Deke's Bar-B-Que — Restaurant in Philadelphia

I ordered Pulled pork. Baby back Ribs. BBQ chicken. Beef brisket. Mac and cheese. Coleslaw. Collard greens. Potato salad. Peach cobbler. Nilla nana pudding. And Corn bread.

They precut the ribs leaving them slightly still attached. That rib was cold, dry and hard. Like it had been left under a heat lamp and dried out the day before. & saw me as an option to get rid of it. It was a bit spicy, as if the person who seasoned it dropped the black pepper container on it. And just said hell with it. Had a good flavor. Not too much smoke. But dry. Like dude I don't know if soaking or stewing it in water would help.

The chicken was perfectly cooked. By comparison to that rib. Nice and most. Even the wings on the bird had just the right amount of moisture, which I have found by many places hard to achieve. The breast was moist. Just excellent. It too had a bit of spice. Again. Heavy on the black pepper. But still edible AND COLD. It was a nice sized bird too. Not the smaller ones you buy from the market. This chicken would have been perfection if it wasn't cold.

The brisket looked like some hard dried out burnt edges that most places discard. Much of it was heavily laden in fat and gristle. I had a hard time upon opening the pack determining that it was indeed brisket. The container said baby back. I've never seen brisket like this before. Half of the slices I received were cold and dry. Some pieces were half fat. And one or two had a bit of meat. Flavorful. But texture was the main issue. It too must have been a reject from the day before which they felt they could give to me and i wouldn't know the difference. Cold f-ing meat.

The pulled pork was the best meat option. Was excellent in flavor. The ONLY ITEM that was hot. Smh. It was flavorful Juicy Tender. Wanted to eat a ton of it. Wasn't over peppered. Everything about it was good. I ordered everything without sauce so I could taste the meats without having to sift through a saucy mess. That the pork was still juicy and moist without sauce says it's worth it if you're buying

The corn bread was hit or miss. I received 6 pieces of cornbread. 4 with the meat. 2 extra in foil. 1 piece was moist and delicious. Warm and flavorful. Had a good rise in the oven. Another piece was as flat as a slice of bread. Burnt cold and hard. The lack of uniformity has me wondering who cooked each batch. Cause there's no way all 6 pieces were baked in the same pan. They add fresh bits on corn to it. On the moist high piece it had good flavor with a hint of sweetness.

The Mac and cheese is not baked. they never claim it to be baked. So that's a warning if you go there. You can find better from kraft deluxe. It was cold and thick.

The potato salad. Not the best. Not the worst. Right there in the land of soso. It's edible. I've had some awful potato salad. the fact that the flavor aint something you'd trash is saying something. But it was dry. They left the skin on. The potato pieces were huge. It could have used a bit more mayo just to give separation that you weren't eating lumpy mashed potatoes. the funny part is it wasn't cold. But it was seasoned.

The coleslaw was dry. It also goes into the category of mediocrity. Nothing about it that's exceptional that you just have to have it. It was cold. At least they chopped it. no huge chunks.

The greens, Had a good flavor to them. They were hot. One of the few items that was actually hot. These are worthy of a buy.

This famous nilla nana pudding was instant banana pudding with 4 nilla wafers on top. That bright yellow synthetic banana flavor yells at you. I looked at it and knew what it was. Not a single banana has ever met this dish. But at least if you're under 4 years old you may enjoy it.

peach cobbler. I pulled out this watery looking concoction. First thing it had no spices. just watery. & i was looking at it trying to figure out what type of dough they used for the crust. It just didn't look appealing. that peach cobbler never met an oven in its life. canned peaches with raw flour. just awful. would say more but not...

I'm local and have been going to this location frequently since the day they opened (and their previous location before this). I frequent attic brewing which they share a warehouse space with so often will eat at Deke's as well on a pretty regular cadence.

When they first opened for quite awhile the food was AMAZING, occasionally you'd get a miss on something like the brisket being a little dry or something, but overall really amazing bbq. I took my parents to this location once and they thought it was great, which is saying a lot because they live near Kansas City where bbq has a high bar.

In the last year however something has changed, the majority of my visits have been quite disappointing - even friends who I have taken previously some time ago who have gone with me recently have commented the same without me saying anything in regards to my personal feelings on the quality of the food. I've stopped ordering the pulled pork and brisket sandwiches recently (which were my favorite) after the amount of meat went from so much on the bun that I couldn't finish in one sitting, to barely any meat covering the bun and stick to just buying the weighted amounts of meats because that at least I know what I'm getting.

