Chad's BBQ — Restaurant in Maryland

We tried Chads when it first opened, the food was ok but we didn't go back for years. We returned 4 weeks ago when seating was only outside due to covid. Our waitress ( blonde hair) we had was a sweetheart ❤️ and had such a great personality. She remembered our faces, what we drank and quickly our names. We never had a better time out it was also one of our first times out since Covid as well. Even the owner, Chad, was working as a server and wonderful host. He and I worked at one of the same restaurants in Annapolis, name will not be mentioned, and we had a chat about our experiences working there, the waitress had worked at the same establishment as well, what a small world we live in. (I hope you remember me Chad) From my personal experience, as I have worked in the high end and all other types of restaurants, was extremely pleasantly surprised. Chad even answered our questions about menu items, how they were made, sourced and things on the menu he just thought up. The food, atmosphere and service impressed us so much, we returned 3 times in two weeks. My husband had the burger with bacon jam on all 3 occasions as he loved it so much, I had the half chicken with Alabama white bbq sauce, delicious! We had the corn fritters and governor's wings as well. All wonderful. Everything came out in the correct order, appetizers first obviously. Last Thursday we returned for dinner. This was a COMPLETELY different experience. It was the polar opposite of every other time we had dined there within the same month. There was nobody sitting outside, no tables, only picnic tables. Ordering consisted of walking up to the counter. I was charged for a cup of water, I don't know why. There was one very loud, coarse woman taking orders. Very abrasive, at least towards us and ignored us after we sat down. Our food came out all at the same time! This is probably the most irritating thing that can happen at a restaurant, in my opinion. What do you choose to eat first? Whatever you eat second is cold by then. Again the burger was ordered but this time the whole bun was COVERED in grease as well as sitting in grease, to the point napkins were used to blot it off. We ordered the governors wings again and corn fritters I had a ceaser salad. We received the governor's ribs which was a mistake I do understand that happens, it took so long to receive the wings. We had no paper trays or plates to eat the wings on, I actually moved all of my salad to one part of the bowl and improvised. We were only given plastic utensils while the table next to us had actual flatware as well as glasses, not plastic cups. So so disappointed that the place we couldn't wait to return to all the time had changed so drastically. It almost made me cry. I understand the ordering is at the counter, that is clear. I would love to know though why some people are treated far differently than others. People at the bar were well taken care of by the only woman there, waitress/bartender that I spoke of. As well as the tables next to us, they actually ordered from their table and their drinks were brought to them. We were left to fend for ourselves. We weren't checked in on by anyone to see if we needed anything. We weren't even finished eating when she came over and actually tried to take our food away without asking if we were done. Very unprofessional, when we did need a box she ACTUALLY tried to pick up our food with her bare hands and put it in the container. Even during so called normal times before COVID, this is extremely unsanitary. Yes I am HACCP and serve safe certified. It was also so loud we couldn't hear each other talk. The waitress was extremely loud as well. All in all we left disappointed. Maybe the staff was just ramping up as the dining room was now open or was having an off day. We will back because the food is normally excellent. Our original recent...

This is our fourth and last time coming here.

We have done carryout the last few times and what I noticed is that when I hit no tip or when I don't add a tip on the receipt I get a stale look from the female working there. I don't tip for Carryout. Yes I'm spending a lot of money but I feel that for Carryout All you're doing is packing my food you're not bringing it to me I'm coming to the counter and getting it and carrying it out myself. I shouldn’t be guilted or get bad service or stale looks for not tipping in Carryout. (We tipped quite well our first time we dined in. We don’t mind tipping for sit down service or if they do something out of the way)

This last time was the worst we ordered $85 worth of food.

We ordered a pulled pork sandwich they're supposed to give you coleslaw. The container was half full. We ordered sweet potato fries. It was half full.

I asked for barbecue on the side of our ribs the family meal we got no barbecue sauce at all and we asked for bread pudding because we thought it said bread pudding, and we told the young guy we wanted ice cream with our bread pudding and he was like yeah we don't serve ice cream with the bread pudding and we get home to see banana pudding. So maybe it was a mistake with communication and he wasn't paying attention to us saying bread pudding so many times , but after today our gut is just telling us we don't need to come back here. This business is not for us. The Ribs are absolutely delicious I would have rather eaten them with BBQ sauce. The corn bread is huge and loafy and dense. You gotta load with with butter to eat it without choking. The chicken is also good as well as the pulled pork sandwich, just disappointed we didn’t get much Cole slaw.

My review is on my experience the BBQ is why we came so many times. The greens are also good, Mac and cheese seems old it’s hard. Refer to the pictures. I called to complain and told them the guy made us wait a few extra minutes cause he was making sure everything was in the bag. Should have trusted my gut and looked myself. The guy told us come back he would give us extra sauce but it’s pouring rain and I’m not driving an hour to and...

Chad’s BBQ is a wonderful establishment filled with great food and great people. Every top I stop in, I know that I will be leaving very happy.

Just by talking to Chad, I can tell that he is super knowledgeable in his craft and passionate about what he does.

Sheila (tending bar) is extremely hospitable, makes great suggestions, and makes everyone feel welcome during each visit.

Whenever I go to Chad’s, I know that I will be ordering the Smoked Honey-wings. They are incredible (I originally discovered them at a local wing festival - after finding those wings, I had no need to try any other wings at the festival). After eating those, I usually will then order a 2nd item ( I probably shouldn’t but the food is just too damn good!!!).

This past visit, I mentioned that I had never had their burger. I was immediately told that that needs to be the next thing I try (Chad even referred to 2 burger trophies on the wall). So I ordered the burger and WHOLLY COW, it was FAN-FLIPPEN-TASTIC! This burger was so juicy and you can tell it was made with so much love, I was in freaken heaven! Cold-Smoked, with Bacon Jam, Arugula, tomato, garlic mayo, and served in a potato roll that was so soft yet somehow durable enough to contain everything. This burger easily goes into my top 5 burgers of all time and I now have the urge to dig the smoker out of the garage and try cold smoking at home.

Chad’s is a very special place and I would highly recommend it to anyone. 5/5;...