CarterQue BBQ & Grilling Co. — Restaurant in Mount Airy

I have been to CarterQue BBQ​ a number of times and always found it a really good experience . Except until May 20th (why i only gave it one star). I decided that this is where i wanted to go with my family for my 50th birthday and really looked forward to it. They were having a fundraiser for the American Cancer Society which was great! I had just lost my dad to leukemia on May 5th. Anyway, it was quite busy but, we got seated immediately. Our server, Madison (from the check) came and took our orders. 50 minutes later, we finally got our appetizers after we saw two identical apps go to a table that came a good while after us. We continued to ask Madison but all she said was "I put them in" with no offer of an apology. I said well, they should be comped then. Later, Zack, the manager for that night came by and said he'd give us 10% off the tab which was...ok. He said they had some new people in the kitchen. Another excuse without any type of "we're really sorry". And by the way, when the apps came, they were luke warm at best. Very disappointing.

Our meals finally came about 80 minutes after we sat down and again, the meals were luke warm. My daughter's mashed potatoes were congealed like they had been sitting under a warming lamp for eternity. My youngest daughter's meal never arrived. Madison again only said "I put it in" no apology just another excuse. The BBQ as always was very good but this was a horrific experience. To top it off when we were leaving, Zack brought my daughter's meal and said here's your pulled pork platter to go. No Zack, it was a pulled pork platter that never came. I shared my meal with my daughter! Anyway, restaurants have bad days, i get that. What made this extremely bad was the lack of caring showed by the staff. Madison was a weak server at best and it was apparent in the whole place that Zack really wasn't managing things well at all. With Chubby's, Black Hog, and other options around, unfortunately it will be a good while before we go back to CarterQue for anything other than a...

Great experience over all. I walked in today at 11:31, 1 minute after opening and was greeted as if they had been open already for an hour. Restaurant is well maintained and very clean. Eric was my server and he was excellent. He reinforced my choice of the Que - Balls (Beef Meatballs in their house raspberry bbq sauce) and they were amazing. My app arrived less than 4 minutes after ordering and my Shredded Pork sandwich and steamed broccoli arrived within 4 minutes of that. I asked for extra pickles and not only did it seem there were extra on the sandwich, but a little more in a side cup. Eric was very timely and attentive even though the restaurant was starting to fill up. It looked as if he may have been watching the bar and serving with another server or vice versa. The manager was also involved as he brought my entree as the servers got busier. I was thanked twice on my way out the door. I live about 20 min from Mt Airy and this was my 3rd time there. Always great food and great service. I have many years in restaurant management and ownership and these guys always leave me impressed all...

I love Supporting local businesses and I have always had great experiences at CarterQue. We had CQ cater our wedding a few years ago and continued to support them once a week during the pandemic. I enjoy trying the new beers on tap each time we visit and most of all I enjoy the same food each time I visit. Pulled pork with old red and sweet potato fries. A month or so ago I took my sister and told her how good the sweet potato fries are. When I ordered, the waitress told me that they aren’t making those anymore. Ugh so disappointed! I realize that sweet potato fries aren’t the most important thing in the world (by far!) BUT when it comes to picking a place to go out to eat and sticking to a budget, I’m going to pick a place that has the foods I like. And for me personally those sweet potato fries were the thing no one else out there has. I can make a great pulled pork at home. Otherwise, the staff has always been kind, the restaurant is clean and the pulled pork and sauces are great. RIP my sweet...