Willie Meshack's BBQ — Restaurant in Plano

To say my dining experience here was horrible wouldn’t even begin to scratch the service. As a person of color, it’s a shame it happened with a restaurant owner who looks like me. Worst dining experience of my life. The owner, Willie, plated our food incorrectly. He mixed up a side. Of course, the patron with me was under the impression the side of macaroni came with his meal, as it was on his tray - and ate it. Mistakes happen. No big deal. However, when I realized the error was made by the establishment I kindly asked for the side to be replaced at the counter. As I walked back to our table I overheard the owner of the establishment, Willie, proclaim loudly, “How is it my fault?” Now, the food here isn’t cheap and the error was not mine. That said, as a paying guest I should never have been subjected to such negative banter. When I asked the owner if what he said was in reference to me he began to abruptly fumble over his words, proceed to ask me how I “let someone else eat my food”, and eventually explained that the side would be replaced. Well, that’s all that needed to be done. I made my way back to our table once again. Unfortunately, the disrespect did not end there. Oh no. Willie brought the mac and cheese to our table personally and proceeded to further initiate a debate me, his customer, around who’s fault it was. I’m no restaurant management expert but I can say 99.9% of the restaurants I’ll frequent in my lifetime would have handled this differently. On the other hand, Willie, decided it was good time to be confrontational. At this point, I had decided paying $80 for three meals and a side of disrespect wasn’t a fair exchange. I asked for a refund and explained why. The owner, Willie, told me I would not receive a refund as asked and told me to leave. When I refused to leave without a refund or the food I had yet to even taste he proceeded to call the police and tell them I had threatened him. Yeah, we waited for the police to arrive instead of leaving just to inform them of this untruth. Obviously, it’s dangerous. We kindly asked them to confirm it with the other guests. Long story long, we left after explaining to the police the situation. But that wasn’t before the final insult to injury; Willie, who had conveniently cleaned off the table just before the police arrived lied to them yet again and said we had already eaten most of our food. Abusing business ownership by leveling false accusations about patrons could get a person thrown in jail or even worse. I would not recommend this establishment even if it were the last place on Earth serving BBQ. I will pursue every legal avenue available to me...

The jerk chicken here is life changing! The meat fell off the bones and it was juicy. I also loved the jerk chicken patty. I love the variety of sauces they offer. The Trinidad XXX sauce has a nice kick to it. Staff is super friendly and welcoming. This is a foodie paradise worth traveling to experience.

For those who love high quality Texas BBQ but are timid about trying more ethnic cuisines like Caribbean, this is a great "fusion" and you won't be disappointed or overwhelmed. For those who are experienced with Caribbean cuisine including people who have travelled there, this restaurant will make your tummy happy.

EDIT: after experiencing the incredible food here I had to go back and try more items as well as learn about the history of the restaurant.

They have off menu items on Sunday's. I tried the Chicken Pelau (Trinidad version of Chicken Biryani) which blew my mind. I wish they would serve this everyday.

This restaurant which opened in February 2022 is the brainchild of Willie Meshack Jr and his wife Roberta. Willie Meshack Sr ran a franchise of traditional Texas BBQ restaurants across the Dallas area in the 70's and 80's (their flagship restaurant still operates in Garland). Roberta's family runs Caribbean restaurants in the Dallas area. That's how this incredible fusion restaurant came into existence.

I've been to over a 100 Michelin star restaurants and I think this place is worth consideration for that accolade for their creativity...

I was recommended this place by Michael from the ATI physical therapy clinic that is nearby, where I have been going after knee surgery. He said that the jerk chicken was really good. Since my wife and I stopped by Jamaica while on a cruise last year and tried the jerk chicken there at Scotchies, we wanted to see how it compared.

NO COMPARISON!!!

The jerk chicken at Willie's is delicious and juicy. I liked dipping it in their Three Pepper sauce that has a little kick.

We had the three meat plate (we chose the lean brisket, pork ribs, and the aforementioned jerk chicken), mac & cheese, fried okra, and an order of Hog Bites (pork belly). Everything was wonderful and the staff was very nice. Even the lean brisket (which we have tried at other places and was disappointingly dry) was fork tender and moist.

We are definitely planning on returning and bringing our friends and family. Next time we want to try the brisket sandwich and the loaded baked potato that Michael also...