Big John's Rockin' BBQ — Restaurant in Kissimmee

So. I probably should have done more research before going to this place but didn’t. To give you a quick summary before going into detail. This restaurant seem like the bartender or owners friends hangout club instead of a bbq restaurant.

Now the details:

To start first with the ATMOSPHERE it is dark dingy and very messy they have delivery boxes piled up against a wall and unused equipment not hidden from view. The table we sat out was also near the back to which they don’t even have a partition to stop you from seeing in and the kitchen did not look hygienic. Then you have the host that sits you at the table sitting at the bar with their buddies drinking hopefully not alcoholic watching tv and the bar tender joining and the friends walking behind the bar not very professional or any attire that would have you recognize they work most of them looked like they rolled out of bed.

Next SERVICE while the gentleman we had serve our table was probably the most professional there was a very awkward energy about him as if he really never dealt with customers before seemed nervous but all in all polite. the only complaints I would have about service is that I ordered a John Daly cocktail and it was brought in a dirty glass and instead of make a fresh drink in a new glass they washed a new glass in the sink as I could see what they were doing from my seat and brought the new glass to me for me to pour my drink from the dirty glass into the new glass. Then at a certain point the waiter kept coming to the table to constantly ask if we’re ready for the hill while we were still eating.

And finally the FOOD. I had brought my extended family over from the United Kingdom (Europe) to my home state of Florida, and wanted to show them the typical food to be eaten in the south. As someone who works in hospitality I usually have a good eye but this time I failed while the food was not terrible it was below average nothing special there was nothing to say this was signature of this restaurant and when we had sharing plates instead of bringing proper plates they gave of paper plates like they were to lazy to do dishes. Then when they brought out the bbq on actually cool aluminum tray plates they brought these old over used red plastic plates for sharing their was nothing consistent and quiet lazy display for the food. The had their cornbread nuggets that tasted nothing like corn or any flavor what so ever. The bbq it self was not but we got very small portion for a sampler and a lot of fatty bits instead of meat. The sauces that were on the table was a struggle to understand which was which as it wasn’t very clear with the graphics they used as it so much going on instead of putting a clear sign for each sauce. The only sauce that was good was the sweet sauce as all the other were runny and...

This marks the first time that I gave a place a one start rating. Big John’s was not busy. My son cut his finger on a broken chair at the table they sat us at. We showed the waiter the chair was broken and his finger was cut. The table ordered the corn nuggets they came out hot and we’re very good. Then our main meals came out. My wife got the turkey and brisket with sweet potatoes fries and collard greens. Very thing on her plate was cold. The waiter came my wife told him the food was cold. The waiter wanted to re heat the food my wife just told him take the food back and take it off the bill which he did. The waiter asked me and My son how was our food. The told him the rib was fine then I tried the pull chicken and the Mac and cheese both were cold. My son was still working on his cut finger and did not try anything yet.The waiter did nothing about my plate. After the waiter left my son told me his was cold also. We all were looking around the room for about ten minutes but unable to see our waiter. The waiter returned with our bill minus my wife’s returned food. My wife asked nothing you can do because all of our food was cold. We were told only the manager can do more but the manager is not here. My wife asked if she can speak to the manager. We were told the manager was on the road to come to the restaurant. When the manager came she told us she needed to check the kitchen and look at the tapes. I half hour later she returned telling us the food was serviced two minutes after the kitchen placed it the be service. But she failed to answer why our food was cold. The manager did take 50 percent off my son’s meal. I paid the check and will never return.

I am looking over my review from last night and reading all the other good reviews. Many people have very nice things to say about Big John’s and the food. The only thing I want to add we are not slow eaters nor were we trying to get a free meal. I hope the restaurant will understand this review as training to do better with there clients. No one said to us sorry that the food was cold this time please come back and we will do it right for you the next time. With all the great reviews on the food I know the food would be great...

This morning my father decided to find a place for breakfast as he is visiting from out of town. He went to Big John's as we had taken him there before for lunch when they were here from Pittsburgh. He states he was greeted promptly and seated with a paper menu with the breakfast specials. He chose the Deluxe breakfast special that was listed for $7 and per the menu included 2 eggs, choice of potatoes, choice of meat (ham, bacon, or hash). When he received his bill there was an extra charge on it for the hash, which the menu indicated was included. He questioned the extra charge with the cashier, she advised him that the hash was extra. When he pointed out that the paper menu stated it was included she told him it was wrong and he ended up paying the extra charge. This should not have happened, it was not HIS fault the menu was wrong, He felt she should have at least offered to take the surcharge off, which he would have himself when he was in the hospitality industry (over 20 years.) This has affected how we feel about the restaurant, and we will not recommend this establishment to anyone we know.

UPDATE: RE: Big John's - Dad read the response from the owner and today stopped to discuss the issues. There was never any problems with the quality of the food, just the pricing error. He spoke with Big John who admitted to missing the menu error, stated he had new help who were not as familiar with his policies as he would like. He promised to have a staff meeting to review his policies as new staff needed additional training. My father refused the offer of a refund as it was never about the money, he wishes John a long and successful career as an entrepreneur. Dad states he would go back again next visit. Big John gave him a nice mug as a parting gift. Thank you Big...