City Barbeque — Restaurant in Johns Creek

I am always on the hunt for good BBQ because to be honest, it's hard to find one that is special. What makes a good BBQ, good BBQ? Is it the sauce or the meat itself? Is it maybe the sides? How hard is it to find a place where all 3 are amazing? Sometimes harder than you might think so I normally try BBQ places often to see if I can find that magical combination of a perfect BBQ. Because it's hard to screw up the actual pork portion of BBQ (pulled pork, ribs and brisket), unless the meat is just tough, the sides are always key to an awesome bbq dining experience. Is the meat OK and could use some more flavor? Throw whatever delicious BBQ sauce of your choice you have available and there, you can enjoy the meat portion... but give me a bad side? There is no recovering from that. First impressions are great at CITY BARBEQUE, when you walk in and realize how spacious their dining area is you get excited about ordering a meal. I ordered their PICK TWO MEATS so I went with the PULLED PORK and BRISKET and if you pick 2 sides you can save a dollar so I picked the MC&CHEESE and BAKED BEANS. I love corn casserole so I ended up getting a 3rd side as well... their CORN PUDDING... It's for science purposes!! They have a large counter where you can grab some condiments as well as a variety of different sauces, I had their regular which was nice and sweet. They also have a large self serve fountain unit that I wish was COCA-COLA, because we are in COKE COUNTRY... but I had to grab some lemonade since CITY BARBEQUE decided to go with Pep... I can't even say it so let's just stick with "The Competitor". The painted over photos you see above of the fountain is the way it came out, I swear. The brisket and pulled pork were both flavorful and moist although I wish I had a bit more brisket and for the price ($15) plus the additional sides ($6) and a lemonade ($2) you wish you had more of what you liked. As shown in the pictures, the corn pudding was finished. The corn pudding was very tasty with a perfect texture that complimented the pork very well. The MC&CHEESE was creamy and smooth, loved the texture but could use a bit more flavor (salt?) or more cheese flavors. The BAKED BEANS were the surprise as I did not like them at all. The flavor to them was way too strong and sweet for my liking, I have friends and family who obsess over great baked beans at BBQ joints, this would disappoint them greatly. Last but not least, their BANANA PUDDING... Don't ever tell me about a BBQ place if they don't have BANANA PUDDING because if they don't, they are not a BBQ place. It's hard to screw up BANANA PUDDING and CITY BARBEQUE didn't screw it up, so they get my thumbs up for a fairly large and cold/creamy dessert. CITY BARBEQUE'S spacious inside, fun menu and good service along with solid food makes this a good BBQ spot to try if you're hungry or with a large group of friends. Bike night, anyone? Roli's Rating: Service: 8/10, You order over the counter and are given a number. You won't have to wait long for your food and their staff has a smile all the way from ordering until you leave Price: 5/10, This one is tricky... are you here to just have a sandwich or maybe a meat with 1 side and a drink? You are probably already looking at $11-$12. If you are anything like me though (have to try a little bit of everything) but don't have the budget for a $15+ meal, stay away!! Location and Parking: 9/10, Great location in Suwanee with easy access and parking. I give them a 9 for parking because there are times I ride by and they look absolutely packed which would make you have to park on one of the adjacent lots Cleanliness: 8/10, Place seemed clean Health Rating: UNKNOWN Roli Overall Rating: 6/10, Excellent spot for BBQ if you are in the area or if you're looking to stop by with a large crowd Roli's Recommendations CORN PUDDING, PULLED PORK. I DIDN'T ORDER A PULLED PORK SANDWICH OR THEIR CHICKEN BUT I DID SEE SOMEONE ELSE ORDER THEM AND THEY BOTH...

EDIT 14-Jun-2024: This location has gone a bit down hill since I reviewed them over 4 years ago.

I don't know if it is driven by a change in ownership or by corporate or both, but the portions are much smaller now, particularly for fries. I know inflation is real--particularly for food--and everyone is trying to avoid raising prices more as consumers feel the pinch, but they have cut too far here in my opinion. My wife got baked beans and the portion size didn't seem smaller than the past, but my fry order has been significantly smaller the past couple of visits.

They used to have special sauces like apple or cheerwine flavored (as mentioned in my previous review), but haven't had any in quite a while.

There was a different manager working today (one that I hadn't seen in a while, so maybe she's back from school for the summer), and it was noticeably better because the restaurant was much cleaner than it had been the last few times I have come; trash bins were not overflowing, sauce bar was much neater/clean, etc.

That said, the person taking my order seemed a bit annoyed with us. My wife and I were admittedly a bit weird in that we ordered separately, but that is because we both have the app and wanted to use an offer. I thought I could use banked reward bucks AND an offer, but apparently I can't, so I had to remove something from the order and that required manager access to do. Regardless, it shouldn't have caused the service to be subpar.

All that said, the food still tastes great. I just wish some of the little things were done better because they're starting to add up.

This place is great. Probably a debate between Cue and here as to the best BBQ I've had in Georgia so far. I enjoy some of the rotating/seasonal BBQ sauces (bring back apple and cheerwine...

So glad the Applebees was turned into something else.

We really enjoyed this place. You order up front and they bring the food to you. No waiters to give you bad service and then complain no matter how much you tip

We ordered a pulled pork sandwich, a pulled chicken sandwich, and sides of mac and cheese and hush puppies.

the meat was very tender on both sandwiches, the pulled chicken was more tender than our usual bbq spot by a good margin the hush puppies were fantastic. Crunchy breading and not over fried the house lemonade is only second to Chick-fil-A the bushmaster sauce had a tasty kick. I wouldn't call it spicy but I enjoyed the flavor really liked their toppings bar. they have those thick pickle slices like Jersey Mike's has the mustard vinegar sauce wasn't overpowering. I really liked it the pricing was fair. Since you're not having to pay the wait staff, the food is actually like 20%-25% cheaper than other bbq joints.

+/- the original sauce didn't stand out too much. It wasn't bad but it wasn't anything special either

-the weakest part of both sandwiches was the bun. They reminded me of the Kroger brand value buns -the mac and cheese was pure disappointment. Tasted like plain pasta

Staff was nice. They carried themselves in a professional but casual manner that's appropriate for this type of establishment

Good first experience. I plan to come back and try other offerings and the rest of the...