Drifters Tennessee Barbeque (BBQ) Joint — Restaurant in Nashville-Davidson

I took my family to Drifters after church yesterday. My mom and dad had never been to this area of town to eat since it has been revived. I paid $8 to park and we walked over to eat. Music was playing as we walked up and there were a couple families outside eating. We walk in the door and the waitress has a bit of a look of shock on her face, but tells us to sit where we would like. We choose to sit at a set of tables in the center as my two sons are with us as well. They have to go to the bathroom, so my dad takes them back past the wait staff to the bathroom and then back. My mom and I are at the table watching the many televisions and waiting on a waiter or waitress. Now we are all at the table sitting hungry and thirsty, but still no one comes or makes eye contact. I watch two other tables sit and be serviced. I watch food get delivered from the kitchen to the tables. We still have not been approached. I know that we can be seen because the establishment is small and tight. The area we are in is in the center between the booths and the bar. There are only two groups sitting in this section and there is a lot of empty seats here. No one ever comes and my son asks my mom, "Why is no one coming?" I am ready to go at this point. It has been 15 minutes and we have been ignored and denied service. We get up to go and the waitress smiles at us as we leave. I asked her, "Is it normal for people to sit and not be serviced for 15 minutes? No one even came to ask us what we wanted to drink or to give us a menu." She responds with, "No not at all. You must have come during shift change and been overlooked." We were the only family at a table in a small restaurant with all of these open tables and waitresses and waiter/manager with no food, drinks, or menus, and we also happen to be black where everyone else is white except the very fair skin black waitress that smiled when we left. This is not something we normally experience in Nashville, but all they had to do was put up a sign or a confederate flag and we would have never come in. But hey, like my mom told my son as we left, "Don't ever give a place your money if they...

Drifter's BBQ is a great quaint little place where you can sit back, listen to live music out on the deck, drink a cold beer and enjoy some great tasting BBQ menu items. \

The location is tucked away in the alley behind Five Points Pizza and Family Dollar off Woodland St. But, don't let the location fool you, it is well worth looking for. They offer indoor seating as well as a great outdoor deck with plenty of outdoor seating for your comfort and enjoyment.

The have a full menu with some things you won't expect from a BBQ joint. Like their Beer Smoked Bratwurst and their BBQ Nacho Plate along with traditional favorites like brisket and pulled pork plates and sandwiches along with lots more. Most days have a two for one happy hour on beer until 7 PM and all day on Sunday. We go often and the food is always spot on with generous portion sizes and everything is priced well. Last Sunday we went and stayed for almost four hours listening to several groups playing music. 6 beers and two dinners with tax ran us $34.08. Hard to beat that in Nashville or anywhere else for the quality, portion size or entertainment value.

Only obstacle to keep from a full five stars would be hit and miss service. Depending upon who serves you it can from being great to almost non-existent. Good thing is if your server sucks you can always walk inside the bar and order food or drink refills.

But, overall this is a great laid back place and always a lot of fun and great food. Well worth...

Other BBQ places get a lot more hype, but Drifter's never fails to deliver a delicious plate of BBQ, and ranks right up there with the best. While it is in the heart of East Nashville - right in the Five Points area - you could easily miss it. It sits back in the alley between Battered and Fried and Five Points Pizza. They have a nice sized outdoor patio and seating area, but the building itself is a bit nondescript. Once inside it feels a bit like a dive bar. It's comfortable and unpretentious - the perfect vibe for East Nashville. I typically visit either for lunch or a late dinner at the bar, and service under those circumstances has been excellent. One of my favorites is the pulled chicken sandwich. Excellent BBQ chicken and a wonderful grilled bun with a hint of garlic. The sides have all been quite good and I appreciate black beans for an occasional less sweet bean option (although the regular beans are very good). I enjoyed the ribs again most recently, after a long hiatus from them, and they were surprisingly good. Meaty, tender, still moist but not fatty. Great depth of flavor from the rich, dark bark. Half a rack was plenty and at $16.99 a very very good value too - it came with two sides. They have a sauce station with a variety of BBQ sauces, but I think my fave is the house sauce that's on the table. Nicely...