Otis’s BBQ — Restaurant in Manitou Springs

My husband and I both originating from different parts of the south were craving BBQ and decided to give Otis’s a try as it had great reviews on Google. To say the least, we were not impressed.

Service- The service was good and the lady working at the desk was nice, however when I asked about portion sizes I felt as though she was beating around answering it. I asked about the plate and was just told it was about 2 slices. I asked again explaining that saying 2 slices didn’t give me a good understanding and she hesitated to give a response.

Food- The portions were small for the prices as the brisket was barely half of a small paper plate and plus baked beans for $13-$14. My husband got the 3 ribs plus 1 side for $16 and was still hungry when we left. I expected to ribs to be bigger for the prices but was disappointed. Even though the ribs were good and tender, the brisket was kinda dry and had a terrible aftertaste. The sauces were good just wish there was more than 2 options. The food was also served room temp which concerns me about how they are keeping it stored and if it is safe.

Drinks- They didn’t have many options as it was cans of soda and bottles of water in a cooler up front.

Utensils- The utensils consist of small paper plates and cheap sporks to use.

Overall, I will not be back in the future but wish them good luck. I do enjoy supporting local small businesses but do not feel the food and the experience was worth the...

It's not BBQ in my opinion. It looks and tastes more like something cooked in an instapot or an oven. There was no bark on the brisket and the ribs were not seared. The meat had no pinkness as smoked meat often has. They seem to be using a smoke flavoring. I believe this because I have a very bad reaction to liquid smoke and I had the same reaction to this food. The food was not hot. It was room temperature. The restaurant had a lot of flies inside. However, the door was open. So, it may not be a sanitary issue. The portions were abundant. They serve the food up picnic style on a paper plate with a spork. The potatoe salad was good but tasted like something that was store bought. So, it's nothing special. Then they add paprika on top. The beans were good and had little stringy bits of brisket in it. However, the beans would have been better if they were served hot instead of room temperature. The BBQ sause tasted good. It tasted like Sweet Baby Ray's. That's my favorite sause. Drinks are also served picnic style, bottles and cans out of an ice chest. The food was okay tasting, not bad and not great, but something in between. I gave the restaurant a low rating because of the temperature of the food, the flies in the restaurant, the smoke flavoring and the lack of bark or searing on the meat. Although the experience was not horrible, it wasn't...

While visiting Manitou Springs, CO, we walked by the town's fire station and I asked a local fire fighter for good places to eat. He recommended Otis's BBQ. It's a kind of hole in the wall enterprise - very simple, functional decor with a limited menu. A very friendly couple waited on us. We ordered the brisket plate w slaw and sample platter w slaw and beans for the sides. I learned everything is smoked off site. Then every 3 hours the meat is wrapped and brought to the restaurant. We enjoyed our food. The slaw was uniquely tasty with a pepper forward flavor. The beef brisket was good, but lacked some tenderness & juiciness one looks for. The pork ribs had a pleasant rub taste. Overall, the plates weren't very hot. We emptied three of the four partial bottles of BBQ sauces that were provided. I wished they were full. The sauces were really tasty! For a restaurant that's been open only a couple of months, I hope it can sustain and make itself a name. Regardless, we had a good time and felt fortunate to have...