Old South BBQ — Restaurant in North Myrtle Beach

This is actually my second trip to Old South BBQ. We stopped in here about 3 years ago and enjoyed it, but our travels rarely bring us to North Myrtle. So when my 15 year old scheduled his driving class at Boulineau's, I knew exactly where I wanted to stop.

Fast Forward to the end of the driving class, and on a Saturday afternoon in May between lunch and dinner we pulled in. Their sign clearly states "Best Butts on the Beach," and while I'm far from having tried all the BBQ on the Beach, I do believe there is merit to their claim. A smoker was alongside the main road and the familiar smell of burning hickory was a natural draw for me. So much so that I left the windows on the car open to make sure we could still smell it after we had pulled away.

This BBQ joint is small, they have 3 indoor tables and a few more outside. (Just a word about the outdoor seating; the flies are also very excited to try and get their share of some BBQ too.) We were able to order immediately and the service was great! We were even told about soft ice cream that was down the road that sold for $1 a cone.

I ordered 2 BBQ pulled pork regular sandwiches. Their coleslaw was also provided in the perfect sandwich-serving-sized container. Each sandwich was $6.99. I had a note from last time that the sweet tea wasn't great, so I brought my homemade brew this time. I requested their spicy mustard sauce on the side. Within 2 minutes, our order was up and we headed out. If I had to do it again, I would definitely have ordered the large sandwich.

The BBQ pulled pork was tender and moist even without the sauce. In fact I only added a very small amount of sauce to the sandwich because the flavor of the BBQ was so good. The BBQ has a pepper flavor to it which gives it a little bit of heat. The coleslaw was the ideal amount and made it a perfect addition to the sandwich. My son also remarked how good the BBQ was.

I was extremely impressed again by Old South’s  BBQ. When we're up this way, we will...

We grabbed dinner to go here one evening during our SC vacation. The restaurant is not large or flashy. In fact, it is a simple little place with a few seats inside and out. As soon as we pulled in, we could smell the delicious smoke coming out of the smokers in the back. The service was outstanding. The woman who took my order was fantastic. She explained all the options to me and made great suggestions.

We ordered the Family Dinner which came with 1 1/2 pounds of barbecue pork, 3 sides, and a dozen hushpuppies. For our sides we chose onion rings, slaw, and beans. We also added some buns to make sandwiches.

There were a number of barbecue sauces from which to choose. The server went over each one with me. I decided on the mild vinegar based as well as some of the sweet sauce for the kids. Both were delicious.

The meat was tasty and lean. There was just the right amount of fat to make it juicy without making it greasy. There was no gristle or hard pieces that you sometimes get at barbecue places. Lots of lean, juicy meat with a little bark mixed in.

The onion rings were tasty. Good batter and generous amount of onion. The slaw was a mayo based slaw which was a little on the bland side. I generally prefer a vinegar based slaw with barbecue, but it paired fine with the pork. The beans were spicy. The server did tell me when I ordered them that they were spicy, but I can't order barbecue without getting beans so I got them. Usually when I get beans at a barbecue restaurant the sauce is thick and sweet. The sauce for these beans were thin and spicy. I would classify them as a medium heat. If I had to guess I would say that they made them using the spicy vinegar barbecue sauce.

All in all, the food was good. The service was great. And we would definitely...

My family and I stop and eat here every year when we come down on vacation. The food and service was always terrific in the past. This time I was disappointed. And I understand that situations will be different due to Covid and times are hard all the way around for everyone. I get it. But the experience was not nearly the same as before.

They were an hour from closing when we arrived. They had barely any sweet tea left and we weren't sure how long it had been sitting there. They refused to make more tea. Which is kind of understandable with an hour left before closing time. But I had been looking forward to their sweet tea because I love it and get it every time we eat here. So I was very disappointed with that and so was my mom.

We ordered our food and sat outside to eat. We ordered our usual meals that we always get. When the food was brought out we found that it was maybe half of what we used to get (amount wise). So we paid the same price for half the amount compared to years previous. And the BBQ beans were super spicy. So much so that I wasn't able to eat more than a few small bites. Which was also disappointing considering they used to be phenomenal. Also, the fries that my mom and son got weren't even fresh and weren't that great.

So our experience this year wasn't very good, unfortunately. I'm hoping it's only pandemic related and a one-time thing. Because they used to have some really good food and we loved stopping...