Hometown Bar-B-Que — Restaurant in New York

I've been wanting to try Hometown Bar-B-Que for some time now, but always seem to miss an opportunity when I'm in Brooklyn since it's made a few national lists for best BBQ in the country. Finally pulled the trigger and stopped in. First the negatives: The layout is a bit confusing. We walked into an open dining area. There was nobody on staff there to greet us or tell us where to go. We eventually wandered to the back dining area and bar and were told to order at a counter after finding someone to ask. Very strange layout. Ordering is a bit unconventional. Take for example baby back ribs. Most places sell them as a half a rack or a full rack. Here, they are sold by bones. So four bones may be equal to half a rack. It sounds elementary but it's a bit complicated when you've never been there and they are trying to move you through the ordering line. I also ordered the Vietnamese wings. They came as 3 wings for $15.00. Again, not the typical way wings are denominated. I upped my order to 3 wings. Once delivered and nearly $72.00 later (extremely expensive in my estimation) with a small side of potato salad that cost $6.00, the portions were actually larger than I expected. And now for the positive: On both dishes, sesame seeds and scallions were the main garnish and were distributed liberally. The meat on my Korean BBQ ribs had a smoky char and a crunchy bite before sinking into the meat. It was very delicious. There are only two BBQ sauces available, and they were good, but not remarkable. The wings were larger and also flavorful with portions of the wing fried unevenly given it a satisfying crispiness in some bites, although less so in others. The atmosphere is young, energetic, and loud in the evening. But the interior looks every bit like a smokehouse from the Southland, the craft beer choices were excellent, and because of all these things minus the instruction we could have benefitted from as new customers, I would definitely return. Is it the best BBQ in the nation? For what I had it's hard to compare because most BBQ joints run more traditional in style and substance, and the selections I had were not things you would find at a run-of-the-mill daily BBQ joint. It's definitely a unique take on the classic...

I had an incredibly disappointing and upsetting experience during my first — and definitely last — visit to Hometown on 8/2/25.

There was over an hour-long wait, with a line stretched out the door. While I waited for my husband to join me, a staff member walked down the line taking drink orders. I ordered drinks for both of us, tapped my card, and — with the crowd, noise, and heat — I simply forgot to sign the card reader. The employee stood there staring at me and said, “You need to sign.” I apologized and quickly signed, but accidentally skipped the tip button — a completely honest mistake.

The employee immediately raised his voice and began yelling at me, repeating sarcastically: “Seriously? No tip? Seriously?” Over and over. This went on for nearly two minutes in front of the crowd, while I tried to apologize and explain — but he wouldn’t even let me get a word in.

To make matters worse, he moved on to the group behind me and loudly announced that I didn’t tip, further humiliating me. At that point, I didn’t even know what he expected — and frankly, there was no way I was going to tip him after being spoken to like that. The people behind me were so uncomfortable they didn’t end up ordering anything.

When my husband had come to meet me in line and seeing how visibility upset I was, he calmly confronted the employee for speaking to me that way and the guy quickly dismissed his behavior and claimed, “I was making it up.”

About fifteen minutes later, the same staff member circled back and offered me a free drink and no apology. Obviously, he knew he was wrong. I declined — I just wanted to be left alone at this point — and again, he raised his voice and said, “I have to deal with people all the time who don’t understand how this industry works.”

Let me be very clear: tipping is never mandatory, and it absolutely should not be demanded through public shaming or aggression. We got our food and I left feeling embarrassed and disrespected. This kind of behavior is completely unprofessional and unacceptable and should be addressed by management.

Also — for what it’s worth — the food was overpriced and definitely was not worth the wait or the experience. We will not...

Hometown BBQ is a great family BBQ joint located in Red Hook. I had read good things about it and thought to finally give it a try. So, one Friday after work I took the ferry from Wall St. to Red Hook/Atlantic Basin (SB 11), and made the short walk from there.

I was very surprised when I walked through the door because inside was its own world. The first thing that hits you is the fantastic aromas in the air. You just know there’s some good stuff cooking! And then there’s the music. I’m not exactly sure how to describe it; maybe Dixie? I’m not certain, but the joint was jumpin, that’s for sure. You come in and que up on the left side to place your order. You get your meal on trays and you bring your food to wherever available table you can snag. There are two rooms, the main area and the back.

I had the brisket, Korean ribs, Mac and cheese, potato salad, and honey cornbread. The Korean ribs were amazing, and for me, stole the show. The profile was so delectable that I could have easily had only those and a side. Wow, is all I can say. Another surprise was the honey cornbread. I was not expecting them to have such flavor. I make cornbread quite often, and I can say that their version is a home run. Bam; right out of the park! The potato salad was very interesting, as it wasn’t like any that I’ve tasted before. It has a very unique taste and texture. You might not even recognize it as potato salad at first, but you’ll certainly think that it’s delicious. Another ‘wow’. The Mac and cheese has a great crusty topping, and my only regret was having ordered only a small size. Overall, I just loved everything! I was fortunate in the fact that I had a lot of leftovers and I can firmly say that the next day things were even more delicious! Will I go back? Absolutely. The ferry ride is nice, and it’s not terribly far from the port/pier. If you want to try somewhere different I can recommend Hometown without reservations. I hope this...