Two weeks ago I went with friends and their bun was flat and stale, the brisket dry. A few months ago I ordered the chicken fingers and it was so many fries and only two chicken fingers - I don't recall two being the norm but their menu has no descriptions of what comes in a meal so I can't be sure my memory serves me right - at the same visit my other friends ordered fries and what they got and what I received as fries was so wildly different, like my fries were battered or cooked in dirty oil or something.

I went again last night after discussing with my friend I frequent with that at least the ribs are consistently good and got the ribs for takeout and when normally they are awesome falling off the bone these were tough as if they were quickly cooked a few hours earlier.

Their corn bread used to be AMAZING - it was cooked in big sheet pans and cut into squares - my friends and I often would go over and just order it even if we weren't hungry, recently they switched to cooking these thin muffin type single corn breads which are always dry and meh.

I gave feedback once on their internal feedback system once and never heard back from them, another occasion I spoke to a woman who I think may have been a manager about how their menu ordering system was confusing for some items with the lacked details and she basically laughed at me and walked away - as someone who has been coming here for literal years, if I'm confused think of a newcomer!

It's just been a really disappointing string of times trying this place over and over and mostly regretting ordering takeout from there. I can't say I won't ever eat there again since it's so convenient to get food from there when you're hanging out next door, but I likely won't be seeking it out like I did in the past because it was so good.

A better menu system that states what you're getting with the items rather than just '1/2 rack or ribs' (guess what it comes with a piece of corn bread too) would be nice, and a consistent experience would bring me back. I don't mind paying more for meals, I know inflation is making things more expensive - but something here has changed recently and the quality has gone down. I hope it goes back to being awesome at some point but I think I'm done giving this place chances for awhile now which is sad because there are so few good places to eat within walking distance...

@@@@ RESPONSE TO OWNER @@@@

Deke's Bar-B-Que Owner,

I am writing to respond to your version of events regarding my recent experience. While you stated that "sometimes the customer is not always right," in this instance, your account contains several inaccuracies and there was never a thought in my mind that the customers are always right. Please note that owners and their staff aren’t always right either.

Firstly, you mention that I "came back in with the intention to cause a scene" This is entirely false. I had never been to your establishment before and knew absolutely no one present. How could my intentions have been identified by simply returning to request an exchange for the spareribs? This too is also false. As mentioned in my prior review, they were clearly not freshly prepared and tasted as though they had been sitting out for an extended period. A simple exchange would have remedied this problem.

Secondly, you claim the "kitchen lead only asked you one question if you got the ribs dry? And that is when you went off on her." This is also untrue. Upon my request for an exchange, the cook came out of the kitchen, opened my container, proceeded in picking the ribs apart in front of me and your staff. Highly unprofessional and unnecessary. Then she immediately began to argue with me about the quality of the ribs. Her demeanor was confrontational from the outset, and instead of offering a resolution, she declared she would no longer cook and offered a refund. She took offense to the fact that food she cooked wasn’t fit to eat in the state that it was sold to me.

Thirdly, you state, "You never asked to speak with the owner, and when I came in the refund was already being done for you." This is incorrect. I specifically asked to speak with the owner/manager after the cook's unacceptable behavior. You did appear, but instead of addressing my concerns or the cook's unprofessionalism, you seemed to condone her actions, further adding to my disappointment and embarrassment. You too, seemed to be in denial about your bad food.

My intention was not to verbally spar with your staff. I simply voiced a legitimate concern about the quality of the food and was met with hostility and unprofessionalism.

It is disheartening that instead of acknowledging the poor handling of a simple customer issue, you have chosen to misrepresent the situation publicly. I’m sure there’s no coincidence that in every bad review that you have received from other dissatisfied customers, you’ve defended yourself instead of saying we will work on whatever the issues are then provide resolve. But somehow every one of your negative reviews were coincidentally the customers fault? Stop the denial, your patrons aren’t stupid. Anyone reading them can see straight thru your pattern of NOT taking ownership.

In closing, I stand by my initial review and hope that you will consider this feedback to improve your customer service practices in the future instead defending it with falsehoods and denial. I clearly see why your employee had the audacity to behave in the manner in which she did. She’s following the leaders example of confrontation instead of offering an amicable resolution. Additionally, after reading your response to my initial review it further validates why your food and service is TRASH!! This establishment is BUFFOONERY at its finest, from the top to the very bottom!!

All current and future customers, please do yourself favor and patronize other establishments in the area with better food and service. DEKE’S BBQ is NOT...