RayNathan's — Restaurant in North Carolina

Great food but the service is not too good. Just heard of this place Thursday and decided to check it out Saturday. It was a late lunch so it wasn't crowded. My family, sister-in-law/brother-in-law and their kids walked in and was warmly greeted by a banker who instructed us how their ordering system works. There was no one in line and the young order takers/cashiers were friendly and answered our questions. With me being a fatboy and lover of good food, I wanted to read the entire board, ask follow up questions and get a scope of their menu. The party who had walked in behind us, although not with us, knew us and as we were chatting and getting caught up on life an older blonde lady in a red shirt and white cardigan with a bad attitude came out from the back. She told my wife to step aside to let the party that I was talking to order ahead. So I told my friends bye and let them ordered. I asked my wife to order hers and our daughter's food while I decide. Then my in-laws ordered and I was ready to order, but that old lady told a big group behind me to come around me, so I had to wait on them, then she took another family while I was just standing there patiently and silently wishing we had went somewhere else. Finally I was able to get back to the young girls and placed my order and walked to our table to find that my family had already gotten their food. It wasn't long until I got my order too and it tasted very good but I realized that it didn't come with slaw; so I had to go back and stand in line and order slaw. Then I had to go back and order extra chicken tenders for my little girl, then go back to order dessert. My card was ran a total of 4 times!!! There were 4 different ladies waiting on our table but neither topped off our drinks. In short I think to they need to scrap the causal dining idea for a traditional wait staff, forget those hard rolls and put hush puppies on the menu, take the onions out of the potato salad & heat it up, and keep that blonde lady in the kitchen away...

Looking at the incredible rave reviews leaves me with just a couple of conclusions to draw. Either I am just unlucky or we are seriously starved for restaurant choices in the South New Hope Rd area...perhaps its a little of both.

We have visited twice now, and both experiences left me with the same impression: This is simply a business, Bbq is not a passion here. That's not to say the barbecue isn't good... it's perfectly fine but it's certainly not as great as some of the reviews would lead you to believe. I suppose some of what rubbed me the wrong way is the ineqtiable portion size for $ spent. For example on our last visit I got a 1/4 rack of ribs plate which consists of three ribs two sides and a biscuit for $10 (see photos) and my wife got a pulled pork sandwich and fries for $8. Three....yes 3 ribs for ten buck seems a little absurd, especially when compared what looks like a whole pound of pulled pork they put on the sandwich (so much she couldn't eat it all) for a good bit less money. On our previous visit I ordered the brisket plate for $15 (see photos)and received three slices of brisket, two sides and a biscuit...which was more meat than the ribs plate, but it also costs 50% more. In the end my assessment is that you really do not get a whole lot for your money here. Again I'm not saying that it's bad or that you shouldn't try it....I am however saying that you should be aware of what to expect and maybe you won't leave slightly disappointed and a bit...

This place would not have been on my radar at all if it weren't for the Yelp Best New Restaurants of 2019 list.

We've been alternating between restaurants we love and new restaurants while in quarantine. This was our new restaurant to try and it was a good one.

We got Stephen's Brisket Sandwich and a Pork & Brisket Combo. Our side choices were mac and cheese, coleslaw, and banana pudding. The combo came with a roll too. We paid 25 cents extra to get a third sauce so we tried the vinegar, mustard, and Sundrop sauces.

Of everything we tried, the pulled pork was my favorite meat. It was a little crispy. The sandwich was spicy! I enjoyed it. The brisket was good when I have the fatty parts. The non-fatty parts were a little dry.

The mac and cheese was so cheesy and delicious. The coleslaw was pretty good.

My favorite sauce was the Sundrop (closely followed by mustard). I usually love vinegar sauce, but this one wasn't my favorite.

They let you get all of their desserts as sides which is amazing. The banana pudding might have been the best I've ever had. It was incredible. Get it.

The service was great. We ordered online, they had a question about our special instructions and called us to clarify right away. They have a tent set up outside so we didn't have to go into the restaurant. They brought out my food right away.

Overall, we loved this place. If you want good bbq, check...