topped with cole slaw unless you ask for that to be omitted.

McClard's also offers hot tamale plates, an Arkansas thing with roots in the Delta region of Arkansas and Mississippi. The beans served as a side dish with these plates are not sweet, and that's very much to my palate. They're robustly seasoned with cumin and have a light tomato sauce with, I think, some ground beef cooked in it. The cole slaw is also not overly sweet, in welcome contrast to what you'll find now in most Arkansas eateries. The fries are made from whole Idaho potatoes and are tasty.

You don't come to McClard's for atmosphere unless atmosphere means lots of noise, rather uncomfortable booth seating, and rubbing shoulders with locals devoted to McClard's or to tourists who have heard it's a spot to visit in Hot Springs. You come for the barbecue.

My favorite plate is the rib plate with fries, with beans and slaw ordered as additional side dishes. But be forewarned: that plate is enormous and one person can scarcely eat it all at one sitting, unless she or he has a gargantan appetite.

Wait staff are almost always very nice, and they deserve credit for remaining patient while waiting on large numbers of people every day in a less than...

RIBS, HOME CUT FRIES, and homemade hot pepper bbq sauce- PHENOMENAL. I know people rave over the tamale spread but it has never been for me… tastes too acidic but I finally decided to come back and try something else, like some of their cuts of meat and I am sooooo happy I did. I got the “Ribs and Fry” plate and omg, The ribs are buried under the home cut fries- and it is all delicious! I got them unsauced because I wanted to taste the meat itself- there’s famous Mcclards bbq sauce on the table anyhow but do yourself a FLAVOR and skip the OG bbq sauce and go for the little jar of peppered sauce they also make. it looks like a spicy version of bbq sauce and it’s the bomb. The plate came with an extra side so I decided to try the potato salad which was really really good. Anddddd because I am a sucker for smoked sausage I had to try a side of that. It was good, nothing special about it but still really good. My friends ordered the loaded fries which are smothered with chopped beef, sour cream and a cheese that wants to melt. They also ordered the barn sampler. This came with one side which even though it came with four types of meat, I was shocked there wasn’t more of a sampler for the sides too- bc they all sound great! The sampler was okay- ribs and sausage being the best but the pork and beef were super chopped and covered with a plop of bbq sauce and it just lacked in texture honestly… and taste- it just wasn’t really impressive to me. Maybe had it come with slider buns or something to make little chopped bbq sandwiches it would have been more appealing? All in all, this place is a legend in Hot Springs and for good reason. It’s set up like a small diner, kind of has a soda pop shop feel but they have beer so it’s appreciated! This is definitely worth a visit if you haven’t...