Iowa Barbeque Company — Restaurant in Le Mars

It’s hard not to comment on others posts. Buuuuut…I’m resisting…We came through Lamar, Iowa on some “ice cream festival”weekend, our brief stop proved incredible. The town itself was charming-and then we found the Iowa BBQ Company. I’ve run barbecue restaurants whose names many would recognize and have no trouble loading up my house, yard, and acreage with folks when I choose to barbecue and smoke meats-which I’ve been doing for over 30 years. That said-this place is legit! There is no shortage of great meat in Iowa and these folks know what to do with it! They have one of the most impressive smokers I’ve ever seen. Even the sausage, which is hard to get right, was great. The brisket, ribs, chicken, and pulled pork (yes, we sampled all of them) all pretty smoking amazing! The engaging staff, even the free beer(!) (interesting we were driving so I had to decline that one) oh, this place was really well thought out Overall-from someone who has sampled barbecue throughout the company and will be a judge at a competition this weekend-I was extremely impressed. I would not have been going by and found the welcoming staff, the awesome proprietor, the kind lady behind the counter who makes all the sides (seriously, the macaroni and cheese should be its own food group) but for an odd side trip. A nearly perfect experience in an off the beaten path, kind of hard to find place. When my travels take me even remotely back to this area, we will return here. Thanks so...

Very good BBQ. Best in Siouxland. Best restaurant in Le Mars, in my opinion. Summer 2022 note: prices are very high - they raised them when they reopened. I wouldn't venture to say "too expensive" because BBQ is just an expensive food to make and sell. But it is very spendy for a regular place to eat out. Only make it there every few months as a result.

Mac and Cheese is the best side. Wife loves the fries. Beans are killer as well. Really can't go wrong with any of it.

Meat is all pretty great. For a restaurant putting out a lot at a time, there is good consistency day to day - their pit master's have their technique down well. You can count on it tasting the same every time.

4 stars

1. Because of the price anymore. Really hard to justify even if the food is generally good.
2. The amount of sides you get for $4 is really skimpy. They used to put a decent sized pile of each side you order on. Now they take a scoop and scrape/shake it off level to the small spoons they're using. 4 good sized bites can clean the Mac up. Beans don't fare much better.

I'll keep going back because it has been Le Mars best restaurant for a while now, in my opinion and I like supporting local, but the prices for the quantity (especially on sides) are making that more and more...

Restaurant is super nice, clean, and modern. Staff were helpful and very friendly. The meat is fresh, moist, perfect. The cornbread was awesome. We also ordered the potato salad and baked beans. The potato salad was flavorful and had a red pepper flavor. The baked beans were very spicy and bold. They had two sauces available, bourbon sweet and Texas heat. The bourbon sauce was extreme BOURBON and the Texas heat had a strong chili flavor. Although we didnt personally care for the sauce or the bold flavors of the potato salad & baked beans....the meat alone was absolutely worth it. It's not that those items weren't good, as I know that everyone has their thing, they just weren't for us. But unless you try it you wouldn't know. They were definitely high quality, fresh, and homemade. I know that we will definitely be back and I have plenty of family & friends who would love the bold flavors. We ordered the chicken, brisket, and pulled pork. I'm still shocked at how perfect all the meat was as well as being tender and juicy. You choose your amounts of meat. Excellent...