Shorty's BBQ South Miami — Restaurant in Kendall

Let's keep it real. This place has been around for a very long time and has always had somewhat of a good reputation. You would think since it's a local chain restaurant, the food would be higher in quality, such as mom and pop style / local rib shacks have been known to provide. Wrong. Let's start with when you walk in. I walked in on a regular weekday, not at a busy time. It took them more than about 10 minutes to acknowledge my presence at the door, where one would usually be greeted upon entering. We get seated. Our waitress is in between friendly and visibly eager to clock out (she mentioned she would be clocking out within the next 15 minutes), and takes about 6 minutes to bring us our beverages. Upon bringing us the drinks, she switches with another waitress and now guess what, we have a new waitress. This one seemed a bit off, and just dry. No big deal right, these are just waitresses after all and have nothing to do with the food. Whatever. I ordered a pulled pork sandwich. The food arrives and I begin to dig in, I was very hungry. Let's start off by saying this was one heck of a messy sandwich (as expected). Thankfully the paper towel roll was sitting on the table just in the nick of time. As i'm just about halfway through with this virtually tasteless messy sandwich, I realize or waitress is nowhere to be found. My drink was nonexistent as I had gulped down every last drop whilst attempting to enjoy this once again, tasteless dish. Did I forget to mention the bun was on the rather SMALL side compared to the contents in the sandwich? Ridiculous. I have had my fair share of BBQ in several states, and specially locally. I have visited Shorty's in the past. It's almost as if I go in expecting way more than I should have each time, and leave full, but disappointed as to why I spent my time and money at this establishment. Look to other spots in South Florida for BBQ (Harvey's , Shivers) cause Shorty's is not a place I would ever settle for again. The overall ambience of the interior of restaurant however, screams "down south", "America", and "BBQ smokehouse". As soon as you walk in, one of the first things you will notice is the giant American flag. That ambience is the only great thing Shorty's has going for them, but what they really should focus on is providing better service for its patrons, higher quality food, and for Christ's sake, I'd like to actually taste the BBQ flavor rather than have a mouth full of tasteless pork /...

Probably the best BBQ in South Florida and it's good enough to compete with many places around the country.

Positives: Great food and they've improved over the years. -Shorty's is kind of a purist BBQ. Meaning they don't slather their meat with sauce or rubs so you get a very meaty taste that isn't drowned in seasoning. You must ask for "Shorty's Sauce". It's a completely unique BBQ sauce that fantastically pairs with almost everything on the menu. Probably the only place on the planet that makes good crinkle cut fries. One of the few restaurants that serves pork steak and it is incredible. Soft on the tongue but exploding with BBQ pork flavor. It boggles my mind thinking why other places don't offer this cut of pork.

Excellent service They're laid back and very friendly.

Good atmosphere With the long tables and numerous wall decorations, Shorty's creates a unique memory to enjoy.

Affordable price -Shorty's is one of the few BBQ places that still gives good portions and good flavor at less than 20 a person including drinks, tax, and tip. Seriously, 32oz Amber Bock draft is only 6 dollars (2021 price).

Neutral: (Sorry, there's just nothing "negative" about Shorty's.) Chicken -Due to that purist nature mentioned earlier, the chicken is somewhat boring. It's still good and moist but there are much better things on the menu. Like pork steak.

Brisket It's not bad, in fact it's one of the best briskets I've had in the South. It's just not nearly as good as Texas brisket. Good, but if you want the best you'll have to go to Austin, Texas.

Summary: Go to THIS Shorty's, it's a Miami must. Get Shorty's sauce (you can buy it by the pint if you like it as much as I do). Get pork...

I do not recommend this place at all. I’ve been driving by this restaurant for 20+ years and finally decided to try it and I was very disappointed. First impression of the restaurant was it felt very dirty. When we arrived at our table it was dirty with crumbs, the hostess did wipe it down a bit before we sat down but the restaurant was so empty I didn’t really see a reason for it being so dirty. When she handed us our menus, the one she handed me had old barbecue stains on it. We ordered beer that came in very small/thin plastic cups. We then proceeded to order brisket and some ribs, they claim their brisket is cooked for 12 hours but I doubt that as it was possibly the driest brisket I have ever had. They present the “brisket” under the ribs to hide how awful and dry it looks. Our french fries were stale and our side portion of baked beans was in small plastic sauce cup, half way filled. The waitress brought us extra plates as we were sharing meals and the very first plate she handed me still had soap residue on it. The floors were filthy, there were areas under the benches that looked like they had not been swept or mopped. One waitress left a dirty water cup on our table, which we later learned was to clean your hands at the end of your meal. Cherry on top, the bathroom was absolutely disgusting! The stench was unbearable, it looked like it was a storage/bathroom. The light was dim and the trash can was overflowing with papers, so there were papers all over the floor. The faucet had green gunk on it and it appeared to be very dirty. Overall the restaurant was very dirty, outdated and I would not recommend this facility to anyone. The food isn’t even worth it, save your money and...