Sonny's BBQ — Restaurant in Pensacola

Update: went back again last night 4/13 because of a major accident in the interstate. Our server Megan is a total waste of space. When we were sat our table was dirty and we asked Megan for a wipe down and when left came back with a soaked rag she proceeded to wipe all the table mess into our laps. Then I had to take a dry towel and dry it. Megan took our drink order and when she delivered it she grabbed each cup by the rim of the glass. we had to ask for straws. Then we ordered appetizers, (Red Neck Egg Rolls, and Corn Nuggets) she set them on my husbands arms trying to get them on the table. We put in our order, a BBQ salad with not onion of any type and not dressing, a BBQ chicken Bowl, and Two Burgers, one with no onion. Her comment about the onion going on the side so it should not be a problem should have never came out of her mouth. By they time our food was delivered by Megan(our Server) she dropped the food off to the wrong people so we had to fix that, there was onion on the burger that requested not onion. He pulled it off with the tomato it was sitting on and asked for another tomato. She said sure and went and got it. Side note: Our drinks were empty when when she brought our food and we had to ask for more. she did not even notice the empty cups when she set the food down. Now about the food. the burgers were dry and cold. The bowl was cold and mushy and tasteless. and my salad, the grilled corn tasted like frozen and boiled. Not once did she come by and ask how our food was. This is officially the last time I will ever patronize this place. They really just need to close their doors.

Ordered the turkey big deal combo and a BBQ chicken salad, and some red neck egg rolls. the sand which was very bland and the bread was old, seemed like they try to freshen it up with the foil. the salad was a cucumber salad with some lettuce. I personally do not mind cucumber salad but I was looking forward to a lettuce salad with a toppings not a cucumber salad with some lettuce. With that said, The Red Neck egg rolls and fries were off the chain. so if you like fries and pulled pork egg rolls, go to sony's if you want BBQ find another place.

ok ... the above was two months ago and My husband and I decided to give them another try which is unusual for us... and this time they were even worse than the last time.. even the red neck egg rolls were nasty. I honestly will never go to this Sony's BBQ ever again. Screw me once... shame on you... screw me twice...

I’m writing this in hopes management will adjust how they are running things. I was in there on September 2/3rd. Can’t remember the exact date, but this is bothering me. I have been in service industry my entire life and was absolutely appalled at what was going on. While I was having dinner with my fiancé the lights went out several times. Not Sonny’s fault, but it happened. The restaurant started filling up with smoke as I assume the hood vents were out. Fine- I can look past that. I was sat near the front and could hear and see everything that was going on between the bosses. And wow- It honestly made me not want to return, and we live maybe a half a mile away. I used to work at Sonny’s myself under Barbara and know how much she cared about her restaurant. This one, I’m not sure the management is worth a damn.

While many families sat in complete darkness, management made no effort to come around and check on anyone. Instead, they sat up front and discussed how they would make everyone pay since their computers were down. This went on for about 15 minutes. They had me write my credit card info down, every bit of it, on paper. Which I felt extremely uncomfortable doing. There was no apology for any of it. Nothing. Just basically eat your food in the dark and write down your credit card information. I’ve never seen such a lack of care on managements part. Utterly useless.

Me and my fiancé ate our meals with our phone light out. And they told me to use my phone light to see my credit card, yes, it was that dark. Meal ruined and no kind of consolation. The man next to me was also in shock and unhappy with how it was handled. He also ate with his phone light out.

Sonny’s on 9th management does not care about their guests or their experience, just the money. We will not be back...

There was a time—early 2000s, give or take—when Sonny’s Real Pit BBQ had a charm that’s hard to describe if you didn’t live it. Back then, it wasn’t trying to be anything more than what it was: a working man’s barbecue joint with that smoky comfort, a plastic cup of sweet tea, and the scent of hickory hanging heavy in the air.

I remember the old mascot well—that friendly pitmaster in the wide-brimmed hat. He wasn’t ironic or stylized, he was just Sonny. Honest and inviting. You saw that face and you knew what you were about to get: pulled pork sandwiches with the bark just right, beans that could pass for a meal, and garlic bread that came greasy and perfect. That logo alone brought a kind of reassurance.

These days, the food’s still good, no real complaints there. The ribs still have their place, and the sauce lineup still gives you a proper choice of heat and sweet. But it’s all taken on that slicker, modern feel. Trendy fonts. Open concepts. TV screens where there used to be framed photos of smokehouses and rodeos. It’s not bad, just not what it was.

BBQ’s in style now. You feel it when you walk in. There’s a curated vibe where there used to be something humbler—maybe even a little worn, but in a way that made it feel lived in. That kind of authenticity doesn’t sell quite as well anymore, I guess.

Still, every time I’m passing through the South, I make a point to stop in. I order mostly the same thing I always did. Not because it’s better than the rest, but because of the memory it holds. For me, Sonny’s isn’t really about the food anymore—it’s about that flicker of what it used to be. And that’s still...