Brother Jimmy's BBQ — Restaurant in Oxon Hill

I visited Brother Jimmy's yesterday to celebrate a friend's birthday. They advised me that it would be a 15 min wait because there was 8 of us. We were ok with waiting because not everyone was there yet. They took my number and advised that they would give me a call when the table was ready. I stepped outside for a brief min and then came back in and had a seat on the bench. When the rest of our party got there, we checked the status of our table, but they had given it away. They advised that they had tried to call me multiple times, but didn't get an answer. My phone never rang, and they never called my name to see if we were inside the building. We were literally sitting right next to the hostess stand. They were able to find a table for us, but we should have taken that as a sign to go somewhere else. Our server started out nice, but as the night went on the service became worse. Some of the food came out cold, the portion sizes they gave were small and not worth the prices that we paid. They automatically add 15% gratuity to all checks. When it was time for us to get our bills she asked if we wanted them separately, we said yes. She brought our checks, and when she brought them out they were all correct. i had two separate checks, one for a to go order and one for the meal that I ate in the restaurant. I paid for the to go order with cash, and gave her my card for the other meal. When the server brought my card back, I noticed that my card was charged far more than what my order was for. She had switched my card with someone else's at the table. I explained to her what happened and gave her my original receipt back, so that she could fix the error. It took her a long time to come back to the table with my card and check. When she made it back to the table, she asked me if i was sure that i gave her the original receipt back, and i said yes. She walks away again, and we waited a long time for her to come back again. This time, she had printed out everyone at the table's receipt so that she could figure out where she went wrong with the bill. When she gave me the updated copy of my receipt I noticed this time that i was charged for two of the combos instead of the 1 that I had along with my drink. She left the table again after I explained to her what her error was. We waited another 10-15 mins before the manager came to the table to try to sort things out. I explained to him what was happening and how long we were waiting for the situation to be rectified. He explained that the server dropped some of the cards and mixed them up during the checkout process. Instead of her just coming back to the table and asking us who's card belong to who, she just ran the incorrect card for the wrong check. I let him know that i was not happy and would have preferred that she just came to ask us, because her attitude def changed during this whole interaction. The manager offered to discount my meal, and someone else at the table asked if we could get a complementary shot for our trouble. He originally advised that he could not provide free shots, but did anyway. The manager's reaction and helpfulness in getting everything resolved is the only reason the restaurant got any stars. We would have been better off going elsewhere for the amount of money we spent, and how long it took for our issue to be resolved. The best part of the meal was the Strawberry Hennessy drink. The food was not worth the amount of money that they were asking for, the portions were small, and the food was mediocre. I will not be visiting that...

1st time customer review, I would like to acknowledge both The good and areas of improvement.

The place seemed nice, friendly staff that acknowledges you as you arrive. Nice atmosphere four socializing and maybe a cocktail of you're into that.

Now the order App - northern style rib tips (this had me excited because that's a hit in Chicago) Main - catfish Sides - mac n cheese and collard greens.

Food review The fried catfish with spot on the beading not too thick or salty. The fillets were huge and are worth reordering (throw in 2 lemon wedges for acid and its perfect).

Collard greens were good, not Southern Thanksgiving say good but they were enjoyed.

The mac n chess was a defiant miss. In over 30 years of cooking and have eaten in residents from California to Australia let me acknowledge this failure. Onions have no place in this dish (but someone in this restaurant made it). Unfortunately there as box brands that taste better and having you pay for this side usa criminal at best.

Rib tips had ZERO quality control. It was like jerky with BBQ sauce 👎🏼. This comes from either reheating too many times or it was overcooked initially and then reheated for too long or too many times. Or it could come from the fact that in its initial cook it was overcooked and not given the appropriate quality control before it was covered in sauce. Either way I did order or not pay for jerky I paid four rib tips and my excitement quickly turned into anger as my options of what to eat out of this $45 meal dwindled.

The online menu is outdated. When you call in and ask cute items that are no longer available or the price that is advertised is expired it's probably a note to find a different restaurant. The mobile order take was nice age almost apologetic nevertheless; after 11 months of but being at full staff and management doesn't have time top update the menu??? Also if you are adding a 15% gratuity to every order why but have the mobile order taker explain it before, during or after the order? Lastly after taking 15% on top of the 6% sales tax why do you get a dirty look from the hostess when you don't provide an additional tip for a take out order where the only thing she did was bring you a bag and a receipt to sign?

Overall review Taking a day to come to national harbor was good overall. The biggest disappointment was straying away from my top 6 restaurants in the area in order to "try sunbathing different." Going to a "barbecue joint" that lacks the taste of a brine, actual barbecue seasoning and must importantly SMOKE was a $45 education. It is my desire that tree management will read this review and give the customers a much better product for the money. It make take hiring a chef knowledgeable in the cuisine that you advertise or giving a level of scrutiny to the food leaving your kitchen. Either way...

The Chili Mac was great. Televisions abound. The service was above average. Brisket is my favorite and I will walk over people to get to it. I have tried it in restaurants all over Texas. When it's done right, there's nothing like it. That tender, juicy meat with the mesquite inspired smoke ring and the well-seasoned crust makes you wanna smack your friend's mama. I could not bring myself to trying the brisket here. These prices are out of line and out of control. One look at the price dissuaded me from considering that option. Anyone who knows me knows that it must have been bad for me to pass on brisket, price is usually not a factor. Brother Jimmy's charges $24 for a plate which includes 1/2lb of brisket and one side. Three of my favorites in Texas charge between $11 and $12.49 for a 1/2lb. At one place, Prime Rib is $15.99 for 1/2lb. At another, an 8oz Ribeye is $19.95 and it's just about on par with Ruth's Chris' Ribeye. There is no reason that this place should charge twice as much. I can hear you saying, "we're not in Texas". Hushyofuss. Even Hill Country Barbecue Market on 7th St NW doesn't charge that much and I'm sure their brisket is much better. I have tried it and it is excellent. If you are craving brisket and stuck in DC, go there. Does Brother Jimmy's even offer you the choice of lean or moist? I know they have to pay the exorbitant rent at The National Harbor but come on. There seems to be a trend here to charge a lot more than everyone else for the same portion size or reduce the portion size. Buyer beware: Brother Jimmy's includes a 15% tip in your bill. Maybe I missed a sign on the door but I was not aware of that until my check came. I don't want a restaurant to decide for me how much to tip. That's a big deal for me. I would have tipped a lot more but since the made that choice for me I let it go at that. I told the waitress. As far as I am concerned the store cheats their wait staff out of potentially good tips when they do that. Customers don't tip as much and many of them don't return. I won't....