Bad Brads BBQ — Restaurant in Orion Charter Township

I've been to dozens in Michigan and even took a tour through the south trying many top BBQ restaurants and Bad Brad's is easily one of my favorites. The brisket and ribs are two of my top choices, but I'm always impressed when I try their chicken, turkey (which I hope they bring back!), and pulled meats. They have new sausages which are very and delicious too!

But their sides and appetizers are top tier. You must try the pig candy at least once (I'm sure you'll want to have it again). Incredible caramelized bacon served on a clothesline! The pork burnt ends are fantastic, I'm sure the beef ones are too. Their loaded fries are ones of the best you'll every have, such a great combination of toppings and flavors. Not to mention their loaded nachos. My favorite sides are their sweet potato mash, their perfectly baked and slightly spicy corn bread, and my new favorite the coleslaw. I could go on.

They also have a very solid draft beer selection, cocktails, and bar full of all the liquors you'd desire. They rotate some food and drink options, so it's always fun to see what is new and it's always going to be good.

The interior and atmosphere is another joy in itself. A combination of rustic industrial and abstract art. Warm, homey, and inviting. The casual and robust environment is adds to the great food and experience. Even the outside and around the parking lot are fun art pieces to explore.

Sometimes the restaurant is swamped but the service is always great. This time my server was Melissa and she was great! Very friendly, polite, and nicely handled any of our requests.

I can't recommend Bad Brads anymore highly! It's a special treat every time and I always look to the next time...

I'm writing this review to warn others about my experience at Bad Brad's BBQ in Lake Orion, Michigan. We went there for dinner on a Thursday night, and we were very disappointed.

We were seated right away, and our server was friendly. We ordered our food, and then we waited. And waited. And waited.

After about 45 minutes, we still hadn't received our food. We saw three other tables of people who were served before us but arrived after us, and all of them were people of a lighter complexion.

We finally asked our server about our food, and she said that it was still cooking. She said that it would be out soon.

But it never came.

After an hour and a half, we had still not received our food. We were hungry and frustrated, so we decided to leave.

We asked for our check, and the server told us that we would have to pay for our drinks. We were shocked. We hadn't even received our food, and we were being charged for our drinks?

We paid, and we left.

We were very disappointed with our experience at Bad Brad's BBQ. We felt like we were discriminated against because of our race. We will never go back there again.

Here are some of the specific things that went wrong:

Our food took over an hour to arrive. We were seated right away, but other tables were served before us. We were charged for our drinks even though we didn't receive our food. Half of the food on the menu were not available.

I would not recommend Bad Brad's BBQ to anyone. The food is not worth the wait, and the service is terrible.

I hope this review helps others avoid a...

My husband and I were searching Google for someplace to eat that was different from what we could cook ourselves. Full Transparency: we are natural food critics. We are very talented when it comes to cooking at home and creating things from scratch. My husband has a gourmet style and I have a home-cooked style way of cheffing. This makes it hard for us to go out and really enjoy ourselves and feel like we got our “money and taste worth”.

Our online search came down to two restaurants. It was a tossup between Fogo De Chao and Bad Brads BBQ. We chose Brads.

My goodness, I’m so glad we did! We have never been here and I can not tell you how pleasantly surprised and happy I am that we chose them! The wait wasn’t bad (15 minutes). The drinks at the bar were really good. I even carried one to the table 😂 Our server Maddy was so sweet and attentive. I shared with her how excited we were to have found them and told her we’d be back when family came into town. Thanks Maddy!

All of this and I haven’t even mentioned the food yet! The meat rub was good. I liked the peppery flavor. The chicken was moist. The ribs literally fell off the bone. The Mac and cheese was creamy. The greens were perfect. The black eyed peas in them were a nice touch. The sauces were nice. We bought two of them to take home (321 & Spicy). Everything was good.

The prices were respectable. The atmosphere can be described as “family friendly”.

This place is a winner! Definitely going into the arsenal of this foodie list for places worth spending your...